Before they left they had a few things to address, mainly Jamie’s injury. Broken ribs were a pain at the best of times, but it was likely that the duo would be taking on more fights in the near future. They had to try and find some way to get Jamie healed ASAP. First, the duo approached Clarissa and the brothers, hoping they had some item or tool that could help them out. Sadly they didn’t have anything.

“We just run up to the 64th and find a Healer up there for anything serious. Not convenient but we work with it,” Clarissa shrugged.

The greaser did have some good news for Jamie though. “Only one of your ribs is injured, and it’s only a fracture. It won’t be too impactful on your capabilities, you will make it worse if you swing that giant thing around though,” She said.

With that Nick and Jamie made sure all of their gear was in order and said their goodbyes. Clarissa and Jamie shared a rather intimate moment and Clarissa made it very clear that he was welcome back anytime he wanted. Nick and Jamie then headed back to the lobby and thankfully didn’t find anyone waiting for them, that would have been a bother that they didn’t want to deal with. The duo crept out into the car park and Nick led the way towards the nearest ramp. Due to the massive light source Nick had, the trip was relatively easy. They avoided any monsters they encountered and Nick made sure to check his corners with far more caution than he had during his last trip. All in all, this led to a relatively peaceful journey through the car park. They made it to the ramp and found the journey through the 65th floor even easier.

The heavier traffic resulted in fewer monsters, any that had tried their luck on the passing groups were quickly dispatched. The duo still chose to avoid any monsters they did encounter but it was a much more direct journey. Just as they closed in on the entrance to the hotel Nick turned his light off, drowning them in darkness. The shadows quickly closed across the space and wrapped around them, coating them in a cloak of darkness.

“Goddamn that’s unnerving,” Jamie shuddered.

“Shouldn’t you avoid taking the lord’s name in vain, Mr Crusader?” Nick laughed.

Jamie paused for a moment. “Nah. If he does exist, I’m sure he’s not petty enough to actually care about things like that.”

Nick didn’t push the subject and swallowed back his comments, there was no need to turn a joke into an argument. The hotel lobby was just as busy as when Nick had last been here, groups just milling about the area. Nick then realised he wasn’t entirely sure what the reset timers on event rooms were, though he thought he’d heard something like 12 hours somewhere. Hopefully, he’d be able to ask someone when they found a Healer. When they entered many of the groups turned to inspect them, Nick saw more than a few obvious perceptive classes doing their work and Nick held back a sigh. He really needed to get a similar skill, or at least start roaming with someone who had some. Maybe he could push Jamie in that direction? Nick doubted Jamie would be that keen though, the man likely already had his own plans.

“We’re looking for a decent Healer, we’re more than happy to pay good rates,” Jamie called out.

The two of them had discussed how they’d handle things and this seemed the easiest. Jamie spoke for them because his voice just had more gravitas to it than Nick’s, which was only compounded by his armour and massive studded club. Most of the groups turned away in disinterest at his declaration but a few looked interested, looking toward their own members. All of these groups looked away when a man confidently strode forward out of the crowd. The man wore a long white robe, looking like more of a cleric than anyone Nick had seen so far.

“Gentleman! I’d be more than happy to offer you my services,” the man said with a gentle smile.

Nick almost found it disarming, alarmingly so. Jamie took a step forward. “Wonderful, thank you.”

The man led them to a corner of the lobby close to the large door that led to the event. The area was filled with sofas and Nick noticed that one team dominated the area. One large man, in particular, stood out, he had a woman sitting on either side of him and the rest of the people in the area were facing him. Nick didn’t want to get involved with this group at all, he got the feeling that they might be the dominant players on the 65th floor. The priestly man thankfully didn’t take them directly to the group but to a nearby setup. There was a desk placed up against the wall with heavily padlocked draws all over it. There were some sofas placed around the desk.

The man gestured for them to take a seat and the duo did. “So my name’s Francis. I’m a level five Healer and Inspector, I charge one green pill per heal. I can perform a general inspection of your condition for 1 green pill and I also offer item inspection for 10 white pills per item.”

Nick thought about it for a moment and realised an issue. This was a lot of information to give a single person. Francis could gather information on a person’s health and gear set, all while charging them for it. He could also probably see levels, which means he could put together a pretty comprehensive file on anyone that employed his services. Nick then looked at the wider situation they’d just been pulled into. The other groups had backed off when this man came forward. Francis was set up right next to the people who seemed to be the powerhouses of the floor. This was a hustle.

Francis monopolised the healing and information gathering and the team knew just how strong and geared most people on the floor were. Nick was impressed, this was a pretty clean system, which likely had complexities to it that he couldn’t yet understand. They also could use Francis’ information for banditry purposes, finding gear and targets they wanted. Nick thought about it but then realised they very likely didn’t employ such practices. If the group were tyrants then they’d very quickly have a coup coming their way, this floor got way too much traffic to be as locked down an operation as Tony had been running.

“We’ll just have the one heal thanks, the big man. Fractured rib,” Nick said, placing a green pill on the desk.

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Francis nodded and put his hand over Jamie’s armour, successfully guessing the injury was beneath the obvious damage on the chest plate. His palm glowed for a moment and surprise flashed across both his and Jamie’s face.

“Woah that felt weird,” Jamie commented.

“You’re very new. A day? Two maybe? And you’re already level two?” The man sounded surprised and impressed.

Jamie smiled at the man. “Thank you for your services.”

The man regained his professionalism quickly. “Of course, come back anytime, the prices don’t change.”

