"Why did you abandon us? And why do it for them of all people?" The girl asked.

"Simple." Michel replied, "You were using me, taking more and more risks to keep pushing through. And my divination was not nearly enough anymore. I barely escaped with my life. And it was Sophia and her team who answered my call for help and took me in. They are not as reckless, most of the time. And they are not over-relying on me. They are people who give more than they take."

"So that's it. You were tired of us and you found better. Good for you, I guess." The mean girl stated, trying to guilt-trip her former comrade.

"It's not going to work anymore, Sienna. I realized you needed me more than I needed you. And I found a team with the opposite dynamic. Not sure why they are willing to put up with me. But so far so good."

"So you did not completely lose your mind" Sienna taunted "You do know it's too good to be true and that it won't last. That girl angered a lot of people. So remember us when the shit hits the fan."

"If it ever came to that, I would definitely join any team but yours." Michel taunted back.

"I will make you change your mind." Sienna declared, throwing daggers at Sophia with her stare before turning away just like Stella did.

★☆★

And then, once the storm had well and truly passed, the team kept progressing through the deck and earning credits, about twice a day with their performance.

And it took them only six days to reach the next junction point, which was guarded as promised. They had made 970 credits to their names and were determined to get safe passage to the next deck.

And so Prince went to discuss the price with the robots guys. But the look on his feline face when he was done told them something was wrong before he even uttered a word:

"No point to beat around the bush: guys, with have a problem. The toll price is 1380 credits each."

That was indeed a problem. In fifteen days, they had barely made 970, although they had made thrice as much money in the last seven days as she did in the first eight days.

Plus, making enough money for all of them, more than eight thousand credits in total, even accounting for what they already had, would take them a bit over nine weeks.

In that time, they could make a complete tour of the ring to collect enough credits.

And if they wanted to secure enough credit to make it to the twelve ring or final deck... assuming they would not have any way to earn money but still needed to pay a toll... it would take them 7 months. Which was impossible because their supplies would not last that long and they would need to start spending credits to earn more, meaning they would have to stay for many more months than seven.

Of course, they discussed it and put it to the vote. But the consensus was that they were willing to take the risk and push forward sooner rather than keep playing the merry band of musicians for months. Besides, there was the risk of overtime diminishing return and two months was already a stretch on their meager collective talent.

And so they resigned themselves to their fate and went touring the entire ring for the extra credits they were desperately missing.

★☆★

It took time but they made an entire revolution around the station. And collected a bit more than they needed to gain safe passage to the next deck.

And so about two months later, they were back in front of the front of junction point guardians and this time, they had the credits the robots had been asking for.

8280 credits to be precise.

And so they had a little over 850 credits left. And they now had a permanent right to move as they pleased between the deck. One of the perks that came with the absurd price:

They only had to pay it once.

And turned out they would need it, cause the tenth ring was the station flight deck, with a force field and an entire armada of small-sized spaceships constantly going in and out. And they were utterly unprepared for it.

And so they retreated back to the residential deck, so they could discuss that flight deck and how to deal with it.

Contrary to what they expected, the station was not as abandoned as they first thought, as the flight deck was very much operational and used, if only by the station robots.

There was something on this floor beyond the station and though the map pointed out it wasn't mandatory as the next chained chest was still somewhat toward the center of the station.

But it was also possible that the actual exit to the station and this floor was to actually leave the station through the flight deck. After all, it would not be the first time the tutorial subverted their expectations and seemingly broke what seemed like previously established rules.

In that case: the floor's golden rule so far had been one theme, one environment, and one common denominator per floor.

But maybe they got their environment wrong. And maybe, that zero-gravity floor extended far beyond the station.

And maybe they were wrong about people getting banned and being sent to their deaths too. It was impossible to tell.

But surprisingly, the flight deck was not dead and the station was still receiving supplies from somewhere out there. Which did not fit their hypothesis of an abandoned station.

But then, how to explain the sorry state of the outer rings? Or that the station could have very much met its end with that hole in its hull? How did any of that make sense?

"So, the station is not as abandoned as we first thought and there are far too many ships going in and out of the flight deck." Michel summarized, "The question is: What do we do with that new information?"

"Does it really matter?" Lono interjected. "The first seven rings looked abandoned enough to me. Maybe the core of the station is still inhabited. But they are still going to be 'monsters' trying to kill us, tutorial-wise, aren't they?"

