The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

"Very well. Then, we can move on to the last person of the day.. The one you just mentioned, Cha Seol-hyun. That woman.. Well, we don't need to elaborate that much on her since I'm sure that we're both aware that she is dangerous. I have a fleeting theory that she should be affiliated with this dragon incident. I'm.. half sure of it. I don't know the reason behind it, but there must be something they aim for. Something that might not be the best thing ever."

"Correct, big sister. Cha Seol-hyun is a woman with many schemes. However.. I think that she isn't as vicious as my sister. At the very least, when you struck back at her just now, she showed slip ups of her emotional distress. If we were against my sister and she lost, she wouldn't act like that. She would just retreat and continue to rack up on better plans. It's much harder to face someone like that, no?" Alena asked.

"Truly. But as of now, we don't have to worry about them that much yet. It's better if we go back and focus on training.. Come to think of it, won't I get to see her again in the dungeon subjugation? I wonder what's inside that thing, hm? The System has acknowledged it as a dangerous thing.. Well, I'm hoping that great rewards would follow. Speaking about rewards, I have one more item for you to research. It's a reward that I got in exchange for cleaning the dragon up." Aria touched some invisible buttons in the air, maneuvering through her inventory to pull out an accessory.

"..And this is? Haah, why do they bother masking the item if they want us to find out one day, I wonder? It's just plain troublesome. Also, this can be taken in another way.. That the System is actively spying. Knowing that you have me on your side, they decided to make it not so easy to open so that we would be stalled a bit.. After all, the last time this happened, there was a coincidence that happened. When you took out your first gem, I was able to crack open your container. Isn't that very.. amusing?" Alena giggled as she took the item Aria brought with joy.

Although she complained, she was very interested in finding more about the unknown, besides, if her guesses were correct, then with each unknown item, the System could possibly be thinking to level up her research skills. Growth was always a pleasurable thing.

"This is all question marks again on your side, correct?" Alena asked, observing the item. She was blocked by an array of locks that she couldn't see through with her current skills. However, she did not panic. Instead, she continued to crack down on the locks, identifying what type of magic was used in the sealing to make her work easier.

"Well.. No. The details are question marks, but the name was left as [1405]. If I didn't know better, I would've thought that this was a System error." Aria sighed. "Though, speaking about the gems and containers... I know that you want to help me as much as you could, and that you will definitely be fired up with trying to discover that item, but I want you to focus on the Tower first. Remember, rewards should come if we get to the checkpoints ahead of others. I don't want you to lose these advantages just because of the blocked items. Time will definitely tell, so you should focus on yourself first."

"Yes~ But I will still try my hand on this in my free time!" Alena happily announced, taking note of the clue Aria gave. 

[1405]. What could that mean?

"I think you should climb up to Floor 10 first, and see if you will get anything substantial. Especially with your current level.. It should be high enough to blast through the first ten floors, right? I will be preparing for the upcoming dungeon, so while you're at it, you should clear your Towers first. If you could, then get to Floor 20. I will be doing the same thing in a short while."

Alena nodded, as she sighed one more time, showing that she had a great burden placed on herself. It wasn't like the her of the previous days at all. The cheery girl was slowly getting burnt out. Indeed, the amount of fighting and hectic training they did might have gotten into the girl's head and affected her.

Aria used to be a leader in the past, but she wasn't particularly someone who could interact with others sincerely. She found it hard to sympathize with others who were in Alena's situation since she never knew that sort of feeling. When she was brought up by her master, not a single day did she have the thought of wanting to quit.

However, with Alena, she thought that she should change it. In the past, there were things that she missed. Incidents that passed by her vision. Untold truths and stories that she never heard.

This time, could she make sure that she was aware of everything happening around her?

In the end, she decided to ask about Alena's condition.

"Are you fine? You.. You are very stressed out." Aria blinked a few times, a bit hesitant on her approach.

What if she ended up making it worse since she was inexperienced?

"Well- of course I am! The Tower is a scary place.. It's like playing a game in hardcore mode. If not for the fact that I have my spirits, and that I am super overlevelled, I would've gotten killed when fighting against the swarm of that time...I get chills whenever I think about it. How unpleasant." Alena clicked her tongue.

"It's because you're not used to fighting, no? If you just force yourself through it, that would be a plausible way of getting used to fighting with your life on the line. So that you could experience firsthand combat instead of just training with me on and on." Aria replied as if it was a given.

"..That kind of thing only works on people like you, big sister. I am nothing but a coward~" Alena whined.

"..Do you want to get stronger or not? Do you want me to confine and kick you inside the Tower before you stop whining and do your job?"

"Ao?! Big sister, how could you say such a thing? I-I am but a little girl who is weak and fragile.."

"I'm doing this for your sake, do understand." Aria chuckled. "Besides, you are very strong. You overcame your curse multiple times while having to deal with Ilyin, worked your ass and brain off to get yourself ahead of others, you have done so much that a regular child wouldn't be able to do even in a thousand years."

"...That's because I have the resources I need. I am just lucky that I am born- no, I was taken into the Crofts. No matter how I hate them, it is a fact that without the backing that they gave me.. I would've never gotten this far, nor would my talent be discovered and nurtured."

"Then, that is your fortune to be found. Perhaps, you were chosen because you have a task to fulfill. For instance, helping me?" Aria smiled, rubbing Alena's head and ruffling her hair until it got a bit messy.

"!! Big sister! My hairrr!" Alena lightly hit Aria's hand multiple times, wanting to get off the touch.

Aria sneakily grinned before getting up from the seat they were on. She stretched her body and huffed. "I won't train today, I suppose. Since there is still days before the subjugation, I will go inside the tower and check things out. If I can get to Floor 20.. I would rejoice." Aria announced, walking out of the room and heading towards the training ground after receiving a confirmation nod from Alena.

Alena, too, began to pick up her pace and stored away the reward that Aria gave her. The unknown item that she still couldn't fathom. After being comforted and praised by Aria, she felt more motivated and smiled warmly. She was born in a competitive, bloody family where she would be constantly monitored and not allowed to act as a normal person would. After she escaped from that place with the reason being because of her Hunter power, she felt extremely liberated.

Now that she came across someone like Aria, it felt even more joyful, more than ever, more than any occasion that she experienced.

"..I am very lucky indeed." Alena clutched the object as she stood up and naturally also headed towards the training ground.

Aria was there first, she reached the place in less than five minutes. She was still considerably tired after having fought the dragon, despite only actively engaging with the creature towards the end.

However, since she her level was now indeed in the thirties and nearing the forty mark, she thought that reaching Level 19 shouldn't be that big of a problem.

The concerning thing was level 20. The duplicates of ten should be a special level.