James woke up after another bad night of barely sleeping.

He sat on the edge of his bed with his phone in his hand, staring at the Floor 6 briefing from the TRB. The Dock 7 news was still playing on every channel, but no suspect had been named. His body had healed enough to move normally, but the memory hadn’t left him.

When he closed his eyes, he saw Derek’s face. He saw the skeletons moving forward. He saw the System message: [INVALID TARGET].

He forced himself to focus on the briefing instead.

Floor 6 was a Standard Floor, Subjugation mission, recommended party size five. Finn had sent a message telling everyone to meet at a private training facility before entry.

James stood, showered, and dressed. He checked his gear and made sure everything was ready. On the outside, he functioned normally. Inside, he carried what happened.

James opened his status window and looked at the five unspent stat points from Level 12.

He didn’t celebrate the level-up because he knew where the EXP came from. Ronan. The awakeners. Derek. Human kills that the System counted exactly like monster kills.

Still, he couldn’t ignore power.

He put three points into Intelligence and two into Endurance.

[INTELLIGENCE: 48 → 51 (+3)]

[ENDURANCE: 27 → 29 (+2)]

[HP: 540 → 560]

[MAX SUMMON UNDEAD SKELETONS: 10 → 12]

Intelligence reaching 51 meant he could now summon twelve skeletons instead of ten. Endurance raised his HP slightly, giving him more survivability for Floor 6.

James dismissed the window and checked his remaining undead contracts.

Most of the Dire Wolves had been destroyed at Dock 7, leaving him with only one Level 9 wolf still contracted. The other three contract slots were empty.

He still had four contract slots total at Level 12—the fifth slot wouldn’t unlock until Level 15.

Then he checked his storage ring inventory.

Ronan’s corpse was there. A Level 20 wind fighter. Stronger than anything James could summon from monster corpses right now.

His hand hovered over the ring for a moment.

He could use it. Reanimate Ronan as a permanent undead warrior. The tactical advantage would be massive.

But the thought of summoning a human corpse—someone he’d killed with his own hands—made something twist in his stomach.

He closed the ring inventory quickly.

Monster corpses only. For now.

James arrived at the private training facility where Finn had called the meeting.

The place was clean, secure, and expensive. Reinforced combat rooms lined one wall, private waiting areas had soundproof glass, and Tower access booths sat ready for approved Challengers. The kind of facility guilds rented for team preparation.

Finn was already there, calm and prepared, wearing light training gear and checking his axe. Kael sat nearby with documents and Floor 6 notes spread out in front of him on a table. Aria was pacing near the windows, excited and impatient, clearly unable to sit still. Elliot was quieter, checking his equipment twice and adjusting his staff nervously.

The group felt more complete now, but not yet like a guild. They were just five people choosing to trust each other before the Tower gave them strangers.

James entered quietly.

Aria immediately noticed his bruised face and stopped pacing.

"Did you get into a fight with a truck?"

James said, "Training."

Finn looked at him for a second too long but didn’t call him out in front of everyone.

Kael led the briefing.

"Floor 6 is a Standard Floor, Subjugation type, recommended party size five. The TRB report says enemy groups are organized and the environment includes hazards, but the exact layout isn’t fully known because floor variations are now active after the update."

He tapped one of the documents in front of him.

"Since country-specific Tower instances are active, we’ll be matched with Irish challengers instead of people from around the world. But the real advantage is entering as a full party of five—when we have all five slots filled, the Tower won’t add random teammates to our group."

Finn leaned back in his chair. "That’s the main advantage. No strangers, no unpredictable cowards, no unknown party-killers."

Aria grinned. "I prefer it that way."

Elliot asked, "If Floor 6 is Standard, does that mean it’ll be easy?"

"No," Finn said. His voice was flat and serious. "It just means it’s not a Story Floor. People still die on Standard Floors."

Kael went through role assignments. "Finn takes front pressure and emergency protection. Aria handles burst damage. Elliot handles range and control. I manage support and tactical calls. James handles undead, corpse control, and AoE."

He looked at James. "How do you want to handle corpse use?"

James spoke without hesitation.

"Bodies should be left where they fall unless I tell you otherwise. Nobody should stand near enemy corpses unless I give the order."

The room went quiet for a beat.

The coldness in his voice was noticeable.

James didn’t explain. Kael wrote it down like a tactic. Finn watched James again.

Finn pulled up the Tower interface on his phone.

"We’re entering as Team Zero. Full five-person roster, so no random matchmaking." He looked around at everyone. "This is what I’ve been building. A real team, not just people thrown together by the System."

Kael added, "We’re not officially a guild yet. That’s contracts, sponsors, TRB paperwork, all of that. But we’re more than just a temporary party at this point."

Aria grinned. "Good. I’m not working with random strangers again."

Elliot nodded nervously.

Finn confirmed the Floor 6 entry request through the interface. Each member received the notification.

[PRIVATE PARTY FORMATION REQUEST RECEIVED]

[MEMBERS: FINN HALE, JAMES GANNER, KAEL MORROW, ARIA VALE, ELLIOT REED]

[5/5 MEMBERS CONFIRMED]

[RANDOM MATCHMAKING DISABLED]

Before they entered, Finn asked James to step outside the room for a minute.

The hallway was quiet and empty.

Finn looked at him directly. "You good?"

James met his eyes. "Yeah."

"You look like shit," Finn said. "Bruises, tired. If you’re not ready for Floor 6, say it now. Not when we’re inside."

James understood what he was really asking. Was he going to be a liability? Would he get someone killed because he wasn’t focused?

"I’m good," James said. "I’ll handle my role."

Finn studied him for another moment, then nodded. "Alright. Just needed to check."

They went back inside.

James and Finn returned to the room.

The others pretended not to notice the tension, but they did.

Kael gave final role confirmations and checked everyone’s gear one more time. Aria stretched and cracked her knuckles, clearly ready to move. Elliot adjusted his staff for the third time.

James checked his contract slots—four total at his current level. He still had Ronan’s corpse in storage, but he wasn’t ready to use it yet.

Monster corpses only.

That decision was both tactical and emotional, and he knew it.

Aria cracked one last joke to cut the tension. "Nobody better die, because I didn’t rush five floors just to watch you embarrass me."

Elliot laughed nervously.

Finn activated Tower access through the facility’s booth system.

Everyone stepped into position. The air shifted as the Tower recognized the full party.

The System prompt appeared to all five of them.

[FLOOR 6 CHALLENGE REQUESTED]

[TEAM: TEAM ZERO]

[MEMBERS: 5/5]

[FINN HALE, JAMES GANNER, KAEL MORROW, ARIA VALE, ELLIOT REED]

[FLOOR CLASSIFICATION: STANDARD]

[MISSION TYPE: SUBJUGATION]

[WARNING: DEATH IS PERMANENT]

[CONFIRM ENTRY?]

One by one, they confirmed.

James was last.

For a second, his finger hesitated over the confirmation. He thought of Dock 7, Derek, the skeletons, and his mother’s voice on the phone.

Then he confirmed.

White light began to fill the room.

Finn lifted his weapon. Aria grinned. Elliot swallowed hard. Kael adjusted his glasses.

James closed his hand around his sword.

White light took them, and James carried Dock 7 with him into the Tower.