Chương 65: Brain Slot Replaced

Meno got home still carrying the spoon box like it was a quest item. Bram dropped him off without speaking, which had become his favorite thing about Bram. Meno climbed the stairs to his apartment feeling good enough that the cracked hallway paint seemed less offensive than usual. He placed the spoon beside his keyboard, looked at it once, then climbed into the Soma-X7 before his brain could wander.

[Login Complete] Southreach loaded around him in late light, blue banners snapping from the city rings as players moved along the upper roads. Meno turned on the stream, adjusted the overlay, and watched the audience start trickling in. The level forty ability prompt waited in the corner of his vision, and he had no intention of touching it until enough people were present to suffer with him. Viewers: 15, 422. late LATE class now where were you Meno opened his mouth.

"Better late than—" He stopped so hard his jaw clicked. Aurelia's shirt insult came back to him. Then her mouth. Then the stupid loading bar on his back. His face heated, and the capsule translated it with unnecessary accuracy. Chat noticed immediately. Of course it did. why red wife confirmed reward happened OPEN CLASS"Nothing happened," Meno said, then heard himself and hated the sentence.

"Not relevant. Bounty board first." He found the Southreach bounty board in the second-highest ring, mounted beside a blue-bannered guard post. It was covered in monster notices, war orders, and painted warnings that made Templefall Hollow look even less inviting. A Royal Clerk NPC in a blue coat checked his name, checked the Sleepwalker bounty, then pointed him down the ring toward a white stone bank building. Apparently the board registered glory, but money still required paperwork.

Meno walked to the bank while chat tried to convict him of romance without evidence. The Southreach bank was smaller than Westmarket's but just as aggressive about polished stone. Behind the counters stood Zubra tellers in neat vests, their striped heads bobbing between ledgers and coin scales. One looked up, saw Meno, froze, then came out from behind the counter. Meno slowed.

"Bounty reward?" The Zubra did not answer. It moved in front of him, lifted both hands, and began to clap. Meno waited for the rest of the interaction. The clapping continued. Players nearby turned. Another Zubra teller joined in from behind the counter. A guard gave one solemn clap every few seconds, as if this had a protocol but no dignity. The longer it went on, the more Meno understood that counting the seconds had been a mistake.

applause tax royal ceremony why is this so long clap faster claim gold any% At roughly three minutes, the Zubra stopped.

"On behalf of the Royal Bounty Offices, congratulations," it said. [Royal Bounty Claimed] Sleepwalker Eliminated Reward: 5, 000g Karma +50 [Currency: 19, 975g] [Karma: 400]"No threshold," Meno said, narrowing his eyes.

"So next one is probably five hundred unless the system is being especially punishing." BrineSaint wasting time on karma quests made more sense now. If every future threshold got wider, Marielle's Little Aureliana was less a nice amulet and more a ladder with a mythic rope attached. Meno checked merchant deposits while he was already in the bank. [Merchant Exchange Deposits Pending: None]"Bradbaron hasn't sold anything yet," Meno said.

"I wonder if getting killed by Karmabeast on stream rattled him." brad slander birthday prep make up massage let him cook yacht broke down Viewers: 31, 608. The viewer count kept climbing as Meno left the bank and descended one ring to the crafting district. Southreach's forge row was broader than Westmarket's, all open-air stations and red awnings, with blacksmith NPCs who looked less terrified of him only because they had never watched him overload a forge.

He found the repair NPC and laid out the three damaged weapons. The one remaining great axe had been chewed raw by crystal excavation, and his two equipped daggers had been abused on the Sleepwalker. The NPC quoted eighty gold to repair all three, more than Meno would have spent doing it himself with bars. Meno paid anyway. [Currency: 19, 895g]"Time is worth twenty gold right now," Meno said.

"Also, level forty deaths cost one hundred each, so this amount of money is nothing." Viewers: 62, 663. CLASS class now stop stalling Meno stopped near the edge of the crafting ring where he could see Southreach's lower roads curling down toward the gates.

"Okay, guys," he said.

"Let's do this. Prepare yourselves." He opened the level forty ability selection. [Class Ability Available] Choose one Titan Variant ability. [Option 1: Titan Variant — Bite Down] Stance — Toggle Ability. While Bite Down is active, your HP is fixed at 1 and healing has no effect. When damage would kill you, spend 100 Chain to survive instead. Meno leaned in.

"A stance ability," he said.

"Immediately good. Bad for raw DPS and bad for the Sleepwalker plan, but for evasion, this is incredible." boring defense skill skip one hp forever? immortal?

"It's not boring," Meno said.

"It is incredibly powerful. The issue is it does not increase my damage." He tapped the next lines. If you have 100 Chain or less, you die. Bite Down cannot prevent instant-death or non-damage death effects. Toggling Bite Down off breaks your Chain.

"Hundred Chain or less means no Panic Pump abuse," Meno said.

