We what? Nar thought, stunned, and sure he had heard wrong.

Not only was there the Church, but now there was this whole nobility to obey as well?

“It is the way of the Nexus!” Professor Thim said, raising his voice above the clamor that filled the room. “And it is so, because the nobility provides nearly half of all the combat classes in the Nexus, and nearly 90% of the Named Few to boot, thus taking upon its shoulders the great responsibility, and incurs the insane leveling and defense costs, of protecting the Nexus. For the most part, people are happy with this arrangement. In fact, nobles are pretty much worshiped as celebrities across the Nexus by the non-combat classes! Well, any strong combat class holds sway over the adoration of the masses, not just nobles…”

Nar paused.

I mean… It sounds reasonable, but…

He knew there was a but. There always was a but to anything that looked too good to be true.

“But there is a second reason why I tell you all this,” Professor Thim said. “As combat classes yourselves, you are likely to have dealings with nobles at various points in your life. While most of them are upstanding in their duty, it’s impossible to deny a certain feeling of… Hmm. How do I put this? Superiority, I suppose? Noble combat classes are usually more powerful and more highly ranked than non-noble ones, and given their history, wealth, and Radiant ordained task of protecting the Nexus, it’s easy to see where such… Entitlement comes from. And so, always be wary. Everything a noble does, is always done in self-interest. Fame, wealth, power and influence. Their own, or of their houses, is always their foremost goal. More so than protecting the Nexus some say… And thus, beware you are not entangled into their schemes. One hand draws you in with the promise of support and wealth, while the other is always ready to cut you loose. While there are well intended nobles, and usually the relationship is mutually beneficial, beware. For you never know. You never know with anyone in the Nexus, but nobles can always make it more complicated even if you just run away.”

“That’s insane…” Gad whispered. “I hope we don’t get dragged into this nonsense.”

At their side, Kur raised his hand.

“Yes?” the professor asked.

“Does that sort of competition also happen between the delving guilds?” Kur asked.

“Yes and no!” their teacher said, absentmindedly scratching his chin. “The strong devour the weak and come on top for gains and glory. That is the way of the Nexus, and even more so out in the Labyrinth. That is why you need to be very careful of everyone that is not Tsurmirel… We are all competing for gains, experience and resources out there, and many do so in ruthless, cruel ways. However, for us, normal people, the rules are stricter. Authorities will often turn a blind eye to the small, petty things that guilds do to each other. But for blatant and covert hostility, the rules as set by the Offices of the Delving Guilds and numerous other offices, are ironclad. Of course, there’s… Friendships and corruption, rife throughout the great bureaucracy, so, it’s not that black and white. And while nobles are forbidden from creating guilds, it's not forbidden to hire one, and it's actually a pretty common occurrence. And to be honest, many guilds are just thinly veiled parts of noble houses, and so, the legal field ruling the delving guilds is… Messy, to say the least. You can’t rob, steal, cheat or harm anyone else, but… It all depends on you know and who’s backing you. If you’re just some nobody, the Law is the Law.”

“Different sets of rules,” Gad pondered. “Different sets of people. The nobles and the powerful, and the normal people.”

That’s us… Nar thought, a little knot twisting in his stomach.

He had always known about the noble houses of the I-Nex, those said to dwell alongside the Holy Crystal. But it was a different feeling now that he was out, to know that they were people who were outright superior to him through the simple virtue of their birth placing them higher in the hierarchy.

Of course, there was the whole duty of protecting the Nexus, and that was fine. But what the professor was warning them about felt like abuse of that power. And the Crystal, and the Radiants, allowed it, as long as it didn’t go too far. But what counted as going too far?

The fact that the Crystal, and the Radiants added to that now, was not omniscient and all powerful either, as he had always known It to be, was also another shock.

If the Crystal was blind to what went on not only in the Nexus but in the Labyrinth, then where else was It blind to? The B-Nex? The cubeplants? The very room he now sat in? His thoughts, as he had always feared?

He sighed heavily and rested his forehead in his hands, his shoulders atop the short table.

The Radiants and Abyssals. The Church. The noble houses. The guilds. These offices and authorities… A Crystal that is actually not always looking. And then us? We are combat classes, so does that mean that we are above the normal people? But what in the pile does that even mean?

He shook his head.

