White light faded and the team materialized on Floor 6.

They stood on a muddy road leading into a forest. Behind them, far in the distance, the village they’d defended on Floor 5 still stood damaged but alive. The road ahead was marked with broken arrows, torn goblin banners, abandoned carts, and old bloodstains.

The System notification appeared in all their visions.

```

[FLOOR 6 — STANDARD FLOOR]

[MISSION TYPE: SUBJUGATION]

[OBJECTIVE: ELIMINATE THE GOBLIN RAIDER HIDEOUT]

[ENEMY COUNT: 50]

[CLEAR CONDITION: ALL HOSTILE ENTITIES ELIMINATED]

[FAILURE CONDITION: PARTY DEATH]

```

Finn read the notification and nodded. "Counterattack, not defense. We’re hunting them this time."

Aria grinned. "Fifty goblins sounds better than five hundred monsters."

Elliot adjusted his bow. "That depends on where they’re hiding."

Kael looked at the forest ahead. "Formation. Finn front, James behind him, Aria left flank, Elliot rear and ranged, I’m center support. Move in."

-----

They followed the trail into the forest.

The deeper they went, the more signs of goblin activity appeared. Crude footprints in the mud. Broken branches at chest height. Scraps of stolen cloth tied to trees. Small bones scattered around dead campfires.

Finn kept his axe ready and moved at a steady pace. James stayed close behind him with sword and shield drawn, not hanging back like a pure mage would. Aria took the left flank with her spear. Elliot watched the trees and their backline. Kael stayed central where he could support anyone who needed it.

"Smaller floors can still kill you if you get sloppy," Finn said without looking back. "Stay sharp."

James had his sword out before the first enemy appeared.

-----

Movement in the trees.

Elliot spotted it first. "Contact, eleven o’clock, up high!"

Goblin lookouts attacked from the branches and behind broken carts that lined the trail. They used arrows, throwing knives, and crude horns to signal the hideout.

Finn raised his shield and blocked the first volley of arrows. Aria moved in fast and killed two lookouts before they could retreat, her spear punching through leather armor and green skin.

A goblin dropped from a branch above James with a dagger aimed at his neck. James turned and blocked with his shield, then cut the goblin down with a clean slash across its chest. Another lookout tried to run and James chased it down, driving his sword through its back.

```

[GOBLIN LOOKOUT SLAIN — 45 EXP]

[GOBLIN LOOKOUT SLAIN — 45 EXP]

```

One goblin managed to blow its horn before Elliot put an arrow through its throat. The sound echoed through the trees and faded into the distance.

The hideout knew they were coming now.

James walked to the nearest fresh corpse and activated Summon Undead Skeleton. Bones ripped free from the goblin’s body and reassembled into a skeletal warrior with green light burning in its eye sockets. The skeleton picked up the goblin’s crude blade and moved ahead of Finn.

"Disposable front line," James said.

Finn nodded. "Good. Let it test the path."

-----

The forest path narrowed.

Crude traps appeared everywhere. Rope tripwires stretched across the trail. Swinging logs hung from branches. Covered spike pits waited under leaves and mud. Hanging oil pots dangled from trees. Sharpened stakes hid in the undergrowth.

Elliot spotted several traps before they triggered and called them out. Kael pointed to others. Finn smashed through one wooden obstacle rather than wasting time going around it.

James sent the skeleton forward to test the path.

A swinging log triggered and crushed the skeleton against a tree trunk, destroying it instantly.

```

[SUMMON UNDEAD DESTROYED]

```

James didn’t pause. A goblin trapper lunged from cover with a knife and James killed it with a thrust to the throat.

```

[GOBLIN TRAPPER SLAIN — 50 EXP]

```

He summoned another skeleton from the fresh corpse and sent it forward.

A few more goblin trappers attacked from the sides, trying to slow the party down. Aria cut through one that came at her from the left. Elliot shot another before it could light an oil pot on fire. Kael warned Finn about a spike pit just before he stepped into it.

The team cleared the trap path quickly and kept pushing toward the hideout.

-----

The party reached the goblin hideout built against a rocky hill.

Wooden barricades blocked the entrance. Goblin archers stood on crude platforms made of logs and rope. Spearmen held the front line behind the barricades while firepot throwers waited behind cover.

Around forty goblins remained inside after the lookouts and trappers were dead.

There was no stealth approach. No planning. Just assault.

Finn charged the barricade and smashed through the first barrier with brute force. Wood splintered and broke under his axe. Aria slipped through the gap he created and went straight for the firepot throwers. Elliot targeted the archers on the platforms with precise shots. Kael called out movements and kept the party from being surrounded.

James fought behind Finn with sword and shield, cutting down goblins that pushed through the gap. He killed one spearman with a slash across the legs.

```

[GOBLIN SPEARMAN SLAIN — 55 EXP]

```

He used the fresh corpse to summon a skeleton, then sent it into the opening to take pressure off Finn.

