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Update 43: Race to the Gate
So about that favor I asked you to do...
Ah, yes. We have looked into things and...
As far as the Abyssal King is concerned, you're just taking a reeeeeaaaally long time to get back to him. He doesn't suspect a thing.
Hee hee hee. Then let's give him one hell of a rejection letter!
The hot winds have weathered most of them, but you may still find something useful. The question is, would what you find be worth stopping your exploration to search for...?
Ooh, it's like an archeological dig! We could take these back for researching!
We might be able to make some money if we take these back to Edie.
...Or we could sell old animal skeletons for money. That works too. 
As you patiently search the mound of bones, Akatsuki finds one that should prove useful!
Aha! This may be worth something.
If you are satisfied with your find, you may leave, but there could be more to be had here...
As you continue sifting through the mound of bones, Alice finds one in excellent condition!
Here's a nice one!
If you are satisfied with your find, you may leave, but there could be more to be had here...
As you continue sifting through the mound of bones, Susan finds one in excellent condition!
Ha! Here's another one! In top condition, provided by yours truly.
You decide your search has been sufficiently thorough and return to your explorations.
Now sometimes when you say yes, something else can happen. I'm not sure what triggers it, it might be another stat check. Anyways, if you get unlucky, this can happen.
Hmm? What's that nooOOIIIISE! Everyone! Turn around!
Your absorption in your search caused you to overlook the shadow of approaching monsters! You hastily draw your weapons, but the monsters’ fangs are already bared for the attack!
And then you get blindsided by a few enemies and get nothing for your troubles.
Oh great, another one of those lizard things.
It doesn't look like it's gonna move, anytime soon.
I suppose we'll just have to find another way around.
Dragon Pup
HP: 410
TP: 121
STR: 29
VIT: 28
AGI: 28
LUC: 26
TEC: 34
Attack Type: Pierce
Exp: 1036
Item Drops:
-Drop 1: Pup Horn - 25% Drop Rate. 1 needed for Front Cuisse (Boots.) 3 needed for Sagacity Book (Book.) 9 needed for Stone Charm (Accessory.)
--Highly pliable horn commonly used in crafting.
-Drop 2: Small Scale - 10% Drop Rate. 1 needed for Simple Scope (Item. Must be restocked) and Macabuin (Sword. Must be restocked.) 2 needed for Lantern Shield (Shield.) 4 needed for Cuirassair (Light Armor.)
--Yellow scale that is small and thin, but reasonably hard.
-Gold: N/A
Description: Though young, its power belies its looks. It has a tendency to call on its parents when threatened.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 100% Strike: 100% Pierce: 100% Fire: 75% Ice: 125% Volt: 75%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 100% Confusion: 100% Plague: 100% Poison: 100% Blind: 100% Curse: 100% Paralysis: 100%
Bind Resistances: Head: 122% Arm: 100% Leg: 100%
Other Resistances: Death: 100% Petrification: 100% Stun: 100%
Skills:
Fumes: Uses the Head. Deals 80% Fire damage to the front row.
Call Mother: Does not use a body part. Summons a Mother Dragon.
So now here is where you can encounter these guys properly. Dragon Pups are pretty dangerous enemies if you don't take them out quickly. Fumes hits pretty hard, especially when they get paired up with Flame Lizards. But the most dangerous part about them is the fact that they can call for their mothers, which means that your party has to deal with a Mother Dragon. Kill them quickly before they can do that.
I can't tell if this burning feeling is my glorious radiance or THE FIRES OF HELL! 
Phew! That was close. A few inches to the right and it would have got me.
Gee, lucky yoOOW OW OW!
Fortunately I ended the fight quickly before things could get ugly.
Medica IIIs restores 300 HP to whoever it gets used on. Handy, but it might be overkill at this point.
And here's another new enemy.
Clawed Mole
HP: 424
TP: 122
STR: 35
VIT: 33
AGI: 30
LUC: 23
TEC: 30
Attack Type: Slash
Exp: 1088
Item Drops:
-Drop 1: Soft Skin - 30% Drop Rate. 1 needed for Cuirassair (Light Armor) and Gauntlets (Gloves.)
