Those still able bodied reacted in the same way as Nar.

Though no weapons appeared in their hands, Tun and Gad stepped forward to block the path of the massive, yellow man.

“What do you want here?” Hyz snarled at him. “Get out!”

Then she stumbled backwards.

Nar blinked.

Did he… Hit her?

He had blinked and missed it. But he could’ve sworn that he caught the last part of a backhanded slap. Casual. Lazy. Annoyed. The way a manager would silence an annoying worker that forgot its station.

“A’ight, let’s take them,” the man said.

Nar pulled out his sword, but before he could even move, something crushed down on him. For a split second, he thought he was under the Pressure again. But no, this couldn’t be any more different. It was like a cold viscosity smothered him, tightening around him with a shiver inducing, wet grip. Nar nearly gagged from its cloying stench, and struggled to breath.

“Cute,” the man said. “But you’re going to behave. Put away your weapons. Now.”

To his horror, Nar did just that!

What? Why?

“Now, you’re going to be quiet and follow after us,” the man said, his voice dripping directly into Nar’s ears like droplets of cold, rancid goo. “If you’re good, we might even have some fun on the way.”

The other men chuckled and leered at them in a way that got all of Nar’s hairs to stand. It reminded him of the way the cannibals had stared at them. Like they were food. Fun.

“Now, let’s…

“Do nothing.”

Something else smashed into the room and Nar nearly collapsed to his knees.

The grimy coldness was obliterated as though it had never even been there, and in its place a resolute absoluteness now pressed down upon him, dimming the lights in the room. Nar could never in his life ever dream to defy the sense of pure command and steadfastness that now bowed him into respect.

“N-no. H-hold on…” the yellow man stammered.

“Silence,” a woman’s voice said, dripping with barely contained anger. “Have you snatched anyone else here? Yes or no only.”

“Yes,” the scaled man answered, miserably.

“You and your man are going to go downstairs and explain to security what it was you are doing here and how you got in. You will also take them to the other Climbers you snatched and set them all free. Then, you will all surrender to the authorities and face your fate. Is that clear?”

“Yes, my lady!”

“Don’t call me that. Now, get out of here.”

“Yes, ma’am. You heard her. Move!” the yellow guy shouted.

And just like that, the group of men dispersed out of the corridor, and in its place, stood a woman only just an inch or two shorter than Nar, dressed in non-descript simple dark gray clothes, with a gleaming, silver pin attached to the left of her chest. It was the symbol of the Crystal.

Her skin matched Nar’s, but her hair was an ashen brown instead of dark gray.

Her eyes were dark as she surveyed the people before her.

Nar noticed that besides the silver pin, at the center of her chest, a logo shimmered in the light. Three triangles, two on top, side by side and facing down, and one below, facing up, with a square surrounding them. The whole thing shone faintly in a white, silvery thread.

A Climber, Nar thought. And knew he was right.

The lady that had spoken to them outside had also been a Climber. He had noticed that the O-Nexers all had much brighter or darker skin colors than they did.

“At ease,” she told them, and the height bowing them receded and light returned. “But be quiet until I tell you to speak. I don’t have much time. Before that, are you alright?”

Nar turned his head and found the healer touching her glowing fingers to her bruised face.

“I am. But never mind that! You-You’re a recruiter, aren’t you… Ma’am? Do you carry Source aboard?” Hyz asked her. “We don’t have anything strong enough here!”

“Source?” their savior asked, frowning.

She scanned the room and her eyes landed on Rel. “Ah, I see. Yes, we do carry Source. I’ll explain it to them.”

“Please do, my la… Ma’am. I’ll stabilize the girl for now, but she doesn't have long.”

The newcomer nodded and regarded the silent, tired and weary parties before her.

Somehow however, Nar had a feeling that he could trust this person.

“I, Tys, swear by the Crystal to speak only the truth now, in this room,” she said, solemnly. “Right then, new blood. Welcome to the Nexus. I’m afraid it only gets worse from here onwards. As you can see, a bunch of defenseless Climbers have emerged from the B-Nex, all over the O-Nex, and the flies are gathering, salivating at the prospect of the fresh meat within easy reach of their scummy little fingers.”

She pulled up a chair and sat in front of the door.

Blocking it to protect us, or to keep us here? Nar wondered. Not that it mattered if she could simply control them with their words!

The O-Nex was proving to be something entirely different than what he had expected, and they had barely set foot out into it.

“So, here’s how things are going to go for you,” she said.” Your friend here, the alfin, is dying. Her kind need regular exposure to the Source, or they wither up and die. Usually, the stuff that the Order of the Forgiven is given is enough to fix up alfin Climbers, or at least stabilize them for a few days… Give them enough time to go to an alfin temple to get the full dose that they need to fully heal.”

Tys looked over at Rel. “However, this one has exhausted herself. What they have here is not enough to save her. And the order won’t be starting any relocations for a couple of days yet. And by then, your friend will be dead.”

Tys lifted her eyes from Rel’s sweaty, pale face and scanned the room, her eyes eventually landing on Kur.

“You’re her party leader, right? Speak.”

