Beyond the Beyond: Update 77: Into the Labyrinth (Test of Discipline)

[ladyabaxa]

Beyond the Beyond: Update 77: Into the Labyrinth (Test of Discipline)

There's still been no sightings of Shutat or the stolen battleship. Somehow that entire ship has managed to vanish. I suppose it is a big ocean in which ships sink never to be seen again on a regular basis but the team simply isn't lucky enough for their enemies to succumb to the wrath of nature. Shutat and company are... somewhere. We just can't find them because of plot flags.

Having escaped the machismo (and boredom, a bad combination) within Barbaros Castle the team stands around in the forest wondering where to go next. Suddenly Finn starts digging through his pack.

What are you doing, Finn?
We don't have any other ideas so I'm going back to the Island of Discipline.
Why? Kanaar's not going to leave unless he can pass the trial.
It's not about Kanaar. I want to know what the trial is like.
What? Are you seriously going to press your luck with that thing? We should be looking for Shutat.
We've been all over and there's been no sign of him.
You think we're just going to have to wait until he causes trouble somewhere.
I hate it but yeah.

Rather than walking all the way back to the boat and sailing halfway across the world map Finn uses the Light Orb to warp the group back to Zalagoon.

Hey, Finn! Do you need my assistance?
My brother has apparently lost his mind. He wants to risk his life exploring a tourist attraction.
What?
She means the test of Discipline.
I don't suppose you could talk some sense into Finn.
That's on the Island of Discipline, right? I heard people must take the test alone. Do you really think you're up to it, Finn?
I want to try. That way I can say I've seen what it's like.
I still don't like this idea!
Well if things get bad I'll just leave.
Oh so you'll just stroll out?
What's with you, sis? I can defend myself. Been doing it for a while now. Are you really that worried about me?
Of course I am! Nothing about this sounds good.
Well think of it this way. Win or lose I can tell Kanaar what to expect. If I make it through the king of Barbaros will be more friendly to us.
And that would be useful... because?
I don't know.
You went to Barbaros? What was it like?
Miss Annie almost started a fight!
But half the kingdom was begging for a match.
I promised I wouldn't kill anyone and I kept it.
That bad, huh?
Just stupid.
We have some time to fill you in. Tont I want you to go ahead to Isla Village.
I thought you were heading to the island?
I am. I just realized I should get some things out of storage first.
Okay then. See you there!

After sending Tont to Isla Finn uses his Light Orb to take him and the rest of the team there.

Miss Annie's going with the silent treatment now.
Nothing I say will change Finn's mind.
It'll be okay!
I wish I could share your enthusiasm.

From the storage chest Finn removes the Tempest Sword and all the smoke bombs that have been building up over the course of the game.

For reference here's everything still in the box. Most of it is single use items but there's also the useless Statue of Gaea and the Hammer. Eventually the team will have to pull those two keys out of the box because one of them still has work to do. As for the Source of Defense it's going to gather some dust.

Once that's taken care of it's off to see Tont to send him to Discipline Town. Yes, for those paying attention the teleport in point for Isla is right outside the southern entrance but the companion idle point is on the other side of the village. It's almost as if the developers couldn't decide which was the main entrance!

Yippee! Finn! You'll let me join now, right? I know it's boring without me!
Just in case disaster does strike I'd like Edward to be waiting in the shrine.
Instead you'll get to make fun of all the people too chicken to even attempt the trial.
Aww, I wouldn't make fun of them. I'd just tell them all about my awesome adventurers fighting monsters and collecting treasure.
Guilt trip, eh? Hmm, that might work better.

With that the team can finally return to Discipline Town.

So who is this Kanaar you keep mentioning?
He wants to marry Princess Lorele but the king of Barbaros won't let him until he proves himself.
Did we just get a succinct and precise answer out of Steiner? The world really has turned upside down.
I guess it had to happen eventually but I'm weirded out too.
Don't worry. I'll be as strange as possible next time.
You're just looking for an excuse, aren't you?
Maaaaybe.

Before heading to the shrine the team stops to sell the Demon's Gauntlet.

Where do you kids find all this stuff?
It's probably best if you don't know.
It should go great with that shield.
We're putting it under lock and key.
There is a rather... ominous sort of magic clinging to it.
So are there mages who go out of their way to make this stuff?
Hmm, I suppose there have been. It's a big world after all.
After all the mages who've attacked us some nefarious enchantments shouldn't be a surprise, Finn.
I'm more surprised that anyone would go to that trouble and then lose what they made.
Enchantments don't die with their creators, Finn. Not if they've been done right. That's part of the appeal.

