Joe took a seat beside Ryan, tapping his fingers against the table while Gaia checked her user interface, getting herself up to speed on the Bruiser Battalion. He couldn’t see what she was looking at but he trusted her to handle the details. His gaze drifted around the room, trying to keep his mind from wandering too much.

  TJ was messing with his decagon, looking like he was ready to punch something—or someone. Dawn quietly examined her MadOrbz with the kind of focus that always made him feel like she was already two steps ahead of everyone.

  Rose sat with her eyes closed, likely running battle simulations in her head, figuring out how to weave her support skills with TJ’s attacks. It’d be her first experience in the arena against someone else other than the AI.

  But Joe’s mind kept slipping back to Brian. Out on floor four, grinding monsters with Nick and Luna. Joe trusted Nick—practically born for the ranger class—and Luna was solid.

  But Brian? Physically, the guy was tough, but mentally? Joe wasn’t so sure. Brian had been through a lot, and the tower didn’t exactly have a "take a mental health day" option.

  “Hope they’re holding up,” Joe said to himself.

  Gaia, sitting nearby, let out a skeptical sigh, snapping Joe back to the present. “This Bruiser Battalion...they’re a rough bunch.”

  Joe stopped tapping his fingers and looked over at her. “Yeah?”

  Gaia nodded, her eyes darting as she sifted through info he couldn’t see. ”They’re the type that proves ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’ Most of them are orange zoners, except their leader. They’ve got numbers—seven in total, one of the biggest factions, second to Andras’ meat farm. And at least a couple of them are probably pulling time currency from backdoor deals.”

  Joe raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like they know how to hustle.”

  Gaia gave him a wry look. “Yeah, but rough types like that don’t just hand out sponsorships for free. You sure they’ll agree to help?”

  TJ leaned back, shrugging. “We saved their butts on the last floor. They owe us one.”

  Gaia’s skeptical expression softened a little. “Good, because the leader’s on her way here.”

  Joe blinked. “Now?”

  Gaia smirked. “No time like the present. But don’t think it’s as simple as asking for a favor. Sponsorship deals come with strings attached—there’s tower red tape to cut through. I’ve got it covered.”

  She turned her sharp gaze to Ryan, who looked like he’d been zoning out. “Ryan, time to make yourself useful.”

  Ryan blinked, eyes widening. “Me? Uh...Sure. Wait, there aren’t any forms, right?” He raised his bandaged arm like it was a valid excuse to duck paperwork.

  Joe chuckled. Bureaucracy: the universal villain.

  Gaia tutted. “Forms? No. It’s all interactive through the trade window.”

  Before Ryan could question her further, the door swung open, and in strolled KT, leader of the Bruiser Battalion and probably the toughest dwarf-elf hybrid Joe had ever seen. She was small, but her presence filled the room like a tank rolling in, ammo loaded. Her yellow-tinted glasses caught the light, making her eyes sparkle, and her confident smile felt like one of those cozy hugs your grandma gave you—except if you crossed her, that same grin could probably melt steel.

  “All right, Titan Slayer.” KT casually swung her helmet by the strap, as if it doubled as a weapon. “I hear you need a little help getting to the orange zone battlebox.”

  Joe kept his cool, leaning back with a casual nod. “Yeah. Figured we could call in that favor from the last floor. We get the time currency, you get the satisfaction of watching Andras go down. Win-win.”

  KT’s grin widened, and she flexed her black spiked gloves, rainbow sparks flickering between the spikes. “Oh, I’m all in for that. But you know how it works—favors come with conditions. Especially when we’re talking sponsorship.”

  Joe leaned forward, grinning. “Lay it on me.”

  KT didn’t blink, her voice as steady as her gaze. “Before the battle starts, you broadcast a little message for us across the entire tower. Nothing too wild—just a reminder of who’s backing the winners.”

  Joe raised an eyebrow, surprised at how easy the request was. “That’s it? You want a shout-out? Fine. Let me know what you want said, and consider it done.”

  KT tapped the side of her nose, then glanced at Gaia. “Don’t worry, nothing too crazy. But how about you tell me exactly what kind of sponsorship deal we’re talking about here, and what happens if you win—or lose?”

  Gaia, stepped in with a calm smile. “If we win, you’ll get a percentage of the prize pool. If we lose, you get first right of refusal for future sponsorships.”

  KT’s smile briefly faded as she weighed the terms, then nodded. “I can live with that. Just make sure that announcement is loud and clear.”

  TJ stood up, thumbing his chest. “That’s my specialty.”

  KT stepped forward and offered her hand to Joe. As they shook, Joe felt the familiar shift of time currency, but this time it didn’t feel like it was going into his soul bank. Something felt... different.

  “Uh... where’s it going?” Joe frowned, eyebrows knitting together.