Kur gasped in surprise and stared at Tys with his eyes wide.

“I-Is there a way of having someone take us there? Or at least tell us where to go?” he asked.

“We’re in the Minus Levels. No one’s going anywhere without an armed escort, and they’re busy as it is if they’re letting those shits squirm their way in,” Tys said, shaking her head. “So that option’s out, and no one’s going to fly in the kind of Source that she needs. It would need an even heavier escort and the expense would be through the roof… Unless you're planning on selling yourselves and your bodies to make up for it, that’s also not going to work. Which leaves us with you guys trying to make it there on your own. And that will end very, very poorly. Do you want to know why?”

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Kur nodded slowly, his eyes still very wide. “Because of this… Skill?”

Tys shook her head. “It’s not a skill. It’s [Presence], an attribute. The greatest of attributes. But no. It’s not because of it. It’s because you’re weak, clueless and alone, and the people out there will eat you up alive. There is a lot of scum in the Minus.”

She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms.

“Out there, you’ll be snatched by low lives like those shits within five minutes. You’ll be drained of your experience and then you’ll be chopped up and made into consumables to boost combat classes. Or you’ll just be killed for your weapons and gear, or you’ll get swindled… Best case scenario you’re dead in ten minutes. Worst case scenario, you’re beaten, raped, robbed, separated, sold into a pleasure house or a sweatshop where you will be enslaved, beaten and abused for the rest of your short miserable lives. No one will come for you. No one will save you. No one will care. And the alfin will be dead of course, and the luckiest of your sorry bunch. I swore by the Crystal I am not lying, and I swear it again. You can ask the healer.”

The healer jolted at the mention of her name and she cleared her throat.

“I… Yes. She’s right. This is… This is the truth. The Nexus is not very kind to us B-Ns. Especially not fresh off the gate. You will… You will find out just how bad it is out there. Especially in the Minus.”

“The Nexus is not kind to the weak,” Tys corrected her. “But once you can protect yourselves, then the Nexus is another story altogether. Wonder, wealth, joy and opportunities like you can’t even begin to dream off! And so, I have a proposition for you. And I’m running out of time.”

She stood up and walked amongst them, and Nar found himself unable to look away from her. The surety of her movements, the power that exuded from her, the unyielding will behind her eyes. It was mesmerizing. It was enviable. It was what he wanted.

“Come with me,” she said, staring at each one of them in turn. “Two years aboard the Apprentice-Ship Scimitar. Two years delving the Labyrinth with some of the best masters and instructors you can ever hope to find… There are a lot of things that you don’t know. A lot. And we’ll teach them to you, and we’ll make you strong. Of course, we expect you to work hard, down to the very blood and bone. We are an elite apprentice-ship after all, and there will be risks involved. Deadly risks. It’s the Labyrinth we’re talking about after all. But after two years with us, you won’t recognize yourselves, and you’ll be able to make your own fates in the Nexus afterwards.”

Kur looked from Tys to Row and everyone else. He was as befuddled as them at the sudden offer.

“S-so you’d take us on your ship?” he asked. “Your aether… Ship?”

“Aethership. All together. And yes.”

“And you can help Rel?” Kur asked.

“Yes. Like I told the healer, we have a Source aboard, strong enough to fix up your friend. Not fully, I think, to be honest... But enough to keep her going safe and healthy for the two years you’re with us,” Tys said. “We’ve already recruited many other Climbers, with several alfin amongst them. And we have alfin amongst our own crew and faculty. They will all be sharing the same Source.”

Kur nodded slowly. “And what do you get out of this? From us?”

Tys smiled predatorily.

“Good. You’ve seen some shit on the way up, haven’t you? Not like most of the naive Climbers that come out of those gates,” she said, grinning. “The terms of the contract are simple. We, the Apprentice-Ship Scimitar, vow to house you, feed you, treat you and teach you to the best and utmost of our ability in combat delving and the many other aspects of delving and the Nexus. And we offer these terms to you, Climbers in specific, because by walking out of those gates, you already proved yourselves to be a cut above the usual recruits we get in the Nexus. You are battle hardened already, capable of taking what we’re about to throw at you and survive. And thrive. Hopefully…”

Kur gulped and nodded again.

“And you, the apprentices, vow to give every shred of yourselves to our intense training, to undertake the assessments and assignments we put before you, and to gather and harvest the resources we demand of you from dungeons. Also, on top of that, you will be giving us 10% of all the experience you gain while you are with us. This will be deducted automatically from your gains.”

Nar frowned in shocked horror.

“You want our experience?” Kur breathed, his expression going blank. “What?”

Tys chuckled. “Lesson number two of the Nexus. Everything costs something in the Nexus, and the majority of time, it costs the most valuable thing of all: experience.”

Experience? Nar thought, so stunned he could barely think.

“Experience will buy housing, food, healthcare, pleasure and leisure,” Tys listed. “Experience builds ships and equips them. It fuels them with aether. It grants people entry into great academies to learn how to use their classes. It buys skills and path guides, gear and weapons. Everything around the Nexus revolves around experience, so yes, you’ll be paying us 10% of yours. Not a point less, and not a point more. And be happy for that. Most apprentice-ships take anywhere from 30 to 50%.”

