Chương 58: Summoning the Demon

Goldplain Downs looked innocent enough after Templefall Hollow had crushed him into respawn. Beginners chased small animals through yellow grass while Meno stood beside the shrine, opened the new world map, and stared at the capital markers like one of them might admit which king had the least annoying mount quest. The system had said choose wisely, and systems only said that when the choice had consequences. He closed the map and turned south.

mount quest mount quest now king audience WESTMARKET KING"Choose wisely means I need data," Meno said, already running.

"I am not picking a capital because the mount popup told me to." The shortest sane path back to Westmarket ran through Southreach, because Southreach had a Mage Tower, and the Lost Temple platform still connected the capital portals better than any road Meno had discovered. Southreach rose ahead in dry stone rings around a broad hill, its walls stacked upward in sun-baked layers instead of spreading flat across the plain.

Blue-armored guards watched from ramp walks, merchants shouted across shaded stairs, and pack animals complained loudly. The city looked like it made people climb before selling them anything. Southreach capital choice do it king now mount now he fears horses"I don't fear horses," Meno said, taking the stairs two at a time.

"I fear hidden reputation traps disguised as horses." The lower ring smelled of fried meat where caravan yards pressed against the outer gates. Meno cut through a market lane without stopping, jumped a stalled cart axle, ignored three players who tried to call his name, and followed the Mage Tower icon up another switchback of steps. Southreach's roads kept curling when a straight line would have done fine. By the middle ring, he already missed Westmarket's flat layout.

He passed a courtyard where Zubras argued with a human clerk in sharp chirps, all of them gesturing at small cages full of shiny little lizard critters. buy lizard free the pets test subjects"No," he said.

"I'm not breaking lizards out of cages in the middle of Southreach." The upper ring opened under blue banners and bright tile roofs, with the Mage Tower rising at the back of a plaza in pale stone and brass trim. Low level players clustered near the tower doors, some discussing quests, others forming parties. A few turned when Meno crossed the plaza.

"Stool guy? Can you help us with a quest?" someone called.

"Sorry," Meno said, "I only do quests on Tuesdays, and last time I checked, it was Friday." He went inside.

"Actually, it's Saturday!" the guy shouted after him. The Southreach Mage Tower portal chamber hummed with layered blue rings, each one labeled by destination in clean system text now that his exploration settings no longer lived in shame. Meno stepped through before chat could finish another mount vote. The Lost Temple platform appeared under his boots with cold air, broken gold-white stone, and the shadow of the raid gate in the distance.

first boss stool time do it before Brine king after raid everything after raid"Everything after data," Meno said. He crossed to the Westmarket portal, ignoring the way the raid gate seemed to pull at the edge of his attention. The level wall theory sat in his head with too many matching pieces: Templefall below, Lost Temple above, routes beyond the Four Kingdoms locked behind Vervenzal. Westmarket welcomed him with noise, stone streets, and the heavy smell of bread.

He walked out of the tower and stopped just beyond the steps. Westmarket felt almost safe now, which was stupid because this city had already sold him several public embarrassments. Meno opened the leaderboard before he could talk himself out of it.

[Launch Leaderboard | Global Level Rank] [Rank 1: BrineSaint — Level 49] [Rank 2: JaxxonVale — Level 46] [Rank 3: Kestrel_Crownfall — Level 46] [Rank 4: PikeNorth_Highbanner — Level 45] [Rank 5: Thornwake_Stormhold — Level 45] [Rank 6: Moonwake_Silverwake — Level 45] [Rank 7: Honeygrave — Level 44] [Rank 8: OxideChoir — Level 43] [Rank 9: VantaRush_HypeForge — Level 43] [Rank 10: GlassRook_Crownfall — Level 43] [...] [Rank 31: PrayerBeadGod — Level 39] Meno stared at rank thirty-one longer than he wanted to.

not top 30 stale eight hour tour for this Brine 49 washed?

"It's better than I expected," Meno said, though his mouth tried to reject the sentence halfway through.

"Rank thirty-one after wasting half my life on sightseeing means the upper curve is slowing." Chat did not accept optimism from him unless it arrived bleeding. copium rank 39 to 31 wow historic climb mount quest would give rank 1 stale content"Above forty, the easy dungeons run out," Meno said, tapping the leaderboard with one finger even though the overlay did not need it.

