Chương 24: Apparently, Being on Fire Is a Math Problem

Matt gripped the hilt of his Rare Foundry Longsword. The steel was warm beneath his hand. Not dangerously warm. Just enough to remind him that he was no longer standing in Ohio grass or an Indiana factory. Black basalt stretched beneath his boots. Thin red lines glowed inside cracks running through the ground, and ash drifted lazily through dry air. The portal back to Camp remained behind him. Ahead— something scraped across stone. A low growl followed. Matt settled into his stance.

"Let's see what E-rank teaches me." A shape moved around the jagged black rock. The monster stepped into view. It was recognizably canine. Mostly. Four legs. Long body. Heavy shoulders. Everything else looked as if someone had buried a hound under cooling volcanic ash, then forgotten to extinguish what was left inside. Charcoal-gray skin covered its body. Glowing cracks ran along its neck and flanks. Smoke leaked from between its teeth. EMBER HOUND Cinderfall Basin — E Rank Matt stared.

"Hound." Black Hollow had possessed Cave Rats. Ironvale had Scrap Hounds. Apparently, Dungeons considered vaguely dog-shaped enemies an important part of progression.

"Of course." He checked himself automatically. Combat Belt and Elemental Shield were active. Anchored Step, Quick Frame, and Overmuscle occupied his three COPY slots. Then: FIRE RESISTANCE: 75% Maximum Elemental Resistance: 75% Matt had built specifically for Cinderfall. Seventy-five percent was the normal maximum. Stacking more ordinary Fire Resistance wouldn't push it higher without something that increased the maximum itself. For now? Fully prepared.

Cleave had Increased Attack Speed Support instead of Multistrike. One attack. Evaluate. Move. Exactly what he wanted in an unfamiliar Dungeon. The Ember Hound barked. The sound came out strangely hollow. Like air being pulled through a furnace. Then it charged. Matt waited. One step. Another. The Hound launched itself. Matt moved aside and swung. Cleave. The attack struck across the creature's flank. Hard. Solid. But— not dead. Matt immediately noticed. The Hound staggered. Glowing cracks flared beneath its hide.

"Harder." F-rank Scrap Hounds had become almost disposable by the end of Ironvale. This thing had survived a clean Cleave. Good. That meant E-rank mattered. It snapped toward his leg. Matt recovered quickly. The Attack Speed Support helped. Basic strike. The Foundry Longsword bit into the creature. It collapsed. Ash spilled outward. A Mana Stone remained behind. Matt lowered his sword.

"But manageable." That mattered more. E-rank had not magically invalidated everything he'd built. His sword, Strength, Passives, and Gear still worked. The first trash monster was tougher, but it hadn't bounced his attack or flattened him with a single touch. Stronger? Yes. Impossible? No. Matt collected the Stone. Then heard another growl. ◆ The second Ember Hound approached more cautiously. Matt did the same. He didn't immediately attack. Watch first.

He'd spent an entire day preparing for what Cinderfall wanted to teach him. Now he wanted to see it. The Hound accelerated. Matt readied Cleave. Then the monster changed posture. Front legs planted. Head raised. Its throat glowed.

"There." Matt moved. A concentrated burst of Fire shot from its mouth. Not a beam. Not instantaneous. A projectile with visible travel. Matt activated Quick Frame and shifted away. The Fire splashed across the black rock where he'd been standing. For an instant, the basalt burned brighter. Matt stared.

"Okay." Good. That attack had a tell. It could be avoided. The Hound hadn't invented a new law of physics merely because the letter over the Dungeon entrance had changed from F to E. Matt closed. Two attacks. The creature turned to ash. Confidence rose slightly. He allowed it. Not too much. The reviews had repeatedly warned against that exact mistake. He moved farther from the entrance. Slowly. ◆ The terrain narrowed. Jagged stone on one side. A glowing fissure on the other. Enough space to fight.

Less space than he'd had before. The third Ember Hound emerged from behind a black shelf of rock. Matt engaged. Cleave. Hit. Not dead. The creature twisted immediately. Matt anticipated the first movement and started shifting away. The follow-up came faster than the previous Hound's. Not a bite. A shoulder-first rush wreathed in Fire. The restricted footing gave Matt less room than he'd expected. He cleared part of the attack. Not all of it. HIT Life: 555 → 505"Hot—" Matt stepped back. Stopped himself.

