Chapter 18: Trickery
She asked Yoo Jin about the matter and found out that it was irregular. The whole absorbing thing with the rune.
Which led her to rethink her peculiar job.
<Adapter>.
The power she received. She could only interpret the feature as things that came with her power. It seemed like instead of directly giving her strength, it focused more on the features and mechanics.
It would not be something that benefited her power-wise, but her foundations, the basics she possessed, everything would be powered up. More than normal.
As compensation, her growth rate was very slow.
It was a trade she was more than willing to take.
Also, what would the other option, Conquer be? Could it be, the whole dungeon would be hers?
'There's no guide on this.. So I have to find out and learn from my own experience.' Aria's desire to clear another dungeon and test the other option spiked up considerably.
"Kid, how can I enter more dungeons? Preferably alone."
Aria knew that she would have to fight other hunters if she had to go in with a set team. Unless the party was arranged by her, with full understanding of her circumstances, her growth would be hindered.
She's starting from zero. With no acquaintances or anything. She doubted that she would get very far if she took the righteous way and did not cheat the system. The current system seemed to be very troublesome and picky.
'Remembering the party I once had makes me reluctant to do so as well.'
Betrayal.
No matter how loyal one was at a certain point, they could have a 180° change anytime. The risks would always be present. Human hearts were rotten in the core.
She was given a second chance. Her wariness increased, but her goal.. if it was still possible, she wanted to try one more time.
Achieving Unity.
She was confident that she could handle the dungeons solo. For now, she learned that her maximum output was that of a low tier C rank dungeon. This was also considering the fact that she had to use [Hymn of Life]. A skill that she would preferably refrain from using if possible due to its drawbacks.
She had to be careful, as she didn't know how large the disparity between the low tier and the middle or high tier of the same dungeon rank was.
Another problem was her mana depletion.
She had to find a source of mana that wasn't her own.
There were many ways to get to that point, but her mind leaned towards trying to summon a creature that could temporarily act as her mana bank. A method she used in the past. But no reasonable creature came to mind.
Her biggest fear was running out of mana on a high physical resistance monster.
Looking at the fight earlier, the monsters had existed even back in her time. Which would mean that she'd start seeing other familiar monsters as well.. including those who physical attackers dreaded.
Spiritual monsters, like Dianthe, for example, had to be exterminated through a magical attack.
This was why a party had to be balanced.
Swordsman and berserkers were common physical attackers. Paladins and tanks as the defense, mages and priests as the supports. Assassins, archers, and hunters as the stealth team. Of course, the deviations like summoners, battle maidens, and other jobs were viable as well, but the ones listed were the commonly found ones.
Every single role had to be filled up to guarantee everybody's safety.
In her case, she had all the elements lying in her summons, so she was able to form a sturdy army by herself.
A one man army that had her as the center of it all.
The only problem was, all of that was reset. And the rules that applied back then couldn't be applied to today.
"Hmm.. there are associations and guilds that can purchase and reserve the dungeon, but the cost is astronomical. Sane people usually enters with a party anyways.. Well, there are cases where high - ranked hunters enter alone or with a small party, but they'd have to be the leaders, or an important member of their guild to have such authority." Yoo Jin explained. He was quite knowledgeable.
"Guilds.. no, I don't want to do that. Any other option?"
"These kinds of dungeons, I guess?" Yoo Jin crossed his arms.
Aria raised a brow. In response, the young boy sighed and began to explain.
Aria was informed of how the dungeon system works, and how they had to be reported and analyzed in order to obtain basic information like ranks and the categories.
"This dungeon is a C-rank, right? Well, the trio I brought here thought that it was D-ranked and agreed to enter. This dungeon was not yet analyzed, and they ended up making a rash decision like that. That's why, although you can enter these dungeons, it'll be equivalent to risking your life if your prediction of the dungeon's grade is false." Yoo Jin explained.
'Something's weird..' Aria frowned.
She spun her mind around to find out what was amiss.
Finally, she came across one strange factor.
"...Kid, what level are you?" She asked.
"Hm? 23, but?" Yoo Jin replied.
Aria realized how weird the coincidences were.
"What a crafty brat you are." Aria narrowed her eyes.
"..Why?" Yoo Jin asked, not minding the comment.
"I got 70000 EXP from the Ogre. You said that whoever contributed the most to the monster's death would gain the same amount of EXP as their percentage of damage. You did around 2000 damage. That's one sixth of the HP."
"In short, simple maths: you should've earned 14000 EXP from the Ogre, in addition to the 15000 EXP from the dungeon quest, you should've gained 29000 EXP in total, enough to level up by one level, not two."
Aria's observation skills were top-notch. This was a result of her years of experience, she paid attention to every single detail.
Staring down at the silent Yoo Jin, she paid him no heed as she continued to ramble on the facts.
Yoo Jin's unintentional slip was caught by her.
"You said that once more than half a party dies, the gate would be opened for a short while. You purposely led them here and acted like you couldn't fight."
"Your strength at level 7 was enough to take care of some of the wolves, but you wanted to watch and stand still."
"My arrival was not in your expectations, but you wanted to use me as well and gain some experience. See who I am.."
"My guess is, it's not that you live nearby, but because you want to purposely fight... And, you have a specific quest to clear this dungeon, huh?" Aria looked at the child with menace. "Or else, you would be at level 22 by now."
Yoo Jin grinned.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone