Olberic’s second chapter will take place in Victors Hollow, which is found north and slightly west of S’warkii. You might have already visited the town prior to this, since the Hunter secondary job shrine was fairly close to it, but if not, then some directions will be given. Start off by exiting S’warkii to get to North S’warkii Trail, then head west-southwest to West S’warkii Trail. From here, look for the signpost that will take you to North Victors Hollow Trail, where you can simply head west to arrive at Victors Hollow.

Exploring Victors Hollow¶

At the entrance to the town, there will be a NPC standing by the stairs that has some nuts to steal/purchase. West of that and down some stairs, you will find the Provisioner and tavern. The Listless Gladiator (the one who offers a Side Story) has a Knight’s Sword on him that can be bought/stolen. Note that the reputation restore cost is 10,000 Leaves in Victors Hollow, so be careful not to spend too much. North of the tavern, up some stairs, is the inn and to the right of the inn is a NPC with some goodies. Both items are fairly nice, but look at the Robe of the Flame for its excellent stats.

There is a woman blocking the door to the chapel on the western side of town, but she has six strength and there’s nothing worthwhile inside (the chest contains a Heavy Coin Pouch and the kids have nothing important). Head north now, to the Arena Gate area to find a bunch more people from which to pilfer. There is a dungeon, called the Forest of No Return, to the southwest up here, but this place is very dangerous and should be avoided right now. The NPC standing near this exit, though, holds an Imperial Lance.

There’s another NPC blocking a house here, but as before, this one has a strength of six and is only weak to elements; the chest inside only contains a Silver-filled Pouch and the NPC has nothing good. On the right side of the Arena Gate will be the equipment shop, with more NPCs hanging about here. Estadas has the Divine Blade, which is nice but not as good as the Knight’s Sword, if you grabbed it earlier. The Spectator in front of the shop has a Bear Cleaver, while the three people to the left will have a Victor’s Spear, Shadow Bow, and Magus Knife.

Head into the Arena now to find not much, with only a single NPC and a save point. There are two chests, though, in the side rooms. The left room has an Inspiriting Plum, while the purple chest on the right contains a Dark Amulet.

Arena Aspirations¶

There’s a total of four Side Stories to be had in Victors Hollow, but you will probably only be able to complete three of them. You will find this NPC in front of the tavern in the lower portion of town. He has fought countless battles, but his love for fighting has waned. However, some child has made him his hero, and he wants to dissuade the child from following in his footsteps. This quest is rather simple, since you just need to find the Doting Aunt to the west of the Listless Soldier and Inquire/Scrutinize the Father and Fighter information from her. Share this information with the soldier and the quest will be over.

 

A Promising Venture¶

Journey to the Arena Gate area and talk to the NPC near the top, who seems to have gambled a lot. The person made one more bet and wants you to check on the fighters, Estadas and Mont d’Or. Luckily, both are in the Arena Gate area and are easy to find. You will need to Inquire/Scrutinize both of them to get information on their conditions. Estadas is found along the fence south of the equipment shop, while Mont d’Or is found near the exit to the Forest of No Return. Once you have gotten the conditions of both, return to the gambler to finish.

 

Ashlan the Beastmaster (II)¶

Ashlan is back again and can be found west of the equipment shop, at the top of some stairs. He is still looking for the snake that possessed his father and found a sword with the name of Snakesbane that’ll help in defeating it. However, the person currently in possession of it refuses to give it to him. The person with this sword is literally right before the entrance to the arena in the Arena Gate area. You can either purchase it with Tressa, although it costs a pretty penny, or steal it with Therion. Once you have acquired the Snakesbane, hand it over to Ashlan to finish the quest.

 

Olberic’s Second Chapter¶

Alright, with those out of the way, it’s time to continue with Olberic’s second chapter, so head to the tavern and begin it. Olberic came to Victors Hollow to find the reason for which he wielded his blade, with an extra motive to find Earhardt, the man who had betrayed their liege and king. Olberic learns of the arena from a barker, with the very same Gustav, the Black Knight, participating in it. To question him about Earhardt, Olberic must find a way to speak with him. When you are in control, head to the southern section of town, where a scene will take place.

This Cecily is a promoter and seems to have found a way for you to participate in the tourney. She suggests that you challenge a former champion to a duel, out in the public, which should catch the attention of the organizers. Upon getting control, you see two green markers on your map, one immediately to your west and another to the east. Approach either one of them for a quick scene, then you’ll be able to Challenge them. Note that you can use Inquire/Scrutinize to get an edge on them, as you will be able to discern some of their weaknesses.

The fighter to the west is weak to spears, bows, wind and dark, while the one to the east is weak to swords, daggers, fire and lightning. Depending on your Olberic, you already have a sword and spear, so breaking either of them will be easy. You will need to defeat both of them, who pack a little bit of a punch, but don’t have as much HP as normal six-strength NPCs do. The best course of action would be to break them, then do a fully boosted Cross Strike, as that’s a powerful skill.

Another scene will occur after bringing both NPCs to their knees, with someone named Victorino showing up. A famous bounty hunter and former tourney champion, you won’t fight him right then and there, but in the plaza (Arena Gate area). Save your game, rest up and head up there to find a crowd has formed around Victorino. Like with the lesser opponents before, you can Inquire/Scrutinize to find out his weaknesses, so you can prepare for the fight.

