Unlike the rest of Freetown, the citizens of Blue Quarter all possessed a certain air of competence. Despite the fact that few were actual adventurers, quite a few gave off the far fainter but still significant aura of Professionals or Craftsmen of one discipline or another. He had the feeling that a great many had been brought in from off-world, and those that were clearly classers had a certain look to their eyes that spoke of confidence and power.

Eric couldn’t help but feel a certain frisson of excitement, lips blooming in a pleased smile as he squeezed an equally awed Rica’s hand. He felt like he had just gone from the beginning section of the town, predatory as it was, to where the elite chose to stay. Besides everyone looking freshly scrubbed, a sharp contrast from the dirt and grime that was the norm for most non classers he had seen in the goblin’s quarter, here everyone’s clothes look perfectly clean and freshly pressed, for all that they were dressed in everything from renaissance finery to shimmering mesh suits that really did look like futuristic armor, save that they radiated arcane protective energies that had very little to do with the electromagnetic spectrum where Earth’s former tech mastery resided.

Eric gave a bemused shake of his head. If anything, so much was pinging with so many degrees of arcane energy that his Mana Sight was on the verge of giving him a migraine, but he couldn’t help smiling at Nelly’s squeel of enthusiasm. Even the transportation was the stuff of high fantasy or magitech, with everything from self-powered skateboards to horseless carriages to what looked to be magic-fueled Teslaesque cars. Even if no vehicle sharing the wide boulevard with pedestrians was going any faster than a jog. Just like cars in busy urban areas everywhere, Eric noted with a smile.

“This is it, guys! Magitech central, just like in my favorite novels!” Nelly was all but bouncing with excitement, the boy by her side gazing at it all with eyes equally bright. “Now please tell me we can find a store that actually has a decent selection of magical toys, and is willing to sell them to us?”

Rica smiled indulgently at her friend. “Agreed.” She peered thoughtfully at Eric and Nelly both, before giving a gentle kiss to her daughter’s sleeping brow. “And hell, maybe we can hire a magical tutor for you both.”

Her smile grew, a certain excited light coming to her eyes as well. “And who knows? Maybe I could learn the trick of it as well. Because you’re not the only girl who once dreamed of attending Hogglewarts, Nelly. I’ll tell you that straight off.” She gazed fondly at her little one. “And who knows? Maybe my little Ria has a mage’s future in store for her. And if there’s any way for her, or us, to be able to skill up without having to get blood on our hands...”

Nelly nodded enthusiastically, patting her own belly, which made her father’s eyes bulge, though he continued saying nothing, more than a little bit intimidated, it seemed, to be walking among what were shaping up to be the true powers of this brave new world, even if most of the adventurers he saw looked half his age.

“I know what you mean, Rica,” Nelly softly said. “As much as I learned to revel in the madness of it all, to enjoy getting faster, stronger, deadlier, the opposite of all our broken bitter classmates who had nothing but chains of servitude to look forward to… If I end up doing the mommy thing, I’d love to gift my children with classes that don’t put their lives in constant danger.”

Morgan took a resolute breath, solemnly clasping Nelly’s hand. “Babe? I decided.” Intent brown eyes gazed into her own. Nelly instantly frowned.

“Morgan, please, you don’t have to. I mean it!”

He adamantly shook his head. “No. I do. I really do.” He took a deep breath. “It’s like Eric said. That wagon ride was basically a fresh start. A chance to be the Morgan of my dreams, not the coward who fell so fucking low in Gilton.” He shook his head, eyes glittering with self-contempt. “The coward who was too fucking scared to even think about daring the pods.”

“But Morgan...”

He gave an angry shake of his head. “Babe, let’s make a deal. We’ll do just what you said. Try to find a shop that will actually sell us magical wands and whatever else looks useful, to the point we can afford it, of course. Then we’ll both try to learn whatever our future tutors can show us.” He flashed a hopeful smile. “I already know how smart you are, Nelly. I have no doubt you’ll get the knack of it in no time. But if I can even generate the tiniest spark...”

Nelly’s eyes widened. “Then that means you have the gift. Or something that connects you to the System! So maybe, hopefully? You can survive the pod!”

“That’s my hope,” he said gamely.

