Chương 126: False Hero

"Big day, guys. As usual, maximum drama. Swing Master got benched." Meno's stream had already climbed above five million viewers only a few minutes after starting. The Challenge Class offer still filled his vision, giving everyone plenty of time to read the terms: suspension lifted immediately, Swing Master Infernal and his equipped gear sealed until Level 80, and a new Titan-evolved class generated from his achievements and activity history. Chat had opinions.

ACCEPT IT COWARD solar is making him reroll live LMAO seven day vacation arc DO NOT LET IT COOK rank one gone if you decline"Okay, calm down. Not giving up rank one to take a vacation. Swing Master isn't gone forever." There was no real decision left. Seven days outside Veyrath sounded worse than whatever Solar could generate, and Meno still believed that Titan put a floor under how bad the class could be. He selected Accept, and the suspension notice disappeared immediately.

[Challenge Class being generated] The screen stayed dark long enough to make him slightly nervous before Veyrath loaded and dropped Meno into the middle of Westmarket's main square half naked. He looked down. Pants. That was it. Several nearby players were already turning toward him, first because somebody had materialized in the square and then because that somebody happened to be PrayerBeadGod wearing nothing except pants and jewelry.

Before Meno could decide whether Solar had deliberately chosen Westmarket for maximum humiliation, the class notifications opened. [False Hero Titan] All weapon and armor slots are disabled except pants. Jewelry remains enabled. Gain one Sacrifice slot. Only daggers may be placed in this slot. Sacrifice items cannot be removed, only overwritten. Weapon stats do not apply, except base weapon damage. Meno stared at the class name while chat disintegrated.

FALSE HERO LMAOOOO EXCEPT PANTS sentenced to trousers NO WEAPONS HAHAHA solar remembered the weapon swap PANTS BUILD PANTS BUILD FALSE HERO TITAN IS CRAZY dagger jail HE GOT PATCHED NAKED"Of course. Very funny. False Hero. Pants plus jewelry." Meno opened the equipment panel and confirmed that every normal slot except pants was genuinely disabled.

"AI really got mad at that weapon-swap exploit. It can't even use weapons except daggers as a locked Sacrifice for base damage." That restriction was more aggressive than he expected. Solar had not just capped the interaction he had abused. It had built the whole class around making weapon-swapping useless. Whatever dagger he placed into the Sacrifice slot stayed there until overwritten, and none of its modifiers mattered except the base damage from rarity.

The next section opened before Meno finished deciding whether that was insulting or clever. Gain Unstable on Engulf: Unstable: You are Rooted and deal 100x damage. Lasts until stunned. Unstable does not stack. Rooted: You cannot walk, run, take steps, or jump normally while grounded. Rooted does not prevent falling or airborne movement. Rooted does not count as a status effect or a debuff. ONE HUNDRED X???

HE CANNOT WALK until stunned sounds suspicious bro is a turret now 100X IS NOT A REAL NUMBER jump normally WHILE GROUNDED HMMMM that wording is hiding something"This is definitely targeted. Rooted?" Meno reread the final sentence because the wording was far too specific to be accidental.

"I guess 100x damage sounds good, but it's based on a dagger, which is 25% worse than a one-handed sword, and Sacrifice turns off weapon mods, so no crazy scaling there. Still, this has to be busted. I wonder what the catch is." He focused on the movement wording again.

"There is no way this thing can't move at all. The 'jump normally' part is a dead giveaway." The class continued. [Engulf] Core. Active. Instant. Set yourself on fire, losing 10% of your maximum HP per second. This HP loss cannot be reduced. While Engulfed, each target you remain in continuous physical contact with takes 1x Sacrifice weapon damage as fire damage for every full second of contact. Contact damage is affected by Unstable; self-damage is not. Does not count as a status effect or debuff.

Lasts until stunned. Meno read it once and burst out laughing before chat even finished processing it. HE IS THE DOT HUG DPS CLASS SET YOURSELF ON FIRE META ten percent hp PER SECOND??? JUST SIT ON THE BOSS 100x PER SECOND CONTACT WTF DO NOT HUG PBG he dies in ten seconds LMAO"So this is Engulf." Meno was still laughing.

"I set Veyrath on fire, now I have to set myself on fire. Both Engulf and Unstable last until stunned. I can already see the self-stun skill coming. Actually hilarious." The damage math was absurd even before he knew the rest of the class. With Unstable active, maintaining physical contact dealt 100x dagger base weapon damage for every full second, which meant the obvious loop was attaching himself to something instead of attacking normally.

"With Unstable, that's 100x dagger damage for every second I'm touching something. Hugging them, standing on them, whatever counts as continuous contact." Meno looked at the unavoidable self-damage again.

"The DPS is crazy, but it hard-caps at nine seconds before I delete myself. If this class has no self-heal, it's unplayable solo. It has to have one." The next ability appeared. [False Blink] Active. Instant. Cooldown: 1 second. Vanish from your current world position, becoming untargetable and unable to be damaged, then reappear at that same position 0. 1 seconds later. False Blink does not pause or interrupt Engulf's existing contact timers or self-damage ticks. Gain 1 Lag, up to 3.

