Week 3 (5)
Week 3 (5)
Calabria's [Divine Shedding] *
[Divine Shedding] Judgment Dice 1d20=14 > 5+, Ray was granted Slow 2. *
[Divine Shedding] Judgment Dice 1d20=3 < 5+, Valerie resisted. *
[Divine Shedding] Judgment Dice 1d20=16 > 5+, Basiliki was granted Slow 2. *
[Divine Shedding] Judgment Dice 1d20=1 < 5+, Kali resisted. *
[Divine Shedding] Thorn Bushes grew across the battlefield. *
Divine Shedding. True to its name, the bastard shed the minimal divinity that had been cloaking its shell.
Chunks of the half-destroyed statue's outer surface peeled away and fell off, revealing what lay hidden inside alongside dark red vines.
A heart-like lump of flesh pulsing in a disgustingly repulsive way. That was closer to the creature's true essence—at least way more than the solemn statue vibe it had going on.
At the same time, the vines scattered throughout the chamber began growing in perfect unison.
They writhed in a bizarrely grotesque manner, rapidly taking over the space.
Valerie's voice rang out, sounding a bit flustered.
"Fuck, what the hell is that?"
"...This feels really unpleasant. Almost familiar, too."
"My body feels heavier..."
Following her sigh, Basiliki spoke next in a deeply sunken tone. Hearing her talk like this was a first, too.
As a priestess, she couldn't exactly be thrilled witnessing such a blasphemous sight.
Calabria scatters Slow across the entire battle at the start of phase 2, and it sticks around for the rest of the fight.
Ray and Basiliki failed to resist it, but Valerie—whose speed is crucial—and Kali, who needs extra care, both resisted. That's a solid success.
Ray's Speed Dice: 1(-2)d6=0, Valerie's Speed Dice: 4d6=18, Basiliki's Speed Dice: 2(-2)d6=0, Kali's Speed Dice: 3d6=4, Calabria's Speed Dice: 2d6=12 *
Calabria moved to the mid row. *
The bastard moved in an instant. At a speed too fast for the eyes to follow—no, it was basically teleportation. You blink, and suddenly it's farther away.
All that remained where the statue had stood moments ago were the Thorn Bushes writhing so intensely it was hard to even look at them for long.
Valerie acts first. *
[Swiftness] Valerie gained 1 additional Power Dice. *
Valerie's [Breakthrough]: 4d6=16(+2)=18 > 1d6=6(-1)=5: Calabria's Defense *
Calabria's Life Tokens decreased by 13. Remaining Life Tokens: 11. *
[Thorn Sanctification] Calabria was granted 5 Thorns. *
Calabria lost 2 Life Tokens due to Bleeding 2 (0 stacks). Remaining Life Tokens: 9. *
Kali lost 1d6=5 Life Tokens due to Vine Synchronization. Remaining Life Tokens: 4. *
Kali's Desire increased by 1d10=5. Current Desire: 18/100. *
[Petitioner] Basiliki was granted 1 Prestige. *
In Floor Boss battles, the universally most important factor is firepower projection once you hit the final phase.
Even in the bullshit difficulty of Tombstone, push it to Blood Moon, and you'll realize something at some point.
—Oh shit, you can't just leisurely watch patterns and expect to clear this?
It's exactly like that. Starting from Blood Moon, you straight-up can't afford to watch every freakout from the Floor Bosses one by one.
Take Mirenheart: in phase 2 with illusions deployed, give it just a couple turns and someone is guaranteed dead. That's the level of destructive power.
Utility, synergy, organic positioning, diverse strategies... blah blah blah.
There's a reason why players who obsess over that crap for ages all eventually converge on raw firepower.
The more you research, the more it hammers home that firepower is king.
From that perspective, it was damn good news that Valerie charging in like a beast was carving huge chunks off the bastard's health with every swing.
One slash wiped out half its remaining Life Tokens. Visibly wrecked now, the thing started going berserk.