And Eric couldn’t help but nod, impressed. “Honestly, that sounds like a clever back door to safely see if maybe you have class potential. Or at least, mage potential.”

Even Nelly’s father nodded. “Damn good thinking, son. My only question is why the hell no one mentioned this to any of the desperate survivors who didn’t see any choice but to surrender to collars, with the odds of surviving the pods being so slim, if forced to go in without testing for any sort of System affinity?”

Eric flashed a cynical smile. “My guess is it’s because the true powers behind Earth’s conquest will do all they can to keep us Earthlings as weak and powerless as they can, for as long as they can, no matter what pretexts of fairness or galactic standards they preach. Not until they’ve secured any and all resources of value here on Earth, and as much power as they can for themselves.”

Rica’s grandmother nodded. “Only when all our land is surrendered and we’re working for them, good little salary earners in their companies, will they condescend to lift their damned sanctions and truly give us a fair shake. Because by then we won’t be a unified people eager for our own independence, but good little wage-slaves making our bosses a fat quarterly profit.” Her eyes glittered with sharp humor. “The signs aren’t hard to recognize, once you know how to spot them.”

Nelly’s father gave a thoughtful nod. “I think you’re right, Mrs. Lightfoot.”

Nelly gazed pointedly at her father and sisters as they rapidly approached the glittering architectural wonder that Eric knew to be their destination, a magnificent palatial structure of that shown like a priceless blue jewel, if the Taj Mahal was made out of glittering sapphires, aquamarine, and opals.

It was a towering edifice that sparkled in the sun, the jewel of the Blue Quarter, and Eric couldn’t deny the profound sense of awe and wonder he knew he wasn’t alone in experiencing as they slowly made their way past smiling door men and respectfully nodding guards through a magnificent arched doorway worthy of any old world Las Vegas casino before entering the grand foyer to what was the most luxurious hotel Eric had ever seen. And he had seen more than a few.

He was taken aback by the sight of thick lush carpets off burgundy hue, rosewood furniture polished to a burnished glow, and a handful of snappily dressed servants wearing uniforms and smiles that actually seemed genuine, complete with caps and, for the girls, form-fitting gowns that were both enticing and exquisitely tasteful, looking like they’d fit in perfectly in any high end European hotel, or Manhattan's most posh resorts, circa 2020.

To say that Eric was impressed would be the understatement of the year, his ears ringing with wonder, and it was only his inhuman Finesse that had prevented him from stumbling with the surreal sensation that he was both Eric the warrior forged in pain and fire, and Eric the young pampered son of a famous actress and media mogul who had known nothing but privilage and luxury all his life, for all that he had tried to be worthy of it in his own way, having trained for his singular role with a dedication he thought would have done his most devoted RPG characters proud.

But that was just a boy’s fancy and awkwardness and love of games, for all that his instructor had actually known what the hell he was doing with medieval weaponry, wonder of wonders. Teaching Eric the fundamentals of so many weapon styles that had allowed him to blossom and get a head start in learning the skills that his life depended on him mastering.

But the sweet memories and absurdly petty concerns of a teenage silverspooner now felt no more real, or significant, than a midsummer’s dream. This? This was real. The Eric he now was, with a million credit bounty on his head, and a girl he was falling head over heels for by his side. Living a life where unlimited power awaited the bold. And it was increasingly clear that settling for comfort or slowing down his pace would leave him and the people he cared about vulnerable to countless predators that would soon no doubt be gunning for him in the goblin section of the city.

Maybe it was because he had managed to piss off the entire orc faction, after bloodying their nose and kicking them out of Gilton, almost singlehandedly. But mostly it was because he had claimed an incalculable fortune in gold, right out from under the noses of the Confederate States of Slaving Bastards who had thought to steal it from what was now Sylvan Alliance territory for their own ends. So he was most definitely in their cross-hairs, to the tune of a million credit bounty the slimy goblins themselves had tried to collect on.

In their own bank.

Fucking bastards.

Eric needed to get his head on straight, keep his wonder in check, shut his gaping maw, and smile politely at the bemused hotel concierge gazing at him with a twinkle in her eyes.

