Chapter-19 Hub Stratum

It was getting late, a few hours later the morning sun would greet him from the horizon. Yet, he couldn't bear to wait anymore. So, he followed the method in the memory imprint and activated the connector with his spirit. The heavy consumption sapped his strength, but he held on. Its spirit requirement wasn't too high, he acted after confirming that. He had enough to connect to the hub and stay connected for a few minutes. 

Ewan leaned back on the recliner and closed his eyes. Soon, still frames of blurred pictures jumbled before him. His point of view in them was low, as if he lay on the floor. He looked around, and the blurred images shifted. Bit by bit, the frames sped up and finally animated, the pictures also sharpened and cleared up, and he checked his surroundings. The place he was in was his own shop, or at least it looked the same. Same bright empty space, same ivory walls, same windows, same rug that carried its original color; it only lacked the old monitor. 

[Welcome, Sir Ulrath.] 

A message box also popped up in front of him. 

Ulrath? His Pa's name was Authen. This could be his Pa's alias though, most likely to keep this place separate from his officially known wealth. His Pa's funeral remained fresh for him, and so was the bizarre scene of his relatives drawing his blood. The murmurs around him that day spoke of some 'hub', and now the dots completed the picture. This shop survived the scavengers and made its way to Ewan because it linked to this specific hub-connector and was under the name 'Ulrath'. 

In the memory imprint, his Pa left all the details of this place—the safe zone he rented from Airadia's sentience, he constructed it in the shape of their shop. 

Ewan looked around the familiar place for a few moments then opened the market menu with a gesture, and a screen with a list appeared. A tiny slider on the side, several filters on top, and the number of Novas he owned at the bottom.

Novas, it at last became apparent—the standard currency with Anima as its base. A gram of Anima Crystal equaled one Novas, and his Pa left him ninety-four Novas. It was in the virtual form in the hub stratum, but he could take it out in coin form using the hub-connector; the circular groove in the middle had this function. 

The list contained everything that native Starons sold in the hub stratum; it was the trade market. But exploration would come later. He had little time left after all; his spirit would run out soon. He closed the market menu and opened another; it was the screen for broadcasts. It displayed all sorts of announcements, from hunts to expeditions to alerts. 'Endorsed by Ashevagord', only the legit announcements shared this stamp though, others were questionable at best. 

The sheer amount dazzled Ewan, but he closed it too after a quick look. 

The next screen was for the information—all kinds were up for sale here. From the appearance of certain Astylinds in certain areas to the political situation of any colony. Even his colony's, Obria's, details were in the list. Once again, he gave it a glance and moved on to the final screen. 

This screen was for requests—he could make any request he wanted here, for a price. He could also complete requests other Starons made and receive payment. Be it a request to buy something or a request to kill someone, everything was available here. 

After checking everything, Ewan cut his connection to the hub and returned; he already verged on losing it. 

Back on his balcony, he opened his tired eyes and kept the hub-connector in his claw-ring. This single trip sapped him dry. Before increasing his soul strength, he had to strategize his actions in relation to the hub. He couldn't stroll around as he wished, window shopping as he sauntered. He had to decide what he wanted to do before connecting. But it could all wait till tomorrow; today, he was listless and lethargic, he only wanted to collapse right now. So, he turned on his side and fell asleep on the recliner.

….

Late morning, Ewan woke up to a sparrow pecking his hair; it fluttered away when he moved. He squinted and groaned and stretched his body. He slept well these days; his pale face also looked a bit better now. 

After freshening up, he let Orange out of the rune and cooked a nice brunch. Orange had his milk while he ate the food. The little monkey made a fuss and sneaked a bite from his plate but stopped when Ewan threatened him with his 'fire snakes'. He still had to drink milk, anything else would cause indigestion; a flood of diarrhea on his chest and head was the last thing Ewan wished for…oh, the shit oozing down his face… 

Once the food filled him, he cleaned up the pending dirty dishes with Orange's help. After all, his hand still hung disabled, he couldn't do much with one hand. 

The kitchen looked clean and empty once he put the wet rug down. He exhaled a breath of contentment when the slabs sparkled against the diffused sunlight, when the bottom of the sink saw the daylight again. Other rooms and the hall also needed cleaning, but he postponed that for later, he wanted to focus on the Astylinds for now. Contracting Orange did give him a sense of security, but it wasn't enough. He had no apparent enemies right now; neither someone eyed his inheritance, nor anyone knew about it. But safety and precaution above all, he didn't want to risk it. 

Down in the basement, he sat near the table and connected to the hub with the connector again. He had a concrete plan this time, nothing else would distract him—he would buy the necessary blood and cut the connection. 

The same process took him through the motions again and he received the same message.

[Welcome, Sir Ulrath.]