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Update 34: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire
I really wish the others would stop complaining about the magma. It's not that bad to walk through.
I don't even have feet anymore you crazy lady! You can even see the bone sticking out!
Here's another one way passage.
That worm isn't chasing after us.
I don't know if this one is even interested in doing so.
Hmm, must have fallen asleep.
Oh good. We can sneak past it-
Let's kill it!
What? Why should we-
CHAAAARGE! 
WHY!? I thought I was finally on a team with no crazy people! ...Not counting the kid.
Oh Sidney's rather levelheaded most of the time.
Just don't get him talking about monster hunting or he gets... excited, to say the least.
Your guts are gonna paint the walls uh, even redder when I'm done with ya! Hee hee hee!
Sidney's supposed to be the king of physical damage, but the Jolly Roger just made Scott way stronger than he was supposed to be.
Go, Mr. Elephant!
You... You did your best.
Animals really aren't a good way of dealing damage. They're just for inflicting ailments.
That fight was also nothing special. Though it gave Fang enough exp to level up.
Beast Soul now increases Fang's animal's HP by 30%, their ATK by 50%, and their DEF by 30%.
Another one way passage.
Here's that Mud Lurker's chase path. Just keep heading left at daytime.
Hey, isn't that the branch that girl wanted?
You remember the request you accepted to bring a shining branch for a rich girl... The branch she wants must be from this strange tree before you. You can try to break off one of the branches to bring back for her.
I believe so. Let me see if I can just break this... ngh! There we go.
You reach out to the shining blue branch and carefully break it off at its base. Curiously, the branch still shines, even after being broken off. You wrap it up carefully. You have now completed Belle’s request! All you need to do now is return to the bar. ...You silently give thanks to the tree before leaving this place.
Stegosaurus
HP: 628
TP: 94
STR: 33
VIT: 32
AGI: 21
LUC: 22
TEC: 26
Attack Type: Pierce
Exp: 2082
Item Drops:
-Drop 1: Stegosaurus Fin - 75% Drop Rate. 1 needed for Bone Shield (Shield.) 1 needed for the quest Messages from aeons past II.
--It plays a role in regulating body temperature.
-Drop 2: Predatory Fang - 20% Drop Rate. 1 needed for Falchion (Sword.) 3 needed for Stonard (Item.) 5 needed for Oomiyari (Spear.)
--Once plunged into its target, it never relents.
-Gold: N/A
Description: An herbivore saurian with a unique dorsal fin. It’s cowardly, but uses its fin to attack when angry.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 75% Strike: 100% Pierce: 75% Fire: 125% Ice: 125% Volt: 125%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 122% Confusion: 122% Plague: 50% Poison: 100% Blind: 122% Curse: 100% Paralysis: 100%
Bind Resistances: Head: 50% Arm: 50% Leg: 50%
Other Resistances: Death: 100% Petrification: 100% Stun: 100%
Skills:
Great Spike: Uses the Legs. Deals 150% Pierce damage to a single target. Adjacent targets take splash damage. (70% of what the intended target took.)
The Stegosaurus is the strongest monster on this floor, and one you should be cautious around if you don't have any ways to deal with it quickly. Elemental attacks can take it down pretty fast. One saving grace is that they almost always appear alone, which makes them pretty manageable. And they take a while to take down thanks to their huge HP pool.
And look at Scott go! He did more damage than Asteria! Also, the Stegosaurus is resistant to Pierce attacks and weak to Ice attacks.
Hoplites can make them far more manageable to deal with.
If you're prepared, there's nothing much to them.
More inaccessible shortcuts.
And one that we can open up. But more importantly...
We've reached the Submagnetic Pole! Oh, and we can enter the Deep City from any Submagnetic Pole from now on.
We should be able to enter this Stratum from Armoroad instead of having to walk from the Deep City every time.
Thank goodness. Anything to make things easier on my feet.
Kind of weird how we ran into this one so late.
And let's turn in that branch quest.
Welcome back! How did it going?
We got the branch! See?
Oh, so it really exists? So this is what she was talking about. So shiny... I am sure this will make Belle happy! Maybe a knight on a flying horse will come for her! ...I doubt he’d be able to take her away, though.
What are you talking about?
I mean, Belle’s lived such a sheltered life that she weighs as much as a bell tower! She’ll probably have to lose some weight before she can even get out of her room... Hahaha! Well, this is definitely what she asked for. Here is your reward!
And now we can use all the elemental forges. Which are completely useless if you don't use regular attacks.
