“Yes, it happened,” Hector lied.

  “No! I can’t believe I missed your first notification!”

  Hector shrugged, trying not to reveal his complete ignorance. “It’s been fun, Machi.”

  “Yeah. You’re pretty decent for a Xian. Take care, Hector.”

  Vivian elbowed Machi out of the way. “Don’t be stupid in the dungeons, Hector. You’re not strong by the standard of Union Central. Get to level six before you start fighting monsters. Persuasion made sure you won’t want for funds your first year.”

  Hector gnced over his shoulder towards where Sage Caroline disappeared to. He hadn’t asked how he was supposed to get the reward promised to him. Was there a bank he needed to visit? An Arahant embassy, perhaps? How would anyone verify his identity?

  “I won’t take any unnecessary risks,” he promised.

  “Good. And take care of these two. They can’t protect themselves at the moment. None of us have been able to restore enough illusory energy for so much as a gmour since we’ve been passing through worlds so fast.”

  “I promise to keep them safe.” Hector wasn’t sure what there was to keep them safe from, other than the threats inside the dungeon.

  Vivian did a quick hug and then the four Arahant friends were doing their own final farewells among each other. These ones were far more heartfelt than what they’d directed towards him. Machi and Zelda seemed to have mended fences and shed some tears.

  Hector, Zelda, and Rodrick were directed to an empty shuttle, where the pilot verified they wanted to be dropped off at a nding pad near the dungeon. As Rodrick was confirming that choice, the wall of the unch bay began to roll aside, revealing open air.

  He was leaning close to the small window to catch his first glimpse of this new world when something obstructed his vision.

  Welcome to Union Central.

  GUID assigned.

  Please enter personal information.

  “Ah!” He jerked away from the letters that had imposed themselves on his field of vision. However he moved his head and eyes, they remained centered. “What’s with this message?”

  Rodrick ughed. “I thought it happened already? Or were you just messing with Machi?”

  “I was obviously messing with him. What is this?”

  “You’re interacting with the System of Union Central,” Zelda answered. “Since this is your first time here, it will make you answer a bunch of questions. Make sure you spell your name right so the fund transfer goes through.”

  “What’s a GUID?”

  “A globally unique identifier. It’s how the System tells people apart who have the same name.”

  A cursor blinked inside a text box. Hector poked at it with his finger and a keyboard appeared. The letters were in alphabetic order rather than QWERTY, but he was able to type out his own name as the popup tip instructed him. Another box appeared after that, with a tip appearing to let him know that he could add more parts to his name. He typed in his st name and another box appeared asking for more parts to his name. He tapped the ‘x’ in the corner to make it go away.

  Then he was forced to identify what the two names he entered were. Given name and surname. Then it asked what order he preferred them to be dispyed. Then it asked for his preferences on address – always use both names, first name, st name. He chose first name.

  The System went through a quick listing of applicable ws he would need to abide by. They were things that he found rather obvious for living in any society. Things like ‘no killing or attacking other humans’ and ‘no stealing property’. An ominous warning at the end indicated that the actions of everyone on world were recorded to serve as evidence should he viote any ws during his stay.

  At that point, the System indicated that the mandatory portion was complete. There were other sections that would need filled in if he wished to avail himself of the finance functions, become a resident, or apply for work. Did he want to do any of those now?

  Yes, he did.

  Once Hector read through the financial rights and responsibilities, he indicated his agreement to abide by the terms of use. The System asked if he was expecting any financial transactions. He was. It asked if funds were being received or sent. Then it asked for the name of the person sending him funds. Hector only knew her as ‘Sage Caroline’, but that proved enough to verify he was the right Hector Thoreaux.

  A bance suddenly appeared. “Is two hundred thousand credit a lot of money?”

  “It is a ‘live like kings for a year’ amount of money,” Rodrick said.

  Zelda coughed. “That’s not quite accurate. Most things are very affordable on Union Central, but housing is not. Hostels and capsule hotels are avaible for decent rates, but an actual apartment would bankrupt you a lot faster than one year.”

  “Seriously?” Rodrick sounded heartbroken.

  Hector swiped the System’s interface away so that he could see normally once more. “So what are we doing for housing if it’s so expensive?”

  “Capsule hotel,” Zelda said. “It’s not the height of luxury, but if we book a stay in a nicer one, we’ll have access to a lot of amenities in the shared areas.”

  “You’re paying our rent, by the way,” Rodrick announced.

  “I figured as much,” Hector said. “I guess this makes me the leader of the team.”

  “Treasurer, actually,” Rodrick crified. “I’m the president. Zelda is the secretary.”

  “Who voted you into office?”

  “Hector, this isn’t a democracy. I’m obviously in charge because I seized power through a bloody coup. My rule is said to be ‘fair and just’ by the press. Of course, their reporting is heavily censored and you shouldn’t believe a word of it.”

  The shuttle came down on a ft rooftop and the whine of its engines died down. Their pilot came back into the passenger area and opened the door to precede them outside. He then stood there with a Jinn salute. “Sirs, on behalf of War Barge Kevin, thank you for your service.”

  The three of them saluted in the Arahant way as they passed, fist to heart.

  “Sirs, this nding field is above a building owned by the nation of Mercom. The staff inside will answer any questions you have and offer you transportation by ground car to anywhere in the city.”

  They thanked the pilot and then rushed to the nearest elevator as the shuttle’s engines began to whine once more, bsting them with fierce winds. The elevator whisked them down fast enough that Hector felt his stomach drop. The doors then opened on a bright room with one wall a massive window. A woman at a reception table motioned them forward.