"…No." Not hot. Not physically. He looked down at himself. No burning clothing. No roasted arm. Nothing on him blistered or cooked. Life had taken the effect instead. Fifty Life out of five hundred fifty-five. Manageable. His preparation had worked. Matt stepped back in. Heavy Strike. The wounded Ember Hound collapsed. Ash. Silence. Matt immediately created distance from the remains.

"One hit." Now recover. Master of the Arena supplied one percent of Maximum Life regeneration each second. At five hundred fifty-five Maximum Life— LIFE REGENERATION: +5. 6 / second Good. The lost fifty would come back. Not instantly. But comfortably. Matt waited. His Life did not rise. He frowned. Then watched it fall.

"…What?" Another chunk disappeared. Not from an enemy. The Hound was already dead. Matt looked around. Nothing attacking him. Life continued dropping.

"…Wait." A red Status icon appeared. IGNITED Fire Damage over Time 35 Life / second Matt froze.

"Oh." The review line returned immediately. The hit is over. The damage isn't.

"Right." He knew that. He had deliberately chosen this Dungeon because he knew that. He'd read it. Watched videos. Discussed it with Chloe. Seen it on a giant warning sign outside the Gate. None of that prepared his instincts for watching his Life continue to disappear after the monster responsible had already turned into ash. Matt checked the numbers. IGNITE: −35 Life / second LIFE REGENERATION: +5. 6 Life / second NET: −29. 4 Life / second Matt stared.

"…Wait." Thirty-five out. Five point six in. The direction was obvious.

"My regeneration is five point six." The Life bar continued downward. Matt's voice rose.

"My regeneration is five point six!" Ignite remained completely unimpressed. The Combat Log showed the duration. IGNITE DURATION: 4 seconds Four seconds. Not forever. Four. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The enemy was dead. Matt was alone. His Life was still dropping.

"Nope." There could be another Ember Hound behind the next rock. There could be something worse. This was his first E-rank Dungeon. He had absolutely no reason to stand around proving that he could perform arithmetic while actively losing Life. His brain supplied the correct logistical decision. EXIT.

"Portal!" It came out louder than intended. Matt activated his emergency exit and practically threw himself through. ◆ Blue light. Transition. Then— Cinderfall Camp. Matt came out fast enough that he needed two steps to catch himself. He immediately stared at Life. Ignite was still present. Then faded shortly afterward. The downward movement stopped. Master of the Arena began pulling the missing Life back in the correct direction. Matt watched until the bar started climbing again. Good. Better. He exhaled.

"Okay." That had been— educational.

"I may have underestimated that."

"You good?" Matt turned. A Warrior stood near the Gate fencing. Heavy armor. Large shield. Relaxed enough to look like he'd been watching the entire performance. Matt straightened.

"Yeah." Pause.

"I think." The Warrior glanced at the portal.

"Ignite?" Matt stared at him.

"…That obvious?" The Warrior laughed.

"First E?"

"Yeah."

"Then yes." Matt rubbed the back of his neck. Great. Apparently there was an internationally recognizable first-Ignite panic walk. The Warrior nodded toward him.

"Marcus."

"Matt."

"How bad?"

"Thirty-five a second."

"Life?"

"Five hundred fifty-five." Marcus's expression immediately relaxed.

"You're fine." Matt stared.

"…I'm sorry?"

"How long?"

"Four seconds."

"Thirty-five times four." Matt did not need help with this calculation. Marcus did it anyway.

"One hundred forty."

"That's a lot."

"Not with five hundred fifty-five Life." Matt frowned. Marcus continued.

"You've got regeneration?"

"Five point six."

"Then over four seconds, that's twenty-two point four back." Matt mentally followed. Raw Ignite: Natural regeneration during the same four seconds: 22. 4. Net Ignite loss: 117. 6. Initial Fire hit: Total effect from the original mistake, assuming nothing else happened: 167. 6. Matt already knew where this was going. Marcus nodded.

"Hit plus full burn costs you around thirty percent of your Life." Matt looked offended.

"Thirty percent is not nothing."

"I didn't say nothing." Marcus grinned.

"I said you were fine."

"Those are very different definitions of fine."

"You weren't about to die from that one clean hit." Matt looked back at the Gate. He replayed what he'd done. Hit. Life 505. Ignite. Portal. He hadn't been close to zero. The red Status icon had simply felt much worse than the arithmetic.

