“My Lord, I’ll start with the weaknesses and disadvantages of choosing Tempest Warden,” Kurogasa began.

  Ats nodded with a smile, “Please, Kurogasa,” giving him the floor to expin.

  “First: of Dark and Shadow Elements,” Kurogasa stated. “Tempest Warden focuses heavily on water and lightning, which leaves shadow and dark elements uilized.”

  He eborated further, “The strengths of shadow—like stealth, critical amplification, and debuffs—aren’t fully realized iempest Warden’s py style. Additionally, it reduces utility in enviros or battles where shadow-based abilities are most effective, such as dimly lit or undergrouings. There’s also the potential loss of synergy with skills like Elemental Markings (Verdant Shadow).”

  Ats houghtfully, summarizing Kurogasa’s points for crity. “So, the main issue is that the shadow element would be underused in this css?”

  “Exactly,” Kurogasa affirmed.

  “Do we have a solution for this?” Ats asked.

  “Yes,” Kurogasa replied. “Even if shadow is initially sidelined, we focus on training you to ie shadow abilities ter, either in your training regimen or directly in battle. This approach could potentially unlock hybrid shadow-water or shadow-lightning skills—or even unique csses—iure.”

  “So, we could train to develop synergy between shadow, water, and lightning over time?” Ats crified.

  “Correct, My Lord,” Kurogasa firmed with a nod.

  Ats nodded slowly. “I got it. Please tinue, Kurogasa.”

  Kurogasa ined his head slightly and proceeded. “The sed disadvantage is Enviroal Dependency.”

  He eborated, “Tempest Warden thrives in aquatic, humid, or stormy terrains but struggles in arid, underground, or ral enviros. Key elemental boosts from its skills are weakened without access to water htning sources. You may also experience reduced effectiveness in fire-dominated areas ical zones where other elements take prece.”

  Ats nodded again. “I see. That does seem like a signifit problem. But is it ohout a solution?”

  Kurogasa shook his head calmly and expined, “No, there is a solution. Your e with Zefyros, who will sistently stay by your side in battle, will help maintaial synergy even in less favorable enviros.”

  He tinued, “Additionally, we train you to develop adaptability-focused skills. For example, something like Steam Burst could allow you to use heat in dry terrains to create an AoE distra. This would expand your flexibility in challenging enviros.”

  “Okay,” Ats said, his tohoughtful. “So you’re suggesting that the problem be mitigated if I master bining elements to adapt to different terrains and enviros? By iing them more effectively with water, I gain an advantage?”

  “Exactly,” Kurogasa firmed. “You’ll o deepen your uanding of elemental binations, learning to barengths and weaknesses for each terrain. This will also push you to improve your affinity with other basic elements, making you more versatile.”

  “I got it. So, the solution boils down to training and more battle experience,” Ats cluded.

  Kurogasa nodded. “Indeed, My Lord. That is the most reliable path forward.”

  “Well,” Ats said with a small smile, “I suppose that’s the only real solution anyway.”

  Kurogasa tinued. “Alright, My Lord, the third is Cooldown Ma.”

  He eborated, “Both Tempest Warden and your Wavebreaker Spear rely heavily on high-impact skills like Tempest Requiem, O’s Wrath, and Sea of Storms. These abilities e with long cooldowns and high mana usage. Without a solution for this, you won’t be able to fully utilize the AoE potential of the css or your on.”

  He paused briefly before adding, “Dowween major skills forces you to rely on basic attainor abilities, which reduces your overall DPS in prolonged es.”

  “And the solution?” Ats asked.

  “The simplest approach,” Kurogasa expined, “would be to i in cooldowion artifacts or talents to shorten the recovery periods of these skills.”

  Ats nodded. “That makes sense. Perhaps we discuss this with Baldric, or hope the Gacha grants me an appropriate item. Are there other solutions, Kurogasa?”

  Kurogasa tinued, “Yes. You could adopt an alternate pystyle by using buffs and defensive skills to fill the gaps during cooldown periods. This way, you stay active while waiting for your primary skills to recharge.”

  Ats fell silent for a moment, refleg on the suggestion. He realized this would also mean fog more on developing his Intelligeat to enhance his mana efficy. This, in turn, would optimize the full potential of whatever css he ultimately chose.

  Kurogasa spoke again, “I’ll tih the remaining points as clearly and cisely as possible, My Lord.”

  “Thank you, Kurogasa. Please go ahead,” Ats replied.

  “The fourth problem is Overwhelming AoE Focus,” Kurogasa tinued.

  “Tempest Warden excels at AoE damage and crowd trol, but its siarget options may feel underpowered by parison,” he expined.

  “This creates issues like struggling against bosses h-priority ehat require precision-focused damage. Additionally, over-relian AoE skills lead to inefficies in battles with scattered or smaller enemy groups.”

  “But we have solutions,” he added. “For instarengthening siarget skills to plement the AoE dominance or equipping items and ons specifically designed for siarget burst damage.”

  “Okay,” Ats nodded. “So, the solution also lies in items and ons.”

  “Exactly, My Lord. Who knows—someday you may obtain another on with siarget-focused skills. That would greatly enhance your versatility, as the Wavebreaker Spear is heavily specialized in AoE damage.”

  “Uood,” Ats replied. “So I’ll need a on tailored for siarget bat. But for now, it’s out of our hands.”

  “Indeed,” Kurogasa firmed. “And now, the st point, My Lord.”

  “Please, go ahead,” Ats prompted.

  “The fifth and final is Lack of Debuffs,” Kurogasa tinued.

  “While Tempest Warden excels in buffs and AoE damage, it offers limited debuffs to directly weaken ehis creates issues such as missed opportuo amplify damage through the enemy's weaknesses. Additionally, it overps with team support roles, leaving you reliant on allies for debuffing.”

  “Debuffing…” Ats murmured thoughtfully. “So, you mean, it’s about boosting damage output by weakening the enemies?”

  “Yes, My Lord. A simple solution would be to train with a debuff-focused ally to learn plementary teiques.”

  Ats nodded. “Alright, I feel like this is the easiest to set aside for now. Correct?”

  “Correct, My Lord,” Kurogasa firmed.

  Ats took a moment to review all the points Kurogasa had presented:

  First, of Dark and Shadow Elements: The solution is to ie more Shadow teiques into battles, creating potential synergy between Water, Lightning, and Shadow.

  Sed, Enviroal Dependency: The key is to deepen his uanding of elemental binations, utilizing them to adapt effectively to any enviro or dition.

  Third, Cooldown Ma: Iing in Intelligend training to increase mana efficy will reduce the downtime of major skills.

  Fourth, Overwhelming AoE Focus: Enhang siarget skills and acquiring a on focused on siarget damage would bahe css’s offensive versatility.

  Fifth, Lack of Debuffs: W with a debuff-specialized ally would mitigate this issue, though it’s not an immediate priority.

  He weighed all the s, disadvantages, and potential solutions, carefully sidering whether Tempest Warden was still the best choibsp;

  This decision wasn’t just about the present—it would shape how he developed himself iure and how he could maximize the bes of his chosen path.

  Lifting his gaze to the three people in the room, Ats asked, “Now, tell me—Edrik, Kurogasa, Karian—is there any optioer than Tempest Warden?”

  ***

  (Author’s Note:)

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