The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

Dianthe's response wasn't uplifting at all. The spirit was unsure.

Five minutes? That was all she amounted to in rough estimation.

The total amount of time she had was little even if she wanted to waste all of her mana just to finish her task. That didn't account for her expense after the run was over.

Could Reina make it before that?

There was not much time to think because the serpent, who had been making light of its enemies before, became alert the moment Aria managed to pierce through its defenses and harm it.

Xenos' name itself was a clue.

Xenos, meaning foreign or strange.

This shitty boss' name was indicative of its properties.

A foreign attribute. The poison it carried was special to itself. Xenos was the leader of this realm full of Xagas. It was the culmination of the strongest poison in this place. And Xenos was the anomaly. The one lone foreign poison.

This meant that Aria's supposed buff, the [Tempered Body] passive that helped her strengthen her body in the past wouldn't work. Xenos' poison nullified this.

The Xagas from before still fell under her skill's protection, but it wouldn't be the same case for the Xenos.

It came to her attention that Xenos was undoubtedly a creature that could put her life at risk upon making a single mistake.

She still borrowed Dianthe's protection. It was the only way she could survive within close proximity of the serpent to draw out time.

In these moments, she desperately wished that she had her poison servants in her arsenal. Her legendary companions who could withstand the harshest poisons, and could spew an equally destructive poison back.

But alas, all of those thoughts were useless right now. Aria tried to save her energy as much as possible, turning her protection on and off while keeping her distance from the enraged enemy.

The giant Serpent ran wild as it got even more aggravated with each second Aria managed to get out of its clutches. It kept chasing her, locking on to the small target that was akin to an annoying fly constantly buzzing near your ear.

The damage that Xenos caused weren't just limited to one person, however. It was a large figure, and obviously its influences stretched far and wide throughout the entire land.

Blythe's skill did what he told it would. He protected every single human watching the fight on the ground right now, but he was made to be stationary still for the entire time.

Cha Seol-hyun, with him, did their best to protect all the members they brought.

The members were made to look at Aria facing the Serpent and maneuvering her body like she was literally flying even if she weren't. She cleverly made her way around the Serpent's attacks, dodging and defending. She no longer cared to damage it.

There was no use in wasting her stamina in attacking since the main player would be Reina, and not her. That woman had the perfect element and was taught the perfect skill for this.

The members' jaws almost dropped.

If even their leader was forced into defense and couldn't do anything else, what about the woman fighting directly against it, one to one like it was nothing?

Of course, to them, it looked like Aria was nonchalantly dancing around and making the Serpent look like a fool since it couldn't hit a single move.

However, only those who were skilled enough knew that Aria wasn't going to last much longer.

Amazement still passed through their mind no matter how hostile they acted against Aria before. It was pure awe after witnessing someone bearing a power that was outside of their realm of knowledge.

Blythe and Cha Seol-hyun conversed in a small volume, discussing what could Aria be plotting. They were sure that the woman had something under her arsenal to fight against the creature, but what?

From their point of view, Aria was steadily getting pushed back. She was going to lose her lead soon.

How will she turn this around?

Aria didn't spare any attention to the people down below.

She waited and waited for the fated cue. The cue that would tell her that her turn was over, and it was time to pass the work to Reina.

She kept on pushing herself, and the time was nearing the estimated five minutes mark she made at the beginning. In contrast, the Serpent was only a little bit bothered, but not at all close to exhaustion like Aria was.

Dangerous thoughts flashed through her mind.

What if the cue never came? What if this was the end, and there was no hope for her? If she didn't keep running away from the Serpent, she would die in less than a minute. Her defenses wouldn't be able to hold on and she would turn vulnerable.

Did she place too much hope on Reina? Could it be, the whole plan was impossible from the start?

She quickly shook her mind out of that uncertainty.

'A little bit more.. I can do this. I have to trust Reina.' Aria convinced herself.

The goal was there. In sight. The plan was laid out. It just needed to succeed. Everything needed to be cohesive.

She couldn't die right here.

She had to survive.

Along with everybody else below her right now.

"ARIA! MOVE BACK RIGHT NOW!" A loud voice attracted the desperate woman's attention.

It came from Elgin. Reina was beside him, closing her eyes and stretching her hands out. There was a high amount of magic power that surrounded her. It was very controlled, and yet carried a high risk of going wrong.

The skill was ready.

Aria finally saw some hope and thanked Reina in her heart.

Looking at the display, she knew that it was correct. The alignment. The grip it had on the Serpent, their target. It was fully locked on, and the skill was going to be launched at Reina's signal.

Reina did it. She managed to pull through the trial.

Aria felt a wave of relief wash through her, but she knew she couldn't stop here.

She had to secure her own safety.