Chương 170: Mechanics Optional

The road widened around a deep circular forge pit instead of another plaza. Four packs of five Balveths patrolled the rim, with the fourth boss waiting below. [Drazhul, Crucible Forgemaster | Boss | Infused | Immolation Aura | Enrage | Level 98] Drazhul was bigger than the usual Balveth. Heavy plate swallowed most of its hunched frame, and a long two-handed forging hammer sat across one shoulder. Four quenching basins surrounded the pit, their dark water catching the orange glow from the stone.

Meno checked the remaining cooldown on Mush, then remembered Karmabeast had just hit Level 90 as well.

"Did you augment anything yet?"

"Nah, leaning toward Sky Tormentor to snipe a Cooldown Reduction."

"I think we should both augment Mush. Most of our damage comes from those three seconds."

"Yeah, but that's mostly because it applies my debuff during the full duration, so I can go crazy."

"Yes, and because our attacks can't be stopped or Reduced. These bosses must have at least 30% Damage Reduction." Meno brought up Mush EX again while looking down at Drazhul.

"Bypassing Reduction is a big damage multiplier. Your Poison already bypasses Defense, which is basically armor, but that's a separate layer."

"Let's do it." Meno selected his pending Level 90 augmentation and applied it to Mush EX. Three choices opened beside the skill. [Option 1: Divine Recurrence] Base cooldown becomes 3 minutes and your attacks during Mush EX ignore Defense. [Option 2: Divine Reversal] While Mush EX is active, deal 50% more Damage and your attacks are considered Counterattacks. [Option 3: Divine Extension] Duration increased by 3 seconds and your attacks during Mush EX can no longer be Avoided.

"Nice bait, like I would pick my augment based on an Ancient II item."

"What did you get?" Meno shared his choices. Karmabeast sent his back, and the two were almost identical. The only real difference was Divine Recurrence: Karmabeast's version replaced the Defense bypass with more Lifesteal because Poison damage already ignored Defense. That answered another question about augmentations. They were not completely custom to each class, but they were not rigid copies either. The same option could change enough to avoid wasting part of its effect.

"That Recurrence is strong," Karmabeast said.

"It unlocks an entire item class to abuse."

"Yeah, for 3 seconds. It's bait. Don't even think about it. Duration is way more important, because even 3 minutes is too long to get a second Mush in a normal fight."

"Yeah, but if the fight goes long enough, and you stack Cooldown Reduction on top of that, you could get Mush down to like 1. 5 minutes. That would be toxic."

"The point is to make sure the fight never lasts that long. Your whole PvE setup depends on keeping Venom Tyrant on as many targets as possible. Once Mush ends, the only way you can spread it that wide is Venom Cloak, and that lasts 1 second. After that, half your class shuts off." Karmabeast left the selection window open.

"I'm just hung up on investing fully into a gimmick. It's obviously broken. If this gets patched, the augment is toast."

"Don't worry about that. By the time they patch it, we're already Level 100. And 100 means guaranteed class something. Zero shot it's just another augment."

"So your entire progression strat is outrunning patches?" ACTUALLY THE META PATCH NOTES CANT CATCH HIM speedrun before AI wakes up ENTIRE BUILD IS AN EXPLOIT go fast break everything"Pretty much. We need to abuse the fact the AI can't change everything hourly. That would be super lame." Meno selected Divine Extension.

"Also, can't be Avoided is top tier for PvP, I'm sure."

"Yeah, that's massive. Okay, I sent it." Meno confirmed his choice too. Mush went from a 3-second burst window to 6 seconds, and its last defensive hole disappeared with it. Block, Deflect, Parry, Absorption, Reduction, and now Avoidance were all off the table while it lasted. That finally felt like a Divine button. The cooldown was still awful, but that was a future problem.

"Let's blow up this boss. Infused means elemental attacks, Immolation Aura is most likely nonstop chip damage, so we're on a timer. Enrage should make it big mad at low HP." Meno shifted Sinforged Trinity into both hands.

"I'll save the tank ghost for the end." They launched from the upper rim together. Meno dropped into False Wings while Karmabeast triggered Sky Tormentor, crossing the pit before Drazhul could finish turning. The trash packs started around the upper rim after them and immediately fell behind. They hit the arena and activated Mush. Both Tyrants tripled in size. Sinforged Trinity became a massive dark-red glaive over Drazhul while Karmabeast's Debillionator blades expanded into serrated slabs.

Venom Tyrant spread through the boss and every trash mob in range, infecting Drazhul with 25% increased Damage Taken and reduced Action Speed before Karmabeast froze the packs with Toxic Crash. Then they unloaded. Immolation Aura burned 12% of Meno's HP every second, more than his 6% Lifesteal could cover at low Chain. That problem fixed itself fast. Every Massive hit added 100 Chain, every point of Chain pushed his damage higher, and higher damage meant more healing.

