On the second day at the Association headquarters, Devon gave Max the tour. They walked through halls that were mostly empty, with pristine white walls and freshly waxed tile floors. It looked as if the whole building was brand new, never used. "These are the dorms," Devon said, gesturing to a long hallway filled with wooden doors. "Senior members are permitted to live off-premises, but since you're new, you'll be staying here" Each door had a plaque above, likely with the names of the residents. They kept walking for a bit, passing more office spaces. Eventually they arrived at a cafeteria, eerily similar to that of a prison's. There were a few people eating there, including some people that looked about Max's age. "Does the Association always recruit children? Or am I just special?" Max joked, trying to break the awkward silence between them. Devon didn't seem to appreciate Max's attempt at humor, keeping his professional tone. "Not always, but it's pretty common. Most people awaken around your age, and the children of known Flux users are kept under close supervision." "Is Flux sensitivity a genetic thing?" Max asked, genuinely curious. "We don't really know yet. Flux sensitive people have had children with no control over Flux, but there are also entire bloodlines of known Flux users."
After moving on from the cafeteria, Devon showed Max the common room, a room that was supposedly used for meetings amongst agents and trainees. There was no evidence of that fact, however, the room being almost entirely empty, save for one guy playing on his phone on a couch. "How does his phone work in here? I thought they were disabled when you entered the grounds." Max asked, with a hint of hopefulness behind his voice. "Oh, you'll be issued a special phone for communication in about a week. And yes, you can use it for whatever, just try not to get any viruses or anything." Devon responded with a slight smile crossing his face. He'd asked the same question back when he'd started. He saw a lot of himself in the kid, actually. More concerningly though, he reminded him much more of an old friend of his.
Finally, Devon brought Max to the courtyard. Max was greeted by massive marble pillars, with ornate stonework comparable to the Roman colosseum Max had learned about in his ancient histories class. The ground consisted of a sand pit, with seemingly random pillars and stones strewn around, not holding anything up. There were people training there, twirling staves, all with that same Flux aura. It wasn't spilling off of them though, like the man at the bank. It was tight, refined, like a thin suit of armor around the muscles of the fighters. The girl Max had seen talking to Devon yesterday approached them, and introduced herself with a flat tone. "Hello. I'm Ren, Devon's apprentice." Max awkwardly stuck out his hand to give her a formal handshake. "Hey, I'm Max. It's nice to finally meet someone else here." Ren didn't return his handshake, and simply responded with "So I've heard.". Ren was tall, taller than Max, with her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She stood there with a slightly irritated look on her face, like she had better things to be doing. "I'll be training with you today." She said, before tossing Max a staff. Max almost dropped it, and Ren let out an audible sigh.
The staff had black wrapping on the center, with strange symbols covering the exposed parts of the wood. They glowed faintly when Max held the staff, as if responding to him. He looked back at Devon, eyes wide. "Are you sure? I haven't even gotten into a fight before, much less held a weapon." "This is how you learn." Ren said firmly. "No training books, just physical practice" Max looked back down at the stick in his hands, and nodded his head. "Alright, I'll go easy on you." He said, with a smug look on his face. Ren's mouth twitched, beginning to form a smirk, before she caught herself, fixing her composure.
Max stepped forward, staff in hand, and stopped a few feet away from Ren. "Flux responds to intent," Devon said. "Max, hit her." Max hesitated. "Are you sure? What if she gets hurt?" Devon snorted, and gestured for Max to proceed. Ren shifted her stance a fraction. "Do it." Max swung. Not lightly, but in a way that he knew wouldn't hurt her too badly. Ren moved quickly, with no wasted movement. She ducked under the swing, allowing it to pass, then gave Max a solid tap to the wrist with her own staff, instantly disarming him. Astonished, Max looked down at his forearm, which was already turning red. "Again." Devon said firmly from the sidelines. Anger flared, humiliation mixed with adrenaline, and the heat in Max's body surged. In a flash, Max snatched up the staff again, and swung harder. Ren deflected and retaliated accordingly, dodging his swings and hitting points that made his body feel clumsy and late. Max's cheeks burned with humiliation, and he noticed a sparkle in Ren's eyes. She was enjoying this. He forced his feet to settle. Forced his breathing to slow the way Devon had shown him. He swung again, tighter, less wild. Ren took a half-step back, and for the first time that day, her eyes sharpened with something more like attention rather than dismissal. The staff clipped the edge of her sleeve, and Max celebrated internally.
Ren tilted her head. "You're reinforcing without realizing it, you know." Max blinked. "I am?" Devon nodded from outside the ring. "Yeah. You're burning too hot too." Max's pulse jumped. "What does that mean?" "It means you're broadcasting," Ren said. "Anyone and anything that can sense Flux could track you down, and you'll leave yourself vulnerable with empty Flux stores if you keep it up." Max swallowed. "Cool. That's… great." He looked down, deep in thought, before asking "So how do I stop that?" "It just comes with experience, really." Ren said. "Think of it like controlling your breathing when you run. You'll be able to run further and more efficiently. The same goes for Flux." Devon nodded, clearly proud of his trainee. "When you feel that heat rise up, try to tense your muscles. It helps your brain instinctively reign in that flux output, and eventually you won't even have to think about it."
"Alright, can we try to do one more match?" Max asked, with a new fire of determination behind his eyes. "No holding back." Ren's mouth twitched again, and Devon pulled out his phone and typed something, before smiling and saying "Sure, go for it." "Are you sure about this, Max?" Ren said, adjusting his posture. "Definitely." Max responded, gripping his staff tightly. The second Devon said "Begin", Ren and Max dashed forward. Max swung lower, aiming for the staff itself rather than Ren, before backing off. Max managed to block a single strike from Ren, and his forearms burned from the impact. He felt his Flux rush to his hands, and swung the staff, with the runes now crackling with red energy. He thought that surely this would be the strike that won the fight. Surely he could finally end this game. Then Ren disappeared, leaving Max swiping at the air. He spun around too late, taking a powerful hit to the side of his skull. Bleeding on the ground, the last thing he heard before blacking out was Devon saying "Don't you think that was a little much?" Followed by a dry laugh from Ren. "He had to learn his place at some point, right?"