White light faded and the team materialized back in Finn’s basement training room at the Hale Estate.

They were standing exactly where they had been before entering Floor 6. The room looked the same with its strategy table, equipment racks, and leather couches.

Floor 6 was finished. Nobody was badly hurt. Finn held his D-rank Mana Stone Cache from the MVP reward and stored it without making a big deal about it.

Aria grinned at 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 notification on his System interface. "Formation worked. We cleared it fast and nobody took serious damage."

The team stood in the basement for a moment, catching their breath and checking their gear.

Finn looked at everyone. "We should rest before Floor 7. Repair gear, recover, then we go in fresh."

Kael nodded. "Agreed. A few days off, then we meet back here."

Aria stretched. "Fine by me."

Elliot looked relieved again and didn’t argue.

Everyone agreed and started preparing to leave.

James left the Hale Estate and headed home.

James returned home.

The house was quiet. His mother hadn’t returned yet from her travel. He locked the door behind him and walked to his room. His gear was stored in his ring and his body was tired from the Floor 6 clear.

He sat on the edge of the bed and remembered something.

Floor 5 had given him a skill book. With everything that happened at Dock 7, he’d completely forgotten about it. He’d stored it in his System inventory and never looked at it again.

James opened his System inventory to check the skill book.

The moment the inventory screen appeared, he saw two items sitting in separate slots. One was the skill book. The other was the Mythic Egg.

James pulled out the skill book first.

[SKILL BOOK: ADVANCED SWORDSMANSHIP (C-RANK)]

[LEARN SKILL? Y/N]

He confirmed YES and the book dissolved into light that flowed into his chest.

[SKILL LEARNED: ADVANCED SWORDSMANSHIP (C-RANK)]

[PASSIVE EFFECT: +15% SWORD DAMAGE]

[ACTIVE EFFECT: ENHANCED SWORD TECHNIQUES UNLOCKED]

James dismissed the notification and looked at the second item in his inventory.

The Mythic Egg from Floor 5.

Until now, he hadn’t brought it out properly or studied it. The house was empty and quiet, so this was the right time to check it.

James selected the egg from his inventory.

The egg appeared on his bed with a heavy thud.

It was black, smooth, and about the size of a football. Purple vein-like lines ran across the shell in complex patterns that didn’t follow any obvious design. The surface looked polished but not reflective.

James watched it for several seconds.

Nothing moved. No sound came from inside. The egg sat completely still.

He opened the item description.

[MYSTERIOUS EGG — MYTHIC GRADE]

[STATUS: DORMANT]

[BONDING: INCOMPLETE]

[INCUBATION REQUIREMENT: UNKNOWN]

[HATCH TIME: UNKNOWN]

James frowned. Mythic grade meant it was valuable, but unknown requirement meant he had to figure it out himself. The System gave almost nothing useful.

He reached out and placed his hand on the shell.

The surface was cold at first, like touching stone that had been sitting in a dark room for hours. Then the purple veins under his palm pulsed faintly, and warmth spread through the shell.

The moment James kept his hand on the shell, the egg pulled mana from him.

Not violently. More like a slow sip.

James felt the drain immediately and stiffened. His mana dropped. The purple veins brightened for one second, then faded again.

James pulled his hand back.

A System notification appeared.

[MANA DRAIN DETECTED]

[MANA ABSORBED: -28]

[CURRENT MANA: 932/960]

[MYSTERIOUS EGG HAS ABSORBED MANA]

[INCUBATION RESPONSE DETECTED]

[INCUBATION PROGRESS: 0.1%]

James stared at the egg.

That was how it hatched. It fed on mana.

He tested it again carefully, placing two fingers on the shell and letting it draw a little more. The egg absorbed mana and the progress bar in his System interface rose slightly.

[MANA ABSORBED: -28]

[CURRENT MANA: 904/960]

[INCUBATION PROGRESS: 0.2%]

James stopped before it could take too much.

Twenty-eight mana drained for 0.1% progress. If the math held steady, he would need to feed the egg 28,000 mana total to reach 100%. His full mana pool was 960, which meant he could contribute about 3.4% per full drain if he emptied himself completely.

That would take roughly thirty full mana drains to hatch the egg.

James realized this wouldn’t hatch quickly. Even with his large mana pool, the egg needed repeated feeding over time. It wasn’t something he could force in one night. If he drained himself too much, he would be useless for the next floor.

He stored the egg back in his inventory after one final pulse from the purple veins.

The egg disappeared from his bed and the room went quiet again.

