Chương 72: Rich People Aquarium

Meno made it back to his apartment wet, numb, and limping. His left calf still hurt from the cramp, and his shirt clung to him with cold salt water all the way up the stairs. He changed into used shorts and a white T-shirt that both carried the sour evidence of launch week. Then he drank water straight from the sink, climbed back into the Soma-X7, and closed the capsule before he could think too much. [Login Complete] He appeared in front of Sunken Spire's submerged entrance. The place had become a traffic jam.

Twenty or thirty low level players drifted around the glowing doorway, moving in and out of the entrance in short, desperate air trips. Meno ignored chat, viewership, and the urge to log out again. There were players in the forty-to-forty-two range he had never heard of, none of them leaderboard names. He recognized the officers and started narrating them for his stream, fully aware they could not respond underwater.

[Vera_Stormhold | Class: Mercy Root Warden — Level 41 | Ability: Shared Hurt]"Damage sharing delay healer," Meno said.

"Probably makes everyone else suffer later instead of now. Practical." [Sereth_Silverwake | Class: Frostglass Spellbinder — Level 42 | Ability: Chill Brand]"Classic frost control plus debuff nonsense." [Northwatch_Highbanner | Class: Spellguard Bulwark — Level 42 | Ability: Spellcatch]"Guy eats magic for breakfast and then gets slapped by an evolved Wheat Imp." [Orison_Crownfall | Class: Wrathbound Cleaver — Level 41 | Ability: Butcher's Rhythm]"Two-hander warrior DPS.

Probably busted on few-target cleave and low-HP execution." Chat tried to pull him into officer tier lists, but Meno refused the bait. He invited four random eligible players from the waiting cluster, which felt unnatural enough that he checked the party UI twice to make sure he had done it correctly. It was the first real party he had formed in Veyrath, and the fact that nobody outside could open their mouth without drowning was already a massive improvement over normal group play.

[Party Formed] [Members: 5/5] He entered the dungeon. The four carried players surfaced in the starter bubble beside him, coughing and scrambling for space. Meno opened trade one by one. They each handed over five thousand gold without trying to haggle, which told him the guilds had already yelled at them enough. [Trade Complete: +5, 000g] [Trade Complete: +5, 000g] [Trade Complete: +5, 000g] [Trade Complete: +5, 000g] [Currency: 39, 595g] His gold total more than doubled in under a minute.

Meno looked at the number for half a heartbeat and mostly felt tired.

"Stay here," he said.

"Do not help, do not swim out, do not die. No refunds." The no-refunds part was true, but only barely. If the achievement failed, keeping the money would become a public scam accusation no matter how clear the terms had been. Meno did not want to spend the next week explaining that people who paid to stand in an air bubble had accepted risk. He drew his daggers and dropped into the chamber. The run went smoothly. The party members contributed nothing.

Veyrath still gave Meno full XP because they never touched the mobs, never buffed him, and never healed him. The achievement conditions apparently cared about participation limits, not whether the carried players were useful. Two of the carried players got boss drops. Meno got nothing. For a few seconds, he floated in the boss bubble and watched other people's loot beams shine in his dungeon.

"This is injustice," he said. carry paid for itself you got scammed boss hates you guild loot buff"The achievement is broken," Meno said.

"No downside to carrying. The AI messed up again." He watched the carried players accept Bloodwake. still worth 20k 5 mins scammed by loot do more gold printer Meno shook his head.

"Twenty thousand gold for five minutes is insane. Four top players in each guild can reproduce this soon enough if I can do it solo. They're paying to skip the learning curve, and I'm charging for being first. Win-win." He left the party, exited, grabbed four more players, and went back in. Kestrel's people tried to look dignified while packed shoulder to shoulder in the starter bubble, their expensive gear scraping together as they held their breath every time someone's foot drifted outside the safe air.

Meno cleared the dungeon again. Outside, the players who had already finished kept ducking back through the entrance to breathe in the starter bubble. There was no air pocket outside unless they died and respawned, so by the fifth run, chat had named it. Rich People Aquarium. The name stuck instantly. RICH PEOPLE AQUARIUM tap the glass five thousand per fish guild zoo Run eight was the last. Apparently, the guilds had committed eight people each, which meant thirty-two carries total.

Meno got no boss loot across all of them. On average, one carried player got an item every run, and that made him furious for reasons that were not mature but were very real. [Currency: 179, 595g] Chat called him rich, but Meno looked past the gold total to the XP bar.

"Ten more runs to forty-five." That was what the money meant. The Titan prospects were escorted away by their officers toward Southreach. The gold felt better once the shame of selling a subclass settled into something practical. Meno unblocked his whispers for the first time in hours and immediately regretted the volume. He tried whispering VantaRush. [Whisper failed: Player is not accepting whispers.]"I get it." Meno addressed the stream.

"In the interest of fairness, and definitely not because this is easy money, I am opening carries to everyone. Five thousand gold each. Come to the dungeon entrance. Below level forty only." nobody below 40 can get there escort quest hell price too high The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Bloodwake store open Meno shrugged.