That was indeed the pragmatic way to think about it. They had met and fought several sentient monsters so far and Sophia already murdered one sapient monster on the fourth floor. In a way, it truly did not matter. They were either an obstacle to overcome, one way or another, or enemies willing to fight to the death.

"If they are reasonable, maybe I can talk our way out." Prince casually suggested.

"Anyway, I won't harm a sapient unless it's self-defense." Moana immediately drew the line.

"We have always been cautious and avoiding conflict whenever we can. I see no reason to suddenly change our way of doing things." Paolo pointed. "Besides, am I the only one who found this exciting? That might be this floor puzzle slowly coming together. I say we should investigate."

They were good things in everyone's opinion but now, they were all waiting for her to make the decision, with two companions for a more proactive approach to the problem and three that were sticking to their tried and true strategy of being cautious and choosing their fight wisely.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"I'm all for a diplomatic solution if we can pull it off. But Paolo is right." She concluded, "We cannot properly deal with whatever it is if we do not understand what is going on. So I say we take the time for Prince to interview the robots about it before diving back in. And once we do, we must remember that the monsters are not the only threat. Those spaceships are coming in and out without any warning and they can kill us just as much as any attacks."

And so, once again, they relied on Prince to gather vital information about the flight deck.

★☆★

It took more time than ever before, mainly because not all the robots knew or were willing to share information. Some robots even had to be bribed to get the information they needed. But they had a better picture of what happened to the station.

The robots were aware that an evacuation had been going on in the past. And the team was not surprised to learn that the introduction of the invasive phase spiders was responsible for it. They also were not surprised to learn that the first three rings were unfinished simply because the station had been expanding when the evacuation happened. But the robots seemed to delude themselves into thinking the phase spider crisis must have been solved as visitors were undeniably back on the station.

As for the resupply the station received, they were automated, although they had been more infrequent recently. The station had both been doing biological research and financed itself with tourism. And the station itself was under no threat of running dry of credits, or so the delusional robots said.

However, that much could not explain all the traffic that was happening on the flight deck. And so the team would have to find out what was going on by themselves. But at least, they got one more piece of the station's puzzle, as Paolo put it.

And so they were ready to challenge the flight deck again.

★☆★

The first thing they noticed after a day of carefully going through the fight deck was that they were two types of space ships, for two different types of shipment. And the robots that were working on the flight deck were ignoring the second type of shipment.

And so the team got curious.

And what they found was clearly not supplies for the station: Sophia did not know about Aliens' technologies. But she could recognize guns when she saw them. As for the rest of those shipments, they had no idea what was what. But Prince had identified 36 substances that he identified as poisons. As for other objects they found in those crates, they looked perfectly normal but Sophia had no doubt there was something dubious about them.

And so it was clear something fishy was going on before they encountered their first three aliens, yelling at them as they attacked their team on sight, unprovoked.

Aside from their head, it was hard to determine any distinctive features in the heat of combat because of their suits. But their heads were a dead giveaway: they had a green head with dark freckles, a completely flat nose, no eyebrows, eyebrow arches or hair, but bony crest, and finally hairs on their ears.

Moreover, it was their first time fighting against guns. And bringing medieval weapons to that fight, they were clearly at a disadvantage. And so they were relying on magic to fight back. Sophia was burning through her spells at an alarming rate, imbuing one arrow after another with her single spell, turning her prismatic orb into prismatic elemental arrows.

And it turned out that the aliens' suits really did not like lightning arrows.

They prevailed in the end and even captured an enemy alive. But it had been a pyrrhic victory. Moana, Lono, Paolo, and Prince had been shot. Moana was in no condition to heal herself or anyone. Also, Paolo, Michel, and she had no spells left and were completely vulnerable to a second attack.

And so they had to ask Prince to conjure his shelter despite his injury.

And Sophia had to follow Moana's instructions and then, spent her only Song of Healing on their field surgeon, in the hope that it would be enough to get Moana back into working conditions, so she could help the others.

But it didn't work out.

Moana was still not fully healed when Sophia was done. And it would take time for their healer to recover. Time they clearly hadn't. And so Sophia had bloodied her hand the entire evening and night, playing the nurse on Moana's instructions.

And she was doing poorly.

For all their differences, the aliens' guns worked on a similar principle and were clearly weapons of war, meant to be as dirty and lethal as possible, all thanks to nasty shrapnels. Because of it, surgery was a butchery. And though they would live, they would all suffer lasting consequences, like Lono and his injured hands.

