Compensate me?

Did he mean to say he would pay for my Totem Juggling build? Why would he want it?

The core mechanic of Totem Juggling was spamming two Link Shards:

Lvl. 1 Superior Replicant Totem (Link): A hefty payment of blood establishes a contract with the world beyond for the aid of a spectral totem (limit 1). The totem will have 15% of the Offense and Defense attributes of its contractor, and it will continuously cast all linked Skill Shards that do not deal damage. The contractor will pay for its costs.
  (Can only be Linked to Skill Shards that have cooldowns of ten seconds or less)
  Cost: 25% of Maximum Health
  Duration: 45 Seconds
  Cooldown: 1 Second

Lvl. 1 Lesser Replicant Totem (Link): A payment of blood contracts the aid of a lesser spectral totem from another plane (limit 1). The totem will have 10% of the Offense and Defense attributes of its contractor, and it will continuously cast all linked Skill Shards that do not deal damage. The contractor will pay for its costs.
  (Can only be Linked to Skill Shards that have cooldowns of ten seconds or less)
  Cost: 15% of Max Health
  Duration: 30 Seconds
  Cooldown: 1 Second

I connected them to [Enraging Call] so that the Totems would cast the Skill Shard and taunt the boss.

Lvl. 1 Enraging Call: Taunts nearby non-Player enemies, forcing them to attack you. During the duration, the taunted units gain 10% Damage, while you gain (+20 Armor).
  Duration: 3 Seconds
  Cost: 10 Energy
  Cooldown: 5 Seconds

To pay for the incredibly punishing costs of summoning Totems repeatedly as they were killed, I lowered my health by removing some pieces of armor and transferring the attributes points I had in Vigor to Spirit. This also increased my Energy and its regeneration for the non-stop casting of [Enraging Call].

With a smaller health pool, I’d pay fewer health points even if the percentage cost stayed the same. Then I cobbled together gear to increase my health regeneration. With [Healing Touch] and regeneration, I could quickly restore my tiny health bar.

Lvl. 2 Healing Touch: Use a touch of your revitalizing Ancestral Flames to heal yourself or an ally for (200 + (Vigor x 1.5) + 4% Ancestral Shroud) Health Points, and grant the target a buff that heals by the same value over 10 seconds. (Heal buff does not stack for a target.)
  Generate for target: 1 Rejuvenation Charge
  Cost: 25 Ancestral Shroud
  Cooldown: 3 Seconds

It was a brilliant strategy, if I may say so myself. And I should.

But it was far from being considered strong. Rather, it was made out of necessity because our party didn’t have a dedicated tank.

It could work effectively on some bosses but perhaps not on others, as was the case with Zoar Elab's last phase that I couldn't hold. Specific mechanics could also negate it, like if the enemy had too many AoE moves. An actual tank was preferable in all instances.

If a serious party was going to take on a boss, they'd undoubtedly have a tank in their lineup. They would have no use for my build. It was only because of my team's peculiar circumstances that I was forced to use a fraction of my immense brainpower to come up with this solution to our deficiency.

Did SpartanDonkey want to sell my secret build to parties with no tanks? I doubted it was as much of a secret to fetch a high price.

I couldn't have been the first person to come up with the strategy I was now calling 'Totem Juggling.' Others who had thought of this before me wouldn’t have kept it a secret all this time. Plausible but highly unlikely. With their extensive information network, I'd assume the Expeditionary Legion heard about this long ago and promptly bought it if they deemed it valuable.

"Just name your price," SpartanDonkey said, casually waving his hand to indicate money wasn't a problem. "But, of course, I also have to temper the amount you quote by saying that I already know plenty of information about Mehubanarath."

"Mehubanarath?" I asked. What did the Big M have to do with my Totem Juggling?

The Aritu Form Ocadule I received as a quest reward from him did help with the hefty health cost of the build, specifically [Healing Touch]. But it could be substituted with other healing skills. I was waiting for my Aritu Ocadule to reach level five before returning to that gigantic ashy hermit—he had no part whatsoever in the fight with the Living Statue.

"Yes, Mehubanarath," SpartanDonkey said. "I know that you've met him. You were with Sharulrath, his nephew, when you entered the village. You're on a quest chain for Mehubanarath, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm not denying that," I guardedly said. I didn't want to accidentally blurt out something that had value.

"And you have received quest rewards from that old NPC?" he pressed. "An Ocadule? Or was it Shards? A weapon? Pieces of equipment?"

"Yes, I did complete quests for him and got rewards," I answered, deliberately not elaborating on what they were. "But what does it have to do with the Living Statue?" We were both on a fishing expedition, and I wanted to hold my cards close to my chest. Wait, those were two different analogies. Hold my fish close to my chest?

SpartanDonkey raised a brow at me. "Kezo told you guys to keep it a secret, huh? But only from Luds, I presume? I'm sure you can tell me. I'd compensate you for it."

Keep what a secret? was what I wanted to ask him. I hesitated because it sounded like I was deliberately playing dumb, even after he thought he had already ‘exposed’ me.

Nonetheless, I still had no idea what SpartanDonkey was talking about in connection with Mehubanarath. Decidedly going with the flow of the conversation and building on his incorrect assumption, I said, "I'm not so sure...it's not as if it's a big secret."

"I can understand why Kezo told Luds someone helped your party tank the Living Statue," SpartanDonkey said, nodding his head more for emphasis. "With Luds calling him 'Cheeseman' all the time, it wouldn't surprise me if the usually friendly Kezo is annoyed as hell. If I were in Kezo's position, I'd keep anything a secret from Luds out of spite."

"Yeah," I said, chuckling along with him. Should I tell him about the Totem Juggling strategy?

I bet I could squeeze some Artas from him before the 'great reveal' of a secret that he probably knew—or at least was already in his guild's information database. I'd try stringing him along before agreeing; I might fetch a higher price.

"Maybe it's better if you ask Kezo," I told him with fake uncertainty.

"For sure, I've thought of that," he replied. "But I decided to approach you. You're the man with the secret weapon. You're the one with Mehubanarath's gifts."

So, that's what SpartanDonkey wants from me?

It took me a while to understand him because he had such a dumb idea that I didn't consider it. I had to exert considerable self-control not to burst out laughing. He assumed I had received an item or skill from Mehubanarath that we then used to somehow defeat the Living Statue without a tank.

Herald Stone didn't need cheat skills or items to accomplish incredible feats! I could overcome anything with whatever tools were at hand. I'd bet my Mardukryon balls—I didn't and couldn't physically check if I had any—that I could defeat the Living Statue with my new fishing rod and rented pickaxe.

Okay, that was an exaggeration—a rarity when it came to my esteemed self.

Nonetheless, given enough time, I wouldn't be surprised if I could devise a strategy using a fishing rod and a pickaxe for boss hunting.

"I didn't use anything from Mehubanarath," I truthfully told him. But I intentionally spoke in such a way that would make anyone think I was hiding something. I added, "And Kezo..." I trailed off, letting SpartanDonkey fill the rest of the sentence with incorrect speculations.

"Don't worry about Kezo," he said as he patted my shoulders as if we were long-time friends. "I'm sure he meant that fake story only for Luds. For sure, for sure. I swear I'll tell Luds that you guys didn't want to reveal how you managed to defeat Zoar Elab with your no-tank lineup and with three of your party members lower level than the boss."

"I was just level twelve then," I said, highlighting the 'power' of this mysterious 'cheat' skill from Mehubanarath. "I'm fourteen now because I’m rushing to level for the Great Hunt."

"Leveling up?" he pondered while stroking his horn. "Gli for your Ocadule? Or Lesser Skill points for the Shard from Mehubanarath? You didn't get a weapon or armor from him."

"I didn't say that," I hastily said as if I was covering up information I mistakenly divulged. "As I’ve told you, I didn't use anything from Mehubanarath to defeat the Living Statue," I half-heartedly insisted while holding back a chuckle.

It only made him believe his version of the truth more. "Okay, okay, man," he said. "I understand that you don't want to contradict Kezo's story to Luds. I'm not telling you to betray him. Nothing of the sort." He snapped his fingers and pointed at me. "I got an idea. What if you just showed me the battle log of your fight?"

"Battle log? We have those?" I wasn't pretending to be a newbie; I honestly didn't know.

"The system automatically records our fights with bosses. You can also record fights with rare monsters. Battle logs can be very profitable to sell, especially if they contain new strategies about beating a boss or information about a new one."

"And you want the battle log of our fight with the Living Statue?" I slowly repeated as if I was considering it. When he mentioned it, I decided to agree if his offer was sufficient. This way, it'd be all his fault if the fight turned out different than he expected—which it would.

"Exactly," he said. "What do you want for it? I can give you ten million Artas and...a full set for the build you're planning to make. I do have plenty of equipment stashed away."

"To be honest, I don't need anything now." Let's start haggling. The first step was to parry his offers. "I don't know what to buy even if you give me money. And Kezo said that he’d give me—

"Information!" he interrupted as he tapped his temple. "Information is the currency of the Legion. Ask away. I'll see if I can answer it."

"I'm just a beginner," I said. "I don't even know what I don't know. I'm afraid I might ask something, but the answer is not worth it." Come on, read between the lines.

"No, no, no." SpartanDonkey empathically shook his head and hands. "The Legion is not taking advantage of people,” he said, understanding what I was implying. “Don't think that of me, friend. I'm not planning to lowball you here with possibly worthless information."

"I truly don't know what to ask since I'm only starting to explore this mountain. There are some builds I’m interested in, but I can probably find the answer to beginner questions on my own."

He returned to stroking his horns as he considered what he could offer me. "That's true, that's true. I can provide you with the solution for your more complex problems, but that'll be for the future.

“For now, how about this...let me demonstrate how valuable my services could be by answering some of your questions. No strings attached. I'm doing this as a service to our community."

I almost scoffed at his no-strings-attached comment. But this was what I was aiming for—a free sample of sorts. It also afforded me time to consider what I could ask as payment for the Living Statue battle log. And I had just the question for him.

"I'm not sure how to explain this well… You see, I’m planning to make a build centered on [Cleansing Flames]." I hadn’t yet picked that skill on my Mardukryon Cidule. SpartanDonkey might provide insight if my plan for it was viable before I chose it over other options.

Lvl 1 Cleansing Flames: Purify yourself from ailments with the flames of the Mardukryon ancestors—70% chance to remove one (1) negative status. Let suffering give you strength, be resolute amidst adversity, and gain courage from the knowledge that you are never truly alone. Stand resolute until aid comes.
  (Passive) For every negative status you have (Max stacks [3]):
    +10 Armor and Magic Resilience
  Cost: 15 Ancestral Shroud
  Cooldown: 12 Seconds

He questioningly tilted his head.

"I want to make interesting builds,” I explained, “not just the usual ones. I'm trying to test what I can do with the passive effect of [Cleansing Flames] to boost tankiness the more negative ailments a player has."

"You're not after the effect to clear negative status?"

I shrugged. "Trying out weird stuff."

"In that case, you want to stack multiple negative statuses that won't be too much of a hindrance. A conundrum, to be sure. It's either the ailments should only have a mild impact, or if they don’t, you'll need a ready way to counter their effects on you."

"I should also have a consistent way of applying negative ailments to myself," I added.

"These are the sort of problems you approach me with for help," he said with a big grin. "And I might have the answer you're looking for."