Location: Hidden

Agents: Novum, doctors

Section: 2

Novum gladly took the glass of water offered to her, groaning again as she shifted and hit her bruised ribcage.

         "Your scans are fine, Conge was correct. You're only bruised, nothing broken or fractures. It'll be tender, but you're fine." The doctor said, smiling at the newbie. "Novum, you'll have to get used to it. Most times, this is the best you'll fare out of a fight."

         "Why did I want this in the first place?" She asked herself, flopping backwards onto the bed as the doctor left. The room was not much of note; everything was white, clean, pristine. Why did I agree to go through the tests? Why am I here? Obviously every one is better than me, so why am I here?

         Knock, knock, knock! "Novum, may I come in?" a male voice asked through the doorway. She let out a quiet yes, to which the door opened to reveal a tall male. He had firey red hair, a tall, muscular frame, and wide, grinning brown eyes. Captivating the attention though, away from his hair, were two long, red burn marks crawling up his right arm. They didn't appear to be fresh, but his arm was unnaturally straight at his side, as if he wished it wasn't there. "Classicus sent me to show you to your room. Are you feeling better?"

         "How do you get used to getting beat up like this all the time?" she asked instead, jumping off the bed and walking with him into the hallway.

         "Initiation and testing are always the hardest, they really are. But after a while, you'll start to win fights, and it'll get easier." He replied, holding the door for her as they walked down a brightly lit hallway.

         "And what's with the black necklace with the pendant?" He smiled in humour, reaching into his shirt to pull out one as well - except his looked entirely different. It was on a bright red roped chain, and had too many pendants to count. One of them stood out the most, right in the middle. It was large, attached to the necklace by a bright yellow string. In the middle was a lovely ruby, large, bright in colour with gold sunrays coming out of it.

         "Everyone has one. The colour of the necklace represents your level, as well as your area of expertice. The pendant represents who you versed, and the colour that attaches the necklace to the pendant represents a win, a loss, or a tie." He explained, motioning to her's. "Black represents a newbie, such as yourself, who hasn't found their area yet. And you went against Conge, who's know as Frozen. Her pendant is a snowflake, as you can see. The colour attaching it to the necklace, blue, means you lost."

         "Oh, I guess that makes sense. So everyone here has their own pendant, and everyone here has a necklace full of them?" He smiled at her open curiosity, her willingness to learn the new rules of the game.

         "Many of us have multiple necklaces, actually. We mainly keep them in our rooms, but some people do fancier things, like frame them." They paused outside a door, which had nothing on it whatsoever. It was at the beginning of a hallway, and the other doors around the hallway were painted to match the person behind the door. "This is your room. Change if you would like, there's a large closet in there with clothes your size. I wouldn't shower for you have another test in two hours. Someone will come at some point before the test to bring you to the room so you don't get lost."

         "And your name?" she asked pointedly, a hand on her doorknob.

         "Ignis." He replied smoothly, giving her a toothy grin. "I'll see you there."

A/N: 641 words