[CONGRATULATIONS TO TEAM: _______]

[FLOOR 5 RECORD BROKEN: 29:59]

[PREVIOUS RECORD: 30:58 (EMERALD SPIRE GUILD)]

[PLEASE REGISTER TEAM NAME FOR GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT]

Finn looked at the team name registration prompt without his usual energy. His voice was flat. "What should we name the team?"

Nobody answered at first. The question felt meaningless after what they’d just learned.

"It doesn’t matter," Aria finally said while staring at the floor. "Just pick something."

Elliot didn’t offer any suggestions. Kael remained silent.

James shrugged because he genuinely couldn’t bring himself to care about a team name right now. "Whatever you want."

Finn thought for a moment, then typed without much enthusiasm. "Team Zero. We’re starting from zero."

Nobody objected. Nobody had the energy to care.

Finn confirmed the registration.

[TEAM NAME REGISTERED: TEAM ZERO]

[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT INITIATING]

The System sent a notification to every single challenger worldwide at the exact same moment. Everyone from Level 1 beginners who had just entered the Tower for the first time to Level 50 veterans who had been climbing for years received the message simultaneously.

It also broadcast to Earth through every Tower Bureau screen and System interface that existed.

[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT]

[FLOOR 5 HAS BEEN CLEARED BY TEAM ZERO]

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

[RECORD TIME: 29:59]

[PREVIOUS RECORD: 30:58 (EMERALD SPIRE GUILD)]

[TOWER UPDATE INITIATING]

[CHALLENGERS WHO HAVE CLEARED FLOOR 5 WILL BE RESET TO FLOOR 6]

[TOWER RECONSTRUCTION: 300 FLOORS → 150 FLOORS]

The world reacted immediately to the announcement in ways both large and small.

In Tokyo, a Level 47 Japanese challenger named Takeshi Yamamoto read the notification while standing in his apartment with complete disbelief written across his face. He had been climbing for three years without stopping, had cleared up to Floor 62 through skill and determination, and now the Tower was resetting everyone who had cleared Floor 5 back to Floor 6.

He cursed in Japanese and threw his katana across the room where it embedded in the wall. Three years of progress and sixty-two floors cleared, all of it being reset to Floor 6 along with everyone else who had only just cleared the Tutorial.

His guild leader called his phone immediately and Takeshi could hear shouting in the background when he answered, because everyone in the guild was panicking about losing their progress.

In New York, the headquarters of one of America’s major guilds erupted into complete chaos. The guild called Silver Aegis had members ranging from Floor 8 beginners to Floor 58 veterans, and the announcement was tearing their roster apart.

The challengers who had cleared Floor 5 would be reset to Floor 6 and could continue. The challengers still on Floors 1 through 4 were being left behind in what was apparently just the Tutorial phase.

Friendships and carefully built teams were being torn apart by the System’s restructuring. Guild Master Sarah Chen tried desperately to maintain order but everyone was shouting and arguing while no one listened to her.

At the Dublin Tower Resource Bureau, Director Michael Brennan watched the broadcast with his arms crossed. When James Ganner’s name appeared on the screen alongside the other team members, Brennan smiled slightly to himself.

Back in the Waiting Room, the System began calculating rewards from the Floor 5 clear. Notifications appeared for all five team members at the same time.

[CALCULATING TOTAL EXPERIENCE]

[ENEMIES DEFEATED: 500]

[GOBLINS: 350 x 50 XP = 17,500 XP]

[DIRE WOLVES: 100 x 75 XP = 7,500 XP]

[VENOMOUS SPIDERS: 50 x 60 XP = 3,000 XP]

[FLOOR BOSS DEFEATED: 8,000 XP]

[HIDDEN OBJECTIVE BONUS: 10,000 XP]

[TOTAL BASE XP: 46,000 XP] 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The numbers were massive compared to anything they had earned before. Then individual calculations began based on each person’s contribution and kill counts throughout the battle.

James’s notifications flooded his vision with information.

[JAMES GANNER - INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION]

[PERSONAL KILLS: 127]

[ASSIST KILLS: 43]

[BOSS DAMAGE CONTRIBUTION: 2,847 HP (35.6%)]

[TOTAL XP AWARDED: 18,400 XP]

James watched as his experience bar filled rapidly with the incoming experience.

[LEVEL UP!]

[YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 10]

[ALL STATS +1]

[LEVEL UP!]

[YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 11]

[ALL STATS +1]

Two full levels from a single floor clear. His stats increased automatically as he leveled up, with each stat gaining two points total from the level ups.

Combined with the Divine Blessing that gave him five to all stats, his full status screen updated.

[NAME: JAMES GANNER]

[CLASS: NECROMANCER (LEGENDARY)]

[LEVEL: 11]

[TITLES]

[APPRENTICE NECROMANCER]

[NECROMANCER SWORDSMAN (UNIQUE — FIRST HOLDER WORLDWIDE)]

[BLESSING OF THE FIRST]

[EXP: 14,847/6,000]

[HP: 520/520]

[MANA: 940/940]

[PRIMARY STATS]

[STRENGTH (STR): 29]

[AGILITY (AGI): 32]

[INTELLIGENCE (INT): 47]

[ENDURANCE (END): 26]

[LUCK (LCK): 21]

[AMOUNT OF SUMMON UNDEAD: 10]

[CONTRACTED SLOTS: 4/4]

[UNSPENT STAT POINTS: 0]

[ACTIVE SKILLS]

[SUMMON UNDEAD SKELETON (C)]

[NECRO BLAST (B) — RANKED UP]

[CORPSE EXPLOSION (D) — RANKED UP]

[REANIMATE (F)]

[DISMISS UNDEAD (F)]

[PASSIVE SKILLS]

[CALL OF SOULS (D)]

[DEATH CHAIN (S)]

[SWORDSMANSHIP (F)]

[SHIELD INSTINCT (F)]

[TITLE EFFECTS]

[BLESSING OF THE FIRST: DAMAGE RECEIVED REDUCED BY 2.5%]

Then the MVP calculation began while the System processed data from the entire fight and analyzed damage dealt, support provided, critical moments, and strategic decisions.

[MVP CALCULATION COMPLETE]

[MVP: JAMES GANNER]

[REASONING: HIGHEST BOSS DAMAGE CONTRIBUTION (35.6%), CRITICAL STRATEGY (REANIMATED WOLVES), DECISIVE CORPSE EXPLOSION COMBO (FINAL 2000 DAMAGE)]

James had been named MVP for the floor clear. The others saw the notification appear in their own vision as well.

Finn nodded quietly without his usual enthusiasm. Aria looked at the notification without reacting much. Kael said nothing. Elliot sat with his head in his hands.

Then the MVP rewards appeared in James’s vision and he stared at them despite the numbness he felt.

[MVP REWARDS]

[1x MYSTERIOUS EGG (MYTHIC RANK)]

[1x SKILL BOOK]

[BONUS: 5,000 XP]

[BONUS: 50,000 TOWER CREDITS]

A physical egg materialized in James’s inventory storage and he pulled it out to look at it. The egg was about the size of a football, colored pure black with purple veins pulsing with energy across its surface.

A skill book appeared in his hands as well, a leather-bound tome with a skull embossed on the cover and pages that felt old. The bonus experience and Tower Credits were deposited directly into his account.