Chương 81: The Broken Chair

Meno had thought the mount drop might fail. He had expected Karmabeast to dodge, or the Gravewurm to despawn midair. He had not expected Veyrath to freeze, kick everyone out, and slap Emergency Maintenance over the login screen like a parental lock. He climbed out of the capsule, legs stiff when they hit the floor, his head still holding the faint tilt of falling through volcanic air. He sat at his desk in front of the screen, hair damp at the roots, stream still live, chat moving too fast to read.

Karmabeast sent him a collab invite on Streamline immediately, and Meno actually noticed because he was not inside Veyrath. He stared at the invite for one long second, then accepted. Karmabeast appeared on stream. Meno had never seen his real face before, but none of it surprised him. He looked younger than Meno, maybe twenty-two, with shoulder-length black hair half falling across a narrow face.

The rough bad-boy look had clearly been arranged with care, and his relaxed, obnoxious confidence said he had learned early that looking amused made people angrier.

"Thanks, DisconnectGod," Karmabeast said.

"That is going into the history books."

"What do you know about books?" Meno said, leaning back.

"So hostile," Karmabeast said with a grin.

"Feels like I should be the one who's mad, but honestly, I knew you wouldn't let it rest. You are petty as hell. That's why I like you."

"You think you not being mad will make me even more mad?"

"Pretty much." yes he knows petty recognizes petty disconnectgod Karma flattened They were right, but Meno would rather delete the stream than admit it out loud. Karmabeast glanced off-screen, probably reading his own chat.

"So, you think that gets patched? Because if not, I have to save up for that disgusting mount. Dropping onto people out of nowhere seems satisfying as hell."

"It was not the kill that broke things," Meno said.

"It was a faction bug." Karmabeast's grin sharpened.

"I could use Step at the last second. Teleport behind them with a stun so it lands cleaner." Meno rubbed his eyes.

"The physics should work," he said.

"If they remove that stuff from Veyrath, immersion takes a hit. The game is VR first, AI second, MMO third. Flexibility is the whole point." Chat agreed, which was worrying. Karmabeast nodded like Meno had made a serious point.

"Did you see the other faction mounts? Clips are already going around. None of them match the Gravewurm's capacity. That's Grave Crown only. The others cap at Medium." true worm exclusive siege faction bone bus wins still ugly"That makes sense," Meno said.

"Gravewurm is probably meant for PvP sieges. Veil Court is small-party questing. Sunring Concord is dungeons all day, and mounts probably do nothing inside. Red Bastion is already a money printer, so it is good they do not get everything."

"I don't know, man." Karmabeast leaned closer to his camera.

"Red Bastards have a stag. High Speed, Medium Control, Low Jump, Medium Capacity." Meno's eye twitched.

"The dungeon guys have a rhino," Karmabeast continued.

"Medium across the board. Questies have a fox: Medium Speed, High Control, Medium Jump, Low Capacity. All pretty good." Meno sat in silence. Northspire had gold purchasing, double gold routes, and a proper fast mount with steering. He cared less about the rhino and the fox, but the stag tilted him.

"Too bad you can't buy a worm now," Meno said.

"People will say you are copying me. How would you live that down?"

"Like I care," Karmabeast said, fixing his hair with one hand. Completely shameless. Karmabeast looked down at his phone.

"Arayu is big mad at you."

"Who?"

"She is probably the best mage. I asked her out like five times, and she turned me down every single time." He looked back up.

"Do you have any tips?" Meno said nothing because he knew bait when it started fixing its hair.

"Take the bait, man," Karmabeast said with a theatrical sigh.

"We have to entertain the audience since you killed Veyrath." no response tech bait missed ask Aurelia tips do not Karma wants advice"You know," Karmabeast said, "I am saving up for a Sorell Nocturne GT. Real-life mount. Costs over two million credits. I have to work hard." Meno blinked.

"Did you just say Sorell?"

"Yeah."

"And two million credits? Have you lost it? Buy your mom a gift instead." Karmabeast lost control, laughing like his lungs were trying to escape before performing a fake fall out of his chair. He disappeared below camera while his chat spammed skulls. Meno stared at the empty webcam box and sighed. Streamers were exhausting. Karmabeast climbed back up, wiping his eyes.

"Yes, Sorell. Luxury sports car brand. Do you not know anything?" Meno did not. He knew Aurelia's family owned companies. Plural. He had not browsed luxury car brands because he had around four thousand credits in his bank account.

