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nRita was not sulking. She would deny it if Aurora pointed out that she was sulking. She was just disappointed at the outcome of their discussion with Astoria.

n“Stop sulking. Astoria did not say no to our request. She just asked for some time before deciding on this topic.” Aurora remembered.

nShe was not worried about Astoria taking her time before deciding on her offer.

nAstoria had been conditioned to follow the Tower’s orders all her life. Going against that conditioning would take time.

n“But still. She should have gone with better words. I don’t think her ‘No. I can’t join you for some time’ meant the same thing as ‘I’ll think about it.'” Rita did have a point.

nBut Aurora knew what she had felt from Astoria. The female was interested but there might be something she needed to resolve first.

n“She’ll join us for sure. But for now, we should focus on you. Since we’re here, you should take the opportunity to battle some of these monsters.” Aurora points out.

nThe smaller monsters were docile and won’t be a problem. But there were a few exceptions on the first floor that could prove to be a challenge.

nAurora watched Rita work around the larger opponents. Her summons made quick work of the mindless beasts in front of her.

n“She’s better than I expected. Her one stats are not great but her summons makes up for it.” Aurora observed. Since Rita was holding up better than expected, it was time to move her plan to the next level.

n“Rita, come back. We’ll be trying something more challenging for you next.” Aurora gestured to her side.

nHer voice caused Rita to turn around and lose concentration. The summoned familiar looked confused at the abrupt magic cut-off and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

nThe surviving monsters did not have this problem. They attacked Rita’s defenseless form. Rita appeared to be an easier target without her familiars by her side.

nBut Rita had learned in a short amount of time. Her moment was better than before and her agility helped her dodge the slow monsters.

n“Sure. Give me a second and I’ll be with you shortly.” Rita replied. Aurora watched her take care of the larger enemies without her familiars.

nAurora had finished writing her letter to the outlanders in the meantime. She allowed the blue messenger bird to fly away. It would find an opening to reach the surface soon enough.

n“So, what’s the plan now? These monsters just look tough but are really easy to take care of.” Rita bragged.

nAurora did not burst her bubble by telling her that giant monsters were some of the weakest in the abyss.

nInstead, she opened the system archive she had been working on. There were ancient goods available on every abyss floor. It was a matter of finding them.

nAnd the first floor held a golden apple for Rita.

n“Rita, most of your magical familiars are Tower gifted, right? You will lose access to them once the tower realizes you are with me. We will need to get you more familiars.” Aurora pointed out.

nRita looked uncomfortable at her words but she did not deny them. The tower was ruthless in allowing anyone possession of their tools.

n“I know. Do you have any idea for my potential familiars?” Rita asked. She did not sound disappointed at the loss of her life-long familiars.

nThen again, most of her familiars were mindless puppets that followed her command. There was not much room for bonding.

nAnd those familiars were also weak. They would not be able to keep up with the tower’s dangers once they crossed the fifth floor.

n“Every floor of the tower has at least one hidden treasure room. Anyone who passes this trial is awarded a special reward. Would you like to guess the trail for the first floor?” Aurora asked.

nRita’s face lit up. But Aurora could feel worry mixed in with that hope.

n“Are you sure that is a good idea? If this is such an important treasure, won’t the abyss be guarding it heavily?” Rita asked. She was right to worry as well.

nRita did have a point. The Tower would not leave such a crucial resource unguarded.

n“Don’t worry about it. I have a plan. But I won’t be able to go in with you. Do you still want to try?” Rita looked conflicted.

nAurora did not doubt the red-head. The red-head had passed the trail in Aurora’s past timeline around this time as well. The familiarity she had gotten was a crucial one for Rita’s development.

nBut Aurora decided not to tell all that to Rita. She needed Rita to come to terms with her strength on her own.

n“Alright. Let’s do this.” it did not take long for Rita to come to that conclusion.

nAnd finally, things were starting to move. Aurora had a plan to execute and powers to gather.

nThe trail room had a huge crowd outside it. Unlike the more difficult floors, the first one did not ask for you to register yourself before taking the trail.

nThere were too many people to keep track of and too much formality to look through. The guards were lax and allowed most people in without looking.

n“Go. I will make sure that you are not questioned at the gate.” Aurora assured her before she gave Rita a shove in the trail’s direction.

nAurora could see a guard notice them. He had a photo in his hand and Aurora knew he had recognized Rita.

nBut before he could reach her, Aurora blocked his way.

n“Let me through. I need to get to that girl.” the guard whispered. It was low enough for only Aurora’s ears.

nThe guard was wise and greedy as well. Aurora could feel his desire to monopolize the prize money by capturing Rita.

nAurora could not allow that to happen. She had invested too much in Rita to allow such greedy people to take her away.

n“Aww. And here I was thinking of helping you.” Aurora replied back with a similar voice level. Her expression was dark and her next words made the guard freeze.

nAurora was a hunter, the guard her prey. She would end him here. The guard was far younger, practically a teen at this point.

n“I’m sure your debts will not pay themselves even if you got your hands on the prize money. But I can pay them off for you.” Aurora’s tone was suggestive but playful.

nThe guard looked startled at being found out but it was not hard to guess. Most of the guards on the first floor were lazy and had a bad temper.

nMost also had a gambling addiction which landed them in huge debts. And Aurora had learned to recognize those types.

n“N-No. There is no need for that young lady. I was never here and I did not see anything.” The guard hesitated but decided Rita was not worth the hassle.

nAurora’s words might have sounded innocent at first but they were codes used in underground society.

nAurora had learned to recognize those codes and even speak them when she joined the resistance.

nShe watched the guard go back to the other guards. Aurora did not care what story the guard fabricated to fool the other guards.

nBut she was not taking any chances. She had utilized her system to attack a small fragment of it the guard.

nThe system would keep him quiet and also ensure that the guard did not spill about Aurora or Rita to anyone.

nSystem Alert.

nUser

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