[ Ratio has been avoiding cyber caffeine for as long as possible, partially for health reasons, but mostly out of a desire not to muddle his mind. While he wasn't used to avoiding sleep and suspected he would become irritable quite quickly with a lack of it, he was certain he could manage to be present enough to perform his duties, and even risk sleep for his own research once or twice.

But now, on the eve of the kaiju battle, it was imperative that he be as alert as he could be in this state. Thus, with much apprehension, he had consumed cyber caffeine along with the hearty food prepared for them. It's a welcome change to the culinary dross served to them back in Neo Tokyo, so he can't help but eat two servings of everything.

It doesn't help with the sleepiness that hits afterwards. Food coma and all that, which he knew was going to happen, but the food was good, so sue him. It was an idiotic move, but after being deprived of every comfort on this mission, he's not about to deprive himself of this too.

Now, to stay awake. He's seated at a small table in the lounge area, and gestures at anyone passing nearby to approach. ]

Care for a contest in strength?

[ He props his arm against the table in a mime of arm wrestling. Want to see if you can beat the muscular scholar? ]

[ The tomb reminds him of some of the retro dungeon crawling immersia from the Xianzhou Alliance. Maze-like, traps abound, and creatures that pop up like some random number generator dictated their appearance. It isn't difficult for Ratio to evade the bulk of the traps, as he usually backs the rear of the group and has the pleasure of watching the vanguards trip them instead.

But that doesn't mean he isn't prone to making mistakes on occasion. Even with cyber caffeine, his mind is running more sluggishly than usual, and his body is the same. So you might catch him making one of the following unfortunate mistakes: ]

 a. Triggering a pit trap

[ Whoever built this section of the tomb had an unhealthy love for pit traps. That is the conclusion Ratio comes to after the third time he evades a pit trap in a single hallway. There is no other conceivable reason that many pit traps are needed in such frequency and increasing complexity. But at last, they've reached the end of the hallway, and hopefully the end of all that pitfall nonsense. ]

Finally... they must have commissioned an architect who enjoys puzzles far too much—

[ Without warning, the floor drops out from under the scholar and it's only pure reflex that allows him to latch onto the edge of the pit and avoid certain death from the multiple of wooden spikes littering its bottom. ]

For the love of Nous—!

[ Help a poor guy? ]

 b. Making eye contact with a painting

[ One of the hallways ends up leading to a small alcove filled with coins, gems and all sorts of other treasures any bandit or archaeologist would be salivating over. Fortunately, Ratio's seen the result of picking up any one of these items and avoids touching them. Instead, he examines them from afar, looking for signs of mummies hidden within the piles and other markings of traps to be avoided. On the far end of the alcove, on the wall, there are holes in between the tiled stones that make up the wall. Space for wooden stakes to fly out, he hypothesizes. And, framed ostentatiously by it's lonesome on that wall is a single portrait of... ah, wait, did the eyes just flash red? ]

Oh shi— duck!

 c. Kicking a coin

[ If there's one lesson anyone should take away from traversing this tomb, it's that you shouldn't touch anything in the area. You shouldn't touch the walls, you shouldn't touch any items, you shouldn't touch paintings or even look at them, and you probably should try to touch the floor as little as possible. Fly, if you have that capability.

Ratio does have something similar to that, though he can't keep it active for very long. He can hover in air for a short while, which he employs sparingly to help him over open pits and obvious trouble areas. He stays close to the floor to minimize energy usage and the chance of accidentally triggering a trap from the ceiling.

That strategy, however, doesn't stop him from accidentally kicking a gold coin that was displaced by the commotion of people moving through the tomb. He freezes as the coin rolls across the open space with a clink-clink, and eventually it comes to a stop at the far side of the room. It's silent for a moment... two moments... and then just as Ratio thinks the moment of danger has passed, he hears groaning and moaning coming from a pile of debris off to the side. ]

This must be some sick joke...

[ Get ready to deal with a mummy! ]

 d. Evading a rolling boulder

[ For once, it isn't him committing the mistake. Somewhere at the front of the group, someone's triggered a rolling boulder trap, and now everyone's left scrambling for cover. Ratio's managed to find a small, cramped nook to take cover in, which has just enough space for one more. So when he spies a shadow approaching, he reaches out to grab whoever's passing by and pull them in immediately, spinning to place himself on the outside. ]

Stop. Stay still.

[ Perhaps the genre-savvy will recognize this move as the legendary kabedon... although the circumstances could be far better for this. ]

[ As with every battle against the kaiju, Ratio takes care to keep away from the heart of combat and focus on support. He targets the mummies that support the kaiju and comes to the aid of any trapped by Kabus's nightmares and illusions.

Which is why he notices Godzilla struggling in combat on the far side of the room. Now, their placement from each other had been on purpose. Ratio had made sure to stay well out of Godzilla's way due to their less-than-amiable relationship with each other. But that didn't mean he would abandon the titan to his doom during a mission. Unfortunately, said titan was well out of range of Ratio's assistance. And with the kaiju approaching Godzilla, he has to think quickly before the titan is mortally wounded.

There is, perhaps, one way for him to help though—a method he's been eager to test. ]

Ereshkigal, I command you to teleport to Godzilla and defend him by unleashing a powerful attack on Kabus and the mummies surrounding it!

[ A red symbol, previously hidden underneath the gloves he usually wears, pulses brightly on his outstretched hand before a portion of it vanishes, symbolizing his use of a command seal. In the next moment, several things happen.

Ratio staggers back a moment after that declaration, feeling drained of energy from the command seal redirecting it to Ereshkigal. The mummies nearby use that opportunity to latch onto him, preventing him from reacting to the next attack. The Kabus, still reeling from Ereshkigal's attack, retreats, and bounds over instead to the trapped scholar, having noticed the connection between the two. In one smooth move, the Kabus swipes the scholar with his claws, sending him crashing into the wall. The mummies follow after and start piling onto him.

Someone, help before he's killed! ]