When goblins clustered near the broken barricade, James used Corpse Explosion.

BOOM.

The corpse detonated and blasted three goblins apart, widening the breach and scattering body parts across the camp.

The team pushed into the hideout together, clearing enemies section by section.

-----

Inside the camp, Finn became the center of the fight.

Goblins swarmed him with spears, axes, and crude shields, but he held the line and kept moving forward. He drew the most pressure and created openings for everyone else to exploit.

A goblin slipped past the front line and rushed Elliot. Finn cut it down before it reached him.

Another goblin, larger and wearing heavier armor, swung a heavy club at Aria. Finn stepped in and blocked the strike with his axe, forcing the goblin back.

James supported by using skeletons to block angles and Necro Blast to drop enemies trying to flank. Aria cleared the sides with quick spear thrusts. Elliot kept the platforms empty with steady archery. Kael called for everyone to follow Finn’s push and maintained battlefield awareness.

-----

The remaining goblins retreated to the back of the hideout near the rocky wall.

There was no boss. No dark energy. No strange soul. Just the last desperate group trying to survive.

The final group had raiders, two spearmen, firepot throwers, and one larger brute-like goblin who was tougher than the others but not a floor boss.

Finn took the larger goblin head-on and their weapons clashed with a loud CLANG. The brute was strong and forced Finn back a step, but Finn held his ground.

James fought beside him, using sword and shield to cut down smaller goblins trying to flank. Aria finished one spearman with a thrust through the chest. Elliot dropped the other with an arrow to the head. Kael supported Finn at the right moment with a called warning, allowing him to sidestep the brute’s overhead swing.

Finn landed the finishing blow with an axe to the brute’s skull.

```

[GOBLIN BRUTE SLAIN — 120 EXP]

```

James fired Necro Blast at the last fleeing goblin before it could escape into the trees. The death energy hit its back and rotted through its spine. The goblin collapsed.

```

[GOBLIN RAIDER SLAIN — 50 EXP]

```

The System counter reached fifty out of fifty.

```

[FLOOR 6 — SUBJUGATION COMPLETE]

[HOSTILE ENTITIES ELIMINATED: 50/50]

```

-----

The System distributed rewards.

```

[FLOOR 6 CLEAR — BASE REWARD]

[TOWER CREDITS AWARDED: 1,500 TC PER CHALLENGER]

[PARTY EXP POOL: 3,000 EXP]

[DIVIDED BY 5 CHALLENGERS: 600 EXP EACH]

```

James felt his EXP bar increase but didn’t level up. The others checked their notifications quietly.

Then the MVP calculation appeared.

```

[CALCULATING MVP...]

[MVP: FINN HALE]

[REWARD: MANA STONE CACHE — D-RANK]

[BONUS EXP: 500]

```

A small wooden box materialized in Finn’s hands. He opened it and found several D-rank mana stones inside, then closed it and stored the box without making a big deal out of it.

Aria teased him. "Finally beat James in contribution."

Finn shrugged. "Team effort."

Elliot looked relieved. "Floor 6 wasn’t another village defense. That’s good."

Kael checked the floor clear details on his System interface. "Formation worked. We cleared it in under twenty minutes."

James stored a few useful goblin corpses and weapons in his ring, then closed his inventory.

The exit countdown began.

```

[RETURN TO WAITING ROOM IN: 60 SECONDS]

```

The team caught their breath and gathered simple loot. Goblin materials. Low-rank weapons. A few mana stones scattered around the camp.

When the countdown reached zero, white light spread through the hideout.

The ruined camp disappeared around them.

White light swallowed the hideout, and Floor 7 unlocked.

-----

**Author’s Note:**

James’s Current Status (Post-Floor 6):

**Level:** 12

**Class:** Necromancer (Legendary)

**EXP:** 1,031/7,000

**HP:** 560/560

**Mana:** 960/960

**Stats:**

- Strength: 30 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

- Agility: 33

- Intelligence: 51

- Endurance: 29

- Luck: 22

**Contract Slots:** 4/4 (5th slot unlocks at Level 15)

**Max Summon Undead Skeletons:** 12 (INT ÷ 10 = 5.1, rounded down)

**Active Skills:**

- Summon Undead Skeleton (C)

- Necro Blast (B)

- Corpse Explosion (D)

- Reanimate (F)

- Dismiss Undead (F)

**Passive Skills:**

- Call of Souls (D)

- Death Chain (S)

- Swordsmanship (F)

- Shield Instinct (F)

**Current Contracted Undead:**

- Reanimated Dire Wolf x1 (Level 9)

- Empty slots: 3

**Tower Credits:** 58,615 TC (57,115 TC + 1,500 TC Floor 6 reward)