NOVEL WEB Chapter 164: Poison
Skipping to the next day, Aria was already well prepared, and the members of Lichte had actually contacted her too on the days that she disappeared. She apologized for the late response, and was going to get picked up by them to go along with the rest of the team and arrive at the site at once.
After the many days of preparation, everyone in the site was heavily prepared, unlike the time with the dragons. With just one careful sweep of her gaze, Aria was able to tell that a good number of eyes coming from each corner of the site was placed on her. Some were curious gazes, the others didn't bother to hide the hostility that was oozing out of the passionate gaze.
Aria could only laugh internally after experiencing this, walking side by side with Reina and the rest towards the drafting list.
After their previous little conflict, Lichte did not show any speck of discontentment towards Aria. In fact, the one she disliked the most out of the bunch, White Fox, actually started to act more fondly towards her. White Fox said that what Aria said towards Blythe's group was something that she could appreciate and that she loved seeing the frustrated motions of Cha Seol-hyun as a result of her daring motions.
Out of Lichte, perhaps White Fox was the one who hated Blythe's main group the most. Aria assumed that it had something to do with her past, that she had crossed them before and it didn't end well. No matter what it was, the girl was ecstatic at the thought of them suffering and even acted a bit chummy after reuniting with Aria, saying that she did a great job of humiliating the woman.
Aria could only snort at the strange compliment and continue forward. She did not have enmity with White Fox, she just wasn't fond of the type of person the other was. Perhaps, in the future, they might even be intertwined by fate and get closer than ever. However, for now, Aria was still going to keep her prejudices slightly. Of course, she was by no means unprofessional and wouldn't sabotage the other just because of her small unpleasant feelings.
The groups rapidly bounded up and formed a sizeable army. From the corner of her eyes, Aria was able to spot Blythe and Cha Seol-hyun standing side by side. The person who threatened her at the previous meeting was also there, and when Aria's eyes met with his, she could feel that the man was extremely pissed at her.
Even more so when Aria turned around and ignored his presence. She felt an intense gaze be directed towards her constantly. She rolled her eyes at the gesture, thinking that the man was doing a pointless thing.
"..What a fanatic, hm?" Aria mumbled lowly, making Reina turn her head towards Aria's way.
"What did you say? I couldn't hear it." Reina asked, curious on what the other said in such a low volume.
"Nothing. It's just that.. there is probably going to be a few little bugs that are up against me inside the dungeon, not just the boss creature that we are going to face." Aria answered.
Reina's eyes immediately narrowed and followed Aria's line of sight, and discovered that the other was avidly starting towards Blythe's group's way.
She was unsure about how to convince Aria to stay peacefully. "Aria, I know that Alena is on your side, and she is smart enough to tell you about this kind of information. Cha Seol-hyun isn't someone you can offend. Blythe.. that man has some idealistic values that will be easy to handle, but Cha Seol-hyun is much more complex than that. If Blythe was a pure fire, then Cha Seol-hyun is the toxic gasoline that pollutes him and grows the fire bigger, turning it into her own color." Reina spoke, stating what was the obvious towards Aria.
"Of course I know. Alena is a very great support. Don't you think the same, Miss Monitor?" Aria chuckled as she joked.
"..Wow! I was just advising you out of kind intentions, I didn't think that you would go and stab my back just for that little girl. It's really not a wise thing poking at others like that.. Whether I am Reina Alaster or the Blythe who is being controlled by that bitch."
"That little girl you speak about is my comrade. Just like how you would protect White Fox from my clutches, obviously I am going to protect Alena. Is that wrong?" Aria raised a brow. The gate was already in front of them by the time she said this. "Be it you, or Blythe, I will pick Alena's side for what she had done for me. I don't have a debt with her because she was the one who extended her aid first, but I treat people who treat me well double the goodness."
They had to walk in lines to ensure a tidy and organized entrance. From the teams that were drafted, she was an individual outcast that was recruited out of the tournament to select the last member. Although she was supposed to represent [Magnolia], the group she borrowed the name of, she was just as good as an individual Hunter. If anything, she was allied to Lichte.
The amount of people crowding around the gate was not little, but it wasn't many too. From the original plan of sending the exemplary newly formed group to battle, Aria noticed that there were some strange, unknown additions to the drafts from what she had learned about from Alena. Alena's data couldn't be wrong, so there must have been some foul play in the drafting.
"...You're not wrong. I can see you going against the world just for a simple reason. Still, I don't want someone like you to die just yet. It would be too much of a waste." Reina spoke in a serious tone. Although she was regularly a cheeky person, she considered everything very carefully and possessed the qualities of a great leader, which was made her so adept in her ways. "I hope you don't think that you are capable enough of fighting the whole world?"
They both looked ahead towards the gate after that. Blythe's group started with a neat chant. The 'rookie' A-ranker, Han Seong-woo was also there. The person that she had met a long time ago, the popular rookie that was skyrocketing in fame and gaining a huge following from the public.
"I will fight the world if it's needed in the future. As for now, I will just stay as a humble and simple Hunter. Besides, I also don't want you to die early.. So stay alive, Your Highness." Aria teased, making a play on Reina's name, which directly translated into Queen. The name that granted her immediate access to the title Shadow Queen, befitting her disposition and abilities.
Reina simply clicked her tongue and no longer responded, looking towards the gate's way.
After Blythe's group had passed, it was their turn to go through the spatial membrane. They did so, and in a flash, they were accepted into the dungeon and entered with great valor as a whole army of talented people ready to beat whatever greeted them inside the dungeon.
The first thing they saw- or rather, felt, was the overwhelming stench of rotten flesh. A terrifying swamp of poison. A chilling miasma spreading all over the place. Bubbles were forming on top of these green puddles scattered all around the ground, and there were bones everywhere. A humid wasteland that was filled by poison, contaminated to highest degree.
Aria frowned as she observed the sceneries, trying to pick up any clues that will end up gaining her an advantage over the enemies. The others were vividly taken aback, perhaps because this was their first time entering such a high concentration polluted land.
Perhaps it was because of Aria's inlaid trait, [Tempered Body], but she felt like she wasn't that affected by the high toxicity in the environment. Usually, if she was getting poisoned, she would have easily detected the change and would resort to purging it out, but somehow, the heavy miasma and toxic air did not bother her in the slightest, whereas she saw some pretty bad reactions from the rest of the people.
Knowing this advantage, Aria walked towards the one of the crevices on the ground and investigated its components. The dungeon monsters usually had a relation from one to another, so investigating one point of the dungeon would also give her the upper hand on the other branches.
Her intelligence system should be the most advanced between every single person who stood inside this space. Aria was almost certain of this fact. Her and Rallaka were not a trivial force to be reckoned with in terms of knowledge.
Then, just as she came in contact with the first poisonous liquid that she wanted to extract to be analyzed, a System notification popped up in front of her.