The next, this time prerecorded, submission was definitely more in line with what Severin originally had in mind when he thought up the premise of his event.
They did this while actually fighting the boss, a hunchbacked kobold-shaman waving around a gnarled stick serving as its magic staff.
The group naturally vastly out-leveled the creature to the degree that it posed no danger to them whatsoever.
For the longest time, the group all but ignored the monster’s moves, letting it go all-out and thereby highlighting all of its attacks.
Each of those was then examined in great detail, followed by concise explanations of how to actually counter each and every one of those attacks.
Be it tank, healer or support, or ranged or melee oriented damage dealers, everyone got their money’s worth.
From analyzing the kobold’s attack patterns and how to position oneself within the limited available space to avoid them, over highlighting its four main weak-spots, all the way to discussing the right timings for the most common defensive cooldowns, each and every eventuality was taken into consideration by the experienced group.
Screams could be heard everywhere in the audience-some excited, some genuinely frightened- whenever this happened, making Severin think of the stories he had heard back home about early cinema and the audiences’ at times extreme reactions when presented with the recording of a train speeding towards the screen.
By the bronze badges, who could hardly wait to put the new knowledge into action as soon as possible.
By the silvers, who discussed amongst each other which aspects of the lesson might apply to their own circumstances.
And by the even higher ranked adventurers, who could appreciate and discern the true mastery that went into each and every bit of advice.
Even Mylana could be caught once or twice, nodding her head in approval–probably the biggest praise the group could ask for.
In the following, it turned out the idea of this format wasn’t unique to this group of participants.
Many of the other submissions screened that night were essentially boss, dungeon, or class guides, many of which discussing the same dungeon or the even same boss.
But the audience didn’t seem to mind this sort of repetition and instead enjoyed every minute of it.
In fact, being introduced to different strategies for the very same boss only served to deepen the understanding of the matter for many of the spectators.
But even he had to admit, boring was a good thing. Certainly after a start as today’s.
And so, with nothing much else to worry about, Severin allowed himself to go grab a snack when everyone else was still glued to the big screen; only to be reprimanded by the dwarf working the booth for his audacity to disrupt him while enjoying the show; after all, Severin was told, that is what the breaks between programs were for.
Not only in terms of audience engagement, but financially as well, Jasmine assured Severin some time after this day’s show had come to an end. At this point, the majority of the audience had already left the mountain. Still, a large group of them had stayed behind and set-up camp on the outskirts of the mountaintop; despite being so far removed from the actual festival site, their animated voices could still be heard.
It was proof of the great reception the first day of the Broadcasting Event had received.
The people had enjoyed the show, and that was, after all, the most important thing.
Knowing this, Severin had a restful, if short, night of sleep.
The next morning, when he woke up, earlier than usual, the mountain was already bustling again.
The booths serving food and drink were already open and very busy. Flying artifacts were arriving to no end. And the portal station was practically glowing. People, eagerly looking forward to a continuation of yesterday’s show, were everywhere and in even greater number than on the previous day, Severin reckoned.
They wouldn’t have to wait for long. Severin barely had the time to grab breakfast before the screens all over the mountain once again came to life.
Today would be a much longer day.
““Well, you did good. This is not something you can afford to miss! We sure got a long and exciting day ahead of ourselves. You definitely made the right choice coming this early.
But let’s not waste too much time. We have much to do, so let’s keep it short, and let’s start the day with…” Jake paused a moment as he dug out his notes, and read “… a live broadcast, it seems! In that case, I will let them make their own in-”
Zapp
“
““Argh, and here I thought he would show us some of yesterday’s strategies in action.”
“Right. Show us if those tactics are truly as foolproof as those gold badges made it seem.”
“What are you guys talking about? Do you even have eyes? Look where he is standing. That’s none of the usual dungeons fit for a group of bronze.”
“God, you’re right. The boy has no business being there!”
Oblivious to those comment’s, the young adventurer continued,
“
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
out-outdated and a th-thing of the p-past.
