You did see the +2 you got, didn't you? jboone has come up with two omake and put the points into Solar Wrath. All you need is one more to get it to Adept status.
Challenge Accepted!!!
Training Scenario: Large Scale Bombardment I
Taylor raised an eyebrow at the terrain for the new training scenario. It seemed rather...basic for one of Perfect Storm's lessons at this point. She was hovering over a large box canyon, bare except for a few spectacular rock formations, what looked like an extensive cave system in one wall. The stone arches and pillars would require a little aerial manoeuvring in some circumstances, but nothing she couldn't do almost without thinking by now, and the caves, well, the caves looked barely big enough to fit an upright adult. That could be the object of lesson, she supposed, but it seemed an odd choice. She was pretty sure she already knew the correct approach when entering a potentially unstable caves system barely big enough to walk in, let alone fight. It boiled down to 'Don't'.
"Perfect Storm?"
"One moment Mistress. Populating targets."
In response to the devices words, human sized figures appeared in the canyon below. Lots of human sized figures. A veritable horde, in fact, enough to obscure large swathes of the ground. After a moment of goggling at the shear numbers, Taylor noted two odd things about them. Firstly, they were all apparently unarmed and unarmoured. They looked like manikins dressed up in fashionable clothes, in fact. Secondly, they were all wearing masks. Of the paper cut out and string kind. Masks with some very familiar faces in fact.
"Perfect Storm?"
"I felt like using a different style of target this time, as combat efficiency is not required."
Taylor raises an eyebrow at this. That's all well and good, but doesn't really answer the obvious question. Her Device hurries on before she can voice it, however.
"The objective for this scenario is clear the area of targets in as little time and as few castings of Solar Wrath as possible. It is intended to teach just how versatile large scale bombardment spells can be when used creatively."
"I'm fairly sure the name suggests some strict limits on how versatile they can be. If you only want to blow up a single target, for example. Or you don't want to blow up the surroundings. Or any other time the words 'don't blow up' are involved. And you appear to be avoiding what we both know is the obvious question."
"They can blow things up in a great may highly varied and interesting ways, Mistress."
"Perfect Storm-" A buzzer sounds.
"Your time starts now Mistress."
Taylor sighs, and sets aside trying to drag an answer out of her Device in favour of raining fiery destruction down upon hapless targets. Their unusual appearance does add a certain degree of (possibly somewhat inappropriate) enjoyment to the process. And working out how to maximise the number of targets destroyed in each casting is an interesting challenge. It quickly becomes apparent the firing at a fixed point is fairly inefficient, for all that it makes an impressive crater. There are so many targets that even Solar Wrath's blast radius isn't a significant dent, and the spray of debris isn't that much of a multiplier. Dragging the beam across is better, given it doesn't even take a glancing hit to wipe out targets near its path, but it still seems like it's going to take a lot more time and castings than can possibly be the goal.
"Consider environmental impacts, Mistress."
"Environmental impacts? What do you-" Eyes fall an the various rock formations. The large, (comparatively) fragile rock formations. A semi-experimental shot is fired. Rocks fall, targets die.
"Correct. Used correctly, large scale bombardment spells can cause significant changes to local terrain. Used correctly, this can be of considerable assistance in a fight."
Rock formations are brought tumbling down, one after the other, and a great many targets are destroyed. There may be some cackling.
"Also consider second order effects. Solar Wrath generates a great deal of heat. Ignition of surrounding material is possible, as is using effects like the conduction of superheated air to the detriment of targets.
"
A great deal of fiery devastation happens in the box canyon over the next few minutes. Eventually, the targets are largely gone, and Perfect Storm relays the results to a panting Taylor.
"An acceptable first attempt. Now that the principles are understood, a passing score should be obtainable within a few attempts."
"Now will you explain the masks?"
"Due to recent events, stress relief was deemed advisable. Research suggests that employing excessive firepower against items of negative association is a highly effective method of such."
"Why those three though? They're not exactly high on my list of problems these days"
"They have been the cause of considerably heightened degrees of agitation recently, presumably due to the upcoming return to schooling. Additionally, negative associations are not so strong as to be actively detrimental. Additionally, additionally, betrayal is worthy of ongoing contempt and scorn. Would you like to repeat the scenario?"
"Why not?"
The box canyon resets, and the targets re-populate. For a silent moment, the visages of Emma, Sophia and Madison stare upwards from thousands of paper masks. Then fire rains from the sky.
__________________________
"Should I be worried that my daughter has started cackling so much?"
"Eh, probably not."
Training Scenario Stress Relief: Large Scale Bombardment I - END
