Chapter 26: Chance
The short statement did not only declare the realization of a rookie team's creation, but also formed a border that indicated the Association's judgement to secure the dungeon as their own.
Individual teams and managements outside of the Association existed.
Although the Association held the most power, they couldn't trigger the small communities either.
Those small communities helped the nation survive outside of the Association's reach.
The Association couldn't stretch their hands to every dilemma, so it was a given that other entities would sprout out of nowhere, possessing certain gifted and talented people that strove to protect themselves without being under the Association.
They helped to solve cases that escaped their radar. It was profitable for both them and the Association, so a consensual peace was made.
The only linkage that existed was the Hunter status.
The Hunter card, which could only be obtained after you go through the mandatory screening inside the Association proved to be their identity.
It would allow them to enter dungeons that matched their levels, and would also open connections to other Hunters for teaming up and cooperation.
Every Hunter had to have a Hunter card. They were all Hunters, outside of their alignments and teams.
With the Association's clear declaration that the gate will belong to Athena, their own individual team, it would arouse other entities' anger and displeasure without a doubt.
Not only was the Association announcing this without prior discussion with other renowned entities, it would mean that the A-ranked dungeon's rewards would now solely belong to the Association.
People asked. Why were they doing that?
For what reason?
A new individual team sprouting inside the Association.
It had the possibility to become a 'favored' team, with the Association granting them good resources that'll pump up their development and growth faster than anybody else.
Was the Association trying to break the balance within each faction?
This clear favoritism was bound to bring backlash.
A turmoil began.
People suspected that the ranks would soon change.
In truth, the Association was just a super large entity that held the most fame. It didn't really differ from other entities created by fellow Hunters.
A rebelling faction would definitely appear to oppose the Association sometime soon, no?
___
After finishing her casual raid, Aria was now fully clothed and safe to tour the world.
It was mindblowing.
Within each area, she encountered different things she hadn't seen before.
The technology. The architecture. The culture.
She was addicted with taking in the new surroundings. Learning about new things. Being exposed to the foreign world and its knowledge.
Different colored lights that weren't made by magic. Loud sounds and cheery music accompanied by interesting designs everywhere. It was very merry, almost overwhelming.
The fact that no one brought weapons and donned clothes that would definitely endanger them if a monster appeared was also surprising.
The more Aria saw, the more she couldn't fathom what the world had become. It was like a completely different world.
'How come all the monsters are sealed within dungeons now?' Aria wondered.
Not to mention, the dungeons had their own space. A large space.
It had proper life. Not only the monsters, but their ecosystem was also brought in.
Aria saw the insides of the dungeon. She was baffled by how complete it was.
Food, water, and shelter.
The three basic needs were fulfilled.
It made living sustainable for a certain period of time.
After the resources were finished, that was when they start to break free from the gate. To continue sustaining their lives.
Whoever planned this 'dungeon gate' idea was nuts in the head. Each dungeon was a small world.
One gate was taxing enough. The gate number was increasing by the hundreds across the world. This meant that each gate, which contained a separate world inside, drew mana from who knows who.
Aria, who understood the mechanisms behind the gates could only fail to comprehend how this was possible. This was certainly not a natural phenomenon, seeing as to how the monsters were tidily separated and packaged into the gates for the humans to discover one by one.
It started from weak gates, then proceeded to spiral into stronger ones.
It was a planned effort, surely. By someone out there who had enough power to do it all.
How absurd.
'I should go to somewhere with less people..." Aria trailed off the main road and escaped to a secluded place since she felt slightly dizzy from the oncoming traffic jam of information.
"Why is this gate open?" Aria narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized the gate hidden behind a set of white mist.
She saw people pass through the alleyway without noticing anything, even though a gate was supposed to bring fear to the common people.
There seemed to be a mist covering the spatial membrane.
Something that would normally not be detected unless you had special skills catered to illusory magic.
However, Aria was not someone who relied solely on her obtained skills. She possessed valuable experience that honed her to be the best Summoner.
With her keen perception, she was able to detect a so-called weak point.
A place where the mist was not as highly concentrated, thus providing less concealment.
It revealed the mist, allowing her to look into it.
'Quite impressive, but not enough.' To Aria, it was still the work of an amateur.
Without using a dispelling skill, she administered her mana to infuse itself with the mist.
She made it travel towards the 'weak point' of the mist.
Slowly, she transferred more mana into the mist and overpowered the other party's own energy.
Her mana ate up the mist bit by bit.
In no time, the white mist disappeared without a trace.
It revealed a psychedelic spatial membrane, the one she was familiar with after her previous journey into a dungeon.
'Why would there be a mist covering it up?'
'No one is guarding it at that.'
Her first theory was that the person inside didn't come with proper certification, just like Yoo Jin and the rest.
'Should I...?' Aria was interested in this scenario.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone