James stood outside the Hale Estate in Blackrock, looking up at a gate that was easily twelve feet tall. Black iron bars rose between stone pillars, and embedded in the center was a crest showing a roaring tiger with a dagger through its skull. The emblem of Emerald Spire Guild.

Beyond the gate stretched a long driveway that cut through manicured grounds, leading to a mansion that screamed old money. James checked his phone. Five forty-five. He was early.

He pressed the intercom button.

A crackling speaker responded a moment later. "Name?"

"James Ganner. Finn’s expecting me."

A pause. "One moment."

The gate swung open silently, and a golf cart pulled up driven by a man in a security uniform. "Hop in. I’ll take you to the main house."

The ride took four minutes through perfectly landscaped gardens, past a koi pond, a tennis court, and a full outdoor training yard with combat dummies positioned at various distances. James watched it all pass and thought about what top Challengers made after years of climbing. This was the result. This was what success in the Tower looked like.

The cart stopped in front of the mansion entrance where the Emerald Spire crest was carved above double doors. The driver gestured forward. "Head on in. They’re expecting you."

James stepped out and approached the entrance. The doors opened before he could knock.

Finn stood in the doorway wearing combat training gear—tank top, cargo pants, and boots. "You’re early."

"Didn’t want to be late," James said.

Finn nodded and stepped aside. "Come on."

He led James through the mansion past high ceilings, expensive art, and trophies from Tower floors displayed in glass cases. A full suit of armor sat on a pedestal like a museum piece. Photos lined the walls showing Marcus Hale shaking hands with world leaders, but James noticed there were zero photos of Finn anywhere.

They descended a staircase into the basement. "We’re set up down here," Finn said. "My father doesn’t come to this wing."

The basement opened into a room that was bigger than James’s entire Northgate apartment had been, filled with leather couches, a pool table, a full bar, and a wall-mounted TV showing live Tower feeds from international broadcasts. In the center sat a strategy table covered with maps, charts, and gear.

Three people were already there.

"Everyone," Finn said. "This is James Ganner. Necromancer. Level 9."

A bald man with heavy muscle and tribal tattoos covering his arms stood first. "Kael Morrigan. Shaman." His voice was deep and measured, carrying a Cork accent that made each word deliberate. "Good to meet you."

"Aria Zhang," said a lean woman with a dancer’s posture and sharp eyes. Her Manchester accent came out quick and clipped. "Spearman. Try to keep up."

The third person was a slim guy with glasses who looked like he’d never been in a fight. "Elliot Graves," he said softly, his words carrying a slight stutter. "Elemental Archer. Ice spec."

"James," James said, nodding to each of them.

Finn moved to the strategy table and pulled up a holographic display showing Floor 5 data. "Alright. Let’s talk about what we’re actually doing tomorrow."

Everyone gathered around the table.

"Floor 5 is different from the previous floors," Finn began. "It’s the start of the main Tower run where things get serious. The mission type is Survival, and the win condition is surviving for thirty minutes."

He highlighted a timer on the display showing a record clear time. "The record clear time for Floor 5 is thirty minutes and fifty-eight seconds. Set decades ago by Marcus Hale." He paused, letting that sink in. "No one has ever cleared it in under thirty minutes."

Aria leaned forward. "You want to beat your father’s record."

"Yes," Finn said simply. "Not for glory or bragging rights. I want to prove I can do better."

There was a moment of silence before Aria grinned. "I like it. Competitive challenge."

"The Tower rewards those who push boundaries," Kael added.

Elliot looked nervous but intrigued. "The data supports attempting optimization if we have proper strategy."

James stayed quiet, listening and processing everything.

Finn pulled up the team composition on the display. "Here’s how we work together. I’m a Berserker, which means I hold the front as tank and DPS with high damage and high survivability. Kael, you’re support and healing through totems and buffs. Aria, you’re DPS focused on flanking and hit-and-run tactics. Elliot, you handle crowd control by freezing groups, slowing them down, and creating space. James, you raise undead to tank damage and spread enemy focus while fighting directly with your sword."

He looked at each of them. "We fight as a unit, stay coordinated, and stay smart. We won’t know exactly what we’re facing until we’re in there, so adapt and communicate."

Finn straightened. "One more thing. Don’t bring your own gear tomorrow. I’m providing new B-rank armor and weapons for everyone, plus potions to keep you alive. Health, mana, stamina. Everything you need."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "That’s a serious investment."

"I’m serious about this run," Finn said.

They spent the next twenty minutes going over combat strategy and coordination, discussing how they’d handle different scenarios and what signals they’d use for communication. When they finished, Finn checked the time.

"We’re meeting here at eight AM tomorrow. Be on time." He opened his System interface. "I need your Tower IDs to form the party."

They each opened their status windows and shared their IDs through the System. One by one, Finn added them to his contacts list. When everyone had confirmed, Finn nodded. "Good. Get some rest. Tomorrow’s going to be rough."

