In the grand scheme of things, however, the two submissions didn’t really stand out and were soon forgotten. Neither one was a serious contender to win the competition.


    With a real novelty coming next, something Severin had been looking forward to since the very beginning.


    And twice in a row.


    Sadly, that was true for both of the following shows.


    Like the merchant before him, this man, too, used this opportunity to advertise his company’s services, forfeiting every notion of actually fighting for the main prize of the event. That was, he managed a mercenary outfit specializing in escort missions, primarily used by merchants such as the one aforementioned.


    But that was not the clientele the man was targeting with this stunt. Instead, he used this rare opportunity to speak in front of so many adventurers to try to recruit some new muscles.


    The reception for both of these submissions had been reserved, to say the least. But at least the two men had enough sense to keep their programs short enough for them not to be cut off midway by the organizers.


    But while even their flimsy excuses as to what made their contributions truly novel, and therefore eligibility to be screened in the first place, had been borderline, Severin was secretly impressed with both of these people. Unlike the audience, he wasn’t at all upset, instead praising their entrepreneurship and business acumen.


    In his mind, they were early adapters, who saw an opportunity in this entirely new medium and acted on it.


    And though unexpected, it wasn’t like Severin had expressedly prohibited the participants from using his platform to advertisement their wares and services.


    “


    “


    “


    The moment Jake pronounced that name, a noticeable air of excitement washed over the crowd.


    Those who were in the know and recognized the name, largely adventurers with some years under their belt, were visibly thrilled; this was an elusive figure and whatever they had to share was bound to be extraordinary. As for the ones who didn’t recognize the name, the shift in atmosphere alone was enough to arouse their curiosity.


    Severin belonged in the second camp of people.


    “Who...?” he asked, also not oblivious to his surroundings.


    The fact that Mylana, Samuel, and Jasmine and her guests-all big shots in their respective fields-seemed to immediately recognize that name only made him even more intrigued.


    One thing, as the image on the big screen changed, was certain, however. This was not one of his regulars.


    And it wasn’t just her face, either. Every single one of her exposed body parts was similarly marked. If not more so. When on her face it had only been cuts, hers shoulders, arms, and hands also displayed several burn scars in addition to those.


    Curiously, Severin realized, not a single recent injury seemed to cover the woman’s dark skin.


    Lone Wolf Zarah,” Samuel reiterated. “[Rogue].”


    Severin made a double-take at the mention of her class. “[Rogue]? Are you sure she isn’t a [Berserker]? Or maybea [Flagellant]? If that is a thing?”


    Severin couldn’t tear his eyes away from the screen, but judging by Samuel’s voice, the half-giant had an amused smile on his face as he further explained,


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.“She earned her moniker for famously having surpassed the Gold Rank, working exclusively alone. Meaning she doesn’t group up with other people. No guild either, if I’m informed correctly.


    But that was years ago. Who knows what rank she actually carries nowadays? One thing’s for certain though, she’s as tough as they come.”


    “She’s the real deal,” even Mylana agreed.


    Somehow this superficial introduction left Severin with more question than it answered. But now was not the time.Further questions would have to wait. For now Severin decided to watch and hear what this blonde adventurer, who, despite all her scars, still maintained a certain attractive charm, had to say.


    “…and so it has always been my philosophy not to rely on others in circumstances of life and death. I prefer to trust myself. My body, my skills, my preparations.


    In short, I trust the work I have put in.


    Those are things you have to figure out for yourselves.


    But even I have a partner I can’t do without - my equipment. It is just as important as those other things I just mentioned.


    And it also is an aspect I can teach you about. How to maintain it, but also how to choose it in the first place.


    Don’t be fooled. It’s not quite as easy as comparing tooltips and picking the item with the most stats on it,” she warned.


    “As an inexperienced adventurer with no guidance, I had to learn this the hard way.


    I will share with you some of the knowledge I have learned since.


    So if you don’t want to end up looking like me, I recommend you pay attention,” something in the way the woman called Zarah said those last words, gave Severin the distinct feeling she actually enjoyed showing off her scars, and wasn’t nearly as embarrassed as her words might have otherwise indicated.


    “And then make sure you not only meet the suggested defensive values for your particular armour-type, but surpass it. By at least twenty percent. Always assume one piece of equipment is going to break.


    Also, I know it is tempting, but don’t include temporary buffs into this consideration. Always over-prepare. And don’t think you can skimp on this because you have a group and think everyone has your back. They only do until they don’t.”


    But at some point, even those weren’t enough to keep him interested any longer; as it turned out, this had only been the prelude and things soon became more and more technically. That’s when he tuned out entirely.


    Similar irrelevant to him were the woman’s insights regarding the weight of one’s equipment, how it affected one’s mobility and what tradeoffs, in her opinion, were acceptable to make in this aspect, and which weren’t.


    The section about resistances and by how much those should be overcapped, as she called it, wasn’t of especial interest to him either, and neither was the part about secondary defenses such as block and evasion.


    Only her reminder that the Society’s official certification did only protect against straight-up scams and fake tooltips, not against poor craftsmanship or reasonable prices, was of some interest to him.


    ‘


    “dress for the occasion.”


    Hearing those words, thinking the scarred [Rogue] was finally concluding her lecture, Severin perked up. Only to immediately be disappointed.


    “I said this before and I’ll emphasize again: Don’t go out of your way to get offensive stats or properties onto your armor unless your defensive requirements are already satisfied. If that leaves you lacking in a different area, that simply means you have no business fighting these enemies in the first place.


    Another lesson, this time about armor penetration values, about damage and weapon types, about base damage, and about the difference between damage increases and amplifications.


    But even that became boring to Severin after some time, no matter the lecturer.


    ‘Almost as if the roles between him and the girl had been reversed this time around, it was Emily who seemed glued to the screen, and closely followed each of the woman’s words and actions, whereas Severin was the one who decided it was time to go grab a bite.


    Inconspicuously, Severin excused himself from the scene and made way towards his kitchen–there were only so many elvish veggie snacks he could stomach until he began craving for a slice of his pizza-, when all of a sudden...


    Ding


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