All Level, No Experience (Worm/Pathfinder Amnesia Quest)

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Nearly all of your mind is in agreement, as you press the button on the armband and speak, "Thunderdome it shall be. I'll need physical contact to bring you in," you decide that while you've already somewhat revealed Time Stop, there wasn't yet a full reason to reveal you could bring others into it as well, "and will be in there myself for a moment after entering. As such, I may require a few seconds to re-up my defenses before taking you in there. The Simurgh really doesn't hit that hard, honestly, only about as much as a fairly strong man with a properly sized greatsword, but I'd rather it not give it the opportunity to try and take my staff. If you have a preferred rendezvous location, please inform me, message over."

The chaos of the battlefield hasn't necessarily lessened, just because the Simurgh was boxed, but it appeared that between it being stuck in one position rather than being so intentionally, possibly paired with the sight of you and your lord's banner directly standing over it seemingly without consequence meant that it wasn't able to distract the capes as much from managing the results of its telekinesis. Actually, as you looked, you did notice that a fair number of rather unfortunate blunder kept cascading into one another.

As in, a seemingly statistically impossible number- which you could just now somewhat see in action, as you recognized one cape who based on what you could tell, had just been startled by a piece of debris tapping him on the back just wrong, leading him to panic throw a fireball, one which hit debris, the burst from the impact both hitting another two capes seemingly just wrong, while also lighting another piece of wooden debris on fire, which was being thrown in a different direction, and quite close to starting a fire which, if your engineering was up to snuff (and it was), would spread and lead to a collapse of a florist's building down the road, where much of the debris seemed to be leading a few other capes, and many more of these schemes atop schemes were toppling into one another or seemingly set to be, as you looked out, seemingly only Eidolon breaking these cascades, something he's actually a touch occupied doing from moment to moment to stop the worst ones, the worst ones near always some confluence of seemingly unrelated cape causes, even when the capes are on opposite sides of the square.

All to a degree it made you wonder if perhaps- you looked at your staff and considered the spells you had recently put on it- if the capes were less active they'd be less of a danger all around, especially since as from what you'd been able to tell, the Simurgh hadn't been able to predict or act around your use of magic, thus far. After all, all it'd have to do is make it too difficult to create a Wall of Force in any particular plane (referring to the 2d cross-section, rather than plane of existence such as the astral or ethereal planes), by keeping a large amount of chunked matter in a 3d field as she moved, which oughtn't've been difficult for it.

So, as things were, it seemed like it was trying to delay Eidolon by forcing cascades only he could solve, at least, that's what you would do if you were in the Simurgh's place. Well, that certainly wouldn't do at all. Based on the distance between the capes, you'd have to break out one of your nastier tactics, then.

Time Stop. Just short of maximum time. Quickly, identify the situation, how many groups of capes were in 10-foot squares? Twenty-seven, of the ones that were nearby enough to delay Eidolon. Well, that ought to be just within doability, you believe. Seven-League Step over to one group, Grease beneath them from the staff, the next is close enough, walk.

Next, Grease, Step, Lucubration to regain haste, while you could fit it in.

Next, walk, Grease, Step, again.

Next, Time Stop. Again, just shy of the maximum time. Grease and Step, three more times. Time Stop, shortest possible. Only once more. Time Stop, maximum. Memory of Function, Step. Three more times. Burn more of the mythic energies to act even faster, take a swig of Nectar. Hm, could have been doing that the whole time, an oversight, but you're at least glad you caught it. Time Stop, repeat.

Time Stop. Time Stop. Time Stop. Time Stop. Time Stop. Five left. Time Stop. Have to recharge the staff. Time Stop. Four left. Time Stop. Bad luck again, three left. Time Stop. Got them, and just enough time to Quickened Mirror Image from the staff, Step in next to Eidolon in person in the air, and ready yourself to act as soon as it drops.

The feeling of a layered Time Stop coming to an end is a touch, uncomfortable, but thankfully not harmful- closer to coming down from a major adrenaline rush, if in the matter of fractions of a fraction of a second at once, especially thirteen deep.

Eidolon whirls slightly to face you in the air, and you say, "I've interrupted misfortune cascades caused by the Simurgh," you both see as pretty much every single cape on the ground all promptly slip in place at once as you speak, causing a frankly astonishing number of things to miss the locations they were previously standing over the course of the next few seconds, "You ready?"

He nods once, you poke one finger against his upper right arm, and you promptly Greater Teleport from the staff both of you into the box, it being a touch cramped for a split second, before you quicken the Greater Teleport you kept as one of your backups in your actual slots getting yourself out just before the Simurgh manages to react to you.

Just beside the clear box, thanks to both your mythic Haste and expending that mythic energy to speed yourself up further, you manage to quickly take out your Type-2 Bag of Holding from your pocket, and the Type-6 from it.

Only a few of the other capes have managed to figure out that it's possible enough to just stand upright, if they get up calmly and slowly. It's actually turned out marvellously self-selective, in that any cape that panics invariably ends up slipping again in the attempt to get up, before they can actually do anything, with Legend performing excellently on overwatch, and Alexandria doing well flying around and doing damage- management, if not control,- and with Dragon co-ordinating.

Oh, this entire time there's been a good few names being recited by the armband about so-and-so down, and a few deceased's already in the half-minute of actual time since the fight began, which frankly, well. Baseline humans, for most of them beneath the fairly middling powers, did not stack up well against a creature that was, based on the research you had done, essentially the local equivalent to the Spawn of Rovagug.

As for how said creature was doing now that it was stuck in a room with Eidolon it couldn't escape from? Not particularly well, as it turned out. Its wingbeats and punches seemed to be phasing through Eidolon by some means, who himself looked to be semi-transparent and in three only sometimes overlapping places at once, similar to effect of crossing one's eyes. While meanwhile it seemed as if any attack any of the Eidolons threw out landed, though all seemed to be using the same powerset, then it harmed the Simurgh.

Actually, you almost think you can identify some of the principles at play with Eidolon's powers, if not precisely how they're being put into pay- the multi-place effect seemed to be based on some form of the quantum Uncertainty Principle cranked up to an extreme, his attacks appeared to operating on principles similar to how a plasma sword works if, again, cranked to what is a catastrophic extreme as the plasma edges that flickered into existence around his attacking limbs were both blue-hot and far more compact than they had any right to be, and lastly you had to guess at some sort of guided blow ability, since about half of his blows were placed in just the right spot to absolutely tear into the creature. It certainly wasn't helping the endbringer that it seemed to have basically even less of an idea of where Eidolon was than you, and you were actually invisible at the time.

You, meanwhile, were finally able to pull your camera out of your bag, and start recording. This would certainly be a fairly momentous thing, to be recorded. You disregarded the repeated disbelief heard around you, that was often interrupted by the sound of slipping, as you focused more on trying to get the clearest angles, while also keeping a mind for the walls. In fact, you would start replacing them soon.

Things went on fairly like that for another twelve seconds, until the most peculiar thing happened.

The Simurgh's telekinesis, and from what others were claiming their scream, just stopped, and steadily the few misfortune cascades that had sort of begun in the last moments had also just as well petered out. You're not entirely certain what had even caused that, frankly.

Oh, but with the newfound lull, that is Alexandria in front of the camera. You don't pause the recording, as you say, "Ah, hello Alexandria."

She says, sounding quite done, "What, exactly, do you think you're doing?"

You pause only a second, carefully shrug, and say, "Recording mostly for posterity and archival, although now that I must articulate an excuse out loud- just a few moments, going to place the new box walls for safety."

Over the course of the next 36 seconds you carefully do so, then continue, "Pardon that. Anyhow, now that I must articulate it, I suppose this would also likely be useful for thinkers and the like to look through to analyse, see if there's anything we could learn from this that could be applied to future endbringer battles. Although admittedly, that was both a secondary justification beyond just archival purposes, and to be a touch sardonic if I may, it seems like 'Inescapable Thunderdome with Eidolon' appears to be a strategy with some measure of merit."

After a long moment, Alexandria actually cracks a small smile, and says, "Seems like it does. Thanks, both for the transport, and for enabling it," and after floating off camera and well away from the microphone's reach, whispers, "If there's something we can do, let us know."

You nearly pause in place, then ask a question, "Assuming this works out, will this video be released to the public, once I share it with you?"

Alexandria nods.

You say, "Hold this for me then, for a second," and hold out the camera.

Alexandria floats over and does so, and Legend as well is floating over, also blatantly curious what you're up to.

You take out your phone, position yourself just right, with your banner clearly visible over one shoulder and the battle the other, your face with the biggest, smuggest grin you can muster inbetween them, and take a selfie. One which you then on the flight back to take back your camera, make both your phone background and PHO profile picture in what is likely record speed.

You can't read Alexandria's expression, and Legend is just floating there, seemingly stunned, before he starts wheezing, and practically doubles over in laughter.

Then, just after you get your camera back, Legend, smiling ear to ear, just asks, "Can you get one of me, too?"

After you give a thumbs up behind the camera, and ask, "Send it to your email after this?", getting a nod in return Legend moves himself in front of the camera and the box, posing himself, and you count down on your remaining free hand from three, before taking the picture.

Then, well, Alexandria and Legend seem to have a brief look-off, before Alexandria floats in front of the box, and nods, to which you do so again.

After that, it appears the floodgates open, and over the next three straight minutes, after you put down another Wall of Force as a platform that Legend and occasionally Alexandria (though for her only for protectorate heroes) fly up other capes to get their picture taken in front of the actively Thunderdomed Simurgh.

Although, Shadow Stalker requested that she also get one with you in it as well which was, oddly endearing in some way, so you allowed it. Eighteen Hells, there was even one with everybody in it, thanks to one civilian woman (appeared to be a businesswoman, by the suit and fedora) who had wandered by, apparently a bit lost, who had been able to take the photo, before she was promptly escorted firmly out of there by Alexandria.

Although, she might have been a cape, if she wasn't just a ludicrously dumb and/or lucky civilian.

Even after all of that taking a solid five straight minutes with cycling everybody through as fast as possible, it was still another minute and another box refresh before Eidolon finally hit was seemed to be the endbringer's core. You had noticed about a minute in, but just hadn't mentioned, that it seemed like the endbringer was sort of layered- and based on your best guess, it was meant to do something more than it actually did, but the extradimensional travel lock was preventing it, though you weren't sure what. Maybe the jumbled part of your mind had figured it out, but it wasn't able to reach the rest of you. Not sure, really.

Either way, after just over six straight minutes of attacking the increasingly frantic endbringer, Eidolon finally landed the killing blow. Then, he just, stood there a moment, recoalesced into one person, floated up a bit, and teleported a short distance out of the box, carrying the Simurgh's body.

He looked around, and looked at the camera, and he spoke just four words.

"One down. Two left."

The sound of cheering filled the square.

Do you stick around, now that the battle is done and won?

[ ] Yes.
-[ ] Stick with the Triumvirate.
-[ ] Mingle with the other capes.
-[ ] Immediately move to rebuilding efforts, while you're already here.
-[ ] Ask to keep a part of the endbringer corpse.
--[ ] A Wing
---[ ] Multiple? (Write in how many. Ziz's corpse has 51 wings in total, including the one holding the core.)
--[ ] An arm
--[ ] A leg
--[ ] The head
-[ ] Anything else, that the QM is too tired to suggest at the moment? (Write in)
[ ] No, you have business elsewhere.
-[ ] Which would be? (Write In. Feel free to use from previous votes.)

As well, you feel, more, not in the same way as the ritual did, but in a way that ran parallel. Like you've, improved, in a sense, though how you've improved has yet to settle, and won't until you've a chance to rest.
(You've gained a level. Not voting on it just yet, but know that the next time you rest (non-recuperation), you can gain a level.)

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AN: So, two things. One, as it turns out, "Thunderdome with Eidolon for a straight half-hour, and you're weakened the whole time" is a fairly potent strategy, and two, holy shit you did it. I think I had a different two, but I can't remember it. I genuinely wasn't quite expecting it myself, honestly.

Oh, right, remembered, not sure if I have that Thursday thing, but if I do then once I know I'll end up extending the vote, so it might be a three day vote rather than the two day it'll initially look like, as a heads up. Also finally updated the spells list.

Also) What you saw but I wasn't able to express as clearly using IC terminology: Eidolon flanking with himself, while also having effectively Ghost-Touch but for three different locations on the same plane (counts as whichever is more beneficial at any time, meaning targeting any one space is an auto-miss, but can still attack and provide flanking from any), which also gives him triple attacks on full attack power, having his natural attacks deal over 700 (128d6 maximized) Plasma damage per hit power, and lastly the "Every attack you make now has a crit range/multiplier of 11-20/x20 : )" power.

Eidolon is feckin busted, when he has an opportunity to stack his powers, yo. His shard was especially working with him, to some extent, too.

Anyhow, hope y'all've enjoyed! Have a meme.

View: https://imgur.com/a/6zy3nxv