Meeting With Olivia

The drive to campus is tense, but luckily, uneventful. We keep a watchful eye out for any gangs that might be around on our way there, but we don’t see any. There’s always the possibility that we missed them, but I try not to worry too much about that. We get to campus, park the car and get out, immediately jumping into a barrier.

The barrier takes on the same properties as the university campus in the mundane world, allowing us to navigate easily. We hop between barriers, walking the length of one, exiting and opening another immediately. There isn’t a need for us to run; on the contrary, it’s much better if we save our strength in case there’s a fight to come.

Eventually, we make it outside Olivia’s lecture hall. I take a deep breath. “This is it.” I say, and Ivy rubs my back gently to reassure me. I smile briefly at her. “I’m going to exit the barrier, take a quick look to see if she’s inside, and come straight back. Wish me luck.” I tell my girlfriends. With nods all round, I take another deep breath, and exit the barrier.

Immediately I peep inside the lecture hall, noting that the room is empty save for Olivia, who’s sitting at her desk, typing away on her computer. I jump right back into the barrier and relax. “She’s there. I didn’t see any gangs or anything around, although I also didn’t look for long. I think we’ll be okay though.” I say. Mia nods. “Alright then. Shall we?” She says.

Together, we exit the barrier and enter Olivia’s lecture hall. She looks up as the door opens and smiles at us. “Ah, I wondered when I would see you again.” She says, as we make our way to the front. Olivia closes her laptop and folds her hands on the desk in front of her, in a businesslike manner.

“It’s good to see you again.” I tell her, smiling at her. “This is Paige, and this is Ivy. They’re both a part of our guild, as well as our polycule.” I continue confidently, feeling Paige shrink and blush from the embarrassment. Olivia smiles with amusement, nodding at each of them in turn. “It is nice to meet you.”

“I am Olivia, I am a teacher here and I taught your girlfriends as some of my students.” She introduces herself quickly to the two people she hasn’t met before. Ivy and Paige nod politely at her. Olivia turns back to me. “Although from what I hear, you have other priorities now. You have been making a name for yourselves, Centurions.” She states.

“We have indeed. We believe that we can make a difference. We aren’t sure how much of a difference, but we really want to try.” I say firmly. Olivia smiles at us. “That is good to hear. Please, take a seat. If you would allow me to ask, I would like to hear everything that has happened since we last spoke.” She requests.

“Sure. Are we safe here though?” I ask her, looking around. Olivia nods again, smiling at us. “We are quite safe. I have wards around my lecture hall for protection and those imbeciles know to leave me alone. Besides, I saw how careful you were. I doubt anybody followed you. If you have managed to survive this long despite everything, I think you are competent enough for that.” She says.

With that question answered and my worries put to rest for now, we all pull up chairs and sit down in a semicircle around her desk. My girlfriends look to me expectantly and I start from where I remember, telling Olivia how Mia and I got closer and how we expanded our guild with the additions of Ivy and Skylar. I skip out on telling her the more intimate details of our experiences together.

As I tell our story, Olivia listens intently. At some parts she smiles, others she frowns, and others she shakes her head, looking disappointed. Whether at us or the state of the things as I tell her how we explored the city, I’m not really sure. She never interrupts though, and lets me tell our story all the way through to the end.

“And since Paige decided that she want to fight with us too, we’ve just been training a lot. She decided that she wanted to join our polycule, but that’s independent of our guild. We plan to train more, get stronger and see if we can recruit more people into our guild that we trust.” I finish off. Olivia nods, thoughtfully. “I assume the recruitment part is the reason you are here?” She asks.

“Indeed it is. We would love if you could join our guild. It would be a tremendous help.” I tell her. She smiles at me. “I did say that I would consider joining your guild at some point in future.” Olivia recounts. I nod, waiting for an answer. She sighs. “Going into the city blind as you were, was incredibly foolish.” She starts.

“I could have told you that it would be dangerous and that you were not ready. But, I can see you have learned from it, and I am glad you got out of there okay. You were reckless yes, but not arrogant, nor unwilling to learn from your mistakes. You are competent enough to have survived this long, and you are working to better this place.” She sums up.

Olivia stands up, and we all take it as a signal to do the same. “How about this? If you can best me in a duel, I shall join your guild. I must see your power for myself. I am willing to join your guild and help you in your quest, but I need to know that you have the strength for this. You need to be strong, and if you are weak, there is no point in me joining. Do we have an accord?” She asks, extending her hand.

Without hesitation, I shake her hand. “Good. How much are you able to use your healing magic, Ivy?” Olivia asks. “I can heal whatever damage is done during the duel.” Ivy reports, and the Lady of the Beasts nods. “In that case, follow me.” She says, opening a barrier. I look around at my girlfriends, nodding at them, before raising my hand and entering the barrier myself.

The barrier itself is a simple, flat grassy plain. I look to Olivia, who is rolling her neck, ready for the sparring match. “Is this going to be our entire guild versus you, or just like a one on one?” I ask. “Just you and I, Gemma.” She says, smirking at me. From the looks of it, she’s going to enjoy this. “Give us some space.” I tell my girlfriends.

“Be careful.” Paige says, and I smile at her. “Always.” I tell her. “Good luck hun! You got this!” Mia says. On a whim, I give each of my girlfriends a quick kiss for luck. They move back afterwards, and I turn back to face Olivia, who stands at the ready. I don’t bother observing her. I know it won’t tell me much about what her actual abilities are beyond what I already know.

I tap the button in my inventory screen to switch between my casual set of clothes and my battle gear. I can feel the effects of the frost armour set in fully, and I draw my battle axe, ready for a close quarters fight. I have no idea what tricks Olivia has up her sleeve, but I know that I have to be ready. “Ready?” I ask her. “Ready. Let us begin.” She confirms.