An hour later, James was walking through central Dublin when the System notification appeared.

[TRB PARTNERSHIP LINK RECEIVED]

[STREAM CHANNEL ASSIGNED: TEAM ZERO]

[EVENT: FLOOR 9 RAID ATTEMPT]

[ACCEPT PARTNERSHIP? Y/N]

James stopped on the sidewalk and selected YES.

[PARTNERSHIP ACCEPTED]

[STREAM TAB UNLOCKED]

[STREAM CHANNEL: TEAM ZERO]

[STATUS: INACTIVE]

Then another notification appeared.

[TRB OFFICIAL RAID STREAM ANNOUNCEMENT]

[FLOOR 9 RAID ATTEMPT SCHEDULED]

[STREAM CHANNEL: TEAM ZERO]

[TEAM DETAILS: HIDDEN UNTIL STREAM ACTIVATION]

Every registered Irish Challenger received the same notification at the same time.

James dismissed the window and kept walking.

That night, James sat at home in his room. His mother was asleep and the house was quiet.

Before sleeping, he opened his System window to check his current status.

[NAME: JAMES GANNER]

[CLASS: NECROMANCER (LEGENDARY)]

[LEVEL: 13]

[EXP: 2,340/8,000]

[HP: 620/620]

[MANA: 1,080/1,080]

[PRIMARY STATS]

[STRENGTH: 32]

[AGILITY: 35]

[INTELLIGENCE: 54]

[ENDURANCE: 31]

[LUCK: 23]

[CONTRACT SLOTS: 4/4]

[MAX SUMMON UNDEAD SKELETONS: 5]

[UNSPENT STAT POINTS: 0]

[TOWER CREDITS: 61,615 TC]

He’d allocated his five free stat points from Level 13 earlier: two to Intelligence, one each to Strength, Agility, and Endurance. His Intelligence now sat at 54, which meant he could summon five skeletons instead of four.

James closed the window and picked up his phone.

The TRB Floor 9 raid stream announcement was trending on every Challenger forum and news site.

James tapped one article and scrolled through the comments.

@DublinClimber92: They’re streaming another Floor 9 attempt already? Did the first wipe mean nothing?

@MageUnionWatch: Heard it’s not even a TRB team. Anonymous outside party.

@GreenTowerFan: Anonymous? Then they’re dead.

@PriestWanted: Unless they found a priest, they’re walking into a grave.

@RaidStatsGuy: If this clears, Ireland gets first confirmed Floor 9 data. If it wipes, TRB is finished.

James read through the comments and felt doubt creep in for a moment. People were angry, scared, and curious. Some thought the TRB was sending another team to die. Others said the team was anonymous because they were disposable.

He closed the phone and set it on the nightstand.

He’d already signed the contract. He’d already told Team Zero to prepare.

Tomorrow, they would try Floor 9.

The next day, James arrived at the Hale Estate with the circlet box under his arm.

Team Zero was already gathered in Finn’s basement training room when he walked in. Finn was checking his axe near the equipment racks. Kael had strategy notes spread across the table. Aria was pacing near the windows. Elliot sat on one of the couches looking nervous.

Everyone looked at James expectantly when he entered.

James placed the box on the strategy table and opened it.

The Apostle’s Radiant Circlet glowed inside with pale divine light. The white stone at the center pulsed faintly and the gold band caught the overhead lights.

Everyone went silent.

Finn recognized it immediately. "That’s the circlet from the news."

Elliot leaned forward. "Is that actually the one the TRB used?"

Aria stared at it. "Did you rob the government?"

James said, "No. I’m the original owner."

The room went completely silent.

Finn’s expression changed as he remembered the news reports from after Floor 5. The circlet had been borrowed from an undisclosed source for TRB use. European guilds had licensed it. It had been used on floors up to 69 before the tower reset.

"That source was you," Finn said slowly.

James nodded.

"How much are they paying you for it?" Kael asked.

"Fifty percent of all licensing revenue," James said.

Aria whistled. "That’s millions."

"Yeah," James said.

Elliot looked between James and the circlet. "You’ve been getting paid millions this whole time and you live in Northgate?"

"Mother doesn’t know yet," James said. "I’ll tell her when the time is right."

Kael reached for the circlet and checked its information window.

