Chapter 15 The Hub: Part II

I eventually managed to locate myself on the map using elevators as markers. I was quite some distance from the start of the floor, way farther than the elevator I had chosen to go back up to floor three. I was, however, already nearby one of the largest areas of traders.

I took a long nap before I started walking towards the traders. I wanted to be well rested before I had to start negotiations. If I made a slip up, I was going to hate myself for it. While time wasn't as much of a constraint as it used to be, I didn't want to be trapped here until I died of old age.

I had set my bags nearby, but didn't keep them on me as I explored the nearby trading tables to see what each trader was taking at high value, and if I had any of it. Nothing I collected was probably super rare, but I wasn't going to just give up before I even tried.

'Low value: Clothing. Mid value: Good food. High value: Electronics.'

Not a surprise, but clothing was still worth something to this trader. Checking all the nearby traders, it seemed that everyone had roughly the same notes on their table. After the tenth or so note that said the same, I picked one at random.

On top of the dark table, was a dice that had the note 'grab to alert vendor.' I reached for the dice and picked it up, then set it back down once a piece of paper with a pencil appeared in the center of the table.

'Welcome, please write your name and what you are looking for, I will see if I have it in stock. From there we can negotiate a price. Currently in high demand: Bestiary.'

Well then, a bestiary is available? If it is in high demand, the price must be high, but it should be incredibly useful. I write my name and express my interest in the bestiary. The paper disappears almost immediately after I set it down.

'Nice to meet you, Logan. You must be the new guy Kacey brought up a few days ago. Good to see you're still alive. We always worry about the people who accept the welcome water and food.

The bestiary will run you a pretty penny, as it contains very useful information. If you are trading with clothing, the going cost is roughly five outfits worth of material. If you wish to trade with anything else, please write it on this page.'

Did I want to offer anything else. I could just trade my blankets and clothes I gathered in excess, but I wanted to see the value of medicine on this floor. I wrote on the note asking what the value of ten acetaminophen tablets would be.

'Are you kidding me? You're willing to trade medication? You must either be stupid or arrogant. How much of this did you use to get through the floors up until now?'

'I think I only used seven total.'

'Gods help you. You must have had it quite lucky to only use that many if you found them. People down here kill for medication, no matter what it is. Anything to feel less of what they currently feel. A single tablet will pay for the bestiary.

Only reason we don't put medication on the top of our list is because we don't want dumb kids coming down here and throwing their lives away just to try and find some. If you want the value of those to stay high, don't tell anyone where you found them.

Place two tablets on the table, and I'll get you your bestiary.'

I was shocked, was medication really that valued? Both times I went to the third floor, I found medication quite easily. Sure it took three days before I found the second bottle, but the bottle had two hundred tablets. I rarely used it as I just suffered through the pain most of the time.

I grabbed the bottle from my bag and took out two tablets and brought the bag full of blankets over. I was going to try and sell the bag with the blankets in it, after keeping one of the better quality ones for myself.

'I'm placing the tablets under this paper. I do want to ask though, how many people here go out to other floors just to get resources to trade?'

The bestiary appeared on the table with a quickly scribbled note. The bestiary was a thick leather notebook. How much information was in here? At least it was pretty small and could almost fit in my pocket, but I had a feeling not many of these pages were blank.

'Barely any. It is too dangerous. A large majority of people just explore this floor until they find what they want. There was once a pharmacy that had resources and we've been surviving off of the medication that was traded from that individual.

If you are willing to trade for information regarding the location of medications on other floors. Might I recommend another trader. I have nothing in my possession with enough value that I am willing to trade.'

'I have a large hiking bag filled with blankets, what would you be willing to trade for that?'

'I can offer you a small mattress. It will fit one person comfortably, which is more than enough. If you don't want that, I can offer you specialty carbonated beverages.'

'I'll take the mattress.' I write as I place the large bag on the table. I already knew everything that was in that bag. It would seem that the value of things from other floors is significantly higher than expected.

Why, though? Wouldn't anyone want to keep going down in hopes of escape?

The mattress appeared, taking up well over the whole table and I quickly took it off. There was another note, but I took my time to read it. I was still hung up on why no one explored, or went back to get better and new resources.

Floor three was perhaps one of the easiest floors around, you couldn't be physically harmed. It wasn't really bad, just sleeping during the day and finding somewhere to hide at night. Just explore and collect resources during the day hours you weren't sleeping. I finally read the note.

'Pleasure doing business with you. I wish you luck in your future trades. No need to reply.'

A pleasant end to a trade. I got what I wanted, as did they. I also got a lot more out of it than they did, all in all, I learned the value of what I had. Information more powerful than I really knew what to do with. I wasn't going to spend too much time on this floor.