"So…" Matt sighed.

"I may have panicked."

"Little bit."

"…Right." His Life was already back to full. Five hundred fifty-five. Okay. One clean Ignite? Manageable.

"Okay." Matt nodded.

"I can handle that."

"Sure." Marcus let the word sit there. Then added:"Until you get hit again." Matt's eyes narrowed.

"…What?"

"Another Ignite refreshes the duration." Matt stopped.

"Refreshes."

"Back to four seconds." Matt visualized it. Ignited. Four seconds. Three seconds pass. Nearly done. Another Fire hit lands. Timer returns to four.

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

"So if I keep getting hit—""You can keep the burn alive a lot longer than four seconds." Matt stared at him.

"That's worse." Marcus smiled.

"There it is." The first version of the problem had been: 140 total damage. The actual combat problem was: 140 if nothing else goes wrong. Different sentence. Matt looked back toward the Gate.

"The burn isn't scary because one clean Ignite kills you."

"Right."

"It keeps charging rent while everything else is still trying to hit you." Marcus nodded.

"That is a pretty good description." Matt hated when people confirmed his pessimism. ◆"So how does everyone deal with it?" Marcus shifted the big shield resting beside him.

"Depends on the build."

"Rogues?"

"Don't get hit." Matt waited.

"That is the advice?"

"High Evasion. Movement. Positioning. They build around avoiding the problem."

"Helpful."

"It is if you're a Rogue." Matt was not.

"Mages?"

"Energy Shield." That answer Matt already understood. Energy Shield absorbed incoming damage before Life, and Mage Builds could stack tremendous defensive buffers if designed for it.

"They also fight from farther away," Marcus continued.

"Good Mage doesn't need to solve the exact same problem you do."

"Right." Matt hesitated.

"Warrior?" The other man stopped. Matt immediately became suspicious.

"Why did you pause?"

"Life Flask." Matt stared.

"…Seriously?"

"Drink and keep hitting." Marcus said it with complete sincerity. Matt waited for the sophisticated second half. None arrived.

"A lot of Warrior solutions boil down to having more Life than the problem has damage." Matt sighed.

"…That sounds familiar." Life Passives. Combat Gear. Master of the Arena. He had, in fact, been doing exactly that for several levels.

"Or regeneration." Matt's head came back up.

"There we go." Marcus laughed.

"How much?"

"Depends."

"For Cinderfall." The man considered Matt's reported numbers.

"You saw thirty-five coming in."

"Yeah."

"You've got five point six coming back."

"Yeah."

"Fill the gap." Matt stared.

"…Thirty more Life regeneration per second."

"One answer." Matt thought. Marcus continued.

"If you're building for this place specifically? Don't aim at exactly thirty-five because one monster happened to give you thirty-five."

"Safety margin."

"Exactly." He tapped the side of his shield.

"Something around forty a second makes ordinary Cinderfall Ignite pressure a lot less annoying for a prepared low-level Warrior." Matt nodded slowly. Forty. That was now a useful search term.

"How does Ignite actually calculate?" Marcus's expression changed immediately.

"That's where I stop." Matt laughed.

"Seriously?"

"People quote the ninety-percent rule from the base Fire damage." Matt nodded. He'd seen that too.

"But don't look at the fifty Life you actually lost and try to work backward like fifty times point nine must equal the Ignite."

"Because?"

"The hit and the resulting Ignite don't resolve through every layer exactly the same way." Marcus waved a hand.

"Base damage. Resistance. Ailment scaling. Whatever else the attack has going on." He grimaced.

"Read one of the theory guides if you enjoy headaches." Matt did not need another research branch today.

"Fair."

"For you, the important number is easier." Marcus pointed toward the Gate.

"You observed thirty-five per second."

"Right."

"Build around what you're actually seeing." That— Matt liked. Observed problem. Build answer. Logistics.

"Got it." Marcus's eyes dropped toward Matt's equipment. Foundry Longsword in one hand. Nothing in the other. He paused.

"One more thing." Matt looked at him.

"Yeah?"

"You're using a one-handed sword."

"Yes."

"What's in your other hand?" Matt blinked. He looked down. Left hand. Empty. He looked back up.

"…Nothing."

"There." Marcus smiled.

"There's your problem." Matt frowned.

"Another sword?"

"Could." Pause.