MINI-BOSS - Victorino¶

Unlike the Challenges earlier, you have your full party against Victorino, who is accompanied by two Retainers. They aren’t too tough and are weak to swords, daggers, lightning and dark. In fact, if you have a Scholar in your party, you can break them with a Lightning Blast on your first turn. All of your enemies in this battle can use Battle Rage, which hits the entire party. The rest of the attacks, from both, are single target physical ones. Victorino is weak to swords, daggers, wind and dark and shouldn’t really take too long to defeat.

With Victorino losing, you take his place in the tourney. In fact, you are asked if you’re ready for the tourney right after, but you can say no to make any more preparations. When you’re ready, speak to Cecily again and tell her you’re good to go. After an introduction to the other fighters still in the tourney, you’ll have a quick conversation with Gustav and then be inside of the arena. Your next opponent will be Joshua, who is in the room on the right, so you can scout his weaknesses by using Inquire/Scrutinize. Speak with Cecily when you’re ready for the next bout.

MINI-BOSS - Joshua Frostblade¶

As with the prior battle, you have your entire party along for the ride, and Joshua will be accompanied by two Dapper Duelists. They are weak to daggers, bows, fire and wind, have four shields and around 5,500 HP each. Being fairly easy to defeat, you will be left alone with Joshua not long into the battle. At the beginning of the fight, Joshua will be blocking his weakness to fire, meaning you won’t be able to use that to bring down his shields. However, his other weaknesses (axes, staves and light) aren’t blocked, so he is susceptible to them.

Joshua’s attacks actually hurt a bit more than Victorino’s, with Prelude to Romance hitting twice on a single character. Unrequited Retude will hit everyone in the party for some nice damage. Whenever you defeat both Duelists, Joshua will likely trigger “I will not fail you, my love!,” which basically gives him two actions per turn. He will also start using Rhapsody of Love at this point, which hits a single character and can inflict Confusion. Joshua shouldn’t take too long to go down.

Back in the lobby, you’ll need to get ready for your next round, which happens to be against Archibold the Crusher. He happens to be in the room on the right and just like before, you can discern his weaknesses by using Inquire/Scrutinize.

MINI-BOSS - Archibold the Crusher¶

As the reigning champion, you’d expect Archibold to be strong and he is, with him being accompanied by two Disguised Duelists. At the very beginning, Archibold will protect two of his weaknesses and automatically gain a dark aura, without using up his first turn. This will mean he’ll use Champion’s Cleave on his first official action, which deals good damage to the entire party and lowers their physical attack. To open up the range of weaknesses for Archibold, you will want to deal with the Duelists first.

They only have physical attacks (single target ones) and are weak to axes, staves, fire and light. Archibold, besides the opener, has access to a few more skills, which are physical. Overhead Bash only hits a single target, but it can inflict Unconscious, while Whirling Blow just hits all of your characters for moderate damage. Archibold, himself, is weak to daggers, bows, ice and dark. If you have a Merchant with Hired Help, you can use the Mercenaries to help boost your defense.

That’s one more fight under the rug, which leaves the final bout with Gustav, the Black Knight. Back in the lobby, you will find Gustav sitting in the room on the right and if you take a look at his items, you will see Gustav’s Shield. Note that you will be rewarded with one upon winning the battle, but this is a chance to get a second one if you wish, as the shield is very nice without the negative evasion most shields have on them. You can also use Inquire/Scrutinize on him to find out his weaknesses, as with the other opponents. Speak with Cecily when you’re ready to fight.

BOSS - Gustav, the Black Knight¶

As with the previous battles, Gustav will have two helpers in battle, which are Shield Wielders. They are a little more meaty than the previous goons, sporting five shields and close to 8,000 HP. Luckily, all of their attacks are physical in nature, so getting a physical defense buff will help a lot in the long run. They are weak to swords, staves, ice and wind. All of their attacks hit one person, but Extreme Charge can cause the Unconscious ailment, and Shield Bash will increase their own physical defense. Note that Gustav’s weaknesses are all protected, so you will need to defeat the Shield Wielders before you can start decreasing his shields.

As for Gustav himself, he will begin the battle by taking note of the battlefield, which increases the number of actions per turn to two. Thankfully, this takes the place of having an ultimate attack, but things get hairy later on when he can increase the actions to three at half health. You might see that some of his attacks are similar to the Warrior’s own, such as Level Slash (hits all characters) and Cross Strike (hits a single target). In addition to this, he can use Triple Strike to hit a single member three times and Black Blade can inflict the Terror ailment.

His multiple actions per turn will really be a burden after he recovers from a break, as they will be one after another. So, you want to make sure that your party has tip-top health before Gustav recovers, though, as recovering from that might prove troublesome. Gustav is weak to spears, axes, bows, fire and dark. Without an ultimate attack, you don’t have to worry about timing a break, so you can do that whenever, but preferably when you have some BP stored up. Gustav should go down in no time, winning you the tourney.

After the bout is over, Gustav says to come by his room at the inn to have a talk about Earhardt. When you approach the front door of the inn, he will speak about Earhardt’s true motive in joining Hornburg’s military. Gustav tells you that you’ll find Earhardt in the desert town of Wellspring, so exit the town to the east and this will bring an end to Olberic’s second chapter (as well as the entirety of Chapter 2 if this is your last story).