The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

Chapter 28: Discussion

"Nice," Yoo Jin commented from the side, giving a thumbs up to his brother.

Seems like there was room for progress.

"What's nice? All we got is a lady who followed two different children back home. It happened with you, and now it's Jin-kyung's turn," Sung-ha sneered.

Aria couldn't refute the claim. When put into perspective, she had indeed encountered two underage humans, saved them in a similar way, and was brought to their settlements although it was a voluntary offer.

"Hey," Arin cast her gaze at Sung-ha as another warning, who averted his head to the side. The last thing she wanted is for a fight to break out within team members.

Shrugging, he then reached for the TV remote control, pressing the power button. The large screen turned on and brightened up.

Aria's eyes was drawn to the device.

[Today, there has been a report of multiple acts of theft in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu area, particularly in regards to clothing articles. The acts were all committed within a few blocks, leading the investigators to believe that the perpetrator is from somewhere near. The CCTV will be closely supervised and checked for any suspicious sightings. We haven't uncovered much clues about this case. If you know anything, please inform the related authorities.]

"Clothing articles? From homes? Several of them? Who the hell would be so free as to just steal the clothes?!" Sung-ha complained, reaching for the remote once more to change the channel.

Aria processed the news' meaning. It took a few moments, but she managed to create a relation between the clues and realize who this mystery perpetrator is.

'I wasn't free, I needed proper clothes.' Aria replied inside her mind.

"...Indeed, who would do that, I wonder?" She said with a cough.

Sung-ha's eyes didn't go away from the screen, whereas Yoo Jin wanted to ask something.

Noticing the awkward pause, Yoo Jin scanned Aria's body and discovered something strange.

"Big sister, from where did you get those clothes?" Although parts of the fabric was now torn up or dirtied from fighting inside the dungeon, her outfit had changed from what was once just a rugged coat thrown over her lithe body.

Now, she was properly dressed, with a white blouse that had a black ribbon tied to the neck and a checkered pink skirt.

Yoo Jin didn't think that the woman, who had refused his offers with a great resolve before would suddenly turn to this method of dressing.

"From the.. tailor?" Aria made up an excuse.

In the past, people usually had to search for tailors or specific companies in order to obtain their clothes. Merchants didn't sell ready-made objects, but they provided the fabric needed to sew the clothes.

These tailors and designers bound to set up a store, which would be called a 'tailoring house'.

Although the past tailor was sort of an equivalent to a normal 'clothing store' of the modern times, Aria wouldn't know that. She thought that it would still be referred to as a tailor shop.

"Tailor? Who are you, someone from the olden times?" Sung-ha clicked his tongue. He pressed on a button, and the screen changed in an instant.

He paid no bother to Aria's words any longer, but Yoo Jin was different.

He already began to suspect the true identity of this 'culprit' and even giggled as a result.

The TV screen displayed another news channel.

[The new team formed by the South Korean Hunter Association, 'Athena', has been making significant progress in both recent contributions and convincing the mass of their worth. Only two days have passed since 'Athena' was announced to the world, but their name have quickly spread throughout the country- being the first team catered by the Association. The leader, A-ranked Hunter Han Seong-woo-nim has also garnered the public's love. His promising figure is expected to soar without an end.]

The female announced told the news with high enthusiasm. She then called out the name of an on-scene reporter.

The screen panned a male reporter who was now standing in front of a similar, psychedelic gate. It was a mixture of bright purple, yellowish green, white, and other shades.

[We are currently in the Cheongdam-dong area. As you can see, there is this bright glaring gate that has been the source of terror for the Gangnam population ever since it appeared. It was tested and verified as an A-ranked gate by the Association. This large gate is located at one of the most influential streets, the 'Cheongdam-dong Fashion Street'. I'm sure that the viewers are all familiar with this particular section of the one dubbed as 'Luxury Neighborhood'. With the existence of this new gate, tourists and the populace have refrained from visiting the area. It is suspected that the business will stagnate for until the gate is subjugated.]

[As you've heard before, the gate is causing chaos within the people. However, the new team 'Athena' had stepped up previously, claiming that they would definitely accomplish this subjugating mission with brilliance. Responding to that claim, the Association themselves had released a statement, saying that this dungeon will be monopolized by their people for the sake of cumulative safety. This incited a spark of debate, which led to such a point where the Association decided to acquiesce and provide five additional spots dedicated to outside institutions for the mission.]

Such was the news.

Feeling irked at the 'pretentious' display, Sung-ha turned off the TV as a whole and left for the upper floors.