Lag: Your next Pyronucleosis stun lasts 1 second less per stack. All stacks are consumed when Pyronucleosis is cast. ONE SECOND COOLDOWN??? perfect dodge every second lol FAKE TELEPORT it literally goes nowhere 0. 1 invuln is disgusting if he times it LAG RESOURCE LMAO pyronucleosis WHAT DISEASE IS THAT THIS CLASS WAS MADE TO ANNOY HIM false wings false blink false hero solar is naming the whole class after his fraud arc" False Blink, False Wings. I love this."

Meno activated the ability experimentally while standing in the square and vanished for such a short time that the world seemed to skip rather than transition. He reappeared exactly where he had been with 1 Lag.

"1-second cooldown. 0. 1 seconds is barely anything, but if untargetable means untargetable, this is a perfect dodge skill with timing." The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. He dismissed the description.

"Pyro thing sounds like a disease. It is going to be the self-stun for sure." Solar did not make him wait. [Pyronucleosis] Active. Instant. Stun yourself for 3 seconds. This stun is unaffected by recovery effects or other modifiers to stun duration, except Lag. A 0-second stun caused by Lag still counts as being stunned.

"There it is." Meno nodded, more interested than annoyed now.

"This class is a flaming parasite that stuns itself to survive. After three False Blinks, I get a free out from Unstable and Engulf to save myself. Otherwise, I'm eating a fixed stun." The interaction was cleaner than it first looked. False Blink was not just defense; repeated use changed the cost of his exit. At 0 Lag, Pyronucleosis stopped the burn but locked him helpless for 3 seconds. At 1 or 2 Lag, the recovery window shortened.

At 3 Lag, the self-stun lasted 0 seconds while still satisfying the requirement of being stunned, instantly shutting down both Engulf and Unstable. That made Lag defensive utility, resource management, and an exit route. Then Solar added another way to spend it. [Jet Lag] Active. Instant. Cooldown: 1 second. Must be airborne. Plummet straight down at 500% base Movement Speed until you land, consuming all Lag if you have any. NO DMG???

500% MOVEMENT SPEED DOWNWARD LMAO HE IS A METEOR jet lag actually removes lag 10/10 naming WHY DOES IT HAVE A ONE SECOND COOLDOWN fall damage gonna kill him surely THIS CLASS IS DERANGED"What the hell is this?" Meno reread the requirement.

"A way to land fast? I guess it spends Lag if I want a full-duration self-stun for some reason. Doesn't make much sense yet. Probably connects to a later passive." Five hundred percent base Movement Speed straight down was not subtle. Even without horizontal movement, Jet Lag could turn any airborne position into an almost immediate landing.

"500% speed is faster than Break Infernal speed. Sounds unhinged with a 1-second cooldown. I can probably use this to dodge too if I find a way to actually move." The next passive answered a different problem. [Reactor Titan] Passive. If you spend 3 consecutive seconds under a crowd control status effect, regenerate to full HP and gain 1 stack of Reactor. Reactor: Each stack adds +10x to Unstable's damage multiplier. Stacks last until combat ends and cannot be gained outside combat.

FULL HEAL INFINITE DAMAGE RAMP??? +10X EVERY STUN CYCLE REACTOR STACKING BOSS KILLER three second cc is DEATH though he has to stun himself to refuel 100x 110x 120x WHAT THIS CLASS IS SO STUPID I LOVE IT raid boss parasite build confirmed"Okay, now it makes sense. Reactor is the refuel and damage ramp." The full heal solved the most obvious flaw in Engulf.

Meno could burn himself almost to death, end the state through Pyronucleosis, survive the full 3-second crowd-control duration, and return at full HP with a stronger Unstable multiplier for the next cycle.

"The damage scaling is nuts. It's also a full heal after eating 3 seconds of CC, but 3 seconds is forever." Meno was already imagining boss attacks landing while his character stood completely helpless.

"This entire class revolves around finding windows where I can eat a 3-second stun without dying. That's nasty." If the target had predictable downtime, excellent. If it did not, every heal became a gamble. The next passive finally solved the movement problem. [Desync Titan] Passive. Two-legged jumps may be performed while Rooted. Two-legged jump power increased by 400%. You are immune to fall damage. Meno grinned before chat finished reacting. BUNNY HOP TITAN 400% JUMP POWER????

HE CAN ONLY MOVE LIKE A FROG FALSE WINGS FROM HELL IMMUNE TO FALL DAMAGE LMAO JET LAG THIS IS HIS CLASS THIS IS ACTUALLY HIS CLASS ROOTED BUT NOT REALLY ROOTED"Actually playable? I knew the 'jump normally' thing would come back. This is awesome." Meno crouched experimentally and pushed off with both legs. The jump nearly sent him onto the roof of the nearest market building.

He rose so quickly that the square dropped beneath him before he had properly adjusted to the increased power, and for a moment he was looking over Westmarket from above while players below scattered or looked upward. Meno activated Jet Lag. The world snapped downward, and he struck the paving stones with enough speed that every instinct expected a damage number. Desync Titan ignored the fall completely, leaving him standing where he landed, unharmed. Meno laughed.

