NOVEL NEXT Chapter 87: Unconditional Trust
She scanned over the contents and widened her eyes.
"This.." Aria bit her lips as she carefully digested the information given to her. Her eyes kept looming forward, checking Alena's condition.
The girl was relaxed, looking back at Aria with glee inside her eyes.
Aria was tensed at first, but she slowly composed herself, flipping through the papers and grabbing more from the suitcase Alena brought.
"You don't need to be in such a hurry, big sister. Nothing will snatch those from you. I have a copy of all of them anyway," Alena chuckled, reminding Aria, who was now reading the data in a high frequency.
Don't even try to disrupt her, clearly she was holding peerless stacks of information! How could Alena be willing to give this to her? It was too convenient that it made Aria uncomfortable knowing that the girl was openly giving this to her.
She worried that she would not be able to see this once again. Although Aria hadn't assessed the credibility of the news, the amount of detail and precision provided made it almost unbelievable if this was all falsified information.
In addition to Alena's promises, Aria was almost completely sure that this was factual news.
She took the chance as best as she could. She memorized every single word on the paper, making sure that she wouldn't forget.
Written on the papers were names of the other six <Players>, including their serial number, quirks, and powers. Although their personal information wasn't described in detail, it let Aria know roughly how the other <Players> worked.
However, her attention was caught by this particular section. About herself and her powers.
Alena wrote down the fact that Aria possessed knowledge of the ancient times, and complex understanding on fighting abilities.
It also stated that she was an Adaptor, which Aria already knew just by looking at her status. However, on the explanation about this, Aria was surprised to find that there were actually no information written down.
She was also curious about herself, since Aria did not know the full extent on how she should wield her power.
Having her knowledge exposed also made her somewhat insecure.
Even so, compared to the other <Players> and the additional information's amount, her part was a lot smaller.
She wondered if Alena was deliberately keeping the information away because Aria was the one reading it. She honestly wanted to know to what extent Alena knew about her, and there was actually still the possibility of the child concealing the others' complete information as well.
The wager Aria put up was not as much as what Alena would be losing, after all. Even though the child couldn't maximize the usage's potential, she could've extorted much more if the information she gave was to this extent.
"This.. Why is my section not as packed as the others?" Aria questioned, observing Alena's reaction along with it.
"About this matter.. I'm also troubled. I tried to seek big sister's information with my ability, but it seems to be blocked by something. Really convenient, ah. If even I, assisted by the System, can't peek into it, who can?" Alena puffed her cheeks, pouting at remembering her attempts in trying to jot down Aria's information.
Aria's brows furrowed, not expecting the truth to be that way. "Is this all the information? Or are you keeping some a secret for yourself? I don't mind if that was the case,"
"If we are talking about the Tower and <Player> identity, then the answer is no. The paper you are holding, what is written on it is exactly what I've learned from the System, word by word," Alena answered.
This caught Aria by a shock.
Both a pleasant and an unpleasant one.
To talk about this exchange, Aria was actually starting to become apprehensive and worried.
As of now, the plan benefited Aria, but not so much for the little girl, especially since not even a down payment had been made from Aria's side. The girl was still untaught, and yet she already gave literally everything.
They weren't even sure if Aria could help Alena yet.
Although it was a lucky thing for her, Aria couldn't help but worry for the child's naivety. Almost to the brink of stupidity.
Aria somehow had the ability to attract gullible people who were easy to work around with.
"Hey.. what if I just suddenly run away with these information without giving you my end of the deal? Isn't this too much of a loss for you?" Aria questioned. "And about the help I'm supposed to give you.. what if it doesn't work out between us two?"
"I trust big sister's character enough to know that she would not do that," Alena giggled. "My System tells me quite a lot of things, you know.. Even some troublesome things that I don't want to hear," her voice grew strangely quite towards the end of her sentence.
"Thus, I have practically 'predicted' the chain of events and timeline starting from this point onwards. And my future fate definitely concerns you, big sister. If not, I wouldn't be taking this large of a deal," Alena assured the elder.
"Really...?" Aria couldn't fully believe it, but Alena looked so convincing despite being a child. She had utter confidence in every word she spoke.
"Of course. Is there anything else that I could perhaps help big sister at? I will help you with the best of my abilities," Alena offered, asking sweetly.
Aria thought for a moment before raising her statement.
"Well, to be honest, I do have one thing that I'm troubled over.." Aria spoke. "And that concerns my current goal, which is to become a Summoner,"
Alena stilled for a moment before continuing.
"Ao, isn't big sister already a Summoner?" Alena tilted her head, confused.
Alena was aware of the spirits Aria had as her companions, so hearing that made her contemplate.
She did not receive the excessive details from her System, so naturally the matter about Aria's status and how she wasn't registered as a Summoner wouldn't be revealed. The methods she used to contract Dianthe and Rallaka would also not be revealed.
"Well.. If you count Rallaka and Dianthe, then I guess you could say that I'm a Summoner.. I also believe that I should already be qualified, but the System won't recognize it. Judging by the situation, they probably want me to acquire that reward from somewhere related to a Quest or a dungeon," Aria frowned. "They are not considering my prior knowledge,"
How long must she grind for in order to find a Summoning technique? As long as she gets a hold on just one Summoning technique, Aria was confident in her ability to abuse that one spell in order to get her level up higher and higher.
What word did people use to describe Aria's career as a Summoner back then? Fanatic. Some would say that she was also eccentric. Or both.
She studied the arts of Summoning to highest degree, to the point where she would be able to chant the spells she knew backwards word by word, reciting it within her sleep, when she was drowning, burning, or anything.
"I see.. Summoning abilities, is it? I will research on this matter and get back to you as soon as I find something," Alena noted down Aria's request in her own device, preparing to make plans on how she should approach this question.
Looking at the serious Alena, Aria actually found similarities between the girl and Lein, who was also talented in information gathering and researching. He was also an exemplary strategist, but unfortunately, he has never stepped into the battlefield. Although Aria never asked why, it brought her attention to the qualities these two people shared.
Their talents were in the same field, and their inability to fight were also the same, although it might result from different causes.
Aria's attention was then brought to the <Players>' information once more.
There were seven names in total, matched with their Tower number.
Tower One, Leticia Ishtar
Tower Two, Cain Arthur
Tower Three, Dion Allegra
Tower Four, Maria Levronka
Tower Five, Alena Croft
Tower Six, Yoo Jin
Tower Seven, Aria Schreiner
She was placed at number seven, which matched the order or the <Player> registration. Similarly, Yoo Jin was registered at number six since he was the last one to emerge before her.
Those seven names were carefully dissected by Aria. Out of seven, six of them sounded foreign to South Korean origins, but somehow three of the list were collected here at the small nation.
Aria mused. "How come there are so many <Players> situated in South Korea? Won't that ruin the balance? Everyone is here, how will the resources or anything or that sort fare?" she questioned.
"Actually, no," Hearing Aria's words, Alena's expression hardened as she spoke.
"...Hm?" Aria wondered why Alena made that sudden change.
"The number of <Players> gathered in South Korea.. Is not just three," Alena slowly said. "There are four individuals here,"