Extraction Ritual · Date a Slime

Once an Angel carrier is bound to the cross of the Sephira Extractor, the machine doesn't do the work: the people around it do. The Extraction Ritual is played in the four circles that light up in front of it — five rounds, one trial per officiant per round. If it holds to the end, the crystal is torn out and the victim dies; if it gives way, they go free.

Starting the ritual

When the cross is raised, four circles with a 1.5-block radius glow 9 blocks in front of the machine. As long as there aren't enough people, nearby players read "Stand in the circles to begin the ritual (present/needed needed)."

At least extractorOfficiants players must stand in the circles (1 by default, from 1 to 4 — see Gamerules).
As soon as the count is reached, a 3-second countdown gives latecomers time to step in: "The ritual begins in 3...". If someone steps out and the count drops, it starts over.
One player per circle; the victim obviously cannot officiate.

That number only matters at the start. Once launched, the ritual is played by whoever is in the circles at the beginning of each round: you can join midway (you get a trial the next round), and an officiant who walks off doesn't block anything — they only lose their trial.

The rounds

5 rounds. At the start of each, every player standing in a circle receives a trial drawn at random — never the same one twice in a row for the same player. The trial screen opens by itself.
The round holds if at least half of the officiants pass: "The seal holds (n/5)." Otherwise it is a breach: "A breach in the seal! (n/3)". The more of you there are, the sturdier the ritual: with four, two passes are enough.
3 breaches and the ritual collapses.
Nobody in the circles for 45 seconds (before the start or between two rounds): it collapses too.
A short pause of a second and a half separates two rounds.
Difficulty rises every round (level 0 in the first, 4 in the fifth).

After the fifth round with fewer than three breaches, the extraction takes place: see Sephira Extractor.

The trial screen

Every trial sits inside a glowing seal in the middle of the screen: the trial's kanji on top (封詠破紋導), the time left as a ring that drains and turns red — with a ticking sound during the last three seconds —, the five rounds along the top of the ring, the three breaches at the bottom, the instruction underneath, and a stamp for the verdict: 成 (held) or 破 (broken). The game is not paused.

The five trials

封 — strike at the right moment. A needle sweeps back and forth along an arc; a zone of light sits somewhere on it at random. Strike (Space, Enter or left click) while the needle is in the light. One try only.

Round	1	2	3	4	5
Zone width	20 % of the arc	17 %	14 %	11 %	8 %
Needle speed	60 % of the arc/s	76 %	92 %	108 %	124 %
Time	5.5 s	5.5 s	5.5 s	5.5 s	5.5 s

詠 — memorise, then type back. A sequence of arrows lights up one by one, then fades. Type it back in order with the arrow keys, WASD or ZQSD. You can only type once the sequence has faded, and a single mistake fails the trial. Never the same arrow twice in a row.

Round	1	2	3	4	5
Arrows	4	5	6	7	8
Display time	2.5 s	2.8 s	3.1 s	3.4 s	3.7 s
Total time	8 s	8.8 s	9.6 s	10.4 s	11.2 s

破 — hammer. A gauge drains on its own, chains crack with every hit. Hammer Space (or left click) to fill it completely before time runs out. The later the round, the less each hit fills and the faster the gauge leaks.

Round	1	2	3	4	5
Fill per hit	8.5 %	7.5 %	6.5 %	5.5 %	4.5 %
Leak per second	20 %	24 %	28 %	32 %	36 %
Time	5 s	5 s	5 s	5 s	5 s

紋 — recognise. A glyph writes itself stroke by stroke in the centre, then four glyphs appear below, drawn from twelve. Pick the one that was shown — click it or press 1 to 4. One choice only. Some glyphs look alike (they share strokes): look carefully.

Round	1	2	3	4	5
Time	6.5 s	6 s	5.5 s	5 s	4.5 s

導 — follow. A ring drifts inside the seal, its upcoming path traced in dots. Keep the mouse cursor inside it: the channel gauge fills while you are in and drains (a little more slowly) when you're out. You pass when it is full. The later the round, the smaller and faster the ring.

Round	1	2	3	4	5
Time to build up inside the ring	3 s	3.5 s	4 s	4.5 s	5 s
Total time	8.5 s	9 s	9.5 s	10 s	10.5 s

The content of the trials (the arrow sequence, the glyphs) is checked by the server, and an answer that arrives faster than a human could play it is refused: no point looking for a shortcut.

What everyone else sees

Every officiant visibly chants: hands held out to the cross, rings of script and rising embers, the kanji of their trial above their head. The colour tells where they stand: emerald during the trial, gold if it holds, red if it breaks. Everyone around can see who is holding the ritual together — and who is making it waver.

Saving the victim

The victim can't flee, teleport or use skills, and no one can kill them to cut it short (see Sephira Extractor). Their allies have only one way: make the ritual fail.

Drive the officiants out of their circles: push them, knock them down, kill them. An officiant has the trial screen open: they don't move and don't see the blow coming. Out of their circle, their trial is lost.
Aim for half: fewer than half of the officiants passing is enough to open a breach. Three breaches, and the cross releases its captive.
Empty the circles: if nobody holds them for 45 seconds, the ritual collapses.