"If they want Normal threat dungeons, they have to go into forty-to-fifty zones and actually find them. Open-world farming has garbage density. High threats hit too hard, and their helpers are under-leveled." He swallowed the part where BrineSaint was still ten levels ahead. Rank thirty-one should have felt better. He had gained two levels, mapped the continent, unlocked mounts, found the wall, and died only once after entering a zone that treated him like loose trash.

The number still sat there like a receipt for wasted time. He closed the leaderboard, opened it again, and looked at rank two.

"What the hell is JaxxonVale doing in second?" finally jealous arc model man Jaxxon clears don't compare jawlines Meno had resisted checking because checking meant admitting curiosity, and curiosity about JaxxonVale felt like losing twice. The man had entered the race with a chiseled face and somehow played well enough to stay near the top. Meno could tolerate good looks. He could tolerate skilled players. Together, they were offensive. He opened JaxxonVale's channel. Offline.

"Of course," Meno said.

"He's offline because he has balance in his life or something." The latest clip sat at the top of the page with a title that made Meno's eyelid twitch. Less Than 1% For This??? Meno clicked it. JaxxonVale filled the overlay with the same kind of casual polish that made cameras behave like trained pets. He looked around Meno's age, tall and lean, with gym-built shoulders, a sharp jaw, and black hair parted neatly down the middle.

The avatar matched his real face too closely for humility to have survived the character creator. Meno knew, with quiet disgust, that a man like that had opened the character creator and selected himself.

"Ridiculous," Meno muttered. he's handsome bro charisma stat max Aurelia watching? don't zoom in"I'm inspecting the competition," Meno said.

"Unfortunately, the competition has cheekbones." The clip opened in Ashfang Volcano zone near the southern coast, beside a mountain ridge split by a cave entrance glowing orange from inside. Heat shimmered over dark stone. Lava ran below the path in slow channels, and the air behind Jaxxon warbled around every ember. [JaxxonVale | Class: Gilded Rift Warlock — Level 46 | Ability: Infernal Calling] Meno leaned closer.

"Gilded Rift Warlock," Meno said.

"That already sounds messed up." The clip showed four other players with him: three women in light armor with short blades, all level thirty-five, and an older-looking man with a broad shield and a tank's patient stance. The rogues stood loose and ready, their attention on the cave. The tank waited beside Jaxxon like he had done this pull enough times to be bored. [Dungeon Entrance: Vulcanic Breach] Recommended Range: 40–50 The dungeon portal dropped them onto a long natural stone bridge over a magma river.

Beyond it, the path sloped into a wide cavern where bipedal Magma Elementals wandered between glowing channels streaking the floor. Each elemental stood three times Jaxxon's height, with black-crusted shoulders split by orange cracks, and every one showed Normal threat to him. Meno's mouth flattened.

"That's a real dungeon." The three rogues vanished and ran down the slope while Jaxxon and the tank stayed at the top of the bridge. For five minutes, the clip cut between Jaxxon chatting with his viewers and distant flashes moving through the lower cavern. Meno could not see the rogues clearly, but he saw the elementals turning, one group after another.

"They're pulling the whole floor," he said. When the rogues reappeared, they were sprinting uphill in bright blur streaks, each one moving under a speed skill strong enough to smear their legs. Behind them came nineteen Magma Elementals. The pack thundered up the slope in a packed line. More poured from each of the three cavern exits, feet splashing through lava channels and kicking sparks across black stone. The bridge shook with every step, and the rogues shot past Jaxxon without slowing.

One by one, they left the dungeon. The tank raised his shield. A transparent wall flickered into place at the top of the slope, tall and wide enough to block the bridge. It looked fake until the elementals slammed into it.

"Good skill," Meno said despite himself. good for what Tank carry guy there to press one skill The tank immediately ran out of the dungeon after the rogues, leaving Jaxxon alone behind the barrier. Jaxxon waited. The elementals bunched against the wall in a molten pile, swinging and grinding at the flicker while the clip's chat spammed emotes along the side. When the wall finally vanished, Jaxxon lifted his staff and tapped its butt against the bridge. A rift tore open beside the pack.

A hulking demon stepped out, larger than the elementals, red-skinned and horned, heavy enough that the bridge cracked under one foot. It slammed both fists into the ground. A shockwave rolled through the pack, stunning and damaging every elemental in place. Then the demon stepped backward through the rift like it had been called for one job and hated overtime. Jaxxon tapped the staff again. Another rift opened. Another horned demon stepped out, slammed the ground, refreshed the stun, and vanished.

"No," Meno said. Jaxxon tapped the staff a third time. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. This rift widened into a burning circle beneath the elementals. Fifty imps spilled out, small red bodies with claws, teeth, and no self-preservation. They climbed the elementals in a shrieking swarm, distracting more than damaging, dying in bursts of fire while the stun immunity faded. Meno's annoyance sharpened into attention.

"Okay," he said.

"That is an actual rotation." The next staff tap brought another hulking demon. The ground slam landed right as the elementals began to move. Stun reapplied. Damage rolled over the pack. Then another demon, then imps again. Jaxxon stood still through all of it. zero skill warlock diff texting on the side streamer class balanced?

"What is this?" Meno said, voice rising.

"Two AOE nuke-stuns into distraction zoo, repeat forever? His mana regen is broken." The elementals died in chunks, one after another, under demon slams and imp clutter while Jaxxon's mana bar dipped and refilled faster than Meno liked. He barely adjusted his position. He did not jump over crystal spikes, scrape one HP through bad terrain, or keep a chain alive by stabbing a monster's ankle while praying hitboxes had mercy. He watched and gave chat a dramatic play-by-play that treated reality as optional.

The final magma elemental cracked apart under a demon slam, and the XP bar moved by a sliver. Jaxxon sighed in the clip.

"All that for less than one percent." He turned and left the dungeon to reset. Meno closed the overlay. For a few seconds, Westmarket's noise filled the space where the clip had been.

"At least BrineSaint blocks hits," Meno said.

"That class opens a door and then goes AFK." warlock hate HE MAD mana build skill issue reroll class"This guy definitely has a movie open while demons do shift work." He opened his gold counter because money was the only number he could check that might improve his mood. [Currency: 944g 10s] The mood did not improve.

"Right," Meno said.

"Deaths, repairs, bad life choices. Time to see if Bradbaron was worth the oxygen." Bradbaron payout WifeLawyer time he stole it bank reveal The merchant district sat a few streets from the forge, louder and cleaner than it deserved. Meno had passed the bank before without entering, mostly because banks in games existed to remind players they had too many items and too little judgment.

Now the white stone building loomed ahead, its front entrance large enough for a Magma Elemental and its two pillars broad enough to make visitors feel poor. What stopped him was the staff. Zubras stood behind the teller counters in neat vests, their striped zebra heads bobbing over ledgers, stamp pads, and coin scales. One had tiny spectacles balanced on the end of its snout. Meno approached the closest teller.

"Account access," he said. The Zubra adjusted its spectacles, then spoke in normal language instead of chirping nonsense. Meno blinked. Was this a Zubra aristocrat?

"Do not look at me like spectacles are proof of personhood," the Zubra said.

"State your name-function, human, before I classify you as corridor noise."

"PrayerBeadGod. Fluxforge Smith. Absolutely not." The Zubra stamped three papers anyway. [Account Access Granted] [Merchant Exchange Deposits Pending: Bradbaron] Meno opened the ledger. [Consignment Sale Report] [Seller: Bradbaron] [Item: Uncommon II Charmsteel Rune Spire x4] [Average Sale Price After Material Deduction: 2, 200g 45s] [Net to Creator After Profit Split: 4, 400g 90s] 4400??? four sticks he was poor yesterday BRAD COOKED Rune Spire economy"That's after his cut," Meno said slowly.

The next line made his hand twitch. [Item: Uncommon II Charmsteel Rune Spire x12] [Materials Funded By Merchant Partner] [Average Sale Price After Material Deduction: 1800g] [Net to Creator After Profit Split: 10, 800g] Meno read it twice, because the first time his brain filed it under impossible and tried to move on.

"Ten thousand eight hundred," he said. BRADBARON GOAT WifeLawyer stocks up second batch went lower merchant carried you made money"I am still poor," Meno said, but his voice had less bite than usual. The report continued. [Item: Uncommon III Gravebone x10] [Average Sale Price: 20g] [Net to Creator After Merchant Commission: 190g]"Terrible," Meno said.

"Gravebone is trash." [Item: Rare III Embervein Sliver x5] [Average Sale Price: 772g 63s 16c] [Net to Creator After Merchant Commission: 3, 670g] That one should have felt better. Meno frowned at the number instead. Rare III material selling under a thousand after the cut meant the market was not treating all Rare III tags the same, or Embervein was less scarce than he thought. Compared to Uncommon II Charmsteel at twenty gold a bar, it was still a jump. Compared to the price of not dying later, it felt small.

[New Balance: 20, 005g 0s] Meno exhaled through his nose. For a second, twenty thousand gold felt like a door opening. Then he remembered level forty deaths cost one hundred gold, level fifty deaths cost five hundred, and a serious crafting experiment could burn thousands before the item even existed. The door stayed open, but something expensive waited on the other side.

"Good news," he said.

"I can now afford to die like an idiot many more times." progress rich corpse buy armor buy mount buy dignity repair your trash"Armor, yes. Dignity is account-bound and cursed." He opened the deposit interface and moved the Glassdry leftovers into Bradbaron's sale queue. [Consignment Deposit Added] [Uncommon III Gravebone x98] [Glassdry Shade Wand | Uncommon III] [Chain-Dancer's Mail Grips | Uncommon III] [Assigned Seller: Bradbaron] [Contract Terms Applied] He kept the rest.

Meno opened his inventory and sorted it into the version of order that made sense to him.

[Inventory] Low-Value Junk x36 - Apple x44 - Epic III Ashen Crown Tail Spike x1 - UNCLASSIFIED Morgra Ritual Stand x1 - Rare III Dream-Burned Fire Essence x1 - Rare I Hollow Lich Essence x2 - Rare III Shardback Crystal Antler x1 - Duneleaf Recovery Draught x13 - Charred Scroll Fragment (Quest) - Uncommon II Charmsteel Rune Spire x1 - Uncommon Smithing Hammer - Uncommon Smithing Tongs - Charmsteel Bar x33 - Charm Forge Fuel x4 - Infused Grip Wrap x53 - Infused Binding Pin x53.

[Equipped] [Sleepless Grip | Legendary I] [Uncommon II Charmsteel Rune Spire]"Okay," Meno said.

"Forge." The Zubra teller stamped his withdrawal receipt with enough force to make the counter jump.

"Gratitude is recorded for your trust in Westmarket Bank," it said.

"Please avoid death-events that make inheritance paperwork breed."

"No promises." The forge hit him with heat. Hammer strikes rang from private stations, bellows breathed, players argued with crafting costs, and the NPC trainer looked up from a rack of unfinished tools.

"Hi." The trainer's smile took effort.

"Welcome back. Should I empty the forge?"

"Not yet," Meno said.

"Repairs first." Meno proceeded to repair both Rune Spires. The forge took one Charmsteel Bar per weapon as tax. finally weapon abuse forgiven main sword lives"They are not swords," Meno said automatically, then paused because the argument had lost some of its shine. Ever since Sleepless Grip entered his build, Deepwater's cleanse felt less mandatory. It still mattered if the glove was down, or if a curse landed in the wrong ten-second window, but the Rune Spire no longer felt like the perfect answer.

Worse, Meno was starting to think the absurd reach had been hiding a damage problem behind comfort. A one-handed sword could hit three times per second in clean testing. Actual combat did not hand out clean testing. Two hits was already good when monsters moved, terrain got in the way, and staying alive meant dodging instead of standing there like a training post. If he was not actually reaching the speed cap, higher base damage might beat the neat math.

He opened weapon-type notes from public testing and cross-checked what he remembered from Chadculator's post. Compared to a one-handed sword, polearms capped at 2 attacks per second but hit 50% harder. Two-handed swords capped at 1. 67 attacks per second and hit 80% harder. Two-handed axes capped at 1. 5 attacks per second and doubled the hit damage. Two-handed maces were too slow to bother. Dual wielding carried a fifteen percent action-speed penalty while both weapons were equipped.

"A polearm is probably the sweet spot," Meno said.

"Except blacksmith only gives me the head." ask woodworker buy shaft quest recipe read manuals"Maybe Bradbaron can buy the recipe later," Meno said.

