Chapter 1, Seedling, is where Beast of Reincarnation properly starts opening up. The beginning is fairly gentle because the game is still teaching you Emma and Koo’s basic mechanics, but that doesn’t last particularly long. Before the chapter is over, you’ll be exploring the Subcity, tracking down three colored keys, fighting the Nue Malefact, and hunting a Nushi called Rangifer.
There’s quite a bit packed into this opening chapter, and a few objectives aren’t immediately obvious—especially once the game asks you to find the Red, Blue, and Yellow Keys.
This walkthrough follows the chapter from your first trip to the village all the way through the final Rangifer battle.
Visit and Investigate the Village
Your first objective is straightforward: head toward the village.
Treat this opening stretch as your chance to get comfortable with the controls rather than rushing through it. Beast of Reincarnation’s combat becomes considerably more demanding later, so it’s worth paying attention when the game introduces movement, attacks, parrying, Emma’s abilities, and Koo’s role in combat.
Continue following the route toward the village and investigate the area.
You’ll eventually encounter the Rusted Golem as you progress.
At this point, you should already be getting used to the game’s basic combat rhythm. Don’t rely entirely on normal attacks. Start practicing your parries because they’ll become increasingly important as the chapter continues.
Search for the Foreman
After dealing with the enemies around the village, your next objective is finding the Foreman.
You’ll need to locate the entrance leading into the Subcity.
Look around the area for a broken-down bridge.
At first glance, the destroyed bridge may look like a dead end, but this is actually where the game expects you to use one of Emma’s traversal abilities.
Use Emma’s hair to cross the gap.
It’s worth remembering this lesson for the rest of the game. If a route looks inaccessible but you can see somewhere Emma should theoretically be able to reach, consider whether one of her traversal abilities is the answer.
Defeat the Malefacts After Crossing the Bridge
Once you’re across, you’ll be attacked by Malefacts blocking your path.
Take them out before continuing.
By now, you should have had opportunities to start improving Emma and Koo, so make use of whatever upgrades you’ve selected.
More importantly, start paying attention to enemy stagger rather than only watching their health.
Building the Down Gauge can create opportunities for Lethal attacks, and Koo’s abilities are particularly useful for increasing stagger.
This is good practice for the much nastier encounters coming later in Chapter 1.
Enter the Subcity and Continue Searching for the Foreman
Keep progressing until you reach the Subcity entrance.
Your objective remains finding the Foreman, but you’ll have more Golems standing between you and the next area.
Defeat the Golems to unlock/open the way forward.
During this portion of the chapter, you’ll also obtain the Kangetsu Bow.
Don’t just forget about it after picking it up. New equipment can expand your options considerably, and Chapter 1 is designed to start getting you comfortable with using more than the tools you began with.
Once you’ve finished up in the Subcity, continue onward.
Things are about to get considerably bigger.
Follow the Blue Bird
After leaving the Subcity and returning outside, you’ll notice a blue bird.
Follow it.
This leads into a cutscene and your introduction to one of Chapter 1’s major threats: Rangifer.
Rangifer is the Nushi you’ll spend much of the remainder of Seedling pursuing.
And your first meeting isn’t just for show.
You’re going to fight it.
Rangifer First Boss Encounter
The first Rangifer encounter takes place inside a closed arena.
For a player still getting accustomed to Beast of Reincarnation’s combat, this can feel like quite a jump from the earlier enemies.
Don’t panic if Rangifer immediately feels much more dangerous.
Use the systems the game has been teaching you rather than trying to overwhelm it with basic attacks.
Pay attention to its attack animations, look for opportunities to parry, and use Emma and Koo’s abilities rather than sitting on full gauges.
Koo’s Bloom Arts can be particularly valuable for building stagger, while Emma’s Blade Arts can give you substantial offensive pressure when available.
Once you’ve successfully beaten Rangifer here, the battle doesn’t permanently finish the Nushi.
Instead, Rangifer retreats back to its lair.
Naturally, Emma wants to continue chasing it.
The Foreman has other plans.
Make Preparations for Tomorrow
After the first Rangifer fight, the Foreman stops Emma from immediately pursuing the Nushi.
A story sequence follows.
Emma eventually wakes up in the Foreman’s lair, giving you some breathing room before the hunt continues.
Use it.
This is a good point to check everything you’ve accumulated so far rather than immediately sprinting toward the next objective.
Look over your equipment and upgrades, spend available resources where appropriate, and make sure both Emma and Koo are prepared.
If you’ve unlocked useful skills or obtained better equipment during exploration, now is the time to put it to work.
Your next trip toward Rangifer isn’t going to be as straightforward as walking through the front door.
Return to the Nushi’s Lair
When you’re ready, leave the Cleanse Walker and begin heading back toward the Nushi’s lair.
You’ll discover that the pathway into the Sealed Layer is locked.
This begins one of Chapter 1’s main objectives.
You need three colored keys:
| Key | Where to Get It |
|---|---|
| Red Key | Retired Gatekeeper near the Nushi’s Lair entrance |
| Blue Key | Watchman at the lookout shack |
| Yellow Key | Golem in Tailwater Village |
Fortunately, the first one requires almost no searching.
How to Get the Red Key
When you reach the locked pathway toward the Nushi’s lair, speak with/progress the scene involving the Retired Gatekeeper nearby.
The Red Key is given to Emma automatically.
So don’t leave the area and start searching the map for a red chest or secret enemy.
There isn’t some complicated Red Key puzzle you’ve missed.
The Retired Gatekeeper provides it as part of the main story and then sends you looking for the remaining Blue and Yellow Keys.