Drazhul barely got to play for the first 3 seconds. Sinforged Trinity tore through its armor while Karmabeast buried it in Multi-Strikes, and the augmented 6-second Mush window kept their full Action Speed and defense bypass running twice as long as before. Drazhul crossed below 50% and Enrage kicked in. The Balveth swelled almost to their size, red light burning across its armor as the forging hammer sped up. One clean swing smashed Meno down to 30%. He stayed on the boss.

The ramp was live now, and Chain had pushed his Lifesteal high enough to fight the damage race even after dropping from 8% to 6%. Meno triggered Sinforged Trinity's corruption. Gorvath appeared in Drazhul's face, took aggro, Blocked one hammer strike, Parried the next, then counterattacked while both players kept pumping damage around it. [Chain: 2800 | Damage: +28, 000% | Total: 281x] Drazhul turned the entire pit to lava.

Steam blasted from the four quenching basins around the edge, but neither player bothered solving whatever mechanic they were meant for. Lava plus Immolation Aura stripped roughly 31% of Meno's HP each cycle. Sinforged Trinity gave most of it back within the next few hits. Karmabeast barely noticed the damage. His Lifesteal and nonstop Multi-Strikes kept snapping his HP back up almost as fast as it fell. [Chain: 3200 | Damage: +32, 000% | Total: 321x] The first Toxic Crash expired at 5 seconds.

Karmabeast stunned the upper ring again without slowing his attacks, buying another 5 seconds the fight was never going to need. Drazhul hit 11% as Mush entered its final second. [Chain: 3700 | Damage: +37, 000% | Total: 371x] Karmabeast stopped. Meno eyeballed Drazhul's HP, triggered Xenocide, and chopped Sinforged Trinity through the boss as their Divine forms shrank away. Drazhul died on the hit, and every normal Balveth around the pit collapsed with it. [Boss Defeated: Drazhul, Crucible Forgemaster] [Level Up! | Level 93] Karmabeast reached Level 91 from the same clear.

"Well, that worked. Huge. It was huuuge." Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Yeah. After all this, I want more Lifesteal. This stat is broken with our scaling. Who needs healers? They are useless." HE HAS BECOME THE VAMPIRE SUPPORT TICKET RETRACTION WHEN 6% LIFESTEAL TANKING LAVA BTW HEALERS JUST CAUGHT A STRAY INC PATCH LIFESTEAL BACK TO ACTIONSPEED"What do you think the mechanic was?" Karmabeast asked.

"Pools were probably safe spots for four players while the tank eats the lava. Or maybe a way to dispel Enrage. We probably skipped a few mechanics right off the bat."

"If you summon the ghost of this thing, it might summon the lava thing to melt the next boss," Karmabeast said.

"Yep. Your loot, share it." Karmabeast walked into the Ancient-colored beam and sent the drop over. [Ancient II | Drazhul's Crucible] Type: Two-Handed Mace Damage Tier: Legendary V Durability: Augmented+++ 100% Physical Damage Converted to Fire Damage 30% Physical Damage Taken Converted to Fire Damage Taken 30% Fire Damage Taken Recouped as HP Attacks inflict Burning 50% less Attack Speed Multi-Strike 3 The Crucible kept proving how rough gearing would get once they started chasing specific drops.

Karmabeast wanted Leather and daggers. Meno could use Leather, Mail, or even Plate if the modifiers justified the trade, but neither of them could expect the dungeon to drop the exact armor slot or weapon type their builds needed. Then Meno found one line on Drazhul's mace that ruined the entire item.

"Biggest pile of crap I have ever seen. Fifty percent less Attack Speed. That's not minus fifty from increased Attack Speed, that's a separate reduction. A normal two-handed mace ends up around Massive weapon speed without even getting Massive base damage." He turned the mace toward Karmabeast.

"Can I have it?" HE TRASHED IT THEN ASKED FOR IT MASTER NEGOTIATOR MerchantBeadGod MULTISTRIKE 3 THOUGH wait his profession actually works? HE WANTS SCIENCE MATERIAL"What? Why would you want this? You think it's worth more than the gloves?"

"Maybe for a Heavy Striker, but those are rare, and there are way more tanks. I just want it for Quadrillionator testing since I only got two weapons right now."

"Nice scam attempt. Still, you can have it because I'm a generous person. Give me those gloves." They traded. The Ancient II mace was too valuable to gamble on an experiment, and feeding Quadrillionator Common I trash sounded equally stupid. Modifiers no longer carried over, but Meno had already learned the hard way that component quality could matter. Better to stockpile weapons that were actually usable. The gloves were dead for his build anyway.

They headed for the tower expecting the stairs to take them straight to the endboss. Instead, the base of the spire opened into a large chamber with a circular staircase winding up the inner wall. No trash packs waited inside. One more boss did.

"Bummer." [Zhaerith, Crucible Arcanist | Boss | Mirror Images | Arcane Sigils | Displacement | Level 99] Zhaerith looked ridiculous. Someone had stuck a tall pointed hat on a hunched, tailless Balveth, shortened its claws enough to fit rings over every finger, and hung a thick necklace of little star-shaped charms around its neck. A white staff topped with a large purple crystal completed the mage costume. Meno checked Mush. Still cooling down.

"No trash. Guess we do this the old-fashioned way."

"Yes, grandpa." The moment Mush came back, they launched into the chamber and activated it on contact. For 6 seconds, Zhaerith barely had defenses. Arcane Sigils flashed under their feet, but the warning glow gave them time to shift without stopping their attacks. Displacement failed against Mush, and every Massive hit chunked the boss. Zhaerith still had 89% HP when the burst ended. [Chain: 3700 | Damage: +37, 000% | Total: 371x] The boss split.

Eight identical Zhaeriths appeared around the chamber, all holding the same staff and starting the same cast. The real one vanished into the group, and its HP bar jumped to a copy on the far side. Meno triggered Sinforged Trinity's corruption. Drazhul appeared and turned the floor to lava. That accidentally solved Mirror Images. The copies could imitate Zhaerith's spells, but they lacked boss HP, and the lava started deleting them within a few ticks.

One vanished by the stairs, another beside a pillar, and two more popped mid-cast. The ghost had contributed, and it had also set both players on fire. GHOST TECH IS SO STUPID solved mirrors griefed party classic revenge time for the deletion LAVA DETECTOR META this weapon needs to be fixed asap BUG FINDER CREDIT INC Meno pushed across the lava toward Zhaerith when Displacement grabbed him.

Sleepless Grip blocked the first forced move, but Karmabeast got swapped with a surviving image and dumped directly onto an Arcane Sigil. The Sigil blew before he could escape normally. Karmabeast hit Venom Cloak to save himself, ignored the next Arcane cast through Magic Avoidance, then used Venom Step to snap back behind Zhaerith. Now the fight made sense. Every few seconds, Zhaerith could swap with a Mirror Image.

The real HP followed the boss, but all eight bodies showed the same bar, so the UI gave Meno nothing. Venom Tyrant marked the real Zhaerith after Karmabeast landed a hit, and the lava deleted fakes fast enough to narrow the field. Drazhul vanished after 3 seconds, but the lava did not. That was useful until Meno swung at a copy that survived one lava tick and died to the next. Sinforged Trinity cut through empty air, his Chain upkeep expired, and Defiant had to save his Chain.

After that, they stopped chasing every image. Lava eliminated bad targets, Karmabeast marked the real Zhaerith on contact with his debuff, and Meno watched the HP bar for each swap. Then Zhaerith started weaponizing the routes between them. Arcane Sigils appeared where they were most likely to chase, and Displacement could drop a player straight onto one. False Wings or Venom Step escaped if they reacted fast enough. If not, the explosion plus another lava tick could chunk them hard.

At 50% HP, purple walls rose through the chamber and split it into narrow lanes. Zhaerith started swapping across them while leaving fakes on Meno's side. Karmabeast barely cared. Once he found the real target, Venom Step teleported him through the maze. Meno had to route around it. Whenever Zhaerith became unreachable, he hit Mirror Images just to keep Chain alive. They were valid targets, so the hits still generated Chain, but none of that damage touched the boss. He also could not swing blindly.

If lava deleted a copy before Sinforged Trinity connected, Defiant was gone and the miss could cost him the entire ramp. The Mirror Images should have been free damage for Karmabeast. Every infected clone meant another Multi-Strike he could funnel into Zhaerith, and eight copies would have given him plenty to work with. Actually infecting all eight was the problem. Mush was on cooldown, Venom Cloak could only bail him out every 30 seconds, and Venocide had enough range to catch clusters but not the whole spread.

He kept tagging groups whenever they stacked together, only for the clones to die before he could build a real Multi-Strike funnel off them. The targets were there. His spread tools were not. After a minute and a half of chasing the real boss between clones, walls, Sigils, and swaps, Meno's Chain was lagging badly behind the fight timer.

[Chain: 5200 | Damage: +52, 000% | Total: 521x] Meno's HP bounced between 61% and 83% as lava and spells drained it and Lifesteal repaired the damage, keeping Inexhaustible's full-health Movement Speed bonus offline. False Wings let him avoid the lava, but Displacement kept throwing him back onto the floor or ruining his momentum. Then Zhaerith started overlapping everything, and Meno had to stop gambling on swings he was not sure would land. Mirror Images spawned. Multiple Arcane Sigils lit at once.

Zhaerith swapped during the cast, forcing Meno to identify the real body while tracking which parts of the floor were about to explode. THIS BOSS IS PURE ANNOYANCE lava master big self-own CHAIN FARMING THE CLONES LMAO wipe wipe wipe finally an actual boss The fight dragged past 4 minutes, but Meno kept Chain alive by farming copies whenever Zhaerith denied him the real target. By then, the mechanic had stopped being a guessing game.

Lava removed weak copies, Venom Tyrant marked the real boss after contact, the HP bar exposed every swap, and Sigil glow told Meno which routes were about to become lethal. Zhaerith could still deny uptime. It could not stop the ramp. [Chain: 9100 | Damage: +91, 000% | Total: 911x] At 9, 100 Chain, one clean Sinforged Trinity hit tore off a huge section of boss HP. Karmabeast's single-target damage had fallen far behind; the only challenge left was giving Meno something real to hit. Zhaerith split again near 12%.

Meno ignored the nearest copy. The first lava tick erased two fakes, then the HP bar jumped behind a purple wall. Karmabeast reached the real boss first with Venom Step and forced it to move before the next Sigil finished. Meno had his opening. He kicked over the barrier with False Wings, cleared the glowing Sigil beyond it, and carved Sinforged Trinity through Zhaerith. Zhaerith dropped below 10%, and Meno kicked it before another Mirror Image cycle could start. Titan triggered.

[Boss Defeated: Zhaerith, Crucible Arcanist] [Level Up! | Level 94] TWO CASUALS WALK INTO A DUNGEON with perfect uptime he can get 10k plus in 1 min slow chain still broken nerf him again Swing Master unstoppable THE GHOST WAS BOTH MVP AND GRIEFER how do you get lifesteal? nothing on AH Karmabeast reached Level 92. Meno went straight for the loot beam, hoping the Arcanist had at least possessed the decency not to drop a useless caster item after forcing them through four minutes of nonsense.

It dropped a caster item. [Ancient II | Zhaerith's Singularity] Type: Ring +999% increased Arcane Spell Damage +777% Mana Cost +30% Maximum HP +14% Action Speed 10% more Damage Taken 9% less Mana The +14% Action Speed saved it. NINE HUNDRED NINETY NINE ARCANE 777% MANA COST LMAO ONE CAST BUILD 14 ACTION SPEED PBG EYES ACTIVATED INFERNAL ARCANE NUKE RING"Naaasty," Karmabeast said.

"That's a one-shot ring. Imagine two of these on an Infernal Arcane mage. Delete the item. It shouldn't exist. Mages are strong enough."

"I can't use it now because my setup relies on these useless Charisma modifiers to function, but that's 14% Lifesteal for me and 30% Maximum HP. Even with more Damage Taken, it's still good. I'm keeping it." They left the chamber and started up the circular staircase. The stairs wrapped around the inside of the spire until a final doorway opened onto the platform they had seen from the dungeon entrance. Heated air swept across the rooftop, carrying the orange glow of the Crucible below.

At the far edge, a Balveth sat on the rim with its legs hanging over the drop, whistling a calm little tune that sounded completely wrong after the previous five bosses. It wore little armor compared with the others. Lean limbs and dark blades strapped across its body gave it a lighter, faster silhouette, though it still carried the same predatory Balveth hunch. The creature seemed to be having a nice afternoon until Meno inspected it.

[Varkesh, Crucible Executioner | Boss | Bleed | Avoidance | Execution | Level 100] THE WALL HAS ARRIVED AVOIDANCE + EXECUTION LOL ROGUE BOSS NO TRASH GOOD LUCK TRASH TORMENTOR"Great," Karmabeast said.

"Damage-over-time rogue with no trash around and Level 100. Should be a breeze."

"Avoidance is going to be an issue. Your Stealth debuff doesn't work on Bosses, and I only have 5% Avoidance Pierce outside Mush. One Avoid and my Chain could be gone." Meno ran through the remaining boss tags.

"Execution probably means do not go low HP against this boss."

"Yep. Avoidance plus Bleed nerfs our Lifesteal sustain. We might just expire." Meno rested Sinforged Trinity across his shoulder instead of starting the pull.

"Before we do this, I want to try some science. If it works, I'll have a Damage Tier VI weapon. That should help." Karmabeast gestured at Sinforged Trinity, then toward Varkesh.

"Aim the thing at the boss. The laser might do the job."