The ZANDYNE's microburst was ineffective; it seemed only a great deal of physical force would budge it. Ace asked Lars if he could fly him over to the rusted switch. Provided the Composed obliged, the musclehead of the party would slam the flat of his weapon into the switch at full force. With a creak, it receded into the floor. A small light show caught Josh's eye, bringing his attention toward another treasure chest that materialized on the goddess statue's far arm. "I got this, Lars. They don't call me the Master of Faster for nothing!" Josh bragged. The young man didn't have the fastest land mount in the game for nothing!

In a sharp motion akin to stabbing, Josh snapped his knees toward the Beast's sides as hard as he could. With blistering speed indicative of why there was no racing mini-game in the game world, the two soared through the air, landing on the giant goddess statue's left hand. In a fluid motion that made the racer whoop, the electric feline pivoted toward the other hand, landing a precise jump before coming to an abrupt stop in front of the treasure chest. In the real world, such a sudden stop would have whipped him from his perch aboard the masquerading Luxray. Video game physics were certainly convenient at times.

Josh got off his mount just long enough to kick open the treasure chest, inside being another SMALL KEY that would get the party into the upper east wing. "Bingo!" he shouted, raising his find above his head as an "item get" fanfare played.

You obtained a SMALL KEY! This key will open any one lock. You can only use it in this dungeon.

With a series of leaps that were almost like flying, Josh and his electric mount made it back to the eastern half of the third floor. Unlocking the large door, the strong cat heaved it open, a narrow hallway forcing the four to advance single-file.

Beyond was a familiar yet unfamiliar sight. Four icy phantoms similar to the ones they had encountered on the first floor floated about, each mimicking the movements of one of the party members. Ace stepped forward. "Lars, if you've got a way to protect yourself from fire temporarily, I can wipe these four out in one fell swoop," the musclehead offered. Though his magic capacity was limited, he did have some fire attacks at his disposal. If not, the group would have to solve a much more devious version of the fire pillar puzzle from before...

"Perfect," Ace replied as Belle and Josh stood in positions that would allow the redhead to hit all four of them at once. "I've got some magic up my sleeve, too," he grinned, his hands both glowing blazing reds and oranges. While it wouldn't be as powerful as that of a dedicated mage, it was expected of most characters to have a combination of physical and magic attacks. Instances this high of a level often had enemies that could absorb or even reflect multiple elements, and this game considered physical attacks its own element. It was common for phantoms like these to nullify or even reflect physical attacks.

Ace charged in, the four ghosts breathing FROST BREATH all over him. The shivering almost broke his concentration as black spots appeared all over his virtual skin, representing the frostbite he had suffered. The sensation was more an annoyance than the true pain of real frostbite, as would be the sensation Lars might experience from the flaming explosion of Ace's MARAGIDYNE erupting outward from him. While the Composed was weak to fire, mages also had a tendency to have very high defenses against magic attacks. The four phantoms burst into flames, then vanished into steam. A quick casting of MEDIARAMA from Belle undid most of the damage, but still left the electric knight in the yellow.

There was a lot to process in the east room: four Golurk sliding along a long, wide hall with a large floor switch at the south end of it. At the north end was another sun switch, this one on a wall instead of a floor. While there was a bright column of sunlight filtering in from above, there was not a reflective surface in sight. Both the north and south doors were barred shut.

"I'll get us in and out before you know it," Josh volunteered, kicking the legendary-skinned Luxray up to speed. He ran over the switch, which caused the bars covering the south door to open. They only stayed open for a split second, though; the moment he stepped off the switch, the way forward was barred again. Worse yet, he was surrounded by the four ground-types, each of which were making a STOMPING TANTRUM after being startled by his sudden invasion!

When Lars cursed at Josh, he knew the Composed meant business. The electric feline he rode sprinted toward the opposite side of the long chamber, their momentum stopping instantly as soon as they reached the north wall. In the real world, he would have been seriously hurt; he only did so knowing he could take advantage of the game world's physics.

Then, the COLD WORLD spell went off, the remaining party members feeling like a strong wind on a cool fall day blew around them. Two of the statues disintegrated with a glass-shattering sound; the others were encased in blocks of solid ice. "That's it! Lars, you're a genius!" Josh cried, offering the wizard a high five as he turned his mount around and rode past. He directed the thundercat to push one of the frozen foes around, which took a little more power than he thought. At least the ice didn't slide around! Pushing one of the statues onto the blue floor switch, the south portcullis lowered. "Now let's move, before they thaw!" Little did he know that the Golurk would stay frozen until the four left the room.

As Josh led the way up and around the staircase, he found his mount's movement stopped roughly halfway. "What's holding me up?" Josh asked, looking around. No matter how he positioned himself, he could not progress, despite there being sufficient room visually. He took a look at his map on the way to dismissing his mount, finding that there were two treasure chests marked on the map. "Oh," he sighed before dismissing the "Raikou". Feeling around for their lids, he creaked them open, each containing valuable items.

You obtained a BALM OF RISING! This revives one dead character and restores all their HP. Gone after one use.

You obtained a SOMA! This fully restores one character's HP and TP. Gone after one use.

Without so much as consulting Lars, Josh popped the cork on the SOMA, its sparkling mist energizing him, making him feel good as new. Belle protested at the reckless use of the valuable item, citing how low she was on healing. "Offense is important, though!" Josh argued back. "Lars, you still got one of those TP restoratives? I think our healer back here could use it."