“It’s a wonder, isn’t it?” The rather pretty concierge chuckled softly, jade green eyes smiling into his own. “Don’t worry. It hits everyone pretty much the same. Here at the hotel, we consider it a right of passage, so many young adventurers rendered speechless when they first decide to take that bold step and savor all the luxuries the Blue Quarter has to offer, here in our little corner of the city.”

“It’s absolutely gorgeous! I feel like I’m at a fancy hotel before the world ended. You guys even have working lights!” Nelly gushed, before a forlorn expression came over her youthful features. “But somehow I doubt people can afford to spend too many nights in digs this posh, no matter how many beast pelts they’re bringing in.”

Morgan, hovering just behind her, sighed and nodded in agreement.

The concierge flashed a sympathetic smile. “We welcome all our guests to take a load off and rest in the lobby, if they so desire, even if they find a night under our care to be a bit beyond an aspiring adventurer’s immediate price range. We’d like to think that we provide wonderful motivation for fledgling Classers to continue to better themselves, striving for perfection in all that they do, so that one day they too can gaze from the top floor suite, filled with a sense of satisfaction for how far they’ve come in life, whether that day is a year, or a century from now.”

Eric frowned, noting that the waiting lobby was nearly as empty as it was grand, his hawk-like gaze immediately spotting the passage leading to what must be a hotel restaurant, from which he heard nary a sound.

Maybe it was his mother’s knack, because god knows he certainly hadn’t inherited her acting skills, or perhaps those title boons were even more useful than he had thought, leveling up his more financially savvy neurons on the sly when he wasn’t looking. But either way, peels of financial peril... and potential, were both ringing in the back of his mind.

Eric locked gazes with the concierge, flashing his brightest smile.

He passed her the shimmering blue card he had been given. “I was handed this by Captain Rincile. I take it this valuable piece of property does not need to be returned to him?”

The girl, whose name was Eni, according to her blue crystal name tag, immediately brightened with a gorgeous smile, showcasing a sylvan beauty that was objectively striking, even if Eric had absolutely no interest at all. And he most definitely did not smell sharp prickly pheromones of jealousy nearby. “Oh, how wonderful! This card designates you as an elite guest. You’re welcome to enjoy the hospitality of one of our upper tier suites for a full week!” She flashed a confidential smile. “And that includes rooms service, completely on us! You can also make free use of our restaurant downstairs. Shelf Belvis is an absolute wizard in the kitchen! Now let’s check you all in, and I’d be happy to show you all that our hotel has to offer!”

Eric gestured to Rica, all of them happy to sign under Lightfoot, as it wasn’t Silver, so would hopefully draw less attention.

Eric frowned thoughtfully, and decided to pressure test the growing suspicion in the back of his mind.

“Actually, could we extend our guest privileges to an adjoining suit?”

Eric flashed his best smile, ignoring the hard elbow to his rib from a girlfriend who clearly thought he was being a bit rude.

Understandable. Because he most definitely was.

“We’re actually two parties, you see. And I’m pretty sure our friends would feel awfully crowded in a single suite, no matter how generously sized they are.”

Eni blinked, momentarily nonplussed, before her ears perked up, brightening with a smile. “No need for that, sir. Just let me upgrade you to one of our more spacious top tier condominiums! Each is half a floor, with Plenty of room for several families, or an adventuring guild’s inner circle!” She flashed a confidential wink. “I guarantee you’ll absolutely love it! Now let’s get you all situated, and then I’ll be happy to show you all that the Blue Palace has to offer it’s guests… and it’s residents.”

Eric’s grin widened, for all that Rica was looking at him strangely.

Because that was exactly what he wanted to hear, ideas jelling in the back of his mind as Eni cheerfully showed off the most glorious condominium Eric had ever seen in his life. And that was saying something, with downy wall to wall carpeting a soothing shade of vanilla that felt like walking on a cloud, to plush beds that could be molded into whatever position one desired with a simple surge of Mana, before showing off what Eric was shocked to find were actual holographic projectors that most definitely did function according to the magitech principles Nelly had dreamed might actually be a thing here and, it turned out, truly was.

Even if the entertainment playing was limited to cartoon-like 3-D dramas in languages Eric’s interface struggled to translate with shadowy subtitles underneath, it was a wonder to see anything even remotely like the entertainment they had taken for granted for all his life. Then Eni, with a knowing wink, turned the channel to an animated series Eric instantly recognized, no subtitles needed at all.

