Why are you special?

It's a massacre. Just for giggles, we have Wendy go toe to toe in melee, solo, against a lone Balor we encounter. I even Dimensional Anchor it so it can't teleport away while Paula and Christine block the exits. It takes a while - Wendy's damage output still isn't great - none of it's spell-like abilities land (I included the Golem Immunity spell), it can't land a hit due to Wendy's AC, and even the Entangle and Vorpal don't help (it can scarcely land a blow, Freedom of Movement rocks vs the whip's Entangle, and vorpal requires a crit confirmation, which it can't make). The beast eventually resigns itself to hurting us by blowing up with it's death throes. Did you know there's a spell that grants Evasion? It's called Ruin Delver's Fortune. I gave them all three copies - one for each save.

Yeah. The beast does nothing of note to us. I know it's a literal incarnation of evil and chaos, but I can't help but feel a little sorry about the hopeless look in the murderous beast's eyes.

We do gang up on the Great Wyrm Red Dragon at the dungeon heart. It doesn't last long.

And of course, the run out after breaking this overgrown dungeon heart is a piece of cake - Mythic Augmented Haste means we're all getting a speed of a hundred feet per round, and an extra move action besides… and Winding Key adds a standard action on top of that.

So we clear the nastiest dungeon in record time.

When we step outside, the world fades…

And I’m back in a familiar place: Death’s office. The same desk, the same rows of books, the same demonic looking man sitting there reading.

He looks up at me, "Ah. Having fun?"

I nod, "It's sometimes nice to have the run of the place, yes. Ultimately though, this is about my survival, so I'm working for the experience points."

Death chuckles, "And of course, you're one point shy of two levels at once."

I speak as I reach for the tomes of Death, "Practically a constant state.  Happens when taking on things so far over the expected curve."

"Indeed… so I spoke with my siblings…"

Ooh, Embodiment Casting gives me a full sphere caster level, which goes well with Magical Mastery earlier… I'd be at caster level of my level plus two, which means four flex talents from Well of Miracles, plus the restricted to specific sphere ones from Domain Mastery…  "What kind of a bill would I be looking at?"

"'Water' wants the runoff to stop from a heavily industrial nation; 'Air' wants the smokestacks from the same to stop; 'Earth' dislikes their strip mining practices…"

Share Spells teamwork feat, so I don't need to risk Body to Body… "Sounds like an unpopular nation; why's it still in business?"

"For whatever reason, Life has been sheltering it with her enforcer. Also, they're quite militarily inclined, and none of their neighbors are willing to attack them."

Ah, Monster of Legend from the Monster Manual II… Regrow Limbs makes me effectively immune to vorpal weapons… yoink, "So really, all three of them just want Life’s enforcer out of the picture so they can take care of it themselves."

Death nods, "That's my take on it as well.  Judgment… well, good luck, he wants justice for all."

Ooh, no-limit spell turning from the same template, saves recasting regularly, and makeup can deal with the sheen, I'm disguising myself anyway, "Yeah… mind, I was kind of hoping for something that would help me against Life’s Champion."

Death chuckles, "I'm aware. Quite the chicken and egg problem."

Light Body technique gives a bonus talent… Expanded Training gives two packages; Fly and Swim for full ranks in both for basically free… "Yes… I'm surprised you have that expression here… but I maybe have a plan for our next encounter now."

Death smiles, "That's good, as he's …" he frowns, "Sometimes I don't like the rules."

My eidolon goes up a fair amount: A new hit die, more AC, more strength and dex… more skills for the evolution point to keep it low-key… I shrug, "Something like a black Sapphire for Soul Bind? Yeah… I kind of figured he'd be a bit more thorough next time."

Death crinkles his brow, “You’re not even slightly wrong on that one.  How…?”