Every day the Nexus expanded more and more around him, becoming the truly infinite place that everyone believed it to be back home. But it was all getting more and more complicated, tangled and messy as well. Far more than he had expected it to.

I mean, I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t all of this insanity…

All he could do was hold on and learn everything he could as it came at him. And hope that in time, he would understand and find his place in the Nexus.

“In fact, and for example, I read this morning that a ship was detected smuggling in some contraband into the Nexus,” Professor Thim said, making Nar look down again. “Rather than face the music, as they say, they tried to blast past the queue at one of the gateways, endangering not only the ongoing traffic but the gate itself… They were, of course, immediately shot down by the gate's defensive contingent.”

“Of course…” Kur breathed.

“No warnings were issued or needed. To endanger a gateway is to endanger the livelihoods of countless. To risk the economic stability and supply chains of the Nexus itself, and, as someone more cynical might say, the profits of the rich and the powerful. And these are all unforgivable crimes,” Professor Thim said, pursing his lips briefly. “So, in response to your question, apprentice, yes and no. Competition between guilds happens on a daily basis, and it can get ugly, out here in the Labyrinth and in the dark alleys and glamorous clubs of the Minus where no one can see it. But for the most part, we can’t just open fire on our competitors’ ships or bomb their warehouses and offices. That would be criminal and against the law. And we would be punished by it.”

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“But the noble houses can do it?” Kur asked.

“To an extent… Yes, they can. The noble houses can do a lot when under the guise of the pursuit of combat readiness, and weeding out weakness,” the man said, his tone dropping. “Of course, some are more honorable than others, and some more unscrupulous. And the Radiants do mete out punishment when things go too far… What constitutes as too far though, only They really know and decide. But it’s usually enough to make the houses not go too wild, and minimizes the damage and cost to normal people. Most of the time, at least… As falling out of favor with the Radiants is tantamount to a death sentence… Does that make sense?”

“Yes, professor. Thank you,” Kur said.

The man nodded at Kur.

“If it makes you feel a little bit better, you are all combat class holders here,” he said, sweeping the room with his eyes. “And that means that you have some noble immunity. As long as you are a higher level than they are. Any nobles using their authority over you, will automatically have their level revealed to you by the System itself. And if you are at a higher level, you are not forced to oblige them.”

“Oh, nice…” Mul whispered. “So we just have to be stron…”

“However, before you get your hopes too high, noble combat class holders tend to be of a higher level. The support of their house, friendly houses and guilds, tend to more easily propel them further up the levels,” the professor continued. “And usually, the level difference is significant. While commoner combat class holders plateau at around level 100, nobles usually do so around level 170.”

“Never mind then,” Mul muttered.

“That’s into the elite levels, isn't it?” Gar rumbled.

Nar nodded slowly at her side. It wasn’t much of a hope then. More like the vague, distant, mostly impossible to achieve promise of a hope to commoners like them.

“Also, nobles don’t take lightly to being disobeyed, regardless of level,” the professor said, with a grimace. “Cross one, and you might find yourselves having to deal with their entire house, allies and so on… You are lucky to be part of Tsurmirel, one of the most powerful guilds in the Nexus, with our own powerful allied noble houses. But that only gets you so far against a dagger to the back… So, again, be careful when dealing with nobles. If you cannot avoid them, it’s best to just go along with them and keep your tongue still. It’s really not worth it to make enemies of them. That’s just how things are. Even if you are also called upon to defend the Nexus during the Surges. But well, more on that at some point later on…”

“This is so… Wrong,” Cen whispered.

“Very, very wrong,” Gad agreed. “Not just for us, but for anyone caught in the crossfire.”

Kur sighed. “And I thought we could relax a little when we left the cannibals behind. Turns out, there’s cannibals out here too. They just don’t eat you…”

“Don’t they?” Mul said. “Remember what Tys said. They can turn you into ingredients!”

“Oh, damn… You’re right.”

Nar shook his head. His ears ringed, and his heartbeat pounded painfully against his temples.

“This is all a mess,” he said. “And again, it just comes down to how strong you are. If you are strong, you do whatever you want. Otherwise, you bow down and hope for the best.”

“So it seems,” Gad said. “Our need to get stronger just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Especially since they don’t like BNs either, we’ll probably be treated worse than ONs…”

“How are you two so calm about this?” Cen whispered, horrified.