As did his girlfriend. “Nelly, they have an anime channel! I swear to god that’s Super-Punch man! Only… I never saw him with a blue uniform before. I thought it was white and yellow? But he has that same goofy clueless expression!”

Eni nodded, unashamedly acknowledging it. “Oh yes. Blue Corp purchased all the copyrights to all the visual entertainment mediums Earth ever created.” She flashed a sad smile. “Not too hard when almost all the former shareholders and their entire families were dead… and those that weren’t, were thrilled to sell off what was for them an absolutely worthless asset for safe asylum within the closest Blue neutral territory. Rare as they still are. Regardless, the goblins might have dropped the ball on human entertainment, but we most certainly did not!”

She positively beamed at the looks this garnered her. “Of course he’s Blue Punch Man, now. On account of branding.”

“Of course he is,” Eric said with a grin. Though even his bemused smile turned to awe when the designated telecommunication room showcased what he swore was a fifty inch monitor and a blue-alloy cube a good four feet on all sides that he was dead certain served as a computer.

“And here is your entertainment and networking room!” Eni said, boldly striding over to touch the screen, Eric noting the faint mana surge via Arcane Perception when the monitor popped to life, showing a very crude and simplistic version of the tactical map the Sylvan alliance used, though it was limited to just the immediate region.

But unlike the map he could access in the back of his mind, this one also included almost a dozen symbols he didn’t recognize… until suddenly he did, his interface asking if he’d like to upload new data just as Eni gestured to the display.

“And this here is a fully detailed adventurer’s map of the local area, showcasing half a dozen Rifts and delve sights that have been successfully located, explored, and quantified! Best of all, and an exclusive privilege to our most elite guests and, of course, all those who call the Blue Palace home, is real time access to all pertinent Delving information!” She said, proudly displaying with a flick of a shimmering lacquered fingernail a drop down diagnosis of each of those Delves.

Monster types, general threat level, even a rough layout of what the dungeon looked like and any odd features to look out for, including common treasures, ores, and valuable beast parts to be extracted. Most importantly, Eric thought, was the timer before each delve that made it clear when they reset.

Rica, however, was frowning. “Why are all the dungeons with the most detailed maps, charts, and data completely faded out?”

Their concierge flashed an oddly apologetic smile. “Those rifts, or dungeons, if you prefer the term, have been claimed by Freetown’s major adventuring guilds.”

Eric blinked at this. “Wait, seriously?”

Eni nodded solemnly, showcasing ears far more pointed than either the Vulcanesque ones most of the Blue Corp tribe seemed to posses, or those the Sylvan Alliance cavalry, for that matter, when they peaked through her bright blond curls. Yet they somehow fit perfectly with her golden hued features, and she looked as comfortable in her blue concierge suit as any other employee of the corporation.

Which was definitely a point in their favor, if Eric decided to go through with the mercantile plan still percolating in the back of his mind.

“Yes, milady. These dungeons have stable interdimensional parameters, though there is a… how do you put it in English? A reset time before excess mana re-infuses the paradimensional structure and the dungeon ‘resets,’ if you will. Once every year, competing guilds will have the opportunity to select as their champions four-man teams that must best each other via non-lethal means. The winners will get to choose their preferred rifts and time slots, and the more victories accrued, the more rifts and time slots within those rifts will be available to them.”

Eni sighed and shook her head. “We had three disqualifications due to deaths during our very first competition, unfortunately, so there is still quite a bit of friction between the guilds as to who really should have access to which dungeons.” She then flashed a proud smile. “Fortunately Blue Corp has recently purchased several top tier dueling arenas, allowing any group of four or less competitors to fight against an equal number without incurring any fatalities whatsoever!”

Nelly whistled. “I’ll bet that took some sweet tech or… magitech to pull off!”

Eni nodded sagely. “Indeed it did, young miss, and we will be hosting the competitions right here in the Blue Quarter, with our palatial suites getting a bird’s eye view out the balcony windows right here!” She said, directing their attention through floor to ceiling windows to a lush park just a little ways off, surrounded by what looked to be a number of manors, each of them surrounded by trees and nature trails.