"Then I only have to buy shafts." Daggers tempted him for about three seconds. Dual wield might be strong later, but later meant after he had time to become less embarrassing with his left hand. Two-handed axes stayed on the list.

"For Hundredfold spam, base damage matters," he said." Panic Pump and Break Surplus give me the stacks. The weapon only has to hit hard when the projectile fires." He checked his viewcount. Viewers: 71, 244 The number had gone down, technically. It still looked too large to be friendly. Meno looked into chat.

"Guys, if anyone knows Chadculator, tell him to get here as fast as he can. If he does some math for me, I'll give him one of my Rune Spires for free." The chat paused for half a breath, then detonated. CHADCULATOR SUMMON FREE RUNE SPIRE math goblin bounty he'll call you stupid worth don't pay him summon the hater"It's not charity," Meno said. A thousand-gold weapon was a lot to most players right now. Enough, maybe, to drag a forum gremlin out of hiding, especially one that enjoyed telling people they were wrong.

Meno could work with that. Spite was one of Veyrath's most reliable currencies. Fluxforge Smith had stayed stuck at Level 25. While chat tried to summon a man through insults, Meno opened the Uncommon III weapon recipes. He had already purchased the basic bracket. Uncommon III should be the same game at higher speed: more runes, tighter prompts, less room for sloppy hammer timing. He selected Great Axe.

The recipe needed 9 Charmsteel Bars, 9 Charm Forge Fuel, 9 Infused Grip Wraps, 9 Infused Binding Pins, and 1 Uncommon III Magical Ingredient.

"Two-handers are expensive," Meno said. The missing problem was fuel and essence. He had four fuel. He needed enough for three axes if he wanted a clean test set and profession progress, which meant twenty-three more. The Auction House opened with a price list that made him briefly miss being too poor to shop. [Charm Forge Fuel] [Lowest Price: 5g each] Meno bought twenty-three. [Purchase Complete: Charm Forge Fuel x23] [Cost: 115g] Then he checked Uncommon III magical ingredients. The market hurt.

[Uncommon III Earth Essence] [Lowest Price: 300g each]"That is obscene," Meno said. Essence prices sat in a different world from ore prices. Embervein Slivers had sold as Rare III for decent money, but nothing like what he had imagined before seeing the gap between basic metal and usable magical ingredients. Hollow Lich Essence might be worth several thousand gold each. None were listed, which meant selling them blind would be stupid. He bought the cheapest three Earth Essences anyway.

[Purchase Complete: Uncommon III Earth Essence x3] [Cost: 900g] [Currency: 18, 990g] lightning birds beware why not fire poor rich man"Because fire essence costs five hundred gold," Meno said. He returned to the forge station. The trainer watched him choose the great axe recipe and took two careful steps back. Meno pretended not to notice because acknowledging it would only make both of them sad. The forge lit. Ten magic runes appeared in a hard line instead of seven.

Meno memorized them, closed his eyes for half a second, opened them, and started. The first Charmsteel Bar went into the heat, then the second, each prompt landing faster than the last. Normal crafting felt almost gentle after Fluxforge work. The hammer rhythm came clean. The tongs caught each bar at the color shift. Charm Forge Fuel flared the heat blue-white, then sank into the metal as he folded the head into shape.

The great axe took longer than a one-hander because there was simply more weapon to build, but the prompts never reached the knife-edge panic of engraving runes with the Ashen Crown Tail Spike while his health bar tried to leave.

"Uncommon crafting is baby mode now," Meno said, then immediately focused harder. Saying that out loud was how you got punished. The Earth Essence waited until the metal head and long handle were ready. He guided it in through the prompt path, no Deepwater Rune, no health-draining Fluxforge engraving, no expensive regeneration loop. The metal drank the brown-green glow greedily. Grip wraps and binding pins locked along the haft, and the final sharpening pass drew a dull earthen line down both axe edges.

[Pattern Complete] [Uncommon III Great Axe] Quality: 100% — Perfect Durability: Maximum Earthen Edge III: Deals 30% increased damage against Lightning-aspected and Air-aspected enemies; slaying them restores weapon durability. [Fluxforge Smith Level Up | Level 27] The axe rested in his hands, broad-bladed, heavy, and plain. A faint brown glow sat under the metal if he angled it near the forge light. It did not look like a six-hundred-gold experiment.

