The one-week time limit given to Ivan and the rest was finally over and it was time for them to leave for the tower where their training was to be held, the three of them had gotten ready to leave as early as five in the morning.
After seven days of staying with the old driver and his family, Ralph had requested various books to fill them in on general knowledge about Towers and Nexulytes. Of course, the informal they were able to get were only those the Towers allowed to let out and were considered more or less useful.
After spending some time in their home, the young woman who had awakened a singing talent had found it convenient enough to wave them goodbye; the old driver had offered to help them get to where they were going.
After driving for five minutes, they arrived at a place with quite a few people in high-quality clothes. They all came down from their cars before entering a huge cabin-like structure.
The old man found a place that wasn't far from the cabin and parked before coming out, Ivan and his friends came down as well.
"Alright, if I remember right, the Owen Tower headquarters is located in the southern sector of San Pluto, occupying more than half of the sector. This teleportation vault will take you directly to the Tower's region and you can easily find your way from there " the old driver explained.
" Why do we need a teleportation vault? Can't you just take us there in your car?" Glen asked in confusion.
The old driver laughed in response.
" As much as I would like to go there, I can't. The southern sector isn't that close to the northern sector where we are and it would take me hours if not an entire day to get there by driving " explained the old driver after laughing.
" What?! It's so huge?" Glen exclaimed in shock.
" Maybe you don't know but each sector of San Pluto covers hundreds of kilometers, exploring the entire northern sector can't be done in a few hours " The old driver added before urging them to go enter the teleportation vault so they would not be late from chatting with him.
"Goodbye old man, see you another time!" Glen called out as they entered the vault, Ivan nodded at the old man while Ralph gave a slight bow before the doors of the vault closed up and a white light enveloped them inside.
The old man watched with a smile as the white light flashed around the teleportation vault, he felt a bit emotional like he was sending his kids away.
"Good luck, boys" he muttered to himself before entering his car, he still had to carry on with his driving job.
...….
The white light enveloped them inside the vault and the three of them felt a strange sensation that made their insides turn and they felt light-headed, it took everything in them to prevent themselves from throwing up; Glen was less unreserved and fell on his knees the next moment after the feeling disappeared and the white light retracted.
The other people in the vault stared at Glen with curious expressions but said nothing and simply left the vault to carry on with their business.
"You alright?" Ralph asked while extending a hand to help Glen up.
"Of course not, I wouldn't be like this if I were," Glen said, irritated that he was the only one who was in such a condition.
"Must be because of first time experience with teleportation" Ralph said to console him but that did not help, it instead angered Glen even more.
"Then what about you two? Isn't this your first time as well?"
Before they could carry on with their banter, a huge man in a neat uniform appeared at the entrance of the vault with a few others behind him.
" Are you brats going to stay here all day? Others need to use it" the man said with annoyance.
All three of them looked at the people who had suddenly appeared in front of them with blank faces, they were all dressed in similar uniforms like they were some special force.
" Sorry, we'll get out now" Ralph apologized before dragging Glen out, Ivan silently followed from behind.
" Looks like just anyone can come here these days, even brats are allowed to come here to play around " one of the people behind the huge man snickered when they passed the three.
All three of them turned to look at the person who seemed to be just around their age but gave off a dangerous vibe, it was a young man with blue hair that fell at the side of his face.
Glen was pissed that someone their age would talk to them in such a manner and wanted to vent but before he could, Ralph covered his mouth with his hand and continued pulling him.
Only after they had gone a good distance from the place did he release the struggling Glen.
"Puah! Why did you stop me? That guy was acting like a d¡*K!" Glen complained.
Ralph stared at him, annoyance visible in his eyes which were directed at Glen.
"Are you stupid? Don't just go around challenging everyone like you do in the outskirt, this is the territory of the Owen Tower, and judging by their dress, they must be members of the tower!" Ralph retorted while shifting his glasses.
" So what? We are recruits of the tower and will be joining soon, what gives him the right to talk to us like that?" Glen still wasn't satisfied.
This time, it was Ivan who replied to Glen.
"That's the difference. We are recruits but not members yet and have to go through training, there's a possible chance of things going wrong for us. They, on the other hand, are already members of the tower and have the right to look down on unknown people like us" Ivan said slowly, his eyes help blank look that barely shielded the hatred that was burning within while he looked in the direction of the vault.
He did not need to be told before he knew that those people were all Nexulytes and the attitude of that blue-haired dude reminded him of those four who tormented him for years.
Glen stared at Ivan, his lips quivered as he forced himself from saying another word. Ivan rarely took time to explain anything so the few times he did, they had to listen.
"Come, let's go find someone to ask for directions," Ralph said before leading the way.
They soon came across two men in similar uniforms to those people they had met earlier. They approached them respectfully with Ralph handling the conversation, they were asked a few questions including asking them to show their tokens.
After the brief discussion, they were led by the two to the front of an enormous gate before being handed to someone else who took them to another place.
"You three wait here, someone will come to get you," said the woman whom they had been placed under at the huge gate before leaving.
They had been brought to a tall building that the top of it they were unable to see and taken into a room its walls were reinforced with metal and a small door on the other side.
The room looked like a small court for a kind of sport but had no decorations or distinguishing features, it was just a plain large room with metal walls.
Immediately after the lady left, a loud voice sounded in the room.
"Welcome to the Owen Tower, to prove your worth of belonging to the tower, you'll have to pass a little test before you can process through the door in front of you," The voice said.
The three of them were startled by the sound that seemed to come out from every side of the room but before they could recover, a small space on the ground opened from which came a small platform on which a few objects were placed.
"Pick a weapon of your choice, you have six seconds to do so"
Sounded the voice once more.