Chương 84: Mission Statement

"Should we not plant a banner?" Ruinelle asked.

"More XP would help. We all have one except you, Meno." Meno looked toward the dungeon exit and shook his head.

"Not worth it. Enough faction players are probably running around now that it gets captured within the hour. Then we have to swim up, take it back, lose pace, and ruin the rhythm." Nix nodded.

"You also do not want to eat a minus fifty percent XP debuff before the last boss." exactly banner bait keep farming no volcano walk smart? The next run went smoother, but not smooth enough. Clear Time: 46: 11 The second boss was still a slog, even when they executed the fish mechanic properly. Nobody could tank the shark's full-frontal charge after the vortex, so it kept ripping around the chamber while Meno and Nix chased it. Their damage was high when they touched it.

The problem was touching it for more than three seconds in a row. Most of the improvement came in the library. Nix had been right. Pulling five books at a time made the trash safe, controlled, and boring in a productive way. Meno hated that the slower pull was faster overall, but results were results. The trap tunnel stayed awkward, and the final boss only went cleaner, not faster. Tile patterns and cube assembly still made everybody stop playing their class and start playing a panic puzzle. Zazzaza died anyway.

The XP moved, but not in a way that made Meno feel loved by numbers. The first boss dropped nothing. Orlaqt got a Rare III cloth robe from the shark boss. [Rare III Brineveil Robe] Type: Cloth Chest Durability: Maximum Defense: Low Cloth Bonus: +10% status recovery speed. Manaflow III: Mana regeneration increased by 18%. Steady Hymn III: While above 50% Mana, damage taken is reduced by 20%. Orlaqt hugged it to her chest.

"Oh, this is adorable." Meno was not nearly as mad because Zazzaza finally gave him something. [Rare III Prismscale Leather Pants] Type: Leather Pants Durability: Maximum Defense: Medium Leather Bonus: +2% Action Speed. Spellguard III: Spell damage taken is reduced by 15%. Twinflow III: Damage dealt while dual wielding is increased by 15%.

"Okay," Meno said.

"That is actually good." pants arc finally rare drip ring when The pants replaced his old crafted leather piece. The spell damage reduction helped against half the dungeon. The dual-wielding damage line made his dagger phase feel less like downtime. During the third run, Nix got the same Leviathan Fang Dagger Meno had received before, confirming that she was extremely lucky with drops and that Meno's public image required immediate silence. He looked at the dagger in her hand and said nothing. Nix smiled.

"You have one."

"I know." The second boss stayed terrible. In the library, they pulled more books at a time, finding the limit between clean speed and beam chaos. Ruinelle started calling burst windows before casting, and Morfoos adjusted his oaths to cover more group damage without locking himself into useless timings. The tunnel saw the strangest innovation. Ruinelle suggested Meno carry Orlaqt piggyback because Orlaqt had the most trouble dodging beams. Meno tried to refuse on principle, then remembered time was XP.

Orlaqt climbed onto his back with entirely too much joy.

"This is very heroic," she said.

"No mount dialogue," Meno said. piggyback saint rip dignity Aurelia clip incoming Orlaqt wins speed tech It shaved off a few minutes. It also cost Meno pieces of dignity he was not sure would respawn. Clear Time: 39: 28 They were getting faster. During the fourth run, the first boss dropped another Leviathan Pearl Strand. Ruinelle won it, then immediately traded it to Morfoos because she had no use for healing mods.

Morfoos looked happy enough that Meno suspected healers were easier to please after three runs of watching everybody else get toys.

"Thank you," Morfoos said. Ruinelle shrugged.

"You are keeping us alive." The shark boss dropped leather gloves for Meno, and he gave them to Nix without debate. There was no universe where he replaced Sleepless Grip. Legendary gloves that resisted statuses and boosted damage while debuffed were still too important. Nix inspected the leather gloves, nodded once, and equipped them. During the tunnel, Nix decided to copy Meno and carry Morfoos across the traps. It did not go well.

She was a rogue archetype, not a warrior, and whatever hidden stat handled physical strength clearly had opinions. Halfway through, she dropped him to avoid a side beam. Morfoos hit the floor, Nix rolled over him, and Orlaqt had to pour every heal she had into keeping them alive.

"Never again," Nix said. Morfoos raised one finger from the floor.