"That is not my problem." Nobody else arrived. He did four more runs and became convinced the boss had some kind of two-drop protection per day or per week. Either that, or the drop rate had collapsed so hard that another beam was a hundred kills away. The actual explanation did not matter. The crab was not dropping anything. Six more runs to forty-five.

"Class passive at forty-five," Meno said.

"Better be good." Meno did another disappointing run, then exited the dungeon. A hooded figure floated near the entrance, wearing goggles and a dark bandana over the lower half of their face. The tag appeared. [Karmabeast | Class: Venom Tormentor — Level 35 | Ability: Toxic Edge] Chat revived like someone had thrown blood in the water. KARMA GANKER Bradbaron revenge DROWN HIM NO CARRY contentbeast Karmabeast lifted both hands, pantomimed talking, then pointed at his mouth and shrugged.

He could not speak underwater. Meno looked at him for a long, silent second.

"You cannot be serious." Karmabeast placed both hands over his heart and leaned back as if wounded. Meno did not know what to do with the irritation. He had said on stream that anyone under forty could come, and technically, Karmabeast qualified. Giving him Bloodwake would make him even more obnoxious, but Meno already had it, so the subclass did little against him personally. If Karmabeast used it to drown NPCs for content, that was an AI Director problem.

Gold was gold, and Epic gear for the Titan Trial was going to cost disgusting amounts. Meno invited him to the party and entered the dungeon, because at minimum, the conversation would help retention. Viewers: 72, 042 The starter bubble gave Karmabeast his voice back immediately.

"Took ya long enough, my man." Meno did not trust a face he could not see.

"You tried to gank me, then killed Bradbaron right next to me. What makes you think I'll carry you?"

"Minor things," Karmabeast said.

"Very small things. Perhaps you thought streaming meant immunity? Bad thought. Misleading." Meno took one second to process that, and the way this guy spoke was already becoming a headache.

"He was level twenty," Meno said.

"That isn't PvP. You're farming drama."

"Do not cry. We are small and tiny, but we need to eat too, me and my few fans." Karmabeast spread his hands.

"Nothing to do with you. I hate whales and wallet warriors. Everyone knows those vermin are buying gold with real creds. Loopholes everywhere. Item sells for four thousand, six thousand, nobody knows the real reason. Very mysterious." Chat, traitors that they were, agreed with him. whale hunter he has a point PK content WifeLawyer slander still lame Meno opened a stream overlay and checked Karmabeast's channel because the small and tiny line had sounded suspicious.

Karmabeast Live Viewers: 246, 181 Meno sighed because apparently, constantly causing trouble was good content. Meanwhile, he had spent the last few hours clearing the same underwater boss.

"Are you roleplaying?" Meno asked.

"Why are you talking like this?" Karmabeast went still so fast the joke left the bubble.

"Do not say that word," he snapped.

"I never. I have real issues, okay?" Meno's shoulders lowered a fraction.

"Oh. Okay. Sorry about that, then." Karmabeast burst out laughing hard enough to bend forward.

"I am messing with you, man. So funny." Meno wanted to kick him from the party immediately.

"Ah," Meno said.

"Okay. Bye."

"You can't be this soft," Karmabeast said.

"Did I hurt your feelings? I didn't even do the 'I love you' bit I was planning. That was me being considerate, because your personal life is undeniably hopeless." PERSONAL DAMAGE critical hit emotional PvP not the love you patch karma went for the save file Meno felt his jaw tighten. If he kicked him now, it would look weak. Worse, Karmabeast knew it, and every second of silence sank the hook deeper. Meno breathed once through his nose.

"You're right," Meno said.

"Since you definitely did not do that bit, the price went up to ten thousand gold." Karmabeast laughed.

"Fine. I knew you would cry, moan, and jack up the price regardless. Insecure behavior. Very predictable."

"Fifteen thousand."

"I don't have it, legend," Karmabeast said, spreading his hands.

"Ten at most. I am poor." Meno looked at his viewer count again, then at Karmabeast.

"Okay. Ten, plus one condition. If you reach level sixty before I finish my Titan Trial, you come with me." WHAT NO PERMADEATH ROGUE big brain Karmabeast trial delete him Karmabeast tilted his head.

"Is that the one that deletes my character if I die? That is nasty."

"Yes," Meno said.

"I'm pretty sure you don't have any Titan achievements. Unless you're scared. In that case, you can leave."

"You think babymode bait works on me?" Meno only waited, letting the silence do the work. Karmabeast shifted his jaw.

"It's pain, but it does. Fine. I agree. But you are not going to pull some crap and get me killed on purpose."

"Why would I sabotage my own Titan Trial?" Meno asked.

"I'm trying to clear it."

"Alrighty," Karmabeast said.

"Enough yapping. Let's get this over with." [Trade Complete: +10, 000g] [Currency: 189, 595g] Meno cleared the run without issue. Karmabeast got Bloodwake, then spent thirty seconds doing clown stunts in the water with the increased speed, flipping, twisting, and launching himself in loops outside the dungeon while both chats spammed insults and shark icons. Then he left the party and vanished toward the entrance like a masked disease with improved mobility. Meno did four more runs as fast as possible.

