Bahamut's second vessel, Leviathan. Its structure is, surprisingly enough, built like a pearl.
Basically, the most important area is at the center, covered by multiple layers—no, "Shell Layers"—like a pearl formed by coating a nucleus over many long years. You could also call it a matryoshka-doll structure.
So where exactly are we exploring inside this gigantic metal whale built like a matryoshka doll? Prepare to be amazed: we're on the inside of the whale-shaped shell.
According to Isana, with the wisdom of the Divine Era, controlling gravity is child's play. Bahamut was supposedly built by literally "shaving away" the birthplace of Divine Era humanity (Did you mean: Earth?), and it's so huge you could practically call it a continent. She said it's easily over a thousand kilometers long, but wasn't Australia something like four thousand kilometers across?
So apparently, even if you were standing upside down on the underside of Leviathan's hull, gravity control would let you move exactly as you would on normal ground. Yeah, I already experienced that a little while ago.
Sunraku: "Hmm... So right now, we're standing on the 'back side' of one gigantic hollow shell?"
HAHAHA. No wonder I can see that weird slope beyond the horizon. That's not a wall, it's the floor. Which means if I ran across these thousands of kilometers and climbed all the way up that slope, heaven and earth would flip around and I'd end up standing on the ceiling.
Sunraku: "To reach the next Shell Layer, we have to defeat the boss monster somewhere in this ridiculously huge area and make it to the transfer gate, right?"
Araba: "Sunraku, I couldn't quite understand the explanation... What exactly does that mean?"
Sunraku: "Find something that looks strong and beat the shit out of it. That's it."
Araba: "I see. Easy enough to understand."
For now, since this is apparently the tutorial Shell Layer, about all we know is the information on the monsters that appear here, including the boss.
Sunraku: "New-Generation Golems, Old-Model Golems, and the boss is a New-Generation Modified Combat Golem... What is this, some kind of golem festival?"
Isana: "In the First Shell Layer, 'Welcome Gate,' I have mainly deployed (displayed) unmanned Workerloids that were once used as labor, so that you may experience the wisdom of the old era in a simple and straightforward manner! As for the New-Generation Golems, I created them using blueprints devised by Conquista Doll developer Dr. Andrew Jitterdoll as reference, with my own interpretation added!"
Sunraku: "Hey, Saina. Apparently that walking jelly over there is one of your relatives."
Saina: "I see. Indeed, the advantages of forming ninety percent of the body from a fluid capable of functioning as a solid cannot be ignored. However, this unit's (my) Intelligence is fluid and innovative. Therefore, it is self-evident that this unit is intellectually superior."
I see. When comparing an NPC with a mob, Intelligence... or rather, the difference in AI quality is definitely important. But whatever material they're made of, Saina's body at least uses something close to human skin... Wait.
Sunraku: "Huh? Your arms and legs are fixed."
Saina: "............Recommendation: Eye transplant (Are you blind?)"
Sunraku: "What'd you say, you bastard?"
Saina: "The three Bahamut vessels, the greatest bases of the Divine Era, vanished into the land, sea, and sky. Each is at minimum a Class IX Object. Therefore, the moment one was confirmed to have appeared, elite Conquista Dolls assembled at the forward base."
Sunraku: "Seriously?"
Well, I had Saina going wild pretty openly during the battle with Siegwurm, so there's no point trying to hide anything now... But I see. So the Conquista Dolls' "original" point of contact is right after a Bahamut appears.
Saina: "Because this unit (I) maintains a link with the Contractor (Master), this unit can investigate Leviathan's interior ahead of the others. Therefore, it is only natural for units of the same model to transfer equipment to this unit..."
Sunraku: "Put that in less flattering terms?"
Saina: "A complete set of spare parts and combat equipment for the Elma-Type. I borrowed (swiped) them."
I don't know which unit number it was, but a moment of silence for the Elma-Type that had both its equipment and spare parts taken away—
Anyway.
Araba: "Sunraku! They've noticed us! What do we do? It looks like we could avoid fighting if we take this path..."