"Wouldn't be my choice." Matt thought. Damage wasn't his problem. The Ember Hounds were killable. The problem was persistent damage. Recovery. Survival. His eyes drifted toward the massive shield beside Marcus.

"…Shield."

"Now you're thinking."

"Recommendation?"

"If it were me?" Marcus lifted the shield onto his arm and started walking.

"Unique."

"Which Unique?"

"Research." Matt stared after him.

"Seriously?"

"I gave you the hint." He kept walking.

"Don't die." Matt watched him leave.

"Very helpful." Pause. He considered everything the man had just explained.

"…Actually, yes." ◆ Matt returned to Trailer C-87. He sat down. Opened his notes. CINDERFALL — FIRST ENTRY Ember Hounds defeated: 3 Observed Fire Hit: 50 Life Observed Ignite: 35 Life / second Ignite Duration: 4 seconds Current Maximum Life: 555 Current Life Regeneration: 5. 6 / second Result: Panicked and left. Matt stared at the final line.

"Excellent first run." He added another. Additional discovery: Off-hand completely empty. That was somehow more embarrassing. He had spent thousands on Gear, Crafted Rare armor, bought seven Skill Slot Expansion Crystals, built a Rare Foundry Longsword, purchased five Support Gems for testing, and spent twenty thousand dollars on a Magic Find Belt. And had simply— left one hand empty. Matt opened a search engine. warrior shield unique cinderfall Enter. The internet attacked.

BEST LOW-LEVEL WARRIOR SHIELDS WHY IS YOUR OFF-HAND EMPTY? CINDERFALL BEGINNER WARRIOR GEAR STOP TWO-HANDING YOUR EGO Matt stared.

"… The internet is very judgmental today." He opened the first guide. Then another. Then a market discussion. The same name kept appearing. BACKWATER WALL"Huh." Click.

◆ BACKWATER WALL Type: Kite Shield Rarity: Unique Required Level: 7 Requires: 13 Strength, 13 Intelligence Block Chance: 24% Modifiers All Elemental Resistances +4% Regenerates 30–50 Life per second Freeze Duration on You reduced by 80% Regenerates 100 Life per second while on Low Life Low Life: Below 50% of Maximum Life Flavor Text At the edge of the cliff, one sees a view hidden from safer ground. At the brink of death, one hears the first cry of the soul. There is no road left behind my back.

Therefore, before me stretches an infinity of life. Matt stared. Then reread one modifier. Regenerates 30–50 Life per second"… Oh." Marcus had told him to think around forty. This shield— one item— could roll between thirty and fifty. Matt opened Status. STR: 43 INT: 14 Requirement: 13 Strength. 13 Intelligence. Matt smiled.

"I qualify." Then noticed the second number again.

"Barely in one category." Strength? No concern. Intelligence? Fourteen. System baseline was fourteen. He qualified for this Shield through the tremendous intellectual achievement of being exactly as supernaturally intelligent as an ordinary human. Good enough. Even a decent Backwater Wall roll would put his total regeneration around or above the thirty-five-per-second Ignite he had just observed.

"…This." He leaned closer.

"This is it." Then his eyes moved down. Regenerates 100 Life per second while on Low Life Matt blinked.

"Excuse me?" Below half Life. Additional one hundred per second. Automatic. No Skill activation. No Flask. No button. Matt stared at his Life bar. 555 Maximum. He did not bother calculating the exact integer boundary. Half. That was enough. If he ever fell below half, the Shield became much more aggressive about keeping him alive.

"That's insane." He immediately raised one finger at the screen.

"I am not testing that deliberately." Safety system. Not gameplay objective. Good. Next modifier. Freeze Duration on You reduced by 80% Matt paused. Frostmere. Cold. Freeze. He had bookmarked the place yesterday.

"And it does that too?" The Shield had no offensive modifiers at all. It was almost aggressively defensive. All Elemental Resistances. Regeneration. Freeze protection. Emergency Low Life regeneration. This wasn't a weapon disguised as a Shield. It was a Shield. Matt liked the honesty. Then checked the price. TYPICAL NATIONAL MARKET PRICE: approximately $1, 000 Matt stared.

"…One thousand dollars?" He looked toward the drawer containing Fortune's Harness. Twenty thousand. No combat stats. This? One thousand. Might directly solve the problem that had just sent him flying through a Portal.

