Nick threw his head back and let out a groan. Planning was far too hard. As he had started trying to put something together he realised was lacking all of the core building blocks of a plan. He didn’t really know what the people around him could do, he didn’t fully understand his situation or available resources. How was he supposed to put together a massive overarching plan if he didn’t know this stuff? The main thing he was missing was the more personal component. What the hell did he actually want? He could give half-answers, like making sure his family was safe or getting stronger, but they didn’t feel passionate enough to build a master plan around.

What if his plan was to make a plan? The first step of his massive plan, actually planning it. That just sounded goofy. Taking over the Complex? Lofty, but Nick wasn’t the power-hungry sort. Then he landed on the most obvious of potential plans, one that was likely shared by many a Latercomer. Escape the Complex. Nick didn’t feel that strongly about it in all honesty. He was having a pretty fun time here, par all the absolutely horrific stuff. Actually, only when he ignored all the horrific stuff was he having a fun time. He didn’t feel that strongly about actually finding a way out of the Complex, he felt like he’d just adapted rather quickly to the absurdity of the situation.

He couldn’t really complain that much. He still had his family around, kind of, he didn’t have much to miss back in the ‘real’ world. A few friends sure, but that was about it. He didn’t have a career or dedicated hobby he was passionate about, he had just been floating around the last few years. The Complex had at least given him something to do, some concrete enemies to focus on dealing with. Was this Stockholm Syndrome? Could a place give you Stockholm Syndrome? If any place could, he’d bet the Complex would be it.

When he refocused his thoughts on a plan he realised that escaping the Complex might actually be his best potential goal, if not for him, at least for his family. He was sure his dad was fine, Nick had gotten his laidback attitude from someone. Lily and Benny though? They actually had prospects back in the ‘real’ world. Lily was doing really well in university, she definitely had a prestigious career in journalism ahead of her. Benny was just a kid, he had unlimited potential and it wasn’t right for him to be trapped in such a nasty place as the Complex. Nick could take it, he revelled in the conflict and danger, it gave him a purpose and he knew he could take more. That didn’t mean his family deserved to.

Nick clapped his hands together. He found his motivation, a nice family-driven goal. If he ever found himself wavering, he could have an arc where he goes and meets some orphans or something. He’ll promise them he’ll get them back to the real world and be filled with heroic determination. Nick laughed to himself, it was goofy but he could work with it. Now came the even harder bit, actually putting together a plan to escape the Complex. This one stumped him. Was escape even possible? Nick shook his head, he couldn’t give up his new goal this quickly.

If he was the heroic protagonist of a story what would his first steps be? Well, of course, he’d start travelling around getting stronger. Check. Then he’d hear some rumours about a possible escape from his predicament. Now, Nick vaguely recalled someone mentioning something like an escape rumour. Awesome, he just needed to overhear a few more conversations in a tavern or something and he’d have his next step nailed. Planning was so easy when you just borrowed it. So, what were the steps he’d take after hearing the rumours? It was hard to say right now, it would likely be dependent on whatever the rumours told him.

Nick thought about it himself for a moment and facepalmed. He bet he could guess what most of the rumours would be. The first floor of the Complex was a magical place, what if there was some sort of item or skill he’d get down there that would send him home? Now, that sounded like something the rumour mill would have churned right up. Was there any proof or evidence at all? No. Was that important? Not really, people had to believe in something though. Okay so, if the rumours tell him he’s got to get down to the first floor of the hotel to escape, what would he do?

Get stronger. Put a team together. Hell, he could even put his own faction together. Wait, wasn’t the Executioners' goal to clear all the floors or something? That was what they were known for, right? He needed to have a chat with someone about what the Exes were actually aiming for, maybe their goals would align. Nick was kicking himself, planning really was this easy huh? He just needed to steal the hero's journey and hope for the best. Nick was deep in thought when people started flooding back into the room. He was disturbed from his planning by their shouts and hollers at each other.

“That was quite the tricky one wasn’t it?” One of the rogues asked.

“Bah, getting into the first floor was pretty challenging. Couldn’t manage to find a way into the Lord’s room. I wonder how Kim fared.” One of the Hogs replied.

That’s when Kim appeared in the room, a grin plastered across his face. Jackie and Leif soon followed, both of them not looking too chuffed with themselves. Nick wondered what had happened, though he was sure he was about to find out

“You did it, didn’t you?” Jackie said with a pout.

“‘Course.” Kim replied, his grin stretching further.

This raised a commotion in the crowd, everyone began questioning him as to how he managed to do it. Kim calmed everyone down and got up onto one of the tables.

“Ya all know tha deal. What were ya points everyone?” Kim called out.

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The crowd then began calling out their own numbers. Jackie got 86k and Leif got 80k. The rest of the Hogs varied wildly, anywhere from 50k to 90k points. The lowest was someone who had only gotten 40k, being the only person to actually get below 50 thousand points. The man awkwardly scratched the back of his head when everyone else turned to look at him after he called out.