I was going to set up a nice place to sleep that I will occasionally come back to when I need to recover. I walked around until I found an information broker only trading information. The note on the table was simple, it just said 'Information for information, pick up the dice to grab my attention.'

'Name and proposed information.'

'Logan, I know the location of medication on an early floor.'

'You're quite new to The Hub, do you perhaps know the value of the information you are talking about? The early floors are dangerous, but not as much as the later floors, or even the double digit floors before here.'

'I am aware. I traded a bestiary for two acetaminophen tablets. I don't have much interest in physical things as I aim to go much further down than here.'

'There's no one harder to trade with than a man who knows his worth. Tell me, what do you wish to know from me. If the information you are going to share with me has any truth to it in the slightest, I can tell you anything you want.'

'I wish to know information regarding the upcoming floors. As many as you can tell me.'

'You'll be unlikely to find anything trustworthy about anything beyond floor 20, but I will share with you what I know. As a show of trust, I will give you the next two floors without a single spec of proof regarding your claim.

Floor 16 is a castle interior filled with traps, and floor 17 is a floor from a culture I do not recognize, but has flowery and papery walls.'

'Good enough. Floor 3, if you explore enough, the most modern looking kitchen will have acetaminophen bottles in the back of cupboards, rarely. Took me two days to find the first, and three days to find the second.'

'On floor 3? No wonder, the Shadelings scare everyone off so no one bothers exploring. I trust you, do you perhaps know a method to lessen the screaming at night that prevents most from wanting to wander the floor?'

'I have no idea, but after reaching The Hub and traveling back, the screaming seemed quieter. I even managed to sleep through them screaming one night, as it didn't really seem all that bad anymore.'

'Good gods, lad. You must have mental fortitude as unmoving as a rock. I'll give you your information, but just tell me one last thing I just need to know. How long did it take you to pass floor 11?'

'Probably around a day and a half. What's the average?'

'Well over a week is the average to get past that floor. A lucky encounter with a Brain Worm, or unlucky if they are under control. Your information has been of great insight to me, I shall send some of my people to confirm this information you've given me. Come back in a week or two if you are still alive, I will want to know if you've discovered anything else.

Attached below are the next few floors best as I can describe them:

Floor 18, traveling under wooden structures down smooth concrete steps. Floor 19, Rainforest. Floor 20 is unknown to me, I apologize.

I left it at that. If that was all he knew, it was good enough. I could mentally prepare myself for the future. Which was better than I was even expecting. I would take this information with a grain of salt, but if the next floor was a castle interior, I'll trust the rest of the information.

For now though, it was time to go and sit on my new mattress and read the Bestiary I had just acquired, I was curious what information it would hold that I didn't know. I would know a few of the creatures from descriptions in the floor guides, but the detail in the bestiary was going to be way more impressive, I hoped.

'BESTIARY:

Rotting angel: This creature is covered from head to toe in a putrid gray rotting flesh. The only recognizable feature that makes this creature humanoid is its eyes. The rest of the face is covered in scarred and rotting flesh, sealing it shut and making the creature's head smooth.

The creature will hunt you down if you even dare to look at it. Close your eyes and walk past, as the creature doesn't care if you touch or even attack it as long as you do not perceive it with your eyes. You will certainly smell it.

If you make visual contact with the creature, do not panic and try to run. As soon as you break eye contact with the creature, this even includes blinking, the creature will move at impossible speeds to try and gut you. Do not attack when it is enraged, its incredibly sharp elongated fingers will slice through almost any material.

This creature seems to only be located on floor 2. The best way to escape the creature if you are unlucky enough to look at it is to randomize the hall. Floor 2 is the easiest among all of the floors to randomize.

Blinder: A small illusionary creature with an oversized head that cannot be touched by any means. A large toothy grin is always visible on its face, if encountered, it will show you its smile before holding open your eyes and blinding you for exactly 15 minutes.

Attracts Rotting angels in this time. It will leave you alone after this time and you can even see the creature as it starts to wander the halls again. Only seen on floor 2. Do not antagonize the creature after it leaves you alone, as if you do, it will attack you again.'

Man, these creatures from floor two sucked, but I had no idea what was awaiting me at that point. I was thinking that this had to be the worst it got, my goodness was I wrong. I was proved wrong almost immediately on the next floor.

'Shadeling: A shapeshifting creature of sorts. This creature has only been spotted on floor 3, with no way to directly interact with it, it is mostly harmless. During the day, the creature assumes the appearance of whoever is currently viewing the creature.

During the night however, or in pitch black areas such as deep underground, the creature becomes a more amorphous shape, merging with other nearby Shadelings. This amalgamation of Shadelings will scream directly into your mind with no countermeasure currently known.'