"You want advice for content?" Meno asked.

"Here it is." Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Karmabeast leaned in.

"You already have the skill level Arayu can respect," Meno said.

"Now you need to look pathetic enough that she takes pity on you for no reason." Chat detonated. TRUE AURELIA STRAT oh no PBG PLEASE self report Meno realized it one second after saying it. He should not have. It had come out too clean, too close to the place he had been avoiding. He had nothing to offer someone like Aurelia that made sense on paper. Her family would not care that he could drown a wyvern midair or read boss patterns faster than guild officers.

They would see a streamer in a bad apartment with one good spoon and a public clip problem. The line would get clipped and sent to her. He had made everything harder because his content brain wanted one good comeback. Meno stood up fast, grabbed his chair, and threw it into the wall. The crack sounded sharp through the room mic. YO WHAT Meno?? chair dead take break not content Karmabeast stopped smiling.

"Yo, man. What the hell?" he said.

"I was thinking of something funny to respond with, and you go full enrage before I say a thing." Meno went to retrieve the chair and found one leg snapped loose. He stared at it for a moment, left it there, then went to the kitchen, dragged back a normal chair, and sat in front of the screen again.

"Nothing," he said. Karmabeast gave him a long look.

"Suuure." Karmabeast let the silence sit for a beat, then leaned back.

"You think you're gonna get banned or what?"

"For what?" Meno asked.

"I jumped off a cliff with my mount. That's all."

"Yeah, probably true. If they banned you for that and not your stool nonsense, they would look ridiculous." Meno did not like that he had a point. Karmabeast snapped his fingers.

"That reminds me. Raid resets Monday. You going back in to kill that book again?"

"Maybe."

"Those gloves you got are insane for PvP. I want one," Karmabeast said, lifting both hands.

"But I am specced for control and burst, not PvE damage."

"What, you think I will donate it if it drops?" Meno said.

"Least you could do," Karmabeast said, putting a hand over his chest.

"I am still dealing with the humiliation of being flattened. I thought we were best friends."

"Definitely not," Meno said.

"That hurts." Karmabeast looked to the side.

"You know you helped the guilds a lot with this shutdown." Meno frowned.

"How?"

"I heard they were scrambling and having trouble coordinating faction choices. Now they can organize everything in peace without falling behind." Meno stared at the maintenance screen.

"That is just great." A new invite request appeared on the Streamline call, and Karmabeast's expression shifted.

"That's new. Jaxxon wants to join." Meno's shoulders tightened.

"I bought pants from his brand last week," Karmabeast said.

"Very comfy. I should accept." Before Meno could object, JaxxonVale appeared in the call looking like he had prepared for a banquet during emergency server maintenance: white dress shirt, clean collar, immaculate hair parted in the middle, and a jawline that should be banned. Meno sat on a shitty kitchen chair in a T-shirt that had lost its original shape sometime before launch week, and he did not want to talk to this guy for reasons that were not fair, reasonable, or mature.

It was honest jealousy, plain and ugly.

"Hey, Meno," Jaxxon said brightly.

"Nice to meet you."

"Dude, I am here too," Karmabeast said, waving.

"Also, call him PBG. We are not going by donated names. We are streamers. We should be cool and mysterious."

"Yes," Jaxxon said with one nod. Meno chuckled despite himself. The simple answer caught him off guard. He remembered every time he had made fun of Jaxxon's broken class, safe dungeon funneling, and wall strategy.

"Hey," Meno said.

"This is awkward," Jaxxon said, looking slightly apologetic, "but my chat linked me a picture of you eating pizza in a corner wearing the most hideous outfit I have seen yet." Meno's blood cooled.

"What?" The pizza shop. The drunk couple who had sat next to him in an empty restaurant and made out like they were paid to ruin his night. They had recognized him and taken a picture while he was wet, exhausted, wearing swim shorts, slippers, and Lysa's stupid Late Bloomer shirt. Unbelievable.

"Chat, find me that picture," Karmabeast said, sitting upright.

"I want to see it."

"As you may know, I just released my new collection," Jaxxon said, ignoring him.

"I was thinking I could send you one of everything." Meno stared.

"It is technically a sponsorship," Jaxxon said, "but you do not need to do anything in return. Wearing them is enough." charity drive free clothes arc take it pizza fit retired sponsor pity"What the hell?" Karmabeast said, pointing at his camera.

