With its many opportunities, Golden Mountain was doubtlessly one of the more profitable regions on the continent of Galira.

Be it the amount of experience one could earn or in terms of loot. From equipment, over gold to crafting materials.

The yield would be outstanding. If one was good enough.

It was one of the reasons why so many guilds would settle down in the area.

Another reason was the spike in difficulty the adventurers would experience that would necessitate the formation of capable groups.

Now, that in itself wasn’t too unique, since at around level 30, things would get harder for adventurers everywhere. No matter if it was inside or outside of dungeons, the power of all kinds of monsters increased by a few levels; Figuratively speaking.

But in the Golden Mountain area, it went beyond that. It was notorious for its deadly dungeons and raids.

Still, the name Golden Mountains was well deserved, and the risks were worth it in the eyes of any self-respecting adventurer.

So, the need for guilds was only natural.

It was basically impossible to find a dungeon or even raid group without one. Even if one did, without the implicit guarantee a guild provided, concerning the reliability and skill of their members, joining a so-called ‘Pick up Group’, or PUG, would be a huge gamble. Not only in terms of success rate but also when it came to trustworthiness.

Not least when it came to distributing loot, in the rare case such a thrown-together group even made it that far to begin with.

With the importance of guilds, on the one hand, the importance of the ‘Adventurer’s Society’ on the other hand, also grew.

As an independent organization, one of their many jobs was to keep track of the progress and repute of registered guilds.

For class-holders, it offered the opportunity to let one's strength and capabilities as an adventurer get certified.

Because of that, it was an important institution for both guilds and individuals when it came to the recruiting process.

Earning a Silver-Rank-Badge was basically the minimum requirement for most guilds to even take notice of you.

Coincidentally, being a ‘Silver’ also meant that one was usually strong enough to support a somewhat wealthy lifestyle, being able to clear the easier dungeons without having to actually risk one's life.

All these facts came together and forced the adventurers in the Golden Mountains to make a decision once they made it to level 30 themselves.

Join a guild.

Look for opportunities elsewhere.

Or become a so-called ‘Tarnished Silver’, choosing the easy life and remain stagnant.

As for the first option, more often than not, the final say lay not with the individual adventurers but with the guilds.

Up to this point, people would be able to progress with either enough skill, gear, luck, or just having the right class. With luck and gear, most of the time being tantamount to each other.

But with the rise in difficulty at that level 30 threshold, more was needed to progress.

Sure, no one who made it this far was terrible, but if one wasn’t blessed with an exceptional class, one needed to stand out in other ways. And good gear to actually be able to display one's skill would go a long way with that.

But where to get this gear from?

It was somewhat similar to things in Severin’s old world.

To get the job you needed work experience. To get work experience…

Now, of course, there would be other ways to stand out, for example, the unique toolkit each class brought with them.

Combat-oriented classes would usually be separated into Damage Dealers, Tanks, and Healer or Supports, depending on their specific role or focus in a given group. But those weren’t official or scientific terms. Most classes weren’t just 100% one role or the other, to begin with. It was more of a fluid transition. And depending on this additional utility one brought to the table, your chances to find a capable guild that would take you in would probably increase, even if your gear or skill wasn’t the very best.

Some of such examples were some of the heavier armored Damage Dealers that could temporarily take over the job of the Tank if need be.

Then there were the healers that would be able to crowd control a group of monsters in a sticky situation or the tank who, in an emergency, could also provide damage reduction to teammates.

That being said, tanks and healers were archetypes that were very coveted, to begin with, no matter their specific toolkit.

For damage dealers, though, if you didn’t have anything else to offer, then you’d better be exceptional at what you do.

One such person who would have to prove his worth was Xander.

He was currently sitting in one of the more popular taverns in an area that was claimed by the ‘Lion’s Head’ guild.

A young woman, a member of the said guild and around the same age as him, sat opposite.

“So that’s how it is. Two days from now. Noon. We meet at the ‘Rocky Plains’ entrance.”

“What? ‘Rocky Plains? Are you serious? You know as well as I do that the Boss there is a fucking Iron Golem. How am I supposed to show off my...”

“Take it or leave it.” The woman interrupted.

“You are only given this chance cause one of the other damage dealers got into an accident.

The ‘Plains’ are relatively low-level anyway.”

“Who will be the healer? You?” Xander knew that trying to argue would be pointless.

He couldn’t afford to blow this chance, so he quickly went on to get some more information.

“Yeah.” Lynn answered brusk as always.

“You got the weapon penetration buff yet?” Xander was grasping at straws.

Enemies like the Golem that was waiting for him with high physical defense were his bane.

It was true that both of them were actually overleveled for the dungeon, so he would still do decent damage, but decent wasn’t good enough this time.

“Nah. The scroll didn’t drop yet. One of the reasons we’re going.”

“Fuck! What about the others? Anything useful? Otherwise, I might as well go traveling. I refuse to become a ‘Tarnished Si…”

Lynn narrowed her eyes and interrupted him once again.

“Careful what you say around here. If the wrong person hears you say something like that, I won’t be able to help you.

And no, I don’t know yet who else will come. One of the officers. No clue who else. So don’t count on any buffs.”

Xander was defiant. “Pah. Let the…”

The healer simply stood up and headed outside. “Prepare yourself. Upgrade your gear or something.”

Sigh

Xander knew he behaved idiotically. He was actually very grateful to Lynn. There was no way he would blow that opportunity.

She didn’t say it, but Xander still knew his old childhood friend must have put in a good word for him with some of the higher-ups of the guild.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten this chance. Not with his current gear.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if not for his class.

He was sure of his skill, and [Duelist] was by no means a weak class. But as its name suggested, it was more suited for 1vs1 combat.

The pure damage it brought to the table admittedly wasn’t too shabby, but he was no [Chaos Mage] either.

In theory, the difference could be made up by means of utility, but aside from life leech and other heal effects that only affected himself, those were mostly stuns and interrupts.

The kind that was unbeatable when fighting other adventurers or monsters.

Also, the kind that usually didn’t work on bosses.

“ ’Upgrade your gear’ she says. Hilarious.

What would I need a guild for if I could just ‘upgrade my gear’ like that?

Tanks and Heals getting gear handed to them just like that, and then giving me smart advice.

“She’s right, though. Fuck! How am I supposed to effectively penetrate an Iron Golem’s defenses with these?”

He took out his two old, trusted, and most importantly long outleveled, Stilettos.

“Maybe I can get you guys enchanted?”

Just thinking about the cost made him shudder.

***

“1000 gold per weapon? Who are you trying to scam, old man?” Xander was upset. That was even more than expected.

”Pah! Why would I try to scam someone who obviously has no money? That’s the standard price around here.

If you want it any cheaper, you could try your luck in one of the eastern outposts. Stuff is bound to be cheaper there. Go check with the Adventurer’s Society if you don’t believe me!

Now get out and make way for people who can at least afford the most basic enchants.”