Wait, I saw these on floor nine as well, at the edge of the city. Was it just a chance encounter or was it a common thing if you went too far out of the city? I had no way to know without asking someone else, because there was no way I was going to go back to the outskirts of the city and try again.

'Shade Hounde: The Shade Hounde, also known as the Swarm Wolf. It travels in packs of no more than three during the day and is weakened by sunlight. This unsleeping creature hunts competitively against hundreds at night, unhindered by its weakness.

The Shade Hounde is a vicious creature that hunts for human flesh, jaws capable of removing limbs in a single bite. The pitch black fur makes it easy to spot during the day, and nearly impossible to spot at night before it is already too late.

The flesh of the Shade Hounde is already rotting, making it weak to any type of sharp weapon. Aim for the throat and stomach of the monster, as those are the weakest points unobstructed by dense bones. Only seen on Floor 4'

I was scared of these things. I didn't have nightmares about them, but man am I glad these are gone for now. I might go to the entrance of floor four from three to see if I can get another ax, but I might also see what the castle next floor has to offer for me.

'Fish: Literally just normal fish with the only abnormality being that the larger the fins they have, the farther they can jump out of the water. '

Ha! It really was just a dumb fish.

'Sound Eater: This is an interesting monster, it doesn't have a physical form, but you can see it as if it did. It appears as something vaguely resembling a human, but with a jaw elongated down below its stomach, a mouth that is always open, it drools all over the place.

It is unknown how this thing eats, as viewing the event seems to be impossible. A strong compulsion to look away that is nearly impossible to resist, paired with a localized darkness makes it so that any attempts are futile. Recording devices fall over, or are corrupted, all that happens is a horrid sucking noise, as if sound itself is being consumed.

If encountered, it can be distracted by making a noise elsewhere by either throwing something, or setting off stage equipment scattered throughout floor seven where this creature is contained. You can never encounter more than one at a time.

Additionally, it will go for the loudest noise in a given area, so if you are breathing in a totally silent room, it will go for you. Throw something far away from you, like one of the many chairs, that will give you plenty of time to walk past the monster and leave its detection range.'

These sucked. They can actually hear my breathing when it's quiet enough though, that's interesting. I was curious why they were still so angry despite me being so quiet. They just go after the loudest nearby noise, it doesn't matter if it is barely audible.

'Shade Paradox Corrector: The first major appearance of a mind afflicting creature. You can see the creature, but you also can see through it, an indescribable shape, something impossible to pinpoint even when looking directly at the creature.

The creature slides motionlessly across the ground, you can tell it is watching and following you. Any living matter that touches this creature will turn to liquid. This includes bones. Be wary of shadows, as it can appear from them at any time.

This creature exists solely to hunt you down, but it can be placated and slowed with good behavior. If you try to influence anything on the floor in a negative or positive way, this will make the creature angry. The best way to placate it is to not interact with the people in any way.

The placated creature will be slow and you will see it long before it becomes an issue, but it will still hunt you [You don't belong here]. The creature is faster than a full speed run from the average person, this only happens after extensive meddling over many days. An angered Shade Paradox Corrector can also destroy light sources, and cause security systems to malfunction.

The creature will also take its stress out on random civilians if you suddenly step into light while it is chasing you. Just look away, there isn't anything you can do for them anymore. Save your own life and stay in well lit areas at all times.'

What an interesting name. I wonder who named these creatures anyways. Well, it seems that I had this thing figured out pretty well without the book telling me what I needed to do. I didn't see it go after any random people other than the robber, I guess it did that every time I escaped it then…

'Muddied Behemoth: What used to be a gentle creature in its past is now corrupted by the murky water constantly flowing through it. The creature will wander aimlessly beneath the surface of the water, just low enough that you'll never see its true appearance.

The creature is roughly the length of several city blocks. Attacking the creature is pointless as it will destroy you and whatever you are in, be it building or boat. The creature cannot sense anything that does not touch it. If you are traveling to a different building on floor 10, make sure everything is above water.

If anything other than a boat (makeshift boats appear to count) touch the creature, it will go into a frenzy. One man has survived this frenzy and witnessed the true appearance and power of these creatures, but his mind wasn't the most stable and was unable to be contacted shortly after confirmation of his return and account.

Be mindful of these creatures. As long as you observe proper caution and do not swim in the water outside of the buildings unaided by a floating craft of some kind, you will be safe. They are still gentle, but clumsy creatures at heart, but they have been corrupted.

These creatures are responsible for the muddy water, as when they are decaying, they let off an unnaturally sweet smell that can be smelled for many, many miles. The flesh of the creature, when decaying, doesn't seem to cause the insanity that healthy flesh causes. The creatures are so resilient that the creature can be half decayed and still be swimming like nothing is happening.'

