The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

Chapter 163: Taking a Step Ahead

Alena was ecstatic as Aria finally regained her senses and began working normally. The day Aria came out was coincidentally also the last day before she had to fight in the collaborative dungeon subjugation. That was why, Aria did some light exercise and cleared three floors in the Tower. She did not dare go any further because not only would it cost her time, she also didn't want to be heavily reminded of the fact that she would have to continue watching her comrades be tortured in front of her every milestone she reached.

That was a lasting memory in Aria's head, and she did not have the mental capacity to go through it and act normally right away just yet. Thus, Aria was now sitting with Alena as she had just finished getting readied up.

"Uh.. Where should we start this from? Within the three days I left, what happened?" Aria asked.

"Like I said before, the date has finally been announced. The subjugation. It's a good thing that you came out today, I was actually about to knock on your door if you came out just a second later. Will big sister be able to participate in it, though? if you think you're not going to manage, there's always an option to back out. Apparently, ever since the last tragedy with the dragon ensued, the Association has begun making some.. questionable rules. Like the thing you tried to oppose them for before. The materials. Even if you dealt the most damage to the creature inside the dungeon this time, you are still not going to have the first hand on the materials."

"...I will suppose that the rules came up because I spread the materials around and didn't let them get a good bite on it? Ha, they still would've gotten the materials from the guys who are willing to sell it in the first place, but I guess they incurred some heavy losses with it." Aria clicked her tongue, remembering the events.

"That is exactly what they did. It will be tricky to try and break this law right now, big sister. I suggest you don't try to do it. Especially since the other big guild leaders had apparently testified to this agreement. I don't know why they agreed, since it would be detrimental to them.. And the guild leaders who testified weren't announced directly to the public as well. However, they have proof of the high rankers. There were a total of five people who signed this agreement."

Alena took out her tablet and connected it to the large screen in front of them. The two screens instantly displayed the same materials, which Alena began to navigate around as she looked at the profiles she had created.

"Five people. We don't know for sure yet, but we can assume the identity of the first two culprits. The Cha siblings.. Cha Jeong-in and Cha Seol-hyun are obviously signers of this treaty. If not there would be no way that the agreement passed in the first place. The other three.. It would be hard to specify which of the numerous guild leaders contributed, since  the proof only detailed that it was a high ranking Hunter."

"If I would have to take a careful guess, however, my two options would be these two. [Immortals]' leader, the A-ranked Hunter Ryu. Then, the [Heaven's Gift]'s leader, also A-ranked Hunter Lia." Alena showed the two people's faces along with the information that she has gathered.

"Those two guilds are closely related to the Association... In the fire dragon's lair yesterday, Lia was actually there. She was just standing in the back and did not do anything, but she was there with Blythe's party. For Blythe.. No, for Cha Seol-hyun to allow Lia to follow them means that they hold a significant relationship. It wouldn't be a surprise if Lia willingly gave the OK to the treaty. As for Ryu, I think that he is a person that is very vulnerable to bribery. If Cha Seol-hyun offered him a good enough trade, then he would give his seal."

By Alena's words, she also recognized Cha Seol-hyun as the real cause of problem here and not Cha Jeong-in.

"The last person is the one that I'm not too sure of. There will be too many candidates even if I tried to knock it down to lower numbers, so I will just give you these two names for now." Alena ended her explanation. "..Although we are able to receive information that goes around in public, and to a certain level.. secretive data, we still can't be completely sure about they will do outside of the public's eyes. By that, I mean.. even if you saw Ryu or Lia inside the dungeon even though they weren't listed in the names, please do not be surprised."

"..I see. I understand, I will be careful. I won't act on this law just yet.. Until I become stronger." Aria sighed as she received the information with open arms, knowing that she wasn't ready for a big fight with the Hunter society yet.

She hadn't been able to gauge Blythe's full potential, but she more or less knew that Cha Seol-hyun was someone she couldn't contend to for the time being. In the future, she would make sure that this dynamic changed, but there was little that she could do right now.

"Well then, that is all I have to tell you. Big sister, I really want to see you alive after tomorrow. Please do not commit any atrocities or I will seriously be angry!" Alena spoke, pouting at the older. Seconds later, she broke off into a smile. "..Big sister, I really think that it's only going to get harder and harder from now on. I don't know what you are facing, nor do I think that I have the power or authority to make you spilt he beans to me. However.. if you do need a shoulder to talk to, I will be here at all costs. Because the promise I made to you is to help you until the end."

"..I appreciate that. Thank you very much." Compared to the very beginning, Aria had also begun to realize how much she had changed her impression towards this little girl. She was starting to see the other as not only a little girl who was coincidentally her patron, but also someone she could rely on. That was rare to begin with. Not to mention, Alena was young, and she already had this much impact to make.

Aria gently smiled. She definitely took a hard lesson on humanity and emotions as she saw Noel and Lucas die in front of her. It wasn't like this was the first time a close comrade of hers died, but them being killed and subdued to such a helpless state made Aria feel it worse than ever.

Her ultimate goal was still to seek Unity. But this time, she didn't want to just go blindly at it anymore. She wanted to pay more attention to her surroundings. When she first got revived, she thought that she would be facing everything alone. A lone, cold wolf that stood against all the adversities and hardships of the world.

After this and that happened, she began to contemplate the meaning of Unity. Perhaps, the dumbest thing that she ever thought about was thinking that Unity, the word which clearly held meanings that correlated to a combination of creatures being joined and bound together, could be achieved alone.

The Unity Door.

That thing was the exit she chased for all the time. She failed to see the Unity beside her. Truly, she has never appreciated her comrades properly. Perhaps she took it all for granted, and now Unity is haunting her. The System is forcing her to go through these events.

But Aria was not going to falter just yet. This was the opening to a new volume of her life. The book that she had poured her thoughts into, the things she did not wish to forget and leave behind no matter how much time tries to corrode it. These kinds of things would be kept close to her heart all the time.

"Wish me luck, Alena. You should work just as hard as me if you want to catch up!" Aria said, stretching her hand towards Alena. It was a way of her acknowledging the little girl as her equal, a teammate that she could perhaps bestow her trust upon.

She wanted to extend this hand as a form of support. That they would not only have a work relationship. The little girl wished for more than just work, and Aria was able to see clear respect and genuine kindness within the girl. All of it was directed towards her.

Perhaps, she would have to give this 'second life' a lot of thinking to do. Because Unity was not just a word that she could chase around like some mad dog, but rather something that she should keep. Something that.. she should produce and maintain for the rest of her life.

That was the first meaning of Unity that she came upon. The Unity that she was starting to form inside herself. The Unity that Aria Schreiner, the Summoner learned about from her own experience.