Part 19: Dark Cave

Today's update is another short one - this dungeon is the shortest in the game, apart from the first trip to the Temple of Fiends. Plus we've already completed about a third of it.



This dungeon can't be reached by airship. We actually need to grab the ship for this one and sail to the northwest corner of the map.



This place should look familiar.



The Dark Cave has a very obvious gimmick and, as I mentioned the first time we came here, is an utter pain to navigate the first time you play. It's not too bad once you know how to tackle it, but it can still trip you up.



As you can see, there aren't many landmarks. You can tell when you're walking into a wall because the walking animation stops, but feeling your way along suuuuucks.



Heading west from the entrance takes us to the room where we got Sting and the INVS Ring, but we obviously don't need to return there. North and due east are dead ends. Heading south, then east, however, eventually takes us through a curving hallway and brings us in sight of two rooms - the only other two in the dungeon, in fact.



The smaller one on the right is our first stop.



Of course the treasure chest is guarded by a spiked tile. On our first trip here this would have been impossible. Now it's no problem.



Our reward is the Dragon Mail, the best mail armor in the game. It goes to Rogue, who gives Ranger his Opal Mail, and who in turn gives his mithril mail to Viking. Our party is now outfitted with the best armor they'll ever have.



Darks are the one new enemy type here. As you'd probably expect, they often ambush the party, having high evasion, and can inflict blindness with their attacks. They aren't nearly as deadly as airs, but even so, our physical-focused party isn't really well-equipped to fight them.



From the Dragon Mail room, we head east, south, and back west to the final room.



This reminds me of something...



Oh, right. The bonus dungeon bosses might be too impolite to introduce themselves, but at least this one has good taste in RPGs.



Our opponent today is Death. Like Lich, he's a powerful spellcaster, but unlike Lich, he never bothers with physical attacks. He has five spells - BIO, COMT, MTEO, STOP, and DETH - and will cycle through them continuously until one side is dead.



MTEO has a special text when it hits in combat. It's apparently supposed to be an NBA Jam reference, what with flaming orbs hitting you from the sky. There's something oddly satisfying about seeing it come up when it's cast on enemies, but here it just seems like Death is trash-talking us.



In a surprise move, CHKR turns out to be a clinch spell. A full heal and removing poison is exactly what we need.



Gorehowl does extra damage to spellcasting opponents. With HSTE applied, Viking becomes a goddamn killing machine here. He's easily our most powerful tool in this fight.




Having WALL up helped, but I still got really lucky with these, especially DETH.



Round 6 is a perfect example of how even lower-level spells can remain valuable in the late game. We could have managed with poison, but its damage is high enough that removing it is worth the time.



Surprising no one, Viking scores the final blow.



Bonus boss #2 is down, with commensurate rewards.




Our rewards are the Masamune and the Anathema, ultimate weapons for the Ninja and Warlock. Not terribly helpful to us.



And with that, this short dungeon is finished. The next one should be more interesting.