The other team members received their rewards as they finished their own contribution calculations. Finn got a skill book, twenty thousand Tower Credits that appeared in his account, and rare crafting materials for upgrading his armor.

Kael received a skill book, several mana stones that glowed with stored energy, and equipment upgrades for his totems that would make them more durable.

Aria got a skill book, an A-rank spear to replace the one she had broken during the fight, and materials for crafting better armor.

Elliot received a skill book, a magical quiver that would generate elemental arrows automatically, and valuable ores for equipment upgrades.

Everyone examined their rewards in silence. These items were worth hundreds of thousands of Tower Credits under normal circumstances, but the victory felt hollow after what they’d learned.

Aria held her new A-rank spear without her usual excitement. Elliot looked at the magical quiver like he couldn’t quite process it. Kael stared at his skill book without opening it..

James looked at the Mysterious Egg in his hands while the System provided minimal information about what it actually was.

[MYSTERIOUS EGG (MYTHIC)]

[DESCRIPTION: A creature egg of unknown origin. Requires bonding and incubation. Time to hatch: Unknown.]

[RARITY: MYTHIC]

A companion creature of Mythic rank, which was the highest rarity tier that existed in the Tower. James had absolutely no idea what would hatch from the egg, but Mythic rarity meant it was extraordinarily rare and powerful.

He stored it carefully back in his inventory where it would be safe.

Then more notifications appeared as the System finished calculating everything from the Floor 5 battle.

[SKILL PROFICIENCY THRESHOLD REACHED]

[NECRO BLAST: C → B RANK]

[NEW STATS: 200 DMG, 10 MANA COST]

[CORPSE EXPLOSION: E → D RANK]

[NEW STATS: 250 AOE DMG, 28 MANA COST, 40s COOLDOWN, 15m RANGE, 3.5m BLAST RADIUS]

James’s most-used offensive skills had ranked up from the intense combat and repeated usage. Necro Blast was now B-rank and dealt double its previous damage while actually costing less mana.

Corpse Explosion had become D-rank with better damage, improved range, and a larger blast radius. He could feel the difference in his mental awareness of the skills, both of them more efficient and powerful than before.

Another notification appeared that was unique to his class.

[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: SUSTAINED UNDEAD COMBAT]

[YOUR CONTRACTED UNDEAD PARTICIPATED IN EXTENDED BATTLE (29+ MINUTES)]

[REWARD: CONTRACTED UNDEAD NOW RETAIN LEVELS WHEN DISMISSED]

[UNDEAD STATS PERMANENTLY SAVED TO SYSTEM]

James’s eyes widened as he read the achievement reward. His four reanimated dire wolves that had fought through the entire boss battle had gained experience from their kills just like he had.

The System had been tracking their progression the whole time. When he checked his contracted undead status, detailed information appeared.

[CONTRACTED UNDEAD: 4/4 SLOTS]

[REANIMATED DIRE WOLF x4 - LEVEL 8]

[STATUS: DISMISSED]

[STATS SAVED - CAN BE RE-SUMMONED AT CURRENT LEVEL]

The wolves had leveled up from their original Level 6 to Level 8 through combat participation, and their stats had increased with each level gained. And now those levels were permanent features.

When James summoned them again in the future, they would appear as Level 8 dire wolves instead of requiring fresh Level 6 corpses. They could continue growing stronger over time like permanent companions instead of being disposable summons.

This changed everything about how his Reanimate ability functioned going forward.

James sat down on one of the beds while processing all of this. The Mysterious Egg that could hatch into something incredible. The B-rank skill book. The skill rank ups on his most-used abilities.

And now his undead could permanently level up and grow stronger. Floor 5 had given him massive power increases far beyond just his personal level gains.

But none of it felt like victory. Not after learning what the Tower actually was.

The Waiting Room faded around them and the team materialized back inside Finn’s basement training room at the Hale Estate. They were standing exactly where they had been before entering Floor 5 hours ago.

The room looked the same with its strategy table and equipment racks and leather couches, but everything felt fundamentally different now after what they had experienced and learned.

Kael let out a huge sigh and sat down heavily on one of the couches. "I can’t believe we actually survived Floor 5. Nobody died despite everything that happened. And we got ridiculous rewards on top of it. I genuinely thought we were all going to die when that ogre showed up."

His voice carried genuine relief mixed with disbelief at their survival, but there was an undercurrent of dread beneath it.

The team started processing what had just happened to them over the past thirty minutes. Aria was examining her new A-rank spear while still not quite believing it was real and permanently hers.

Elliot sat down with his magical quiver and stared at it while his hands finally stopped their constant shaking. James stored his Mysterious Egg and skill book safely in his inventory while his mind kept returning to the angel’s words about saving destroyed worlds.

Finn was quieter than usual, the weight of what they’d learned pressing down on him.

Then the door to the basement SLAMMED open hard enough that it banged against the wall with a loud crash.

Everyone jumped and spun toward the sound with weapons half-drawn.

Marcus Hale stood in the doorway filling the entire frame with his presence. He was a massive man standing easily six foot five with broad shoulders and a build that looked carved from stone.

He wore casual but obviously expensive clothes that probably cost more than most people’s monthly rent. His Aura radiated power even while at rest, and the pressure of an S-rank hunter who had cleared Floor 48 pressed down on the room like physical weight.

His face was stern and hard like granite, but there was unmistakable pride visible in his eyes as he looked directly at Finn.

The entire team froze in shock because nobody had expected Marcus Hale to come down to the basement. Finn went very still and his earlier quiet mood vanished instantly as if someone had flipped a switch.

Marcus’s voice was deep and commanding in a way that demanded attention. "Well done, son. This is exactly why you carry Hale blood in your veins. I knew it from the moment you were born that my bloodline was destined to create greatness."

He stepped fully into the room and his presence dominated the entire space despite doing nothing except standing there.

"Breaking my record after it stood for decades. Leading a team to clear the hidden objective that most people didn’t even know existed. Triggering the entire Tower reset with your achievement. Impressive work."

His gaze swept over the rest of the team while assessing each of them in turn. Kael, Aria, Elliot, and James all felt his eyes measuring them and finding them acceptable but unremarkable.

His expression remained neutral while he evaluated them.

"These are the people you teamed with for the run?" Marcus asked while still looking at the others.

Finn gave a vague response in a carefully controlled voice. "Yeah. Team Zero."

He didn’t elaborate or introduce anyone specifically, keeping his answer minimal and providing no additional information.

Marcus laughed and the sound was booming enough to fill the entire room. He was clearly proud despite his stern demeanor and hard exterior. "Hale blood never fails to produce excellence. It’s in our nature to dominate whatever we attempt."

He looked at Finn one more time and nodded in approval as if confirming something he had always believed. Then he turned and walked out of the room without saying another word to anyone.

The door closed behind him with a solid click.

The team sat in stunned silence for several long moments after he left. Nobody spoke or moved while the weight of Marcus Hale’s presence still lingered in the air like smoke.

Finn’s expression was complicated and showed pride mixed with frustration and something else that was harder to identify.