Chapter 15: The Hub: Part I

I lived… somehow. I wasn't too sure I was going to wake up with the way I had passed out at the top of the stairs, but I woke up with a dry throat. I needed to get to the next floor and find some water. My body was craving anything to replenish the energy I had lost.

The stairs down were honestly pretty challenging. My legs had been constantly cramping up from too much exercise and not enough water. I was a bit worried about not being able to make it down the stairs, but after enough time, I made it.

I was greeted by a well lit mall. The mall was mostly empty, but I could already see water and food all over the place on the ground. I was about to walk straight to the nearest bottle of water on the ground when a table right near the entrance caught my eye.

It was a dark wooden table that didn't fit the aesthetic of the rest of the brightly colored mall. The store fronts all had posters selling products that were not present anywhere near where I lived, even in languages I couldn't even place. But the tables were still weird, there was a dark wood table with paper on it.

I grabbed one of the pieces of paper off the table and started reading it.

'You made it! Congratulations!

Someone should have noticed this piece of paper moving and will shortly be placing a pencil or pen on the table for you to pick up, please write your name on the current paper and we can begin some light discussion.'

What.

I looked back to the table and sure enough there was a yellow pencil that looked identical to the ones I used in school. I grabbed it and wrote my name on the paper, 'Logan'. I wasn't sure if this was some trick or not, but I was getting excited… was this the hub?

The paper disappeared almost as soon as it settled on the table. It reappeared after a few seconds with new text on it.

'Logan, I'm sorry to greet you in this odd way. My name is Kacey.'

'Nice to meet you, Kacey.' I wrote back on the paper, seeing it disappear when I set it down was unsettling to say the least. It took a lot longer this time for the paper to return, but it eventually did.

'Let me be the first to welcome you to The Hub. I know it might not look like much, but this is probably one of the most relaxing and best floors. If at all possible, I would like to know what you were doing when you fell to the first floor, and if you needed anything. For example, water or food.'

'I was on my way into a building to meet some old friends and just kind of… fell through the ground into a void of nothing. It was something, but it looked like nothing, it's hard to explain. I'd like some water please, I lost my bag on the previous floor that had all my things.'

A sealed bottle of water and a sandwich appeared on the table. It was white bread with ham and cheese. Perhaps one of the most beautiful things I had seen in a very long time. While eating the sandwich and drinking the water, a response came on a fresh piece of paper.

'Common with boss floors. Most don't get so lucky at just losing their resources and sometimes lose digits, or even whole limbs from the boss.'

'Boss? What do you mean, boss and boss floor?'

'Floor 14 is what is known as a boss floor. Boss floors can easily be identified by the red light above their exit sign and the bleeding of the floor effect into the stairway. Things like this, which are common knowledge will be shared freely by almost anyone willing to write down here. However, more valuable information, such as info gathered on monsters, is only usually given out after trading for something.'

Boss floor, huh. Makes sense I guess, the sign was very different from all of the other ones. Wait, if floor fourteen was the first boss floor, how many floors are down here? Valuable information, did I even have any?

'It must be common knowledge how many floors there are, right?'

'Sadly, unless you find The Author, you won't get any information about anything past floor 20. It is too dangerous. Most people choose to stay in the hub until they die. This usually happens after losing a limb or too much mental trauma.'

'I'm sorry. How can I tell if any information I have is valuable? Who is the author?'

'A safe bet is anything not in the guides written by The Author. The Author is the author of the guides you read on every floor he could get to. I think the only floor he missed was floor 14 in the early floors. He is one of the confirmed people to travel past floor 20 and make it back alive.'

'Incredible. Thank you so much for your help.'

'Think nothing of it, we are trapped here together, I'm glad someone new has made it through 'The Tutorial'. If you wait here for a few minutes, I will put a book on the desk, it has information to help you around this floor. It has the basic trade prices and value, and where to go to trade with trusted traders.'

'Got it, I'll wait here patiently.' I set the paper on the table with a sigh. I was finally going to learn some things about this cursed place. Perhaps even why I ended up here in the first place. That was probably a stretch considering they only knew what was five floors down from here, but that was still plenty for me to work with.

I stood around for a while, I had managed to finish the sandwich and the water, I was eyeing the resources on the ground in the distance, but I was going to wait here just in case the book came while I wasn't looking. It really wasn't much longer after that thought, the familiar book cover arrived, but without the writing on the spine. There was also paper on the top of it that I read first.

'Sorry for the wait, had to go a bit further, I am forgetting where I am leaving the piles of proper books in my old age. May whatever God or Gods guide you in your journey. If you make it past floor 20, come give me a visit and tell me what it is like. No need to reply, I already know you wish me luck.

P.S. You'll read it in the info book, just make sure you don't place anything you want stolen onto any tables. Keep everything on the walls, floors, or shelves you find. The tables are all connected to other people's floors and they can take it without you ever knowing who it was.'