--Typically obtained from the beasts of the Labyrinth.
-Drop 2: Mole Claw - 15% Drop Rate. 1 needed for Katar(Dagger.) 2 needed for Sting (Rapier.) 3 needed for Tourney Mail (Heavy Armor.)
--Hard and thick, but not especially dangerous.
-Gold: N/A
Description: To compensate for its weakened eyesight, its claws have grown sharper. It enjoys a good prank.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 75% Strike: 100% Pierce: 125% Fire: 100% Ice: 100% Volt: 100%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 100% Confusion: 100% Plague: 100% Poison: 100% Blind: 25% Curse: 100% Paralysis: 100%
Bind Resistances: Head: 100% Arm: 100% Leg: 122%
Other Resistances: Death: 100% Petrification: 100% Stun: 100%
Skills:
Crazy Swipe: Uses the Arms. A single target Slash attack that deals 100% damage and attacks the target twice. Has an accuracy of 60.
Clawed Moles are an enemy that has been in every game in the series. They can hit hard with Crazy Swipe, but the attack is fairly inaccurate. They're not too tough to deal with.
Iiii'm a little teapot, short and stooouut!
Woo! Hee hee hee hee hee!
Iiiii loooove each and errry one of ya.
Hey, what's this pointy thing do?
Alice, STOP!
If someone dies through Instant Death, you get that message.
Yes, Alice just committed suicide. Turns out Kubikiri can proc while confused.
Looks like someone didn't get enough love...
Oh, and while Crazy Swipe is normally inaccurate, that goes out the window if it's paired up with a Trip Mushroom, since Confusion nullifies evasion.
But yeah, most of the time they aren't a threat. Still, don't get complacent while playing an Etrian Odyssey game, because that could spell the end of your party.
Really? Yo lizard face! Out of our way! And quit sticking your tongue out at me! 
Hmm. It seems more interested in blocking our path than moving. Let's just find another route.
What is it doing?
Uh oh. I think this is what that scholar was talking about!
Just what do you-WHOAHOHO!
Yeah, here's it summoning its mama.
H-h-hi there. I-I am Akatsuki aaaand, they were the ones bullying your child!
Oh no. If we're going down, we're dragging you with us!
I don't think that will be necessary.
See? Snow need to worry.
Double level up!
You're not getting away from me that easily!
I start having Alice learn Kagenui, because why not? Most of her usefulness comes from Kubikiri anyways.
Protect Order now has a skill power of 165%.
F1 Take Point:
Flame Fruit: 70% Gather Rate.
Moss Strawberry: 30% Gather Rate.
Scarlet Sage: Rare.
Common Gather Periods: 1 to 9.
Rare Gather Periods: 1 to 5.
Here's the first Item Point on this floor.
Ugh, just look at that stupid thing's face. Just taunting us.
Hmm, it looks like sneak attacks aren't an option.
You're certainly eager for a fight.
Oh, sorry. It's just that being a Ninja is just so fun!
Uh, we may have a problem.
There aren't any alternate routes. Those lizards are blocking our paths.
Ugh, great. I guess we better do things the old fashioned way.
No. That may not be necessary. I've caught a glimpse of them while we were walking around. It seems like they move to those spots from a different location. We'll have to be fast, but I'm sure we can slip by them.
Oh, so it's like a race! Hee hee, you're on! No FOE is gonna outrun me! ...Uhhh. How do we get them to move back?
Maybe we should leave. Besides, our pack is getting full. Let's drop off what we found at Edie's.
The Macabuin is unlocked from the Mother Dragon's normal drop, and a Small Scale that we got from the Dragon Pups. It provides a 6% chance to instantly kill things. I buy one for MEGAQUEEN. Now she can really get to beheading!
The Simple Scope is a terrible and useless consumable. It's description is also horribly mistranslated. I'll show off the actual effects of the item later in the update.
Anyways, I'm gonna reconfigure my Limit setup.
Like so. The reason I'm doing this?
Bosses respawn once you reach the last floor of the next Stratum. So I'm gonna a rematch with Ketos. I'm gonna go after his conditional drop since I'm pretty sure our party is strong enough to kill it in one turn.
