The name was Olivia Winston.
She was the only child of a wealthy businesswoman and single mother, Julia Winston, the same woman who befriended Anna Lee.
Olivia lived a well-off life, and all her wishes could be granted with just one word. However, growing up in a world where monsters existed meant that the girl had to live away from the hustle and bustle of the city and social life, in a place where dungeon breaks never happened. She never even had a formal education other than homeschooling; as a result, she had no experience making friends.
Her mother was a busy woman, and she didn't spend much time with Olivia. Olivia was often left with nannies, and her social relationships were limited to servants and bodyguards.
Thanks to them, she hardly ever played with dolls or had drinking tea parties like other girls her age. Every day she played in the backyard, playing baseball or swordfighting. The masculine vibes and energy made Olivia a tomboy.
Also, all the bodyguards were awakeners. Seeing and interacting with them every day created a desire in her mind to be like them, to be an awakener. And luckily, fate was on her side.
Olivia experienced an awakening, and she became an A-class awakener.
Armed with kendo martial arts and self-confidence, Olivia was determined to step out of her comfort zone to pursue her dreams. After getting certified, she received dozens of invitations to join guilds, and her choice fell on the House of Blacksmith.
However, since Olivia joined the guild, she had realized that being a professional awakener was not easy. She had to risk her life in the dungeon and face hundreds of monsters that wanted to devour her. Olivia, who had never killed before, found it difficult to adapt.
The guild tolerated her at first, but after twenty raids, Olivia still couldn't kill a single monster. Even though she had extraordinary talent, if she didn't contribute to the raid, she would only slow down the party.
In the end, her fate was now unlucky. She became a loaned awakener in a small guild in Manhattan. If, after the loan period expired, Olivia did not show progress, she would be expelled from the House of Blacksmith.
"Ah shit! What are we really doing here?" Olivia grumbled and dropped her body to the floor.
It was twelve o'clock in the afternoon when the awakeners stopped practicing. Some left the training hall to eat lunch outside, and some chose to rest inside.
Seven days had passed since Olivia became a loan awakener at the Rays of Hope, and during that time she had been confined to this stuffy, hot basement. Together with her two companions, she did nothing but train and fight.
"We should be fighting drakes or ogres, but instead we're in this damn place."
The man sitting next to her, Akio, could only sigh as he heard Olivia whining. After downing some cold water from the bottle, he said, "Yeah, even if it's a small guild, we can at least raid the indigo or blue dungeons. I heard there were two dungeon breaks in Harlem this morning."
"We're just guests. We shouldn't complain. We were loaned out to other guilds because we didn't contribute enough." A well-built man chimed in.
"But why aren't they raiding the dungeon, Mike? It's weird to think that they hired us for a month just to do this shit. Is the guild owner up to something?" Akio scratched his temple.
Olivia got up and sat on the floor. "No, you're overthinking it. He's just a fool."
With a look of surprise, Akio and Michael turned to Olivia simultaneously.
Before they came here, they had gotten information from Benjamin that the owner of Rays of Hope was not Justin Law. They were not surprised that Justin was just a figurehead. What surprised them was the fact that the owner of this guild was only an eighteen-year-old kid, Klaus Lee.
In front of the media, Justin declared that he would be the leader of the awakeners for Manhattan. The media was quite welcoming, and positive news about him often surfaced even though the guild he led had yet to gain any achievements.
If a young man was able to control the media and a famous figure from behind the scenes, that person must not be just anyone. And Olivia called that person a blatant fool. That's like deliberately digging her own grave.
Michael hissed. "I know you have a problem with that guy, but you need to be professional. We're working for him."
"That's right, Olivia. He may have let you off yesterday, but we don't know what happens next if you keep bringing up your problems. We'll both be dragged down," Akio whispered worriedly.
Olivia still couldn't forget about yesterday. She couldn't accept that people trusted Klaus more than her. She already had hatred for Klaus, and her stubbornness made her hate him even more.
"I am not afraid. A pervert is still a pervert. Just because that Klaus boy became a guild owner—aw!"
Before she could finish her words, something hit her head. Akio and Michael raised their eyebrows as they saw the water bottle rolling onto the floor. Someone had just intentionally thrown the bottle at her.
Rubbing her head, Olivia stood up and got angry. "Who threw this bottle!?"
A chuckling girl's voice echoed through the air, and Oliva turned her head in the direction where the voice came from. Her eyes widened as she saw a blonde girl laughing at her.
She was the girl who had been running around the training hall.
"You—! What's your problem?" Olivia pointed at her.
"That hurts, right? My ears hurt more listening to your babbling. If you don't know anything about Klaus, you better shut up. You're just making yourself look stupid." The girl twisted her mouth as she scoffed at Olivia.
Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Who the hell are you!?"
Putting her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest, the blonde girl smugly said, "You're so stupid that you don't know me."
The pulse in Olivia's temple throbbed. "Just tell me your name!" she snarled.
The girl snorted. "I'm Joanne Lee. My brother owns this guild."
Instantly, Olivia chuckled, while Akio and Michael shook their heads simultaneously. They had just talked about the person behind one of his families. They could not imagine what trouble would come.
But Olivia did not care.
"Just because you're the sister of that pervert, you think you can do whatever you want? Brother or sister is the same," Olivia scoffed.