“She’s right,” Fon suddenly said. “It’s expensive to sign on with an apprentice-ship…”

“Not to mention you need to actually get accepted,” the healer pipped in. “Honestly, this is the best deal you’re going to get, and the only way you’re saving your friend.”

“Speak,” Tys said, shifting her gaze to Row.

“And… And, what happens if we’re not good enough?” Row asked.

“If that happens, at the point of no return, which is a supply stop on our route before we actually start the delve, you’ll be told to leave the ship,” Tys said. “Don't worry. We’re not going to abandon you out there in the Labyrinth. Our guild will have other apprentice-ships there, of a less elite nature, to take you in. And if you yourselves decide that delving is not for you, our guild offers a vast range of trainee schemes you can take, to go into the route of non-combat life, here in the Nexus. You’ll be taken care of and given a job for life as long as you are competent and hard working. You’ll even be housed. In good neighborhoods, too. It’s a good, honest, peaceful life, and many take it. No judgment, delving is not for everyone. Though for me, there’s nothing like it…”

Her voice took on a dreamy tone by the end of her sentence, and Nar couldn’t help but feel the call that came with her words.

This was it. This was his chance into the Labyrinth, to go on a ship, to be taught by great teachers that raised elite delvers. To grow strong and save his dad… However, what would the others do? They had said that they wanted to go into the Labyrinth, but did they truly? And half of them were unconscious as well! How were they supposed to choose something of that magnitude for them?

Tys startled herself out of her reverie.

“Shit! The captain’s gonna murder me. Okay, kids. This is the deal. Yes or no? Up to you, but you have thirty seconds.”

“What?” Row asked.

“Hurry!” Tys snapped. “27 seconds!”

Nar suddenly found that he could speak again. But what could he say? Great opportunity or not, he wasn’t about to leave the others behind to fend for themselves!

“What do we do Kur?” he asked the party leader.

Kur looked at him, pale.

“But… The others! They aren’t even awake!”

“We need to make a call,” Gad said. “You need to make a call.”

“Me? This is two years straight into the Labyrinth!”

“20 seconds!” Tys told them.

On the other side, Row’s party had devolved into a similar, panicked argument.

“Go!” Hyz shouted, cutting through the noise. “This happens every year, and she’s not the only recruiter here. But she’s from Tsurmirel. The top sixth guild across the whole of the Nexus! Do you understand how many people your age are lining up to apprentice with them? They would give limbs to be allowed in! So go! It’s your best choice at making it in the Nexus!”

“But…” Kur whispered.

“If you stay, you’ll regret it!” Fon shouted. “Go! Say yes!”

“10 seconds.”

“We should go,” Tuk said. “I don’t want us to not have a chance at a proper life here, after all we’ve been through. We deserved it!”

“Tuk…” Kur said.

“5 seconds,” Tys counted, heading for the door. “4.”

Jul suddenly straightened upright, like a jolt of electricity had run through her.

“Kur! Say yes!” she shouted.

“3,” Tys said, opening the door.

She really was going to leave… She was not bluffing.

Nar stared at Kur, his breath forgotten. What was his decision?

“Y-Yes! Yes! Dammit, we’ll go with you!” Kur shouted, raising his hand towards Tys.

“U-Us too!” Row shouted.

Tys turned back, smiling. “Good. Now pack up! Grab the wounded! We have healers aboard! Go! Go! Go!”

They scrambled to obey her.

“Are you sure?” Nar asked, as he helped Kur into a sitting position.

Kur gave him a brief grimace. “Don’t tell me you didn’t want to go?”

Nar made a face at the truth in his words. “I did but…”

“It’s fine, Nar. It’s best if we stick together. And I feel like she’s speaking the truth. Out there, we’re goners…” Kur said, his expression darkening. “It’s not what we wanted. It’s not what we dreamed of. But the one thing I don’t want is for us to suffer and die! We escaped the cannibals. I’m not putting us in anything like that ever again.”

Nar tightened his jaw at the memory, and nodded.

“Yes. Anything but that.”

“Anything but that,” Kur agreed.

“Hurry!” Tys shouted. “We’re bleeding experience over here!”

Nar loaded Kur back up with a groan, and when he looked up, everyone looked ready to go.

“Good. Follow me, and stay close. We’re going into chaos. And don’t worry, no one will touch you while I’m with you.”

Couldn’t you just have helped us with Rel, then? Nar wondered, with a touch of bitterness. But he understood her, or at least, he thought he did a little bit. It was not Tys’ job to help them. She had come to recruit apprentices for her ship and guild. Not waste time helping them. Nor any of the thousands of Climbers being treated right now…

It was their own weakness, their own despair and vulnerability that pushed them right into accepting her offer.

As he filed out of the healer’s room at the back of the others, Nar couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of place the Nexus was. A place where no one cared about anything other than experience, and where the strong devoured the weak, it seemed.

And Nar did not want to be devoured. None of them did.