Part 15: Part 15

As far as standard attacks go, yes. If you factor in critical hits as well, I'd say they're about equal; Sue's crits hurt a lot.

And thanks.




We're going to explore the fifth floor. The strongest enemies in the game await - as does Dark Sol.



Time to get rid of all the various key items (including actual keys ) we've been lugging around. There are no more grimwalls; no more cell doors to open. Just a floor with a bunch of bloodthirsty maniacs on it... and of course, the monsters they'll be encountering on their way to the final boss.



Since Pyra wants to hold on to the Lightblade for a while longer, I'm spending my last chunk of mithril on a new sword for Sue. I could get Milo a shield or forge a new weapon for Pyra, but neither of those options seems very attractive; Pyra will always prefer the AoE of the Light Blade or her spells, and the Madu still accounts for one third of Milo's WF from equipment.



It lacks the special abilities of certain other weapons, but it is the third strongest sword in the game, and it makes up for the WF we lost when we traded in our own madu. The stormsword might be sufficient, but the upcoming enemies are the nastiest in the entire game and I would rather be able to hit them as hard as possible.



I head for the stairs and Pyra can't wait to get started.

One casting of Bolt 3: 20 MP.

One trip through the MP-draining moss to the Lightblade: 5 MP.

The ability to cast this spell every round for free forever: priceless.



Anyway.



We've now officially reached the fifth floor. Not just a quick sneak peek, but the actual thing. I'm heading off to the left through a long-ass corridor because there's Stuff there.



The first enemies I run into are... these old things.

I don't need to tell you how quickly they go down.

Because doing so would probably take longer than finishing the battle.



These are new, though. Centaurians are "only" physical attackers, but just like everything else this high up, they're good at it.



Ghouls are... the same damn thing the last two incarnations of this type of monster were.

Zzzz.



Graverocs are griffins, but more so. Their wing-flapping is closer to Blast 4, so a group of them can do quite a number on you. But of course, Pyra with the Lightblade can do quite a number on them, too; she may actually one-shot these too.



Gargoyles: probably weaker than centaurians in every way and just as interesting.

Chimeras, on the other hand, are a step above the Graveroc; they have a powerful multi-target ice attack.

Pyra softens them up, and Milo kills all three of these. Sue pouts because he's not getting to use his shiny new sword.



Oh look, it's a completely worthless chest, what a surprise!



This one's better, but...



...it's inferior to the Lightrobe in every way. Milo says it's also "blessed with power", but I don't imagine it's more so than the one Pyra already has.



Hellhounds are physical attackers and will often hit twice. Don't expect them to get a chance, though.

And here...



...is the first chest monster on this floor.



Annoyingly, it's one of the very few creatures in the game that aren't affected by the Demonstaff.

I just kill it the usual way. Boost 1 on Milo, flail to the... whatever they have; it tends to take them out before they get to act.



...

Syrens aren't affected by the Demonstaff either.

But like every other enemy, they do have a drop.



So yeah!

Moving on!



There's a wall here.



Clearly, we must find another way.



Hellhounds can drop holy water.

I end up tossing this at some point. It's utterly pointless and there are so many things I would rather spend my precious inventory space on.



The fifth floor is annoying.



Really annoying.



But at least there's a reward for that long-ass round trip.



Here's a dragon with a real firebreath attack. It can hit for well over 100 points... if it gets a turn.

Which they don't.



Oh, look! Treasure!



Motherfu



ckers!



If this had been an ordinary pit, I could have climbed up (because I still have the mystic rope), but this was a pit trap, so there's no hole.



It's only a small area, though...



...and only a few steps to the stairs.



And the chest we were after? What's in it?



TEETH.

Killing it. Moving on.



And we encounter a Bildblok! Guess what we haven't done in a while?



Yeah, baby.



That's some surge of power!



The Bildblok refuses to give us any treasure, but it still drops this when it dies.



It's stronger than the frost armour - barely - but it's not worth losing that ~30% damage reduction from cold-based attacks for just four points of AF.



