The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

Chapter 14: Concealment

Han Seong-woo.

He was a man renowned for his innate ability. Upon the very first day of his Hunter exam, he received a High A rank.

This was the highest record known to man, apart from an overseas Hunter who reached S rank the moment they got tested.

Aside from that one S-ranker, the rest only gathered around High A and lower.

High A candidates were immediately accepted into the Association's higher ups and will be assigned to a personal team. That was how rare they were.

Those who reached High A by their first exam, in South Korea, amounted to a small number of four people.

Cha Jeong-In, Cha Seol-hyun, Han Seong-woo, and a hidden solo Hunter who continuously refused to reveal his identity.

"Thank you for attending today's press. I am Athena's leader, Han Seong-woo. We, Athena, are hunters that have been meticulously selected by the association head himself. Please trust us with this dungeon and continue on with your lives. We assure you that there will be no casualties. Fellow hunters, too, please do not try anything impulsive,"

He was a man of high charisma. Born with exceptional looks and immense talent, Han Seong-woo was destined to achieve greatness even if he didn't become a Hunter.

He was born in a good family, smart, and was known to have great temperament.

Now, he obtained the High A evaluation on his first try. People were bound to trust him.

He was a great asset to the Association.

Everyone who saw the media, from the broadcasters to the mass public heard his statements and became shocked.

The short statement did not only declare the realization of a rookie team's creation, but also formed a border that indicated the association's judgement to secure the dungeon as their own.

Individual teams and managements outside of the Association existed.

Although the Association held the most power, they couldn't trigger the small communities either.

Those small communities helped the nation survive outside of the Association's reach.

The Association couldn't stretch their hands to every dilemma, so it was a given that other entities would sprout out of nowhere, possessing certain gifted and talented people that strove to protect themselves without being under the Association.

They helped to solve cases that escaped their radar. It was profitable for both them and the Association, so a consensual peace was made.

The only linkage that formed was the Hunter status.

The Hunter card, which could only be obtained after you go through the mandatory screening inside the Association proved to be their identity.

It would allow them to enter dungeons that matched their levels, and would also open connections to other Hunters for teaming up and cooperation.

Every Hunter had to have a Hunter card. They were all Hunters, outside of their alignments and teams.

With the Association's clear declaration that the gate will belong to Athena, their own individual team, it would arouse other entities' anger and displeasure without a doubt.

Not only was the Association announcing this without prior discussion with other renowned entities, it would mean that the A-ranked dungeon's rewards would now solely belong to the Association.

People asked. Why were they doing that?

For what reason?

A new individual team sprouting inside the Association.

It had the possibility to become a 'favored' team, with the Association granting them good resources that'll pump up their development and growth faster than anybody else.

Was the Association trying to break the balance within each faction?

This clear favoritism was bound to bring backlash.

The turmoil began.

People suspected that the ranks would soon change.

In truth, the Association was just a super large entity that held the most fame. It didn't really differ from other entities created by fellow Hunters.

A rebelling faction would definitely appear to oppose the Association.

_______________________________________

After finishing her raid, Aria was now fully clothed and safe to tour the world.

It was mindblowing.

Within each area, she encountered different things she hadn't seen before.

The technology. The architecture. The culture.

She was addicted with taking in the new surroundings.

Different colored lights that weren't made by magic. Loud sounds and cheery music.

The fact that no one brought weapons and donned clothes that would definitely endanger them if a monster appeared.

The more Aria saw, the more she couldn't fathom what the world had become. It was like a completely different world.

'How come all the monsters are sealed within dungeons now?' Aria wondered.

Not to mention, the dungeons had their own space. A large space.

It had proper life. Not only the monsters, but their ecosystem was also brought in.

Aria saw the insides of the dungeon. She was baffled by how complete it was.

Food, water, and shelter.

The three basic needs were fulfilled.

It made living sustainable for a certain period of time.

After the resources were finished, that was when they start to break free from the gate. To continue sustaining their lives.

Whoever planned this 'dungeon gate' idea was nuts in the head.

One gate was taxing enough. The gate number was increasing by the hundreds across the world.

Aria, who understood the mechanisms behind the gates could only fail to comprehend how this was possible.

She soon felt dizzy after her short tour. She felt overwhelmed from everything.

If she wanted to get used to the world, it would cost her a lot of time.

'I should go to somewhere with less people..." Aria trailed off the main road and escaped to a

"Why is this gate open?" Aria narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized the gate hidden behind a set of white mist.

She saw people pass through the alleyway without noticing anything, even though a gate was supposed to bring fear to the common people.