Spells known… barely any point… rest is just numbers… “Folks adapt to what hurt them in whatever way.  He knows I don’t go down like a chump to his spells, so he’s going to go with something that’ll hopefully work after he takes my head off.  Speaking of… I’ve looked up three different spells for countering this idiot, and I think I have a proper plan with some fallback contingencies now.  Quick question… can I rest up here, or do I need to go back immediately?”

Death pauses, “You can stay here as long as you like, but it doesn’t count as rest for things like recovering spells and such.”

Pity, “Well, in that case, I’m done.  Care to check my work?”

I feel the presence of death looking over my shoulder, “So… you really found something to let you regrow your head?  That’s… well, that’ll solve the vorpal swords, at least.  And constant spell reflection… handy, although if he has it up as well, you’re still going to need to save against whatever-it-is, as he’ll want the ‘both affected’ and just save against it himself.”

I nod, “Yeah, I know. I can deal with that eleven times a round if I don’t need it for anything else, so I just need to keep like three in reserve.”

The demonic-looking being nods, “And… why this?  Aren’t you a full caster already?”

Yeah, that: “Embodiment Casting?  I’m a full spellcaster for Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, and Wizard spells, this gives me full progression with Spheres, which is a bit harder to boost.”

Death nods, “I see… oh, and you included spell notes already?  Mystic Shield… two things against getting your head cut off…”

I correct Death, “Three: See Pact of Return.”

Death chuckles, “You don’t do things by half-measures, do you?  Duelward, Spellcaster’s Bane, and Battlemagic Perception?  Aren’t those kind of redundant?”

I shrug, “Only slightly; Duelward is an immediate action counterspell - I’ll use that first, and it goes away; Battlemagic Perception is a free action taken out of turn by context, and also goes away when I counterspell with it; Spellcaster’s bane is just informative, but doesn’t go away.  So I figure I recast on my turn and counter everything he throws at me via Greater Dispel Magic, acing the checks via Divine Providence.  That’ll limit him to weapons, which Stormrage will negate at range, and Mystic Shield plus my hardness and DR will negate up close.”

Death shakes his head, “Being invulnerable isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

“I know it’s not going to be FUN - I’m familiar with One Punch Man,” I feel that itch in my head again, “but I really want to live, you know?”

Death nods, “Well… you’ve got a good plan here.”

I chuckle, “Let’s see if it survives contact with the enemy.  Thank you, as always.”

Death waves, “You’re helping me, too.  Be seeing you.”

Death’s office fades out, and the world fades in. The dungeon is still collapsing behind us, and Christine speaks up, “Ah… OK, so… my connection to The Blessed Mother is down… how are your spells still working without the support of the dungeon?”

I was wondering when that’d come up, “Where I come from, we don’t have dungeons in the same sense as you do here.  So we have other ways of making things happen… no, it’s not something I can share," all technically true - no dungeons of that nature on earth, we use tech instead of magic, and to give you my boosts I'd need to kill you on the same action as replacing your levels somehow, then raise you, after giving you a painfully detailed run down of how everything works, after letting Death know you'd be stopping by, "But I don’t need the dungeons for magic. So yes, I'm fine."

That seems to shake Paula, "You don't… need… the dungeons?"

"Nope," I cast a quick Produce Flame spell, and use it up scorching a nearby rock, "I suppose if I wanted to run a country, I could kill all the dungeon hearts, and then take over… but I'm sure someone would figure out the trick eventually, and who wants the headaches involved in running a country?"

Wendy raises her hand, "I wouldn't mind…."

I glare at her, "No, I’m not interested in helping anyone else conquer the world either. I'd prefer to fly mostly under the radar."

Paula laughs out loud, "Then you're in the wrong business!"

I sigh, "Maybe, but I also really need the experience, or I'm going to get killed when the guy hunting me catches up… again. And he might make it stick this time, as he knows about that trick now."

Christine nods slowly, "Your hunter does seem very powerful… why do you have a Prophet after you?"

I take a deep breath and let it out very slowly, "That's what I plan to ask him."