Souls Online: Mythic Ascension-Chapter 426: Where they Stand

Jamie had a look of confusion on his face as Greg was the first one to speak out after Leo had finished speaking.

"Absolutely not! Why the hell should we include this crazy asshole!"

Adam’s face was deadpan as he remarked "Yeah I am pretty sure someone said something similar when it came to including Rachel in the group."

Rachel frowned towards Adam before snapping back "And look at how that turned out! I am a great addition to the group! I say we give the little cutie a chance! I vote yes."

Luna snorted softly as she remarked "Of course you would. You just want another way to get under Greg’s skin, don’t you."

"I have no idea what you’re talking about. Whatever could you mean~?"

Luna rolled her eyes at Rachel’s half assed attempt at hiding her intent. " While I know I should vote No on the principle that Rachel voted yes, this is a chance to completely fill the Zodiacs and who knows how long it will take to find someone else compatible with it. Plus he is already related to one of our other members."

Leo nodded at his sister’s logical argument as she was right. Once the Zodiac Bond List was filled, Leo could somehow tell that the change it would bring would be massive.

"While I can understand the logic behind it, I vote No. Jamie is too volatile for our group. He will be a hindrance if not a liability to everyone." Lily remarked coldly. Leo was surprised at one of the more cheerful members acting so coldly. It seemed her relationship with the Raelic family was rocky at best.

"So far that’s two to two. What about everyone else?" Leo asked as he looked towards the members who had yet to vote. Weirdly enough he noticed that the ones who had agreed had moved to his right while the ones who were against had lined up on his left.

Morgan hesitated for a moment before he stood on Leo’s left, much to the latters surprise. "I don’t want my little brother to get hurt. I only wish for him to be safe so I vote no."

Jamie’s confusion gave way to hurt. He had no idea why his brother said that but seeing that he wished to exclude him even now did hurt.

However before Jamie could say anything, Adam spoke up "Just so I have some context, what is his element Leo?"

Leo pulled up the interface to check before remarking with a hint of surprise "Apparently it’s Light."

Adam then turned to Jamie and asked "And what is your weapon of choice? Or rather, what is your specialty?"

Jamie hesitated for a moment before replying "Ummm...I am an Archer so a bow I guess."

Adam then looked at everyone in the room and then started explaining his thought process.

"I am going to vote Yes but soley based on the fact that him joining us will be the most practical. From what I know, our Guild’s lineup consists of Luna with an axe, Crystal with a Sword, Lily with a gun and tamed beasts, Greg with his fists, Aria with wind and support magic, Penny’s practically a noncombatant, I use daggers, Rachel has her staff and I think Ethan uses a spear, While I have no idea what Vivian uses and Leo can fill in where he is needed, there is a glaring flaw in our line up."

Now that Adam had brought it up, Leo also realized that Adam was right. A majority of their members were frontliners. Their dedicated rearguard consisted of Lily and Aria. While Penny would technically fall under the rearguard category, she was a craftsman at the end of the day.

Vivian raised her hand slowly as she casually remarked "I am considered a Priest class but my weapon is a Hammer." Morgan also raised his hand and followed up by saying "I am a mage so I will be in the backline during battles I believe." Leo then recalculated the positions and changed the format in his mind slightly.

He divided the group into categories that were typical of a RPG party: Tanks, Supports and damage dealers known as DPS. He determined that Greg was undoubtedly the main tank of the guild while Rachel and potentially Ethan could serve as Subtanks. Luna, Adam and Crystal were undoubtedly DPS. Aria, Lily and Vivian would be classified as supports while for Ranged dealers, it would mostly fall on Lily and Morgan.

While Leo could fill in where needed, it was an undeniable fact that they were short on ranged damage dealers. If there was ever a fight that required a fight at a distance, he couldn’t rely on just two members with Aria helping whenever she could.

"Adam’s right. I will admit that but we also need to focus on the Party Dynamics as well. If two people are so vehemently opposed to it, I can’t vote yes in good faith. I will say no." Crystal then moved to the left. Leo could understand her point as Lily and Greg were vehemently opposed due to their pasts with Jamie.

Meanwhile Penny was silent as she moved to the left without saying word, refusing to meet Adam’s gaze as she averted her gaze. She wasn’t brave enough to mention that she was siding with the No’s because she didn’t like the idea that the ex of her crush was in their group.

With the vote with 5 No’s to 3 If Aria, Vivian or Ethan voted no, Jamie would be denied from joining the group. Aria glanced at Vivian before she moved next to the woman who had guarded her for most of her life and had viewed like a big sister her whole life. She reached for her wrist and slowly guided her to the right side.

Leo looked a bit surprised at Aria’s action and Vivian’s reaction but he didn’t say anything. He heard a whisper next to her ear "Please don’t ask right now. I’ll explain later." Leo didn’t outwardly react but was slightly caught off guard hearing Aria’s voice in his ears.

"So it’s 5 Nos against 5 Yes. That means the final tiebreaking voice goes to...." Leo’s gaze turned to the last person who had yet to vote as they lifted themselves up off the ground rubbing their head.

Jamie’s fate was now left to Ethan.