Alright then. When I make it past floor twenty, I'll try and see what I can do about coming back. I took the book, and looked for a good spot to sit down. I found a good and well lit corner in one of the empty stores, there was water and wrapped food scattered throughout the room, and I could grab it whenever I wanted to, but I just left it there for now.

I did grab another water before I sat down though. I looked at the book in my hands, feeling the familiar leather cover, nothing was engraved into it. I will ask someone about the engravings on the spine later, once I have some more basic knowledge. Guess I should start reading.

'Welcome to The Hub, this book will give you a complete rundown, and even has a hand drawn map of the first kilometer (or so) of The Hub, denoting trusted traders and information brokers that are always willing to trade for information, even from the tutorial floors.

This book will cover the following topics: About the current floor, Elevators, Floor resources, Base building, Traders, and finally, the way down.

About the current floor: Floor fifteen is colloquially known as The Hub. However, other than the trading tables, nothing can be regarded as a hub of any kind. The floor closely resembles a shopping mall, but has stores gathered from all around the world, noticeably lacking their proper items.

There is no randomization on this floor, so it is safe to leave things in an area, as they will still be there when you return. The layout of the floor is set up in a straightforward fashion, halls are always north and south facing with connectors randomly placed that face east and west. Sometimes a hall will end, but it usually starts again if you just find the right connectors.

A select few stores scattered will still have their occasional resources. A clothing store will rarely still have clothes. This will be explained in deeper detail in the 'Floor resources' section. Do note that exploring into unmarked land on the map can be potentially dangerous.

Rare monsters do lurk on this floor. If they are killed by someone else, they will also disappear for you, and their death is permanent. The first kilometer or so has been fully cleared and a few 'guards' roam around the more populated areas.

Amazingly, there is power on this floor. If you still have a working phone, you can charge it on this floor if you find a working power cable or have one on you already. Various electronics can be gathered and traded for. Entertainment is highly valued in this stagnant place.

Elevators: This floor contains elevators. Elevators are something we could not have expected in a hell such as this. They can take you to any floor you have previously been to. There appears to be no cost, but they are subject to randomization on other floors.

For example: if you travel back to floor three to gather clothing to trade, the elevator won't be in the same spot as when you arrived with it. You will have to find another elevator if you wish to skip back down to The Hub.

Elevators are fairly rare. They are harder to find again than exits, but it seems fair as it lets you skip floors. You can expect to double your time spent on a floor if you are going to look for an elevator instead of an exit.

After you use your first elevator, you can expect to start seeing them on every floor, except boss floors. Inside of the elevator, there will only be buttons to floors you have already been to. Just remember that it does not put you at the start of the floor. So if you go to any non-randomized floors, it may take some time to orient yourself.

There is absolutely no way to use an elevator to go to a floor you haven't been to. All attempts to fiddle with the elevators have resulted in us being unable to reach everyone who truthfully claims to tamper with the elevators. DO NOT TAMPER WITH THE ELEVATORS.

Elevator locations are marked clearly on the map you will be given. There may be locations you find that aren't marked, this is normal, and they are still safe to use. Do not navigate by elevator locations, create your own pathfinding system for accurate navigation.

Floor Resources: There is a massive amount of available resources on this floor. Resources do respawn after some time, usually in the span of weeks. Resources will not respawn within twenty meters of you, nor will they spawn inside of any structures you decide to build.

If you travel far out from the entrance of this floor, you will find a handful of stores that contain their original contents. This however is random, and sometimes a store that was full of things before can be empty when you come back later. Take advantage of any store you see with resources in it.

Taking everything out of the store and placing it in the hall will guarantee it will stick around. However, this will create a lot of clutter, and most of the resources will have very little value. Check with the traders to see what products are in high demand.

Electronics are always in high demand, and if you come across a stocked electronics store, you should absolutely take everything not tied down out of the store. It will be worth it no matter what, even if it is just for raw materials, everyone will want to trade with you.

Base Building: You can build a base on this floor. You can call it home, come to rest after receiving an injury or just keep it stocked with extra supplies so you don't have to worry about running out completely. Walls can be removed, shelves rearranged, and even very rarely, you can find mattresses to give you a nice rest.

Where you build your base does not matter, as there is infinite space, and even if another person on this floor has a base in the same location, it will not interfere with yours. No one else can see you or your resources as long as they never touch a trade table.

Traders: There are many people willing to trade with you on this floor. Most will be honest with you, but there are always bad actors. If you want to minimize the risk of getting scammed, go to traders marked on the map.

The best way to learn what a trader wants is to visit their table. They will have their hours of operation posted, as well as a list of in demand items. Usually, they will have some sort of object on the table that when it disappears, it will get their attention and they will provide writing materials to start negotiations.

Information brokers vary wildly from person to person. Some will demand information in exchange for information, and others are willing to trade for materials. In regard to which is which, you will have to go to the tables marked on the map, as they like to change their minds from time to time.

The Exit: To find the way down, just go to the location marked on the map. The location and entrance are always in the same spot, no matter what. There are exits farther out, but they are completely random. Finding them is unreliable.

Average time spent on this floor is roughly one month for people who set up a base.'

