"There are two things I would like to say before we start. Both have to do with Team 1."
Monique looked at him in surprise.
"First I would like to introduce someone to everyone. She is an old acquaintance who studied abroad. Thanks to Leana she was allowed to come back to Urth and receive the blessing of the system god."
After his announcement, the door opened and a graceful lady entered the room. She was not a perfect beauty, but she was good-looking, well-endowed, and surrounded by a divine power giving her an intriguing warm aura.
It was Lynri, the priestess of the god of Chains that had changed sides and was allowed to become a player. She had decided to try her luck in another world and grow in a relatively safe environment. One had to say, it really paid off for her.
Seth had heard it all. Despite his initial impression of her, Lynri had worked hard as a healer, becoming known as the Priestess of the Fount, showing great prowess in healing and purification. With her second class she had added a variety of buffs and support spells to her repertoire, but most importantly further strengthen her properties as a healer.
The blacksmith had met her again a few days ago, after his visit with Senior White. After listening to the adventures of the other parties, he was convinced to know the perfect pace for her.
"I suggest Lynri to join Team 1 as a dedicated supporter and healer."
Although Ray was able to do some intermediate healing and give some specific buffs, as a shaman he could not replace a dedicated healer and supporter. Although Lynri was to yet at the same level as the others, she was exactly what Monique's Party was lacking.
"The second announcement is concerning Jonah. Would you like to say it yourself?"
Surprised, Monique and the rest of her party looked toward Jonah worriedly. Their first thought was that something may have gone wrong with the reattachment of his forearms. Maybe he was going to quit?
"Seth offered me to officially become the team leader of a fourth field team... and I accepted," the masked man revealed his promotion.
There were a few reasons why the blacksmith decided to not just rearrange the teams but also add a fourth one. Balancing the parties was one thing, but another was to help the chosen and bless to shine and grow more.
Team 1 had Monique and Jonah, both were chosen with melee powers. Having both in the same party halved the opportunities for them to explore their capabilities and collect brownie points with their gods by looking cool. But it was mostly the former.
It was similar for Archer and Lydia. Before, Lydia was an assassin, but now the fluidly changed between assassin, blunt melee battle, and archery. Having two divine archers on the same team made little sense. There were quite a few redundancies among the current teams. There were also quite a few strong core members waiting to join a team, like Evee and Edward.
Seth was sure they had enough members to create four better-balanced field teams. Jonah could also give some of the talented Oathguards a chance to make up the numbers like Lydia had with Jess and James.
After a round of congratulation toward Jonah, the discussion to rearrange the parties began. Seth also shared his thoughts about the exposition and chance for the development of the chosen ones, so they could keep that in mind, too.
After a while, he thought he was sitting in a bazaar, as the four team leaders vied for precious members and tried to trade people to make up their parties. One of the bigger disputes was about who would get Evee and Edward.
Evee who had learned powerful necromancy and witchcraft, and Edward who was a Faer, as well as a good tank and damage dealer came as a pair and wouldn't let themselves get separated. In the end, it was Mike who got the two, by justifying their need for the two, compared to the others. Yulecat's Fur really needed a dedicated Tank and a second mage in the rearguard.
Although Evee could technically rely on her undead to make up her own team, she was better off surrounded by a living team, than a dead one.
There was one unexpected change as Link wished to come back as a regular part of Team 1. He had taken a break to concentrate on his Chef skills, but after hearing about the Paths to Legend, he was clear about wishing to become a legendary chef.
After some back and forth, they finally agreed on the new roster for the field teams. The new Team 1 now consisted of Monique, Alison, Tekar, Ray, Link, and Lynri. They had lost Shay and Jonah but gained two reliable rearguards. Most importantly a dedicated healer. Also, the duo of Ray and Shay agreed to go into different teams.
Team 2, Yulecat's Fur didn't change much except for the addition of Edward and Evee. Lydia's Team 3 had lost a few members, now consisting of herself, Jess, James, Faenys, Ferdinand, and Azul. Although they had fewer people now, she couldn't really complain since Jess and James were now chosen, too, and could make up for the loss.
For Team 4, Jonah's new team, he had Duhu, Bement, Shay, Archer, and Ellen Culpepper joining him. Ellen, the slime rancher and user had been itching to join the field teams for some time now. Although she very much enjoyed spending her time breeding and researching slimes, her being lv.90 simply by going around alone in the Holy Land for the past few days showed her motivation and prowess.
"You still lack a healer or a supporter. You should look at the Oathguards, I'm sure you will find some good seeds." Monique advised Jonah.
"Thanks, I will look tomorrow," the swordsman said in a good mood.
Once again, Seth appreciated the kind of people he managed to surround himself with. It wasn't that they were not preoccupied with the news from Y-City, nor did they distract themselves from thinking about it. The blacksmith truly felt, like they were focusing on doing their work, because they understood it was the best way they had, to deal with the problems at hand.
Creating a more robust structure of teams was not just important to keep raiding the abyss, but also a preparation for the second part. After the Tree Route was expanded, they planned to infiltrate Y-city and bring back the people captured, The blacksmith was not under the illusion, that he could stop any of them from leading those missions.
He felt this made his work even more important. If they infiltrated enemy territory, it was even more important for Seth to prepare the best possible items for them. Seeing how some places in the holy land, like the colossal dungeon, or the Maestro were able to create methods to block Home Call and knowing that The Scene had this technology, they needed to prepare for cases when they were not always able to flee no matter what.
After the teams were decided they talked a little longer about their tasks in the close future. Apart from helping their new members catch up to their level, everyone needed to decide on a path they wished to follow.
"I think everyone should wait a few days before choosing. I already requested the documentation from Chrona and they should arrive soon. Although the Paths to Legend are as numerous as sand on the beach, I'm sure it will be helpful in choosing, or unlocking the paths you want. Especially, when you don't have the quest, yet," the princess explained.
Until the information from Chrona arrived, they decided not to go on any big missions. Instead, the teams would visit smaller dungeons close to Minas Palan and Little Sigma, to get used to their new party configurations.
Seth on the other hand returned to the depths of his workshop. He had things to do.
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