"Well, my big brother isn't stupid enough to get hard with a woman like you. You think I don't know that those boobies are just silicone." Joanna pointed at Olivia's massive breast.
"You—!" Olivia gasped. "This is real! Look at this!" She bounced her two breasts, and they jiggled like pudding. "See! If mine were silicone, they wouldn't be like this. Just say you're jealous! Yours is a wooden plank!"
"Cough!"
Olivia's words pierced Joanna's chest like a needle. Of course, the blonde-haired girl was not to be outdone either.
"My chest is flat because nutrients flow to the brain, not to that fat blob. That's why you're so stupid!"
"What!?" Olivia exclaimed.
The two started yelling and mocking their flaws at each other. Their shouts echoed and attracted the attention of people who were resting in the training hall.
"You're a loser who was banished from the guild! Trash awakener!" Joanna taunt.
Olivia gave an equally annoying taunt. "You can't even be an awakener! You only run when we're practicing; you're useless!"
Akio and Michael could only bury their faces in their hands; they couldn't say anything. Olivia was a stubborn girl; once she got angry, no one could stop her. The same went for Joanna.
"They are really mature," muttered Akio sarcastically.
The longer they argued, the hotter their heads got. Unable to contain her frustration, Joanna took off her shoe and threw it at Olivia, but Olivia managed to avoid it.
"Haha! Loser! You even—" But another shoe landed on Olivia's face.
"You idiot!" Joanna laughed loudly while pointing at her.
However, Olivia was running out of patience. Her face was red as blood gathered at the crown of her head. Her pulse was throbbing, and her hands were clenched into fists. Suddenly, a terrifying aura emerged from her. Shoes, bottles, a bamboo sword, bags, and various objects around her shook, and then they began to float in the air.
Naturally, Joanna gulped, realizing that she had crossed the line.
"Hey! Olivia's angry!" Michael exclaimed.
When the two of them jumped to stop her, the floating objects shot towards Joanna at high speed, and she could not help but cover her head and scream for help.
Papapa!
None of the objects hit Joanna. When she opened her eyes, a red-haired woman was in front of her, blocking the objects that were about to hit the blonde girl.
"I've been watching you for a while now. I think you've gone too far. You shouldn't use your power to attack a kid." Sylvia gave the woman a warning look.
"Then you should educate her. Don't act like a hero." Olivia hissed. "Who the hell are you, huh?"
Sylvia raised her eyebrows. "Why? Do you want to ask me to fight?"
Olivia was triggered, her eyes bulging as if they would fall out.
The two women stared at each other, radiating hate and annoyance. Before things could get worse, Akio quickly stood between them while Michael blocked Olivia.
"Chill, guys. Let's cool our heads for a minute. Come on, we're on the same side. Our enemies are just monsters." Akio tried to calm things down.
Michael whispered to Olivia. "Calm down; don't get provoked, Olive. We are guests here. Don't let us disgrace the name of the House of Blacksmith."
The air was heavy, and silence fell over them. With just a little provocation, those two women would start a clash.
"Okay. It looks like we're starting to think clearly. How about we end this?" Akio said.
The two women finally agreed to end the fight. They began to move away from each other.
When the tension had calmed down, suddenly a scream echoed through the hall.
"Fuck you, bitch!"
Joanna raised her middle finger.
The awakeners who were trying to rest began to take an interest in the commotion.
"Damn it," Akio muttered.
Olivia could no longer contain her anger. The dust on the floor shook, and her hair floated in the air. The lights hanging from the ceiling turned on and off repeatedly. The awakeners in the hall began to panic.
"No!"
Michael and Akio tried to hold Olivia back, but when she waved a hand, those two men were thrown away.
"Go!" Sylvia shouted at Joanna, and the blonde-haired girl immediately ran away. However, as Olivia raised her hand, Joanna suddenly flew through the air.
"Kuaaaah!"
Sylvia gritted her teeth. Without a second thought, she darted towards the black-haired woman.
"Hyaaa!"
Olivia waved a hand, and the ginger girl was thrown to the side of the hall. Before hitting the wall, Sylvia released mana around her body.
"Aarrrrrgh!" Sylvia groaned.
Suddenly, everything stopped moving, and then gradually all objects, including humans, returned to their places. Olivia's hand moved by itself. Joanna dropped to the floor. Akio and Michael, who were thrown before, returned to their original positions. Everything returned to its place, including the dust on the floor.
Not long after, the aura enveloping Sylvia disappeared. The red-haired woman ran out of mana after rewinding time.
"Great talent, but if you can only use it once, it's useless."
Darting through the air, Olivia was about to throw a fist at Sylvia. Of course, Sylvia did not sit still; she got up and launched a fist too.
"STOP!"
As the two forces were about to clash, an icicle engulfed them. Their bodies froze like ice sculptures, leaving only their heads.
Everyone turned their heads toward the voice. Justin was seen kneeling on the floor and creating a path of ice to freeze those two women. Beside him, a man in a black suit stood with an unhappy look.
"Klaus!" Joanna exclaimed.
He walked over to those two women. For a moment, Klaus gazed at them with a look of annoyance. Sylvia tried to look away, while Olivia made a sour face.
"So, which one of you two started this fight? Because my hands are itching to punish."
