Season 1 Episode 15

When last we left our heroes, they had tracked down the assassin of the fourth phase’s proctor to a hidden compartment behind the library’s mantleplace. Just as she was about to grasp the legendary Cloak of Invisibility, she triggered a trap left for her by her assassination target. The cloak was missing, and the walls began to close in around her. Due to a nearly impossible feat of strength, Sera and the others were able to hold open the closing vault door until everyone could escape — however, at the last second, Altakan slid in through the door and let it close behind her. Her fight with the assassin was short lived, as she was afflicted by a spell that began turning her flesh into stone. Using the opportunity to her advantage, Altakan grappled the assassin and solidified around her, apprehending her. The others were able to get the door open with barely enough time to save their lives before the walls collided. With the assassin apprehended, they had passed the fourth phase of the exam. Taking a procession of cars to the capital city of the Adventurer’s League, Tyr Aemon, the party was told that they had 24 hours before the next phase would begin. The group split — Caerwyn, Hannalee, and petrified Altakan (controlled via Mold Earth by Hannalee) began attempting to cure Altakan, while Pavel, Juno, and Sera went shopping. The latter group went to Tyr Aemon’s mall, a location Sera remembered fondly from her childhood, and ended up in fantasy Hot Topic, where they outfitted themselves in preparation for the new phase. Though Hannalee tracked down Altakan’s family of artificers in search of a cure, Caerwyn was the one who ultimately cured Altakan at great cost to their own health after being thoroughly goaded by her sister Torrit.

The next day, the two-star High-Spirits Guardian Dagonet lead the group of examinees into a beaten down part of town where they entered a Ratt C. Rushers. While there, they enjoyed a magical course of pizza, ice cream, and soda that granted them bonus hit points and immunity to poison and fear, while also curing them of existing poisons and disease. The next phase’s proctor called in over the television set in a prerecorded message informing them of the details of the surprise bonus phase. The remaining nineteen examinees will enter the abandoned shopping mall beside the Ratt C. Rushers, which has been outfitted with black lights and left with almost all of its merchandise for the examinees to make use of during the exam. They will each carry a laser gun with 5 shots, and wear a vest with 3 lives. Every shot that hits will transfer a life from the attacked examinee to the attacker. When an examinee runs out of ammo, they are removed from the game to await their final position. Only the top 12 remaining examinees will pass the phase — with one exception. If any number of players are tied for lives with someone who cannot pass the game, all of those players are eliminated, even if less than 12 examinees would pass the phase. As we zoom back in, each of our heroes enter the shopping mall through a separate entrance. For the first time since coming together in the first phase dungeon, they are split up into individual members. For the first time, they are truly in it alone.