Atlantic Ocean, 100 miles off the coast of North America.
The wind was blowing hard, creating high waves and battering the trawler. Despite the terrible storm raging in the ocean, a group of sailors struggled to catch fish, casting huge nets on the surface of the tossing water. The boat glided up and down on the violent waves, while lightning flashed in the dark sky.
The captain, a wrinkled-faced man with a wealth of experience, looked out over the raging sea. He knew the risks his crew faced, but they had no choice. They hadn't met the quota, or the boss would cut their salary.
Suddenly, in the midst of thunderous lightning and torrential rain, a young sailor screamed, "Captain! Something is coming from the air!"
All eyes were drawn to the direction the young man was pointing. In a flash of lightning, they saw a huge shadow hovering above them. It was huge, with wings outstretched like a bird, but its tail was elongated like a snake.
KRRRIEEEEK!
A shriek echoed out along with a thunderous roar in the night sky. A crewman fell down as he heard the sound. Naturally, his animal instincts kicked in. He trembled, and fear began to take hold of him.
Nevertheless, the Captain still seemed calm. He quickly gave orders to his crew, "Turn back! Get the hell out of here!"
The crew immediately did as they were told. The ship turned its course, but the ferocious ocean waves shook the ship and water flooded the deck.
As they were busy trying to turn the ship around, it shook violently. The shaking was not from the waves, but from the giant flying creature.
Knowing that the monster had crashed into the ship, the Captain ordered his men to reduce the cargo, and they began to throw everything overboard. Fishes, masts, machinery, and even the nets that helped catch hundreds of tons of fish; the crew discarded them like they were worthless.
"Arggggh!"
"Don't throw the buoy, you idiot!"
"Stop fighting! Hurry up and help me!"
Panic engulfed the crew and violent waves tossed the ship. They occasionally looked up to the sky and out to the vast ocean, searching to see if the monster was chasing them.
HONK!
The ship's horn echoed loudly and the turbines began to spin faster, pushing the ship to accelerate. It braved the harsh winds and heavy raindrops. The crew didn't see the giant creature again.
"Goddamn it, we're safe," muttered one of the crew members.
When they had just breathed a sigh of relief, a screech suddenly echoed over their heads, and half the ship plunged into the sea. They looked up and their faces turned terrified.
A five-meter monster stood on the deck. Red scales covered its body and 10-meter-long wings were spread out. It had sharp nails on both feet, digging into the deck.
KRIEEEEK!
In an instant, the ship sank to the dark seabed.
...
Rays of Hope Headquarters, SoHo, New York City.
On a sunny morning, the practice hall was full as usual. The members practiced warm-ups when no dungeons appeared in the city. Among them, Sylvia in training clothes was watching them. Her eyes were glued to a sparring between a curvaceous woman and a golden-haired girl.
The two were fighting intensely compared to the other members.
"Is that all you've got so far? How pathetic! You're not improving at all, Joanna!"
The blonde-haired girl gritted her teeth. "Shut up, big tits!"
They launched attacks at each other. Joanna used the staff as her weapon, swinging with full force though not a single blow landed. The opponent, Olivia, just jumped here and there. She could have landed an attack, but chose to play cat and mouse.
While the other members practiced, Akio just stretched his muscles while watching them. He had been warming up for thirty minutes but had yet to get down to training.
Things were different for his partner, Michael. The burly man was eager to train. He was sparring against five people by himself, and they could not keep up with him at all.
Seeing how the other members were so excited, Akio let out a sigh. "Why are they so excited, huh? We train like this every day even though we raid the dungeon every day."
"Then why don't you join them?"
The masculine voice startled Akio. His jaw dropped as he found Klaus standing next to him. He did not sense Klaus' presence at all.
"Eh! Boss! You startled me! Since when have you been here?" Akio furrowed his brow.
"I should be the one to ask. Since when did you warm up? Your friends are already practicing, but you're still stretching your legs."
Akio stroked the back of his head. "Hehe, sorry bos." After saying ak, he immediately ran to the training hall. "Michael! Come here, be my sparring partner!"
Klaus shook his head in disappointment. He liked Akio's skill in battle but not his lazy attitude.
He heard footsteps drawing closer from behind.
"Klaus. I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you'd forgotten about us." Justin came with his quipped.
"How could I forget if I left the guild to someone less competent."
Klaus smirked after he said so, while Justin tried to smile even though his veins were throbbing. Once again he managed to make Justin know his place.
"By the way, Klaus. You're usually in your office at this hour. What brings you here? I thought you were busy with Mors Industries." Justin changed the subject.
"Nope. Elemental Gun is done, just need to sell it, and that's Terry's job. So, I'm really free right now. I want to see how the guild is doing after my long stay."
Justin let out a disappointed sigh. "I was hoping you'd be busy longer at Mors Industries."
During the process of launching Elemental Gun, Klaus left all guild affairs to Justin. He stopped all of Justin's schedules that were not related to guild so that the former celebrity could focus on taking care of Rays of Hope.
Of course, Klaus kept a close eye on Justin. The man many women loved enjoyed his work as guild master, and he had also improved a lot over the past year or so. His decision-making skills were getting better as an aura of authority rose from within him. It was evident when he confronted Director Logan and managed to obtain exclusive rights without Klaus' help.
Not only taking care of guild matters, Justin also led the raid on the three dungeon levels—blue, purple, and indigo—over the past few months. And of course, his success rate was very high thanks to his powerful high-class members, Akio and Michael.
Still, Justin proved to Klaus that he was capable of leading a guild. The guild's coffers began to fill up as he and his men managed to collect tons of monster cores on each of their raids. Notably, Rays of Hope had 20 million dollars. It could continue to grow if they raid higher level dungeons, but to do that, Justin had to have more mid-class awakeners.
"The Klaus I know always has an ulterior motive in his actions. What do you have planned this time? Tell me, please." Justin elbowed Klaus with a grin on his face.
Klaus dismissed Justin's hand. "I thought you had authority, but your behavior hasn't changed at all."
Justin frowned. "Well, I guess I'm your only friend, hehe."
Klauz raised an eyebrow. "Really? Last time I remember you begging me to be your master. You begged me at that time."
Instantly, Justin turned sour, while Klaus chuckled.
In the middle of their conversation, Sheila arrived with a group of men in suits, carrying a large crate made of black carbon. They attracted the attention of the guild members who were practicing.
Curiosity filled the practice hall instantly. The guild members stopped their practice and their eyes lingered on the men in black suits.
It didn't take long for it to catch the attention of everyone in the room.
Justin hissed as his guess was correct. Inwardly he said, "I knew it""
"Boss, where do you want to put it?" Sheila asked as she faced Klaus.
"Just here."
Sheila gestured for the uniformed men to place the crate, and thuds echoed as it touched the floor, indicating it was a heavy item. Justin frowned as he looked at the black crate.
"What is it, Klaus!" Joanna came in breathless and sweat soaked through her clothes.
She approached Klaus the moment she saw the Mors Industries employee.
"It looks like it's loaded with a lot of stuff." Standing behind Joanna was Olivia. The busty woman was holding Joanna's shoulders, as if they were already familiar.
Of course, Klaus saw it. What he saw at the Grand Launching was not wrong, his sister and her nemesis had somehow become friends. Klaus became more curious about them, but for now this was not the right moment.
Seeing all his men gathered before orders, Klaus turned to them with a grin.
"Looks like you guys are very curious about the contents of that chest. Well, I will satisfy your curiosity."
Klaus snapped his fingers.
As two Mors Industries employees opened the black chest, a golden glow came out. The guild members dropped their jaws as they saw what was stored inside.
