The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

Aria's mind raced as she thought about the yields Alena brought from her ability. This was what she had been waiting for,  pieces of important information being delivered right to her doorstep. The convenience Alena's power could bring.

"What is it about? I'll take a look at it after I recover my condition. My entire body is sore, I'm an inch away from collapsing," Aria said, scratching her head as she desperately wanted to lay on the bed as much as she valued the information.

"Ah, of course you can do that first. We can discuss the matter tomorrow. I suppose you might be too tired to even think of the Tower any longer," Alena understood very well and nodded with a gentle smile.

With that, Aria went ahead and used the map she was given to navigate through the Aria until she finally reached in front of her room, which had already been properly furnished and given high end facilities for a person's living conditions. Aria was able to have her own huge, private bathroom, where she comfortably took a long, hot bath in.

Upon getting out, the heat was getting to her head so much that she was only able to drink two cups of water before she collapsed onto the bed, which absorbed the force of her collision entirely. She fell asleep right away, and spent the rest of the day dead asleep until the night came.

She woke up with a hungry stomach, which was natural since she hadn't eaten for an entire day. She got out of her room and contacted one of the people who stood by the area, wondering if she could get some food. The person in question immediately escorted her to the dining room, where Alena was already eating slowly while her hands were fired up, tapping here and there on her device's screen.

Aria sighed as she entered the room and sat down beside Alena, who had a motivated look on her face.

"You're still looking at your device? That's not very good, you know? Finish your food first, then you can look at your device for as long as you want," Like a caring mother, Aria confronted the child.

"Ehh~ But I'm looking through the information I want to give you. I'm compiling it so you don't have to look through an unorganized data later on. The System gives rather cryptic data, so I not only have to decrypt it, but also arrange it to be readable," Alena sighed, closing her device and focusing back on her food, which had already been turned cold after she ignored it for a long time.

The child handed the food back to one of the attendants, asking him to heat the dishes up once more and prepare Aria's portion at the same time.

"Should we take a look at the information together? I have some spicy things you would love," Alena's eyes contained a mischievous charm as she raised her eyebrow up and down as if teasing the older woman to entice her.

"No, we will finish the food first. It's basic manners," Aria declined. The food was served, and she dug into the feast with great vigor. She was dead set on her decision, so Alena couldn't do anything to shake her choice.

Alena pouted as she accepted the final outcome and relented. She was not only a slow eater, but she was also picky with her foods. She ended up finishing later than Aria even though she was supposed to have a lesser portion and started eating later.

After they were done, they finally began to pay a closer look at Alena's information.

"Hmm.. So, first of all, until what floor did you go to, big sister?" Alena asked.

"Floor 10, why? I stopped right there because I was exhausted, but I discovered something that might potentially how the Tower works. The floor number is matched up with our levels, so since I am level 30, the maximum level I can bear should be 30 as well," Aria said, voicing out her theory.

"En, that is exactly right. I wanted to say that as well. Since you already know that, then.. what do you think of Floor 10? Wasn't it special?"

"I got sent into a dreamlike state. Like an illusion, but it shouldn't be so. The time that passed inside an illusion should directly reflect the reality's time span, but it did not do that for the dream. At floor 10, I actually did not have to fight, I just sat through the entire dream and it was considered as a successful clear," Aria reported.

"Hmm.. That's roughly the same data as the one I received. I suppose that the data I decrypted is right. Big sister, I have received a tremendous update, it allows me to track down the milestones each <Player> has passed. The milestones are of course, as you probably have already guessed, multiples of ten. You, big sister, was registered to have passed the first milestone, being the second one to do so. The first until the third person to clear these milestones should get a reward. Until here, are we on the same page? Or is there any discrepancies?"

"No, and I really did only get a reward on the tenth floor. An all around boost in my status points, and a strange gem. That's it," Aria attested.

"Alright, so that gem has been lightly touched upon by the System. Apparently, you are supposed to have a container that has an empty jewel socket. With each milestone, you will be able to gain one fragment of the gem, and as you fill the container and attach it into becoming the final gem, you will successfully complete the Tower," Alena clasped her hands together in delight.

"A container.. But I received no such thing," Aria recalled all of her items and did not find something that could be made into a jewel socket.

"This is where the fun part begins! Remember the foreign item you gave me, the one that I couldn't find out the identity of? I have finally figured out what it is," Alena was extremely giddy as she announced.

"..What is it?"

"It's a pendulum, big sister. It should be your container," Alena called for her attendant to bring forth the item she had just uncovered.

Aria was silent as she listened. A thought crossed her mind, but she decided to wait until it was revealed.

"When you unlocked the Tower, I found out that a strange section of my power had also been unlocked. I suspect that the other <Players> also got a similar upgrade. Big sister's power relies heavily on your knowledge and innate skills, so there won't be much updates.. I suppose. Instead, did you know that the status boost is actually exclusive to you?"

"...Only I will have the status boost? Alright, that cheers me up a little bit," Aria got an injection of motivation after hearing that. If the others continued to bypass her and have the status boost at the same time, she was afraid that there will no longer be a chance of her usurping the gap in strength.

"Yes, big sister. So, back to my power's matter, I did identify and crack down the material into a pendulum shaped object, but the appraisal skill still doesn't show the complete data,"

Conveniently, the attendant that Alena sent to get the item earlier returned as she said that. He gave Alena a sealed box before retreating to his standby position. Alena opened the lock with her fingerprint, before taking out said object.

Aria's eyes widened as she saw the jewelry. She had already suspected the correlation as soon as Alena mentioned a pendant, but she didn't think that it really was the pendant that she was familiar with. The suspicions that arose inside her mind when she heard about the pendulum finally came true.

It was a complete replica of Zehell Rivkins, her master's pendant. 

"...Let me have a closer look," Aria extended her hand, and Alena gladly passed the necklace to her.

Aria's eyes narrowed as she woke Rallaka up. The Earth spirit was still in a somewhat hibernating state because his upgrade took so long to complete. The spirit woke up and asked Aria what the matter was before popping out into the world.

When his eyes fell onto the pendulum, Rallaka immediately turned serious. "This.. where did you get this? You should be aware that this is.."

'Yes. My master's pendulum. Of course I am aware. This damned System sure is a hellbent stalker, trying to pry into my personal matters left and right.' Aria snickered inside her mind, laughing at the entire strange situation.

"..Hold on to it. I will quickly finish up with my matter. I'm finally getting a body!" Rallaka said in a rather excited tone, leaving the world once more and returning to the closed up summoning space.

'Alright.' Aria answered.

Aria's gaze turned back up to look at Alena.