And so, they truly could not afford another fight, cause it would either cripple or kill them, which in this ruthless tutorial was about the same.

But now that everyone was stable, it was time to interrogate the prisoner and Prince had been pretty motivated and vengeful about it.

"Don't worry. That bastard will talk." Prince guaranteed, grimly.

"I have no doubt about it," Sophia confirmed.

Torture always had been off the table. But with the team's need to recover, they had all the time they needed.

But the prisoner was already talkative and so, Prince started to translate:

"He said: Who the fuck are you working for?"

At this point, Sophia was used to all kinds of misunderstandings. And this new one was no different. Her prisoner was reading the situation through his own perspective and probably could not understand her own.

"We should pretend to be what he thinks we are. But we can't afford to answer his question." Sophia concluded, "I'm going to trust you to exploit his willingness to talk. Get anything you can from him."

And so Prince did, for about fifteen minutes before he finally explained:

"I think a criminal organization is using this station as an underground trading platform. However several factions within the organization are fighting to get a monopoly on the trade or at least, the lion's share. He thinks we are mercenaries for a rival faction. That's all I could get from him without betraying that we are not who he thinks we are."

That did explain a lot about the flight deck's unusual traffic.

"Let's call it a day and discuss it with the team later. He already talked once. Let's wait for him to get back in the mood.

And so they all went to rest for the night. Most of the team desperately needed that rest to recover anyway.

They already had spent so many months on this floor.

So they could afford to lose a day, or maybe two.

★☆★

That criminal organization was obviously an off-station integral part of this floor and a potential challenge waiting to be overcome. And it might also be a hint towards this floor exit. But moreover, it was both an opportunity and a choice.

They were obviously ill-equipped to deal with those criminals as their first encounter had proved.

So they could either risk it or ignore it. And this time, it was a choice Sophia did not feel ready to make.

And so they were discussing it.

"We can't," Moana stated her opinion firmly. "We outnumbered them two to one and we almost got wiped out. Their weapons are nasty and we don't even understand how they are working."

Indeed, the aliens' guns had no visible trigger. And further analysis after dismantling one such gun had revealed that the gun contained no explosives whatsoever. So though it achieved a similar result, the guns remained a complete mystery.

"I agree that this threat is simply too much for us to handle," Michel conceded before making his own point. "But I doubt the tutorial carefully crafted that criminal organization as an optional challenge. If anything, they are enemies we cannot overcome with brute strength. So I think they are this floor's final boss, guarding the exit."

It was a novel concept. A boss that wasn't a single overpowered monster, but a criminal organization, bigger than the sum of its parts. However, given the tutorial's tendency to overthrow expectations, that might be a very plausible theory.

"And I don't think the rest of the station is optional either." Lono retorted, "Assuming that's a puzzle again and aside from the chain chest awaiting us there, we might find what we need to infiltrate that criminal organization on the higher deck. Although the infiltration part is only my guess on what the tutorial expects from us."

It was yet another idea that had its merit. But so far, everyone had said the same thing for completely different reasons: they weren't ready and so they should temporarily ignore and avoid those gangsters. And so Sophia looked at Paolo and Prince intently to know what was on their minds.

"I don't think diplomacy alone is gonna cut it this time." Prince admitted, "They were openly hostile and the prisoner is uncooperative. So far, subterfuge is the only thing that got through him. So I agree with Lono: our only way to get away with our lives is to somehow convince those guys that we are on their side."

The way Prince now voiced his opinions was a testament to Prince's evolution among the team. He was no mere distant observer and counselor anymore but an integral part of the team. And he more regularly slipped to saying 'we', 'us', and 'ours' without thinking.

Which only left Paolo:

"Honestly? I don't know." He shrugged, clearly still shaken by their encounter. "If we were to never see them again, it would still be all too soon. Even with shocking grasp, I'm feeling pretty useless and vulnerable against those guys. They might not use magic. But in the end, we are still bringing swords, daggers, bows, and party tricks to a gunfight. And stealing their weapons did not even the odds. I don't know you, but, the very idea of trying to infiltrate them with no plan B makes me nervous."

In the end, everyone was unanimous about one thing: now was not the time to tackle with this criminal organization. Paolo and Moana were in agreement about avoiding them at all costs. While Michel, Lono, and Prince wanted to infiltrate, outsmart, and get revenge on them from the inside, but agreed on the need for further preparation.

And so, turned out that Sophia truly had no decision to make this time around:

"Okay, let's avoid them for now and see what the next ring has in store for us."