The meeting wrapped up and everyone started heading out. James left with the others, taking the golf cart back to the gate and catching a cab to Killiney. On the ride back he thought about the team composition and Floor 5, realizing the team was solid since everyone was Level 9, Finn had resources and motivation, and this could actually work.

When James got back to the house, his mother was in the kitchen making tea. She looked up as he walked in.

"How did the meeting go?" she asked.

"It went well," James said. "We’re doing Floor 5 tomorrow morning."

Her expression shifted to worry. "Be careful."

"I will," he promised, and headed to his room.

James sat on his bed and opened his status window. He had five unallocated stat points from leveling, and before Floor 5 he needed to use them strategically. The mission was survival focused. Thirty minutes of staying alive against unknown enemies.

The window appeared floating in his vision.

[NAME: JAMES GANNER]

[CLASS: NECROMANCER (LEGENDARY)]

[LEVEL: 9]

[EXP: 2847/4200]

[HP: 360/360]

[MANA: 740/740]

[STRENGTH: 22]

[AGILITY: 25]

[INTELLIGENCE: 37]

[ENDURANCE: 18]

[LUCK: 13]

[UNSPENT STAT POINTS: 5]

He needed more INT to unlock his fourth contract slot, which required forty total INT. That would give him four contract slots instead of three, allowing him to maintain four undead simultaneously, which would make a real difference in a survival mission. He also needed more durability to last thirty minutes.

After thinking it through, James allocated three points to INT, bringing it to forty. He put one point into END for more HP buffer, and one point into LUCK for better survival odds.

The window updated itself while he watched.

[INTELLIGENCE: 37 → 40]

[ENDURANCE: 18 → 19]

[LUCK: 13 → 14]

[HP: 360 → 380]

[MANA: 740 → 800]

[CONTRACT SLOTS: 3/5 → 4/5]

James closed the status window and looked at the keys to 47 Seaview Terrace sitting on his desk. Tomorrow he’d have four contract slots available for Floor 5, which meant he could maintain four undead simultaneously throughout the thirty-minute survival mission.

He lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about tomorrow’s Floor 5 run—a survival mission with a thirty-minute timer and a team he just met. But the composition was solid and everyone was Level 9.

Sleep came eventually despite the anticipation.

The next morning James arrived at Hale Estate at seven fifty-five. He was shown to the same basement room where Finn, Kael, Aria, and Elliot were already waiting. The room now had racks of equipment against the walls.

"Try on your new gear," Finn said, gesturing to five sets of armor laid out on a table.

James picked up his set, which turned out to be B-rank leather armor of much better quality than his C-rank gear. He tried it on and found it fit perfectly, allowing full range of movement while providing solid protection. The others were doing the same, testing their armor and weapons.

Aria examined her new B-rank spear with approval while Kael held his upgraded staff and nodded to himself. Elliot tested the draw on his new bow, looking nervous but focused, and Finn was already in his gear—a heavy B-rank combat set designed for a berserker’s fighting style.

Once everyone was armored and armed, Finn distributed potion packs. Each person got health potions, mana potions, and stamina potions stored in easy-access pouches on their belts.

"Remember your roles?" Finn asked.

Everyone confirmed.

"Good." Finn opened his System interface and navigated to the party menu. "I’m sending party invitations now. Accept them when they appear."

A notification popped into James’s vision, identical prompts appearing for the others.

[PARTY INVITATION RECEIVED]

[PARTY LEADER: FINN HALE]

[ACCEPT? Y/N]

James thought YES. Around the room, the others did the same. The System chimed once everyone had confirmed.

[PARTY FORMED]

[LEADER: FINN HALE]

[MEMBERS: KAEL MORRIGAN, ARIA ZHANG, ELLIOT GRAVES, JAMES GANNER]

[PARTY SIZE: 5/5 — FULL]

[RANDOM MATCHMAKING: DISABLED]

Finn looked at everyone one last time. "Ready?"

They nodded.

He pressed the start button.

A countdown appeared in everyone’s vision.

[10]

[9]

[8]

The room began to fill with white light.

[7]

[6]

[5]

Everyone gripped their weapons.

[4]

[3]

[2]

[1]

The light became blinding and they all disappeared.

White light filled James’s vision, then faded to darkness. When sensation returned, he felt something soft beneath him and opened his eyes to find a wooden ceiling overhead. He was lying in a bed.

He sat up and looked around the room, disoriented. Five beds were arranged along stone walls with a wooden floor between them, and a single window let in early morning light. Finn was sitting up in the bed next to him with the same confused expression, while Aria, Kael, and Elliot were waking in the other beds and looking around with identical bewilderment.

This wasn’t a waiting room. They were already inside the floor.

Heavy footsteps pounded down a hallway outside before anyone could speak. The door slammed open and a middle-aged man burst in, his chest heaving and sweat running down his face. His hands shook as he gripped the doorframe. "What are you still doing in bed? The monsters are coming!" His voice cracked on the last word. "Get up and grab your weapons now!"