Inside the shrine a few last minute adjustments are made. Finn didn't have enough inventory space to hold all the smoke bombs so I dumped most of them on Domino. After some item shuffling that is rectified.

Here we go. Here's the Yes/No question that I had to say No to before. I suppose it was to be expected that one of these questions would have a real effect on the game.

Some people possess great talent! To be successful, one must develop their talent fully.
Hello again. Despite all my doubts we're back.
Ahh, I remember you kids. It's good to see you again. If you feel you're ready, I'll test you for a chance to develop your skills further. Are you ready for the challenge?
*sighs* I guess we are.

As soon as Yes is selected the rest of the party fans out behind Finn.

Then who leads your party?

Steiner turns to the rest of the party.

Finn is the Great Light! Finn is our leader!
I still don't believe in that stuff, Steiner.
So what? Shutat believes it's real.
Steiner does have a point, Finn.
But does that really make me the leader?
We do follow you around everywhere.
Usually without complaint, too!
Usually...
You want to take the trial, Finn. For the moment at least you're the leader.
Samson and I manage to agree for once.
True. Okay.

Steiner turns back to the master of discipline as if to relay the group's consensus.

Finn is our leader!
Then, Sir Finn, I suppose you wish to be trained.
Sir Finn?
He's moving up in the world already.
Don't get ahead of yourself, Steiner.
Your group seems at odds with itself. Are you sure you're ready for this?
I'm not scared to train. I've been doing it for most of my life.
Then... Sir Finn, please step forward!

When Finn approaches the Labyrinth doors the master of discipline turns to address him. The doors then open.

The door behind me leads to the Training Labyrinth. Anyone who can complete the Labyrinth will gain enlightenment!

While Finn gathers his courage the rest of the team wonders what they've helped push Finn into.

I wonder what enlightenment entails.
If Finn can actually win this we'll get to find out.
Can one test really lead someone to a perfect understanding of themselves though?
It does seem far fetched.
Someone up-selling their attraction? That never happens.
The king of Barbaros seems to think there's something genuine to this.
Who wants to take bets on how long it'll take Finn to run out?
I can still hear you, Steiner! I thought you wanted me to do this.
I do! If you fail I get to collect bets. If you win we get to find out if this stuff is real.
Gee, thanks.
I've been trying to tell you this is foolish and you just wouldn't listen. Now you care?
Finn's stalling.
I'm not stalling. I'm just readying myself. Can't go in unprepared.
Have no fear and enter!
But fear is something Finn's got in spades.

Finn's choice is made. He's going forward into the Labyrinth.

If, on the other hand, he approached the rest of the team, that would mean he had changed his mind and didn't want to take the trial.

Then I guess you are not yet confident enough. Come back when you gain confidence!

The doors then close and the team reforms.

But that's not what Finn came here for! He enters the Labyrinth. The first thing that happens when he gets inside is that I swap the Rune Sword for the Tempest Sword. Honestly I'm a bit surprised by how high Finn's attack power is with the downgrade. It only drops from 116 to 108.

Marching forward Finn finds an open chamber. There are purple tiles embedded in the floor in a ring and a staircase up.

Huh? Strange place. I must be underground.

Moments later a Minotaur wielding a mace approaches menacingly.

Uh, hi? I don't suppose you're here to help me are you?

No? Well I guess we've gotta fight then.

Finn has 108 attack power and yet still only deals 18 damage with a normal attack. I've said before that attack power has diminishing returns and well here's the demonstration. The alternative is that everything has sky high defense and that doesn't seem to match the rather low damage that the team still deals to starting tier monsters.

I guess I shouldn't be too broken up about it since enemies seem to be under the same limitations. All that said solo-Finn getting double-attacked is not good. That's most of his VP gone in a single round.

Ow! Rude!

This is so weird not having anyone with me. I'm so used to having Steiner flying around.

Fortunately this encounter ends in the beginning of the next turn when Finn busts out a critical for 43 damage and kills the Minotaur on the spot.

Afterwards Finn heals himself back to full VP with Heal 2. He doesn't have the MP to keep that up for long though.