"This is cheaper than being lucky." Matt laughed. The market explanation was straightforward. Backwater Wall was a relatively common low-level Unique. Supply was high, it was excellent during early progression, and higher-level Warriors eventually moved on to different Shields, specialized defenses, other Off-hand setups, or entirely different Builds. High supply. Finite low-level demand. Price stayed low. Matt hovered over Buy. DELIVERY: Tomorrow Matt stared.

"…No." He looked toward the Gate. He could wait. That was objectively sensible. Spend the evening researching. Craft. Sleep. Pick up Shield tomorrow. Go in fully prepared. Matt closed the listing. Grabbed what he needed. And walked toward the Camp market. ◆ One of the local equipment shops had Backwater Wall in stock. Matt approached the counter.

"Backwater Wall." The clerk barely reacted.

"Got one."

"How much?"

"Two thousand." Matt stopped.

"…National Market is one thousand."

"Yep."

"You're charging double."

"Yep." The clerk looked entirely comfortable with himself. Matt narrowed his eyes.

"Why?" The clerk pointed toward the red-orange glow of Cinderfall's Gate.

"Because you're standing here." Matt stared. The clerk continued.

"Warrior comes out of there on fire." He mimed looking at his own hands.

"Looks down."

"Realizes the other hand is empty."

"Walks over here." Matt's expression slowly changed.

"You have had this exact conversation before."

"A lot." Of course. This wasn't price gouging invented specifically for Matthew Hayes. It was localized demand. The National Market was cheaper if he waited for logistics. Cinderfall charged more because the Shield was available now. Matt had spent years in logistics. He hated that this made complete sense.

"You want the thousand-dollar one?" The clerk shrugged.

"Order it."

"Wait until tomorrow." Matt looked toward the Gate. He could. Absolutely could. Then looked back.

"…Two thousand?"

"Two thousand." Matt sighed.

"I'll take it." The clerk smiled.

"Smart."

"I dislike you."

"You still bought it."

"… Yes." The clerk pulled out the Shield. Dark metal. Kite-shaped. Heavy without being enormous. Matt activated identification. BACKWATER WALL Type: Kite Shield Rarity: Unique Required Level: 7 Requires: 13 Strength, 13 Intelligence Block Chance: 24% Modifiers All Elemental Resistances +4% Regenerates 42 Life per second Freeze Duration on You reduced by 80% Regenerates 100 Life per second while on Low Life Flavor Text At the edge of the cliff, one sees a view hidden from safer ground.

At the brink of death, one hears the first cry of the soul. There is no road left behind my back. Therefore, before me stretches an infinity of life. Matt's irritation immediately weakened.

"Forty-two." The clerk nodded.

"Good roll." Range: Thirty to fifty. Forty-two. Above the midpoint.

"Could've sold you a thirty-one." Matt looked at him.

"That almost makes me feel better about the markup."

"Almost?"

"Don't push it." The clerk laughed. Matt equipped it immediately. Rare Foundry Longsword in the right hand. Backwater Wall in the left. For the first time since the beginning of his trip— his Off-hand was actually occupied. The System updated. LIFE REGENERATION Master of the Arena: +5. 6 / second Backwater Wall: +42 / second TOTAL: 47. 6 Life / second Matt stopped.

"Oh." Observed Ignite: 35/s. Current regeneration: 47. 6/s. Difference: +12. 6 Life / second Matt smiled.

"…Oh." Then laughed.

"Oh, this is stupid." The Shield's All Elemental Resistance modifier also applied. His effective Fire Resistance did not move. It was already at the standard maximum. FIRE RESISTANCE: 75% — Maximum: 75% Good. The Shield could still improve his other elemental defenses where he had room below the cap. But for Cinderfall, the important number was regeneration. Forty-seven point six. Against thirty-five. And if Low Life activated? LOW LIFE REGENERATION Normal: 47.

6 / second Backwater Wall bonus: +100 / second TOTAL: 147. 6 Life / second Matt stared.

"No." He raised the Shield slightly.

"We are not testing that." Still— very reassuring. Two thousand dollars. Matt thought of Fortune's Harness. Twenty thousand. Then the Shield. Ten times cheaper. Actually helped him survive.

"…Fine." He adjusted the strap.

"Still overpriced." Then walked straight back toward the Gate. ◆ Marcus was still nearby. He saw Matt approaching. Then saw the Shield.

"Found it." Matt lifted Backwater Wall.