As they were about to leave Nick remembered he had something to ask. “When does the event room open up?”

Francis raised an eyebrow. “1200 and 2400, just like most of the event rooms.”

Nick thanked the man and checked the time. It was 11:50, they’d arrived at a perfect time. His lack of information exposed him as a newbie pretty quickly, but there wasn’t much else he could do. He could just hang around and hope for the best, maybe overhear the information he needed, but he didn’t want to run the chance. It wasn’t great letting everyone know he was so fresh, but the quicker he got the information the quicker he’d be able to properly blend in. Nick then spent the next ten minutes briefing Jamie on the event room and that they were aiming for at least the top three. Nick wasn’t sure what the rewards below that were, but he knew that first place gave a level four gem and second and third gave level threes, which was what they needed.

“So we’re about to play hide and seek with a monster? And we won’t actually die in real life if we die in the game?” Jamie ran the information back.

“Yeah pretty much. Remember that attacking someone removes them from the game as well, that’s the strat the Hogs used last time we were here,” Nick said.

“The Hogs?” Jamie asked.

Nick never had explained much about what’d he’d been up to during his time here to Jamie, had he? Damn, they were in for one hell of a conversation at some point. Thankfully, that wasn’t right now. The clock ticked over and the event room doors creaked open slightly, informing everyone that it was ready. Teams made their way towards the doors, though Nick did notice that Francis’ team didn’t react. He guessed they didn’t have much need for level four gems. “That’s a long conversation for later, let’s get moving,” Nick brushed it off.

In no time at all, the duo was inside the event, Jamie looking around the room and taking all of the details, his face serious. Nick was once again impressed by his new companion, the man was able to adapt to new things way too quickly. Nick was fairly sure his jaw had dropped the first time he’d been teleported by an event room, here was Jamie, looking just as composed as a man that had been prepared. When the timer started ticking down people began dispersing, some in their groups and some solo. Nick and Jamie had decided to split up before they’d entered the room. Nick honestly wasn’t too confident in how Jamie would place in this event, the man was big, especially in his armour, and it would be incredibly difficult for him to find a solid hiding spot.

Nick waited around for a bit until he was the last person in the lobby, then he stripped off his armour and put it in his bag. He had a plan. He heard the footsteps start approaching the building but didn’t panic this time, he approached the grandfather clock and stuffed himself inside, closing the door with plenty of time to spare. It was still incredibly cramped inside, but without his armour, he could at least breathe this time. Nick hunkered down and got ready for a very boring time. It might not be the flashiest, but Nick needed to win this one. Strength was key.

Nick was already feeling bored though.

*****

Jamie wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He’d found an empty room and realised that his armour was only going to hold him back in this environment. He’d taken it off and stored it inside his awesome new bag. He was left in his training gear and socks, now he didn’t make as much noise moving around but that was only half the problem. His large frame left him rather exposed. That feeling only grew in intensity as he heard footsteps pounding towards the building. Nick had explained that the Lord of the manor was a giant monster that only vaguely resembled an obese man, Jamie wanted to do his best to avoid having to make contact with such an abomination.

Jamie looked around the room and took it all in. He was in a dining room of sorts, not much of a hiding opportunity in sight. He progressed through the room and came to an obvious kitchen door, maybe it would have some better opportunities for him? The first thing that hit him was the smell, he’d been to some pretty rundown establishments in his time, but this was something special. The smell of decay permeated the space, making his skin crawl. That’s when he heard someone yell.

“Who dares invade the home of this lord!” The voice boomed out.

Jamie scrambled around the room, searching for a decent hiding spot. The pantry? Filled with rotting meat, that’s a no. He then looked at the cupboards lining the room, it was something. He opened them up and found that they had two layers, a bottom and one shelf. They were all packed with pots and pans, thinking quickly he rearranged them so that they were almost all on the shelf and jammed his body down into the bottom of the layer cupboard. It was an extremely tight fit and he could barely get the door closed, but it worked. Not a moment too soon either. He heard the footsteps stomp in his direction, then heard a door open nearby, the Lord was in the dining room.

Jamie kept his breathing as controlled as possible, thankfully a skill he was well practised at. Then the boards he was laying on creaked under his weight and his heart dropped. The Lord quickly made their way to the kitchen and Jamie stopped breathing. He heard the pantry doors swing open violently. There was a long pause then a loud harrumph, the Lord slammed the pantry closed and stomped away. Holy shit he’d survived. Jamie let out a long breath and cautiously got out of the cupboard, the boards groaning beneath his weight. Jamie couldn’t stay there, he could barely breathe. He’d find somewhere a bit more sustainable. He looked around the kitchen one last time and noticed a basket of apples, curious, he grabbed one and found that it was rock hard. It almost felt like a baseball in his hand, for a laugh it carried it with him, tossing it around.

Jamie made his way into another room, finding it to be some sort of lounge room, with multiple sofas crowded around a fireplace. Listening to the footsteps he’d worked out the Lord had just passed through here. He wasn’t sure how the Lord searched but hoped that if he just stuck to rooms it had already cleared he’d at least have a bit more time to find a good place to hide. That’s when he saw one of the sofas move, someone poked their head up from beneath the sofa cushions. Without even thinking about it Jamie ditched the apple he was holding at the person, hitting them square in the face.

The person barely let out a yelp before they vanished. Jamie looked down at his hand.

“Oh,” he said.

Yeah, that seemed like a far better way to go about this.