Anticold reduces Ice damage by 48%. Handy, but I need this skill to be able to completely nullify attacks pretty soon.
Charge provides even more power for Sidney. Before heading back to the Labyrinth, I stop by Napier's Firm to drop off some materials and unlock some new equipment.
The Fire forges are completely pointless for a Zodiac. Pass.
This provides a 20% resistance to Fire attacks. I'd buy this, but I'm need to save money for all the Madoras I'll need for the Stratum.
The Stab Charm provides a 30% resistance to Pierce attacks.
And interacting with that Submagnetic Pole enables us to go to the 3rd Stratum from Armoroad.
Here's another Mud Lurker.
And its chase path during the day. If you're exploring during that time, you want to lure the Mud Luker to the bottom of the hallway, and then move around to the top path, so you can slip past it.
WAH! How did it surprise us? We just walked towards it!
I suppose it saw us coming and prepared accordingly.
And this something that got taken out of the later EO games. You can get blindsided or get a preemptive strike even if the FOE doesn't walk into your back, or you don't walk into theirs. EO4 actually completely took out the ability for FOEs and bosses to blindside you for some reason. Millennium Girl gave that ability back to them, but only when they walk into your back.
This one goes down pretty easily.
More shortcuts back.
That's a pretty big ant. I wonder if-
Don't you even think about killing it! Remember what Missy told us.
Oh yeah. That's the thing that likes those P-fruits, right?
It doesn’t seem to have noticed you. Its antennae wave as if in search of something. You remember the request you agreed to do concerning the fruit that the ants like. This ant might be in search of that fruit right now. You can follow the ant if you wish.
Yeah. Maybe we can sneak behind it and-hey. Put the crossbow down.
Oh fine.
You can't really catch up to the FOE. All you can do is follow it.
Could there be something in this tree? You take a step closer to get a good look.
Hey, I think those are the P-fruits!
Erm, that's great, Fang. But I think there's something else we need to worry about for the moment.
Now can we kill it?
...Yes Sidney. Go crazy.
As you hurriedly draw your weapons, the enraged ant attacks!
Pomona Taker
HP: 813
TP: 400
STR: 29
VIT: 20
AGI: 28
LUC: 28
TEC: 30
Attack Type: Strike
Exp: 1396
Item Drops: N/A
Description: This worker ant collects the legendary Pomona fruit. Their nest is thought to be nearby.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 100% Strike: 100% Pierce: 100% Fire: 150% Ice: 100% Volt: 100%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 100% Confusion: 100% Plague: 100% Poison: 50% Blind: 100% Curse: 100% Paralysis: 50%
Bind Resistances: Head: 100% Arm: 122% Leg: 100%
Other Resistances: Death: 100% Petrification: 100% Stun: 100%
Skills:
Sticky Acid: Uses the Head. Lowers the entire party's evasion by 50 for 4 turns.
Throw: Unusable skill.
There's not much to these things. But generally, you want to kill them quickly. You'll see why in a bit. Don't worry about Throw. This version of the Pomona Taker can't use that skill at all.
Ugh, how disgusting.
Okay, that's taken care of. Now just what were you looking at?
You really shouldn't have trouble with these.
No mistaking it. This has to be the Pomona Fruit.
Okay. I'll climb up and go get some for our client.
These beautiful, silver fruit must be the Pomona Fruit the client was asking for. Cassandra climbs up the tree and begins picking all the fruit in reach.
Ah, there we-hmm? Everyone! Look over there!
Suddenly, Cassandra notices something and yells down to the rest of the party.
It seems that more ants carrying Pomona Fruit are moving on the path ahead. You can take the fruit you have now back to the bar, or pursue the ants for more.
Say... Think we'll get a bigger reward if we take back even more of those fruits?
Can't hurt to try. Let's go for it!
Now this is where a curve ball gets thrown in. There's 3 Pomona Takers, and they can only move one tile every 2 turns. The first two will go after you, while the last one will try to escape through a secret passage. In order to get the maximum reward, you must kill all 3 Pomona Takers before they reach the red arrow. Otherwise, they'll phase into the wall and you'll have lost your chance. This is why you want to kill them quickly.
Fortunately, I manage to kill them all in time.
Your backpacks are straining with the fruits of your labor. The client will be happy!
Ha ha! What a haul!
There sure are a lot of ants here.
Geez kid, how short is your attention spa-oh yikes! What's with all the ants!?
Your high spirits only last for a short while before you realize something... There is an awfully large number of ants around here. Their nest could be nearby. Still, ant eradication is not your goal right now, so you decide to leave quickly.
