C. Mantis

“Besides, like my dad always said, if you’re gonna teach someone a lesson, make it one they’ll learn the first time.”
― C. Mantis, The Path of Ascension

“His target was one Eleanor Mallick, and even just skimming some videos of her made it obvious what her Talent did. Each time she swung a sword, tried to cut meat with a knife, or even activated a light rune, an illusory twenty-sided die would appear at the start of the action, roll while she was acting, and finally land on a number that strongly influenced the outcome. He watched as Eleanor struck a training dummy five times in rapid succession, with a die materializing at the hilt with each swing. As each blow connected, the dice struck the dummy just above it. The first hit was a three, and barely left a scratch. The next two strikes landed on a six and a nine, respectively, with each doing more damage and the nine dealing slightly less damage than what he calculated her true output should be. The fourth attack landed on a seventeen, and the cut was so deep, it penetrated the training dummy’s protective layer and hit its more resilient core. The strike was hard enough that he placed it toward the upper end of what he’d expect a Tier 1 melee fighter to be able to accomplish, and she hadn’t struck nearly that hard. The fifth and final attack landed on a one, and her blade not only shattered, but Eleanor slipped and stumbled back as the dummy’s counter landed hard on her hip and seriously bruised her. Matt was slightly taken aback, as the dummy’s counterattack should not have been possible with its built-in restrictions.”
― C. Mantis, The Path of Ascension 8