Is that...?
I-I'm fairly certain we slayed him! Wh-what's going on!?
Oh, it's simple. He's a ghooooooost!
...I'm sorry, what?
Just ignore her. At any rate, it looks like Ketos wants a rematch with us. Shall we indulge him?
Eh, sure. Why not? Let's send this ghost whale back to the afterlife!
You don't know if he's a ghost!
Hey, anything is possible! I mean the Deep City's full of robots.
But-I-gaaaahhh. Forget it.
Okay, let's-wait what.
Oh no no no! This is not what I wanted my characters to use! Okay, so here's what happened. When I set up my Limits, I didn't go down to the okay button and confirm it. I instead exited out of the screen immediately, because the Limit system in this game is a pretty big hassle to deal with. You have to reassign Limits every time you change up your party, even a little, so it's pretty easy to make that mistake. Unfortunately, this was a big one, and EO punishes those big time.
Okay you know what? Let's just run away, and then build our Limit back up, and try again.
Oh wait, you're not allowed to escape from boss battles. So now I have to finish the fight the normal way.
Yeah, that didn't do a whole lot. If you're wondering why I didn't just reset, my recording setup doesn't allow to save my game at all, so everything has to be done in one go.
Cold. So cold.
See? He disappeared! Therefore, he's a ghost! Undeniable proof!
...There could be several explanations for his disappearance. And I'm not going to talk about the logical fallacies your "argument" falls into.
Hmm. Akatsuki, do you believe in ghosts?
Eh, she does have a point. I didn't believe in robots before, and they turned out to be real. So anything is possible.
Well, might as well make use of that level up I got.
Attack Order now gives a 39% damage boost.
Akatsuki gained a level while I was building my Limit gauges back up.
Takanoha now hits 2 to 3 times and deals 85% damage per hit.
Okay, let's do it right this time. See if you can spot the mistake I made.
Anyways, bosses respawn after 14 days, so you have to rest at the inn for that long before getting another attempt at it.
Hi Ketos!
And I accidentally equipped Hellfire on Akatsuki instead of Faye. Okay, it's not over yet. Hopefully I can still pull this off.
Bye Ketos!
And there we go! Fortunately I got lucky and had all 5 hits activate.
The Tough Membrane unlocks the Calico Sailor, which is the Buccaneer's ultimate armor. Unfortunately, it's completely out of our price range, so I won't be getting that just yet.
Uh, so I've got all these coupo-
No.
Anyways, back in the 3rd Stratum, I make use of this camping site. I bought a lot of tents to use here, because there is something I'm after.
There is something I wish to know about. Why MEGAQUEEN? Out of all the names you chose for yourself, why that one?
Because I wanted something that could easily be remembered once I become QUEEN OF ALL COSMOS! That, and it was the only thing I could think of that would fit on the guild forms. Until Rose insisted that I stick with my birth name. Hmph.
Oh uh, speaking of Rose. Is she your babysitter or something? You two were together when you first met us.
...Yes, she's my caretaker. She's a close friend of my father, and came along to ensure I wouldn't get killed on this whole trip. I... do admit she did a pretty good job of that so far.
Hmm. Sounds like us when we came along with Faye to Armoroad.
Yo everyone! You wouldn't believe what I just saw out there! I found another one of those Pasaran things! Pack up your stuff and get going!
And that's what I was after.
You're not getting away this time!
Pasaran
HP: 350
TP: 300
STR: 26
VIT: 29
AGI: 42
LUC: 43
TEC: 29
Attack Type: Strike
Exp: 30000
Item Drops: N/A
Description: A fluff monster drifting in the magma caves. It’s said to only appear to those with pure hearts.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 25% Strike: 25% Pierce: 25% Fire: 25% Ice: 25% Volt: 25% Almighty: 25%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 5% Confusion: 5% Plague: 5% Poison: 5% Blind: 5% Curse: 5% Paralysis: 5%
Bind Resistances: Head: 122% Arm: 50% Leg: 122%
Other Resistances: Death: 1% Petrification: 1% Stun: 10%
Skills:
Self-Destruct: Uses the Head. The Pasaran explodes, dealing 140% Strike damage to the whole party, disappearing from the map and denies them exp.