There seemed to be a mist covering the spatial membrane.

Something that would normally not be detected unless you had special skills catered to illusory magic.

However, Aria was not someone who relied solely on her obtained skills. She possessed valuable experience that honed her to be the best Summoner.

With her keen perception, she was able to detect a so-called weak point.

A place where the mist was not as highly concentrated, thus providing less concealment.

It revealed the mist, allowing her to look into it.

'Quite impressive, but not enough.' To Aria, it was still the work of an amateur.

Without using a dispelling skill, she administered her mana to infuse itself with the mist.

She made it travel towards the 'weak point' of the mist.

Slowly, she transferred more mana into the mist and overpowered the other party's own energy.

Her mana ate up the mist bit by bit.

In no time, the white mist disappeared without a trace.

It revealed a psychedelic spatial membrane, the one she was familiar with after her previous journey into a dungeon.

"Why would there be a mist?"

Her first theory was that the person inside didn't come with proper certification, just like Yoo Jin and the rest.

'Should I...' Aria was interested in this scenario.

Entering dungeons might be a risk, especially when she didn't know what rank the dungeon was.

The dungeon before could be a B-rank.

But the thrill of fighting brought joy to her.

In the world where fighting, which was one of the most prominent element in her time was taken away, she was afraid that she would miss another chance like this.

In order to enter dungeons, she had to possess the Hunter card.

However, she didn't have the documents to register as a Hunter.

Aria Schreiner wasn't registered as a citizen anywhere.

Without proper connections, she wouldn't be able to survive.

She left Yoo Jin's house because she was unwilling to back down from Sung-ha's rude approaches, but now that she realized how powerless she was, it was quite regretful.

'Another risk is nothing.'

She was someone who survived under hellish fires without a break.

Aria confidently stepped inside the gate.

On the other side, she saw nothing.

It was a plain cave. Nothing out of the ordinary.

From time to time, water of unknown sources dripped from the ceiling, ruining the perfect silence.

"Hm?" Aria hummed in a low volume.

Unlike the time with Yoo Jin, no one greeted her at the entrance.

'Dianthe. Spread your presence.' Aria called the spirit and instructed her.

Dianthe appeared, dissipating into a thin mist and traveling through the gloomy cave.

Aria closed her eyes to focus on fusing with Dianthe's consciousness.

Dianthe had already reached the middle section of the cave. The depth seemed to be quite far.

She listened to the sounds inside the cave.

Kiik! Kiiik!!

Screeching noises.

'Goblins... Lower goblins.' Aria recognized the sounds in one go.

But then, something else caught her attention.

"...ease.. Someone, please- hik! Please save me... hik!"

Within the goblin voices, there was someone speaking the South Korean language.

'A female voice..?' Aria frowned.

"No. No, no, no! Please, please don't!!" The fear in the stranger's voice grew larger.

Aria gulped. She knew how far a goblin could go when faced with a weak opponent.

Against someone strong, they would cower in fear. However, if they caught a weak prey, the atrocities they performed outmatched quite a lot of monsters.

"Dianthe, lead me to there.'

Aria wanted to check it out.

After confirming that no monsters were in their vicinity, Aria used Dianthe's senses to travel inside the cave, directly rushing to the female stranger.

'The person should be the mist's caster...'

An illusionist. She was interested to see who the secretive individual was.

'Five... No, six?'

Aria measured the goblin's head count, trying to separate the different goblins' voices.

Once she determined that the small pack of goblins weren't near the main group, she became more confident that she could take all of them with ease.

With Aria's sprinting speed, she reached the location within less than a minute.

The human girl was on the floor, begging for her life. She didn't appear to be carrying any sort of protective or offensive items.

Whereas the six goblins were equipped, albeit lightly, with basic armor and weapons. They surrounded the girl, dancing in joy as the girl was cornered and filled by despair.

Kik! Kikk!

The goblins' happy noises weren't particularly pleasing.

Aria counted her chances.

She picked up a sharp stone, conjuring Dianthe's magic and coating the stone in water magic.

Aiming at the nearest goblin, she accumulated her strength.

She aimed at the head. The goblins were constantly moving, so she had to wait out for the perfect time.

The goblin she aimed at danced in joy, still rejoicing at their complete victory. In a moment of recklessness, it stopped its movements to approach the girl closer and touch her.

Aria narrowed her eyes and took the chance to shot the disgusting being down.

Kiiiiiikk!!!

The goblin's sword fell to the ground with a metallic clang. The green body collapsed to the ground, becoming lifeless the next second.

The battle was on.

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