Part 12: Part 12

All right, we have a rope. Remember all those holes we've seen in the ceilings? The ones that were out of reach before? Not so now.



For the first part we'll need to recover the key to the first trials. The bronze door actually closes whenever you leave the labyrinth; the key must be used every time you want to enter.



Step one:



Get rid of all minor annoyances.

Step two:



Climb the right hole,



...pick up more Mithril.



And that's it.

Next, we return to the second floor. This will not be the last time we see it, but we're almost there.




Rope!




Treasure!



The Great Flail isn't as strong as the Great Axe, but it's so close that it's pretty much always going to be better. Milo will be selling his other weapons the next time he's in town. It's about time, too.



We're not done here yet, however.



There's a Grimwall above this pit. It's pathetic at this stage. Okay, that was a crit, but still, one from Milo.



The treasure it guards is even more awesome.



Look at those stats, holy crap.



The other holes on this level are just there in order to let you fall down from the third floor, right next to the stairs; there's no point in climbing them. Instead, we use our medallion and take the stairs up.



Pretty close to the entrance, there's another hole...



...with a powerful guardian. Which is fittingly enough called a Guardian.

Very powerful, in fact. That's the second of his two attacks.



Eat Storm Sword!



...but even after that awesome crit, it's Pyra who finishes the fight with Bolt 2.



We get 4500 EXP and 3000 gold for our troubles, and the treasure behind it holds an Elven Hood.


What's more, I feel it's blessed with power. It might have other uses.

...Milo, you're a fucking hobbit, stop trying to confuse our audience.

It's only two points stronger than the magic hood, but it increases magic defence... apparently.



Here are some more fourth-floor encounters. These guys have the same firebreath attack as salamanders , making them a big threat. They're also pretty tough and strong, which shouldn't come as a surprise given where they show up.



Mandagoras are worse.

Previous trees could drain MP.

These ones can "howl in pain".

Some of you are no doubt familiar with the old tale about the Mandrake, where it screams after being dug up, killing anyone who hears it.

In SitD, that's the equivalent of casting Desoul 2.



Poor Sue doesn't get a share of these experience points. I'm just glad they're vulnerable to Sleep and the one it didn't work on only managed to kill one person...




It pays to have friends with connections... to higher powers.



The nice thing about Burst is that it's the first spell that can hit multiple groups. Pyra and Milo take care of some dogs, but...



...the trogs are really a huge pain.



Since we're so close to the golden fountain, I decide to warp out and do some stuff before continuing. There goes the magic hood...



...and here comes a mithril one! It's a pretty good upgrade for Pyra, but right now, Milo needs it more.



Selling the elven hood basically offsets the price of forging the mithril one. It's pretty nice.




Back to the labyrinth. Kamils don't have feet. Don't ask me how they do it. Just know that it hurts.



Here's something new. They take very little damage from physical attacks, and they can sprinkle poison powder, but they're not that bad after tangling with their upgraded version on the floor above.



Milo hits level 29 and learns Heal 4.



It's a full heal for the entire party. At 50 MP, it will rarely see use, but when it does, it'll be to save you from a TPK.



I think I missed screencapping these guys last time. They like to spam Slow, which makes large groups of these guys surprisingly harmless... until they start hitting you, at least. Take them down fast, and they're fairly easy XP.



A bit further in on the third floor, there's another grimwall.

It should be pretty obvious what happens to it.



It's the return of the Firestaff with a new cool, refreshing flavour!

No points for guessing what it does when used in battle.



There's a wall here...



...and a cell door here...



...and a giant enemy crab in my way.



Scizzars are strong, but what makes them dangerous isn't their physical attack but the ability to breathe "freezing cold gas". That's 70+ points of damage to the entire party. Fortunately, this one is content to poke me with its claws.



Finally, here's the entrance to that place.



Nothing here...



...but here's the big prize!



It's not a huge upgrade, but Sue needs every point of AF he can get.


It's nothing special.

Milo is unimpressed. Just for that, you're not getting to inherit my mithril helm



...actually, he still gets the mithril helm. It's a few points stronger than the hood...



...which is stronger than the tiara and makes Pyra an even bigger tank.



The "wall" we saw earlier is another one-way door.



And here's the end of the third floor!



...wait, something isn't right here.



Climbing up throws me into a fight with... these guys.

You'll never guess what their special ability is.



Not Desoul. They don't have it.

Revive 2.

You don't get any extra points for re-killing an enemy, unlike summoned ones.

It's annoying, but at least it's not instant death.



After dropping down again on the other side, I find yet another new enemy.



They can "attack as a massive force" but aren't any better at it than the birds. They can also summon friends. You can use them to grind if you want. Or, you could just blow them up.

I went with the latter.

Rather more dangerous, however...



...is the Blackbone.



These things climb up through the floor, which is pretty badass considering it's made of stone. They have high stats and can attack twice in a round.

Unlike most other minibosses, I landed Slow on this one on the first attempt. After a couple of rounds, I took a gamble, Boosted Milo, and lucked out:



Milo killed it before it could waste him or Pyra. Or both.

The reward is 300 EXP and 2500 GP, which is pretty crappy.



There is also another golden fountain. On the next trip, I'll recover the first half of the medallion and deposit it here instead.



"SEGA: Welcome to the next level."



"...some other day."



I finally sold the Royal Tiara.

Remember: resale value is 3/4 of the price.

Fuck you, Tristan.


Stormsword (110 WF), Sun Armor (52 AF, resist fire), Madu (20 AF and 15 WF), Lighthelm (40 WF)

On the plus side, the Stormsword is awesome and the Lighthelm is the strongest headgear in the game. On the negative, the madu is starting to look a little less awesome, and the armour could do with an upgrade. That ~30% resistance to fire isn't offsetting the facepunches he's taking.


Great Flail (28 WF, TWO HITS), Mithril Armor (68 AF), Madu (AF 20 and WF 15), Mithril Helm (32 AF)

The Great Flail is, in fact, really great. Milo and Pyra can now return to their usual one-two punch where Pyra softens up an entire group and Milo finishes off two enemies at once. Against stronger monsters, he's still doing pretty good with double hits. I've sold the axe; I've no more use for it.


Hexwhip (60 WF, CURSED, GROUP), LightRobe (44 AF), Mithril Shield (AF 40), Mithril Hood (26 AF)

Three (or four) out of four for Pyra. The Hexwhip isn't as impressive as it once was when we're up against fourth-level enemies, but it's still pretty good, and the defensive gear is top-notch.

Next: progress! No, really.