"Agreed." rogue carry failed Morfoos dropped strength diff Nix humbled trap hall undefeated The last boss caused new problems. This time, Meno had to assemble the cube while dodging Zazzaza's blade, and the result was ugly enough that chat started counting near misses. He snapped the last corner into place with less than a second before the orb pulsed white. The box vanished, and everyone exhaled like they had been holding their breath in real life.

The drop was a two-handed sword nobody wanted, so Morfoos handed it to Ruinelle to sell as repayment for the necklace she had passed over. Clear Time: 40: 02 Meno was not happy about the regression.

"That is the price of trying things," Nix said. His viewership held above one hundred thousand. People shouting at each other, messing up, surviving by two percent HP, and arguing over loot was apparently better content than him silently mowing through monsters. During the fifth run, the first and second bosses dropped nothing, so Meno forced the library issue.

"We are pulling the whole thing again." Nix stared at him.

"With modification," Meno said.

"Healers on top of the racks first." That worked better than it deserved to. Meno threw Orlaqt and Morfoos onto the book racks before pulling. Since he opened with Hundredfold spam, most books targeted him anyway. He used False Wings between cleaves, dragging beams away from the rest while Nix controlled the worst clusters and Ruinelle burned through packed books. The trash melted. timer timer big pull works healer shelf tech Nix apology? The tunnel also went smoother.

Orlaqt stayed on Meno's back, which she called saintly transport once before Nix told her she was making everyone uncomfortable. Morfoos focused on following Nix's path instead of inventing his own. Ruinelle stopped overcorrecting every time a tile lit. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Zazzaza dropped a wand for Ruinelle.

[Rare III Prismburn Wand] Type: Wand Durability: Maximum Deepcast III: Spells with cast time greater than 2 seconds deal 45% increased damage. Manaform III: Mana costs reduced by 12%. Ruinelle stared at it.

"This is perfect." Meno internally cried over the ring he still did not have. Clear Time: 36: 17 Everyone in the party was steadily leveling except him. The whole setup felt like a reverse XP funnel strategy. He pulled, tanked, solved mechanics, carried healers, and watched everyone else move up the ladder in happy chunks. Meno questioned whether any of this made sense, then shoved the thought aside because stopping would leave too much space in his head. The sixth run donated no Rare III gear.

The bosses had apparently remembered greed existed and closed the shop. Everything went mostly as usual until Meno tested a new trap-hall route: deposit Orlaqt at the end, go back for Morfoos, carry him through too. It saved around twenty seconds and required so much focus and beam dodging that Meno decided it was not worth the effort. Clear Time: 34: 05 [Level Up | Level 48] [Rank 11: PrayerBeadGod — Level 48] He was behind GlassRook, who had also reached forty-eight first, but the gap had narrowed to one name.

rank 11 TOP 10 SOON GlassRook sweating progress one more They ran six more times. The average settled around thirty minutes, and their fastest run hit twenty-eight. The shark boss stayed a hateful time sink, but everyone learned the rhythm. The library became controlled violence. The trap hallway became less cursed, though Orlaqt still treated Meno's back like public transit. The loot drought became total, and Meno stopped expecting anything. Then the last run betrayed the pattern.

The first boss dropped another dagger for Nix, which made Meno stare at the ceiling like it owed him an apology. The second boss dropped two items out of nowhere: Orlaqt got the healing robe she already had, and Morfoos got the healing staff he already had. They exchanged them immediately and both looked pleased. Meno looked at the loot window like it had personally mocked him, then Zazzaza died and the final prompt opened. [Rare III Prismflow Ring] Type: Ring Actionflow III: Action Speed increased by 5%.

Lightstep III: Movement impairment duration reduced by 30%. For a second, he just held the ring and let his brain stop complaining. [Equipped: Rare III Prismflow Ring] The extra action speed settled into his movements at once, subtle but real. His Action Speed bonus went from +1% to +6%. After all the shark chasing, trap carrying, and no-loot suffering, the ring felt like the dungeon admitting they had mastered it.

"Okay," Meno said.

"Slightly forgiven." ring acquired greed satisfied career saved twice Nix robbed by fate By the end, Ruinelle had reached level forty-six, while Nix, Orlaqt, and Morfoos reached forty-five with different amounts of progress toward the next level. Meno sat halfway to forty-nine. They still had a little over thirty minutes before his self-imposed limit, but nobody argued when he called it. They were tired. So was he. Gear-wise, the grind had been worth it.

