One month later, James sat at the kitchen table and stared at the Tower forum on his phone.

[GLOBAL CLEAR UPDATE: FLOOR 14 CLEARED] [TOP GUILD TEAMS PREPARING FOR FLOOR 15] [WHERE IS TEAM ZERO?] [HAS THE NECROMANCER STOPPED CLIMBING?] [FINN HALE STILL INACTIVE AFTER FLOOR 10]

The headlines filled the screen while James scrolled through them.

The comments below were worse.

ChosenOne99: Team Zero cleared Floor 10 on Hell difficulty. Nobody else could do that. Show some respect.

TowerTracker: They got lucky once. Notice how they haven’t entered the Tower since? They know they can’t do it again.

DublinPride: The Necromancer and Finn Hale are legends. They need time to recover after losing a teammate. Give them space.

RankingsMatters: Time doesn’t matter. Results matter. Other teams cleared Floors 11-14 while Team Zero sat at home. That’s called being finished.

IrishChallenger4: Elliot Graves died on Floor 10. Have some respect for the dead instead of demanding they climb immediately after a funeral.

GlobalWatcher: Respect doesn’t clear floors. Guild-backed teams are preparing for Floor 15 while Team Zero is inactive. The world moves on.

DublinLocal88: @RankingsMatters You’re talking about rankings right after someone mentioned a kid died? What’s wrong with you? Go outside and touch grass instead of rage-baiting about dead Challengers.

James closed the page before he read more.

He knew why he had stopped. Elliot had died on Floor 10. Aria had retired after the funeral. Finn had not entered the Tower again. Team Zero had cleared the floor, but they had not come out the same.

The world outside only saw rankings and clear dates without seeing Elliot’s body on the floor or hearing what Floor 10 actually cost.

Nyra sat across from him at the table while eating breakfast slowly with a spoon that looked too big for her small hands.

His mother stood near the counter preparing tea while watching both of them.

Nyra stopped eating and looked at James.

"Daddy, is tower dangerous?"

James lowered his cup. "Yes."

"Then why go?"

He did not answer immediately because she was too young to understand money, revenge, or what would happen if he stopped climbing now.

"Because I have to," he said.

Nyra frowned while processing that answer. "But if dangerous, you get hurt?"

"Sometimes."

"Then don’t go."

James did not know how to explain that stopping was not an option when the world expected him to keep climbing and his uncles were still free after stealing everything his father built.

His mother set tea in front of him before speaking quietly. "Nyra, finish your breakfast."

Nyra looked at her grandmother before going back to eating.

James drank his tea while Nyra’s wings started to appear behind her shoulders as she focused on her food.

"Nyra," James said quietly. "Your wings."

She blinked, then remembered. The dark feathers folded back and vanished while she looked embarrassed.

His mother walked over and sat down at the table. "She’s been asking about the Tower more often."

"I know."

"What will you tell her when she’s old enough to understand?"

James did not have an answer for that.

Nyra finished eating before climbing down from her chair and walking over to James. She grabbed his sleeve with both hands.

"Daddy come back?"

"Always."

"Promise?"

James looked at her while thinking about Elliot’s parents at the funeral and how promises did not mean anything when HP dropped to zero.

But Nyra was looking at him with wide eyes that expected an answer she could trust.

"I promise."

Nyra smiled before letting go of his sleeve and running off to play with her blocks in the other room.

His mother watched her leave before turning back to James. "You’re meeting Finn today?"

"Later. I have something else to do first."

"Be careful."

James nodded.

James had already used the fifteen free stat points from Floor 10.

[FREE STAT POINTS DISTRIBUTED] [INTELLIGENCE: 60 → 66] [ENDURANCE: 36 → 41] [AGILITY: 40 → 42] [LUCK: 27 → 29] [UNSPENT STAT POINTS: 15 → 0]

Most went into Intelligence because his class needed mana, damage, and control. Without enough Intelligence, his necromantic skills would be weaker and his undead would be harder to maintain.

Endurance came next because Floor 10 had nearly killed him when the snake brought him down to 1 HP. Being that fragile again was not an option.

The rest went into Agility and Luck. He needed to move better so he could dodge attacks instead of taking them on his shield every time. Luck had already proven useful when the mythic egg dropped and when rare rewards changed his situation more than raw stats alone could.

