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Inactive [LP CYOA] Overlord

lightbane

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
10,158
Bear in mind that selecting the 'minor' increase in mana will still leave us with far more of the stuff than we've ever had in the past, guys, not to mention that the boosts to our other magical stats leave us able to use our mana more efficiently than ever before. A huge mana also leaves us with great melee capabilities given our gauntlet for any later physical encounters.

Actually, IIRC techniques did use mana, but they scaled more with Vitality, since they used more of your "physical" energy. Still, I wouldn't underestimate getting an increase to our offense stats, since the major upgrade to Agility will make us generally better at everything related to combat and others.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
Of course your opponent is also fighting under the same circumstances, so it's fair.
Well, provided that her stats are comparable to ours.

We are still C ranked in vitality and physical attack.

While we are strong and faster than most beings, we aren't doing so hot in the physical attributes when compared to B class and higher opponents. Last time we only managed to beat Rin because of gigadyne. I doubt we'll be able to use a high-level spell like that for long this time and there's no telling how much it would help us against her, if at all.

Also, we know nothing about this girl. For all we know, she was happy here and we just destroyed everyone she cared about. Not likely, but possible. She could be fighting us in full rage mode.
 

Kz3r0

Arcane
Joined
May 28, 2008
Messages
27,013
Funny how no one is asking how Angie wasn't incinerated, either she is that powwerful or was in a place out of reach, in this case it's possible that there are other survivors.
 

lightbane

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
10,158
The magical bindings keeping her in check probably helped her to survive. It's quite possible that there are other survivors indeed, be it the royal family which was able to teleport before it was too late, or anyone that was outside of the capital at that time and is now out for Erd's blood.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
I haven't been voting lately, but I'm still following along whenever an update comes out. treave as always you're very creative and a great writer, but most of all I have to admire your stamina. You've been plugging away all these years, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but still going after so many others have burned brightly and then flamed out. That trait is probably what would let you actually publish novels if you paired with a good editor. I don't know what you do now, but if you ever wanted a side gig or early retirement, you could probably make a serious go of it.

I'm actually running on fumes at the moment, both mentally and creatively. But hey, I figure if I keep at it long enough I'll be able to pick up speed again one day. :M
 

treave

Arcane
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Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Final Tally:

A - 6

B - 2
C - 4

A - 2
B - 6
C - 2
D - 2

***

Sorry for the delay, had more things to finish up. Update will be out by tomorrow, I think.
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
We might have a chance, don't be glum. The dimensional tearing attack ignores physical and magical defense, so even if she survived whatever remnants of the Gigadyne that reached her by being a badass rather than through whatever was binding her tanking it we should be able to deal some decent damage.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
Worst possible choice.

But maybe things will work out anyway? :M
The dimensional tearing attack ignores physical and magical defense, so even if she survived whatever remnants of the Gigadyne that reached her by being a badass rather than through whatever was binding her tanking it we should be able to deal some decent damage.
I really would rather not cut her in half though...
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
Worst possible choice.

But maybe things will work out anyway? :M
The dimensional tearing attack ignores physical and magical defense, so even if she survived whatever remnants of the Gigadyne that reached her by being a badass rather than through whatever was binding her tanking it we should be able to deal some decent damage.
I really would rather not cut her in half though...
Come on, angels grow back. Or at least, they can after you toss around a bunch of regeneration magic as what we've developed. Actually, I'm really interested in what happens if the halo is severed from the angel in that fashion and now we have the perfect not-Erdrick subject to test it out on in the heat of battle.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
Actually, I'm really interested in what happens if the halo is severed from the angel in that fashion and now we have the perfect not-Erdrick subject to test it out on in the heat of battle.
*If* you can you sever something that isn't physically attached. Besides, given that we just chose to do battle in a magical dead zone and chose to improve our magic instead of our body, I think we stand a chance of being the one about to get severed.
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
It's attached in some way certainly, since we can't yank it off our head, and I figure that a dimensional tear that rips through reality is going to be what can cut through that connection if anything. Or maybe there's some sort of attractive/repulsive force combo to keep it floating within a certain range and it does nothing to split the space in-between, I guess that's possible. Regardless of whether or not we end up with the basis of a badass tambourine, we advance science!

