It was an early morning, and the sun had barely begun to rise, painting everything in gold. On an empty pathway behind the refugee camp, a lone figure could be seen running. She was wearing a simple black tracksuit, which made her white hair stand out even more. The few guardians who were out on patrol duty could not help but stare at her.
Not noticing the eyes on her, Azalea continued her morning run that she had been doing for the past week since she got here. On her wrist, there was a metal bracelet that was similar to the communication bracelet everyone was wearing. It was given to her by one of the villagers who had it lying around for a while since he had bought a new one for himself.
Once Azalea was done, she stopped and awkwardly fidgeted with the bracelet. She still hadn't gotten the hang of how to use it. A holographic screen appeared before her. On it was a female silhouette slowly spinning. Next to it, information like her name, age, and health details was written.
She frowned slightly when she looked at her body and current strength.
Body Strength: 21.64%
Current Strength: 16.04%
The longer she stared at it, the more it hurt her eyes. She has been working on this body for a week now, and the body strength has only increased by 0.35% while her current strength has remained the same.
It was either that this thing was really malfunctioning, or her condition had really worsened more than she had expected. Even though she did not want to accept it, she knew it was the latter.
If someone heard her thoughts right now, they would have believed she had lost her mind. How many people her age could achieve what she had? In fact, for most people, it was only a dream to reach past 15% current strength by their early thirties.
But Azalea was not like most people, and she had lived for hundreds of years. Back at that time, currents were instead called aether, and the way to assess it was different, but she was pretty sure she was way stronger than she was now. There was a reason why she was chosen as the leader of the first guardians.
She gave a defeated sigh and turned off the screen, deciding it was best to take things slow and not to think much about it.
She went back to her room, where Raya was already awake and was making her bed.
"We were planning to go to the city after breakfast. Do you want to join us as well?"
"Okay," Azalea agreed and went to take a shower. Once she was dressed and her hair dried, she left with Raya to go to the lunch hall.
Marlin and Kael were already there, eating their breakfast. Azalea and Raya got into the line with trays to grab their food before joining the boys.
Sitting down at the table, Azalea stared at her tray for a long time. It has been more than a week, yet she has not gotten used to the food of this time. In fact, calling them food was rather an insult to real food from her time.
The thing sitting on her plate was a dark square block that one cut with a fork and knife to eat. In a bowl, there was a thick white mash that was supposed to look like boiled rice...or was it mashed potato? Either way, this thing did not look like any of it, and it certainly did not taste like it. Everything here was bland and tasted the same, making her question why they even bothered to make so many varieties.
"Still not used to it?" Raya asked, seeing she was not eating.
Azalea pulled her lips into a thin line. "I don't think I will ever get used to it."
"You should be happy you are able to eat this. Some people are only surviving on nutritional juice." Kael said.
Azalea remembered trying one of those nutritional juices he mentioned. Unlike its name, this thing tasted just like water.
"I have heard those high-end restaurants serve those fancy food that tastes like heaven. But they are really expensive, so not everyone can afford them," Marlin added.
The more Azalea listened, the more disappointed she became. As someone who was a food enthusiast, this was a real nightmare. If only she had the money she once owned...
Her eyes suddenly lit.
She could not use the money that was once overflowing from her bank accounts, but that did not mean she could not earn more. Ideas began to pour into her mind, and she soon lost interest in the food before her. Seeing that she was not eating, Kael decided to be the greater person and help her not waste the food.
Once they were done eating, they left the camp after informing someone. The trio had rarely left the village and were looking at everything with rather excitement. Here and there, Azalea would ask a question.
Holographic screens were showing advertisements on the tall buildings. Hovercars and speedbikes were moving around the streets. On the sidewalks, along with people, robots could also be seen. But what caught her attention most was the people of other races mingling with humans. She had already learned that all the races now lived in harmony, but seeing it was still something else.
We have come a long way. Azalea thought to herself with a soft smile playing on her lips. Her friends from back then must be very happy looking down on all this. Or maybe, they had already reincarnated and were enjoying this freedom.
"Where is this disgusting smell coming from?" Someone said, breaking her out of her thoughts.
They stopped and looked ahead, where they saw four boys standing. Compared to them, these four were dressed in expensive clothes. The one who had spoken was also standing on a hoverboard, floating a little above them.
"Oh, it must be someone who had come out of the sewer to dirty our city," he said, which was followed by the laughter of his followers.
The corner of Azalea's eye twitches. Never mind. She spoke too quickly. There were still a few idiots that still existed.
"What are they even wearing?" One of those idiots pointed at them in disgust.
Azalea looked down at her clothes, wondering what was wrong with them.
"What is it to you what we are wearing? We did not steal your money to buy it, did we?" Kael snapped.
"Oh please, nobody would waste stolen money on that tragedy. Even thieves have standards."
"You-" Kael clenched his fist and took a step forward. He had fought against demons. Putting a few spoiled kids in their place was nothing compared to it. The other two also shared the same thoughts and took a step forward.
"Step back," Azalea said.
Immeditly, they stopped and took a few steps back. They all clearly remembered who Azalea really was.
Everyone stared at her.
"Look at that, we have a rare beauty present among us," the boy on the hoverboard stared at Azalea with sparkling eyes.
Ignoring the comment as if she had not heard it, she was looking at the trio she had come with.
"Have you all already forgotten the warning to not cause any trouble?"
Immeditly, guilt appeared on their faces.
"But they were the ones who started it," Marlin muttered under his breath. A few others nodded along with him.
"We live in a civilized world. There are better ways to resolve conflicts than getting into a fight."
She tilted her head and looked at the boy on the hoverboard, whom she had identified as the leader. "Isn't that right?"
The boy floated closer to her until his face was a few inches away from her face. Azalea stood still, not bothered at all. But those around her were barely moments away from throwing all their rationality and teach this spoiled brat a lesson his parents had clearly forgotten to give him.
"How do you want to play...beautiful?" he gave her a smile that he thought was his most charming one.
Azalea's eyes slightly narrowed as the corner of her lips curved upward into a smile, revealing her dimples.
Azalea: This brat!