Syl

Chapter 167: Stunning Advice

Pelopi and Eliza eventually joined the rest of us, the former now wearing a new set of clearly disposable clothing. We brought both of them up to speed and started discussing the loot distribution.

Pelopi was quite disappointed with the loot on display until I pointed out that the hide armor was good for her since it held self-repair and resizing. I was glad to repurpose the advice I had received from Simon. I hadn't bothered to invest in it, opting for most of my attire, other than my salamander leathers, to be pure slime for now.

Pelopi was hesitant to try out the armor with some partial beast shifting, not wanting to ruin the attire until I pointed out that even in the worst-case scenario, if she slightly damaged it, the outfit would repair over time. The childlike glee on her face was quite the sight when she found the outfit freely expanded to match her shifting.

Jet took the mundane crossbow, some coin, and the trap crossbow, which was not technically a reward, but he seemed to be counting it.

Ian obviously didn't want anything and even said he'd forfeit some of his portions to pay for Eliza's ring. He was quite happy with his axe.

Nothing really caught my eye outside of what I had already taken, although the Misfits had sort of forced the [Cloak of Slowfall] onto me. Eliza argued that if I used it in combination with [Thunder Step], I could safely glide without worrying about gravity and rain death down on monsters below me. It felt like a waste for me since I had wings and could fly, but that was not true for Syl the Elf, so I reluctantly accepted it.

Eliza was absolutely thrilled with the ring and immediately sought to confirm that it worked with her type of magic. Luckily, her Holy pool hadn't completely drained yet, so she rapidly tested out a few spells. It was a complete success, and I got to witness the enchantment in action very directly.

As Ian predicted, Eliza immediately asked me if I could store two [Lightning Bolt] spells for her. I had asked if she wouldn't prefer [Chain Lightning], but Ian practically screamed his objection. Jet also cited safety concerns, and Eliza very reluctantly agreed.

I had to wear the ring to store a spell, but other than that restriction, it was easily intuitive. I stored and cast a few spells, trying to further investigate the enchantment where possible. A rather neat feature was that the clear crystal gem that housed the enchantment would glow when it stored a spell, and its glow color was related to the spell's affinity.

Needless to say, Eliza tried out a few [Lightning Bolt] spells herself, which I happily refilled. Perhaps we were excessive in our testing and tomfoolery, or I was just that close after using [Lightning Magic] so often, as I received a rather sudden notification during our fun.

'So [Lightning Magic] also has its own ailment!' I thought excitedly.

From what I could tell from the spell, it inflicted the [Stunned] ailment, temporarily preventing the receiver from moving. Unlike any other ailment, though, its duration was minuscule, and if I understood it correctly, even if fully boosted, it would not exceed a few seconds.

"Something wrong?" Eliza asked.

"Oh, sorry, I just got a new spell..." I replied, realizing I must have stood there utter silence.

"Is it better than [Chain Lightning]?" Eliza asked curiously, unable to hide a clearly mischievous grin.

"Eliza... No..." Ian cautioned.

I cast the new spell and watched my hand begin to spark at an extreme frequency, accompanied by a loud buzzing-ticking sound. Compared to [Lightning Bolt], it seemed different and was a blueish-purple color.

Jet suddenly leaped backward, cursing and swearing up a storm.

"Gods!" He shouted, recovering from his panic. "You scared the life right out of me."

"Sorry?" I said, unsure.

Jet seemed to recover and shook his head. "No... No, it's not your fault. It's Lisa's."

"Explain?" Eliza asked.

"That spell," Jet pointed harshly at my hand. "Lisa thought it was a hilarious prank to use it on us since it didn't deal damage. Needless to say, I've been... Conditioned to react a little uncouth due to it."

"Yeesh. Glad I'm not in your party." Pelopi expressed.

"How bad can it be?" Ian said, shrugging.

Jet gave a dark chuckle. "Be my guest..."

"Ian... You're almost fireproof, not lightningproof." Eliza replied.

"What? Jet said it doesn't deal damage." Ian said, turning to me. "Right, Syl?"

I nodded. "No damage, but it inflicts [Stunned] ailment."

"Ailment is putting it lightly..." Jet understandably grumbled. "One minute you're minding your own business, the next you hear that noise followed by a poke in the back."

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"I had no idea Lisa was such a prankster..." I replied. "Not that I don't believe you, but it seems so out of image from my interactions with her."

"The Guild Master role definitely mellowed her out... Moderately." Jet replied. "But trust me, that dangerous prankster side lurks beneath, waiting for me to drop my guard."

"Enough talk." Ian declared. "Stun me!"

I poked him.

The blueish-purple energy immediately discharged straight into him. Ian immediately yelled out and collapsed onto the ground like a puppet tangled in its own strings, his limbs twitching a bit.

Pelopi burst out laughing, as did Eliza, but Jet was just nodding sagely.

"I warned you..." Jet said, smirking.

Ian shook his head frantically as he slowly stood up, his legs wobbling. "Okay... I understand and fully agree... That spell is just evil..."

"It's the sound that gets me..." Jet shuddered.

We were ready to leave after everyone rested and the loot was distributed. Eliza also returned my mana regeneration ring to me; I wished I could have given it to her, but I didn't want to potentially anger the Golemancer, whom I planned on visiting after the dwarves. We headed towards the now-open door at the back of the room, and looking inside, we saw a spiral staircase leading straight up.

"This the exit?" Pelopi asked eagerly.