We must have wandered into their nest. Or at least, we're close to it.
Maybe we should get out of here before they notice us. And before Sidney gets excited.
I heard that!
Scott gets a level up and gets even more power.
F2 Take Point:
Flame Fruit: 40% Gather Rate.
Moss Strawberry: 60% Gather Rate.
Scarlet Sage: Rare.
Common Gather Periods: 1 to 9.
Rare Gather Periods: 2 to 5.
The other Take Point on this floor. It's easier to farm for Flame Fruits here, but there's a bigger trip that you have to take to reach this place.
Here's another Mud Lurker.
While it might look easy to sneak past, that's only part of the puzzle. The first thing you want to do is sneak past it immediately.
Assuming you didn't kill it of course. I'm probably going a little overboard with killing FOEs, but they're wimps in this game. And they're one of the best sources of exp.
Ether Mastery now provides a 6% damage boost to elemental damage.
Here's the opening to that shortcut earlier. My inventory was getting full, so I go back to Armoroad. Also, I need to turn in that quest.
Now Missy's response and the reward you get will differ depending on if you killed all the ants or not. If you failed to kill all 4 ants:
Welcoming! Did you acquire that rarest of foodstuffs? Hm... So this is a Pom—one of those. It’s hard, and has no particular odor... ...Anyway, I will be sure to deliver it to Espierre! Thank you for your hard working once more. Here is the reward! Well... I am hoping we get to work together again!
And you would only get 1 Madora for your troubles. If you did manage to kill all the ants:
...Not what I expected to hear, but okay.
The rest of her dialogue is the same. But the reward is different.
We get 3 if we killed all of the ants. 
And a nice bit of exp.
I only unlocked one piece of equipment on this trip. While it's not too important to keep your armor updated all the time (it barely has an effect in most cases), for Hoplites, updating their armor somewhat frequently helps quite a bit. Now let's finish exploring the 9th floor.
Oh and here's the nighttime splash screen for the 3rd Stratum.
And right back where we left off, here's the last Mud Lurker.
If you're traveling at day, you can't just take the top path to sneak past the one from earlier. Otherwise, this one will chase you down.
Instead, what you want to do is lure both Mud Lurkers to those tiles, and then walk behind them.
Of course I killed it for the sweet sweet exp.
I think I hear water!
Hoo. A cold drink would be nice at a time like this. But where is the sound coming from?
The cool sounds are too appealing to ignore as you venture through this unearthly heat. You are sorely tempted to search for the source of the sounds...
Let's look around.
You look around you and notice a few places where water may be flowing from. One is a small hole on a mossy rock at your feet... Another is upwards, inside a crack in the wall above you. A third possibility is the large rock a few steps ahead, which may be blocking a spring. After narrowing the possibilities to these three areas, you ponder your next move...
Don't do anything:
I don't think we have enough time to waste looking for a water source. We can drink water back in Armoroad. Let's go.
While fresh spring water would be appealing now, you don’t see it as being worth the risk. You reluctantly decide to leave this place and whatever water it may contain.
Move the nearby rock:
Okay, can you guys help me move this thing?
Erg. It's really heavy!
The entire party works as one to move the rock to the side. Unfortunately, all your hard work went for naught. There is only a wall behind the rock.
Well. That was a waste of time.
Inspect the crack in the wall:
I think the sound might be coming from that crack over there. Let me take a look.
Scott puts aside the party’s bags to climb the wall towards the crack. But just as Scott looks inside, a swarm of bats fly out!
AHHH!
The black shadows fly away, but the shocked Scott slips and falls from the wall!
Ow. I think I broke my keister.
Check the small hole:
You brush off the moss to find the hole is large enough for you to put both hands inside.
There's the water!
Mmmm. Ah! How refreshing!
You scoop surprisingly cool and refreshing water from the spring inside the hole.
And now we have a quick route to the stairs.
I hope the next floor has less magma to step on. I'm walking on nothing but burnt stumps!
My toes fell off a while ago.
Oh quit your whining. If it's really that bad, then we can have Faye take a look at them.
We're done with the 9th floor for now.
Oh great. There's even more of it on this floor!
I think I can hear the sound of my feet crying.
You don't even have feet anymore. None of us do. Except for Asteria.
Wah wah wah. We can keep going. Come on.
Cassandra. I think we all really could use a break. If we keep going at this rate, we're gonna have to use our torsos to walk. Of course I don't have to since I can fly, but you get the point.
Fine. We'll go back. Wimps.
New floor, so let's go back to town to see what the townspeople have to say.