Calabria acts. *
Calabria's [Torn Sanctification]: 3d6=5 < 2d6=8: Basiliki's Defense *
[Torn Sanctification] Calabria removed all Thorns and recovered X/2=8 Life Tokens. Remaining Life Tokens: 19. *
[Torn Sanctification] Basiliki was granted Poison 4 (2 stacks). *
Even amid the chaos, Basiliki's Taunt held firm. Like it was mesmerized, the bastard stretched its vines all the way to the mid row to attack.
But it was all for naught—the attack got casually blocked. Basiliki deflected it with stone-cold blankness and let out a sneer.
That said, just like Kali's, the bastard's Poison pattern triggers "on use."
She blocked the attack but couldn't shake off the Poison status, so Basiliki clicked her tongue in disgust and muttered.
"...This sucks."
...Not that I'd normally think this in a situation like this, but the moment I heard those words, a thought flashed through my mind.
Ah, this is Demidius for ya.
Of course, if we're splitting hairs, the gentle Basiliki is nicer, but it was kinda thrilling to see my mental image of the spirit race perfectly recreated.
Kali acts. *
Kali's [Biological Experiment]: 1d6=5 > 1d6=1(-1)=0: Calabria's Defense *
Calabria's Life Tokens decreased by 5. Remaining Life Tokens: 14. *
[Biological Experiment] Judgment Dice 1d20=4(+2)=6 > 5+, Calabria was granted Poison 5 (3 stacks). *
That aside, Kali paid back the Poison on Basiliki—with interest.
Truth be told, if it weren't for Valerie's murderous DPS, this would've been way tougher.
The bastard's passive is [Thorn Sanctification].
It stacks its unique keyword "Thorns" equal to the damage blocked by Defense Dice, then consumes them to slap on heavy Poison—that's the main gimmick.
But that's only threatening if you let it block a ton of damage with Defense Dice and build up a shitload of Thorns.
Blasting through phase 1 this fast with overwhelming firepower neuters its phase 2 peak hard.
Basiliki acts. *
Basiliki's [False Blessing] *
[False Blessing] Kali recovered 2d6=8 Life Tokens. Remaining Life Tokens: 12. *
[False Blessing] Kali was granted Superhuman Strength 2 (2 stacks). *
Basiliki lost 3 Life Tokens due to Poison 3 (2 stacks). Remaining Life Tokens: 18. *
Basiliki lost 4 Life Tokens due to Poison 4 (1 stack). Remaining Life Tokens: 14. *
Basiliki healed Kali. Looking a bit rough, she let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Of course, her overlapping Poisons popped off in the meantime, hitting her pretty hard—but it's fine. Spreading the damage beats taking it all at once.
Ray acts. *
Ray's [Mort]: 2d6=7 > 1d6=3(-1)=2: Calabria's Defense *
Calabria's Life Tokens decreased by 5. Remaining Life Tokens: 9. *
[Mort] Judgment Dice 1d20=12 > 10+, Calabria was granted Stun. *
[Knight Order Swordsmanship] Calabria was granted Rupture 1 (2 stacks). *
[Thorn Sanctification] Calabria was granted 2 Thorns. *
Kali lost 1d6=6 Life Tokens due to Vine Synchronization. Remaining Life Tokens: 6. *
Kali's Desire increased by 1d10=5. Current Desire: 23/100. *
[Petitioner] Basiliki was granted 1 Prestige. *
Ray moved again. This time, he lowered his greatsword and closed in, slamming the pommel straight into the bastard's core with concise, effective motion. It convulsed wildly, putting on a noisy show.
—Stun landed successfully. Only after confirming that could I finally loosen my grip on my fist, clenched tight from tension. We'd crested the ridge—eight-tenths of the way there.
At this point, subduing it is straightforward. Now the focus is minimizing damage.
Ray's Speed Dice: 1(-2)d6=0, Valerie's Speed Dice: 4d6=17, Basiliki's Speed Dice: 2(-2)d6=0, Kali's Speed Dice: 3d6=11, Calabria's Speed Dice: 2d6=9 *
Calabria moved to the back row. *
The next round kicked off, and Calabria bailed to the back row.
