Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Floor 10: The Disaster Beast I

"GRRRROOOOWWWWL..."

Something growled inside the collapsed mall.

Team Zero stopped near the broken entrance. The sound was deep and heavy and wrong in a way that made James’s instincts scream at him to turn around.

The mall entrance was blocked by broken concrete slabs stacked against each other. Damaged cars with shattered windows sat half-buried under thick vines. Hanging signs swayed slightly in the wind while showing faded store names. The drag marks on the ground led straight through the debris and disappeared into darkness.

James studied the area while calculating what kind of creature could leave tracks that wide.

The marks were not from claws or hooves. They were smooth drag lines carved deep into asphalt like something massive had pulled itself forward. Several half-eaten monster corpses lay scattered near the entrance with ribs exposed and organs torn out.

Whatever lived inside had been feeding on other demonic beasts.

The exam timer updated in everyone’s vision.

[MIDTERM COMBAT TEST]

[TIME REMAINING: 3 HOURS 07 MINUTES]

Team Zero was still fourth place with 36 points. They needed a high-value monster if they wanted to reach the top three, but the growl made James cautious.

He recalled the ogre because the entrance was too tight for it to move through properly.

[REANIMATED OGRE RECALLED]

The dire wolf stayed summoned because it could track scent and move through narrow spaces.

Finn checked the entrance carefully. "We go in slow. Stay together."

James moved toward the broken opening while keeping the wolf close.

They entered the collapsed mall and found they were not the first team there.

Several academy teams were already inside the broken central hall. Some stood near cracked pillars that barely held up the damaged ceiling. Others watched the upper floors where balconies hung at wrong angles. A few groups argued in low voices while looking toward the deeper part of the mall where water dripped from broken pipes.

There were too many students for this to be a random encounter.

Many teams had come here because they also followed signs of a high-value beast. The place felt like a trap even before the monster appeared.

The mall interior was wide but unstable. Parts of the ceiling had collapsed and left gaps that showed the second floor. Vines hung down from the upper levels. Broken shop signs swung slightly when air moved through the building. The lower floor was partly flooded with dark water that covered the tiles.

Some students glanced at Team Zero and dismissed them as outsiders, but nobody started a fight. Everyone was focused on whatever waited inside.

The ranking board flashed again in the sky outside.

[MIDTERM RANKING BOARD]

[1ST PLACE: TEAM AUREL — 89 POINTS]

[2ND PLACE: TEAM VERA — 64 POINTS]

[3RD PLACE: TEAM KAISER — 51 POINTS] 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

[4TH PLACE: TEAM ZERO — 36 POINTS]

James understood why so many students gathered here. A normal beast would not be enough anymore. Everyone was desperate for points, and they had all reached the same conclusion.

Finn moved next to James. "Too many teams."

James agreed without looking away from the flooded lower level. "This is not going to go well."

The growl came again, but this time it was followed by a dragging sound from beneath the flooded section.

The students tensed immediately.

Some prepared spells while magic energy gathered in their hands. Others moved into formation with weapons raised. They were nervous, but many still believed this was a high-value exam target they could kill if enough teams attacked together.

Then the water in the lower level began to ripple in expanding circles.

A massive black snake rose from the flooded section while water poured off its body.

Its body was thicker than a car and covered in dark wet scales that reflected no light. Faint black veins pulsed beneath the scales like corrupted blood vessels. Its head was wide enough to swallow three people at once. Its eyes were pale and dead-looking with no visible pupils. Its mouth opened to show curved fangs longer than swords while venom dripped and burned holes in the floor tiles.

It was not a normal demonic beast.

The air changed the moment it appeared. Pressure spread through the hall like gravity had increased.

The academy students froze because the monster was far larger than anything that should be inside the midterm zone. Their confidence broke before the fight even started.

Hands shook. Weapons lowered. People stepped back without meaning to. Formation lines broke when students moved away from the front.

Then the system appeared only for Team Zero.

[MAIN STORY TRIGGERED]

[FLOOR 10 — STORY FLOOR]

[DISASTER BEAST DETECTED]

[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE UPDATED]

[KILL THE DISASTER BEAST]

James’s expression changed immediately while his mind processed what that meant.

This was no longer a point hunt.

Across Earth, in TRB offices spread through every major city, guild headquarters with war rooms full of screens, training halls where Challengers practiced between floors, and private homes where people checked Tower status out of habit, every registered Challenger received the same notification at once.

[GLOBAL TOWER ANNOUNCEMENT]

[FLOOR 10 MAIN STORY HAS BEEN TRIGGERED]

[CLEAR TIME LIMIT: 45 DAYS]

[FAILURE CONDITION: DISASTER MANIFESTATION ON EARTH]

[PARTICIPATING PARTY: HIDDEN]

The reaction was immediate panic.

In Dublin, TRB Director Ciarán O’Shea was reviewing Floor 9 incident reports when the notification appeared in his vision. He stood from his desk so fast his chair fell backward while his mind processed what Floor 10 meant. Nobody had even attempted Floor 10 yet. The European Guild Summit had scheduled the first official attempt for next month with three full S-rank teams.

He grabbed his phone and started calling department heads before the notification finished fading.

In Seoul, guild war rooms exploded with activity when strategy officers saw the announcement. Analysts pulled up every registered Floor 9 cleared Challenger in the world while trying to identify who could have triggered the event without announcing it first.

In smaller training halls across every continent, low-rank Challengers stared at the notification in fear. Floor 10 had been untouched until now. It was supposed to stay untouched until the strongest teams prepared properly. Suddenly the whole world had a countdown ticking over their heads, and nobody knew who was fighting inside or if they could win.

TRB monitoring rooms from London to Tokyo to New York worked frantically to identify the party. No public stream was active. No guild had announced an official Floor 10 attempt. Whoever triggered it was either hiding their identity or had entered without proper authorization.

Guild leaders started emergency calls with their teams to confirm locations and availability. If the party inside failed, someone else would need to clear Floor 10 within 45 days or the disaster would manifest on Earth.

Earth had 45 days to prepare backup teams, but whoever was inside the Tower right now did not have 45 days to fight. They were trapped in the active story event at this exact moment while the whole world watched a clock they could not see.