Scarlet Hair

I now proceeded once again into Madain Sari. I rushed to Eiko's house, going through the scenes and grabbing the Kirman Coffee and the Survival Vest. The other chest just has a Phoenix Down, and it'll still be there on disc 4, so I left it. Zidane was already set up for the upcoming fight in the previous circuit, so I went straight to it.

I couldn't use the strategy in the guide because I had no way of mastering Distract beforehand due to not getting the Reflect Ring, so I used Zjankku's strategy instead. I managed to get a perfect battle for this one. Zidane went first and attacked, then Scarlet Hair attacked and missed, prompting a counterattack from Zidane. When Zidane's turn came up again, I used Lucky Seven for 7777 damage and the win. I could have gotten by without the counterattack if Zidane had landed a critical hit, which happened once, but the Lucky Seven in that attempt didn't do enough damage. After the battle, Zidane mastered Bright Eyes, Bug Killer, Body Temp, and Distract.

Before going anywhere, I made sure to remove all equipment from Dagger, leaving her with an Air Racket. After a bunch of scenes, Amarant then joined the party. Finally, everyone has joined! I gave Amarant Dagger's spot in my lineup, then left Madain Sari and saved. When I reloaded, I equipped my party as follows:

Zidane                    Amarant                     Vivi                       Eiko

The Ogre                Cat's Claws                Oak Staff               Lamia's Flute
Ritual Hat               Ritual Hat                   Ritual Hat              Lamia's Tiara
Mythril Armlet         Bone Wrist                 Magic Armlet         Bone Wrist
Brigandine              Adaman Vest             Magician Robe       Adaman Vest
Black Belt              Coral Ring                  Power Belt             Madain's Ring
_________________________________________________________
HP+20%                Insomniac                   Insomniac
Protect Girls                                            Auto-Potion
Ability Up
Auto-Potion

I also healed Zidane and Vivi and moved Zidane and Amarant to the back row. I then ran through the mountain path for the last time, ran to the base of the Iifa Tree, and saved. My time is now 05:37:31.

The Iifa Tree

And so I have now reached the Iifa Tree -- possibly the most difficult part of the challenge to survive through. Once Eiko broke the seal, I equipped my characters as follows:

Zidane                     Dagger                      Vivi                       Eiko

Mage Masher           Mythril Rod              (no changes)          Golem's Flute
Headgear                 Lamia's Tiara                                         Feather Hat
Mythril Armlet          Magic Armlet              
Survival Vest            Magician Robe                                       Silk Shirt
Black Belt                Madain's Ring                                        Ruby
_________________________________________________________
HP+20%
Protect Girls
Auto-Potion

I had one encounter on my way to Mocchi, which I escaped from immediately. After reading the letter and saving, I started to head down the tree. I had a total of six random encounters on my way to the bottom. When Dracozombie came up, I followed the strategy in the guide to get Dagger zombified, then cast Life to finish the battle. From that point on I made sure Zidane was fully healed after every battle, but I left Vivi and Eiko knocked out. I also changed equipment a bit, giving Dagger a Mythril Vest and Coral Ring and Vivi an Oak Staff, Magician Robe, and Peridot.

I ran away from all battles as soon as possible, casting Life on Dracozombie or using a Soft on Stroper in those times when Zidane got knocked out. I've found that giving Zidane HP+20% helps more than anything else with his survival. I didn't worry about Zidane's trance gauge because I'm not going to use it, but it still got pretty close to full. On one of my attempts Zidane actually tranced during the forced Zombie battle.                                                                        
When I reached the area just before the lift I switched Zidane's Headgear for a Ritual Hat so I could give the Headgear to Vivi.  I also revived Vivi and Eiko and healed Vivi. The first forced battle then came with three Zombies. I had Zidane use an Elixir on one and Eiko cast Life on another. I then waited for the last Zombie to act before having Vivi use Thundara on my party and Dagger cast Life on the last Zombie. I wanted to make sure the Zombie didn't get a turn when Dagger was the only party member left standing!

For the next battle, I decided to take a risk because my run down the tree was done in only average time. I went straight into the battle without reviving anyone. The Dracozombie got a turn immediately and used Lv5 Death, which was harmless, and Dagger took it out with another Life spell.