Escape: Uses the Legs. The Pasaran flees from battle, denying you exp and disappears from the map.
It's essentially the same thing as the 2nd Stratum Pasarans, only slightly stronger.
Same tactics as before. Charge up, and then wipe it with a Etheric Charged elemental Limit.
After it!
No more games.
To the frozen wastes with you!
Ah, sweet sweet exp. And Alice's Class Skill gives a nice boost to our reward.
Asteria gets a level up on the way to the 12th floor.
Ether Mastery now gives a 25% damage boost to elemental damage.
OFF WITH YOUR HEAD! 
And Susan's new sword lets her get in on the instant killing action.
Okay, your goal for this floor is to race to the end before those FOEs can block you off. This means that you need to spend as little time in battles as possible, or just run away from most of them since they'll just do nothing but waste time.
Go go go! Hurry!
You need to take this lava ride, or you won't be able to outrun the 2nd FOE.
And here's the last new enemy on this floor.
Great Anteater
HP: 595
TP: 123
STR: 37
VIT: 33
AGI: 29
LUC: 28
TEC: 31
Attack Type: Slash
Exp: 1188
Item Drops:
-Drop 1: Long Tongue - 40% Drop Rate. 1 needed for Shoushido (Crossbow.) 4 needed for Nirili (Mace.) 9 needed for Curse Gem (Accessory.)
--Surprisingly coarse tongue used to catch prey.
-Drop 2: Green Algae - 20% Drop Rate. See 2nd Stratum Take Point info for more details.
-Gold: N/A
Description: Its tongue evolved to let it catch prey in the magma caves. It eats ants to replenish stamina.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 100% Strike: 100% Pierce: 100% Fire: 150% Ice: 50% Volt: 100%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 122% Confusion: 50% Plague: 100% Poison: 50% Blind: 100% Curse: 100% Paralysis: 122%
Bind Resistances: Head: 100% Arm: 100% Leg: 100%
Other Resistances: Death: 100% Petrification: 100% Stun: 100%
Skills:
Greedy Claws: Uses the Arms. A Slash attack that deals 120% damage to the front row. Has an accuracy of 70.
Predator: Uses the Head. Instantly kills an ant enemy in the battle, and recovers 465 to 470 HP.
Great Anteaters are interesting enemies. If one happens to be in a battle with ants, it might use Predator to heal itself and kill an ant in the process. Kind of interesting.
But on their own, they don't do much.
I think we wasted too much time getting here.
Should we just leave and come back later?
Nah. Screw it. Let's just kill it. CHAAAAARGE!
Ooh, guess he wasn't expecting us to charge at him!
Poison Dragon
Behavior: Will try to move to a specific tile, blocking off the player's progress and forcing them to fight it if they don't get past it in time.
Aggressive: No.
HP: 3032
TP: 632
STR: 46
VIT: 41
AGI: 32
LUC: 31
TEC: 34
Attack Type: Slash
Exp: 7390
Item Drops:
-Drop 1: Tripartite Horn - 80% Drop Rate. 1 needed for Macabuin (Sword. Must be restocked.)
--Wing that can fell trees by merely brushing past them.
-Drop 2: N/A
-Book: Vigor Book - 1% Drop Rate.
Description: A fire dragon that came to the caves to lay its eggs. Its superheated breath is quite fearsome.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 100% Strike: 100% Pierce: 150% Fire: 100% Ice: 100% Volt: 100%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 10% Confusion: 10% Plague: 10% Poison: IMMUNE Blind: 122% Curse: 10% Paralysis: 10%
Bind Resistances: Head: 25% Arm: 25% Leg: 25%
Other Resistances: Death: 10% Petrification: 10% Stun: 50%
Skills:
Venom Fang: Uses the Head. An AOE Slash attack that deals 80% damage and has a 30% chance to inflict Poison. The Poison ticks for 50 damage.
