Vivi wasn’t certain whether the area ahead of her was a courtyard or a town square. There was enough space to fit a small town, but the area was enclosed by tall black hardstone walls on the sides. The back of the fortress was protected by the sky itself. The sky, daylight gems and all, arched down all the way to the ground, enclosing the space like a protective barrier trapping people inside.

Demons of all kinds bustled about amongst stalls and markets. Shops took up most of the space within the square. The layout of the area reminded Vivi of a carnival rather than a city. Vivi spotted multiple weapon shops and food stalls. Each stall was protected with steel bars—at minimum, steel bars—and the shopkeepers didn’t make direct contact with customers.

Wisps of ether transferred in the air as a dwarf-like demon wearing plate armor purchased a slab of cooked meat from a nearby vendor. The cook was a one-eyed ten foot humanoid amalgamation with green skin and tentacles for arms. The dwarf bit into the meat with his serrated teeth. He grimaced in Vivi’s direction before walking off.

Passing demons ranged from rogue-looking fighters to wretches struggling to stand. Within a minute of Vivi’s arrival, a woman had already collapsed, looking like she was dying of thirst. One of her horns was snapped, and her skin seemed to be crumbling apart as she walked.

Vivi also spotted a human. He was a tall man, sitting on a fresh pool of blood beside a quiet corner of the square. A spear pierced his heart. Vivi gulped.

“Move,” Jeli said. He gave Vivi a push, deciding she’d gazed enough. Hoss and Jeli strolled straight into the crowd.

Demons spread well out of the way, treating Hoss and Jeli with caution. Vivi’s captors were clearly at a higher rank than anyone else. Uniformed soldiers were sparse within the crowd, but they were visible here and there, standing intensely with their runeswords out. Each one drew caution from non-uniformed passersby. Vivi, utterly baffled by what she was witnessing, was led deeper toward an open space within the chaos of demons.

A caged slave wagon was parked beside a fountain. The gates were open, the slaves having been let out. The slaves, all demons with red skin and dressed in rags, stood by the wagon like a herd of scared sheep. Most were men, and all were far larger than Vivi with muscles large enough to pick her up and toss her like a toy. Despite their appearance, the demons watched their surroundings submissively, as if anything could attack them if they acted wrong. Everyone’s hands were tied with rope.

“Domor,” Hoss said, speaking to a uniformed runesword wielder, who seemed to be watching over the group of slaves. “I’ve got one more for you. Is there still room?”

Domor frowned at Vivi. “Has she been examined?”

“No,” Hoss said. “But she’s helpless in a fight. Nearly died to a pack of surge hounds. She can’t have a lot of ether. Ah, and she can speak. Girl, say something.”

“Hello…” Vivi said.

Domor examined her suspiciously. “Very well. Toss her in. Their Steward is finishing his break. He’ll be here shortly. I’ll refer your work ahead.”

Hoss grinned. He and Jeli bowed. “My pleasure,” Hoss said.

They turned to Vivi. “I’ll be watching over you,” Hoss said. “Assuming you don’t die first day. Good luck. Remember, ether is everything.”

The two didn’t wait for goodbyes. With not one explanation, they turned around. Vivi was left with the group of slaves. She watched her captors disappear into the crowd, back to where they’d come.

Those two saved me… Vivi thought. As cruel as they were, without Hoss and Jeli, she would have died to surge hounds already. In some screwed up way, she was thankful.

How much harm could one cause before the good of saving a life was undone?

Vivi figured the demons didn’t care. She didn’t know why she was thinking of such problems. Nothing made sense around her.

“A human?” one of the slaves whispered around her. “She’s small.”

“We’re all small here,” another said.

“First time?” a louder, more confident voice asked. The speaker was shorter than the rest, though still large enough to cause alarm had he entered Fellwater. “Facilities are nothing. Far better than prison. There’s a lot more to do. As long as you’re strong enough.”

“You’ve been here before?” the first demon asked.

“I come from Denwhill. They transferred me to Zand. Apparently, a lot more ether up here.” He smiled. “My old mates called me Lars. I know how things work around here. If anyone wants to succeed, join me.”

The demons glanced at each other, clearly considering the offer.

“Um,” Vivi asked. “What’s a…”

“Only the strong are invited,” Lars said, cutting Vivi off.

“No, I just wanted to ask something. Please.”

Lars frowned, but waited for Vivi to speak.

“What is an ether facility?” she asked. “Why are we here?”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The question was stupid, Vivi immediately realized from Lars’s expression. So she added, “I’m from the surface. I’ve never heard of ether facilities.”

“You’re fucked,” Lars said. “I’m sorry, but helping you is a waste of time. I recommend spending your starter ether on booze. At least your last week will be a joy.”

Vivi blinked. Okay…

“Well, isn’t he friendly?” Lucius’s voice suddenly said.

Lucius? You’re back?

“Slowly recovering,” Lucius said. “I got hit pretty bad. Things are all jumbled up. But I think I can stay active now.”

What is this place? Vivi asked.