Not ideal—whether it goes front or mid from mid is random.
If it'd come front row, Valerie would've smashed its head in. Kinda disappointing, but oh well.
Valerie acts. *
[Swiftness] Valerie gained 1 additional Power Dice. *
Valerie's [Maintenance] *
[Maintenance] Valerie moved to the mid row. *
[Maintenance] Valerie gained 1 additional Evasion Dice (1 stack). *
[Maintenance] Valerie gained 1 additional Speed Dice (1 stack). *
Kali acts. *
Kali's [Sterilization] *
Basiliki's all keyword stacks decreased by 3. *
Basiliki recovered 2d6=11 Life Tokens. Remaining Life Tokens: 24. *
Valerie, lacking front-row back-row attacks, fell back to mid with [Maintenance].
Then Kali wipes the murderous stack of Poison keywords on Basiliki with [Sterilization]. Clearing variables.
—Because the bastard can't do jack this turn.
That's why Stun is an S-tier keyword. Endless utility.
Basiliki acts. *
Basiliki's [Call of Atonement]: 1d6=2 > 1d6=2(-1)=1: Calabria's Defense *
Calabria's Life Tokens decreased by 1. Remaining Life Tokens: 13. *
[Thorn Sanctification] Calabria was granted 1 Thorn. *
[Call of Atonement] Calabria was granted Taunt-Basiliki (2 stacks). *
[Call of Atonement] Basiliki gained 1 additional Defense Dice (2 stacks). *
Kali lost 1d6=3 Life Tokens due to Vine Synchronization. Remaining Life Tokens: 3. *
Kali's Desire increased by 1d10=7. Current Desire: 30/100. *
[Petitioner] Basiliki was granted 1 Prestige. *
Right after slapping Taunt on Basiliki via her, Vine Synchronization popped again. Obviously not because I want to hurt Kali on purpose.
The odds of Vine Synchronization killing Kali are low, but without Taunt, Calabria one-shotting someone next turn is a very plausible scenario.
This is pure variable control. During battle, you've gotta steel your heart. I steeled myself again.
Ray acts. *
Ray's [Krumph] *
Ray gained 1 additional Defense Dice. *
Ray, also lacking back-row checks, threw on a buff.
It won't mean much, but better than passing the turn and stacking more Desire.
Next round, the stunned bastard wakes up and heads to front or mid—
Ray's Speed Dice: 1(-2)d6=0, Valerie's Speed Dice: 5d6=18, Basiliki's Speed Dice: 2(-2)d6=0, Kali's Speed Dice: 3d6=8, Calabria's Speed Dice: 2d6=7 *
Calabria moves to the mid row. *
Valerie acts first. *
[Swiftness] Valerie gained 1 additional Power Dice. *
Valerie's [Breakthrough]: 4d6=16 > 1d6=5(-1)=4: Calabria's Defense *
Calabria's Life Tokens decreased by 12. Remaining Life Tokens: 1. *
Kali lost 1d6=1 Life Token due to Vine Synchronization. Remaining Life Tokens: 2. *
Kali's Desire increased by 1d10=2. Current Desire: 32/100. *
[Petitioner] Basiliki was granted 1 Prestige. *
—and that's when Valerie's hands can reach it like this.
Shedding another huge chunk of health, the bastard was now ragged and on the verge of collapse.
And right after, Kali gets her turn. Staggering from the pain, she still steadily raised her Oleander Staff.
Kali acts. *
Kali's [Biological Experiment]: 1d6=6 > 1d6=4(-1)=3: Calabria's Defense *
Calabria's Life Tokens decreased by 3. Remaining Life Tokens: 0. *
Calabria has died. *
Kali's Desire decreased by 1d10=4. Current Desire: 28/100. *
2nd Floor Boss Calabria—subjugation complete.