And here's the Greedy Lizard's tougher cousin, the Poison Dragon. It operates the same way as the Greedy Lizard, only tougher. It doesn't have an Ice weakness this time, so it'll take a while to take down.
Setting up Prevent Orders because I don't want my party getting poisoned. I'm having Alice chuck a Blind Gas at it since it's really susceptible to it.
YEEEAAARR-I can see that's not gonna work.
Stay healthy everyone!
What she said!
Smoke bomb!
Nice! You beaned him right in the-uh, I mean excellent! You have clouded our enemy's eyesight!
It's snow problem!
Ugh, Susan why did you buy her all those pun books?
Simple. I like puns.
Urrrggghhh.
Well it should be dead in a few turns.
OFF WITH YOUR HEAD! ...How was that?
Ooh, you sounded just like Susan there.
Or Alice could just kill it immediately. That works too. I will never find instantly killing FOEs not funny. She had a 3% to 4% chance of pulling that off.
Uhhh, wow. Talk about lucky. I got an instant kill on the FOE and its book drop! Oh and level ups for our party.
Suikyou now provides a 42% chance to spread ailments from one enemy to everyone else. Might as well give Alice some support abilities.
Protect Order now has a skill power of 180%.
Now this floor is a bit unique in that these shortcuts aren't actually shortcuts. They're just a way to get around the Poison Dragons. Going through them is actually slower than just taking the normal path, and won't enable you to outrun the FOEs.
Here are more lava rides.
Looping around to the side enables you take a different path with this one.
And we get a Speed Book for our troubles. I'll save this for later.
Now if you didn't accept the mission from the Senatus or the Deep City, Kujura would block you off here, and tell you to go pick a side. We already did that so we can just head on through.
More lava rides and more treasure.
This is a way back if you need one.
Oogh. Nature sure is grisly at times.
Here's the Great Anteater using Predator.
B6 Chop Point:
Trileaf Stalk: 60% Gather Rate.
Pagoda Branch: 40% Gather Rate.
Poinciana Pod: Rare.
Common Gather Periods: 1 to 10.
Rare Gather Periods: 1 to 5.
Here's the second Item Point on this floor.
Now this is another class specific event. If you don't have a Buccaneer, Arbalist, or Wildling in the party:
Ooh! I've never seen those kinds of fish before!
They seem to be fish. The fire’s reflection on their silver scales is beautiful to behold. Your curiosity tempts you to get a closer look.
If you have a Buccaneer in the party:
Oh I've heard of those. Those fish are basically considered to be good omens. Now be careful not to get too close. They're pretty territorial.
Scott explains that they are fish who live in lava, revered by explorers as good omens. However, they seem to be highly territorial and may attack if you approach them carelessly. Despite Scott’s warning, you cannot help but wish to get a closer look...
If you didn't get the Buccaneer's warning and say yes:
You cannot resist the temptation to get a closer look at the fish and walk up to the lava’s edge.
Hmm, what an interesting speci-MY EYES!
I don't think you have eyes anymore. 
The fish sense your presence and leap up to spew lava at you from between their gills! You wince to see the boiling lava graze Asteria!
Asteria loses 80 HP!
The rest of the party lend their assistance to Asteria and you hastily flee as a group!
Now if you decide to ignore your Buccaneer's warning:
Whoa! Didn't you listen to me? Stop!
Warning or no, you cannot resist the fish’s beauty and move up to the edge of the lava. The fish sense your presence and leap up to spew lava at you from between their gills! The party members cry out as the lava scalds their skin!
Everyone loses 50 HP!
Well that's gonna take a while to heal. Great. Thanks for listening to me.
If you ignore the Buccaneer's warning with a Wildling in the party:
Hey, don't get any closer!
Don't worry! Calm down fishies! We're not here to hurt you!
But Fang anticipated their menace and steps forth, playing a tune with cupped hands. Its calming melody seems to soothe the fish, which return to their graceful movements in the lava. It seems you narrowly escaped. It would be wise to leave before the fish’s mood changes again.
Phew. Thanks Fang! That was too close.
If you ignore the Buccaneer's warning with a Arbalist in the party:
Look out!