He checked his current status:

[JAMES GANNER] [CLASS: NECROMANCER] [LEVEL: 17] [EXP: 11,385/12,000] [HP: 820/820] [MANA: 1,320/1,320] [STRENGTH: 37] [AGILITY: 42] [INTELLIGENCE: 66] [ENDURANCE: 41] [LUCK: 29] [REANIMATED SLOTS: 2/5 OCCUPIED]

His HP had increased to 820 from stat allocation while his Mana reached 1,320. Both numbers were significantly higher than they had been during Floor 10, which meant he could survive more punishment and cast more skills before running dry.

Level 17 was not weak, but it was not enough to coast on either when other teams were pushing Floor 15 while backed by full guild resources.

James closed the status screen before moving to the reward section.

Then he opened the reward inventory and checked the Disaster Core Fragment.

[DISASTER CORE FRAGMENT — S-RANK] [TYPE: SUMMON ENHANCEMENT ITEM] [EFFECT: TEMPORARILY UNLEASHES THE TRUE STRENGTH OF ONE SUMMONED OR REANIMATED BEING] [DURATION: 10 MINUTES] [USES REMAINING: 3/3] [WARNING: TARGET MAY ENTER AN UNSTABLE STATE DURING ACTIVATION]

James stared at the description while thinking about what "true strength" actually meant.

If he used it on the dire wolf, would it become stronger than Level 9 temporarily? Would it reach the power it had when it was alive?

If he used it on the Abyssal Venom Python, would it return to full disaster beast status for ten minutes? Would it regain the 35,000 HP and overwhelming venom aura it had when Team Zero fought it on Floor 10?

That kind of power could turn an unwinnable fight into a clear, but only for ten minutes.

Three uses total.

James did not use it.

Three uses were not enough to waste on testing or casual experimentation. If the fragment could bring out the true strength of the Abyssal Venom Python, then it was not a training item or a toy to play with.

It was something to save for a fight he could not win normally.

James closed the inventory while understanding the fragment would stay unused until he absolutely needed it.

Later that afternoon, James rented a private Challenger training room in Dublin.

He could not test the Abyssal Venom Python at home because it was too large, too dangerous, and too hard to explain if Nyra or his mother saw it.

The room was reinforced with steel walls, expensive enough that most Challengers avoided it unless they needed serious privacy, and secure enough that no one asked questions as long as he paid the hourly rate.

James stood in the center of the empty space and confirmed his current slots:

[REANIMATED SLOTS: 2/5 OCCUPIED] [REANIMATED DIRE WOLF — LEVEL 9] [ABYSSAL VENOM PYTHON — LEVEL 20]

He summoned the dire wolf first.

It appeared beside him with bones glowing faintly from necromantic energy before lowering its head and waiting for commands.

"Move to the far wall."

The wolf obeyed.

"Circle the room."

It moved along the perimeter.

"Return."

The wolf came back and stopped at his feet.

James confirmed it still responded properly before dismissing it.

After that, he summoned the Abyssal Venom Python.

The training room felt smaller the moment the python materialized.

Its body coiled across the floor while taking up nearly half the available space. Dark scales cracked like stone. Eyes glowed with cold undead light. The faint smell of venom lingered in the air even though the snake was dead.

[ABYSSAL VENOM PYTHON — REANIMATED DISASTER BEAST] [LEVEL: 20] [HP: 18,000/18,000] [STATUS: BOUND UNDEAD] [REANIMATED SLOT COST: 1]

James kept his distance at first while watching the snake’s movements.

"Move forward."

The python slithered across the floor while obeying without resistance.

"Stop."

It stopped immediately.

"Coil."

Its body folded into a defensive coil while its head stayed raised and alert.

"Lower your head."

The snake lowered its head slowly until it touched the floor.

"Strike the wall."

The python’s head shot forward and hit the reinforced steel with enough force to dent the metal before pulling back.

James tested a few more commands while confirming the snake responded to everything he ordered.

It obeyed completely, but its size made it difficult to use casually. Too large for narrow hallways or indoor spaces. Too dangerous to summon in public without causing panic. Too noticeable unless the situation was serious enough that he did not care about subtlety.

It was a powerful weapon he could deploy when needed, not a simple pet he could bring everywhere.

James dismissed the python before leaving the training room.