Sunraku: "Don't be stupid. Obviously we're doing reconnaissance in force (blowing them away)."
Judging by the recommended level, there doesn't seem to be any reason we'd lose, and golem-type monsters are one of the few kinds unaffected by Lycagon’s Contusion. At least the Divine Era line of golems are basically just robots, so once they identify you as hostile, they come at you.
Yes, even if it's some weird thing that looks like a jelly drink shaped into a person and made to walk around, if the AI of a super-super-super-super-super-dreadnought ship vouches for it, then apparently that's a New-Generation Golem? A Workerloid? Whatever.
Sunraku: "Hmm... Drop dead, asshole!!"
Araba: "You threw your weapon!?"
No matter how much they get upgraded, those two blades descended from the Marsh Daggers were born under a star that destined them to be abused.
Because of that "achievement," I could only upgrade one of them... but Duxram, Blade of Aspiration was already basically complete ability-wise, so leaving one of the two unupgraded isn't much of a problem.
Araba: "Is it really all right to throw that!? I can tell that's an incredible blade!!"
Sunraku: "Yep. That's Eska=Varallach, Final Blade of Aspiration. If I feel like it, I can even cut magic with it."
Apparently defeating a Treynor Centipede was a bigger deal than I'd realized, because Bilac presented this to me as an evolution branch for Duxram, Blade of Aspiration... To be completely honest, it's a little harder to use now, but it gained more functions.
Having its Durability cut in half is... well, a downside I can basically ignore as long as I land Critical Hits. It does make it a little worse in long fights, though.
In exchange, it gained the same kind of mana-charging ability as Golden Crystal Battle Garb: Exile Cross. The problem is magic... Am I finally going to have to learn some? Magic, I mean.
It also gained resistance to magic, and that's quietly a huge deal. Ice, fire, whatever—as long as it's magic, the damage dealt to the sword gets resisted, which means I can cut through it without holding back.
Sunraku: "Just so you know, my throwing skills in real life are garbage, but in-game I can stick a dart into another dart if I really try. In other words, landing a throwing Critical Hit is easy...!!"
And so Eska=Varallach, Final Blade of Aspiration, thrown like a javelin, stabbed straight into the triangular-prism-shaped machine embedded in the chest of the jelly golem, which was screaming "WEAK POINT!!!" so blatantly that I was starting to wonder if it was actually a fake-out.
Hmm. Even accounting for the monsters here averaging around level 30, it went in awfully easily... Is this thing magic-based?
Sunraku: "Isanaaa, Isanaaa, give me the details."
Isana: "Yes, yes, yes! It's time for Isana Navigation!! That unit over there, which just had its control unit pierced in a single blow and shut down, is the New-Generation Golem 'Technomagigelus,' developed based on Dr. Andrew's theories!"
Techno, magi, and gel. Talk about a name that tells you exactly what it is.
Isana: "Hmm, hmm. So the sword you just threw has the property of 'repelling' Mana Particles. And it isn't an external effect—the material itself does it... Then it's only natural that Technomagigelus couldn't win. We did learn from our previous mistake, so it has resistance to magical interference from outside, but it's weak against effects originating from within."
The drop is... Ah, this gel. Ugh... Well, I guess it's better than slug slime, but still.
Isana: "If you apply it, your resistance to magic will increase! It also slightly activates your epidermal cells!"
So it's a beauty product. Wait, couldn't I sell this?
Thinking about it that way gets me strangely excited... I'm the kind of guy who gets an indescribable sense of achievement from maxing out my money, while also being the kind who wants to fill his inventory right up to its capacity limit.
Sunraku: "Isana, the respawn point is that place that looked like a rest area earlier, right?"
Isana: "YESYES! Beds designed to be the absolute best from a scientific standpoint, guaranteeing you a perfect night's sleep, are waiting for you!"
Araba: "...Wait, Sunraku. For some reason, I'm getting a terrible sense of déjà vu."
Pure Divine Era-made drop items? The rarity looks pretty low, but there's only one thing to do.
Sunraku: "Kukukukuku...!!"
It's material-farming tiiiiiime!!!