“He can certainly fight.” The female fighter said, with a renewed respect in her voice.

A grin spread across Tony’s face. “He certainly is a good prospect, my keen eye never misses them.”

He was ignored by the fighter as she moved over and offered a hand out for Nick to shake. Nick took it.

“Kathy. 3-3 front liner for the 71st Roamers.” She introduced herself.

“Nick. I’m not sure what the numbers mean but I don’t think I have any? I’m here for the experience.” Nick said with a smile.

“I’m smiling back, sorry the helmet stays on in the car park. The numbers are class levels, highest first. You could say you’re a 0-0 right now.” She said, voice full of mirth.

Ah, so the earlier comment Doyle made about Tony certainly was quite the dig. It certainly seemed that Tony was weak, which went a long way in explaining why the man was so pissed about losing the class gem. He was three levels weaker than Kathy, who Nick assumed was the leader of the team, with Doyle being the leader of the 71st floor. Nick wondered how strong Doyle was, then also marvelled at the difference between him and Tony. Doyle placed himself amongst the team, fitting in with their composition. Tony on the other hand was being escorted like a VIP, the man hadn’t drawn a weapon or engaged in any combat of his own.

Nick also released that meant he was 2-0, and he’d be the same as Tony, 2-1, once he got his next class. He then had to wonder how strong his team was, Maddy was at least a 2-1 and she mentioned the team getting class gems, so most of the team was likely 2-1 or 2-2. That seemed markedly weaker than the 71st team, who at bare minimum had two level threes in Benedict and Kathy.

He couldn’t help but sigh to himself, somehow his family and walked past this bunch and had chosen Tony’s floor. What terrible luck that was. Doyle then called the group together and they got ready to push towards the fort that apparently every floor set up in the centre of the car park. Just as the group started making headway into the shadows they spotted a light not too far off.

The two light-baring groups approached each other, and once they got close enough a man called out.

“Doyle, Tony! We had just rounded up the last of the ghouls and were getting ready to finish them off! Have you seen them?” A large grin was plastered across the man’s face.

“Muhammad, good to see you too.” Doyle said with a sigh. “The ghouls have been dealt with.”

“Wonderful news! We can depart at once then.” Muhammad continued walking right on past their collective group and towards the ramp.

Nick watched the team move past him and almost felt fearful. He’d been around some rather dangerous people in his time but each member of what he inferred were the 73rd Roamers had a certain aura about them. He could feel power and might radiate off both their gear and their bodies, in a way he couldn’t quite understand. He almost felt physically oppressed just being near them, the alien feeling affecting him deeply. Nick felt a hand on his shoulder, which helped stabilise him. Turning, he saw that it was Maddy.

“I’m not sure why, but as people and their gear get higher in level they seem to affect the space around them in weird ways. You’ll get better with it the stronger your classes get.” She said with a light smile. “Or at least get a class.” She added on.

One of the passing members must have heard what she said and scoffed.

“Trust Tony Two Times to bring a classless pleb to a meeting with Reggie.” The large man said as he passed by.

Nick looked over and saw Tony had clenched his jaw. The girl in the lobby, Mindy, had mentioned the nickname before but Nick had forgotten about it. The nickname definitely seemed derogatory considering Tony’s reaction, that plus the level business was definitely painting Tony to be the butt of a lot of derision. More and more questions for Nick to hopefully find answers for.

The 72nd and 71st teams followed behind Muhammad’s and made their way to the ramp. They climbed it with nowhere near as much caution and the frivolity was justified when they found a team of people sitting around waiting for them.

Nick heard the leader’s name was Gupta but there wasn’t much fanfare, the group just got up and started walking for the ramp. There wasn’t any banter between the groups and Nick was happy to be as far from them as possible. The auras that he was feeling from them were even more oppressive than the last teams. Nick was beginning to feel even more out of place and just a little bit in over his head.

The separate groups all fell silent as they climbed up the next ramp to the 75th floor. Nick noticed that everyone was a bit more organised and standing straighter. He tried to integrate himself into his team’s formation, but their strange VIP escort formation stood out like a sore thumb.

Nick was amazed by what he saw as he stepped onto the 75th floor. While the fortifications he’d seen on each floor had improved as they climbed, it was nothing compared with what lay before him. The now large group of people was in a walled off courtyard of sorts, with stone walls at least two metres high surrounding them. There were armed men standing on the wall watching over them and with a nod from them a large metal gate was hauled open, letting the group move deeper into the floor.

