The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

Chapter 98: Beating Heart

"Let's see.. since the materials will be sucked by big sister's spirit... Ah, we could take some blood with us. The Queen's blood has paralyzing effects, and according to the System, it's possible to use it as a substitute for painkillers," 

Unlike normal people, this little girl seemed to be immune to the nauseating sight of the dead queen, whose body was sliced open and had green blood spluttering from its insides. She did not even show signs of disgust as she touched the carcass with her bare hands, not afraid of getting herself dirty whilst doing it.

Aria had also heard of this practice back in her time, so she nodded and allowed Alena to retrieve it. The paralyzing effects could only be administered after a wound is made, no matter how small the incision is. As the girl currently did not have any open wounds, she was safe to interact with the corpse.

Although the blood did have paralysing effects, it wasn't as strong as it needed to be in fights. Especially when they were dealing against high leveled monsters. All monsters had a set level of defenses, be it to physical and magical attacks, or indirect damages like poison or curses. With higher leveled monsters, this defense will certainly increase, making it harder for them to be affected by paralyzers like the dead queen's blood.

'This too must have a use.' Aria said, positively thinking.

One might say that they were hoarding things that they won't even get to use in the near future. The world was progressing at an astonishing rate, with higher leveled dungeons being spawned every so often. Not long after, a huge change was going to elapse over the entire world. At that time, the things Aria will be fighting against will already be immune to things like the paralyzing blood.

But even so, you never know. You never know if this material is going to be needed by somebody else. In Aria's time, there would be a marketplace to sell your materials to. All sorts of materials would be displayed there, and one was free to choose from the wide selection of items. But now that items like these weren't regularly searched for, Aria doubted that it would be of use.

They collected the liquid nonetheless, storing it into a clear bottle and putting it inside a spatial bag. The spatial bag was something that Alena presented her with. She also stored her bottles inside the same bag. This was when Aria learned that the little girl did not have an inventory, compared to Aria who had one with an undetermined maximum space cap.

Aria had an extensive knowledge of magic, perhaps even encompassing almost everyone she was acquainted with back then.  One of the elements was spatial magic.

Magic bags essentially worked the same way as a spatial bag, but there were differences. The bag Alena had was a spatial bag.

Magic bags would use runes and enchantments to perform their feats. However, spatial bags created using the spatial element could be bound shut to the owner and manipulated freely. It also had more additional features, such as the types of items they were able to store, or the option to cast more effects onto the objects like temperature maintenance. It was a very rare item, and was pricey no matter what size it was thanks to its features. Aria didn't know where Alena got the bag from, but she quickly attributed it to the little girl having her imposing connections even though she was so young.

Mages that devoted themselves to the Spatial element were rare, but they were extremely dangerous when combined with a great wit. Aria wasn't going to offend anybody with the capability to create that sort of item, at least not until she grew stronger and confirmed the other party's identity.

Spatial bags were made with pure magic, so the creator's mana could be exposed, especially if the bag is something at this caliber. She did not recognize the mana characteristics from the bags and determined that it really was someone she did not know of.

Whoever it was, they were good at their job, because Alena's bag looked well made. She did not question the origins of the bag and just noted the information down.

Alena finished collecting the blood and stood back up while Aria rested by the side. She was tired, which was understandable with how much she stressed her body for. The girl had great handiwork, she brought a small knife and hung a piece of the queen's flesh over the bottle while she carefully wrung the blood out, letting it seep into the bottle.

This made Aria even more confused, since the girl said that she wasn't suited for battle. And yet, the skills she had was unbefitting for a young girl in the first place, and it made her surprised with every new thing she learned about her.

It was a great discovery, though, so she wasn't complaining.

"That concludes the material gathering... right? Then... All that's left is," Alena looked to the tree and sighed. There were broken fragments of stones that they worked hard to melt earlier.

Alena's tired eyes swept through said stones and walked up to it.

"These stones, if they were melted and distilled, then we could produce more [Crystal Water], correct?" Alena picked up a stone and brought it over to Aria.

Aria nodded, confirming the child's question. This method was indeed the way to make [Crystal Water]. These crystals would form above a cave, lacing the ceilings or even creating pointed crystals embedded into hard rocks, which could be mined to produce the special water.

"Then, I will also take some of these home. I would like to research it and possibly turn it into materials as well," Alena boldly stated, as if the things she said were not unusual things for a child her age in this period of time.

Aria almost broke into a small chuckle facing this child, appreciating how peculiar she was in a good way.

She looked at the watch she brought. Only slightly more than an hour had passed out of their three hours time limit. She sneered, thinking back to the mysterious man Gin who provided them with this dungeon.

She then walked up to approach the queen's corpse, from which she noticed something strange. The queen still had spastic movements, which was normal. However, one thing was still moving about. One thing that shouldn't be moving.

It was the queen's heart. The organ was still pumping inside the corpse.

"Ah, that. I was also wondering why it is still beating, but I left it alone. It may just be residual movements?" Alena said, noticing Aria's creasing brows.

"No.. this shouldn't happen. Not even for post mortem things," Aria said, refuting the girl's guess.

Just like that, after she said those words, several notifications popped up.

It was the notification that announced their victory formally. Before, there was only information about the queen's death, but the pop up that displayed their quest was still not in effect. It was only until Aria reached out to the beating heart did the quest finish itself.

Ding!

The notification bells rang.

[Dungeon Clear: Insect Queen (99% damage dealt)

Clear Conditions: Dungeon Boss Insect Queen (1/1).

-Since the dungeon was cleared by two individuals, the basic rewards will be shared accordingly to their contribution percentage.

-Since the <Player> contributed more than 50% damage to the dungeon, the rune will go to them. The <Player> may choose to share the items if needed.

-Since the <Player> contributed more than 50% damage to the boss, the  items will go to them. The <Player> may choose to share the items if needed.

Completion Rewards: Dungeon Rune, [Crystallized Insect Queen's Beating Heart], 20.000 SP, 30000 EXP, +2 Status Points.]

"..It was a reward?" Aria furrowed her brows. In her hands, the heart was still pumping.

She checked the reward information and got to look at the details.

[Crystallized Insect Queen's Beating Heart]

-Material

-A crystallized monster will never truly die. Their heart will be detached from the body, hence creating the possibility for a rare material to be used. Only an intact heart can be forged and utilized, but the broken parts also holds value to some. A particular type of magecraft places the material with great importance.

'A particular.. magecraft?' Aria frowned. She wouldn't be as bold as to claim that she knew all types of magic, because magic itself was limitless. Only one's imagination and willpower could limit the discovery of a new branch of magic.

'One that uses crystallized items.. as what? A fuel?' Aria theorized. However, no ideas came up to mind.

Between the period she spent buried underground, Aria wondered how many advancements had been made in magic. Spending time on trying to figure out something that she might not even have an inkling of was futile.

However, there was something that was largely different from her time. Before, no matter how much you slayed crystallized monsters, they would never come out with a beating heart.

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