M-WI “Core Team”, Clearance Level 3.

This was the name of the team of 5 newly appointed Workers of G-Z7.

The ‘M’ was a designation that rated the team’s likelihood to combat and interact with the Corrupted; ‘W’ made it clear that they were Workers, and the ‘I’ was their rank amongst the other teams of the Site.

‘M’ was always considered the weakest.

Letters from an alphabet unfamiliar to the residents of their world were used. It was specifically used to keep outsiders from understanding their hierarchy, rankings, and all information even if it seemed harmless.

The existence of the Sites was kept in utter secrecy, the world believing ImpulseWorks to solely exist as a manufacturer of high-quality items and weaponry.

If the world knew how closely they slept with the Corrupted, then all hell would break loose.

That being said:

Workers that started on the first day of the Site were bound to become the strongest. Although this wasn’t always the case. In fact, this was considered a rarity because while teams would always exist, Workers were expendable.

But there was an incentive to keep stronger Workers alive and to use weaker ones as fodder, a viable and condoned strategy.

Regardless of this rational ethic, everything was a valid strategy in the name of producing Liquid Nex.

Papilia screened the 5 Workers, personally conducting the orientation herself rather than the Receptionist who had yet to arrive. As she, the Workers and many Employees patrolled the infinite, breathing labyrinth, she checked the stats of the soon-to-be active Core Team.

Status.

[Status] was an inherent ability of the few thousands that possessed the Blessing of the Nexus. It was what allowed the transparent prompt to appear before her eyes; invisible to all but herself. Beings like her Papilia were called the Blessed and were amongst the highest echelons, allowing her to see the ‘stats’ – a numerical value of a person or creature’s abilities – so long as they were not another Blessed, or a Corrupted.

“Reporting for duty! I think that’s how it goes? You’re looking at me kinda funny, Miss Papilia – I mean, Navigator!” The eccentric, blue-haired bunny woman saluted with her ears.

This woman’s name was Urusai, the only Level 5 Worker amongst her peers of Level 7 and 6 Workers. Papilia flicked through the pages of her manual to find the relevant information regarding what these numbers truly meant.

This was where the number discrepancy she noticed earlier arose. Whilst Total Levels and Clearance Levels were categorized by 7 being the lowest, and 1 the highest; the Attribute Score began at 1 as the lowest, and 7 (VII) as the highest.

The reason for this was not known and prone to causing confusion amongst Navigators and Overseers, often leading to the injury or death of the Worker. As per usual, such a thing was negligible in the eyes of their Atelier.

Attributes were also another major piece of information to take note of, and she turned to the relevant page just as they reached an unlisted room.

< Current Location >

< First Floor Infirmary >

Many beds lined up along the walls, with glass containment units in between each bed made from concrete and steel.

These were quarantine rooms in the event that a Worker or Employee had contracted an unknown or potentially transmissible illness or negative Condition from a Corrupted. They were quite fancy, with elaborate bed heads made from polished walnut.

The room followed the same wooden theme as the rest of the First Floor, aside from the quarantine rooms.

Chatter began to spread amongst them, all the while Papilia examined the rest of her Workers.

“I’ve never been to an infirmary that didn’t smell like blood. Does this mean we’ll be getting a full-blown healer? Like the ones from Inflow Direct and not the sketchy prosthetic maniacs?” The white, short haired tiny statured shark girl was Sharka.

“The Wandering Healers? No way.” Rosette, the tall, 2-meter brunette dismissed the thought with a wave. “I’d be happy with a healer that doesn’t need to use Serums. Injections suck.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice. But let’s not forget that Wandering Healers might visit the Site. You heard those rumors. Sites go on high alert. No time to pity coworkers that can’t get to the regular healer in time.” Arba, the gruff, black-haired, tanned-skinned man sighed. “Looks like it’s in good condition. Navigator. Can I ask something?”

“Please.” Papilia happily responded.

“We passed by a Corrupted didn’t we? Does that mean the first shipment already arrived or are we expecting to see more later today?”

“We’re still figuring that out, I’m afraid.” Papilia did not wish to go into detail, as she was just as confused since the Site already came equipped with a Corrupted.

Later today they were expecting a shipment to arrive, as they usually did on Day 0, as well as the arrival of the last few members of the Site, and notably one particular personnel from another partnered Atelier known as a Herald.

“Exquisite! Wow. There are enough beds to go around! And they told me to prepare to get churned and spat out like a piece of gum. Hmhm! Alas, the G-Z7 has been nothing but inviting!” The blonde, wavy-haired man announced, his eyes glistening as Papilia wondered what made him a Demi-human until she saw his dog-like, incredibly fluffy tail wagging behind his back.

Adorable…

Papilia couldn’t help but to think.