"400% jump power if I use both legs is sick. Plus fall-damage immunity. I can't wait to actually use this properly. This class is completely cooked." He could not walk normally while Unstable was active, but that barely mattered if he could launch himself around through enormous two-legged jumps and convert airborne movement into instant downward drops. The final passive appeared. [Sticky Titan] Passive. While Unstable, your feet stick to whatever you are standing on. You cannot be forcibly moved or knocked back.

OH NO STICKY FEET LMAOOOO he can actually stand on bosses YOU CANNOT SHAKE HIM OFF 100X DAMAGE PARASITE BOSS HAT BUILD imagine raid boss with PBG glued to its forehead THIS IS WORSE THAN SWING MASTER DO NOT LET HIM NEAR YOU Meno read the full class again from the beginning, and this time the loop was obvious.

"Yep. Stick to enemies, set myself on fire with Engulf, get crazy damage amp from Unstable, use False Blink to avoid hits, then use the Pyro disease to self-stun and refill HP before going again." He gestured through the abilities as he explained them, more for himself than chat.

"Manage Lag with the Jet Lag crash-to-the-ground thing, then bunny-hop around with Desync at crazy speeds to establish contact. Three Lag Pyronucleosis is the fast Engulf off button. Zero Lag is the greedy version where I eat the whole stun and heal through Reactor." The contradiction was what made the class interesting. False Blink rewarded him for using the strongest defensive button constantly, but every Lag stack shortened Pyronucleosis. If Meno wanted the instant escape from Engulf, he wanted 3 Lag.

If he wanted the full heal and another Reactor stack, he needed 0 Lag and had to deliberately survive the entire 3-second stun.

"This whole class revolves around finding places where I can eat a full 3-second stun to refill, then go again. Definitely needs increased-HP tank items." Solar had already thought of that too. Meno opened the starter equipment that had replaced the Legendary III gear sealed with Swing Master Infernal. [Legendary III | False Breezer] Type: Cloth Pants Durability: Indestructible Defense: None Cloth Bonus: None Bound.

+100% Maximum HP [Legendary III | False Savior] Type: One-Handed Dagger Durability: Indestructible Bound. Can only be equipped in the Sacrifice weapon slot. [Legendary III | Ring of False Purity] Type: Ring Bound. +50% Maximum HP [Legendary III | Ring of False Fame] Type: Ring Bound. +50% Maximum HP [Legendary III | False Bling] Type: Amulet Bound. +100% Maximum HP Your Defense is fixed at 0 and cannot be modified. Immune to vulnerability and damage amplification debuffs. The names alone almost killed chat.

FALSE BREEZER???? FALSE BLING LMAOOOO FOUR TIMES HP WHAT zero defense GLHF Thorn just felt a disturbance FALSE SAVIOR IN THE SACRIFICE SLOT IS FOUL AI named every item personally out of spite 300% HP INCREASE HE IS A NAKED RAID BOSS no defense only vibes"Yep. 300% increased HP from gear, so that means I have four times the normal HP pool." Meno checked the final total and nodded.

"Thorn must be jealous." The health scaling made sense for a class whose core ability removed a percentage of maximum HP rather than flat health. Engulf still burned through the same percentage regardless of how large the pool became, but having four times normal HP made ordinary hits, DoTs, and chip effects much less likely to finish him off while he deliberately lived near the bottom of the bar.

"It doesn't increase my damage at all, but it means I don't instantly die to chip damage or some damage-over-time debuff when I burn myself with Engulf down to 10% HP." Then there was False Bling.

"0 Defense on that amulet is questionable. But I guess the pants don't have any Defense either, so that's the tradeoff. Tons of HP, absolutely no mitigation from Defense." The immunity to vulnerability and damage amplification debuffs prevented enemies from making that weakness even worse, but it did nothing to change the basic situation. Every direct hit would find a huge health pool with 0 Defense behind it. Meno looked at his half-naked character again.

"Definitely feels like a Challenge Class. AI wasn't kidding." He equipped False Savior into the Sacrifice slot. A warning informed him that the dagger could not be removed once placed and could only be overwritten by another eligible dagger. Meno accepted without hesitation. There was no point preserving an empty slot when Solar had clearly provided the weapon specifically for the class. The dagger disappeared from his normal equipment interface and locked into Sacrifice.

Meno checked the rest of his inventory next. His unequipped possessions were still there. Solar had sealed only the equipment he had actually been wearing when the Challenge Class replaced Swing Master Infernal, which meant Meno had not been completely robbed. The replacement Legendary III pieces were all Bound, though, so there was no selling whichever ones eventually became useless. That part was probably intentional.

Meno had spent enough time thinking about liquidating powerful gear that Solar had removed the temptation entirely. Reach Level 80, make the choice about restoring Swing Master, and only then regain access to the sealed equipment. He had to admit it was elegant. Annoying, but elegant. Meno closed his inventory.

"Okay. I'm going to claim this five million Vervenzal bounty, then we go to Fractera and set it on fire."