Part (IV) Testing Area (Noe & Noelle)

They spotted the monolith from a block away, its sheer breadth rivaled a small mountain. Crafted from sandstone, its entrance was an elongated passageway, shrouded in shadow, illuminated by the pulsating beat of the fluorescent light above. The walls seemed to constrict around them, narrow it was. A sterile odor came from the walls, the carpet sheepish beneath their toes. They reached the end of the hall, a sleek black steel door marked the final threshold into the agency. Their faces were reflected at them, a mirror plastered on the door. 

A machine on the left of them guarded the door, ominous in presence, sentinel, it scanned each of them in a swift red screen. "Granted," the words displayed above the machine, and the door parted.

Reminiscent of a Greek labyrinth, the interior was incredibly wide. Grand, it stood, gleaming floors and pristine white walls stretching endlessly in every direction. Agents ran about, some urgent, some calm, and some bored. Their movements were methodical and precise like machines. 

"Registering, interviewing, or visiting?" 

A crimson-haired woman smacked her gum from behind the desk. She greeted them, her face morphed into an annoyed frown, and she glanced up from her computer screen, impatient in their response. "Registering dear," the agent said with a fake smile. "Sorcerer or Agent?" 

"Sorcerer, dear."

She stared at Noe and Noelle, then typed something into her computer before pulling away. "Follow me," she said. She guided them through the labyrinth of offices, past a water fountain, through a corridor. Eventually, the four of them came upon an elevator. "Head to floor nine," she pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to them. "Testing area, nineteen." 

With a soft hum, the elevator ascended to the ninth floor. 

The elevator doors slid open, revealing a vast open-testing room. Spacious, several dozen curtains guarded the privacy of specialists and examinees. Natural light streamed in from the large windows lining the walls. Noe and Noelle observed the little sheets of paper. #21 (Noelle) & #24 (Noe). The agent scurried past the examinees to speak out of sight, telling them to, "Stay in line," as he made his way over. 

Simultaneously, a specialist called for #21 and #24, drawing them down to curtain six. A specialist greeted them, wearing a pristine lab coat, cloaked in white and his hands shoved deep into his pockets, Dr. Theodore Moore greeted them with a hoarse chuckle. "It's been a while." 

He gestured for them to sit and called for two other specialists to come over. The tests unfolded, in separate curtains, Noe and Noelle were instructed to strip to nothing but their underwear, and were evaluated for their height, weight, health, sex, and age, before meeting up in curtain six again. "That was exhausting," Noe murmured. "More like embarrassing," Noelle groaned. 

Dr. Moore let out a hearty chuckle, "If you think that's the tiring part," he said, "you may as well quit while you're ahead." 

Dr. Moore directed them out of the testing area and into a room out back. A closed-off room with dark, nearly black, padded walls without windows. A large orb, double their size, was the only thing visible in the room. A light shone above it. The orb emanated no particular color, grey, it was in a state of neutrality. Before leaving them alone in the room. 

The agent and another woman stepped out from behind the orb, the woman carried a pencil and notepad, dressed in an orange hazmat suit. She approached them, her arm extended and shook their hand each. "I take it, you're examinees #21 and #24," she said. Noe and Noelle stared at her with a puzzled look, their lips twisted, they raised their brow in silence. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's just that... um," Noe wasn't sure how to put it.

"Why are you wearing one of those, Quarantine suits?" Noelle finished. 

"Oh," the woman glanced down, then lifted her head in a chuckle, "a sorcerer can't get close to the orb without activating it. I was just making sure everything was operational." 

Hmm... "What does the orb do?" Noe asked. She turned to it and rubbed the orb, "It's to test your affinity and class. Red, reveals your class, blue reveals your rank." 

Noe and Noelle tilted their head, "Red?" Noe asked. "Blue?" Noelle finished. 

She turned to the agent, "Did you not tell them?" she asked exasperatedly. The agent scratched the back of his head, with a nervous chuckle, "I didn't have the time!" She heaved a sigh, stepped away from the orb, and took the mask covering her face off so that she could speak clearly. 

Blond hair, so light that you could mistake it for white, poured out from under the helmet, her hair undone from the net. The first thing Noe took notice of, was her beautiful blue eyes. She clicked her tongue and twirled the clipboard over to them. "Affinity," she said, "every sorcerer fits within one of these classes."

The board was turned to "Page Six" (classification), listing five classes: Tank, Enchanter, Transmuter, Summoner, and Combatant. On the next page, it listed something called the "Star Tier" listed from number one to five. Through a brief scan, they handed the board over to her. "And that orb is going to tell us?" Noelle asked. 

"The rune? Yeah, it has a ninety-six percent success rate." 

"Ninety-six seems pretty low for a confident estimate," Noe said. 

She gestured at them to approach the orb, putting her helmet back on. "You go first," she told Noe, "place your dominant hand on the rune." He braced himself, wondering if there would be a shock of some sort. He rested his hand on the rune. A current ran through him, an indescribable current, not electrical, but close. Like a rush of water, as smooth as a gentle breeze ran through his vessel. It soothed his nerves, circulated his blood flow, and heightened his awareness. 

*ding* "Class: Summoner," the orb glowed a bright red color, scarlet in the darkness, as if a blood-shot Moon had illuminated the room. *ding* Then the orb turned blue, rotating until Noe took his hand off. "Rank: Star-2 (Grade... D)" Then it powered down, returning the room to its natural state. 

She pointed her pencil toward Noelle. "What was it like?" she whispered to her brother. "Euphoric," he answered. The same as her brother, she braced herself. She had always been more cautious than him. She approached the orb, with hesitation, then, the same as her brother, placed her dominant hand on the orb. The left hand. 

*ding* "Class: Combatant," the orb shone in a deep red, deeper than the red of the Nile river when they drowned Lilith's offspring. Then it shone blue, a brighter blue than her brother. *ding* "Rank: Star-1 (Grade... A)," then it once again powered down. 

Noelle returned to Noe, disregarding the agent who shrunk in the shadows after the sorcerer lady showed her disappointment. Her eyes narrowed. "What?" Noe said irritated, scowling at his sister. "How the hell are you a higher rank than me?" His face became playful, a cheeky smile spread across his face. "Because I'm better," he teased, sticking his tongue out. 

The woman wrote something down. "Alright, follow me," she opened a door hidden behind the orb. "Your licenses are being printed as we speak," she told him, "to receive them, you must pass the interview." Before leaving them in a room with other examinees waiting patiently in chairs.