Attached to the back of the book was a folded map. The map was incredibly basic, showing rough lines and locations of places and people. It was messy to say the least, but a map was a map, and I wasn't going to turn it down.

For now though, I should gather a few basic supplies… wait, I didn't have a bag anymore. That will be an issue, but I guess I can go back to floor three. I hate the screaming that went on during that floor. Dealing with it and getting new boots and a bag would do me well.

I could probably make trips to floor nine. I would just have to be careful with lighting, and trying to find the elevator after collecting everything I wanted. Oh man, I was in for a long adventure on this floor. Not that I minded, it was almost like a vacation, being able to explore a completely safe floor. Save for the monsters that roamed away from population centers.

How many people lived on this floor, and how many people would stay on this floor until they died? It was probably more than I wanted to know. I would probably be discouraged if I learned a massive amount of people never went past this floor. It would only tell me that many more died trying to get further.

With that in mind, I made my way to the closest marked elevator. I was going to head up to floor three. I needed the supplies I could get from that floor. They were things that had allowed me to survive so long. Unfortunately, I had lost my phone in the bag I threw away. It was in a sealed container to protect it from water during my stay on floor ten.

I didn't miss it all that much, pretty much the only thing I would have used it for was checking the time. Beyond that, it had already lost its use long ago when I used a computer for everything I did. I did use it when I went outside, so I could surf the internet while I was waiting for things, but there wasn't any internet down here to connect to.

Once I had made it to the elevator, I had a single bottle of water in my hands, and I had already eaten a decent amount of food. I was confident I would find more water and food on floor three. I pressed the call button for the elevator and it opened immediately.

I stepped inside. It was extremely roomy, enough to fit twenty or more people if they squished together. Someone could in theory fit a lot of stuff down in one of these elevators. I wonder if I could even take a whole mattress from floor three. There's no way… or was there?

If I got the chance I would do so. Looking at the panel inside the elevator, there were fourteen buttons, with only the number fourteen missing. I pressed the number three, and the doors on the elevator started to close.

I had to say, I was a bit nervous. What if this was all some elaborate trap. I had dismissed it due to all of the crazy material I had read through. There was even a map that was accurate, I had no idea about the 'traders' though. I was very interested in information brokers.

The elevator started moving up, and it was insanely smooth. It felt like the elevators you would use in brand new buildings. You could tell it was moving fast, but there was almost no effect on my body. It traveled for a very long time, it was probably around fifteen minutes before I felt it starting to slow down.

The doors slid open as there was a small ding. There wasn't any music on the elevator ride, so it was a kind of awkward silence all the way up. Not much I can do about it, maybe I could find some sort of music player, or even trade for one.

I walked out into what looked to be a standard living room. I really was all the way back on floor three. It was kind of surreal. I had turned around and the elevator really was gone already. I hoped that it wouldn't be too hard to find another one, but I was ready for a journey.

…

About five days later, I had everything I wanted. I collected a new pair of hiking boots, and two extra pairs. I had three large bags and one medium that I would use for my actual exploration. The large bags were for collecting extra things. The weight really wasn't that bad to me.

Recently, I have been eating and drinking more. I was starting to develop a decent amount of muscle in my arms and legs. It wasn't much, but it was better than the malnourished arms that I had not more than a week ago.

As for supplies, I gathered a lot of clothing in various sizes as long as things that could be counted as medical supplies. I had found another bottle of acetaminophen, which was a huge find. I could easily trade a few tablets of it for something good.

I sounded like a drug dealer just then, not that it was technically wrong, it just felt weird. I also stuffed one large bag full of blankets and stuff that I could use or trade. I grabbed anything that looked interesting to me.

I had found a watch that worked, I had no way to tell if the time on it was correct, but it would easily tell me how much time has passed. I found two compasses and a random map of a forest that I didn't recognize the name of. It was a trail map for all common and some uncommon trails.

I might be able to trade the map, but we'll have to see if anyone wants anything they won't be able to use while they are trapped inside this place. I had found another elevator after five days, and hit the call button.

It opened almost immediately, as if it had been waiting for me. The monsters here that screamed directly into my mind didn't seem as loud, and I even managed to sleep through it one night. I wonder what's changed from then to now.

I hit the button marked fifteen and the doors closed. It was time to take my haul back to The Hub. A large bag on my back, one in each hand and the medium bag on my chest. Reminded me of someone who was hit with the duty of pack mule back in school. My muscles were complaining, but the haul was too good to pass up.

The lack of music on the ride made it kind of boring, but I guess convenience was a priority over entertainment. I felt a lot lighter while I traveled down with all this gear. The speed was making me feel near weightless. I was tempted to try and jump, but knowing my luck, it would slow down at the last second and I would hurt myself.

Once the doors opened, I picked up the two large bags and left the elevator. I needed to find where I was on the map and then locate some traders so I could get rid of some of this gear. I would also have to set up a base of some sorts, and then I might explore this floor a little too.

There was a lot to do, and I suddenly felt like I had all the time in the world to do it.