It looked like something a practical bandit would use to open a door and then a person. Meno turned it once.

"Six hundred fifteen gold in mats, roughly," he said.

"Anyone actually using big axes?" mostly sword or hammer not me offer 700 use it"No runes, and the damage mod is actually better," Meno said.

"The glove handles most statuses now. Deepwater doubles the essence cost, adds the health-drain nonsense, and makes crafting take forever." He crafted the second axe in a steadier rhythm. Then the third. Fourteen minutes passed in a blur of prompts, heat, bars, fuel, wraps, pins, and Earth Essence glow. Neither axe failed. Both came out perfect. The profession bar moved with satisfying weight. [Fluxforge Smith Level Up | Level 30] Meno lowered the last axe and checked the remaining materials.

They came to 4 Charmsteel Bars, 26 Infused Grip Wraps, and 26 Infused Binding Pins. He had bought too many wraps and pins at the start of this whole mess, which meant one early panic purchase had accidentally become future planning. The fuel and Earth Essences were gone. His gold was still high enough to breathe, but the cost of real experimentation had made itself clear. He inspected the axe modifiers again.

"Wait," he said. he found it what?? axe bad? refund" Earthen Edge applies to the weapon attack," Meno said.

"So if you dual wield two daggers with basic mods, you don't get sixty percent damage. You get thirty percent on the dagger that hits. Basic mods don't stack unless the effect says they do." He hit his forehead with the base of his palm. obviously genius! didn't know that? lvl 30 crafter btw"Great. Cool. I love learning before spending money." earth only hits air/lightning read a book Meno vs tooltip"Thirty percent is still good," he said.

"Against the right enemy. Unfortunately, the right enemy is not most enemies, because I bought the cheap dirt option like an idiot." He picked up one axe and went to the trainer, trying to let level thirty do some work on his mood. The trainer inspected the weapon with care. He ran a thumb near the edge without touching it, checked the handle bindings, watched the earthen glow, and nodded.

"Pretty good." The trainer handed it back. Meno waited, clearly expecting more. The trainer only smiled politely.

"I want to learn Rare recipes," Meno said. The trainer's smile tightened.

"Your standing is too low." For one second, Meno almost threw the axe into the forge.

"What do you mean my standing is too low?" he asked.

"I am Reputable."

"Yes," the trainer said.

"You are only Reputable." Chat found a fresh body and swarmed it. ONLY REPUTABLE quest wall karma too low 350 karma bro do quests coward donate axes bricked smith Meno pointed the axe at chat as if the overlay could feel threatened.

"This is terrible design." The trainer coughed into one hand.

"Many artisans build trust before accessing restricted rare-tier methods."

"Trust means quests."

"Or donations." Meno lowered the axe very slowly. Donating expensive weapons for standing would mean burning gold to unlock recipes he still needed more expensive ingredients to use. Running quests would mean listening to NPCs explain their problems while BrineSaint hit fifty and Vervenzal laughed from a floating temple. Both options were bad in ways that cost time, gold, or both.

"So I leveled to thirty and hit a reputation wall," Meno said. The trainer's face did not change.

"Congratulations." He put the axe away and left the forge before he tested whether NPC trainers could be attacked. The street outside had cooled slightly, though the heat still clung to his sleeves. Players moved between stalls, shouting for healers, and people willing to stop being stupid in dungeons. Meno stopped near the forge entrance when someone said his name.

"PrayerBeadGod." Meno turned. A short man stood a few steps away with a tall black mohawk, a nose ring, and black tattoos crawling over his arms, neck, and face in sharp bands and symbols. His sleeveless leather vest showed enough skin to suggest the tattoos kept going. He looked ready to keep arguing until everyone else got tired first. The man held out one open palm like a beggar.

"You called. Give me the weapon." Meno stared at him. Chat understood first. NO WAY CHADCULATOR THAT'S HIM? math punk give him the stick he came for payment call Jaxxon summoned a demon Meno looked from the man's tattoos to the outstretched hand, then back to his face.

"You're Chadculator?" The short man's eyes narrowed.

"Obviously." Chadculator wiggled his fingers.

"Weapon," he said.

"Then math."