"So, what are we up against here? Anything particularly alarming?" I inquired warily.

"No, I'd say it's manageable, assuming there aren't any severe deviations...of the twelve Dungeons that have appeared, we have two Critical Levels, five High Levels, four Mid Levels and one Low Level. The Freelance Hunters will handle the Low Level and two of the Mid Level Dungeons.

The Diva Guild will take care of one of the Mid Level Dungeons and two of the High Levels, the Demonsbane Guild will handle the remaining Mid Level, and one apiece of the High and Critical Level Dungeons.

And finally, I'd like your Sinners Guild to deal with two High Level Dungeons and the remaining Critical Level Dungeon," Remarked Charlotte, before adding, "I'll send the details to Tracy shortly, she'll relay it to you and the rest of the Guild."

"Alright, sounds good," I nodded in response.

"I'll be counting on you. Okay, I need to contact the other Guilds too, I'll keep you posted if there are any new developments," She replied, before hanging up.

So, this is it...the break is finally over, the Dungeons have returned. I suppose it wouldn't be inaccurate to say that things are back to normal.

"I suppose it'll be tomorrow at the earliest, huh? It is bad that I'm kinda excited? This is technically a bad thing, but I can't help but look forward to getting to fight for real again," Grinned Aria sheepishly.

It's morning now, the New Year's party had been promptly cut short after the fireworks show ended, the Union brought the other Guilds up to speed on the situation.

We were all instructed to go home and get some rest, while the Union would assess the Threat Levels we were up against, and determine which Guilds would handle which of the Dungeons, as well as which ones the Freelance Hunters would tackle.

It was currently around 10 AM, and Charlotte had just contacted me to update me on the situation.

As it turned out, no Calamity Level Dungeons had appeared among the hundred Dungeons that rose up last night.

Of course, there's every chance that there could be a few Calamity Level Monsters lurking in some of the Boss Rooms, so we can't afford to rush in too recklessly.

But the Union will likely want to have these Dungeons dealt with as quickly as possible, Charlotte hinted as much when she called me. After all, there's no telling when even more Dungeons will appear.

Charlotte also mentioned some unusual movement in the network of Mana Currents since these hundred Dungeons appeared, so something else may be in store for us soon. That's why the Union wants these Dungeons dealt with as quickly as possible.

"How do you think we should divide up our forces for the Dungeons we've been assigned to?" I asked Aria, as I laid down and rested my head on her lap.

"I was wondering the same thing. I don't think it's a good idea to have Brid and Iqra tackle a Dungeon without us there to supervise them. But we need to send at least one Ace to each of the two High Level Dungeons, and Critical Level Dungeons require at least three Aces," She pointed out with frown, as she stroked my hair.

"Hm, in that case...I could have Luxuria and Invidia lead the parties in the High Level Dungeons, with mostly K-Ranks in their respective parties. As for the Critical Level Dungeon, you and I will lead, and we'll have the two rookie Aces with us.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't have any concerns about this, though...you'd normally ease inexperienced Hunters into the job with Low and Mid Level Dungeons to start off with.

Having their first official raid be a Critical Level Dungeon is essentially throwing them off the deep end. Actually, I'd say that's an understatement," I responded with a wary grimace.

"Well, we can always just retreat if things go wrong. What about Acedia? Why not have him join one of the parties we'll assign to either of the High Level Dungeons?"

"If there is a Calamity Level Monster in any of these Dungeons, it's most likely to be in the Critical Level Dungeons. We'll have to instruct the other teams to retreat immediately at the first sign of trouble.

I'll have Luxuria and Invidia prioritize the safety of their parties, and to force a retreat if necessary. Hm, maybe I should get Luxuria up to speed on how to operate in a party," I mused thoughtfully.

"Yeah, Invidia should be fine since he was a Hunter for quite a while before becoming the Apostle of Envy. Definitely have my doubts about Luxuria though...usually, when you summon her during raids, it's in the middle of a battle, so she doesn't see most of it," Pointed out Aria with a nod.

Yeah, that's a good point. In hindsight, maybe I should've had her participate more.

"Alright, then, guess I'll give her a crash course on it later today."

"I'll help too. We need to make sure our Guild members are as well-protected as possible, after all. We should send our most experienced K-Ranks to the High Level Dungeons," She suggested prudently.

"Sounds good. With you and I taking on the Critical Level Dungeon, we won't need much more offensive power in our party, especially considering that we'll also have Acedia in reserve.

Brid's Healing Magic is super high level, and the same goes for Iqra's barriers, they should serve as a decent safety net to make sure the rest of the party is as safe as possible."

"Yeah, that's true. You and I will take the front line, we can have Brid in the mid line and Iqra at the back line. We'll need at least four more Hunters to round off the party...a Detector goes without saying, of course. Then, maybe an Enchanter, plus a couple of Attack Mages?" Responded Aria, after taking a moment to mull it over.

"Hm, yeah, I think that works. We'll have Damien, Wrest, Ferna and Lector in the parties we assign to the High Level Dungeons, along with any other K-Ranks with a decent amount of experience or skill. And of course, we need to make sure the parties are well-balanced and have all their bases covered," I nodded in response.

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