Aria watched as the man ran up the stairs. She then looked over to Arin, who just shrugged as a response. She went back to attending her own matters, telling Aria to feel free and do anything she liked too.

After the separation, Yoo Jin went over to Aria's side and stared at her.

"By the way.. The news, that was you, right?" Yoo Jin whispered, leaving Arin with no room to hear.

"..Yeah, kinda," Aria admitted.

"Knew it," Yoo Jin giggled once more.

Their strange dynamic continued. Hours turned into days, days into weeks, and weeks into months.

Before long, two months had passed.

During this time, everybody inside the team kept improving themselves. Grinding inside illegal dungeons and procuring materials, repeating the steps over and over again, her strength increased. She was even able to get another C-ranked rune that she stored inside her inventory for the time being.

In addition, Aria was already roughly aware of the world's situation thanks to the team, mostly Arin's guiding.

With her high adaptability, it only took about two months to learn all of the necessary information and prepare herself for the upcoming trials in both strength and intelligence.

Outside of that, there was also an interesting System notification that landed in her hands.

[Regional Quest: Gangnam Gate <A-rank>

Objective: Clear the designated dungeon with a high contribution level and obtain rights to receive the rewards.

Rewards: ???]

Her first <Player> quest, issued as a 'Regional Quest'. Unsurprisingly, Yoo Jin also received the same offer. Yoo Jin was someone who had taken on a System quest before, unlike her.

"The news.. Didn't Athena monopolize this? How can we get in?" Aria discussed this matter with Yoo Jin.

Yoo Jin shook his head. "Well.. The 'additional space'. It is said that the five individuals has to come from different entities. That's our only chance of slipping in even one member," Yoo Jin replied. They were both <Players>, but to be frank, this quest was near impossible to complete right off the bat because of how

"Then we don't have a lot of choices. We should just continue on training. Are there other information?" Aria muttered. "I'm willing to give up the quest if it'll hinder my progress. We're still lacking compared to the best Hunters. If Golden Insignia wants to compete with these teams in the future, we should just focus on raising our strength instead of chasing this quest. Who knows what'll happen if we took it, too,"

The quest may end up costing her a good chunk of time.

Although she was interested in how a <Player> quest worked, time was too precious to be risked.

The discussion was ended soon after, with no ultimate conclusion formed.

The next day, in the team house, a man she was familiar with visited.

Behind Sung-ha was Arin, who brought some refreshments with her. The two settled themselves down on a nearby couch and started opening their own devices.

Then, came Yoo Jin and Jin-kyung, who arrived at the same time.

They were all here as a result of someone's call.

"Those stupid bastards- What are they planning to do.." Lein bit his fingernail as he browsed through the video clips and news around the recent press. His voice could be heard as clear as day from the floor below.

He was the one who made the available members gather.

"This gate is special! Forget one team, maybe even a hundred Hunters won't be enough! It's definitely not something that should be monopolized by these- what was it, Athena? The Goddess of War? Don't make me laugh! They're completely underestimating the scale of this dungeon!" Lein came downstairs too. He was in a grumpy mood, climbing down the stairs while complaining.

"Lein, calm down. Slowly explain," Aria prepared a cup of tea and served the strawberry cheesecake Arin brought as a snack.

"Uh, oh, right... Let me.. calm down for a bit," Lein realized that his panicking wouldn't help solve the problem in any way. He took a deep breath and started to elaborate.

"I received a new notice. Indeed, the Association offers five spots. However, that spots are reserved for people who came from an established entity or team. Meaning, it's just the same as wanting to gain control over the entire lineup!" Lein ranted.

The established entities were all sections that were closely related to the Association in one way or another, or those who have worked with them in the past.

The Association would still end up monopolizing all the rights to enter the dungeon and get away scot free because it was marked as 'highly dangerous'. This would leave no space for the <Players> to form a rebuttal since the members would already be decided. The total count was less than fifty, including the five additional people.

"Athena, huh..." Aria contemplated her choices. No matter what, she wanted to experience clearing a <Player> quest. "How long would it be until they enter the dungeon?"

"I don't have the exact time, but it should be in a month or so," Lein answered. He was biting his fingernails in a frantic manner. "Four spots are taken. If someone could get in one of the spot, I might be able to ruin their sensors and slide in another one of our members.. Sung-ha, you go,"

"How the hell am I supposed to go? Me, who was marked by them as a dangerous guy?" Sung-ha said with a mocking tone.

"I don't know, do something!"

"Are you stupid? Stop thinking too much and calm down for a second! It's not like the world will end if the gate subjugation fails!" Sung-ha raised his voice.

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