Nar shrugged. “It is what it is. What are you going to do? Complain? Who’s going to hear us? Who’s going to care?”

“True,” Kur said, with a sigh. “The best we can do is get stronger. As strong as we need to.”

“Yeah, no dipshit is pushing me around!” Mul growled. “The first one that tries is getting…”

“Nothing!” Cen said, pushing him. “You’re going to behave! Didn’t you hear the professor?”

“Cen’s right,” Kur said. “We need to be careful. We need to be polite. Even obedient. But we also need to be strong enough to get ourselves out of any bad situation if need be. We don’t want a repeat of what happened in the Middle Levels.”

“You think it would be that bad?” Tuk asked, from the other side, leaning forward past Viy.

“I… I don’t know,” Kur said. “I will make sure to go to all of these elective classes to learn as much as I can… But everyone keeps warning us about not trusting anyone, and there were those people back at the gate. We need to be careful. We all need to work hard. I know that this is not ideal, but we’re out now, and need to face our new reality. Yes, it’s better than the cubeplant, but we need to work hard to make sure we’re not easy targets.”

“We need to stay aboard the Scimitar,” Nar said, staring down at the table in front of him, his eyes distant. “We need to be elite delvers. You heard him last time. Elite delvers go beyond level 100, and we need that.”

It wasn’t about saving his dad anymore. He didn’t want to be preyed upon. He didn’t want to find himself in a cage again. Or used. Abused. Chopped into components, drained of experience… Or forced to obey anyone.

“I agree,” Gad said.

“Damn,” Tuk said, sighing. “I guess that’s the way it needs to be.”

“And it won’t hurt to find some friends,” Kur mused.

“You mean nobles?” Mul asked, his eyebrows nearly reaching his scalp.

“Nobles. Rich people. Powerful people… Yeah.”

“Are you serious?” the brawler asked him.

“I agree,” Gad said. “Knowing important people, powerful people, is important here. And in the end, is that so different from being buddies with the manager back home?”

“I… I guess not,” Mul said. “But I don’t like it.”

“Me neither,” Kur said. “But we’ll do what we have to. We didn’t Climb through all of that, just be used and abused out here. We’ll make our own destiny. And it will be fucking happy and filled with laughter!”

Nar stared at his party leader. His jaw was clenched so tight Nar could see the tightened tendons on his face.

Gad reached over and squeezed his hand.

“We will, don’t worry,” she said. “Together, we can do anything. You’ll see. As long as we work hard, and stick together, nothing will bring us down.”

“I… Yeah, you’re right,” Kur said, exhaling.

“Alright,” Mul said. “Guess I won’t slack off tonight then.”

“You were going to?” Cen asked, shocked.

“Well, probably not,” Mul said. “I was tempted though. You have no idea what they’re making us do…”

Nar could only nod vaguely at the words of the brawler.

So, we need to be strong, he thought, his thoughts taking him away from there and then. Not just for my dad, but for our actual survival out here. As BNs, as combat classes, we need to be able to hold our own against whoever comes after us…

He clasped his hands together and looked down at the Professor, who was on the move towards the front of the podium, no doubt to retake control of his class.

He didn’t say it, but the Named Few must be really high in level, right? He thought. So that means maybe they don’t take shit from anyone, right? Except maybe from the Crystal and whatever god or spirit they are contracted to…

That meant that becoming a Named Few, which he had been honestly doubting about considering their first Nexus 101 lecture, was back as a real option. No. As a real need.

And even a god… he thought, grimly.

As impossible as the prospect sounded, he couldn’t deny its allure.

A god stood above all others. He had lived a lifetime of enduring abuse at the hands of said others, and he wasn’t looking forward to returning to that kind of life.

He had not Climbed to live at the yolk and the beck and call of anyone that thought themselves better than him.

No. I did not, he thought.

And if one guy, an auramancer like him, had managed it, why not him?

If he worked harder than anyone else.

If he used Tsurmirel and whatever powerful allies they could find, for all of their resources, knowledge, experience, influence, benefits and everything else they had…Then why was it impossible?

Especially with his hybrid path, and his rare class.

Elite first, Nar decided. Then… Then I’ll see.

He would assure their freedom and happiness, and that of his dad.

He remained unshaken in those goals, and he would get it done. Whatever it took.

And the more the Nexus revealed its unfairness to him, it only showed him how high he still needed to climb.