Broken

Chapter 25 (Yejun)

Getting to the second floor was a relief, and, luckily, the whole group was given the rest of the day to rest. The university- as well as several other organizations- had a small encampment in various locations on the second floor. The University's was fairly close to the teleportation crystal, so they didn't need to travel far either; only having to stop briefly at the Association's encampment as they passed so the teachers could make a brief report.

The second floor of Titanfall looked like a vast, northern forest filled with tall, bare bottomed pines, steep cliffs and ravines, and a glorious range of snow capped mountains. The first floor was massive, but some how it was the second floor that brought the reality that it really was a series of different worlds within the tower.

The University encampment was well maintained, and always had people stationed in it. Mostly, they were professors or older students doing long term expeditions. It had several large, semi-permanent tents and facilities, processing stages, and a large defensive wall made from the wood of the surrounding trees. It made Yejun think of walking through a pioneer encampment, or like he was in a fantasy novel. The newness of it all, compared to the narrow world he had lived in up to this point, was almost enough to make him forget the Scorpion on the floor below.

According to his texts and the briefings the students had been given before entering the Tower, the second floor was used as the prime location to train them for a variety of reasons. One being that the tower's layout was far more predictable compared to the instances, and made it less likely for unforeseen variables to arise and complicate things. Another was that the second floor, unlike the first, is full of resources that can be mined, gathered and hunted. Only rarely were rare resources found here, but there was plenty of commonly used ones that generate wild profits for those willing to gather them.

Every year students- specifically technician students- are required to come here at least once and participate in resource gathering. It was to teach them the various risks and rewards, and the processes behind them. The students could opt into coming more often, but most did not.

As for the other two combat classes, they were required to come much more often, though usually not for a whole week at a time. Unlike Yejun, and the other first year technicians, many other students had already been here often enough. Once you pass through a floor a person could always instantly return to it by using the teleportation crystals at the start and end of each floor. So most raiders did not have to do the half day trek through the Black desert every time they came, merely needing to select the floor they wished to jump to right from the start.

 They also go into instances for training.

So, over the next few days Yejun went with his group and tackled various tasks related to many production jobs. Each team rotated between tasks every day, and each one was an eye-opening, and exhausting, experience for Yejun. Day-one they were taken to a university occupied mine where they then partook in the back breaking work of mining ores. It was devastatingly hard work, and Yejun was in pain days after, but it was also rewarding.

Sure, it had the desired effect of teaching him to appreciate where the minerals he used in his craft came from, but that wasn't the only reason. It turned out that the University paid each student for the ores they mined! True, it was at a discount due to this being for school, but Yejun had thought he would be doing it for free, so it really was a bonus.

Wendy (even though she absolutely whined and dragged her feet the whole time) actually made out very well. She had managed to dig up a hunk of ore rarer than the basic iron and such they were digging for. She'd been paid a sizable sum for it, and bragged about it around the bonfire meal later that night.

The second and third day were designated for them to gather various ingredients from the forest. He, Benny, and Wendy did most of the actual gathering- as this trip was meant for the technician students, the others were hear to act as protection as their own extra credit- while Alex and the others kept an eye out for dangers.