Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Once again, everyone of note within Minas Mar was sitting in the same room. This time, the Tower Master had asked for presence. It was not often that Seth asked everyone to come to a meeting, so everyone thought it had to be important. Even Simon was invited. The only ones missing were Mike, Lydia, and Ray. Since nobody knew for how much longer they would be gone, they would be informed of the decision later.

“I’m glad all of you had the time to come to this spontaneous meeting, but it's not something that can wait,” the opened the conversation once everyone was here.

“Although I am the Tower Master, I'm not your boss, so I wanted to give you the chance to voice your opinions and take the chance for myself to convince you of my plan. Evee has to leave Urth to visit a Temple of Persephone or Hades. I think Monique’s and Jonah’s Team, as well as the Members of Lydia's team, should take this chance and also leave Urth to go on adventures for a couple of weeks. At least until we are ready to start the tournament,” after a short explanation for today’s meeting, he dropped the bomb.

A silence followed. It wasn't a scene where everyone suddenly cried out, but they silently thought about it for a moment. It wasn't for nothing, that Seth had chosen the people he stayed with carefully. Some of them thought about it, others might just be waiting for his explanation before making up their mind.

“I'm sure some of you already felt it. I mean, it was obvious that growth would slow down after reaching lv.100 and stepping on the Path to Legend, but...” After opening the conversation, Seth told them the same he told Evee. That Urth was too small for all of them and their growth was stagnating as their achievements were attributed to Minas Mar, instead of creating their own legends..

Some of them, like Monique and Jonah nodded solemnly. They were chosen of Gods, but they seldom had a chance to shine, or even display all of their powers. With whole teams of stars, it was hard to shine individually. And playing babysitter for people who were too afraid to enter higher dungeons alone simply wasn't it. Still...

“The first doubt you had was probably the situation we are currently facing. The wave of Cultivators, signs of Spatia making a move... but this is exactly why I want some of us to leave and grow quicker, so we will be strong enough to face the brewing storm.

I hope some of you would accompany Evee. As for the others, I hoped Leana and Simon would be able to find suitable training spots for everyone,” he ended, looking at the two people in question.

Leana had been listening with pursed lips. She understood the truth in his words and the worth of letting the others gain fame in other worlds, but she was worried about the interim. Simon simply stayed silent, looking at what Leana had to say with a complicated expression.

“Aren't you forgetting something? If you send most of our strongest members away, what if something happens in the meantime? “ Leana voiced the thoughts of many that were not opposed to leaving, but worried about their home. Seth sighed, as he didn't want to say what he was about to say.

“... Leana, I am here. Yulecat's fur are here. Luf, Puffles, Tatzel, Karina, the Guardian Tree, the other Golems, the Oathguard, the Faer... did I mention that Ceres recently ascended to become a legend? I hate to say it, but if we face a danger all of us cannot stop, then the field teams won't be able to do it either,” Seth said heavily.

Of the things he listed, Ceres becoming a legend was probably the most shocking and reassuring point. The storm elemental automaton was already disgustingly strong, and now it had become a legend on top of it.

While the non-combat members like Mary or Jane had a said but understanding expression, some of the members of the field teams could only acknowledge this begrudgingly. All of them were strong and they had grown some confidence in their strength, but hearing and acknowledging that them being here or not made no big difference, was a hit on that confidence.

But this only nurtured their decision to go along with Seth's plan. They would just have to grow even stronger so that they would become a major part of Minas Mar's strength and protect their home. Nobody disagreed with the idea.

“Fine, I will help choose the best places,” Leana finally gave in.

“If the princess agrees, I will also do my best to help in the name of the System Church, “Simon also agreed.

“Good, all that is left is choosing who goes. Let's start with volunteers, who wants to go?” Seth asked the people in question.

“You already convinced me earlier, but I would like to go with just my brother instead of a group. Is that okay?” she asked honestly. Since Seth had talked to her about it, she had seen this trip as an actual chance to spend time and catch up on things with her brother, just the two of them.

Evee and Edwatd had been part of Mike's team for expeditions into the abyss, so their going on their own was not an impediment to the party structure of other teams. Evee alone, with her new armor, was also more than strong enough to go solo if she wanted to.

“I.. would like to leave alone, “ Monique said after pondering for a moment. She had various reasons, but there were two big ones. The first was that she actually didn't enjoy being a party leader and missed going solo. The other was that she knew her team.

“I don't want to leave my daughter alone for that long,” Tekar, the massive tank, voiced his opinion after his party leader, indirectly supporting her decision.

“Going on an adventurer won't help me to become a legendary alchemist, there is no need for me to go out there,” Alison also didn't want to leave. Link, who was aiming for a legendary chef path, also said something similar.

“I-I worked really hard to return here. I don't want to leave again so soon,” Lynri, the priestess of the fount, also didn't want to leave. She had stepped on the Path of a legendary healer, so she would be able to grow by doing good deeds. It was not necessary for her to go on adventures either.

Bulko and Lyxiss had no intention of leaving Minas Mar with just the two of them, either. Since there was no chance that Mina and Fin would leave Seth again, and Mike was on his own mission, the two also stayed.

“ We would like to go together, “ Jess and James voiced their wish to got on the journey as a couple in sync. As they said that, they stared into each other's eyes like they planned to go on a honeymoon and not a dangerous adventure.

“Then the three of us will also leave together,” Faenys spoke of for the other half of Lydia's team. The Mountain Brigand from a foreign World, the Priest from Urth, and the former Leader of Chimeras, Azul were a good combination, even without a dedicated tank.

The last team to speak up was Jonah's, but they followed the trend. Bement and Elly wished to stay in Urth. One was Seth's Vassal and wouldn't be able to outgrow Seth anyway. Elly wanted to concentrate on breeding slimes and not be stuck on an adventure. As for Shay, he also decided to stay with Ellen.

This left Jonah,Duhu, Archer, and Misto to make their decision. Surprisingly, they decided to split into two double teams. Jona decided to leave with the Mist Demon, while Duhu and the silent Archer decided to stay together for this journey.

“Great, now all that's left is choosing the place and organizing the journey for each of the teams. I can leave that to you two, right?” Seth asked Leana and Simon.

The choice of world where they would go was important. It made little sense if they were too peaceful, but they also couldn't be too violent. They needed worlds that would offer the best chances to gather accomplishments and spawn rumors to spread their names. Since all of them were strong enough to make it in Urth and were covered in legendary and relic-rated items they wouldn't have any difficulty making it in the various normal worlds of the Chrona Empire.

“ I will talk about it in detail with the princess, “ Simon agreed.

Since everything was settled, they finally ended the meeting. Everyone left, thinking about their own thoughts and ambitions for the upcoming adventure. Soon, Seth was alone in the room. Now that things were actually settled and the plans for so many of his friends to leave took shape, Seth became a little emotional.

The blacksmith had brought it up because he genuinely thought that this was the best path for everyone to take and it wasn't like he forced anyone. Yet, he couldn't help but feel a little sad thinking of them leaving. Minas Mar would feel emptier without them... His thoughts were interrupted by a small hand that touched his shoulder.

"Is everything okay?" Fin asked him. Mina was also standing in the door in the back. The two had not left without him.

"I guess...?"

"let's talk about it over a drink," Mina suggested with a naughty grin. It had been a while since they simply got drunk. Seth felt like it was a good time to get drunk.