Above The Patch [Tank LitRPG-Evolution]

Noemi stood up. "Then I'll leave so you can conduct the interviews comfortably."

"You can stay," said Boran. "You're part of the guild too."

Noemi shook her head, smiling. "No, this is your duty. Besides, the applicants will feel more at ease." As she walked toward the door, she added: "I'll be in the main hall."

"Something just occurred to me," said Noemi, suddenly stopping. She began rummaging through her bag under her robe. "I have a wizard's robe I don't use. It has a hood. If you'd like..."

Boran's eyes lit up. Noemi handed him a dark, thick fabric robe. Its wide hood could provide exactly the anonymity he was looking for.

"This is perfect," said Boran, taking the robe. He quickly put it on and pulled up the hood. Most of his face was now hidden in shadows.

"Now you're truly a mysterious guild leader," said Noemi with a smile.

Boran nodded. His smile was evident even under the hood. "Thank you. This was exactly what I needed."

Just as Noemi left the room and closed the door, a soft light flickered in the center of the room and two young women appeared. One was tall, athletic, and carried a bow on her back. The other was shorter, wearing a white and gold robe with a symbol around her neck.

Boran stood to greet them. "Welcome to New Dawn. Please, have a seat," he said, gesturing to the guest chairs.

After the young women sat down, the tall one leaned forward and began speaking. "What advantages would joining New Dawn give us? And what do we need to do to join?"

Boran spoke from under his hood, his voice calm and resolute. "New Dawn is a guild built on adventurers helping each other. Our goal is to guide low-level players, teaching them about dungeons, creatures, and bosses. Our experienced members mentor newcomers to support their development. To join, you first need to embrace this spirit of mutual aid and be willing to teach others. You'll start with a two-week trial period. If both you and we are satisfied, you'll become permanent members."

The shorter woman nodded in approval. "Yes, we want to be in that kind of environment. It would be nice to help each other."

Boran touched the holographic display on his desk. "Then I'm sending you the guild invitation. Once you accept, you'll officially become two-week trial members of New Dawn. Of course, you'll need to pay the monthly fee of 50 gold."

Both women carefully reviewed the confirmation message displayed prominently on their holographic screens, nodding to each other before simultaneously tapping the 'Accept' button. In an instant, a soft golden light shimmered in the air before them, coalescing into intricately designed guild badges that gracefully materialized and affixed themselves to the fabric on their chests, marking them as official trial members of New Dawn.

"Welcome," said Boran. "Now let me show you the main hall and introduce you to our other single member."

Boran headed toward the door to show the new members the main hall. "Let me give you a tour of this place."

As they walked through the main hall, Boran gestured around. "This is our guild space. As you can see, we have a reception area by the entrance, a meeting table that can seat fifteen people, and a comfortable lounge area with armchairs and sofas."

He pointed to the large screen on the wall. "That panel will display important announcements and guild rankings. And those lockers are for storing personal items."

The new members looked up at the crystal chandeliers and admired the guild logo on the central carpet - a flower blooming behind a rising sun.

"It's modest but functional," said Boran. "We'll fill these empty frames with our achievements as we grow. The upper floor will become accessible once our guild levels up."

In the main hall, they found Noemi sitting in one of the chairs by the large window. She stood up when she saw them. "Hello! I'm Noemi," she said with a smile.

"I'm Aria," said the tall one, "and this is my friend Maya."

Maya bowed slightly in her white and gold robe. "I really like this place. It's modest."

"Ah, are you a cleric?" Noemi asked excitedly. "I'm studying magic too. If you'd like, we can look at your spells together when you level up."

Maya smiled. "Can you help us? We're only level 4, just got out of Misty Ruin. It was easy, we're moving on to the next dungeon. Could we ask for your help?"

"Have you defeated the Alpha Wolf? It gives good XP and can drop a chest."

"We couldn't figure out how to make it appear."

"This is exactly what New Dawn is for! Noemi, would you please explain about the Alpha Wolf to our new members? I have some matters to attend to."

"I don't know how the Alpha Wolf appears either..."

"Noemi! That's not a good first impression!" Boran scolded playfully. "If you kill 100 creatures in Misty Ruin, the Alpha Wolf will appear shortly after. Noemi, I told you about its attack patterns in our previous conversations."

"Yes, yes, I remember! Come, sit down," she said, pointing to the chairs in the lounge area.

While Noemi began discussing the Alpha Wolf with the new members, Boran quietly returned to his room. He sat in his chair and opened his character window.

"While I'm free, I might as well level up," he said and looked at his stat points. "39 points! I've saved up quite a bit. It wouldn't be right to put all of these into endurance."

Reflecting on his fight with the Valley Reaper, he realized his Taunt ability hadn't been strong enough. To avoid similar situations, he needed to boost his Charisma stat. His difficulty in evading creatures also meant his Agility stat needed improvement. While none of his current abilities used Perception, it could prove valuable for his new passive Observation ability. His Strength was lacking too—adding a few points there would help. As for Focus, since he wasn't experiencing any mana issues yet, that stat could wait.

After distributing the points, he looked at the abilities he could improve. "I use Taunt quite often, upgrading it twice wouldn't be unreasonable," he said and upgraded the Taunt ability twice.

After thoroughly reviewing and upgrading his existing abilities, Boran turned his attention to examining the list of newly available abilities he could potentially acquire. As he carefully scrolled through the options displayed before him, his eyes caught sight of a particular ability that immediately stood out as potentially valuable for his combat strategy.

[Passive Regeneration]

Type: Passive – Health Recovery

Effect Type: Continuous Recovery

Scaling: Base Endurance × 0.3 per minute

Conditions: Only activates out of combat

"I haven't allocated my stat points yet, but looking at my current regeneration rate, I'm getting back 14 health points every minute while out of combat. That's significantly more efficient than my previous passive healing which only restored 50 health per hour. This new rate means I can recover much faster between battles, giving me more time to actively explore and fight instead of waiting around to heal."

Then he looked at shield evolutions, he had 2 points. "Great! Let's see exactly what these are. First..." he said and pressed the only remaining mandatory option. "So it's a metal shield. I still have one point left! But I guess my basic option will be metal shield now."

Boran thoughtfully examined the branching paths available for shield evolution, each one representing a different potential specialization. After careful consideration of the various options and their implications for his combat style, he decisively pressed one of the branches, curious to see what new capabilities it would unlock.

[Scorched Metal]

Bonuses:

Fire Resistance: +20

Maximum HP: +30

SAP: 20

"Following this branch will give me fire resistance. That'll be especially useful against Wyverns, so I'll take it."

Boran took out his shield and examined it carefully. The metal shield before him bore the marks of exposure to intense heat. Dark burn marks and scorched spots were visible on its surface. The edges of the shield had taken on a sooty, matte appearance, as if it had faced a dragon's fire. Some areas of the metal surface showed slight ripples from the intensity of the heat. Despite this damaged appearance, the shield still looked solid and reliable.

"This is it," said Boran, running his fingers over the shield. "It gives fire resistance instead of durability. And although it looks very hot, I can feel its cold surface when I touch it. It must just be its appearance."

After careful consideration, he distributed his stat points evenly, ensuring every attribute except Focus reached at least 10 points. As he was about to check his inventory, an unexpected notification window appeared before him.

[What is your ultimate goal?]