Team Zero cleared Floor 7 three days after Floor 6.

The mission was another Standard Subjugation Floor set in a stronghold with seventy-five goblins spread across multiple levels. The terrain was harder than Floor 6 with narrow paths, steep ledges, and goblin archers positioned on high ground that controlled the approach routes.

Finn led the front again and smashed through the first barricade with his axe while Aria cleared the archers on the left ledge and Elliot took down the ones on the right. James supported with sword, skeletons, Necro Blast, and Corpse Explosion when goblins clustered together. Kael coordinated their movements and kept them from being surrounded.

The team cleared Floor 7 in forty minutes with no deaths and only minor injuries. Finn got MVP again and received another D-rank Mana Stone Cache as his reward.

Floor 8 came two days later.

Same mission type. More goblins. Better defensive positions built into a hillside fortress with layered walls and prepared traps. The team pushed through with better coordination than before and finished the floor in fifty-five minutes.

James gained enough EXP across both floors to level up.

[JAMES GANNER HAS LEVELED UP]

[LEVEL 12 → LEVEL 13]

He allocated the stat points quickly and moved on. Finn remained MVP for Floor 8 and received a similar practical reward.

Two Standard Floors. Two clean clears. No major problems. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Then Floor 9 changed everything.

Two days after Floor 8, news spread through the Challenger community that another team had died on Floor 9.

This time it was worse because the attempt had been streamed by the TRB for analysis and public warning. The dead team wasn’t weak. They were guild-backed with proper gear, solid coordination, and they’d even brought a priest because Floor 9 had already gained a dangerous reputation after killing the first two teams that tried it.

But they still died.

The footage spread quickly through Challenger circles and chat groups. People watched it, analyzed it, and started avoiding Floor 9 entirely until someone figured out what was different.

Finn called Team Zero together at the Hale Estate to review the recording.

James arrived to find everyone already gathered in Finn’s basement training room. The mood was different from their usual pre-floor meetings. No joking from Aria this time. Elliot was tense and kept checking his bow even though it didn’t need adjusting. Kael had already pulled up the footage on the large screen mounted to the strategy table.

Finn stood near the screen with his arms crossed.

"Floor 9 just killed a guild team," he said without preamble. "TRB streamed the whole thing. We need to watch it before we make any decisions about going in."

James sat down at the table and watched the screen load.

Floors 7 and 8 had been straightforward. Goblins rushed in, they killed the goblins, they cleared the floor. But Floor 9 clearly wasn’t following that pattern anymore.

Kael started the playback.

The footage opened with the guild team materializing in a large goblin settlement.

The area looked like a war camp built around a central pit with wooden palisades, crude watchtowers, and weapon racks scattered everywhere. Goblin banners hung from poles and smoke rose from multiple fire pits.

The System notification appeared on screen.

[FLOOR 9 — STANDARD FLOOR]

[MISSION TYPE: SUBJUGATION]

[OBJECTIVE: ELIMINATE THE GOBLIN WAR CAMP]

[ENEMY COUNT: 100]

One hundred goblins. Double Floor 6. Twenty-five more than Floor 8.

The guild team had five members. Tank in front with heavy armor and a tower shield. Two damage dealers with swords on the flanks. One archer in the back. And a priest in white robes standing center-rear with a staff that glowed faintly with divine light.

At first, the mission looked like another subjugation floor.

Goblins poured out of the settlement in groups of ten to fifteen and the team handled them well. The tank held the line. The damage dealers cleared the sides. The archer dropped goblins before they reached melee range. The priest cast protection buffs and healed injuries as they came.

The team was competent. Their gear was good. Their coordination was solid.

Then the pattern changed.

The goblins stopped rushing blindly and started moving in formations. Three groups of ten attacked from different angles while another group circled wide to flank. When the tank moved to block one group, the others pushed harder from the sides.

James leaned forward and watched more carefully.

The goblins were targeting the priest.

Not randomly. Deliberately.

Every time a goblin group broke through the front line, they ignored the tank and the damage dealers and went straight for the priest in the back. The archer tried to protect him but there were too many angles to cover. The priest had to stop casting buffs and start defending himself.

Then three ogres appeared.

Not one boss. Three separate heavy monsters entering the fight from different directions at the same time.

The first ogre came from the left and forced one damage dealer to peel off to engage it. The second ogre came from the right and did the same to the other damage dealer. The third ogre went straight for the center where the priest and archer stood.

The team tried to hold formation but the goblins kept swarming the priest with coordinated aggression. Five goblins died to protect one goblin that got through and stabbed the priest in the side. Ten more goblins rushed in while the priest was injured and bleeding.

The priest tried to cast a purification spell but a goblin tackled him mid-cast and the spell failed. Another goblin drove a spear through his chest.

The priest collapsed.

Once he fell, the team collapsed with him.

The tank couldn’t hold three directions at once. The damage dealers were pinned by ogres. The archer ran out of arrows. Within two minutes of the priest dying, all five team members were dead.

[MISSION FAILED]

[PARTY ELIMINATED]

The footage ended.

Kael paused the playback and the room went silent.

James replayed the last section in his head. The goblins had fought with too much coordination. Their aggression rose at specific moments. The ogres moved like they were being directed instead of simply attacking the nearest target.

And there was something else.

James had caught faint traces around some of the goblins during the footage. Not ordinary mana. Not natural monster behavior. The traces were dark and thin like threads.

James spoke quietly. "Dark magic is involved."

Everyone looked at him.

"What?" Aria said.

James pointed at the screen. "The goblins didn’t just get smarter. Someone or something is controlling them. The coordination, the targeting, the timing of the ogres—it’s too deliberate."