Chapter 114: Chapter 114: The Floor 15 Stream

The stream was already live when Finn checked the viewer count through the System interface.

"Forty-eight thousand," he said. "Before we’ve even entered."

"I may have mentioned we were going in today," Maeve said.

Finn turned toward her. "You may have."

"I told a few reporters it was worth watching." Maeve smoothed her hair with the calm of someone who knew the System feed would catch every angle it wanted. "It is not my fault the world has taste."

"You told—"

Finn stopped himself before the argument could start and looked at James instead.

James was watching the number climb in the corner of his vision. Fifty-two thousand became fifty-eight, then sixty-one, and the number kept moving like people were not just joining the stream but rushing into it.

Ronan stood near the wall with his shield already on his arm, his attention fixed on the Floor 15 terminal rather than the stream interface. Cillian leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded, acting like the broadcast did not exist even though every Challenger knew the System feed missed almost nothing once it went live.

The two of them had passed exactly three words between them since they arrived.

"Is this going to be a problem?" Finn asked.

"It’s fine," James said.

He opened the public feed properly and stepped into the center of the System’s focus.

The Hale Estate entry room had not been dressed up for the stream. There was no branded banner, no TRB overlay, no government seal, and no O’Shea standing to the side to make the attempt look official.

The System feed showed the room as it was, with stone walls, gear racks, the Floor 15 entry terminal, and five people who looked like they were there to clear a floor rather than sell a story.

James looked toward the invisible point where the System centered the audience’s view.

"This is Team Zero’s live Floor 15 attempt. We’re not here under the TRB, and this is not a state-sponsored clear. We’re going in privately because there needs to be a real record of what is actually on that floor."

[VIEWER COUNT: 128,000 → 184,000]

He introduced the team without dressing it up.

"Finn Hale. Berserker."

Finn nodded once from behind him.

"Ronan Cleary. Guardian."

Ronan raised two fingers from the edge of his shield.

"Cillian Ward. Lightning Mage Fist."

Cillian gave the System feed one bored glance before looking away.

"Maeve Callahan. Radiant Warden."

Maeve gave the feed a small, perfect smile that had probably appeared on three magazine covers.

The chat moved fast.

[VIEWER COUNT: 184,000 → 311,000]

[IRL_Fangirl22]: Maeve is ACTUALLY there???

[LondonTowerWatch]: Team Zero live Floor 15 attempt. I cannot believe this.

[GuildScout_EU]: Why is Ronan Cleary on this team?

[StormFistFan]: Cillian Ward finally on a real floor stream omg

[TRBWatcher]: No official TRB overlay. This is private.

[Anonymous donated €5,000]: Don’t die.

Cillian glanced at the floating chat window long enough to catch the donation.

"That donation is either very thoughtful or very ominous."

"Both," Finn said.

Cillian gave a small nod like that was fair.

James turned back to the System feed.

"The Floor 15 reports are wrong."

The chat sped up at once, but James did not stop to read it.

"Every team that has gone in prepared for a Dark Knight because that is what the official reports describe. Heavy armor, high resistance, and a sword in your face."

His gaze stayed steady.

"That is not what kills you first."

Behind him, Finn said quietly, "You sure you want to say that much?"

James did not turn around.

"If we fail, people need more than the government version. If we clear it, people need to know what was really waiting here."

He let the words sit for a moment, long enough for the stream to catch the silence behind them.

"Either way, the record needs to exist."

Finn did not argue.

The chat surged again.

[SeoulRaidBoard]: Wait, the reports are wrong???

[TRBWatcher]: This is a direct contradiction of the official Floor 15 briefing.

[LondonTowerWatch]: What kills you first if it’s not the Knight?

[GuildAnalyst_44]: Team Zero went through Floor 14 before this. They have info nobody else has.

[Anonymous]: I’m scared for them but I cannot look away 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"So we’re dying for educational purposes," Cillian said.

"Shut your mouth," Finn said, without heat.

Cillian pushed away from the doorframe and rolled his shoulders once. "I said it with respect."

"You said it with your mouth," Finn said.

"Hard to argue with that."

Maeve glanced between them. "Are they always like this?"

"Only when they’re awake," James said.

Ronan did not react.

Maeve reached into her bag and took out the circlet.

The room changed before she even put it on. Nothing physical shifted, the walls stayed where they were, the terminal stayed dim and waiting, and the gear racks did not move, but every eye in the room went to the pale gold band in her hands.

Even Ronan looked at it.

Maeve set it on her head with both hands, adjusted the angle once, and lowered her chin slightly as the white stone at the center gave off a clean pulse of light. Against her hair, the circlet looked less like something she was wearing and more like something that had been waiting for the right person to carry it.

The chat did not take long.

[VIEWER COUNT: 311,000 → 498,000]

[US_TowerIntel]: IS THAT THE FLOOR 1 CIRCLET?

[FranceRaidNet]: Wait why is the Apostle’s Radiant Circlet back in Ireland???

[GuildAnalyst_44]: That’s an Epic-grade artifact. Level 80 requirement. Class restricted.

[TRBWatcher]: So the artifact is privately held. Not government. Not guild.

[Anonymous donated €10,000]: That confirms everything.

[IRL_Fangirl22]: She looks like a queen I cannot breathe

Maeve did not look at the chat.

"That is going to create problems for you," she said to James.

"Floor 15 first."

Maeve looked at him once, then let it go.

Finn moved to the terminal.

"Right," he said, and his voice changed enough for everyone to know he was no longer speaking for the stream. "Everyone knows their first job, so let’s hear it."

Ronan answered first. "I hold the line."

Cillian flexed his fingers once. "I break anything that tries to cross it."

Maeve touched the circlet briefly, not adjusting it this time but checking that it sat right. "I keep you all from embarrassing yourselves the moment the floor starts whispering in your ears."

James said, "I handle the summons and watch for the real mechanic."

Finn looked at each of them in turn.

"Floor 14 got into people’s heads before they realized it was happening. Maeve’s field helps, but it does not make you untouchable."

His eyes stopped on Cillian.

"If something feels off, say it out loud. Do not push through it alone."

Cillian tilted his head. "Is that a common problem for you? Pushing through things alone?"

"It’s a common problem for people who think they don’t need a support until they do," Maeve said.

Cillian considered that, then gave a small shrug.

"Fair."

Ronan had not said anything since his first answer. He faced the terminal with his shield raised and his feet shoulder-width apart, as if the floor had already opened in front of him.

James checked the viewer count.

[VIEWER COUNT: 621,000 → 914,000]

The number was still climbing.

He opened the prompt.

[FLOOR 15 — UNLOCKED]

[SIDE STORY FLOOR ACTIVE]

[ENTER FLOOR 15? Y/N]

[WARNING: DEATH IS PERMANENT]