Cyrus' storyline begins in the middle of one of his lectures, in the walled city of Atlasdam. He'll give you a breakdown of the history of Osterra. Once Cyrus is done chatting and leaves the classroom you can use him to have a look around the castle of Atlasdam.
Head down the main stairs and you'll see some likely jealousy at work. Cyrus seems to be popular with the ladies. Once everyone's done chatting, check the west side of the castle for three chests. They contain an Herb of Awakening, an Inspiriting Plum, and a Healing Grape. Then check the east side of the castle for one more chest containing a Thunder Soulstone.
Head out the front door of the castle and head south, into Atlasdam. Let's have a look around.
- To the left of the first intersection is the Library. This is your next major destination, so we'll skip it for the moment. To the right is the Royal Academy, which figures into the trip to the Library. No one inside is interested in talking to you.
- To the south one screen is the main commercial area of Atlasdam. The Provisioner is on the right, the Armorer is on the left. A few Healing Grapes never hurts for getting through the scenario. You can either outfit Cyrus with a nice weapon (Quartz Rod) right off the bat or spend less on various pieces of equipment; making him more well-rounded will probably be to greater benefit.
- To the east is the entrance of Atlasdam, and right beside it is the Inn. Worth noting, but no point going to either right now.
Once you're done looking around, head into the Library. Cyrus will be granted access to the Special Archives, but he'll notice that the tome he wants is missing. Cyrus will be called to the Royal Academy meet the Headmaster, Yvon, before he can search for too long. Yvon upbraids Cyrus for one of his papers and kicks him out.
Head back to the Library. Mercedes, the Librarian, confesses that she can't find the tome Cyrus wanted. He'll need to track it down himself - and his Path Action will let him do just that.
Scrutinize
Cyrus' Path Action is Scrutinize. Approach a NPC who can speak and Cyrus will inspect them to learn more information. Scrutinize can be used to complete Side Stories, or just to learn more about certain people. In this case, he can use Scrutinize to locate the missing tome. Try it out on the Guardsman just outside the Library to get an idea of how Scrutinize works.
You can wander around Atlusdam and Scrutinize anyone who speaks. Many of them will trigger a small, sparkling item to appear nearby, which will help you build up Cyrus' starting inventory. For the purposes of the plot, however, you only need to Scrutinize the following four NPCs:
- The Guardsman outside the Library
- Mercedes, the Librarian inside the Library
- Russell, the man standing to the right of Mercedes in the Library
- Headmaster Yvon, still in his office in the Royal Academy
Check all four and Cyrus will ponder who has keys to the Archives, which would be the Headmaster and the Guardsman. The Guardsman's key was used to unlock the Archives. Cyrus will conclude that Russell was responsible for accessing the Archives. He needs to follow the slimy scholar into the Subterranean Study, beneath the Royal Academy.
Subterranean Study
The entrance to the Subterranean Study is at the base of the Royal Academy. It's a dangerous spot, and Cyrus will need to contend with the following monsters while he's on Russell's trail:
- Fire Sentinel - Weak to Sword, Polearm, Axe, Staff, and Ice. Favors fire-elemental attacks, and has lots of weaknesses. Whack it with Cyrus' staff to save SP.
- Ice Sentinel - Weak to Sword, Polearm, Axe, Staff, and Fire. The icy counterpart of the Fire Sentinel. Use fire attacks instead of ice and it's the same fight.
- Ambling Bones - Weak to Staff, Wind, and Light. A little more dangerous thanks to Horrific Claw, which will lock away boosting attacks for a few turns. Beat it around with Cyrus' staff.
- Black Bat - Weak to Polearm, Dagger, Bow, and Ice. They appear in groups most of the time, so Icewind will make short work of them.
- Fire Wisp - Weak to Ice and Dark. An elemental being that's only weak to magic. Cyrus will probably need to take the lead.
- Ice Wisp - Weak to Fire and Light. The same as the Fire Wisp, but flip its weaknesses around a bit.
Right from the start you'll be at an intersection. Take a left to find a chest containing a Healing Grape, then head back east and go north. Follow the path all the way north to find a chest containing an Herb of Clamor, then backtrack a bit and take a left.
You'll come to another lantern-lit split in the path. Straight to the north you'll enter a cave. It appears to be a dead end, though if you walk as far north as you can and then take a left you'll find a hidden path up to a treasure chest. It contains an Inspiriting Plum. On your way back, just before you reach the intersection, check on your right to find a well-hidden path that leads through the rock to a purple chest that contains a Wind Attire. You'll need Therion, one of the other seven party members of Octopath Traveler, to open it for Cyrus.
Take a right at the lamplit intersection. You'll soon reach some stairs. Continue right past the stairs to find a chest containing an Herb of Light, then head up the stairs and take a left. In another lamplit area you'll find a Traveling Peddler and a save point. Drop some money on Healing Grapes and Inspiriting Plums so Cyrus doesn't run out of HP or SP in the battle to come. North and to the left of this small rest point is another purple chest, this one containing an Old Coin.
By this point you'll see Russell in the background. Before approaching him, climb the stairs to the left of the Pedaling Merchant, then down the stairs on the other side. You'll find a small side path to a chest containing a Light Soulstone. With that in hand you can rush up and confront the rogue scholar. He's in no mood for a civil chat.
Russell
Weakness: Sword, Dagger, Staff, Ice, Wind
Ever fought a video game boss named Russell before? Bet you haven't. A magician with similar skills as Cyrus, Russell enters the fight with two Water Wisps, and will spend his time either attacking you physically or using elemental attacks that strike multiple targets. Occasionally Russell will mutter an incantation, which leads to him using Fireball. The Water Wisps will use icy spells on you that don't do a ton of damage, but alongside Russell's attacks can be enough to tip you over the edge.
Russell should be your main concern in this fight, though the Water Wisps make fighting him difficult. The solution here is to use Cyrus' Fireball Skill to hit all three of them, and just keep using that, restoring Cyrus' HP and SP as needed. Boosting Fireball will quickly stun the Water Wisps, and after a few turns will wipe them out completely. You can then focus on smacking Russell around with Cyrus' staff. Ideally you'll take out the Water Wisps before Russell can use Fireball himself, then just keep beating him with the staff so he never gets to use the spell. (If you're playing with a fuller party Russell will use Dragonsbreath occasionally instead of Fireball, which hits a lot harder, so make sure everyone's health is in the 300s to prevent death. Assuming you can't break his defenses, that is.)
You'll earn a Refreshing Jam for defeating Russell. Cyrus will morally destroy Russell in the aftermath, as well, though once all is said and done Cyrus will discover that another tome, From the Far Reaches of Hell, is also missing. Visit the Headmaster and Cyrus will basically be fired from the Royal Academy - thanks, Therese - and sent packing on a journey to find the errant book. His first stop is Quarrycrest, to meet an old colleague.