BXBX NOVEL Chapter 11: Training hall
Once the elevator door opened, Atlan saw a strange swirling black barrier in front of him. It looked like a viscous water dyed with a very potent ink, but the chaos in its waves defied every physical law.
"Come follow me," Lizzie said as she walked towards the barrier and disappeared to the other side.
Her entrance disturbed the swirls and emanated through the barrier.
Atlan raised his hand and touched the black barrier and felt no different than if he was touching air.
His finger created a small wave that slowly dissipated.
Once he knew that nothing bad happened to him, he got the courage to step through to the other side.
And when he stepped over, his jaw dropped.
He was back on the reception floor!
In front of him was the same reception desk where he registered his identity. Opposite that was the large entrance of the main lobby of HeadQuarters.
He even saw the crooked chairs and potted plants decorated around the room. Everything looked the same, down to the minute details.
It was devoid of any people, but nothing changed–except for one thing: the color.
The original lobby was made out of pure white marble, exuding a sense of righteousness that perfectly encapsulated the responsibility of Saviors.
However, the flooring, the ceiling, and the magnificent white walls of the room were changed into a black color, with the marbling turning into white.
Everything changed into its opposite color.
White turned into black. Black turned into white.
The natural green color of the potted fern plant on the corner turned into a bright purple color. The blinking red light on top of the elevator turned into a baby blue color.
Everything was in their negative color.
"Welcome to the Remedium!" Lizzie said.
Lizzie was the only one who maintained her original color, wearing her green battle suit.
He looked down at his body and was relieved to see that he looked normal and wasn't affected by this weird, reality-bending effect of the Remedium.
"This is the Remedium?"
"Technically, yes. But this is just a recreation of the Remedium so that we Saviors have the chance to hone our skills while outside of missions."
"Why are we back at the reception area?"
Lizzie spread her hands. "The Remedium is the dimension where the Gods reside. This whole city, Genesis City, is under the protection of one God named Genesis.
By going to the Remedium, we can enter His body and His body is the City itself, so it mirrors reality."
Atlan frowned. He looked at his surroundings and felt uncomfortable. This is his body?
"Canzers are the sickness in a God's body and they manifest as monsters inside the Remedium.
It is our job as Saviors to kill these Canzers and keep Him healthy."
Lizzie then walked over to the main entrance of the lobby and walked outside. Atlan followed suit, with his steps filled with carefulness.
Once she opened the door, Atlan saw the majesty of Genesis City once again. The dense buildings of different architecture remained, but their colors changed into something unfamiliar.
The whole sky turned reddish brown.
There were other Saviors down the steps, talking and relaxing as they conversed with each other.
Beyond them were the wide three-lane streets, except there wasn't any mount or vehicles running around.
Instead, there were Saviors using swords and spears to strike at straw human targets.
"Oh, it's been a while, Lizzie!"
A few of the veteran Saviors greeted Lizzie as she went down the steps. Everyone was familiar with each other, given that most of them were hundreds of years old.
"How've you guys been?" She greeted them back.
One of them was bald and had an epaulet on his shoulders that indicated: 4th stage Student.
"Who do we have here?" the man sized up Atlan. "My name is Neuman the eighth, what's yours?"
Neuman VIII held out his hands to Atlan and he accepted it. The two men met hands, and for a moment, Atlan felt a slight increase in pressure with the handshake.
"Atlan."
He didn't think much of it and simply returned the effort.
The bald man's eyes went wide. "Strong! Looks like we got a tiger over here."
Lizzie chuckled when she realized Neumann's little test. "He's a B class Porter. Of course his physical strength would be good."
Neumann's eyebrows raised. But he still didn't understand how such a small kid could show such power. "But you don't understand how strong–"
"PORTER? Finally!"
A young man who looked just a few years older than Atlan, interrupted Neuman's words.
"You don't know how long we've been waiting for a new porter. The other one was recruited by a different City and the last one's already too powerful to join beginner missions."
"Don't overwhelm the newbie, Wemby." Neumann reigned in his friend.
"Is my job really that rare?"
Wemby nodded his head fervently.
"Yes! You'll definitely feel the difference later. You'll be drowning in Mission requests.
You're practically the only one that we low-level Students rely on to be our Porter."
Atlan didn't know how to feel knowing that. More missions meant more deaths. More deaths meant getting more powerful, but it also meant seeing more suffering.
Neumann saw the expression on Atlan's face. "I know you're from the Unclaimed Lands, but don't worry.
Let us handle all the killing and all you have to do is watch how we massacre those Canzers.
And you don't have to worry about death. Angels will always keep you and everyone else safe and sound."
…that wasn't comforting…
"What are we waiting for? Let's go on a mission now!" Wemby said, running up the stairs. Lizzie got a hold of his arm and stopped him in his tracks.
"Wait, Atlan still hasn't finished his test."
"Aww…"
Suddenly, Neumann got an idea in his head. "You know, we were just about to have a little competition within everyone here. Why don't Atlan join us?"
Wemby immediately protested. "Are you crazy? Most of us are in the 2nd stage and even some in the 3rd stage! It's unfair for someone who barely just got his LifeSkill.
He won't stand a chance! Do you want him to fail his test?!"