Part 41: You're Not Supposed To Be Here

Update 33: You're Not Supposed To Be Here



Realga? C'mon, it's time to go exploring.
R-ready.
Realga, a-are you okay? Your cheeks--no, y-your entire face is red.
Frvrr?
N-no, not a fever. I was...blindsided by something in a book.
Blindsided by a book? Huh?
I don't want to talk about it. C'mon, let's go get Asriel.
...What could've happened that'd make Realga blush that hard? Note to self: ask Jackie about that book.

We're finishing the secret areas today. Aren't you excited?



What a pathetic-looking monster.
It's barely more than a puddle.



Hey look, Baby Salamanders are back.

...Hold up, why is it about to breathe fire even though we're not in its line of sight?


Eep.

Oh.

Meet the Lava Beast. It starts out as that dinky little non-monster, but if a Baby Salamander breathes fire on it (or it steps on a tile that's on fire), it gets big and starts chasing after us.


How does something that big move that fast?!

Oh yeah, it also takes two steps for every step we take. Fun.

So, how do we avoid letting it catch up to us?



Move directly in front of it, and then...



Sidestep it. The Lava Beast will always move two tiles per step, so as long as we just repeat this sidestepping pattern, it can't actually catch us.


I-it shrunk a-again...
I guess it uses a lot of calories to chase after us.
...I know calories are a measure of heat, but that's not how they work, Sophie.

After 6 turns, the Lava Beast will go back into its dinky initial state, and slink back to where it started. It also only moves one tile at a time in this form. Worth noting that it also won't act for one turn after it goes dormant, meaning...



We can catch it before it grows again.



Smother it in the crib! ...Or at least before the salamander spews hellfire again.


Lava Beast (dormant)
HP: 1205, STR: 26, TEC: 21, VIT: 21, AGI: 14, LUC: 20
Drops:

• Normal: Cooled Lava. 100% chance. Sells for 1 en. Unlocks absolutely nothing.
  "Lumpy lava hardened by a cooling process. Any use it had in this state is gone."

Damage resistances:
100% 100% 100% 0% 200% 100%
Disable resistances:
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
100% 100% 100%
100% 100% 100%

A creature formed from magma, but luckily, it is very close to being extinguished.

The dormant Lava Beast will literally do nothing. I'm not even kidding. It doesn't even use basic attacks.


One less thing to worry about.

I literally just auto-battle the thing to death.



I m-must ask... How did that beast get here? I-I mean, maybe if we were in a volcano or somewhere very warm, but...
That Overlord probably runs some really weird experiments. I mean, how else do you explain Flame Demon and Scylla?
You think the Overlord has a big supply of dead monsters in the floating castle? Do we get them if we kill him?!
If he's anything like that Progenitor, he's probably makes the things out of his own body.



This room's actually fairly big, to give you some leeway when being chased by the Lava Beast, but it doesn't matter much if you just kill the thing while it's small.



Next room. This one's a bit tougher, since the Lava Beast is in a much more inconvenient spot.


RRRRERER ER REE RERR!
I DIDN'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE COOKED!
Pfft. Kids. Why, I jumped into the lava in the Molten Caves several times, and always came out unscathed.
THAT'S NOT HOW ANYTHING WORKS!



Perfect your sidestepping dance moves today, here on Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold!

Some time later, while I try to figure out how to get past this thing:


Is there anyone in this party who won't lead us to our deaths while navigating?
My brain is not what it used to be. Haven't you learned that by now?





Lava Beast
HP: 12047, STR: 51, TEC: 48, VIT: 41, AGI: 28, LUC: 40
Skills:

• Lava Boulder: Uses the head. Deals 4-6 instances of 90% ranged TEC-based Fire damage to random targets. Can hit the same target multiple times. Has an 80% speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.
  
• Waterproof Fire: Used in response to receiving Ice damage. Uses the head. Heals the Lava Beast for ~9637 HP, and increases its elemental damage by 100% for 4 turns. Has a 120% speed modifier.

Drops:

• Normal: Cinder Stone. 100% chance. Sells for 1840 en. 1 needed to make Flame Greaves (+20 DEF, +10% Fire resistance, can be equipped by Beasts).
  "Red stone too hot to handle with bare hands. Its heat even makes it hard to craft with."
  
• Conditional: Sizzling Lava (Kill with Fire damage). 100% chance. Sells for 3770 en. 1 needed to make Amianthus Mail (Fafnir ultimate armor; +100 DEF, +3 all stats).
  "Rock formed when a Lava Beast burns to death. Won't burn, regardless of temperature."

Damage resistances:
50% 50% 50% 0% 200% 100%
Disable resistances:
50% 50% 25% 25% 50% 50% 25%
10% 10% 10%
25% 50% 50%

A foul beast from deep within the earth, fire courses throughout its body.

Legitimately, our party as it is right now cannot kill this thing. Even with 3-bind Ecstasies, this thing just has way too much HP, especially with having 50% resistance to all physical damage.

I'm DEFINITELY bringing Ranger back later on so he can kill this thing with Akashic Nova to get its drop. I'm sure you're not surprised that Ranger's ultimate armor is the best out of all of them.



I just have everyone try to run.


All my limbs... Crushed...


I can stand heat... Not rocks...



In case Sophie and Ursa still fail to escape.


Nope, c'mon, you're not getting off that easily while my tab's running!