Hey, it's that chest we looted on our first visit to this floor!



I sold the cell key, but it's not as if opening this door would benefit us in any way - it'd just be another tile we could step on, which is hardly a fitting reward.



Demonstaff?



Demonstaff.

Lokjaws can cast Screen, when they're not under the influence of .

They can also cast Burst 3 and Blast 3, but they seem to prefer physical attacks.



Their treasure is... a magic ring.

This is one of the better drops in the game. You could farm these, but I have like four now, which has to be more than enough.



...demonstaff?



You bet your ass.



Well, that could have gone better...



...as could the treasure behind it.



And, here, look at this.



This, ladies and gentlemen, is the last MP-draining moss we're ever going to step on. There is no more. None. We are free.

(There's actually another patch on this floor that isn't on the map but there's no reason to actually touch it because there's nothing there.)



The treasure at the end is useless;



not only is it actually weaker than the mithril sword, but cursed as well. Unlike the Hexwhip, avoid this shit at all costs.



This spinner here is a bit of a dick move. Remember how I said they turn you three times to the right, to the final effect of turning you left?



See the hole to the south? If you step on this spinner right away, you fall down that hole. It's not a huge hassle, it's just a couple of steps to the stairs and not a big detour, but it's annoying.

But note that it does just that: turns you to the right. It does not spin in any one specific direction.

In other words, when you normally approach from the east, "left" is to the south. If you step on it from the east while facing east, "left" is now north.

To get out of here safely, just back into the spinner from the north, and you will be turned east, south, and finally west, and be able to continue your journey.



Serpis can cast Desoul, but these didn't get a chance.



There is no golden fountain on the fifth level, but there is a very shiny one. Could this possibly be important at some point? I don't know.



That's probably the most enemy name in the game, but they're only Gollums on steroids. Stronger, tougher, better rewards.



That's something we haven't seen in a while!



However, I'm out of room...



...and, well, what the hell, it's not as if I was going to use that thing anyway.



Burst 4 is suitably impressive. It's actually a tiny bit stronger than Bolt 3 at the same cost of 20 MP.



Warhorses show up just a little later than centaurians and aren't all that different, but they are still strong attackers and should be handled with care.



Just an ordinary fountain here, and...



Eh, why not.



That is "why not". Don't underestimate event monsters; they WILL fuck your shit up given half a chance.



We've already seen demonesks. Milo decides to try something new, and...




Ouch!



And not too far from there: Brimstones, the demonesks' older siblings. They're worth a lot of exp and money, but they're rather painful to fight, too; they can cast Muddle 2, which does basically the same thing the Demonstaff does. It doesn't have the 100% accuracy of the Demonstaff, but it also only targets the other side, making it a very dangerous thing indeed.

At this point, we've reached the last zone; we're now fighting the very meanest enemies the game is ever going to throw at us. Everything around here is both tough and strong, and the lightblade no longer one-shots anything. It's still a better way for Pyra to spend her turns on than the Hexwhip, though.



Oh, look, it's this shit again.

Perspective: Brimstones give out 1500 GP apiece.



This one contains the same thing.



Dangerous. Fire-breath, ~120 points to the entire party - needs to be killed quickly. Lightblade helps, but they resist it somewhat, taking around 60 points rather than the 80+ it deals to other things.



And finally, unguarded, just sitting in a chest right out in the open, we find the last piece of the Arms of Light.



Don't need dupes of this, either.



Unlike the mithril armour, this is a noticeable upgrade over the frost armour. It's also "blessed with power", and I guess it's nice that one of Sue's ultimate equips have that kind of thing going for it.



The "wall" we found before is a one-way door... again.

But we've explored the entire floor, right? Something isn't right.



...oh.



Below, there's a chest...



...with a revive in it.

I'm loaded up with gear, so I'm picking this up later.



Back up again, and into another encounter...


MILO falls unconscious to the ground!

Derp.

The Forbidden Box has some nice effects and some... not so nice ones.



There's another revive here. You think they're trying to tell me something...?