They were happy because now that you’ve discovered the Deep City, they can go on adventures there. So keep up the great work, and good luck investigating those caves!
Did she do something? She’s my sister, and a bit of a fool, as you’ve seen. She’s drawn to the flamboyant and the ostentatious. She has a pretty face, but a shallow mind. Keep an eye on her... I don’t want to see her mismanaging the business on the ocean’s floor.
Is money all you think about?
You really should know the answer to that by now.
Say, have you been checking the message board regularly? The Tidehunt guild is starting to be famous! The Butterfly Bistro is proud to serve you!
Ahhhh... long time no see. Thanks to you guys, I can go off in search of new treasure. So relax, I ain’t gonna cadge anything off ya today. Ask me anything ya want.
How did you acquire that egg?
...Ooh, sharp eye ya got there. This is called a Round Egghell. It belonged to a Dragon Egg. I kinda downplayed it a little, but frankly, dragons are amazing. If ya want one of these, ya gotta avoid breaking its shell. Ya get the picture, right? Don’t tell anyone about it, okay? It’s our little secret!
Where'd you get the scale?
What, this? This is a Red Iron Scale. This one I got when a Rattle Nozuchi dropped it. They’re stuck on real tight, but zap one with a volt attack and the scales peel right off! Try it, you’ll see. Just don’t let anyone else in on our little secret...
Ooh! What about the claw?
I thought you might ask about this one! It’s a very, very sought- after little trinket. They call this a Flame Claw! It’s a flame AND a claw! What more could a man want!? It gets really hot to the touch, though... If you kill a Flame Lynx quickly, you might bag one. Easy, right? Just make sure you don’t tell anyone else... You gotta keep this stuff secret!
Nothing:
Not interested.
Ya wanna hear about this one? Or how about this one? Huh? Ya don’t really care...? ...Suit yourself...
Hey there, it’s been a while. I hear tell that the path to the lava cavern’s been opened. So, seen any Dragon Eggs? The magma makes it a popular spot for dragons to breed their young. Those eggs hatch into Dragon Pups, but if you aren’t careful, they’ll start calling for their mama. Eh, crass explorers who pick on monster kids and get toasted by their parents are asking for it.
Now what does Scott want this time?
Huh?
Oh not you. The other Scott over there.
You are accepting this request? Thank you, as always. This request is from the monster researcher, Scott. Remember the fossils you found before? Scott is thinking those fossils are related to monsters that live in the lava caverns. If he can research those bones, he might be able to fill in gaps in the biological history. So, we are wanting you to get Monster Bones from creatures living in the lava caverns. I hear you can get these bones from Flame Lizards, Cave Elephants, and Stegosauruses. It should be a breezing for you! Go to it, explorers!
What's this about a hot spring?
Are you accepting this request? It was made by Ottie, a geologist in the city. Did you know Armoroad is famous for its hot springs? Ottie wants you to research them. He has a theory that the hot springs’ source is in the lava area of the Labyrinth. Ottie suspects you can find the source on B10F. He wants you to go find it for him. There might be more than one hot spring source. Try looking for them all if you can! We’ll be counting on you to get this done. Go forth, explorers!
Yeah. It's been really tough to go through.
Stay hydrated. By the time you notice how thirsty you are, you’ll be on the brink of death. I’ve fought in high-temperature conditions in the past... I know what a lifesaver water can be. ...Oh, and I also learned how great ale tastes after a long day of fighting.
Now that sounds like a good idea.
I have some fish for you. The boy from the inn was fishing here, and he shared these with me. There’s an old sailor’s saying that goes, “If you want eternal happiness, take up fishing.” Why not give it a try? I can’t promise eternal happiness, but it’s fun nonetheless. After all, what else could bring a young boy like him and an old man like me together?
Hmm. I'll keep that in mind.
It would make an old woman happy if you told me everything you saw and heard there.
Oh. It's a very...
Bright, too, from what I’m told. Even though it’s underground, the rocks give off such light... That doesn’t change the fact that it’s a very dangerous place to be. Don’t let yourself forget that.
I don't think we can ever forget what it did to our feet.
Days like these, I kind of wish I could go back to Armoroad. Sometimes I find myself wishing the Abyssal King would wander in here to buy something...
Why, the Deep City owes its very existence to those technologies that allow us to survive here. We have Yggdrasil’s power to thank for it all. Olympia and even myself rely on it, too. Someday, you’ll see the might of Yggdrasil with your own eyes.
Next time: the 10th floor, and doing that mission the Abyssal King assigned us.o