Regardless of Lars' arrangements (and whoever he determined the super-valuable revival item should go to), Josh again led the way upstairs to a throne room-like chamber, this one occupied by another armorsuit-like sub-boss. This one was purple instead of red and wielded twin swords instead of axes, but its attack pattern was much the same as the one on the west wing. Through careful study, along with liberal use of magic, the four were able to dispatch it.

The gate to the goddess statue's left hand fell, a loud thud coming from its direction. Josh took a peek outside, quick to open the large treasure chest that had apparently fallen into place moments ago. He opened it with a creak, excited at what he had found.

You obtained the MIRROR SHIELD! This sacred shield's polished surface can reflect beams of light and certain spell attacks.

The knight took the time to swap out shields before turning around to face Lars, perhaps accidentally blinding him with the sun's light reflecting off his new find. "Well, I know where we're putting this to use!"

Josh squinted as the knuckles of Lars' fist reached and rubbed against his head, making him regret his cosmetic preferences of leaving his head piece invisible. "...I really can't slip anything past you, can I?" he sulked. It was true; Belle was almost completely tapped out. Ace, though, had physical attacks to back them up. If Lars really was concerned, he could have given some of his hoard to one of the two. They had plenty to give to the two party members in need.

"You'll... probably need me to get it, though," Josh smirked, holding the MIRROR SHIELD in his left hand. Returning to the hall where Lars last put the entire room in a deep freeze, all the foes there had been thawed out in their absence. Luckily, there was no need for Lars to take them down again unless he wanted some piddly number of experience points. If he was close to leveling up, then he might. Instead, Josh basked in the column of sunlight on the north side of the room, using his new shield to reflect the light onto the sun switch near the gated north door. It reacted to the light by turning bright, the gate receding into the floor. Within the chest beyond was the only thing it could have been: a SMALL KEY for the door to the west hall they passed up before.

You obtained a SMALL KEY! This key will open any one locked door. You can use it only in this dungeon.

When Josh turned the key into the west side's lock, the chains holding it in place wound back into the large door's corners now that there was nothing holding them. A mechanical grinding noise assaulted the four players' ears, an enormous cylinder of footfall-filled walls the final obstacle between them and the top floor. It would be trivial for Lars to scale the wall, and if he were to allow others to saddle up his rare pet, those, too.

Anyone else would have to start climbing. While there were no enemies to harass them, having pairs of limbs on different sections of the cylinder when it moved would result in a heavy blow, plus additional fall damage if they were high enough up it. Lingering too long on one segment would yield a similar result due to the spiked walls on the sides. Belle pleaded with Lars for another ride on Articuno, while Ace and Josh seemed willing to make the climb.

After getting to the top floor, regardless of method, the challenge before them left him puzzled. Two sets of iron bars blockaded a direct path into a spiral-shaped room to the west, and there were two more sun switches in the room. One was near the north door, with no apparent light sources anywhere near it, and a second on top of what was obviously an elevator platform held in place by four chains. There were mirrors scattered about, all of which appeared to be either embedded in the walls or too heavy to move. The one beyond the bars had handles on its sides, looking like it could be rotated. If their map was correct, there was a second way to access the spiral around the corner. "There's gotta be a light source somewhere around here. Some switch, some secret passage, something," Josh coached.

"It's worth a try," Josh shrugged, raising his MIRROR SHIELD toward Ace. "Hey Ace, mind slinging an Agidyne or something at me?" The reckless fighter did as asked, the knight thrusting his shield arm toward the blaze, angled at one of the sun switches. As the magical material comprising the shield heated to an uncomfortable but not unbearable temperature, it emitted an orange light, discharging the fire attack toward the switch he pointed at. The light from the blaze was simply too diffused to trigger the exotic mechanism. "That didn't work; I think we're going to need a real light source. There's gotta be one around here somewhere..."

Josh's wish was answered; as he turned the corner, an intense, white light blinded him until he turned away from what he found to be a large mirror reflecting a bright beam of exterior light shining through the goddess relief's headpiece. There were several more heavy-looking mirrors around the spiral, each of which could be rotated. Josh and Ace got to work aligning them, the beam of light shining through the bars and into the fourth floor's main room.

On the way back, he noticed his mirror's light casting an unusual shadow. Nearly tripping over something he couldn't see, he turned around to detect what was an invisible treasure chest. Feeling around the object for its latch, he heard the thing creak open, another small idol within seeming floating in midair.

You obtained a SACRIFICE! This accessory will be automatically consumed to nullify one Expel or Curse instant death attack on its bearer. Gone after one use.

Returning to the main hall after that pleasant surprise, Josh shared his findings with Lars as he raised the MIRROR SHIELD at precise angles to bathe the two sun switches in light. "I found another one of those statuettes. If there's two of these, I wonder how much instant death the boss uses," Josh speculated as he reflected light onto the far switch, the door at the fourth floor entrance opening. "You mind taking a look in there while I play with the rest of this?"

Provided Lars agreed to Josh's plan, he would find a small horde of nasties in a sealed antechamber, at its end an ornate-looking, blue and yellow treasure chest. If he were to open it, it would contain the large, golden BOSS KEY.

You obtained the BOSS KEY! Now you can get into the chamber where the Boss lurks.

If Lars were to return, he would find the second sun switch activated and the rest of his companions out of sight. There would be a large, diamond-shaped hole in the floor, suspended chains visible beneath the hole. Were he to peek down it, he would find Josh, Ace, and Belle standing on the large platform, waiting for him, Josh shining his MIRROR SHIELD's light on the goddess statue's face. Reacting to the intense light, the face crumbled, revealing a large door with a golden lock beyond.