"Send me some too." It sounded like a cheap attempt to promote his brand without paying for a real sponsorship, but Meno had almost nothing to wear. If he declined, he would have to go shopping, which was a real-world dungeon with no loot table and too many mirrors. Dignity over convenience was a tough call when convenience mailed itself to your apartment in your size.

"Sure," Meno said.

"Thanks."

"Great," Jaxxon said with a smile.

"My people will grab your size from stream for a perfect fit."

"Creepy," Karmabeast said.

"Efficient," Jaxxon said, looking down.

"I am DMing you my number. Please do not show it on stream. Send me your address." assassination attempt do not send free shirt trap fashion debuff cleanse Jaxxon charity boss Meno saved the contact as FreeClothes and sent his address before dignity could recover enough to cause problems, then put the phone down.

"So, Jaxxon," Meno said.

"Where are you farming XP now that you are fifty?"

"It is tough," Jaxxon said with a sigh.

"Still testing. Templefall Hollow is awful for XP, and the dungeon is a nightmare. I cannot use the usual funneling." Meno paid extra attention because they were finally talking about something interesting.

"Have you got a good idea I can steal?" Jaxxon asked. The casual honesty left Meno without an immediate response.

"Hey, guys," Karmabeast said, raising both hands.

"I feel left out. Keep talking, though. This is good content." Meno ignored him.

"Have you picked a faction yet?"

"Not yet," Jaxxon said.

"I was leaning Sunring Concord for the dungeon buff until I tested Entropic Rift, the fifty-to-sixty dungeon."

"How bad?" Meno asked.

"It might get good later, but right now it feels like a dead end," Jaxxon said.

"The dungeon changes every time you enter. Routing is miserable, pulls are inconsistent, and I do not want to do quests, so Veil Court is out." Meno already knew the answer.

"So Red Bastion," he said.

"Probably," Jaxxon said.

"Definitely not Grave Crown. I like PvP, but not that much." Meno sighed, feeling the need to defend his skeleton mistake as the AI pushed everyone toward the gold faction, whether intentionally or through drunk reward math.

"Grave Crown is not just PvP," Meno said.

"You saw the zone event when I put down the banner. There is a flag for Templefall too. Elites there might be the best open-world XP source."

"That is interesting," Jaxxon said, eyes sharpening slightly.

"Still no need for me to join if you put down the flag anyway. We can just take it." Jaxxon let out a soft, polished almost-laugh that sounded friendly on the surface, but something underneath made Meno sit still. Maybe Jaxxon was sharper than his nice-guy image allowed. Maybe Meno was jealous and inventing shadows because the guy had hair, money, class, and a wardrobe that had never been photographed in a pizzeria.

"One can dream, fashion boy," Karmabeast said, leaning toward his mic.

"Templefall will be a Grave Crown zone. Enjoy your minus fifty percent XP."

"We will see," Jaxxon said with a smile. Karmabeast's smile thinned. Then Jaxxon looked back to Meno.

"I have to bounce. Talk to you later, Meno. Bye." He left the call before Meno could decide whether that had been friendly, threatening, or both. Jaxxon had been nice to Meno despite all the class insults and farm-route mockery, but cold toward Karmabeast, who had far more viewers. It was strange. Maybe Jaxxon did not care about viewer overlap, or maybe Karmabeast had done something to land on his private banlist. Karmabeast glared at his second monitor.

"I am burning my pants. They are terrible. I hate them." Meno almost laughed, but the fatigue came back all at once.

"Since Veyrath is down, I am going to catch up on sleep," Meno said.

"I also have a birthday party tomorrow."

"Sounds cool," Karmabeast said, perking up.

"Can I come?"

"No. You killed the host."

"Oh." Karmabeast nodded.

"That happens." Meno said goodbye to Karmabeast, then to the stream.

"Server's dead. I'm dead. We continue when the AI stops panicking." sleep arc call Aurelia? do not wardrobe stream tomorrow worm ban pending He turned everything off. The apartment felt too quiet without chat. Meno stood from the kitchen chair, picked up the broken one, and set it in the corner beside his old VR rig. The snapped leg hung at a bad angle. He looked at it for a second, then turned away. He went to bed, but sleep did not come cleanly.

The server crash, the banner, Karmabeast's laugh, Jaxxon's clothes, the Sorell name, the pizza photo, and his own stupid advice line kept replaying in pieces. Lysa had told him not to call Aurelia, and she had probably been right. After what he had said on stream, he had to call her tomorrow anyway. No matter what it cost.