_{yes they are}



But what's this?



Sue feels a little intimidated by this familiar-looking gate deep within the labyrinth...



...and steps back again.



That's it. That's the entire fifth floor of the Labyrinth. Behind that door, Dark Sol awaits us. Once we see that mural, pressing "up" to proceed will take us to the final boss.

We have a few things to accomplish before that, however.



Back outside, the NPCs have new things to say again. This is the last time the dialogue changes, and most of them want us to know we have their full support.



MINISTER: It grieves me to know that you were forced to take your father's life.
Avenge your father, SUE. Bring us the head of Dark Sol!

Will do!

Or whatever is left of it when I'm done, anyway.

VYRUN: I admired your father. He will be sorely missed.



TRISTAN: SUE, your father was like a son to me.

then stop trying to fuck me over god damn you man

XERN: It saddens me to know that my disciple, Melvyl caused Mortred's death.

THEOS: My condolences to you, brave knight. But don't let it get you down!

"Don't let it..." I'm beginning to hate Theos as much as I hate Tristan.

PRINCESS: I know I should've kept quiet. But I felt that my father should know.

...he is the king, I guess.

PRINCESS: I realize the grief that you feel from taking your father's life.
But what you did was necessary and you should not blame yourself.
Your father was a fine man. He was but a victim of the Darkness.
And I won't have anybody thinking that he was a traitor to the realm!
I...I think I'm going to cry!



Smooth.

THEOS: Edward asked me to present you with this VIAL OF TEARS.


...god DAMN.



Check the money.

Once all the junk is gone, I'm buying back the magic rings.

All of them.



And this.



And finally we get the VIAL OF TEARS.

THEOS: Edward also told me that the tears of the Princess would serve you best.

but they barely even know each other

why



Here is the vial...


I think this can only be used once.

...and Milo's analysis.

He is right; it's a one-use item, but once will be enough.



It turns out someone at the castle _{god damn you to hell Tristan} can't keep quiet and the news has spread all the way back to town.

Mrs. VIK: Listen, dear! There was nobody prouder of Mortred than SUE.
The poor boy. Having to fight his own father and all....
You wouldn't have done half as well in his shoes, Mr. V.!

She's right about that, but...

OLD VIK: Hold your tongue! Mortred's loss will be felt by all this day.

...Vik is in full asshat mode and won't listen.

Mrs. VIK: Don't let what happened get you down. After all, it wasn't your fault.

Most of the people are pretty supportive, though.

Mrs. MYST: I really am sorry to hear 'bout Mortred.
Such a fine man, he was.

Mr. BRAX: Oh dear, I'm sorry. I didn't know. Poor Mortred.
Look on the bright side. You freed him from the clutches of Darkness!

Mr. Brax is the best dad in the country after I killed mine .

DAI: I am truly sorry for what became of your father.

Edward just repeats the crap about the water spirit.

DYAN: Brave Mortred's death will be mourned by all within the Kingdom.

And that's it.



"You're still a horrible person, but I wish you all the best! _Asshole."

Well excuse me, Vik, I hope you'll be happy to know that I'm never spending any more money at your place again!


Mithril Sword (125 WF), Light Armor (80 AF), Light Shield (50 AF), Lighthelm (40 WF)
Total: 309 WF, 230 AF

Sue's AF finally beats Milo's! ...because Milo doesn't have a mithril shield.

(Even without a new shield, Milo will eventually overtake him due to better level-ups in that area if you keep at it long enough.)


Super Flail (31 WF, THREE HITS), Mithril Armor (68 AF), Madu (20 AF and 15 WF), Mithril Helm (32 AF)
Total: 160 WF, 220 AF

SUPER FLAIL. And a Madu. Milo is ready to bash some skulls.


Demonstaff (20 WF), LightRobe (44 AF), Mithril Shield (40 AF), Mithril Hood (26 AF)
Total: 112 WF, 251 AF

It's not as if Pyra is ever going to attack physically again, so why not?


Next up: ENDGAME.