Anyway, I don't think that the deadzone should be a big issue. We've taken every chance to boost our mana that we've come across and likely have more mana than what we started the city-nuking with taking into account this increase. Assuming that we aren't terribly outleveled by a mana-specced opponent, this setting ought to drain them long before it gets us assuming similar rates of mana use. Our upgraded magic attack and magic defence allow us to make more efficient use of our existing spells anyway, and with our magical defence coming at almost a full rank above the physical one anyway we can be reasonably confident that anything that crushed through the magical defences we set over Erdick's body at all times would likely have also pulped whatever physical ones.

Now, it may be that we're totally outclassed here and aren't prone to winning the fight, but assuming that it's winnable in the first place I don't think that the bonus selection is what will decide this match. Treave is great at balancing these sorts of things, and so long as we play to our relative strengths and evaluate the situation correctly we might have a shot. Again, assuming that this was winnable to start with.
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
Oh! For treave, what's going on with our reputation, by the way? I imagine that there's some combo of it being tied up with the Trider persona that we haven't really used at all since we blamed that version of Erdrick's self for shenanigans at the windmill through the Golden Snake (hopefully she was out on a mission when that city came to a terrible end) and being in a kind of rapidly changing flux with all the battles, not knowing who is alive and active and doing cool, monumental stuff like nuking a city all without having the time to really sit down and see what everyone's thinking. If anyone's around to think about this, I guess. We may be running a bit low on witnesses not prone to murdering anyone they come across, so it's probably also very dependent on how we spin this and instruct the story to come out assuming we survive this match.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Yeah, sorry for the delay but it looks like I'm not going to have much time to work on the update this week either. Some last minute work demands just popped up at the start of the week. I'll try to get it done soon.

As for your reputation, it hasn't really had time to change yet, what with the whole disappearing, coming back, and then immediately teleporting over and nuking the capital. It should probably have dropped to neutral levels given how long you've been out of the picture, but I neglected to implement that change.
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
It falls, faster than sound, a gargantuan pillar of crackling lightning that engulfs the capital in blinding light. The displaced air blasts outward in an expanding, thunderous shockwave that is strong enough to rattle the walls of fortress Raguria, a fair distance away.
Is that supposed to be Naguria, or is this somewhere different?
 

treave

Arcane
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Codex 2012
Fucking hell, if it isn't one thing it's another. Sorry for the delay. Good news is that I finally got a few hours to myself, so I'm sitting down and banging out the update right now.

It falls, faster than sound, a gargantuan pillar of crackling lightning that engulfs the capital in blinding light. The displaced air blasts outward in an expanding, thunderous shockwave that is strong enough to rattle the walls of fortress Raguria, a fair distance away.
Is that supposed to be Naguria, or is this somewhere different?

Typo, it should be Naguria.
 

treave

Arcane
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Codex 2012
Beatdown

Without hesitation, you rain down destruction upon the angel. The very air burns with your spells. With a sweep of your hand you summon raging storms of fire and ice to flood the entire crater. Innumerable javelins of magic, crackling with the power of the four elements, home in on the center of the giant crater where this kingdom’s capital once stood, and blast even more misshapen holes into the earth.

But even you cannot keep up the volley forever. As you pause for just a second, to recover your breath before chanting the next spell, a loud boom shatters the chaotic din of your magic. The next thing you feel is pain. Again, a sensation that you have not felt for a while. Your sight blackens, and you feel yourself tumbling uncontrollably in the sky. With a yell of effort, you steady yourself, spreading your wings… and then, you look up. The angel hovers above you. Her right hand is covered with red, and she is squeezing something fleshy within it. It spatters within her grip, staining her body with fresh blood that drips down her naked skin. She lets out a blissful sigh, followed by a little giggle.

The pain spreads, a hot, burning sensation in your left flank. Without even looking down, you know that she has gouged out a chunk of your flesh. You are sure you had cast Battle Premonition beforehand; but then again, it works on what you can see, and if you cannot see it…

The angel’s visage blurs.

This time you are prepared and fully forewarned, and manage to throw yourself aside in time as she lunges at you with terrifying speed. And that is all you can manage even with your foreknowledge, a frantic, uncontrolled dodge in mid-air. Her charge tears another wound in your side, and she swoops around almost instantly to keep the pressure on you, howling in glee.

“Bring the engagement to the ground, boy! Don’t be an idiot!” shouts Barbatos. He’s right. You have little experience in actual aerial combat. Folding your wings, you dive towards the blasted ground. With a quick gesture you create several doppelgangers just to complicate matters for her, all four of you dancing around in a confusing dance. Almost mindlessly, she pounces on the wrong one – the closest one – allowing you to detonate them in a massive magical explosion that shines brighter than the sun.

Finally, you reach the ground, your bare feet skidding across the jagged rocks. You take a deep breath, almost bowed over. Even though the fight is still just getting started, you know full well that your opponent is far too fast for you. She also seems nigh impervious to your weaker spells, and you have a feeling that any familiars you can summon would be useless against her. Before you can even work up a plan, the angel is upon you again, untouched by the explosion, her hand swooping down on you, her fingers arched into claws. You narrowly avoid your collarbone being gouged out as your feet dance deftly backwards. The Shadow-Slaughtering Demon Steps are seeing use here.

“Good job,” says Barbatos. “But you aren’t gonna beat her like this. You got anything else up your sleeve?”

“I know!” you growl, again barely dodging a powerful blow that would have taken your head clean off. The flurry of bare-handed strikes from the angel are powerful enough to destroy any physical shield you can put up as if they were not even there. With every hit you dodge, the smile on the angel’s face appears to grow wider, and her attacks become faster and stronger. This close, you don’t have any time to cast any spells at all. You are simply physically outmatched. This is not an opponent you could have taken alone, not without proper preparation. The halo above her head is flashing a bright red now, with the intervals between flashes getting quicker and quicker…

Then, the halo suddenly expands outwards in an ever-widening circle. Your premonition tells you that it would cut you easily in two if it hits, which leaves you with just the option to dodge it. You do… and run right into the angel’s fist. It plows deep into your abdomen, and you can feel the angel pulling at your insides. You are thrown backwards, only to be greeted by the sight of your entrails in her grip.

“Ah…” she gasps, raising your guts above her head and letting the blood drip. Almost coquettishly, she begins stroking her own wings with a light touch, painting the white feathers crimson red with your blood.

“Damn. That’s just sick,” comments Barbatos quietly. “This is why I don’t like angels. They’re just insane, even if they look and talk like you and I.”

“Perhaps you could’ve told me that earlier,” you cough, throwing up whatever blood is left inside you.Your body convulses and twitches at the sudden trauma done to it. Your limbs feel cold and stiff. Still, you are not dead. Whatever other changes the demon’s heart has done to you, it has at least given you a rather durable physiology. You can feel the gaping hole in your belly beginning to knit together, though the process is painfully slow.

“You’re not dead yet, and I doubt you’ll die here, kiddo,” says Barbatos nonchalantly. “You seemed a bit drunk on power from all the destruction you wrought. I thought perhaps this encounter would sober you up. Are you awake yet?”

“I’ll really throw you away,” you groan.

The demon gauntlet only laughs. “It’s a lesson, boy. Rein your stubbornness in a little. I’m sure you’ll find your own way out of this. I might even lend you more power, should you please me with your choice.” The gauntlet throbs with energy, and in that instant you get a glimpse of just how much power Barbatos has locked away within it. It is more than enough power to do what you did to the capital with a single punch, with no more effort than that.

The angel whirls and dances, giggling lightly. It would be a beautiful, innocent sight, if not for the droplets of blood being sprayed from your intestines that she is swinging around like a more normal girl would a garland of flowers.

Her attention is diverted from you at the moment, perhaps no longer deeming you a threat, and you…

***

A. Keep quiet and stay still so as not to draw notice to yourself. Calling trouble upon yourself right now would not be a good idea at all.

B. Try to talk to her and attract her attention. You're confident in your ability to converse, even when half-dead, with an insane angel. All you need to find are the right words.

***

And in the meantime, you can muster up enough strength in you to quietly cast at least one more spell…

A. Gigadyne Verandert. If she is too fast for you, you will just have to match her speed. It will also help you ignore your wounds for the duration of the spell, allowing you to battle her on equal terms. Hopefully.

B. Reality Tear. Even though she’s ignored your spells so far, this should cut through her defenses. You will just have to aim carefully and make sure you hit a spot that will disable her but not kill her. Killing an angel after so much time spent looking for one is just counter-productive.

C. Teleport, of course! Why would you even stay here any longer? It’s time to run for your life. You know when you’re beaten. Granted, using magic to spatially translocate yourself through another dimension when you’re in poor condition can increase the shock on your body, but you’ll take that risk.
 

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