We ha-have a-already once c-cleared this du-dungeon several levels e-earlier, a-and we will s-show you e-exactly how w-we did it, s-so that others at our level t-too can level a-as quickly as p-possible. A-all without risk. A-And no worries. W-we it be q-quick!”
“Bad enough that lizard child yesterday, but now we have to look on as these greenhorns get themselves killed?! Seriously?”
“Don’t be hasty now. They said it’s not their first time doing this.”
“Pah?! And you believe that? The boy was basically shaking in his boots!”
Carefully but confidently, he took the lead-the camera closely behind him-until they reached a small clearing just ahead.
The young adventurer did not immediately step inside this clearing. Instead, he pointed and made sure the camera caught exactly what he was looking at.
A group of massively oversized, but otherwise harmless looking, mushrooms blocking the way to the other side.
“You know what those things are, right?” That said, he stuffed something into his mouth and stepped away from the rest of the group and into the clearing.
With each step the man took, the pulsating became more and more obvious, faster, and more intense. Then, after the fifth step, something could be seen emitted from their gills. By the time the young man stood in the center, right next to the group of fungi, the whole clearing was covered in a brownish cloud of spores.
“Including but not limited to the usual suspects such as, [Confusion], [Disassociation], [Fear], [Silence], and [Paralysis]. It’s considered a cocktail impossible to defend against at low level and very much capable to wipe out whole groups all on its own. Well, that was in the past. As you can see, I am still doing just fine.
And by the way, I am a [Warrior], so this has nothing to do with my class.”
After that, it was only a matter of time until the air cleared up and the passage became safe.
“See? No problem at all. And it’s all thanks to this.” The man produced a small green cube of jello consistency.
“No, that is no custom made potion, but the regularly sold [Status Cure] of the Emporium. I’m not sure many people have noticed, but they can actually be used preemptively. Lasts a minute or so and completely trivializes this encounter.”
“How is that possible?”
“Is that true?!”
“No wonder the boy-”
“You knew of this?”
“Don’t be stupid, if I did then-”
The adventurers in the audience went crazy over this revelation.
At the same time Severin felt multiple, some curious, some annoyed, and some even angry, gazes on him; he pretended not to notice and forced himself to keep on staring straight towards the big screen.
Whatever it was, those things were disgusting to look at, even when they were on their own. And straight up horrifying when multiple of them came together and formed what looked like one big, wriggling, living knot that acted with a single mind.
No resource-like mana or rage, for example-meant no healing and no large damage abilities - every combat would soon turn into a battle of attrition.
“
Again Severin felt multiple pairs of eyes on him.
“I have nothing to do with that! I didn’t pay them,” he felt himself forced to explain.
“No one even suggested you did…”
“…”
“…”
“I really don’t know what’s going on! Maybe they think that will increase their chances at winning the V.I.P membership.”
“And? Does it…?”
In response, Severin helplessly threw his arms up in the air.
On the other side of the screen, the group of five kept chugging, or rather gobbling, one resource potion after the other; with no actual danger to their wellbeing, they quickly disposed of their enemies, picked up their loot, and continued on.
Until soon they were standing in front of a cave with only a small hole as an entrance, leading steeply underground.
“This wasn’t the first time Severin heard this sentiment. Samuel had once told him something very similar, he remembered.
“Well, plus, of course, all the usual properties and abilities of a slime. High physical defenses that make them virtually immune to any attack coming from our [Archer] or I, as well as their famous regenerative abilities.
And all in a narrowly confined space, hardly large enough for me to even swing my sword. That leaves us with very little option. Simply relying on the same products we have used to come this far, while fighting that slime head-on, won’t do.
That said, the young man turn towards his companions and waved them over. Together, they now stood next to the cave entrance.
Twisted.
And lobbed them into the opening.
And again.
Metal sphere. Twist. Throw.
And again.
And again.
Only stopping when a shrill sound, almost like that of a deflating balloon, could be heard coming from the same opening. Followed by a black haze raising out of it.