As soon as they entered the building, both Shindo and Flush were greeted by a spacious lobby. It was filled to the brim with both veteran and aspiring heroes, their colorful costumes and interested demeanor brightening the more professionally imposing lobby.

Some of them were forming a line that went straight to the reception. Other heroes struck up conversations with their peers. The newbies mostly approached the more curious veteran-looking heroes for advice, or others in a similar predicament to them. And others occupied the seats and sofas spread around the room, either resting or tinkering with whatever they brought in preparation for the exam.

Truthfully, Shindo felt a bit envious of the lucky few who snagged a seat but his attention was stolen away by a weird incident. Ever since they entered they were garnering uncomfortable amounts of attention. Some of the heroes stared at them intently, but quickly turned their heads once the pair looked at them. Some of their eyes reflected bewilderment and surprise. But the main feeling Shindo felt from them was... disgust?

"Um, Wattz? Did you do anything to them?" Flush shifted uncomfortably besides him. Seems like she also noticed the weird reactions they were both receiving.

"No?" Shindo tilted his head, confused. "I thought they were looking at you."

Flush shook her head and then whispered to Shindo in a hushed manner. "Nah, they are looking at you. Look at their glares!"

Shindo discreetly stared at the crowd of heroes. It was true, they were glaring at him. But why?

The whole reason he had spent designing armor was to blend in and look average. He was also very sure he hadn't met or spoken to any more heroes after his first encounter with Professor White. He truly couldn’t wrap his head around this bizarre situation… so, he did the next best thing: try to ignore it.

"Let's just go," Shindo ultimately sighed, trying to clear his head. Flush nodded, but now she casted a worried glance in his direction.

The two of them walked through the lobby for a bit, trying to figure out how to check-in into the exam. That is until they both found out that the line they saw was for examinees trying to finish the sign-up process. So they queued up, but the growing number of glares was starting to grate at Shindo’s patience.

Annoyed and desperate to be left behind, he brusquely looked around him, giving the rude audience the cold smile they deserved, all the while he released a bit of bloodlust. Thankfully, it had the intended effect. Most of the more curious ones in the crowd flinched or backed off as Shindo's cold gaze swept across the room. Still, the more resentful ones challenged him with a snarl of their own.

These were the heroes of the Heroes’ Operation Center? They were acting like a pack of hungry animals if Shindo had to compare them to something!

"Wattz, we're almost to the front!" Flush playfully poked him as she beamed him a smile. However, Shindo was still in deep thought. Because of the attention he was receiving, he couldn't help but be more attentive to the people looking at him. They were all pro-heroes, not examinees!

"Oi, Wattz. Pay attention." Flush tapped his shoulder, clearing Shindo's thoughts. "We're next."

"Aight, let's finish this quickly," Wattz responded feeling a bit drained from all this unwarranted attention.

Both of them stood before a big receptionist desk filled to the brim with papers. There were a few more attending other wannabe heroes, but the one that attended Shindo and Flush was a simple male clerk. Like the heroes before, he gave Shindo a bad look, which further annoyed Shindo. They shouldn’t know who he is, so what was their problem?

Out of pettiness, Shindo didn’t bother speaking a lot with the rude clerk, letting Flush do the talking. After a few minutes of back and forth, the clerk gave them two forms to fill to finish the sign-up. The paper was simple enough to fill in, as the information didn't invade most of Shindo's privacy. He tried to finish as quickly as possible because the glares were starting to affect Flush, who shook a bit in discomfort.

"All right." The clerk said tiredly. He gave the two of them a piece of paper. Shindo quickly noted he had the Greek letter omega on the top right corner. "In the paper I gave you is your designated exam room. The exams take place in four different places, each testing one of the superpower archetypes. The Greek symbol in the top right corner is the place of your testing room, and on the back are the directions to reach your respective exams. Good luck."

Shindo took the paper and hurried off to a more silent part of the lobby. Thankfully, the glares had diminished a lot ever since the clock hit 10:15. Finally! A bit of privacy to do a last-minute check on his gadgetry!

"Wattz, wait!" Flush called to him, grabbing his attention. In his hurry to check his gadgets, he hadn’t noticed that she kept following him after the sign-up.

"Something the matter, Flush?" Shindo asked.

