Chapter 86: Chapter 86: One Month Later II

The snake lowered its head slowly until it touched the floor.

"Strike the wall."

The python’s head shot forward and hit the reinforced steel with enough force to dent the metal before pulling back. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

James tested a few more commands while confirming the snake responded to everything he ordered.

It obeyed completely, but its size made it difficult to use casually. Too large for narrow hallways or indoor spaces. Too dangerous to summon in public without causing panic. Too noticeable unless the situation was serious enough that he did not care about subtlety.

It was a powerful weapon he could deploy when needed, not a simple pet he could bring everywhere.

James dismissed the python before leaving the training room.

James received Finn’s message after he returned home from the training facility.

Finn: We need to talk. Not about entering Floor 11 immediately. About what comes next. Can you meet tomorrow?

James read the message twice while sitting on his bed.

The wording was careful and controlled, which meant Finn had probably rewritten it several times before sending it. The old Finn would have just said "meet me tomorrow" without explanation.

Floor 10 had changed both of them.

James typed his response.

James: Where?

Finn: Hale Estate. 2 PM.

James: I’ll be there.

He set his phone down before staring at the ceiling.

Tomorrow he would meet Finn and talk about what came next. Not immediately entering Floor 11, but planning for when they did. The world had moved past them while they recovered, and staying inactive much longer would make their Floor 10 achievement feel like ancient history instead of recent legend.

James closed his eyes and thought about the Abyssal Venom Python waiting in his reanimated slots and the Disaster Core Fragment sitting unused in his inventory.

He had tools now that he did not have before Floor 10.

Whether that would be enough for whatever came next was a different question.

In London, a royal-backed agent sat in an office overlooking the city and read James Ganner’s file for the third time that day.

Necromancer. Floor 10 Main Story clearer. Member of Team Zero. Linked to Finn Hale. Inactive after teammate death. Politically valuable to Ireland.

The agent set the file down before reviewing the recruitment strategy.

The last point mattered most. James had stopped climbing after Elliot’s death, which made him emotionally vulnerable and easier to approach than if he had been actively climbing with full team support.

The offer would not look like national poaching or pressure. It would look like genuine help from a country that understood his value.

Training facilities designed for high-level Challengers. Full equipment sponsorship including rare consumables. Security personnel for his mother in case Ganner Corp became hostile. Legal support against Ganner Corp if he wanted to pursue action against his uncles for inheritance fraud.

England would offer him everything Ireland had not given him yet while making it look generous instead of predatory.

The agent began drafting the first contact message before a second notification arrived through an encrypted channel.

It came through one of Ganner Corp’s UK-linked industrial contractors.

The agent opened the message and read it once before understanding the situation.

England wanted James for national influence and political prestige. Ganner Corp wanted him close enough to control before he became too dangerous to their stolen wealth.

Both sides could benefit if James accepted the offer and relocated to England.

That made the first message critical. It had to sound generous without appearing desperate, helpful without revealing the coordination behind it.

The agent continued drafting while understanding this was only the opening move.

At Ganner Corp headquarters in Dublin, the senior board held a closed meeting about James.

He was no longer treated as the poor nephew they had ignored after his parents died.

He was the Necromancer who helped clear Floor 10. He had public attention across multiple countries, Tower-related value that increased daily, and enough fame to make old questions dangerous if anyone started investigating them.

One of the senior executives pulled up James’s public profile on the boardroom screen.

"Floor 10 Main Story clearer. Team Zero member. Linked to Marcus Hale through Finn. Currently inactive after losing a teammate."

Another executive leaned forward. "How long until he decides to look into what happened to his father’s shares?"

"Unknown. But if he hires lawyers and pushes hard enough, the inheritance fraud becomes public."

The room stayed quiet for a moment while everyone processed what that meant.

Derek’s disappearance after publicly attacking James. Adrian’s failed assault caught on security footage. The transfer of shares from James’s dead father to his uncles through forged documents.

Any serious investigation would expose all of it.

But James’s Necromancer class and Team Zero reputation also made him valuable enough that controlling him was worth the risk instead of trying to eliminate him.

The board reached their decision.

"Approach him as family first. Express concern about his wellbeing after Floor 10. Offer reconciliation. Offer money disguised as partial inheritance restoration. Give him just enough to make him listen."

"And if he refuses?"

"Then we coordinate with our UK partners to isolate him politically and economically until he has no choice but to accept our terms or face us as enemies."

The executives sent instructions to begin the family contact strategy within the week.

The next day, James prepared to leave while checking his reanimated slots one last time:

[REANIMATED SLOTS: 2/5 OCCUPIED] [REANIMATED DIRE WOLF — LEVEL 9] [ABYSSAL VENOM PYTHON — LEVEL 20]

He also glanced at the Disaster Core Fragment in his inventory:

[DISASTER CORE FRAGMENT — S-RANK] [USES REMAINING: 3/3]

He left it untouched.

Nyra appeared in the hallway before he reached the door. She grabbed his sleeve with both hands while looking up at him.

"Daddy going to tower?"

"Not yet. Just meeting someone."

"When come back?"

"Before dinner."

She frowned. "You promise?"

"I promise."

Nyra let go of his sleeve slowly before stepping back.

James’s mother stood near the doorway with her arms crossed. "Be safe."

"I will."

"I mean it, James. Whatever Finn wants to talk about, don’t let him push you into something you’re not ready for."

James nodded before opening the door.

He closed it behind him and understood that his break was over, whether he was ready or not.