...Ugh.



If I just try to escape without having Ursa guard everyone, everyone's going to die eventually.



Ursa actually doesn't take a lot of damage from tanking Lava Boulder. (I told you that Bikini Armor would be a worthwhile purchase.)

If I had, say, Ranger or Stardust in place of Asriel, we'd be doing really well.


Flee for your no-good lives!

6 turns to escape. Good lord.



Eheheh...


The shoe's on the other foot now!

One murder of a defenseless dormant Lava Beast later.


Maybe we could find a way to use these things to provide infinite cooking fuel for Cass and Regina? There's a lot of them.
That's...not a good thing.


That is, though!


Never mind.
I don't think you really thought this through--that giant lava thing's blocking our path now.

Head Guards, incidentally, nullify head binds on whoever equips them. If we ever go up against a boss that can easily inflict head binds, Realga's pretty much going to need this thing.

So, the big question here now is: how the hell do I get out of this without using an Ariadne Thread?



Floor Jump is how.


...Did Dubois ever explain how this magic map works? Maybe how much it's wor--
You're not really considering selling our m-map, are you?



After some quick sprinting, we're back to where we started.



I take the time to kill the Baby Salamander here so that the Lava Beast can't go active again. Why, you may ask?



That's why. That corridor makes it really easy for the Lava Beast to catch you a lot if it's active.



There really isn't a lot to these puzzles, honestly. I decided to off the dormant Lava Beast again in the next room.


U-um... Am I the only one that's kind of...bored by this area?
Nah. For a place as weird and full of weird monsters like this, you'd expect something more exciting.
And you're just saying that because nothing we've run into for a while's been edible.
Is anything Sophie eats "edible," really?
Hmph. Monsters are an acquired taste.
Blrrch.



Are you getting sick of these frankly-repetitive Lava Beast rooms? Because I certainly am.


Two for the price of none. Aren't we so lucky.



Mercifully, there's a small room to the east (relative to the map) which has a shortcut back to near the start.



I take the opportunity to sell off the paltry amount of drops we got and rest up.




Running in a straight line from the shortcut room door resulted in this awkward situation. I'm effectively boxed in--any step I take will result in one of the Lava Beasts engaging me.



I just say "screw it" and start the fight so I can escape and bolt for the door.



Two FOEs in one fight is something I'd normally expect to just result in a game over.



Sophie, thankfully, pulled through.


Ahahaha! Eat it, you searing piece of crap!


Can't catch us now!
...I think all this secret area stuff is getting to your head, Realga.
Is it getting to my head, or are you just paying so little attention that you're not experiencing what everyone else is?!
Yep. She's losing it.
Let's hurry up and finish this...



Asriel! C'mon, bust out that katana! Chop 'em all to bits in a flash!
Is there a term for this? "Secret area fever?"


Black Boar
HP: 844, STR: 43, TEC: 32, VIT: 30, AGI: 24, LUC: 31
Skills:

• Clash: Uses the legs. Deals 150% melee STR-based Stab damage to one target, with line-piercing effect. Attempts to stun hit targets, with a 40% base chance. Has a 120% speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.

Drops:

• Normal: Savage Fang. 45% chance. Sells for 378 en. 1 needed to make Fang Axe (+127 ATK, +5 TP). 5 needed to make Black Beast (+118 ATK, +20 HP). 8 needed to make Boar Demigaunt (+10 HP, can be equipped by Beasts).
  "A hard fang that can pierce through steel. A powerful weapon can be made with this."

Damage resistances:
100% 50% 100% 150% 100% 100%
Disable resistances:
150% 50% 50% 100% 50% 100% 100%
50% 100% 50%
100% 100% 50%

A ferocious boar that lunges recklessly into its prey, knocking them unconscious.

Black Boars can be a serious nuisance when paired up with the right monsters, like here. Clash hurts pretty badly, and stunning the wrong person can turn an easy fight into a dire situation. Here, for example, if someone survives Clash, they'll probably die to 3 of the Flame Lizards' AOEs being stacked on them.


Eh...
I'll give ya half the money I'm billing today!


...Well, if you insist.
Sh-shame on you, Asriel...
Yeah, why would you take the money of someone who's clearly out of it?
She's no more out of it than I am.

None of what I just said applies if you just Issen everything.


Huh. That's a weird-looking symbol.
Zack said he and his party ran into something that looked like that in the 3rd Stratum...
...Oh. Ohhhhhh. It's like those drunks at the bar said...
Did the demon realize something?
I'm not telling you if you keep calling me a demon.


Great. Yeah. Perfect. All of that for another GODDAMNED EMPTY ROOM YEAH GOOD THAT WAS WORTH THE EFFORT AAAAAGGGGHHHH! I HATE THIS STUPID LABYRINTH AND WHATEVER SICK BASTARD DESIGNED IT!
R-Realga, please stop shouting... Let's just go back to town and get something to eat...okay?

This empty room will serve a very important purpose in the postgame. And by the postgame, I mean a quest we can first take once we reach 29F. Y'know, one floor from the absolute end of the Labyrinth.

My point is we'll be coming back here in the future, but it's a long, LONG way off. I just felt like getting all this stuff out of the way now.




Fang Axe (+127 ATK, +5 TP) is unlocked by selling 1 Savage Fang. It's boring.

The update continues after this post, since it originally went over the character limit even after editing.