XP-wise, it had been mediocre for Meno and amazing for everyone else. That should have bothered him more, but the party had turned into a functional unit by the end. They traveled back to Westmarket on the Gravewurm, and the ride took the rest of the time. Five tired players sitting on a giant worm while Meno steered around roads, rocks, and the occasional low-level player with better survival instincts than JustrelaxPete.

When Westmarket's gates came into view, Meno recalled the Gravewurm outside the city and walked in with the group. Nix stretched her shoulders.

"That was great. Thanks for the party."

"Yeah," Ruinelle said with a nod.

"Are you planning to party up more often?" Meno had no idea. He never wanted to run Sunken Spire again, but Veyrath was becoming less solo-friendly every level. The party had been annoying, useful, loud, inefficient, effective, and somehow still there after twelve runs.

"Really not sure," Meno said.

"When I get back, I need to do everything possible to reach fifty before GlassRook." That was the play. Everyone above him seemed momentarily stuck at fifty except OxideChoir and VantaRush, who were both still forty-nine. Jaxxon had admitted the fifty-to-sixty route was a mess. Leveling was slowing hard, and if Meno hit fifty before GlassRook, his name would lock onto the visible leaderboard in a way people could not ignore.

"You should make a guild," Orlaqt said, clasping her hands.

"Then even when you do not want to play with us, we can still play with each other." DO IT guild arc Prayer guild Wurm cult make it"That is a good idea," Morfoos said, nodding. Meno nearly felt sick. The last thing he wanted was managing people. Ruinelle looked at his face and smiled slightly.

"I can guess what you are thinking. You do not have to manage it. Appoint someone to handle everything."

"Why don't you guys make a guild, then?" Meno asked.

"You are high level now."

"Don't be silly," Orlaqt said.

"Without a big name behind it, it gets all wobbly." big name BIG NAME rank 11 btw stream guild"She is right," Nix said with a shrug.

"Good players usually want exposure, and you already have a large stream supporting that."

"Great," Meno said.

"You want to build a guild around people chasing a plug?"

"That is how it works," Nix said.

"Didn't say it was right."

"Please do it," Morfoos said, leaning on his staff.

"Since we are all Grave Crown, decent PvE people will be hard to find. I like PvP, but I do not want to restrict myself to it." They made sense. As long as Meno did not have to manage anything, making a guild could hold useful players where he could call them later. Letting them drift into other groups after he had half-power-leveled them would be wasteful. He also liked them, mostly, which made it harder to ignore the idea.

He still was not a huge fan of party play, social upkeep, or people joining because his stream was large enough to convert proximity into credits. But Nix was right. Good players wanted exposure and streaming was the money route. Above one hundred thousand concurrent viewers meant he had become useful to other people in a way he still did not know how to handle.

"Okay," Meno said.

"Who is managing it? Volunteers?" Nobody raised a hand.

"Great. Very supportive. What happened to your little speech?"

"We did not say you should appoint us," Ruinelle said, smiling. Meno turned to stream.

"Of course not. Chadculator, are you here? I have a job for you." SUMMON DEMON CHAD TIME guild accountant weakpoint HR DO IT Meno unblocked whispers and immediately got hit by a flood of spam. No Chad.

"Come on, man," Meno said.

"I know you have a notification for your name." He thought for half a second.

"How about this? Everyone in the guild pays you one thousand gold per month to manage it. Except me, of course." of course OF COURSE classic unpaid guild master Chad bait"Is he a nice person?" Orlaqt asked, tilting her head. Before Meno could answer, a short tattooed guy with a mohawk sprinted out of a side street toward them. [Chadculator | Class: Field Drillmaster — Level 27 | Ability: Weakpoint Drill]"I am here!" Chadculator shouted.

"Here! What is the job?" Nix laughed.

"Him? He is level twenty-seven."

"Levels are not needed to deal with people," Meno said.

"He is perfect for the job. He will not tolerate nonsense." Chadculator stopped in front of them, breathing hard.

"What is the job?"

"I make a guild, and you manage it," Meno said.

"Do whatever you want as long as it does not cause me problems. I remain guild master for optics, appoint you officer, and you handle all guild matters." Chadculator's eyes sharpened.

"You also join Grave Crown," Meno added.