"Two thousand dollars."

"Local price." Matt stopped.

"You know too?"

"Everyone knows." Matt sighed. This was apparently a rite of passage.

"Good roll?"

"Forty-two." Marcus nodded.

"Nice."

"Total regeneration is forty-seven point six."

"Then go find out whether your math works." Matt looked toward the Gate.

"That was the plan." Marcus smiled.

"Try not to Portal out just because your Life bar moves."

"No promises." Matt returned to the terminal. Instance 71 — 22/64 — Boss Defeated Recon. Take two. Portal. ◆ Heat. Basalt. Ash. Same Dungeon. Different Matt. He hadn't gained a Level, spent his Passive Points, or unlocked anything new through COPY. One major thing had changed. His left hand was no longer empty. Matt looked at Backwater Wall.

"All right." He moved. ◆ The first Ember Hound died normally. No Fire hit. Nothing learned. The second also failed to Ignite him. Matt almost found himself disappointed. Then immediately corrected the thought.

"No." He was not going to become the person who was disappointed that a monster had failed to set him on fire. Another pair appeared farther ahead. Matt fought carefully. Cleave. Move. Basic attack. One Hound fell. The second came in. This time Matt did not deliberately stand there and invite the hit. That would have been stupid. He fought normally. The Hound attacked. Matt moved. Partially. Fire-wreathed jaws caught him. HIT Life: 555 → 505 Matt's eyes immediately moved to the Status area. There.

IGNITED 35 Life / second"Okay." No Portal. No panic. Watch. IGNITE: −35 / second LIFE REGENERATION: +47. 6 / second NET: +12. 6 / second Matt stared. Life did not continue falling. It rose. Slowly. But unmistakably. 505 ↑ 517 ↑ 530 Matt's mouth opened.

"…It's going up." Ignite remained active. Red icon. Fire Damage Over Time. Still happening. The Shield was not removing the Ailment or preventing the Damage. His recovery was simply stronger than the observed DoT. Matt grinned.

"Yes." Another tick. Higher.

"Yes!" The Ember Hound stared at him. Matt pointed his sword at it.

"The fire is losing." The Hound responded by attacking him again. Matt's smile disappeared.

"Oh." He moved late. Another direct hit connected. Life dropped.

"Right." Matt brought Backwater Wall up instinctively. He did not stop to analyze Block mechanics. That was another lesson for another day. He had bought this Shield for one specific modifier. Regeneration. And regeneration did not make repeated direct hits disappear.

"You solve one problem." Matt recovered. Sword. Heavy Strike. The Hound collapsed. He watched Life recover.

"I still have to solve the others." Backwater Wall had solved the observed Ignite pressure. It had not solved direct hits, multiple enemies, stronger Ignites, or unknown Boss mechanics. Matt looked down at the Shield.

"One problem." He smiled.

"Solved." That was enough. ◆ He continued deeper than before. Not much deeper. Recon remained Recon. But this time he wasn't watching the Portal every few seconds. Another Ember Hound. Then two. Then a mixed stretch of terrain where the glowing fissures forced more careful movement. Matt took another Fire hit. Ignited. The familiar red icon appeared. He watched it. Life continued recovering. No panic. That difference was enormous. Earlier, IGNITED had meant: Something is wrong. Now it meant: Known problem.

Current recovery exceeds observed pressure. Much better. Another Hound caught him before the first Ignite had finished. The duration refreshed to four seconds. Matt noticed immediately. Exactly as Marcus had warned. The renewed Ignite itself still failed to beat 47. 6 regeneration. But the direct hit removed another chunk of Life. Matt repositioned faster.

"Right." That was the actual danger. The regeneration could outheal the observed thirty-five-per-second Ignite. His Life pool still cared if monsters kept removing fifty at a time on top of it. Correct phrasing: One ordinary Ember Hound Ignite is currently out-regenerated. Much safer. Much more Matt. He also noticed something he hadn't expected. His Life Flasks were untouched. Marcus's Warrior answer had been: Drink and keep hitting. Matt hadn't needed to. The Shield had made that decision for him.

◆ The next stretch gave him room to actually look around. Cinderfall was beautiful in an aggressively hostile way. Black rock. Orange-red fractures. Ash moving across the open ground. Charred shapes that may once have been trees. Heat haze twisting distant terrain. The sky remained an impossible dark red. Matt collected his first E-rank Mana Stones. A few Dungeon materials. Nothing life-changing. That was fine. Today wasn't about loot. He saw movement farther into the Basin. Something larger. Not an Ember Hound.

