Upon entering, Quina instructs you on magic junctioning and Squall’s Limit Break. When finished, approach the Garden faculty waiting at the cave. One of them asks Squall how much time he’ll need. Allow yourself 20 minutes. Enter the cave and follow the path north until you reach an intersection. Use the Fire DP on the right then continue down the center path. Fight random enemies as they appear, leaving about 6 minutes on the timer before facing Ifrit at the end of the cave.

BOSS >> GF IFRIT
HP: 1,068 Weakness: Ice Strength: Fire
AP: 20 Draw: Fire (Fira), Cure, Scan

Strategy: Being a fire-based creature, avoid using any fire spells on him. Cast Shiva and use Blizzard spells to make short work of him. He has a decent attack rating so don’t forget to heal your characters when needed. You don’t know it, but you’re actually being accessed by the Garden faculty throughout the first few events in FF8... the Fire Cavern is one place where Squall is tested on his Judgment. To score well in this scenario, finish the battle with Ifrit with as little time as possible left on the clock. Whittle down Ifrit’s HP to around 100 and stall until the timer hits 15 to 20 seconds. Quickly use a barrage of Blizzard spells to bring the battle to an end. You’ll see how well you scored later in the game.

Once defeated, you receive GF Ifrit and Quistis gives another tutorial on elemental usage. Afterwards, exit the Fire Cavern and return to Balamb Garden.