“I tripped on the rug as I made it down to the first floor.” He said sheepishly. “The guards came running and I had to ditch. 40 thousand is better than none right?”

This earned a laugh from everyone in the room. Nobody even asked Kim how many points he’d gotten but Nick was curious. Kim must have noticed the look on Nick's face but he cleared his throat and grinned. Everyone else in the room groaned but listened in.

“Well. Afta clearing tha entire palace. I came across tha one room I hadn’t managed ta get inta. ‘Course, I knew thas where tha ring hadda be.” Kim paused.

“C’mon! How’d you manage to get in there?” Someone called out, Nick noticed it was the Hog who had gotten 90 thousand points.

“I’m a polite gent. So, I knocked on tha door and walked right in. They searched high and they searched low, but ol’ Kimmy did not show. When they gave up lookin and went back ta bed. I walked my way around tha room and took tha ring right off the dresser. Easy done.”

“But what about the dogs? Or the four guards in the room!?!” The Hog called out, exasperated.

Kim grinned. “Stealth archer. Can’t beat it.”

This got the crowd animated, a chorus of boos being thrown around the room. It seems like the Hogs weren’t big fans of Kim’s class for some reason. Though, Nick did think that stealth archer runs did tend to get a little bit cheesy after a while, so he could relate to the crowd’s sentiment. Nick expected the group to devolve back into the drinking mess he’d witnessed earlier but he was surprised. The group looked like they were getting ready to leave, and that’s exactly what they did. They all began heading to the door at the back of the den and disappearing. Nick followed along as Kim, Jackie, and Leif headed to the back as well. He grabbed hold of the door handle and was sent back to the massive ballroom.

Nick saw that the Hogs were already fully geared up and heading back out into the car park. He walked over to his group and they simply told him to get his aura ready for the trip. When he gave them the nod they started moving through the car park. It was a bit easier this time, his control over his aura improving by leaps and bounds under the extreme conditions. That was until he got complacent. Nick thought he had everything under control and got curious, he wanted to look around and see what the 50th-floor car park actually looked like. He quickly glanced up and was met with pure darkness. The light crystals maintained a light field only a few metres wild at best, beyond it was a darkness so thick it almost looked like a liquid. He watched as a massive tentacle tried to enter the light, Leif moved out faster than Nick could register and severed the tentacle.

Nick was stunned by the sight, the tentacle was thicker than his torso. It was that lapse in his concentration that spelt his downfall. He lost control over his aura as the Hogs’ combined auras bore down on him, Nick was sent tumbling to the floor, his face being ground against the concrete. The group stopped around him and Nick forced his focus into his internal space. He had to wrangle his energy into defence, he wasn’t how sure how long it took him but he managed to regain control of his own body and get back up to his feet. Nick ignored the blood dripping down his face and focused on moving forwards and keeping control of his aura.

The pace of the group slowed down, the group inching forward through the car park. Nick didn’t look up to work out why though, he had likely caused whatever was happening with his lapse in concentration. Nick remained focused for the remainder of the trip, only letting himself relax once he felt the auras of the Hogs move off him.

“Well, that sucked. What happened kid?” Jackie asked.

“I uh, got a bit overconfident and then lost focus.” Nick sheepishly admitted.

Leif slapped him on the back. “Lesson learnt then.”

Nick had to agree, a chunk of his face had been half ground off by the rough concrete and it hurt like nothing he’d felt before. He would definitely be heading over to the Healer as soon as he made it back to Agoetia. The group then started climbing back up the floors and it was relatively uneventful, Nick decided it was as good a time as ever to ask some questions about the event he’d just been through.

“So what’s the deal with that event? It was cool but it felt pretty off.”

“Ya talkin’ about tha art? Ya, no clue about tha one. Most of tha art tha event ever has is of tha Black Hoods.”

Wait. Why did the Black Hoods sound familiar to him? He had heard of them somewhere else recently.

“Wait, the same people who gave out the food when people first got here?”

Jackie raised an eyebrow at him. “You’ve already heard about them? Well, what Kimmy said hasn’t been confirmed, but the people in the pictures from the 50th do look awfully similar to the people that we all saw back in the early days. No one is quite sure of what the connection is though if there is any.”

“Well, that’s a bit unnerving. What would that even imply? They were all pretty evil looking people in the paintings. Weren’t they just giving out food to everyone? That doesn’t sound very evil.” Nick questioned.

Jackie shrugged. “I’d tell you if I knew. At this point, your guess is just as good as ours.”

“Was the time working differently in the event room? I feel like I definitely spent more than two hours in there.” Nick asked his next question.

“Yeah. All of the event rooms seem to move slower than out here. Before you ask, no. I don’t know why and no, I don’t know anyone that does.” Jackie answered with a sigh.

Nick grinned. He decided to hold the rest of his questions, he’d manage to get a bit of information but he didn’t want to get annoying. He’d rather not be abandoned down here on the lower floors. In no time at all, the group had made their way back up to the 70th floor and began crossing it towards the ramps. It had been a very eventful day for Nick so far.