"And what the hell is a non-damage death effect? Falling into a void? Execution by quest? Getting sentenced to death by a king?" If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. He frowned at the toggle line.

"Turning it off breaks Chain, so once I commit, I'm locked in. Not flexible. Break Surplus was already a defensive anti-chain-break choice, technically, but at least I can abuse that for a quick two hundred ten Chain opening." safe trap take it coward immortal mosquito where damage Meno glanced at the second option and almost closed the panel on instinct.

"Oh no," he said.

"Veyrath is not messing around." [Option 2: Titan Variant — Chain Madness] Active Ability. Assign one weapon to your Madness Slot. Chain Madness becomes available when you gain 100 Chain without Chain Madness active. Meno blinked.

"An extra weapon slot called Madness? I thought I already had that slot filled with my brain." He read the line again.

"Only after gaining one hundred Chain, so Panic Pump can trigger it instantly if I accept the one HP. This is absolutely the insane option." MADNESS SLOT brain slot occupied pick it doomed Weapon Master 2? Activate Chain Madness to instantly equip your Madness Slot weapon, ignoring weapon-swap penalties and without breaking Chain. For the next 100 Chain gained, your Madness Slot weapon has maximum Attack Speed set to 10 attacks per second.

This value is not affected by increases or decreases to Attack Speed or Action Speed.

"WHAT?!" A woman walking past with a basket of ore jumped at Meno's shout and shot him a sharp look. Meno pointed at the panel like she needed to understand.

"Ten. Ten attacks per second. For any weapon." She walked faster.

"It's only for the next one hundred Chain gained," he said, voice climbing despite himself, "but I gain two Chain per attack. That's fifty attacks. Five seconds at max speed. Faster than dual daggers, and it works with two-handers?" math boss 2 no calculator bait PLEASE NO NUMBERS Weapon Master fail Iron Stand Meno's face twisted.

"Yes," he said.

"Imagine this with Weapon Master. It would have ignored the eighty percent max attack speed penalty." Chat pounced. BRICKED IRON STAND Meno chose wrong Aurelia was right"No," Meno snapped.

"There is no way this shows up if I take Weapon Master. Zero chance. Fifty Chain per hit plus armor penetration would be beyond broken." He paused.

"The AI isn't that bad." cope cope cope the AI hates balance Meno read the next lines, and the cost became clear. When Chain Madness is activated, you enter Madness state until combat state ends. While in Madness state, Stop prompts may appear. While a Stop prompt is active, attacking breaks your Chain. While a Stop prompt is active, Chain does not decay due to not attacking.

"Guys," he said slowly, "I think I'm actually being trolled." Chat loved that more than any clean damage increase. STOP PROMPT HAHAHAHA reaction test skill issue ability pick it now"What is a Stop prompt?" Meno asked.

"My vision flashes red and I can't attack until it clears? Madness stays for the rest of combat after the speed window ends? This ability is toxic." He looked down at his hands.

"If I get a Stop prompt mid-swing with daggers, I can miss it before I even react. This changes how I play entirely." Meno kept reading. When Chain Madness ends, your previous weapon is re-equipped. Chain Madness ends after 100 Chain is gained through Chain Madness or when your Chain breaks. While wielding any mace-type weapon during Chain Madness, each weapon attack deals fixed damage to you equal to 50% of your maximum HP. Meno read the mace clause twice.

"Why is it like this?" mace arc BONK TAX use mace abuse potential 50% hp is fine"It auto-swaps back, which is convenient," Meno said.

"Ends when the hundred Chain is gained or Chain breaks. But the mace thing is nonsense. Just say no maces instead of making me pay half my max HP per swing." He thought about a two-handed mace hitting ten times per second and immediately understood.

"Okay, fine. A one-second max-speed bonker at ten hits per second would be disgusting. Still, axes start at one-point-five. That is not exactly fast." mythic credit make anti self damage mace design credit abuse it Meno froze because chat had accidentally said something useful.

"Yes," he said carefully.

"Technically, I could make something specifically for this with the Mythic design credit. But that does not answer how I get the actual item. Mythic I is not something I can just buy." He moved to the third option before he could spiral. [Option 3: Titan Variant — Chain Storm] Stance — Toggle Ability. Activating Chain Storm stores your current Chain count. While Chain Storm is active, your Chain count cannot increase or decrease. Meno breathed out.

"Another stance. This one looks clean. It snapshots my Chain, so it cannot decrease, but it cannot increase either." Your weapon hits release a short-range storm pulse around the struck target. Storm pulse damage is weapon damage enhanced by the stored Chain count.

"Yes," Meno said.

"AOE effect, but short range. Not medium like Hundredfold." XP RAIN farm skill take storm Jaxxon mode AOE king"It stops my Chain from ramping," Meno said.