At the bottom, I got the treasures and equipped my party for Soulcage. I revived Vivi and Eiko, then removed everything from Zidane except the Black Belt and revived him with a Life spell, giving him 37 HP (important for Lucky Seven later). With that done, I optimized Zidane and gave him the Diamond. I gave Dagger the Fairy Earrings and Stardust Rod. Vivi got the Silk Robe. For abilities, I activated Distract, Man Eater, Counter, and Ability Up on Zidane, and Ability Up on Dagger and Vivi. Finally, I put Zidane in the front row. In the battle, Soulcage went first and used Lv5 Death, which again did nothing. Zidane then stole the Magician Cloak and Eiko cast Life to end the battle. Vivi learned Stop, and Dagger learned a slew of abilities: Ability Up, Reflect, Confuse, Auto-Potion, and Body Temp.

After skipping the FMV, I ran out a short distance on the world map and saved. My Zidane is already set up exactly how I want him for the next fight, so all I had to do next was get to just outside Madain Sari with no encounters, which didn't take too long. I then saved again with a time of 05:24:43.

Mountain Path and Madain Sari

After what happened last time, it seems the RNG is having mercy on me. I got the Oglop card and got to Suzuna on my first try. Before saving, I gave Eiko an Air Racket and removed her Glass Armlet and Sapphire, gave Zidane the Gladius and Gold Choker, and optimized Dagger, then gave her the Stardust Rod and Fairy Earrings. I left Vivi's equipment alone. I also activated Ability Up for Dagger and Vivi, deactivating Loudmouth in order to do so.

Hilgigars turned out to be not so bad, despite how much I hate Lucky Seven. I managed to get through this fight in about ten tries. I actually had two successful battles, but I had an encounter on my way out after the first one. In the battle, Hilgigars opened with an attack against Dagger that missed. I then had Eiko attack Zidane for a guaranteed 18 damage. Vivi then cast Blizzara and Zidane finished with Lucky Seven. As a result of this battle, Zidane learned Man Eater and Auto-Potion, Dagger learned Float, Clear Headed, and Silence, and Vivi learned Slow and Insomniac.

I gained a bit more time by not saving after Hilgigars, but continuing straight to Madain Sari. There's not much to say about this place because it's mostly scene skipping. However, I did not collect the Ore (don't want to change the 3 Ore I have) or the Kirman Coffee because I can get that easier later.

Upon exiting Madain Sari, I saved on the world map before proceeding back to the Mountain Path. It was surprising how many of my attempts on the next part failed because of getting an encounter on the world map. Anyway, I got on the path, grabbed the Ether and the Green Stone, then went to trade in the stones. I then headed back out without saving and toward the Iifa Tree. Back on the world map, I saved halfway to the Iifa Tree with a time of 05:04:15.

Black Mage Village

It took many hours of attempts, but I finally made it through the forest with no encounters. When I arrived at the village, I first went to the weapon store, picked up the Elixir, and bought 2 Stardust Rods and 2 Steepled Hats for use in synthesis. I actually synthesized only one of the Stardust Rods; the other is for me to use later. After that, I picked up the letter from Mogryo and headed left to watch the required ATE with Vivi. Then I went to the inn and watched the scenes.

In the morning, I read the letter from Stiltzkin, then went to the synthesis shop and bought 47 Cotton Robes (finally using up all my Wrists and Steepled Hats), as well as a Desert Boots, a Glass Buckle, a Madain's Ring, a Barette, and a Gold Choker. I'll be using Madain's Ring and the Barette later; everything else is just for some extra profit. Make sure to buy a Mage Masher and synthesize an Exploda if you didn't get the Gladius from Lani.

With that done, I climbed up the ladder to overhear the conversation in the item shop, then climbed down, picked up the 2,000 gil, and went to the item shop. Once there, I picked up the Ether, bought 11 Potion and 2 Soft, and sold all but 3 Ores, all but 1 Yellow Scarf, and all of the following:

Cotton Robe

Ice Brand

Magician Shoes

Mage Staff

Annoyntment

Bronze Armor

Iron Sword

Butterfly Sword

Tent

Glass Buckle

Ether

Echo Screen

Remedy

Phoenix Pinion

Desert Boots

Mythril Fork

Mythril Spear

Feather Hat

With my inventory now cleared out, I asked for the usual and climbed up the ladder to get the Black Belt. I then made one more trip to the weapon shop and bought the following:

1 Magic Armlet

99 Steepled Hats

3 Ritual Hats

1 Leather Plate

1 Chain Plate

7 Mythril Vest

I already have the other things the guide tells you to buy here. With the shopping all done, it was time to leave. I got on Choco and rode back to Conde Petie. I picked up the gil and the Diamond, then got married. :) After the ceremony, I saved in the grocery store with a time of 04:49:28.