The Training room

The wide hallway filled Max, James, and Alice with a feeling of gloom due to its vastness, it made them love the relatively small size of their rooms from the bottom of their hearts. Further into the journey, the thick red and black walls of the hallway had a painting depicting strange imagery that made them gasp in surprise.

On the wall was an image in vivid detail of a humanoid being with six terrifyingly elongated arms, a lower part which was that of a red snake with shining scales wrapped loosely around a circular object which on further glance was a blue moon.

It had its mouth opened to the ends of the world which displayed its shark-like teeth and long black tongue, it had the head of a human in one arm over its opened mouth with blood from the head dripping into it.

'' why… would the government have such a painting '' Alice exchanged a glance of curiosity, puzzlement, and reverence with Max and James.

''Perhaps it wasn't from the government'' James casually answered, looking as though he had answered a profound question with deep meanings.

Max slightly nodded in agreement. He was well aware that the facility was built by a divinity, and the painting was part of it, depicting itself as the creator; at least that was Max's interpretation. Before he could voice his interpretation of the matter, his status screen appeared before him like a flash of thunder.

''What the fuck…. I didn't give it permission'' Max gazed at his screen with a frown, he wondered whether his status screen was a rogue A.I or it was heavily influenced by his divinity.

< Divinity who hungers for the souls of the wicked is the creator>.

After Max read the divinity's name, he felt a chill down his spine, as if he were being watched. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind and focused on leaving the hallway.

< Divinity who hungers for the souls of the wicked has noticed you>

''Noticed!'' Max wanted to yell and curse at his divinity for his bad luck, but he quickly calmed down knowing that would have been a very bad idea.

He wasn't pleased about having another powerful being watching him from an unknown corner of the universe. He let that thought fade to the back of his mind with a heavy sigh; after all, there was nothing he could do against such a formidable existence.

'' James, Alice we better get moving…. We don't want to be late on our first day'' Max began moving ahead making Alice and James follow suit.

At the end of the hallway stood a tall, dominating man with emerald green hair and blueish-green eyes, preventing them from entering the next stage of the hall. His muscles were so huge that they captivated one, causing them to lose their normal train of thought. He wore deep black leather boots that shone so clearly, cargo pants, and a sleeveless top to flex his extreme muscles.

 His face held no emotion as he swept his gaze over the people in the hallway, his legs were spread apart and his hands were firmly placed at his back. He stood there like a stone statue that commanded respect.

Max let out a fearful sigh, he hoped this divinity wouldn't notice him. Once he was done examining the person who stood at the end of the hallway, Max had a strong inkling he was a military veteran, someone who had served in the army for many years with great pride.

Just then Like a bolt of lightning, something became super clear to Max '' where are all the guards''.

Since he stepped inside the facility, he hasn't seen a single person with a gun, ensuring that nothing goes wrong and that every individual behaves in an orderly fashion.

''Are they that confident in the facility just because it was created by a divinity or is there an unknown element at play '' Max's mind wondered as he looked around for any hidden guards.

''Welcome to your second home, low levels''. Once every single person was in the hallway the man who stood at the end of the hallway yelled with such ferocity it caused physical harm.

''once you cross this line, every person should head to their training room, the number on your band corresponds to your room'' he yelled again but with less intensity than before.

Whenever he spoke, Max couldn't help but notice his muscles twitching, as if they were beasts ready to attack at any moment.

"The training room has everything you need to elevate your skills, if not just a thought can fix that. If you feel thirsty, a thought about water will cause it to appear before you. If you're looking for a training tool not available, simply imagine it, and it will materialize in front of you. And if you need to use the bathroom… well, I don't need to explain what you should do." He spoke again, capturing everyone's full attention.

His description of the training room made everyone nearby incredibly impatient; their eagerness to rush to the training room and experience everything he had described was almost uncontrollable.

''If you find your training not intense enough just use this phrase ''Battle mood''. Once said you will receive a training more intense than the army. If you wish to train with a friend you are permitted to do so, if you need to help my name is Nixon, and I will be your captain''

After giving a slight smile Nixon moved to the side, observing as each person entered the massive training hall with glee.

The training hall was a massive white hall with individual training rooms on both sides, it stretched as far as the eyes could see and gave off the feeling of being alive.

Each training room had an opaque glass door with numbers written boldly on it making it impossible to miss. Once Max checked his red band and found the number his excitement began to dim.

He was number 777, alongside 778 James and 779 Alice had to walk to the back to get to their rooms, and they began looking at number 1 with envy.

After walking for what felt like an eternity, they found their rooms. Strangely enough, they were neither tired nor out of breath; it felt as though the journey had been taken in one step. Once in front of their rooms, the red band began to glow alongside the number on the door.

The opaque glass door began to ripple like water before splashing to the floor in a controlled and orderly manner, sinking to the floor like it was never there, the training room was now opened to Max.

 Max entered his training room after saying goodbye to James and Alice. Once inside, the opaque glass door rose again like a sea monster, locking him inside.

His training room was white, cube-shaped, and enormous, it made Max feel little as if he were an ant in a giant box, it also made him wonder why everything was so huge in the facility.

Every piece of gym equipment imaginable was contained in the room, which should have made training easier. However, Max was overwhelmed and found it difficult to make a choice. Saving that thought for later, Max wanted to try out the special materialization feature of the training room.

'' A cold bottle of water'' Max imagined with vivid detail to test the room's special feature.

Suddenly bright balls of light appeared out of nowhere coagulating in front of Max in a dazzling display, it gradually morphed into a bottle shape, solidifying before slowly dimming, revealing a cold bottle of water.

"Amazing!" Max found the room more interesting than he thought. After trying different products, such as food, his curiosity about the special features was quelled.

With that out of the way, Max focused his all on leveling up or at the very least improving his body's physical strength.

He swept his gaze across the room landing on a treadmill, he wanted to start strengthening his legs, finding a strong and speedy leg to be beneficial in any situation.

''If I can't fight then running is the next best option'', he got on the treadmill starting slow with his exercise before quickly intensifying it. He stopped once in a while to take a snack break or a breather before going back.

He wanted to improve the state of his body before relying on any of his skills. After running on the treadmill for a prolonged period, drenching his body in sweat and feeling his muscles ache like never before, there was an announcement that brought him joy from the depths of his soul.

'' all low levels are now permitted to leave, just head for the wall you came from and you will be back home. I do not permit lateness, any low level who appears late I shall personally train''

Nixon's voice was clear as though he stood right beside them, there was a collective sigh of relief from everyone, and they quickly made their way out already thinking of their warm beds.

Max met up with Alice and James who looked more drained than him, apparently, they were more focused on enhancing their skills which was more draining than they thought.

Heading back to the black wall, although all were exhausted the thought of a warm bed gave them the last push of energy needed.

At the black wall, all they had to do was walk into it like it was an open door, following the instruction, Max appeared back in his room like he never left, in his normal clothes with the magic key in hand and the sun already down.