The fish sense your presence and leap up to spew lava at you from between their gills! Sidney responds quickly with a precisely aimed crossbow bolt at the lava speeding toward you! Thanks to Sidney’s reflexes, you narrowly escaped being pelted with lava! It would be wise to leave before the fish’s mood changes again.
Bullseye! Hah! I'm such a good shot I amaze myself!
Sheesh. I just wanted to look at the fish. Thanks, Sid.
Eh hee hee. No problem.
If you don't have a Buccaneer in the party, but have a Wildling or an Arbalist, they'll just immediately drive off the fish without your input in the matter. Now if you opt to stay back:
You decide it would be best not to startle the fish, so you watch from your current position. As you do so, you notice that the eyes of the next fish to jump are glowing brightly! That divine light instantaneously salves the whole party’s fatigue!
Ah. How soothing! Great light show, huh?
Everyone recovers 70 HP!
While you were preoccupied by the mysterious phenomenon, the fish seem to have disappeared.
D5 Mine Point:
Corundum: 60% Gather Rate.
Clastic Rock: 40% Gather Rate.
Pyrargyrite: Rare.
Common Gather Periods: 2 to 11.
Rare Gather Periods: 1 to 4.
And here's the last Item Point on this floor.
Now once you open up every shortcut on the floor, they'll actually become shortcuts since you can just cut through to avoid going through all this again.
This isn't actually the way forward, it's just a side path.
I hope you opened up that shortcut earlier, because you need that to take this lava ride south.
And then you can take it to the east.
Oh yeah, this was the point where I remembered that this item existed. So let me show it off.
The Simple Scope's description was horribly mistranslated. It doesn't reveal one FOE on the floor.
There's a note from Edie. Let's see... It says that "Once activated, this telescope will break once you move." ...How useful.
At least it didn't cost us too much.
It actually reveals all of them, but the effect only lasts for one step. Yeah, not too useful. In fact, this item shows up in EO4 where it does the same thing... and the description was copy pasted from EO3. Whoops!
Ooh, now here's a handy item. Amrita IIIs restore all of someone's TP! Now you can't buy any more of these until the post-game, so you may or may not want to hang onto this. This was the last game where they restored all of a character's TP. They got nerfed big time in EO4, where they only restore 200 TP. And outright got removed from the series in EOU.
Anyways, let's actually make some progress.
Ooh! That's a nice bit of dosh.
Here's another campsite. I rest up here.
And another level up for Akatsuki.
Takanoha now hits for 90% damage per hit.
And because I took way too long in getting here, this Poison Dragon is blocking my path.
Out of our way!
I guess this is payback for earlier...
It doesn't look like it appreciated you beheading its brethren.
SHEATHE MY BLADE IN YOUR BOWELS!
I so did not need that mental image.
Anyways, the fight wasn't too difficult.
1% drop rate, my butt! What's with the book drops? Also what am I supposed to do with these? Not really sure who needs more VIT. Oh, and Susan got a level up.
Attack Order now gives a 42% damage boost.
And we're pretty much at the end of this floor.
Ah, greetings Kujura. It is a pleasure to- WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU!?
Past that door is the path deeper into the Labyrinth, protected by the monstrous Gatekeeper. I went in to have a look for myself, but that may have been reckless of me...
Blood drips from Kujura’s clothes as he smiles wryly, his damaged armor hinting at a fierce battle.
That colossal machine... It did something with its arms, releasing a shatteringly powerful light... I avoided the brunt of the blow, but look at me... I’ll have to entrust the rest to you.
We can talk to Kujura again.
Geez. If injuries like those were on a normal person, they would be dead already. Just how strong are you...?
We... We aren't gonna fight the Gatekeeper already, are we?
Nah. Did you see just what that thing did to Kujura? No way we would be able to survive what did that to him. We need a game plan of some kind. Besides, we need to rest up. We pretty much just ran through this floor in one trip. Come on. We'll come back when we're ready.
At this point, I head back and sell some stuff to Edie. This is what I've unlocked.
Panic Guards provide a 30% resistance to Confusion.
We'll see how our guild is doing next time and you can vote on a party to take on the Gatekeeper then.