“I’m not entirely certain,” Lucius said. “I’ve never actually been to a faculty. From what I know, they’re good places to earn ether.”

You claimed the fourth level was a good place to hunt, and we nearly died.

“Facilities are like slave camps,” Lucius explained, “Except instead of being forced to mine and perform boring jobs like labor, ether facilities are about fighting for ether. I’ve heard of multiple legends being born in ether facilities, rising to the top with nothing but their bare hands.”

Some distance behind Vivi, a horned girl got to her knees, pleading for ether. Passersby barely glanced in her direction. The beggar must have been even younger than Vivi.

Don’t fall asleep again, Vivi thought. I can’t survive alone.

“Oh, I won’t let you die here alone,” Lucius said. “There’s so much ether nearby. Enough to activate all of my powers. We’ll begin hunting the moment this nonsense introduction is over.”

The group of slaves discussed amongst each other. Vivi, of course, was left out. Finding allies in here would be close to impossible. Most of everyone around her was a demon and far stronger than her. Vivi had only spotted one human, and he was dead.

Suddenly, the whispering stopped. Vivi flinched, seeing a new figure walk up to the scene.

The new arrival was a truly demonic being. The closest thing Vivi had seen to humanity’s drawn depictions of pure demons. His face was skeletal. He had no eyelids to cover his wide-open eyes. With his horns, his figure must have reached eight feet. He wasn’t particularly muscular, but somehow Vivi felt like he was the most dangerous person currently in the square.

“Fresh inmates,” he said. “Everyone’s favourite. I’m Uundref, your Steward. Caretaker. Whatever you want to call me. You all are my responsibility, and I need to make sure you don’t fuck up the rules on your first day.”

Domor lowered his head, prompting the other demons to do the same. Vivi offered a hopefully respectful bow.

“To those coming from prison,” Uundref said. “From today onward, your titles have evolved from ‘inmate’ to ‘nimrod’. The lowest rank of ether gatherer. Most of those around you are nimrods. Work hard enough, and you’ll be promoted to wolves.”

“I’ll make the introduction short.” Uundref took a slow step with his creepily long legs, circling the group. “As nimrod’s, your job is simple. Gather ether. Ether, ether, ether. The method of which you hunt for ether is up to you. The most successful nimrods are those who quickly learn the best methods to earn ether.

“Ether facilities offer far more freedom than prisons do. Once this introduction is over, all of you are free to treat Zand as your home. There are no cleaning schedules or sleeping times. Nimrods are free to use the facility however they wish. All of this freedom exists for you to survive and perform your job: to hunt for ether.

“Your only responsibility is collection day. Every seven days, a collection day is held. During collection day. a nimrod will deliver a hundred ether to their Steward. To me. This deadline is absolute and exact. Failing to show up with a hundred ether will be punished with a slash mark and a whipping. Each nimrod is offered three chances. Gather two slash marks, and the third whipping will last until death.

“The next collection day is held tomorrow. As fresh nimrods, you will be excused from your first collection day. Your next responsibility is to gather a hundred ether for the collection day eight days from now.”

Uundref continued circling the slaves. The demons listened calmly, though their expressions remained apprehensive. As Uundref passed Vivi, his bony teeth glanced down, smiling at her.

“The space around you is called the Hub,” Uundref continued. “You’ll be free to explore it on your own later. The hub provides weapons, as well as whatever food you can afford to eat. All of Zand’s services will become very clear to you within a week. It is pointless of me to explain what you will discover regardless. The garderobes and accommodations, however, are over there.” He pointed to an alcove toward the northmost wall. “An apartment and a bed will cost ether to rent, but the toilets are free.

“The absolute basics are now clear,” Uundref continued. “A nimrod’s job is to ensure, with absolute certainty, that they gather a hundred ether in any way possible. The methods of which I will introduce later. Is everyone following?”

Demons around Vivi nodded. She did, too. She had questions, but she was far too nervous about asking them.

“Zand doesn’t have many rules,” Uundref said. “Common sense will take you far. However, you are obliged to understand your rights.

“First rule. The dungeon can be entered at any time and all monsters are free to be killed, with the exception of the boss. You are all too weak to crawl deep enough regardless, and the path to the boss room is blocked, but remember: do not attempt to become a hero. Attempts to get near the boss room will be punished with death.

“Second rule. Harming staff is punished with death.

“Third rule. Infighting with nimrods is allowed only in the dungeon. Murder is discouraged. Robbery is not an acceptable motive to kill. However, a justified murder will be overlooked.

“Fourth rule. Rapists will be fucked with a thousand knives.

“Fifth rule. Nimrods are not allowed to hold more than three hundred ether at a time. This limit is absolute. Your reserves must never reach three hundred ether; any nimrods caught hoarding ether above the threshold will be stripped of ether and placed under trial. If you ever grow near your limit, make sure to spend your ether on orbs or weapons.”

“Three hundred ether?” Lucius gushed. “That’s nothing!”

“Sixth and final rule. If you cause more trouble than you’re worth, I’ll kill you myself.”