The teasing continued for a while, and they narrowed down their options through it.
Weapons were always great, a famous saying "offense is the best defense" was in fact quite accurate. Kill them before they can hurt you and you will be the safest you can be.
However, it wasn't something the group felt they needed so greatly. Judith's greatsword, Slay, was good enough for her.
Besides, the sword's abilities were more meant for a knight, not a barbarian. Support mixed with some damage. Not just damage, and damage, and damage.
While this didn't matter to the others, it did to Judith. In the same vein she had denied it, no one wanted the whip.
This left the bow or polearms for weapons. However, while Nikki could wield a polearm, she preferred the more balanced style offered by a sword and shield. Allowing her to fill in where needed on both offense and defense.
Having two weapons also doubled her available weapon abilities. A massive bonus that wasn't really compensated for with two-handed weapons. Though larger weapons did tend to have a higher damage value. It really didn't match an extra ability or two.
This then left the bow. However, no matter how good the archer was, magic just felt superior. Especially when runic magic (from Eldrian), and now musical buffing (from Judith), were entering the list.
That wasn't to say the abilities of the bow were bad. They were great, in fact. Especially the phantasmal arrows one. Allowing the user to use mana to create arrows, from Tier 1 to 8. With the only difference being the mana cost. It also had no CD, so it was indeed perfect.
However, as much as that would save Zyviss a lot of cash, it wouldn't improve the guild's offensive abilities too greatly. The phantasmal arrows also lacked the diversity of normal arrows.
They would always be phantasmal arrows. Only with more damage and some key features at higher levels. They couldn't turn into explosion arrows, ice arrows, or anything of similar.
Phantasmal arrows were magical manifestations. Meaning they ignored armor. But they were countered by MR. And MR was a far greater issue than AR. And not just for monsters, this also countered people.
Ultimately, they would feel lackluster against strong enemies. While being amazing against weaker enemies where the MR wouldn't do much.
"So, our only real options are the armor pieces or the shield," Elizabeth concluded, her sentence causing Zyviss's head to hang in disappointment. Still, he didn't argue the verdict.
Despite having told Judith not to compare herself to Eldrian, he couldn't help but do the same now. Had Eldrian been in need of a weapon, the poleaxe or glaive would have been chosen without question.
Giving Eldrian a better weapon simply made that big a difference. But for Zyviss. Not so much.
Sure, he and the rest of the Flaming Hearts were far stronger than the average players. At least in their respective fields. Comparing Elizabeth's damage output to a warrior's would be stupid. Besides, she was one of their MVPs against the undead.
In any case, despite being a stronger player than most other players, Zyviss was only somewhat stronger. He could perhaps take on ten or twenty, perhaps up to fifty average players on his own. More than that he would start to struggle against.
And that was the average, casual player. Against other elites, he would probably only match them. Not outclass them.
Eldrian. Eldrian could kill hundreds, thousands even. With ease too. Be they noob, casual, or elite. It wouldn't make a difference.
It was this fact that made Zyviss swallow his pride and accept the verdict. Despite the fact that he dearly wished for a better bow.
"Eldrian is still out," Elizabeth continued. And as much as everyone disliked where this could go, they again couldn't argue against prioritizing Eldrian. After all, they wouldn't have managed to clear the dungeon without him.
"However, he did tell me that he wasn't in need of any gear. His armor isn't the best, but it is still experimental. So he doesn't want to switch it out."
His armor was the evolution of his prosthetic. Since Eldrian had finally regrown his missing arm through healing, that avenue of experimenting with dark slime has been closed.
Trying to make a weapon also wasn't really an option. Willo did include dark slime. But its function and useability were thanks to Boran and Amnur. Solvi had learned a lot, but she couldn't make as optimal use of the material.
Eldrian also wanted to continue to explore the possibilities. So they would continue down the path of armor with dark slime as either the core or important sub-parts.
"Which then bears the question, what would be most useful for us as a guild?" Ilmadia said.
The chestplate, while strong, was quickly ruled out. Its benefits were too skewed to the wearer and only the wearer. It would make them stronger, sure. But it wouldn't help the guild much past that.
"I personally think we should go with the shield," Therdul said. A shock for the others, since, according to Elizabeth and the photos she had shared, it was a small shield. Not a tower shield like Therdul slugged around with him.
"Oh, not for me." He clarified on noting their shock. "I prefer my tower shields. I was thinking it would be perfect for Nikki. Seeing as she always moved about on the battlefield when not commanding. She can use the supportive functions to help where we are struggling, even when commanding."
Countering his firm argument, Nikki said, "I still prefer the crown. It also has some great support functions. And I do believe we need to make our guild leader appear more regal. Especially with the tournament around the corner."
They weren't worried about the tournament. They were basically guaranteed a win as long as Miracle didn't pull anything.
Their focus, thus, was on maximizing their exposure to the event. Judith was currently the guild's best fan generator. Her attire was simply too much. Guys couldn't get enough of it.
No matter what she said, Judith also wasn't complaining about the tips she was receiving. Even if the comments were often lude and stupid. But the guild needed a few more fan attractors. The more fans they could get, the more their words would spread. Which was important, considering how uncertain their future was.
"I really don't see how the crown will make me look good," Elizabeth argued. "I just think I'll appear like an idiot."
"What are you talking about?" Judith countered. Desperately wanting to vent after the teasing she had endured. "It will fit so well with your priestly robes. Besides, it isn't a gaudy crown. It's more like a tiara. Right?"
As much as Elizabeth didn't want the crown, she didn't want to lie. Well, she couldn't. While she was the only one who could see the screen, that didn't mean she couldn't (and hadn't) shared it.
She was able to take photo (screenshots of the screens), so she had one for each item. Which she had shared on the Flaming Heart chat.
"I concur. And if you use some light magic—" Receiving a deadly glare, Erik decided to shut his trap.
"I'm in favor of the shield," Elizabeth said, wishing to change the subject. "However, the helmet could be useful. What with its scouting function."
"True, but... it won't help for the tournament. We have Eldrian, no one can get past him." Ilmadia said. "And we shouldn't sell Zyviss and our scouts short. They have plenty of experience. Add the map functions. I don't really see its value."
"True. The map functions more or less invalidate the helmet for normal situations. And for the tournament, yeah... Eldrian will be there. No one is sneaking past him."
With that settled, the group decided to put it down to a vote. Luckily, with Eldrian out cold, the group consisted of seven members. So the risk of a tie was nonexistent.
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