  “Hello! Thank you for your service with the Coalition Army. The Jinn nation of Mercom appreciates the contributions of our honorable allies. As an authorized representative, I am avaible for the next hour to answer any questions you might have, assist with immigration issues, and book you a free trip anywhere in the city. What can I do for you?”

  Zelda took the lead, as she so often did. Hector and Rodrick were happy to let her. “We would like to book an extended stay in a capsule hotel.”

  “Absolutely. How long do you pn on staying? Capsule hotels offer discounts to long term occupants, so you should book for the longest period of time you are sure you will need accommodation – budget permitting, of course.”

  “One year stay. Our budget for three capsules is a hundred thousand credits. If possible, we want somewhere that offers a lot of amenities.”

  Hector couldn’t help but smile as Zelda made pns for spending his credits. It reminded him of vacations with Jen back in the early days of their marriage. He couldn’t compin. Sharing his bonus with friends was infinitely better than being along on a strange world.

  “There aren’t many options avaible for high end accommodations at that price,” the receptionist expined. “Though I may be able to get you an additional discount if you meet certain criteria. Are you interested in joining the Reconquest of Aes? If you sign a contract, the Reconquest offers generous housing subsidies. You would need to train with them five days a week and deploy as part of the Aes Reconquest.”

  “No,” Zelda answered. “We pn to enter the dungeon. Is there any discount for that?”

  “Not a discount as such, but if you agree to make your first run in the next three months you will qualify for an exclusive hotel. The capsules are only standard issue there, but the training facilities are excellent.”

  Zelda twisted her neck to see the screen in front of the receptionist. “We’ll take it.”

  “Very good.” The receptionist paused. “The two gentlemen will need to complete the resident module with the System before booking. And all three of you need to apply for a work permit.”

  Hector spent a good ten minutes tapping at the air to gain the right to live and work on the pnet. As part of getting his work permit, he had to give the System permission to perform a deep scan of him. That sounded invasive and the fact that it was optional made him want to exercise his option to refuse, but apparently giving permission was mandatory if he wanted to go to the dungeon.

  Survey Results

  Type: Xian

  Level: 4

  Body: 4

  Mind: 2.7

  Aura: 2.1

  Domain: 2.3

  Energy Reserves: 93%

  Hector felt insulted as he read through the summary. His Mind, Aura, and Domain were ranked considerably below his soul level. That rankled because it confirmed something he’d been doing his best to ignore: he had neglected the development of his aura and domain. Considering he cultivated exclusively through his externality aperture, he didn’t exercise his aura hardly at all. A typical Xian spent hours every day pumping their aura to collect cosmic energy.

  “Very good! I completed your preliminary booking. Please accept the terms of the hotel and transfer funds to proceed.”

  Hector accepted the agreement that popped up before his eyes, then paid the full amount of nine three thousand, six hundred credits. The statement indicated the weekly rate was discounted to six hundred credits per guest on the understanding that they would enter the city’s dungeon within three months. The financial penalty for each day they went over their deadline was a hundred credits a person. They would burn through money fast if they started incurring that penalty.

  The receptionist cheerfully offered a complimentary trip to their hotel and Zelda accepted.

  They rode through the maze of skyscrapers in a boxy sedan that gave Hector some serious 1960s vibes. The only thing missing was the purr of a gasoline engine. He wasn’t sure if it ran on electric or some more exotic power source, but the car accelerated with eerie silence. Their driver was an intense fellow who liked conversing with his passengers. Well, more accurately he liked talking at his passengers.

  “You guys were with the Coalition Army. That’s amazing. You’re heroes, the three of you. I don’t do any fighting. I’m born and bred right here on Union Central. When I came of age, the System took one look at me and said ‘Alfar’. Don’t know how it made that call. I’m more of a motor head, you know? Thought I fit better as a Jinn. There’s no dispute option, though. So now I drive cab for the morning rush, then head back to the commune to do my chores for the day.

  “It’s actually really nice on the commune. They’ve been letting me use the tractor. Something about steering a big machine gets me going. I’m gd I don’t have to go around petting the animals no more. I don’t want to make friends with something we’re going to eat. They let anyone skip the silly nature dances in the fields. It hurts more than helps if you don’t really get into it. Sometimes I watch, though. The girls… you guys wouldn’t believe how hot the Alfar girls get maniputing life energy all day. There’s none of them orgies like the television would have you believe, but there is a lot of what they call ‘hook up culture’ going on.”

  Zelda used her sternest expression on Rodrick and Hector at the mention of Alfar women. The two of them pyed innocent. Hector still didn’t know exactly what the Alfar represented in Arahant society, but he had picked up some contours of their public image. Alfar women seemed to simultaneously be victims of cruel exploitation and promiscuous seductresses. Hector thought it best to leave the topic alone. He didn’t have to understand how a bear trap worked to know he didn’t want to step in it.

  The car screeched to a halt before a skyscraper indistinguishable from any of the gss-and-metal giants around it. “You have arrived. The Jinn folk paid your fare already, but feel free to leave a tip.” Hector started to raise his hand to swipe the System’s interface into existence and Zelda caught his wrist to stop him. “Thanks for the ride.”

  On the sidewalk, she poked his chest. “Don’t let the locals extort you. Just because they assume every foreigner is wealthy doesn’t mean you have to throw credits around. Let’s check in.”