The green-haired woman clenched her teeth while glaring at her with an angry look in her eyes. She wasn't offended that she was asked to leave. But she felt really bad because it was Rasha who told her.
An inferiority complex was born inside her mind and slowly growing within her heart.
"...Fine." She sighed to herself while stepping back slightly and walking away from the dungeon, "Let's go, Peter."
Peter looked at her with a slight frown on his face as he followed her with his hands in his pockets.
He nodded at Rasha as he passed her, showing his respect for her as he had an unpaid debt for her help. She nodded back at him while looking at him with an indifferent look in her eyes.
Soon, they left the mall and drove back to the gym in silence. The night wind was cool against his skin as Peter leaned against the passenger seat while looking out the window with a slight frown on his face. He knew Ava was not in the mood to talk, so he didn't say anything and let her calm down.
When they arrived at the gym, she suddenly used her Telekinesis to bring a wine bottle from the kitchen.
"Accompany me to drink." She said as she walked to the reception table, "It's good for relaxing after a stressful event."
"Alright. That's the least I can do after suggesting something that made you experience that."
"Heh, you're a good man. You understand what I mean." She smiled wryly at him as she poured two glasses of wine and gave one of them to him, "But it's not your fault. I also got excited fighting after so long. If only that bitch didn't appear and ruin the mood."
She took a sip of wine with a slight frown on her face while looking at him seriously, "What did you see in my status?"
No hesitation could be heard from her voice. She knew his ability, and she knew that she couldn't get stronger by herself. A wall that all Awakeners experienced were different from each other. Sometimes, hearing advice from another person could help them break through it.
Peter only looked at her for a moment before humming.
"Hmm, you can grow twice as strong as you're right now." He told her honestly.
Ava blinked in surprise before smiling slightly in amusement. She never expected that she had so much potential left. But...
"If you compared me to that bitch?"
"... She's twice as strong as you're right now. And she can still get stronger."
"As expected."
She sighed to herself while looking at him with a thoughtful look in her eyes. She knew that he wasn't lying to her or trying to trick her in any way. He had no reason to do that.
"Rasha was always a genius in our group. She learned everything quickly and became the squad leader in just a few months." She spoke bitterly as she recalled those memories.
"Back then, I was always compared to her. Our abilities are similar. She can do what I could with her ability, but stronger. I know that I am more versatile, but people don't care about that. They only see the result and the power she held"
Filling the glass that she emptied in one gulp, Peter nodded in understanding. He knew what it felt like to be undervalued.
"I also want to get recognition, goddammit! I want to shine in the spotlight! But that bitch always gets all the glory for herself. And then, she would say that I helped her a lot. Like hell I did!"
Peter could only nod slightly at her as he listened to her.
'Isn't that just your misunderstanding?' He thought but didn't voice it.
From what he knew about Rasha, the policewoman was an honest and kind person. Maybe she meant what she said and that Ava was helping her without knowing it. But it wasn't his place to say that.
And besides, Ava needed someone to vent to right now. Not someone who retorted to what she said or gave her advice.
"To be honest, I also wanted to get stronger." The green-haired gym owner mumbled as she looked at him seriously, "But it's so hard for me to grow past this wall. Hey, make me stronger. Don't let me fall behind that bitch again."
She narrowed her eyes at him while holding her glass of wine with both hands, gulping down the content in one go and refilling it again.
Peter looked back at her seriously before smiling slightly.
"Of course. If that's what you want, owner. I'll do my best to make you grow."
"I'm glad to hear that." She smiled at him before emptying her glass of wine in one gulp, "This will be our secret between the two of us. Tell me what you need me to do. Well, Tanya has already proven it so I will trust your ability."
Indeed, his capability was already proven to be true after Tanya showed the results of his training on her status.
"I'll ask you to do something else first before starting your training."
"Anything you want." She nodded while looking at him with a knowing look in her eyes, "Are you going to tell me to train more or something? Ah, is it that student thing? Then I am willing to be your student. Just get me stronger."
At that moment, he received a notification.
[Ava Aesir desired to be your student. Accept/Decline]
Nodding, he accepted it as a smile appeared on his face. This was good news for him. It meant that he could use his ability on her and make her stronger. She would have to obey him and do whatever he asked her to do.
[Ava Aesir has become your 2nd disciple.]
[Telekinesis learned.]
This was exactly what he wanted. Telekinesis was a pretty useful and versatile ability.
In his hand, this would be more powerful than mere magic. And the best thing about this was that it didn't need Mana but Focus to be used.
'I can use it right away unlike Light Magic I gained from Tanya.' He thought.