The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

Chapter 134: Going Back

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Five shots. Everything was directed at the snake with powerful aim. Each contained a powerful strength that Ilyin focused hard to manifest and direct towards.

One shot was evaded, another shot came right after. It merely gave a scratch to the snake's way, making it not really panic as it still had a lot of security. However, the third strike landed right on top of the second icicle, making it penetrate even further than what it originally had done. Then, the fourth struck in the same way. The fifth, the final blow, made the consecutive attacks drill in into the eye.

The shot pierced through the snake's eyes in a matter of seconds, making it scream and cry in agony. Its eyelids immediately came down, wanting to protect its weak spot from the intruders that invaded its lair. However, Ilyin was even quicker as more of her icicles came up to the other eye and pierced at the same spot repetitively, digging a hole into one point.

Its vision were blinded, and it soon bled heavily from those spots. Not long after, blood started being puked out of its mouth, and there was no more battle after that.

The snake struggled on its own, no longer able to attack as it was rendered blind and in serious pain. After minutes of continuous struggle, it finally plummeted down and no longer had any signs of life.

It was all over.

"...It's dead, right?" Alena questioned as she approached the carcass. Indeed, its life seemed to have evaporated. Alena heaved sighs of relief, feeling like she was wagering her life too much in the battles even though this was supposed to be an easy level, with its serial number being only two out of the upcoming hundred levels she was about to face.

Alena sat down as she asked began to locate the next dungeon's key, now a bit hesitant at what she should do. Naturally, Ilyin had wasted quite a bit of power and brought up the question of whether or not it would be safe to continue just like this.

Going back and resting should be a better option, especially knowing that she was just starting to get used to battles and did not aim for today's trip to be an extensive, expert trip. She was just testing the waters, and the System proved to her that the trials would still be hard even though her tower was specified to have a rather easy difficulty.

She held the newest dungeon key she obtained as she thought about going back home, and successfully received the warping effect that would transfer her back to the real world. When she returned, she immediately saw Aria in the middle of training her strikes. There was a melancholic look plastered to her face, as if she was trying to recall something instead of learning something new as she committed to her sword, which she learned to have the grand name [Halvargg].

Aria's movements were extremely fluid, and it was pleasing to look. Her attacks and stances would be akin to a perpetual, neverending dance, and every element would be new and surprising to witness. Even though she was not under the influence of any enhancement or additional effects, the woman was still able to yield this kind of fluidity in her motion, making Alena wonder if she was ever going to reach the same stage. Or at the very least, several stages below that kind of expertise.

She did not want to just stay behind her puppets like she did in the two dungeon floors. She just commanded the two puppets she relied upon instead of fighting by herself. Aria, on the other hand, utilized both her fighting power and cooperated with her spirits so well, like an expert commander that has been involved in large battles for years to no end. Unlike her, Alena was just a rookie commander that was still afraid of getting harmed, as part of her traumatic experiences' leftovers over the course of all the years she suffered.

Today, she actually took a step forward and left to battle on her own. Alone.

She felt proud about it, but knew that there was still so much that she could improve on, and that she would definitely get better at them.

Alena was sighing in awe as Aria did not stop even after she twirled and turned in the air, achieving athleticism was seemingly impossible to reach for the likes of a normal human.

Aria only started to lower herself down after she got off her focused mode and started to look towards Alena's way. Alena was still dazed as she lamented her fate. Aria, who was covered in quite the amount of sweat began approaching Alena and patted her on the shoulder after sheathing her sword.

"You are back? That was rather quick, how many floors did you clear?" Aria questioned.

"Two, big sister. Ilyin got a bit out of control with her power, so I was a little bit worried that her power wouldn't suffice for another dungeon. Her showcase is very explosive, and that made her energy output extremely high. For the first two floors, I would say that we cleared it rather quickly.. with the exception of one thing that differed from your case, big sister. You said that the carcasses for the monsters apart from the boss disappeared into fragments, didn't you? In my case, they stayed intact. I was a bit confused, but I just let it slide," Alena spoke as she laid down on the floor and rested. Despite not having engaged in combat herself, she was still a bit drained.

"..? It didn't disappear.. How could this be different?"

"I'm not sure myself, but some reason must be behind it? If not, the option wouldn't be there," Alena stated.

"Right.. The System would not make a blunder this large, so there must be a reason for it.. Non disappearing carcasses, and the Tower holder is you. In this case, shouldn't it be that the Tower is allowing you to take control over the monsters you defeated and turn them into puppets?" Aria deduced. It suited Alena's power, and it would explain why the disparity was there.

"..Would that really be the answer? I will try it next time I go inside the Tower.. But not today. The System also hasn't given me any new information, so.. what do you think I should do?" Alena tilted her head as she questioned. She wasted a little bit more than half an hour inside the Tower, so the day was still bright and she had a lot of time to spend.

Aria was silent for a few seconds as she thought deeply. She later came with a conclusion, and began her long speech.

"...First of all, I think you desperately need physical training. I forgot to mention this to you, but Control classes like ours, Summoners and Puppeteers, literally can not exist peacefully without strength and mental training. You also have to learn stealth well if you want to command your army and act as a scout. You need to learn to mask your magical abilities, and protect yourself well in the cases where you go inside your puppets' body and operate them. Only by doing all of that would you be spared from dying an early death from being targeted by your enemies and being left defenceless. However, on top of all, I want you to improve on your physical strength first. Remember the insect dungeon? Where I had to run all the time, and it absolutely decimated my muscles right after? I'm not asking you to perform as well as I did, but I want you to be able to have enough stamina. To resist fatigue and battle for a long time. Because you are going to need it someday," Aria lectured the little child, who just listened attentively as she took notes from her words.

Indeed, she was also thinking about that. What would be the fastest way? Fitness? System rewards?

No. The answer was right before her, the person who was riddled with power and skills that hasn't even been fully explored yet as of today, the mysterious woman Aria Schreiner with undiscoverable origins.

"If you are saying that, big sister, then you must mean to imply that.. I..." Alena slowly spoke, watching as Aria's expression slowly morphed into a smirk as she wiped off the sweat that had formed on her skin.

"Of course, I will be the one to train you. I will make sure that you get absolutely heavenly progress if you just stick around with me.. and never quit no matter how hard it will be. Believe me, it will be worth it in the end if you triumph over others just because of your physical benefits despite everybody believing that you are a long ranged mage that can't really do close combat,"

Aria was speaking from experience, because a lot of her terrifying qualities sourced from her ability to alternate between magic and pure power, which provided her with an essential balance that no one else had to the degree that Aria cultivated them to.