James was still sitting in his room when he heard the front door open.

His mother had returned.

James froze for a second, then stood and left the room quickly.

She was at the entrance with a small travel bag, tired but safe. Her coat was still on and she was setting her keys down on the counter when James reached her.

Before she could say anything, James hugged her tightly.

Not a casual hug. A strong, sudden hug that surprised her.

She froze at first, shocked by how hard he held her.

"James?"

He didn’t answer immediately. He just held on for a few seconds longer than usual.

After Dock 7, after thinking he had lost her, seeing her alive in front of him hit harder than he expected. The relief was immediate and overwhelming in a way he hadn’t prepared for.

She pulled back slightly and studied his face. Her expression shifted from confusion to worry.

"What happened?"

James shook his head. "Nothing. I just missed you."

She didn’t fully believe him, but she didn’t push.

His mother touched his face with one hand and looked at him carefully. Her fingers were cold from being outside, but the gesture was warm.

"Have you eaten?"

The question brought the scene back to normal life.

James said, "Yeah."

She gave him the look that said she knew he was lying. The same look she’d been giving him since he was twelve and tried to skip dinner. "Sit. I’ll make something quick."

"You just got back," James said. "You should rest."

"And you should eat properly instead of living on nothing." She walked past him toward the kitchen and set her bag down. "Sit."

James sat at the small kitchen table while she heated leftover stew and cut bread. The kitchen smelled like home again after being empty for days. They talked lightly while she worked.

"How has climbing the Tower been?" she asked.

"Good," James said. "The team is working well. Nobody’s gotten hurt."

She nodded and didn’t ask for details. She never did. She trusted him to come back, and asking for specifics would only make her worry more. "And you’re meeting them again soon?"

"Yeah. In a few days."

"Good." She set a bowl of stew in front of him with a piece of bread on the side. "Don’t rush it. The Tower isn’t going anywhere."

James ate while she sat across from him with tea. The stew was still warm and tasted better than anything he’d eaten in the past few days. She told him her trip was fine and that Anne sent her greetings and asked about him. She also told him Anne’s son had just cleared Floor 3 and was talking about forming a party.

James listened and ate and let her talk.

She asked if he’d paid the electric bill while she was gone. He said yes. She asked if the heating was still broken. He said it was, but he’d survived. She gave him another look and said she’d call someone to fix it tomorrow.

Then she told him not to keep disappearing without eating properly, which made James almost smile because it was the most normal thing she’d said in weeks.

He didn’t mention Dock 7. He didn’t mention Derek. He didn’t mention the egg.

For now, she was safe, home, and acting like his mother.

That was enough.

Three days later, James returned to the Hale Estate.

The team gathered in Finn’s basement training room. Everyone looked rested and their gear was repaired. Finn checked his axe one more time while Kael reviewed his notes. Aria stretched near the equipment racks and Elliot adjusted his bow.

"Everyone ready?" Finn asked.

James nodded along with the others.

Finn activated the Tower access through the facility’s booth system. Everyone stepped into position and the air shifted as the Tower recognized the full party.

The System prompt appeared to all five of them.

[FLOOR 7 CHALLENGE REQUESTED]

[TEAM: TEAM ZERO]

[MEMBERS: 5/5]

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

[WARNING: DEATH IS PERMANENT]

[CONFIRM ENTRY?]

One by one, they confirmed.

White light filled the room.

The team materialized on Floor 7.

They stood in a rocky canyon with steep walls on both sides. The ground was uneven and covered with loose stones. Ahead, the canyon narrowed into a passage that led deeper into the mountain.

The System announcement appeared.

[FLOOR 7 — STANDARD FLOOR]

[MISSION TYPE: SUBJUGATION]

[OBJECTIVE: ELIMINATE THE GOBLIN STRONGHOLD]

[ENEMY COUNT: 75]

[CLEAR CONDITION: ALL HOSTILE ENTITIES ELIMINATED]

[FAILURE CONDITION: PARTY DEATH]

Finn read the notification and nodded. "Same mission type as Floor 6. Subjugation. More goblins."

Kael looked at the canyon ahead. "Seventy-five enemies this time. Twenty-five more than Floor 6."

Aria drew her spear. "Good. Let’s get started."

James drew his sword and checked his mana. The egg had taken some of it over the past few days, but he was still at full capacity for combat.

Finn set the formation. "Same as before. I take front, James behind me, Aria left flank, Elliot rear, Kael center. Move out."

Team Zero entered the canyon and Floor 7 began.