Chapter 79: Meeting

Once she got all set for the outing, Aria went downstairs to grab a meal.

There, she found Lein laying down on the couch and Arin sitting by the table.

"Good morning, you two," Aria greeted.

"Good morning. I see that you've came back. That is great, but.. how come I didn't hear anything from you?" Arin questioned, gesturing for Aria to come and take a seat with her.

Aria shrugged, feeling awkward over this obviously sensitive topic. "I was too tired, so I just went straight for my room and collapsed,"

"I meant during your entire outing. What happened? I saw you with [Lichte]," Arin's tone grew sharper as she mentioned [Lichte].

Aria began to have complications inside her heart. Clearly, just by this one display, she could tell that Arin was not all that fond of [Lichte], for unknown reasons.

"Oh.. nothing much. They just briefed about the dungeon's matters, which is mostly what Lein had acquired anyway. They also challenged me to some.. peculiar trials. I passed them, and came back yesterday. That's it," Aria said, spewing half truths without batting an eye.

Arin pursed her lips as she took a bite out of the bread she had for breakfast. "I see,"

The atmosphere was awkward, but Aria survived and engaged in small talks with Arin.

Aria's mind was weighing on her heart.

"...Hey," Aria called out.

"Hm?" With her eyes peeled onto whatever literature she was reading, Arin hummed without looking up at Aria.

"Say, if I made a mistake, one that is hard to recover from.. what would happen to us?"

"As long as it is not detrimental to our team as a whole, I can safely say that it's your freedom. We are not at all entitled to your every actions," Arin calmly looked up and stared into Aria's eyes. "Though, you saying that would mean.. you've done something, right?"

"No. Not yet. I asked just in case,"

"Although, I answered that question out of my own perspective. I can't say the same about the others, alright? To begin with, our team is very diverse, and our reactions might differ quite far," Arin added. "You might as well go around and ask that question to everybody while you're at it,"

"I don't think I need to do that now.. Unless, you want me to make a mistake?" Aria asked.

"Everybody makes mistakes. It's just a matter of how well they redeem themselves and recover from said mistake. Don't you think so?"

"Redemption.. huh? What if the mistake is an unforgivable one? Will you stay by your words?"

By saying this, Aria was reminded of the cursed day. The start of her suffering.

An unforgivable mistake she went through.

Or was it? Ever since the vague information that elapsed over her memory got triggered, she began to have this strange doubt on whether what Azef did was with a fully concrete reason.

Even so, she could not freely forgive the man. She did not have it in her heart to do so.

"I believe in the philosophy in which everybody should have the chance to redeem themselves. Only, the more severe their mistakes are.. the harder the complication will be. If that is the case, then said person might not even be able to redeem themselves at all. Isn't that practically the same thing as not forgiving?" Arin said.

"We are stating that they could possibly redeem themselves, but whether or not they actually have the capability to do so is a different story. The world is grey, Aria. There is no bad or good people, there is only a matter of perspective,"

"..I somehow got pulled into a philosophical talk right off the bat," Aria sighed. "Ah, right. I'm going out again in the afternoon, someone is picking me up,"

"May I ask who?"

"Just.. someone who requested my help. I told them that they could seek me out and discuss the matter further when I'm free,"

"I see," Arin did not ask much about it and continued on with her own things.

"Then... I'll be going now," Aria waved and bid her goodbyes.

Going back to her room, Aria sat down on the couch and waited for the little girl's arrival, which was expected to be in a few minutes.

Just like that, the girl really did come like she had promised.

Alena, still wearing doll-like clothing, showed up by her doorsteps and summoned Aria outside.

The two went inside Alena's car, which was a luxurious model priced at a high value. Even though Aria was not all that familiar with cars, she could tell that the one Alena had was special.

The girl's chauffeur drove them to a cafe, where both of them entered and sat down by a table after ordering coffee.

"So.. shall we start our talks?" Aria said.

"Sure, you may start first. I will answer your questions to the best of my ability," Alena promised.

"First of all.. Hm, how much do you know about me?" Aria looked piercingly at the young girl. She looked no older than 12, but her manner of speech and way of thinking exceeded that age. "And, don't address me as Miss. Just call me by name, or some other title,"

"That... is a difficult question to answer. Miss- I mean, Big Sister is a peculiar one. I don't have a definite answer," Alena looked away and pursed her lips.

"To be exact, I just found out another of your perks in your past fight," Alena said. "Like I described before, I don't have full control over my power. I can tweak it to a certain degree, but it's not like all information are thrown towards my way without any consideration at all,"

Aria nodded, agreeing as the girl's words made sense.

"Forgive me for saying this, but you have been under my watch ever since you got registered as a <Player>. Your first dungeon boss fight. Does that ring a bell?" Alena asked.

"The <Red Ogre>?" Aria recalled.

"Yes. When the large boulder was sent to Yoo Jin's direction, you rushed to help him. You were fated to get hit by the <Red Ogre>.. It was a sure kill,"

"But you escaped your death. In a split second, your future.. No. Your fate changed. You endured, stood up, and changed the course of fate. And when I tried to look into your future... it was pitch black," Alena said.

'..Alena's skill isn't omnipotent. She doesn't know that I gained the [Armor Break], an absolute defense skill.' The fate Alena saw was that of the Aria that didn't possess her absolute skill.

'She missed the vital information, but even if she did.. the events she acquired were all accurate.'

Aria was checking out how much Alena would prove to be someone useful to her.

'Which means.. Alena's skill only accounts for someone's condition the moment they check it.. If something happens the next second, she can't see it?' Aria pursed her lips as she thought.

'That's a win for me.'

Not only would it benefit her moderately, it also meant that her own things were protected to a certain degree.

Aria coughed lightly.

"Then, what do you know about the System?"

Aria was curious about this matter.

What on Earth was this System that selected them out of nowhere, placed them into difficult situation, and planned so much things without even having a single trace on what entity was behind all of this?

Who had the power to orchestrate everything?

Alena grew silent for a moment before continuing.

"Perhaps it may be because my powers are still weak, but I only know a little bit. For example, big sister Aria is the last <Player> to be elected. There won't be any more to come,"

"Elaborate," Aria raised a brow.

"The other <Players> will only receive a notification saying that a seventh <Player> appeared. They will receive the basic information, but I am different. With my gimmick, I am able to receive more information. Big sister is definitely the final member. The owner of the Seventh Tower,"

"In a sense, I am like a supervisor.. or a monitor for the events. With this, I know that your companion, <Player> Yoo Jin, received a quest to clear the dungeon you entered,"

"..!" Aria was shocked. She was able to know this much.

Her suspicions on Yoo Jin on that time were indeed proven directly by the child before her.

The dragon boy indeed had ideas about using her for his own good. It did not anger Aria because the events ended up with her getting together with a team.

However, with the proofs Alena was willing to give her, Aria drew a conclusion.

Alena's power.. it would pose to be a dangerous force if left in the right hands.

"This is not 'a little bit' of information, is it?" Aria raised a brow, smirking playfully. "I still don't see why.. you need to rely on me?"

"Information is only valuable when you know how to use it," Alena sighed.