The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

"White Fox," Arin gave a polite smile, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "And.. Reina, I believe,"

Arin's gaze wasn't kind in the slightest. The two humans were people she didn't want to associate with.

However, Reina was a trouble seeker to say the least.

"My, my, isn't this our lovely Aileen?" With her signature classy voice, Reina chuckled haughtily.

Aileen was Arin's original name before she integrated into the Korean society. For convenience's sake, she opted to use the name Arin. But the biggest reason was the fact that the name Aileen wasn't exactly something she was comfortable dealing with.

It reminded her of the past, back before she wasn't Jin-kyung's sister. Back when she was still a little girl that was confined down to her surroundings. The dark past she wanted to erase.

"What business might you have with the woman in your arms?" Arin shook off her distracting thoughts and carried on to the main business.

Why was Aria unconscious, and why was she carried by these two pesky humans?

"We are planning on recruiting her into our team, you see.. Wait, don't tell me, you have been eyeing this young one too? You can't be like that, you know~ If she joins the likes of you, she'll never reach where her maximum potential could take her to," Reina explained, stepping forward and shielding White Fox who was carrying Aria in her arms.

"She's already a part of our team. Please hand her to us. We don't want any needless confrontations," Arin gritted her teeth as she forced herself to maintain her smiley disposition.

"..Ara. This girl is from [Magnolia], right? Did you folks join that dead team too? You indeed have associated with them a lot.. Really, dead fishes joining the dead relics.. what a suitable outcome. This is... quite interesting, I must say," Reina's gaze darkened as she stepped forward, stood in front of Arin, and pinched her chin with ease.

Both of the women were tall, but Reina was slightly taller. In addition to her heels, she was able to look down at Arin.

With a slight movement, she lifted Arin's head up and glared down at her. "You know what? I was being kind. But now.. shall I teach you a lesson or two? I'll do it free of charge, of course. I'm generous," Reina smirked.

Here, Arin was about to break her calm. The personality she had nurtured over the years to survive all the ordeals that were thrown at her.

One deep breath turned to two as Arin wanted to get out of Reina's pinch, but couldn't because of the strength the taller woman used.

Arin wanted to attack back, this time with serious efforts.

"Arin, no," Lein put his hand on Reina's extended hand and glared at the woman with intense hostility, conveying that he wanted her to release Arin.

"The little kitten wants to join? My love is vast, but you must wait for your turn patiently. What a bad kitty," Reina glanced over to Lein.

If one thing had to be noted down, it would be Reina's intolerance towards

"...You're right. Thank you," Arin stepped back before letting out a light cough and consoling herself.

"In this case, we should let them carry Aria first. I believe that when Aria wakes up she would work something out," Lein whispered just enough for Arin to hear.

Arin nodded in agreement, as she calmed herself down before anything bad could happen.

Without saying anything else, Arin walked away from her spot. Lein quickly followed, glaring at Reina one last time.

"What, that's no fun~" Reina teased from behind. "All bark and no bite, I wonder what caused our graceful lady Aileen to be like this??" She raised her volume and laughed out loud.

Arin clenched her fists as she continued walking down the hallway with Lein, hoping to resolve the matter in other ways.

Reina was like the devil to her.

"First, we need to get back to Yuki," Lein said, drawing out his tablet and searching for information.

His eyes were peeled onto the screen, so Arin had to watch out for his steps to prevent accidents.

"Are you planning on using Yuki to suppress them?" Arin questioned, a frown appearing in her gentle face.

She was usually a calm and collected lady, but she utterly disliked it when someone poked at her using the past. She detested people like Reina.

She still couldn't get out the rage she exerted during the encounter with Reina. However, her mind had cooled down, at least better than before.

"...If it has to be done, then yes. We can't afford to lose Aria," Lein said.

Over the course of months, they have gotten closer with the foreign woman. They learned that the woman was very talented at her game and was even able to provide some input into their training. Large inputs.

She was a valuable resource no matter where she originated from.

"Got it," Arin also did not want to part with Aria.

If the other party wanted a full blown attack, then a full blown attack is what they will get.

______

White Fox and Reina carried Aria to a medical care room, where the unconscious woman was put in a hospital-type bed and healed lightly by the operators that worked around here.

After their objective was secured, White Fox had to leave due to unfortunate matters.

Now, only Reina and Aria were left inside the room.

During her slumber, Aria would sometimes flinch or jolt and make an uncomfortable gesture.

Reina scrutinized the sleeping woman. Before Aria was silently tucked into the bed, she had confirmed repeatedly that Aria was indeed not severely harmed after receiving an attack from White Fox.

Not to mention, according to her colleague, the girl should not only be proficient in the arts of summoning but also in close combat.

She didn't know where the woman had acquired her skills from, or if she was just that blessed to have so much talents at her disposal.

However, too many talents could become a hindrance as well. You could go down the path of being the jack of all trades, learning all but mastering none.

Reina observed the woman a little bit longer before diverting her attention to her mobile device.

After more than an hour passed, Aria began to regain her consciousness.

She struggled to get up as her body had lost most of its strength after bearing so much enhancements and intense fighting in that short period of time. Not to mention, the fatal attack White Fox directed at her.

"Urk.. God," Aria hurried to cover her head with her palm. She heard a sharp ringing sound inside her ear, making her wince painfully.

She had always detested loud noises, and a piercing one like this was hurting her severely.

"You have awoken," A light chuckle emerged from the sides.

This time, it was a voice she didn't recognize. It was of course, Reina.

"You.. are?" Aria weakly responded. Her throat was parched, and she could use a lot of water to rejuvenate her dried voice.

"Have some water first," Reina handed her a cup of warm water, which Aria took after checking that there were no strange substance hidden within the liquid.

Finishing the cup, her eyes landed back on Reina. She waited for the woman to explain.

"You are the last standing contestant from the Arena selection," Reina announced, clapping slowly as if to congratulate Aria.

Aria widened her eyes, then clicked her tongue.

"Don't joke around with me. White Fox was there, right? Take her then. I don't want to get involved in a shady transaction like this where an expert could just bolt in and disrupt the competition. I will withdraw," Aria declared.

It wasn't worth it. She was significantly weaker than the likes of White Fox anyway, her presence would not give an impact on the dungeon's subjugation. She would rather train until she could beat her peers since she fell behind the other's progress.

"Wow, wow there. Why are you freaking out? It was just a teaser for your eventual battle," Reina's gaze darkened as she started to view Aria as another obnoxious and ambitious newbie.

However, since they were the ones who wanted to recruit the woman, she let it slide. Even so, she despised those who choose to act haughty despite not having the qualifications to do so.

Aria was a bit excellent, but that wasn't enough warranty for her.

"Besides, White Fox's decision was something she made on her own. It has nothing to do with our actual group. Our squad leader opposed her plans, but she still barged right through. I don't know if it'll console you, but the girl is currently out to be punished by the leader," Reina sighed as she explained further.

"Could you tell me from what group did you come from?" Aria asked, wanting to investigate.

"I am from the Association, specifically the [Lichte] division," Reina announced with pride.