[APOSTLE’S RADIANT CIRCLET]

[GRADE: LEGENDARY]

[REQUIREMENT: LEVEL 80]

[CLASS REQUIREMENT: HEALER OR SUPPORT]

[PRIMARY EFFECT: PURIFY]

The team looked at each other.

"None of us can equip this," Elliot said.

Finn looked at James. "You brought an item nobody can use?"

Before James could answer, Kael said, "I might be able to."

Everyone looked at him.

Kael explained. "When I cleared Floor 4, I received a reward that lets me equip items Level 100 and below without level or class restriction."

He pulled up his System window and showed them.

[REWARD TITLE: EQUIPMENT ADAPTATION]

[EFFECT: USER MAY EQUIP ITEMS LEVEL 100 AND BELOW WITHOUT LEVEL OR CLASS RESTRICTION]

[LIMITATION: ITEM EFFECTIVENESS MAY SCALE WITH USER COMPATIBILITY]

Kael picked up the circlet and equipped it.

The divine light flared once, then settled. The circlet sat on Kael’s head and glowed faintly, but not at full strength.

[RESTRICTION BYPASSED]

[APOSTLE’S RADIANT CIRCLET EQUIPPED]

[COMPATIBILITY: PARTIAL]

[PURIFY EFFECT AVAILABLE]

Kael nodded. "It works. The Purify effect is active."

Finn exhaled slowly. "Good. That gives us a chance."

James said, "There’s one more thing. The TRB wants this streamed."

Finn’s expression hardened immediately. "You accepted a national broadcast before discussing it with us?"

"Yes," James said.

"Why?"

"Because the stream deal was the only way to get the circlet released quickly."

Elliot’s face went pale. "The death-on-stream rule. If any of us die, our families—"

"Read the contract," James interrupted. He pulled out the folder O’Shea had given him and handed it to Finn.

Finn read it carefully. Kael and Aria looked over his shoulder. Elliot stood behind them and read the protection clause.

They saw the 90/10 revenue split. They saw the TRB liability coverage. They saw the family protection clause.

Finn looked up. "No death penalties charged to families."

"Correct," James said. "TRB absorbs all stream failure liability."

Aria noticed the channel name. "Team Zero. At least they’re not calling us ’Anonymous Suicide Squad.’"

Elliot didn’t laugh. "This is still dangerous."

"Everything in the Tower is dangerous," Kael said. "But this contract protects our families. That’s what matters."

Finn closed the folder and handed it back to James. His voice was calm but firm. "Next time, anything involving the whole team must be discussed before signing."

"Agreed," James said.

Finn studied him for another moment, then nodded. "Alright. The circlet gives us the best chance we’re going to get. We’ll do it."

James sent a message to O’Shea: Team Zero is ready.

O’Shea replied within minutes: Stream infrastructure is ready. Activate when you’re inside.

The team prepared.

Kael wore the circlet and it glowed faintly on his head. Finn checked his axe and shield. Aria readied her spear. Elliot checked his bow and quiver. James drew his sword and checked his mana.

They moved to the Tower access booth and Finn activated it.

The System prompt appeared to all five of them.

[FLOOR 9 CHALLENGE REQUESTED]

[TEAM: TEAM ZERO]

[MEMBERS: 5/5]

[WARNING: DEATH IS PERMANENT]

[CONFIRM ENTRY?]

One by one, they confirmed.

White light filled the room.

They materialized on Floor 9.

The setting was exactly like the failed stream footage. A large goblin settlement built across a muddy battlefield. Crude wooden walls. Smoke rising from fire pits. Sharpened stakes planted in the ground. Broken siege structures scattered around the edges. Watchtowers with goblin archers.

The air felt heavy and wrong.

The goblins didn’t rush blindly toward them like on previous floors. They watched from the distance and waited.

Even before the three ogres appeared, Team Zero knew this floor was worse than anything they’d faced.

James opened the Stream tab in his System.

[STREAM TAB]

[EVENT: FLOOR 9 RAID ATTEMPT]

[CHANNEL: TEAM ZERO]

[STATUS: READY]

[ACTIVATE STREAM? Y/N]

James looked at the team once.

Finn nodded. Kael adjusted his glasses. Aria gripped her spear. Elliot nocked an arrow.

James tapped YES.

The stream went live.