[Level Up | Level 45]"Okay. Finally. Class passive time." He did not open it. OPEN NOW NO STALLING read it you demon"Five minutes," Meno said.

"Let people tune in." booooo stallbeadgod content hostage He waited anyway. The stream began climbing as viewers told friends, guild chats, and probably enemies to tune in before Meno picked something stupid. The number rose slowly at first, then faster. Viewers: 89, 234 Meno opened the screen.

"Let's do this." [Class Passive Available] Choose one Titan Variant passive. [Option 1: Titan Variant — Adaptive Rush] After using your second False Wings kick, you may activate False Wings again to charge at a target within Medium range. If the target is hostile, the charge counts as a melee weapon attack and grants 2 Chain. If the target is friendly, the charge counts as maintaining Chain but grants no Chain." False Wings upgrade. It's good.

An extra charge after a double kick is crazy mobility, and it works on allies too, which is less relevant for me unless I start treating people like landing pads." mobility take it air charge finally reach no damage bad"Yes," Meno said.

"I'm not seeing the damage multiplier." While underwater, False Wings becomes Leviathan Rush. Leviathan Rush: Charge at a hostile target within Medium range.

"Underwater upgrade. Not surprising after marinating here for hours." Meno tapped the line.

"No cooldown listed. Obvious Preypool synergy. Probably overkill, though, and still not a damage multiplier." He moved on. [Option 2: Titan Variant — Self-Control] Panic Pump can initiate combat state for 3 seconds. If no hostile action occurs during this window, combat state ends. Meno frowned.

"Quality of life. It lets me Panic Pump before aggro. There may be some combat-state abuse hidden in there, but I don't see it yet." boring read more Self-Control impossible fake option Panic Pump buff? Panic Pump now prevents Chain from breaking during your next Chain Madness.

"Okay. That is insane for early burst, but Panic Pump only resets with combat state or Chain break, so right now it's a setup tool. Unless the next lines make it stupid." Panic Pump now grants a shield equal to 25% of your maximum HP. While this shield is active, Stop prompts do not occur during Madness. Meno went quiet long enough for the smile to become worrying.

"There it is." Chat tried to parse the text and failed in several directions. shield? no stop madness free still 1 hp? math boss please no take dash"This changes everything," Meno said.

"I haven't been using Panic Pump much outside Hundredfold spam and clutch moments because dropping to 1 HP is pain. But this gives me a shield, and while that shield holds, Madness has no Stop prompts." He continued. Healing effects restore this shield instead of HP. Excess healing is lost. This shield cannot exceed 25% of maximum HP and cannot be pierced. When combat state ends, the shield expires and your HP is restored to 25% of maximum HP.

"So the tooltip took five lines to say I'm basically locked to 25% HP while using it," Meno said.

"Bloodwake restores shield instead of HP, capped at 25%. That turns the no-break Chain Madness line from mildly interesting to busted." Meno traced the Self-Control line with his eyes again.

"This is ramp speed, early DPS, and consistency. The shield not being pierceable is huge if something has execute or armor bypass. It may not block instant death, but it still blocks a lot." adaptive rush tho dash is cooler no stop sounds good damage where math says pick shield"I like Adaptive Rush," Meno said.

"But mobility is not damage, and False Wings is already good. I have Preypool now too. At some point, more movement stops solving problems and starts becoming a crutch." He opened the final option. [Option 3: Titan Variant — Stoppable] Stop prompts no longer trigger randomly during Madness. While Madness is active, you may manually trigger one Stop prompt starting at 1 Chain, then once after each 100-Chain threshold. Manual Stop prompts last twice as long.

"This also solves the Stop prompt issue. Manual Stop gives me controlled repositioning and boss-dodge windows without risking Chain." unstoppable UNSTOPPABLE pick unstoppable name goes hard"Guys," Meno said, "it is literally the opposite of that. Stoppable." When a manual Stop prompt expires, your next Hundredfold Cleave does not break Chain and grants 2 Chain per target hit. Meno read the line twice.

"That makes Hundredfold Cleave usable at high Chain without ending the ramp." Chat flipped sides immediately. PICK IT XP OPTION AOE GOD you have no self-control take Stoppable"This is amazing in this dungeon," Meno said.

"No Chain break, no Panic Pump spam, and it solves boss adds. Chain gain per target hit is also huge against large packs." Meno read all three options again. Adaptive Rush had mobility. Self-Control had early burst, Chain Madness consistency, anti-Stop tech, and a shield that turned Panic Pump from a panic button into a real stance opener. Stoppable had manual timing, Chain save potential and Hundredfold value, but the doubled Stop duration meant planned downtime.

In a race, convenience could become a tax he paid forever." Adaptive Rush is out," Meno said.

"Definitely not picking that one." Chat spammed two camps hard enough to blur. SELF-CONTROL STOPPABLE NO SELF CONTROL HUNDREDFOLD SHIELD DAMAGE Meno floated in the starter bubble, reading Self-Control and Stoppable one more time. Two clean answers. One choice.