Oh and a small Screw You! from Beyond the Beyond: the stairs require the player to walk around to the front in order to walk up them. If you're used to older games that usually don't have that distinction (in other words you can walk onto the stairs tile from any direction) then this is a minor nuisance. It also forces Finn to walk a few extra steps because he hadn't quite maximized the chances of a random encounter and needed some more dice rolls.

It's the little things...

Upstairs Finn finds a yawning chasm and floating rocks wth colored symbols on them.

Whoa! Now this... this has to be magical. Edward and Tont would love this stuff.
...
Where the hell do I go though?

Making his way around what little ground constitutes the floor he finds a purple symbol embedded on the ground and steps on it. That causes a purple ring like he saw on the first floor to flash on screen for a few frames.

Finn continues his circuit up and around the floor to find out what the exact boundaries are. It's like a big U hugging the southern face.

Heading south he sees an orange emblem with a serpent on it. Stepping on it causes a set of tiles shaped vaguely like a snake to flash on screen.

Is that a pathway? I hope it's a pathway because there's treausre over there and I really wanna know what it is!

Finn cautiously steps out onto what looks like an open chasm to find an invisible platform beneath him. This is the Labyrinth's gimmick. The colored emblems activate otherwise invisible pathways. As they only flash on screen briefly this thus becomes a memory test.

Across the way Finn finds a Heavy Shield in the chest. He doesn't have room for it though so he tosses an antidote. Because those are totally equivalent in space needed and weight... right?

Now where do I gooooo? Aaaaah! Umph!

From that platform there are two choices: drop like I did or remember the way back.

Being back on the ground floor means once again facing random encounters. The upper floor disables them which is a nice mercy from the game. Forgetting what one was doing or where one was going because of the high encounter rate is actually a problem. Finn isn't sticking around to fight this Hydra though. He pulled all those smoke bombs out of storage for a reason. Using one is an automatic escape from combat.

The idea for surviving the Labyrinth is simple: go first, escape, live to hunt treasure another day.

Back upstairs Finn starts making headway against the middle area of floating rocks. A second snake emblem is a crucial intermediary step but it doesn't reach the purple emblem floating out to the left.

Where am I even going? To the other side of this chasm? I don't even see anything over there.

I really wish Steiner was here. He could just fly over and back to tell me where I'm headed.

A third snake emblem allows access to a sequestered platform hugging the west wall. Finn had to use the prior snake emblem to reach the wing emblem just a few tiles south of his position in the screenshot above.

At that point Finn couldn't avoid falling because he couldn't backtrack and there are no emblems he could reach. The "tail" of the snake is one tile short of another snake emblem by design. When he fell he hit the upper terrace of the lower floor. The two sections are separated but there's a second staircase up that goes to this floating hunk of rock.

It's a good thing I don't have a fear of heights or this would be really awkward.

Heading to Finn's right across several emblems brings Finn to the above purple ring that manages to completely miss the treasure chest. It does connect with the big U though so at least Finn can escape to start his search again. Only one emblem can be active at at time so stepping on one deactivates the previous one.

Ugh, you've got to be kidding me! Okay... I just have to find another way over here. That's all.

Circling around the chamber again Finn eventually reaches a small outcropping with a treasure chest. Inside is a Source of Power. A Source of Power isn't all that great but I suppose a free level to someone on the team could be useful.

Venturing back out onto an invisible walkway Finn begins trying to find his way to the chest that previously eluded him.

This is so trippy. Is any of this even real?

After some more work Finn reaches this green bird emblem from a purple emblem to the south offscreen in the above screenshot. It finally reaches the third treasure chest but the layout is a little tricky to encourage the player to accidentally fall.

Alright! Now we're talking! Treasure time's comin' up Finn!

A sword? Is that an inscription?

Inside the chest is a Mystic Blade. Finn's inventory is full but the game immediately announces that the blade is critical and Finn must make room for it.

Finn had about half a dozen falls to the lower floor and I did expect more random encounters but since I knew where the staircases were Finn could run to them quickly in a minimum number of steps. He was lucky enough not to roll up more random encounters. All told it took some 7 minutes of game time to complete the Labyrinth. Smoke bombs aren't that useful after this little dungeon so Finn tossed one to make room for his new sword.

Key item Mystic Blade got!

It's so light. Ugh, aagh! My arm!

Finn starts glowing as soon as he accepts the sword.