Eric couldn’t help grinning at the sight, the whole area reminding him of a posh gated community that somehow managed to look bucolic and private, trees and trails and flowers artfully arranged to perfectly disguise how close the buildings truly were to one another, giving a wonderful illusion of privacy and tranquility. And with the grand park they adjoined on three sides, half of it gated off, the owners of those homes would have all the back yard space they or their families could want.

Eric spent long moments gazing out at those picturesque homes, for all that he hardly saw a soul.

“Nice houses,” he said at last, earning a pleased nod from Eni.

“They are indeed, Master Silver. In the most exclusive quarter in all of Freetown. Perfect for growing families,” she said as Ria squirmed out of her mother’s arms and began exploring the entertainment room, absolutely delighting in the plush soft rug. “And with future plans for Blue Quarter academies, once certain sanctions are lifted, the potential for future elites will be unlimited! Truly, with all that Blue Quarter has to offer, it’s the perfect time to buy.”

“Of course it is,” Rica said with an arch smile, keeping her focus on what mattered even as one hand kept firm hold of her daughter, her other still pointing at the interface map. “So, we know that two thirds of the dungeons are exclusive to members of various Adventuring Guilds. Fair enough. How about this handful that aren’t grayed out? That conveniently only have minimal information regarding their contents?”

Eni dipped her head. “Excellent eye, Milady. Those dungeons tapped into raw chaos during their formation. This means that their potential for exploration and adventure is endless! On the other hand,” she quickly cautioned, “It also means that their layouts can’t be premapped, and their denizen configurations are… unpredictable.”

Rica paled. “That triples the peril over knowing exactly what you’re going to face and how they’re going to attack,” she whispered.

Nelly nodded. “It’s the literal difference between life and death.”

Eni flashed a strained smile. “We all regret the perilous times we live in, my ladies.”

Eric furrowed his brow thoughtfully. “Wait, babe, if you look here… these lines don’t give exact numbers… but they do give ratios. Roughly 50% chance for the leftmost dungeon to spawn 3 black slimes… and 50% for between 1 and 4 purple slimes. So I’m guessing, so long as you get some experience handling the monster types within, and know you can master it at its worst, well, it’s not perfect, but the odds are a hell of a lot better than going in blind.”

“Precisely!” Eni gushed. “And as the very nature of these rifts imply a single planar tier of difficulty, you need never fear foes suddenly twice as hard as the ones you had originally faced upon rift entry, just minutes or hours before. And as adventurers continue to garner data on their experiences, information for which we pay quite handsomely in Blue Corp credits, I might add, the more detailed and accurate our encounter probability curves become. Once more showcasing the benefit that the most elite adventurers who choose to make use of our condominiums or top tier hotel suites may always enjoy!”

“But not the common man,” said Nelly’s father, the normally easygoing man who seemed to be in quiet awe of everything a graceful enough to let his daughter and her friends, who had the gifts needed to be true players in this world, take the lead, now finally felt the need to make his voice heard. “Not to the average shmuck just trying to survive, who might not be able to make it into whatever elite guilds were ruthless enough to beat their competitors to within an inch of their lives and grab those spots. For everyone else, it’s random dungeons where a simple mistake, maybe from simply not knowing what to expect, will mean their death.”

For the first time, Eni’s bright smile vanished, cold imperious eyes locking onto a suddenly flushing middle-aged man. “This is a business, sir. A venture that Blue Corp has invested considerable resources, competing against multiple hostile entities, to secure. We are not the goblins, eager to see all of you in slave collars, crushed by mountains of usurious debt you never saw coming. We’re not the orcs, eager for a far more direct slaughter and decimation of your people. We are not any of a dozen other races and alliances who won’t be happy until every last ounce of Earth's precious resources have been extracted from your world, interested only in immediate returns.”

Her eyes flashed, all but glaring at Nelly’s father. “We are the Blue Federation. For all that profit is our guiding light, our founder’s highest ideal is following our millenia-old galactic code of honor and integrity with all trades and all citizens, no matter their pedigree or status. The most knowledgeable and savvy clans of all races come to us, because they know that we trade strictly within regimented profit guidelines, with fairness and integrity. We are not cheap. We deal only in high end real estate and retail, here on Earth. But we are always fair, and we always provide excellent value for service!”