"But if a boss spawns reinforcements, this melts them. Against trash packs, it could be absurd." While Chain Storm is active, Hundredfold Cleave cannot be used. Deactivating Chain Storm removes the stored Chain count. Chain Storm ends if combat state ends. Meno's interest cooled.

"Meh. No Hundredfold while active, turning it off deletes the stored Chain, and leaving combat ends it. So it's all-in." He tapped the panel.

"Potential is insane if I turn it on at high stacks, but the use case is narrow." He smiled without meaning to.

"This is a JaxxonVale skill." Chat exploded. CLIPPED WARLOCK ENVY he said it Jaxxon skill delete clip too late"It was a joke," Meno said.

"Do not clip it." The clip appeared in chat five seconds later. Meno stared at it.

"Okay. Great. Let's focus." He paced along the edge of the ring, reading the options again while chat split into factions that all managed to be useless. BITE DOWN MADNESS STORM MADNESS BITE DOWN STORM IS SAFE MADNESS CONTENT" Bite Down has crazy value because it frees my brain," Meno said.

"If I have Chain to spend, I don't have to panic over every chip hit. But next to the other two, it feels like a trap because it adds zero damage." He opened Chain Storm again." Chain Storm is useful. Big pulls, PvP chain freeze, maybe boss adds. It also protects Chain from decay while active, but I already have Hundredfold for ranged AOE, and short-range pulses make it clunky." Then he opened Chain Madness." Chain Madness looks broken. Ten attacks per second for about five seconds.

What does that even look like with a two-handed axe?" pick it PICK IT STOP PROMPT GAMBLE content math chose violence"Honestly," Meno said, "it makes me mad. I do not want Stop prompt nonsense, but not picking it feels like trolling." He did one final mental comparison. Two-handed axe had roughly two and a half times dagger base damage. Daggers could dual wield, and the speed was cleaner for sustained stacking, but Chain Madness turned the axe into a temporary blender without the normal max speed cap.

It did not scale with gear speed, but it also ignored slow effects inside the window. Madness had the kind of downside that made future him hate current him. Current him selected it. [Ability Selected: Titan Variant — Chain Madness] Chat achieved unity through bad judgment. YES MADNESS STOP PROMPT ARC he picked content RIP chain test now A new slot appeared in the equipment panel. [Madness Slot: Empty] Meno equipped daggers normally, then placed one repaired Uncommon III Great Axe into the Madness Slot.

[Madness Slot Assigned: Uncommon III Great Axe] He stared at the slot for a few seconds.

"That is cursed." test starter zone test now target dummy NO DUMMY"Target dummy is lame," Meno said, which was how most of his problems began. He left Southreach through the lower roads and headed toward Goldplain Downs. Dry roads gave way to warm fields, hay fences, beginner players, and tutorial monsters designed to teach confidence before Veyrath removed it later.

[Zone Entered: Goldplain Downs] Recommended Range: 1–10 A Wheat Imp in a straw hat stood beside a field path throwing pebbles at a level four player, then noticed Meno and took one nervous step back. Chat chose the imp's side immediately. don't hurt it bully imp did nothing test on Bradbaron free him run little guy"Gotta test it against a monster," Meno said.

"Can't get a feel for it otherwise." The Wheat Imp threw a rock. It bounced off his chest for nearly nothing. Meno drew both daggers and sidestepped the second pebble.

"Okay. Here goes nothing." He activated Panic Pump. [Current HP set to 1] [Compound Swing | Chain: 100 | Damage: +1000%] Then Chain Madness. [Chain Madness Activated] [Madness Slot Equipped] The Great Axe appeared in his hands. The axe stopped feeling like anything at all. It was not heavy anymore. It was air pretending to be metal, snapping forward faster than his arms believed a two-handed weapon could move. Meno tried to swing, overcorrected, and the blade ripped past the Wheat Imp, cutting nothing but sunlight.

[Miss] The Wheat Imp flinched, then threw another pebble. The pebble hit Meno in the forehead. [Death | Wheat Imp — Pebble Toss] [Currency Lost: 100g] [Respawn: Goldplain Downs Shrine] For one second, there was only shrine light. Then Meno respawned beside a calm Hayfield Slime and stared straight ahead. Chat did not recover. It evolved. LMAOAOOA DIES TO LEVEL 1 WHEATIMPGOD PEBBLE DIFF MADNESS SLOT FILLED IT'S OVER CLIP CLIP CLIP The clip title appeared before Meno moved.

Clip: PrayerBeadGod loses 100 gold to a tutorial pebble Meno looked at the clip, then at the Wheat Imp in the distance. Then he looked at his currency. [Currency: 19, 795g] He lowered himself onto the grass and made no sound at first. Then laughter broke out of him so hard he collapsed onto his back beside the shrine, one hand over his face. His shoulders shook while the Hayfield Slime wobbled past with more dignity than he had. The stream kept screaming, and Meno laughed until his ribs hurt.

"Now that," he said, breathless, "was an epic fail."