The Red Key also has another use elsewhere in Chapter 1. It can open an optional locked door back in the Abandoned Village from earlier in the chapter, so completion-minded players may want to revisit that area.
How to Get the Blue Key
The Blue Key is relatively close by.
Your target is the lookout shack.
Search the nearby area until you locate the shack and find the watchman there.
The watchman has the Blue Key and will provide it to you as part of your progression.
That leaves only one more.
How to Get the Yellow Key
For the Yellow Key, you’ll need to travel to Tailwater Village.
Once you arrive, search the village for the Golem associated with the objective.
The Golem will give you the Yellow Key.
At this point, you should have:
Red Key + Blue Key + Yellow Key
That means you’ve collected everything necessary to unlock the Sealed Layer and continue pursuing Rangifer.
But the game has another fight waiting for you first.
Return to the Cleanse Walker
After obtaining all three keys, return to the Cleanse Walker.
You might be expecting to immediately head for the Sealed Layer.
Not quite.
Returning to base leads into another major encounter, this time against the Nue Malefact.
Make sure you’ve handled your upgrades and equipment before committing to the fight.
How to Beat the Nue Malefact
The Nue Malefact is your next major test before the final Rangifer confrontation.
At this stage of Chapter 1, you should be moving beyond the habit of simply attacking until something dies.
Watch the boss carefully.
Parrying is particularly valuable because successful parries don’t merely protect Emma—they also feed into your stronger combat options.
Use Koo’s Bloom Arts when available and work on creating stagger opportunities rather than getting greedy with long attack strings.
When you’ve built enough resources, bring Emma’s Blade Arts into the fight as well.
If you’re struggling, don’t feel pressured to win immediately. Beast of Reincarnation doesn’t take away your XP, currency, or items when you die, so boss attempts are a good opportunity to learn attack timings.
Sometimes spending one attempt mostly watching a boss is more useful than spending five attempts aggressively attacking without learning anything.
Defeat the Nue Malefact and you’ll finally be ready to return to the Sealed Layer.
Unlock the Sealed Layer With All Three Keys
With the Nue Malefact defeated and all three keys in your possession, head back toward the locked pathway.
The Red, Blue, and Yellow Keys can now be used to unlock the Sealed Layer.
Beyond it lies Rangifer’s lair.
This is what Chapter 1 has been building toward since your first encounter with the Nushi.
If you’ve been holding onto upgrades or ignoring your equipment menu, I’d deal with that before going much farther.
Prepare for the Final Rangifer Fight
Before challenging Rangifer again, check your current build.
There are a few things worth reviewing:
Spend your SP. If Emma or Koo has skill upgrades available, there’s little reason to carry unused SP into a major boss encounter.
Check your Spirit Stones. Use effects that actually complement how you’re fighting rather than simply equipping whatever you found most recently.
Review your stats. Strength improves Attack and Defense, Vitality gives you more HP, and Florescence improves Skill Power.
Check Koo’s setup. He’s an important part of combat, particularly when you’re trying to build stagger.
And finally, remember what you learned during the first Rangifer encounter.
You’ve already fought this creature once. Use that experience.
How to Beat Rangifer in Chapter 1
The second Rangifer encounter is the true conclusion to Seedling.
This time you’re entering its lair to finish the hunt.
Don’t approach the battle as a pure damage race.
Rangifer’s attacks give you opportunities to engage with the parry system, and successful defensive play can feed directly into your offense.
A good general combat flow is:
Read attack → Parry → Build resources → Use Koo’s Bloom Arts → Pressure Down Gauge → Use Blade Arts when appropriate
The exact rhythm will change depending on what Rangifer is doing, but the point is to use your full toolkit.
If you only use Emma’s standard attacks, you’re leaving a lot of combat potential unused.
Koo can help push the boss toward stagger, while Blade Arts provide stronger offensive options once you’ve built their gauge.
Most importantly, don’t become overly aggressive when Rangifer is about to attack.
One extra hit usually isn’t worth eating an entire boss combo.
What If Rangifer Keeps Killing You?
Don’t worry about your resources.
There is no traditional death penalty in Beast of Reincarnation.
If Emma dies, you’ll return to your latest campsite while retaining your important progression, including XP, currency, and items.
That means you can keep practicing Rangifer until its attack patterns start becoming familiar.
On your first few attempts, focus less on winning and more on answering questions:
Which attacks can I reliably parry?
Which animations signal the dangerous moves?
When do I have enough time to use my abilities?
When should Koo attack?
When is it safe to pressure the boss?
Once those answers become obvious, the fight becomes much more manageable.
Don’t Ignore Exploration During Chapter 1
It’s tempting to follow the main objective from beginning to end, but Seedling rewards exploration.
Koo can help identify useful equipment while you’re moving through different areas, so pay attention whenever your companion appears interested in something nearby.
Check optional paths and chests instead of always following the most obvious route.
That extra equipment can make the difference between reaching Rangifer underprepared and arriving with a build that already feels comfortable.
Also remember Emma’s traversal abilities.
The broken bridge near the Subcity teaches this lesson early: a path that looks inaccessible isn’t necessarily blocked.
Look above you and around you whenever exploring.
Defeating Rangifer completes the main progression for Chapter 1: Seedling and takes you into the next part of Emma and Koo’s journey.
The opening chapter is essentially one long lesson in how Beast of Reincarnation expects you to play: explore instead of blindly following the road, use Emma’s traversal abilities, develop both characters rather than just Emma, and make parrying and stagger part of your offense.
Get comfortable with those ideas now, because Chapter 2: Creeping Tendrils is next—and by then, the game can safely assume you’re no longer a beginner.