Massive creature that can destroy my mind. Good thing I have absolutely no reason to ever go back to floor ten. Awful floor.

'Brain Worm: A gentle creature, and one of the few helpful creatures existing throughout all the floors. This creature absolutely loathes the control and voices on the floor it resides on. So much so it will bleed and die while protecting you.

This creature is unaffected by the floor's controlling effect. It can also stop the capsules from releasing the voices into your mind, however, it will lose a small portion of its mass every time it does so.

The Brain Worm has a singular large eye that varies from creature to creature. It will communicate through telepathic means, but is unable to use human language, it will send over feelings that get translated in our brains to their closest verbal equivalent.

These creatures cannot feel pain, you can even ask them. They do not fear death, but instead welcome it as long as they can help you through the floor. However, be wary, if you meet the creature while you are under the effects of the control, it will hurt you, but not because it wants to kill you. Strong physical trauma can remove the control effect, but they do not know how much force to use against humans to not kill them.'

I let out a long sigh. So it got smaller because it was dying. That kind of sucks, but if that's what the creature wanted, I can afford it that much respect to not try and stop it. In the end, it is violent, but not out of spite or anger, it really just wants to help.

'Skybreacher Squid: This creature has tentacles that cannot be measured due to the distance. However, its tentacles can reach high enough that when the creature inevitably slams them down, it creates an explosion more powerful than the largest nuclear bombs ever detonated in the water.

If the initial shockwave isn't bad enough for most people to deal with, it will create a tidal wave between two meters at the lowest and ten at the highest. The water will corrode and melt your skin, so climb the trees nearby, the huts aren't tall enough most of the time. Be careful.

WARNING: If you do not randomize the creature before it starts its slam, it is too late, start preparing to climb the trees. The creature cannot be randomized while it is attacking, neither can the shockwave or the tidal wave.

The creature will not attack when you are inside of a building, so as long as you sleep inside of the huts, you will be safe. Good luck when you encounter this creature as it seems to have some sort of effect to make you want to watch it, but that could just be natural human curiosity.'

Not being able to randomize this thing made me panic pretty hard. Thankfully it was a smaller wave based on the information here. Ten meter tall waves, that would have certainly splashed my skin at that height, no matter how high I would have climbed.

'Shade Injector: This creature only exists on floor 14, as it is the 'boss' of the floor. It is functionally similar to the creature on floor 9. However, you can always feel its current position. The monster itself is half the gimmick of the floor.

This creature will chase you increasing in speed over time. It can travel extremely quickly in a straight line, but it is slow to turn around, and will stop moving while turning. Every room you make it through will increase its speed, capping at about a normal running speed after ten of the fifteen rooms.

You cannot touch this monster as it will have the same effect as the comparative from floor 9. To defeat this creature, just walk all the way back to the beginning and loop around. You can usually get enough time to open one more lock by kiting it around.

High priority creature: extensive rewards available for all of those with additional information. Information such as a weakness, or general information such as what it looks like.'

A boss monster indeed, another awful creature. Not much I can say about it, as even though it sucked, it was probably one of my shortest floors to go through.

'Mall Lurker: This creature lurks the far halls of floor 15, The Hub. It appears to look like a Rotting Angel, but has none of the supernatural speed possessed by the other creature. However, once this creature spots you, it will chase you until it dies, or you do.

If you cannot combat the creature on your own, lead it to a population center, and the guards will destroy it. They are trained to deal with the creature, so if you are not confident, please leave it to professionals as the creature's claws are just as sharp as those from the Rotting angel.'

So that's what the creatures on this floor are like, huh. Good to know that I shouldn't fight them unarmed if their claws are the same as a Rotting Angel's. Those claws easily went into concrete. Terrifying if you asked me.

There were a few more entries on monsters that were probably on later floors. I memorized them, but didn't think too hard about them, as I would rather experience a monster before I came to false conclusions based on lacking information.

I guess there really wasn't much to do. If the rest of the traders are like the two I interacted with, there wasn't much left for me to do here. So I expedited my preparations. I made a quick 'base' by dragging some store shelves together and draping a large blanket over the top. It created a darker area that was nice to sleep in.

I dragged my mattress over and marked on the map where my new base was. I stored all my extra things nicely. I was initially going to make a stop to floor nine to grab some better food, but I easily traded for better supplies using medication.

I saw no need to explore The Hub for anything. There were already plenty of people doing that, and I wanted to keep going down. I felt extremely good after resting for two more days with proper food and water. A nice relaxing change after the hell I had been through.

I stood at the top of the concrete stairs that led to the next floor. It was show time.