A Swordsman classes up to a Hero? As if it would be anything else in a Camelot game!

...what just happened to me? Wait a minute. What am I wearing?

Once the class up is complete Finn automatically teleports back to the shrine. With the doors closed behind him this means that any treasure left behind in the Labyrinth is lost for good.

Well done, Sir Finn! You've demonstrated great skill! I'm sure you will now realize your full potential.
Um, okay, if you say so.
Are you okay, Finn? You look weird.

Finn approaches Annie.

I'm fine.
So you've defeated the Labyrinth?
Didn't take you long at all, kid.
It was mostly a treasure hunt and that's something I'm good at.
I'm just glad it's over.
Me too. Wait a minute. Where's Steiner?
He just suddenly took off. Flew out of the shrine.
Why?
I don't know.
Friends of Finn, due to the amount of training you have achieved so far, I will give the worthy enlightenment without the challenge!
What? That's how it works?
Any who think they are ready have but to step forward and be recognized.
So why don't Kanaar and those other people band together? Then only one actually has to pass the test.
Most challengers aren't actually ready to meet enlightenment. They failed before ever setting foot in here.
You make it sound like your test is more a formality.
Discipline begins within. Who seeks enlightenment?

A list pops up with the names of everyone in the group, minus Finn since he's already classed up.

To realize your true potential, look within yourself!

Annie gets first pick becoming a High Cleric.

That... was sudden.
Do you feel any different, sis?
Not really.
That's to be expected. I just bring to the surface what those who are ready to move forward already possess.

Being level 20 is required for a class up. Domino's only level 19 so he gets the game's equivalent of an error message when selected:

Unfortunately, <NAME> lacks the experience necessary. Gain experience and then return.

I could have done some grinding first but then I wouldn't be able to show this off.

You have the guidance you require. Now you must fulfill your destiny.
Why does that sound ominous?
Everything sounds ominous at this point.

With a bunch of class changes it is time to have a gander at the team's stat sheets. There's no stat penalty to a class change so from a min-max perspective it's best to get as many levels in the prior class first. With the way that experience required for level increases it eventually becomes more efficient to just transition. It isn't that big a deal though. The game's (mostly) balanced around Finn going through the Labyrinth at level 20. Without a way to dynamically alter enemy stats this is the only way to do it without hitting the player with a massive grinding requirement.

Steiner hasn't come back. We should go look for him.

Class up sets a character at level 1 in that class with 0 experience. That's yet another reason Finn was fleeing from battles in the Labyrinth. He got to keep any money earned but any experience that didn't result in a level up was wasted.

He's probably off causing trouble.

Annie's quite the speed demon and has managed to edge past Finn in defense. That'll change quickly as I start dumping cash into post class up gear upgrades. Her MP has been edging up in 1s and 2s per level up. It's actually starting to look respectable but still drains quickly once she starts having to toss out Healing Rains.

Samson's class change includes a presumptive promotion. As a level 1 General his stats aren't all that impressive. He's moved ahead in defense (after much work) but his strength growth has slipped slightly. Beyond the Beyond's stat tables have no relation to the game's plot. Thus we have a character who's supposed to have super strength but whose strength score can easily fall behind kids half his age.

Stop looking at me like that. It's creepy.
*smirks*

Edward went from being a Magician to being a Mage. That sounds more like a horizontal move then a class up. Aren't Mages already Magicians? To be honest I don't care much for the portrait he gets. His eyes are too large for the size of his face and his hair both takes up too much space and looks unkempt. I don't hate the portrait but it doesn't convey the same sort of reserved, careful grooming his prior portrait has.

Feeling a little self-conscious, Sir Samson?
You look fine. Everyone looks fine.
*grumbles*

Domino's less than 3,000 experience from level 20. I didn't plan it like that. The team's trips across the world just sort of managed to leave him short like this and I ran with it. His max VP and LP are still low. Staying in the back row helps but with so many sources of magical damage he still gets beaten up on a regular basis. Hopefully his class up will improve that.

I don't know about enlightenment but this trip has certainly been enlightening.
You're just saying that to get our hopes up.
Ha! I got to see the real power of this shrine without putting my own neck on the line. I'd say that's worth calling enlightening.

Next time on Beyond the Beyond - so, uh, where is Steiner and what trouble is he starting?

Update Seventy-six | Index | Update Seventy-eight