"Yes, yes," Chadculator said.

"Were you serious about one thousand gold per person every month? What if I just invite everyone?"

"If you invite random people without checking them, they do not pay," Meno said.

"You cannot come crying to me. I will not do collections." Chadculator frowned.

"That makes it significantly more challenging. Your fanbase is full of lunatics." he's right ban Chad our manager lunatic proud HR villain"Okay," Chadculator said.

"Let's try this. I always wanted to run one anyway." Meno exhaled.

"How do I actually make a guild?"

"Next to the bank. Smaller building. Costs ten thousand gold to register, then you can invite people."

"Ten thousand?" Meno snapped.

"I am deducting it from your salary." PBG WAGE THEFT ARC PAY CHAD officer union when? this guild is already illegal Chadculator shook his head.

"You can't." Meno could afford it, which somehow made the expense more annoying because he no longer had a clean excuse. They walked through Westmarket toward the bank district. As they passed, the Zubra teller behind the bank counter gave Meno a long look that felt almost like approval. That was suspicious. Ruinelle walked beside him.

"What are you going to name it?"

"Not sure yet." WurmHarem Pete Revenge Squad DisconnectGods BeadGuard"Guaranteed disaster," Chadculator said, grimacing.

"Just look at PrayerBeadGod."

"Hey, I actually like it," Orlaqt said, raising a finger.

"It's fun."

"Thank you," Meno said. Inside the guild office, an old man in fancy clothes sat behind a large ornate counter, speaking with an assistant. He looked up when Meno approached, eyes moving over him with professional disinterest.

"Guild charter," Meno said. The old man studied him.

"I see you are well regarded. Unfortunately, reputation alone is not enough to impress me." Meno stared.

"Okay…" [Purchase Guild Charter] Cost: 10, 000g Meno bought the paper notebook-like item. [Currency: 158, 205g] He activated the charter. [Create Guild] Input guild name. Unsuitable names may be rejected. Meno had never been good with names. PrayerBeadGod existed as permanent evidence. The more he thought about the guild, the less heroic anything sounded. This was not a banner of destiny.

This was him accidentally joining a skeleton PvP faction, buying a worm, crashing the server, and now building a guild with Chadculator in charge. Only one name fit. [Guild Created: GraveMistake] PERFECT GRAVEMISTAKE actual good name bone guild we are doomed Meno left the building quickly before he could overthink it. He invited Morfoos, Ruinelle, Nix, Orlaqt, and Chadculator, then appointed Chadculator as officer and ticked every permission box without reading because guild settings felt like becoming a landlord.

[Chadculator promoted: Officer] Meno expected the guild name to show beside his character name like Crownfall or Silverwake, but nothing changed. Kestrel and the others had put their guild names into their character names for free leaderboard publicity. Smart.

"That name actually works," Morfoos said, looking up at the notification.

"Yeah," Nix said.

"It's neat."

"Tiny bit scary," Orlaqt said.

"Big tyrant energy."

"It ties into the faction nicely," Ruinelle said, smiling. Chadculator had already opened some guild panel.

"Okay. I will start recruiting. Any preferences?"

"Try to get everyone from my raid," Meno said.

"Especially Almos, Pip, Junebug, Latch, Sabra, and VeeVeeZap."

"Mission statement?" Chadculator asked.

"What?"

"Why should people join?" Chadculator asked.

"What are we promising them?" Meno thought about Templefall Hollow, the level fifty wall, and every top guild getting comfortable.

"A Grave Crown banner in Templefall Hollow," he said.

"At all times." endgame tax office occupation arc every top guild heard boss music chose war"Minimum level?"

"You figure this stuff out."

"Fine." Chadculator tapped at invisible menus.

"What about Bradbaron and Aurelia?" Meno's throat tightened. AURELIA invite her oh no don't drama"Yes, invite Bradbaron," Meno said.

"Not Aurelia." Chadculator glanced up.

"Really?" Meno kept his voice steady because letting it shake would make the clip worse.

"Really." Chat exploded with gossip, speculation, and exactly the kind of useless noise that had made everything feel impossible in the first place. Meno said goodbye fast and logged out before another question could make the day heavier. The capsule opened, returning him to the apartment where boxes of Jaxxon's clothes lined the wall beside the broken chair, waiting for him to get ready for Bradbaron's birthday.