Matt stopped. Could investigate. He checked Life. Flasks. Inventory. Portal. He was comfortable. Which meant— this was exactly when the advice said to leave. Matt smiled.

"Enough." He did not need to prove he could stay. The larger silhouette moved somewhere beyond the rocks. Tomorrow. Matt activated his exit. This time he didn't shout. Didn't dive. Didn't panic. He simply stepped through because he had decided the run was over. ◆ Cinderfall Camp. Normal noise. Normal people. The world had not changed. Matt looked at Backwater Wall.

"Worth it." Immediate verdict. National price: approximately one thousand dollars. What he'd paid: two thousand. Premium: one thousand. He thought about the timing. If he'd ordered nationally, he could have waited until tomorrow. Instead, he had learned the lesson today. Matt nodded.

"I paid a one-thousand-dollar same-day-delivery fee." Pause.

"Without delivery." That sounded considerably worse when phrased correctly. He returned to the trailer. ◆ The group chat received the report. BLACK HOLLOW GROUP Matt: first E run Ethan: DID YOU BURN Matt: yes Ethan: HA Matt: portal'd out immediately Chloe appeared. Chloe: You okay? Matt: yeah Matt: 555 life Matt: hit took 50 Matt: ignite 35/sec Matt: 4 seconds Pause. Chloe: Yeah. Chloe: First one feels awful. Matt nodded at the phone. Correct.

Matt: bought a shield Ethan: WHAT SHIELD Matt: BACKWATER WALL Ethan: TURTLE Matt: 42 regen/sec Longer pause. Ethan: OH Matt laughed. Chloe: Plus Master of the Arena? Matt: 47. 6 total Chloe: Your Ignite was 35. Matt: exactly Ethan: FIRE LOST Matt looked toward Backwater Wall. Matt: fire lost Ethan immediately ruined the moment. Ethan: YOU ARE NOW A TURTLE Matt: sword and shield is not a turtle Ethan: TURTLE Matt ignored him. Matt: also gives +100 regen on Low Life Ethan: TEST IT Matt: no Chloe: Do not test it.

Matt: thank you Ethan: COWARDS Matt closed the chat. Ethan did not get a vote in experimental methodology. ◆ Matt opened his planner. New entry. CINDERFALL — OBSERVED Fire Resistance: 75% (Maximum: 75%) Maximum Life: 555 Master of the Arena Regen: 5. 6 / s Backwater Wall Regen: +42 / s TOTAL NORMAL REGEN: 47.

6 / s EMBER HOUND — OBSERVED Initial Fire Hit: 50 Life Ignite: 35 Life / s Ignite Duration: 4 seconds Re-Ignite: Refreshes duration to 4 seconds CURRENT RESULT One ordinary observed Ember Hound Ignite is out-regenerated. Matt stared at that sentence. Good. Stronger Ignites, repeated direct hits, multiple enemies, Boss mechanics, terrain, and most of Cinderfall remained unknown. Perfect.

"One problem solved." He looked at the Passive Points. PASSIVE POINTS: 2 Still there. And he still didn't need them. Gear had solved today's problem. So the points stayed. Tomorrow could provide another problem. Matt added: NEXT RUN Push beyond entrance region Identify new monsters Watch for different Ignite strengths Check E-rank loot Look for useful Bases Keep Backwater Wall equipped Still no Boss rush Then another thought. Closed Loop. He smiled slightly. Maybe useful once he started taking longer routes.

Not necessary yet. COPY was beginning to feel less like: I have the strongest Skill. And more like: I own a warehouse full of answers. He simply had to know which shelf to open. Matt looked at Backwater Wall beside the Foundry Longsword. A thousand-dollar national Unique. Two thousand dollars because he'd wanted it immediately. Zero offensive modifiers. And it had changed the entire emotional texture of his first E-rank Dungeon. Earlier today, thirty-five Life per second had sent him running through a Portal.

Now: IGNITE: 35 Life / second REGENERATION: 47. 6 Life / second Matt smiled.

"Apparently, being on fire is a math problem." The desk drawer sat behind him. Inside: Fortune's Harness. Silent. Waiting. Matt glanced back.

"Don't start." He turned off the light.