"Yup. Thankfully, this isn't one of the dungeons you're forced to backtrack through," Jet explained. "Some of the really big ones even have a teleport to the exit."

"Thank the gods. I don't think I could handle going through the illusion floor again," Ian admitted.

We all easily agreed to that and began our slow ascent towards the exit.

"So... While I've got you all here and there's nothing better to do, how about I give you all some individual evaluation?" Jet offered.

"Really?" Eliza asked. "That's awfully nice of you."

"I mean... It is my job." Jet answered. "And we have a long walk ahead of us..."

"Yes, please!" Pelopi immediately agreed.

"I'd love some advice from a Gold-rank guild staff," Ian said excitedly.

"Great. We'll start with Pelopi since she responded first." Jet started. "You've got great battle awareness, and your energy and enthusiasm are unrivaled. You quickly dispatch foes and move on to the next target with minimal downtime."

"I would've recommended getting some more animal shifts, but that already seems to be your priority, so I'll say you should try giving some more attention to some magic."

"As Syl demonstrated, there are other uses for magic, and if you could add some magic claws or even some crowd control via some plants or vines, I think you'd add a lot more to your versatility."

Pelopi nodded, although she looked like she had been fed a lemon with that last statement.

"Ian. You're the party tank, and you fulfill the role tremendously well. You take the damage and dish it back out, and your self-immolation style to work in tandem with your dedicated healer is outstanding teamwork."

"My suggestion, although I'm pretty sure you're aware of it, is that you're rapidly becoming fireproof, although it seems your class has given you an extremer flame to compensate for that. I don't know how that will work out when you reach immunity, as that tends to be very cut and dry."

"My one issue with your style is that there are some attacks you just cannot take. Right now, you throw yourself into the damage, and I worry that when you need to tank an opponent that needs to be avoided or blocked, you could end up in a dire situation. That shield bracer is a start, although you seemed to have forgotten it existed after you got your shiny new axe."

Ian facepalmed and groaned in frustration. "Damn it! I completely forgot about the bracer!"

"Eliza... Your class is the most absurd of the bunch, and that's putting it lightly. I've never witnessed a healer that heals through damage, but I have to say it was fascinating. The cooperation and teamwork between you and Ian are enviable, and I applaud the kill-it-quickly fighting style."

"I won't rehash what I said about Ian's eventual fireproofing, but just be aware of it as that was your most reliable source. Your new ring has thankfully shored up your biggest weakness; your Holy pool being empty at the start of a fight."

"I wish I could give you some solid or confirmed advice, but because your class is so unknown to me, I can only make suggestions. I hope they bear fruit for you in the future... The most pressing thing would be to learn more thoroughly what you cannot siphon, as demonstrated in our last fight where Syl was left damaged, unbeknown to you. The other suggestion would be to investigate further into what spells you can cast from your Holy pool. Buffs come to mind, but even things such as regeneration spells or area healing could be ideal focus areas."

Eliza nodded. "Thanks, I'll definitely look into both."

"Syl. Your class is terrifyingly adaptable and potent; it is a textbook example showing that not all classes, even on the same tier, are equal. I genuinely wish we had more people like you to show youngsters not to rush to their first advanced class, and I'm so glad that none of the Misfits have picked one yet."

"Your debuffs alone would be enough to put you on any party, but you also can capitalize on those yourself and brutally target weaknesses. I really liked how you were willing to help Pelopi out; I just wish you had offered something sooner. You're a bit of a lone wolf, and it shows."

"Now, there's nothing strictly wrong with that, and I'd honestly say you're already better than the average solo temp I've worked with. So, take it more as an advisement than a criticism. Notably, on your offensive side, you could have suggested some tactics for some of your more collateral spells to shine, like [Fireball] and [Chain Lightning]."

"The Eyedra gave you a bit of a struggle with its high magic resistance, but honestly, if you're in a party, you should rely on others to cover that weakness for you. I'm most assuredly not going to tell you to be a master mage and warrior."

Jet paused and scratched his chin. "Actually... Yeah, that's something to work on; rely on others a little more. Assuming you actually desire to join more parties in the future anyway."

I paused to let his advice sink in. It was definitely true and solid advice, assuming I was just a mage. Obviously, in reality, my fallback would be my slime. Still, it was true that I felt myself holding back, perhaps a little too much, and I should have coordinated a bit more so I could throw around [Chain Lightning] without needing a massive setup with [Conductive].

But what truly had me thinking was Jet's last comment. Did I want to be in parties in the future? While my time with the Misfits was pleasant, I enjoyed being fully open and myself in my adventures with Trixie. Although I'd hardly say Trixie and I had much teamwork in that regard, as in actual combat, her biggest contribution was making my [Icicle] spells invisible.

'Well, once I've got my silver core, I can reevaluate how much I want to moonlight as an adventurer. The solo work definitely still suits me.'

We all continued chatting and sharing random thoughts and advice, thanks to Jet's icebreaker. Overall, it was a pleasant group conversation that helped pass the time ascending the massive staircase. We eventually reached the end, where it was blocked by a hatch; opening it, we were welcomed by the fading afternoon sunlight.

"Sunlight and fresh air!" Pelopi joyously exclaimed.

"Dungeon officially complete!" Eliza said happily.

"And now we can celebrate the night away!" Ian cheered.

"The gods know I need a stiff drink..." Jet sighed.

It certainly sounded like it would be a night of festivities.

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