"I wanted to see if we were on the same exam site, since you’re basically the only person I’ve met today.” The young woman answered while showing him her paper, which had the Greek letter beta.

"Well..." Shindo closed one of his belt pockets and then showed her the paper with the Greek letter omega. "I'm on Omega. I don't use my powers a lot per se... but if I had to guess mine would fall under the enhanced archetype."

“Oh. I guess where on different exam sites then,” Her shoulders dropped in disappointment. “My power falls on the Mutant archetype, so I’m on Beta. However, I really thought your powers were similar to mine, since you are wearing a string visor after all."

Shindo laughed awkwardly. "So, you know the type of visor I'm wearing?"

Flush's eyes sparkled. "Why wouldn't I know about one of the most important gadgets in history! Of course, I would know about them!"

Shindo smiled and continued talking with Flush about gadgetry. This girl knew more than what she led on to and had a rather interesting view on gadgetry. However, they didn't get to speak for long as the clock hit 10:20, and most examinees went to find their exam rooms.

The two of them finally bid each other farewell and went in opposite directions. Shindo looked again at the piece of paper the clerk gave him with directions. It said to go to the heroes' pavilion, where he would immediately see Testing Room Omega. Shindo went into the hallways of the center to try and find his testing room. Yet...

“I’m lost” Shindo voiced his despair. Even with the instructions on the paper, he couldn’t make left from right in this place! What’s with all the near-identical hallways? They all twisted and turned in a maze-like pattern! And where were all the other people? He hadn’t stumbled upon another person since he parted with Flush!

Shindo let out a small curse as he checked for time. It was 10:30 already! At this pace he would never even find the god forsaken room! If he had paid an ounce of attention to when Diva spoke about HOC, maybe he wouldn’t be in this circumstance. He could practically hear her laughing her ass off, saying something along the lines of, "I told you so."

In the end, he let out another long sigh, before taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Once he was calm, Shindo rechecked the time on his visor. Seeing as he still had around half an hour to find the room, he ultimately picked a random direction and started wandering off in hopes of finding the place he was looking for.

However, it was fruitless. He still couldn’t make left from right in this place. Nevertheless, his aimless wandering didn’t prove useless, as he now stood before a simple door at the end of one of the many hallways. This one had an engraving of the Greek letter alpha and he could faintly hear people inside. Surely they could help him find the Omega Room.

So without a moment's doubt he opened the door. Oh, boy, was he surprised by what he saw.

Inside the room, two heroes were sparring. The first looked sort of similar to what Shindo would describe as a "street magician", with his long grey trench coat and dirty brown hair. He fought in a weird yet accurate manner, searching for a weak spot to accurately hit his opponent. However, it was the person he was sparring against that surprised Shindo. Why would that heroine be there?

Her blue and white suit glistened as she sent a kick towards the hero's head. Her black hair moved in tandem with her precise and quick movements. Although, her attacks seemed more constrained compared to the video fight Diva showed him earlier this morning. Maybe it was because she sustained injuries by tanking those hits? Who knew?

Still, there was something about that unreadable atmosphere that she exuded that made Shindo wary of the heroine. Even if he could see that they were having a friendly spar from observing the "street magician’s" attitude, he couldn't feel a twinge of emotions coming from her as she went back to that unorthodox stance. Her piercing black eyes caught everything, as she went in for a punch. Her sparring partner blocked her. He tried countering by hitting what Shindo thought was a pressure point, but she tripped him up.

There was something about her coldness that he found familiar. Something that Shindo couldn't put his finger on. She was attentive, calculating in every step, every motion, and every gesture. That calculated coldness seeped through her poise, her kicks biting with frost as the two sparred to a standstill. And soon enough they separated and shook hands, as if the fight had been but a mere illusion.

Then, the woman simply took out a small notebook and started writing something down while she spoke to the other hero. They seemed to be trading pointers or something.

Every fiber of his being told Shindo of the absolute danger she posed. If he could, he would avoid her altogether. Yet, Shindo was on a bind: he was lost, and he needed directions, lest he miss the exam. He needed their help, even if he had to interact with that woman.

A small groan escaped him as a thought formed on his head. If she found out, DIva would have a field day with him.

With that thought in his mind, he put on his signature grin and entered the training room. It was going to be a long day.