Part 117: Champion Academy
Chapter 91 – Champion Academy
Bellegar, Round 5
Champion Academy Basement
Music: Champion Academy Basement
Video: Bellegar, Round 5
(Bellegar) Thou shall be remembered as the darkest of devils,
thy feast the most macabre of revels! Resolved I am to stop thee yet, so to the gluttonous worm may be fed the Dragon, nay Demon, that seeks to destroy the one plane wherein Bellegar finds some joy!
(Behrlihn) Your claim on Rivellon is no more valid than mine! The strongest shall win and I will defeat you!
There you go: Bellegar’s not-so-secret motivation: What do we know from experience that Bellegar does? He trolls people, he trolls them hard. He lives for his own amusement. Damian massacred everyone in Broken Valley and the Orobas Fjords. Bellegar can’t troll people there anymore, because the only ones there are Black Ring soldiers, and they’re all the same, really. Bellegar doesn’t want us to release Behrlihn because he would make the Black Ring even more powerful, and that would make Rivellon less fun for Bellegar to play around in.
The enemies here are level 41, and the time limit is still 1:20. That additional level makes a noticeable difference. On Normal difficulty, enemies don’t have much health, so there’s no noticeable difference in the fights. But the extra HP on Nightmare means that your margin for screwing up is much smaller. On my first attempt, I was running really short on time, when… 
No! Not the “Fear” status! Damn it! Fear makes your character run uncontrollably for several seconds away from the enemy that cursed it.
You have been locked in crystal. Game Over! No, no, no, that’s not how the story ended. Let me start again.
Ha! Look at what he threw at us, and with what ease you dispatched of them. It is over: you have won! Cursed be the mother that bred thee! The wench must have been a hell-spawned banshee! The impending death of which she wailed, arrived when in you in ignorance failed to see the coming doom! From her very womb the darkness did bloom, the misguided spectre that will lead all to their tomb!Music: Dungeon Stealing
Let him howl and rage, but we have found the five! Soon there will be freedom for me and the Divine!
(Lucian) Again, Dragon Knight, whatever you do, you must not let Behrlihn loose. 
(Yara) But what of Aleroth? It will surely fall without the… um… thingee…
What are we looking for again? Many times I have wished I could slap you. The Eye of the Patriarch, Dragon Knight. This academy is huge and beyond a doubt has become a freak-filled circus riddled with Bellegar’s madness! We are so very close – but there will be more obstacles to overcome. Yeah, I know. They’re already here.Video: Champion Academy Basement
The expansion doesn’t really have any variety in enemies.
So, upstairs or downstairs, Dragon Knight? Downstairs. One of the things I’m looking for is the entrance to the vault.
Uh-oh.
What is all this? Machinery to run the academy, I guess. There’s a lever down there, but it’s one of a pair. We need to pull both. No, I don’t know what they do. I just know you need to pull both of them.
Maybe this lever will remove the barrier? … Nope.
I see another lever down there, maybe that will do something helpful. Or maybe it will just turn off all the lights.
(Theofolous) Halt! Who goes there? Without the ancient helmet, I cannot clearly see. You cannot have it! It is mine! I am the keeper of secrets. Away with you, forever! I think there was a Theofolous in Divine Divinity, but that guy was a priest, I don’t think there’s any relation between the two.
A strange device you have found here. Do not dismiss the assistance it might bring. I venture to say it will only work in this enchanted academy, but it may prove useful while it lasts. “Without the ancient helmet, I cannot clearly see… I am the keeper of secrets.” All right, let me put it on, and -
Woah…this is… weird…
It’s hard to tell in screenshots, but while wearing the helmet, your vision goes from clear-ish to blurry, and the colours keep changing. I wouldn’t try keeping it on all the time. Behrlihn’s warning is just a hint to tell the player “don’t bother going back to Aleroth to try and look around with this on, there’s nothing to see.”
Larian thoughtfully let you put the helmet on the quickbar. You can swap between your normal helmet and the Helmet of Secrets with just one button press. It’s very handy, because a certain part will require you to switch between the two. You’ll never need to fight while wearing the helmet, thankfully.
Let’s see what secrets I can find upstairs…
Bellegar, Round 5
Champion Academy Basement
Music: Champion Academy Basement
Maps
Reader Participation
1) Why are we really trying to reach Behrlihn? There are no wrong answers here, this is just for roleplaying.
a) Aleroth needs to be saved.
b) I’m not going to set him free, you nutcase, I just need his powers.
c) I need to release the Divine.