Barely made it
Ivan slowly opened his eyes which he immediately squirted due to the bright light that shone from above, he blinked a couple of times to adjust his sights before fully opening them.
He did not know how much time had passed since he was out and his mind was currently muddled by a light throbbing, it took him a few seconds to realize what had happened.
'Last thing I remembered was getting kicked in the face by that monster, how did I get here?' Ivan asked onward as he rolled his eyes to see where he was. He was currently lying down on a hospital bed in a large room with white light fixed to its ceiling, multiple other similar beds could also be found in this place as well and a few people in white coats could be seen moving up and down.
' I'm in a hospital?' Ivan wondered before pushing himself and to sit.
He touched his head and felt the bandages wrapped around it, it was clear that he had been brought here from treatment after getting knocked out by that monster.
Strange, he clearly remembered getting kicked but aside from the bandage on his head and the throbbing pain that could be ignored, Ivan felt very energetic.
"Ah, you're up! About time, was starting to worry that my powers were becoming useless"
A gentle feminine voice sounded from beside Ivan. He turned his head and saw a beautiful woman in a similar white coat walking toward him with a kind smile on her face, her hands tucked away in the coat pockets.
She stopped right beside Ivan's bed and looked at him curiously for a few seconds.
"You look alright to me, how do you feel? Do you hurt anywhere?" The woman asked after finishing her checkup.
Ivan shook his head.
" I'm fine. Where are my friends?" Ivan responded with a question of his own.
The face of the woman beamed with a smile.
"You don't have to worry about your friends, they are in perfect shape and woke up a while ago. You've been unconscious for three hours.
Your friends are waiting for you outside" the woman responded before gesturing for Ivan to get off the bed and follow her.
While they moved through the lines of the hospital bed, the woman couldn't help but ask.
"What were you three doing that got you all into such a state? Had the three of you not been brought here sooner, chances of permanent damage were very high"
Ivan continued staring at his surroundings even when answering.
"I… I can't remember " he lied. He didn't know if it was right to tell about the test since the people who saved them didn't mention it to the person who treated them.
The woman stared at Ivan for a while with a pout on her face, she sighed and said.
"I understand if you do not want to talk about it, but I advise you not to engage in such again even if it is training. It's not worth it to risk your life if you can't reap the reward"
By now they had arrived at the entrance of whatever this room was, there, Ivan saw Glen and Ralph standing at the entrance with serious looks on their faces.
From what Ivan could see, the both of them seemed to be perfectly fine which once again surprised him once more. He clearly remembered the amount of damage that the two of them had received from the monster but they had been treated to full health in Just three hours that he had been unconscious.
The two of them arrived where Glen and Ralph were waiting, Ivan moved over to stand next to them.
"There should not be any future troubles with your bodies since I've personally healed you with my healing talent, just promise not to put yourself in such conditions again, alright?" The woman uttered while staring at their faces.
"Thank you for healing us, we promise to avoid such situations again," Ralph said and gave a polite bow.
"You can wait here, someone will come get you," the woman said and left after giving them one last long look.
After the woman left them alone, Ivan turned to look at his friends with eyes demanding answers.
"What?" Ralph could not stand Ivan's gaze and hissed at him.
"Why are you two looking so serious?" Ivan asked in return.
It was alright for Ralph to look serious once in a while for no reason but it was rare for Glen to do the same.
Ralph sighed before expressing his worry about whether they had failed the test since they did not know what happened after they failed to kill the monster.
Ivan realized that it might really be the case and his face also became serious as well, they could do nothing but wait for whatever was going to happen next.
The person who was sent to get them arrived a few minutes later and they left with him to meet the people who would decide what would happen to them next.
...
Back in the control room, the two people who had been watching their test looked at the three of them being led away from the front of the infirmary through a different screen.
"Do you think we should apologize to them when they come? We almost got them killed" one of them asked, clearly nervous.
"Better not let yourself slip, it wasn't our fault either. It will be best to make it look like we are allowing them to pass because of their effort and tell them that others managed to pass without messing up. That way, they will feel grateful and not talk about it with others; we will be able to avoid letting the higher-ups know and also gain their trust" the other person explained.
The eyes of the first person lit up upon hearing his colleagues' explanation.
"Brilliant! You really are the most intelligent in our group " he exclaimed, his nervousness reducing significantly.
The three were brought to the control room a while later and faced the two men who had been waiting for them.
Ivan, Ralph, and Glen still held serious looks on their faces which masked the nervousness that they felt.
"Ahem, do you remember anything that happened after the mishap in your test?" One of the men cleared his throat and asked, his gaze was fixed on Ivan since he was the one who had surprised them the most.
The three of them shook their heads in response, they had only woken up to meet the white light on the ceiling of the infirmary after getting knocked out.
"It's fine, although we had to save you in the end, we'll give you credit for managing to force the monster into using its full strength," The man said before proceeding to explain to them.
According to him, Ivan and his friends had only managed to force the monster to get serious after injuring it after which they were unable to even defend against it. They learned that this was supposed to be a failure since other trainees had passed the same test without having to get saved.
"So, although you guys did not succeed in the test, you still passed. Welcome to the Owen Tower"
Glen's fist clenched in excitement as a bright smile spread across his face, his nervousness totally vanished after hearing that they had passed.
Ralph gave a sigh of relief while Ivan's eyes burned with even more determination. It seemed like all he heard was the part about other trainees passing the same test that they had almost failed.
Didn't that mean that the other trainees were very talented people? What more could a person who longed for strength hope for than to be able to train with such people?!
"Here are your things and necessities that you will need during your training, anything else can be settled later," one of the men said and passed three bags to the three of them along with their original bags.
They didn't have the time to open their new bags to see what was inside before someone else came inside the control room. This new person was a young-looking woman with long green hair and a pretty face. She had a busty figure that made her cold face even more alluring.
She was a cold beauty!
She entered the room and stared at the two men in the control room with visible annoyance in her cold gaze.
"What is it?" She questioned, her voice soothing but toneless.
"Hehe, sorry if we disturbed you. We were hoping you would give these new trainees a tour around the place before their training in the morning" The two men laughed awkwardly as one of them said in an almost apologizing manner.
The woman who looked like she was in her mid-twenties glared at them for a few more seconds without saying a word, the two men were clearly starting to get uncomfortable under her piercing gaze.
"Follow me" The woman voiced out as she turned around and walked away, not even slowing down for Ivan and the others to react; they had to run after her when they came to their senses.
Now the only ones left in the control room, both men fell flat on their chairs with exhausted looks.
" Phew, that went surprisingly well," One of them said while taking deep breaths.
" True, let's never let something like this happen again "
" Agreed "