Nick was once again awed. There were large groups of people sitting around, either in the light along the edges of the car park or under light crystals that were spread around periodically like lampposts. Everyone he’d met so far was at least cautious of the car park and it’s dangers, but from what he could see everyone in these groups appeared completely carefree. There were chairs and lounges everywhere, Nick even noticed what looked like stalls set up a distance away.

Nick’s amazement must have been plastered across his face because he got slapped on the back and his team started laughing at him.

“Haha! It certainly is a very different kind of environment up here. Not a shadow in sight.” Joshua laughed.

Nick looked around and realised that he was right, the light crystals were dispersed in such a way that every inch of space was well lit. It was an amazing difference from the dark and blatantly hostile space his family had bumbled their way through. He definitely had to bring his family here at some point, it was an atmosphere to behold.

The rest of the group weren’t fazed like Nick was and they kept their march going, forcing Nick to jog a bit to catch up. As they moved through the space Nick saw that the stalls were running along a clearly defined road or pathway of sorts. The pathway was painted on the group and led inwards, likely towards whatever kind of fort was in the centre of this floor. As the large group walked down this path Nick looked into the stalls and found that they seemed to be selling tools, weapons and knickknacks of various kinds. Nick felt his curiosity bloom dangerously, he wanted nothing more than to run off and inspect everything. A veritable kid in a candy shop right now.

Nick had to watch all the stalls pass by, which got harder and harder as the number of stalls grew the further they walked. Soon the group reached the central structure of the floor and Nick was once and impressed. It wasn’t really a fort, it was a giant market of sorts. More permanent buildings littered the area, along with the more tent like structures of the other stalls he’d seen along the way.

The large group of people he was in found themselves joining a large body of people inside the market, Nick had to stick extra close to Maddy to make sure he didn’t get lost. Though most people gave the precession a wide berth, Nick clearly was not the only one feeling somewhat oppressed by the higher levelled folk at the front of the group. In the centre of the market was a large stone building that Maddy pointed out to him.

“That there is Reggie's Emporium. The only place you’ll find selling Stickers consistently.” She explained.

A store that sold the ticket to superhuman status? That was insane, though shoplifting must be quite the serious threat. Looking closer at the entrance he saw some pretty good deterrent to thieves. There were two giant men, both at least 6’5’’, wearing what looked like reinforced riot gear and armed with large clubs. Certainly two respectable gentlemen that Nick had absolutely no interest in getting on the wrong side of. Any thoughts of trying his hand at crime were quickly banished.

The procession didn’t stop, they took a turn and continued on their march towards the hotel. Nick watched as the stalls lining the road began to dwindle and the scenery was once more dominated by groups of people lounging around. He also spotted teams of armed folk roaming around the space, keeping an eye on things. Nick wondered whether they operated as a kind of police force or if they were just there in case any monsters happened to appear.

What was justice in a place like this? There certainly weren’t peace keepers of any sort on the 72nd floor, Tony’s word was law. Did each floor operate in it’s own way? Was there a more unified pattern to all of this? He’d have to wait and see how things went with this Reggie guy. He wasn’t sure if it was like a council meeting happening or a king calling his subjects in. Though from the interactions he’d seen between the leaders they certainly didn’t view each other as equals. Considering the crackpot dictatorship Tony was running Nick didn’t have much hope for democracy.

The group eventually found themselves approaching the outer wall of the hotel and Nick noticed that it had a very different entrance than the one on the 72nd floor. The 72nd floor hotel had a staircase running up the side of the wall into a single door, looking more like a fire escape. The 75th floor had a grand wooden double door with a small bridge across the gap between the car park and hotel. There were two large men guarding this door, though not as physically imposing as the gentlemen at the store. They two pulled open the door as the group approached.

The procession didn’t stop and just marched right on through the door. For the nth time today Nick was stunned. His floor was a rat’s nest compared to what he was seeing here. The doors opened up into a massive lobby, a giant door was situated across from them with a grand staircase either side leading up to an open space that looked over the space the group was in now.

A tall man stood at the balcony of this raised floor. The man was built like a greek god, athletic and square jawed with perfectly tousled hair hanging down to his shoulders. The detail that struck Nick the most though was his clothing and accessories. He was decked out in garish gold half plate armour that sparkled under the light. The most prominent feature though was on the man’s head. A golden crown filled with bright gems that looked familiar to Nick. It took a second for it to click why they were familiar, they were class gems.

Now that was an exuberant display of wealth right there. Nick definitely had a bad feeling, his hopes of democracy that he believed had already died got up and died again. Then the man went and opened his mouth.

“My loyal retainers! Good of you to finally make it! The event is about to start! We must take part before we enter discussions!”

Nick heard a barely suppressed groan spread through the group.

Looks like democracy really was dead here huh. Long live the king!