  Gaia stepped in smoothly. “It’s not going to your individual soul bank. For sponsorships like this, the time currency gets stored in a virtual soul jar—accessible only by active Titan Slayer faction members.”

  Joe nodded, processing that. “So it’s like... a team wallet? Only we can dip into it?”

  “Exactly.” Gaia confirmed, patting his shoulder. “Keeps things tidy, prevents any funny business. Wouldn’t want it going missing before it’s added to the prize pool.”

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  KT’s grin returned, this time a little more savage. “Looking forward to seeing you make him eat dirt.”

  TJ cracked his knuckles, his grin just as savage. “We’re gonna do a lot more than that.”

  As KT left, Dawn leaned over and whispered. “I don’t know if we just made the best deal of our lives or signed up for something insane.”

  Joe smirked, his grin widening. “Probably both. But hey, we’ve got the sponsorship, we’ve got the time. Now all we need is a strategy to wipe that smug grin off Andras’ face.”

  Gaia smirked, crossing her arms. "See, I have your back." Her expression softened once again as she glanced down at Ryan. "You need to lie down in the bunks. I’m not going to let you rot away on this bony booth."

  Ryan didn't protest as she helped him to his feet, though a light sheen of sweat covered his forehead, giving him the look of someone fighting off a fever.

  Joe gave a quick nod. "We’ll see you after our challenge."

  Covering a cough, Ryan withdrew a little flag marked with Titan Slayers and gave it a wave. “I’m not missing the show.”

  Rose exhaled a soft sigh. “We appreciate your support. Rest up, I want you celebrating with us when we shove Andras’ face into the dirt.”

  A smile appeared on Ryan’s face before he coughed and Gaia ushered him faster to the bunks.

  After they walked away, the red zone quieted to the dull puffs from ascenders straining all hopes that they could from Andras’ Eternity Sticks. Their odorless smoke trailed near the floor exit.

  Joe leaned on the table, addressing them with a slight frown. "Are we thinking we wait for Brian to come back before we head to the orange zone? We’ve still got about three hours of deferment before the battlebox kicks off."

  TJ glanced toward the exit, his gaze lingering on the door. "I'm all for staying until the last minute, even with the crappy red zone accommodations."

  Joe shrugged. "All right then. TJ, did you upgrade your MadOrbz, or what’s new in your decagon?"

  The table shook as TJ dropped his decagon onto it with a heavy thud. He grinned and tapped a few of the windows, where small, writhing orbs—his MadOrbz—slammed against the glass, trying to break free. "I've been thinking about it. I have five attack orbs, and two of them were upgraded to the enhanced tier." His smile widened. "These guys deal serious damage, and they’re not out of control like that first berserker orb you saw in the tutorial."

  Dawn wore a look of relief and optimism that mirrored Joe's. He half expected her to tease him about his orb’s past demolition derby style antics but she didn’t say a word. The fact she didn’t give voice to whatever was bubbling under the surface made him think that the armor of sarcasm she used to keep everyone at arm’s length was starting to wear down.

  "Great TJ. With your earth orbs, we’ll want you as our lead damage dealer." Joe shifted his focus back to Dawn. "What about you? Any preloved orbs?"

  She slightly lifted her chin, her fiery red hair framing her face. "I took your advice and talked to Caspar. Picked up a couple of combo orbs, and I snagged one pre-loved fire orb—a prime-tier attacker."

  “Prime tier?” Rose’s eyes lit up, and she exchanged a grin with TJ.

  “Hell yeah!” TJ slapped the table, clearly delighted. “I hope they like their asses flambéed and served up to ’em on a plate." He leaned back, eyes gleaming with excitement.

  Joe toyed with his hoodie strings, feeding off their enthusiasm. "Excellent. With the insult cycle, we’ll need your fire to take down any earth defenses that Andras’ team throws at us." He turned his attention to Rose, who had been quiet until now. "I know you’ve only gone up against the simulation practice battleboxes, but please tell me you’re experienced in melee."

  Rose leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and steepling her fingers, letting out a long sigh. "There are things you don’t know about me, Joe. Even if I haven’t completed a battlebox challenge, I definitely have experience in the arena. I know how to throw down."

  Her intense gaze made Joe’s pulse quicken, and he nodded, leaning back against the booth. "Well, we’re one man down, so we’ll have to come out strong. We need to be unpredictable—use more mana."

  Dawn’s brow furrowed. "We have to be smart. More mana means longer cooldowns on our MadOrbz."

  Joe twisted a loose cord on his hoodie, thinking it through. "But with more mana, we get increased range and versatility. We can play off each other’s orb strengths. Our common thread is earth affinity—whether from our race or class.”

  Rose raised her finger. “Uh, no, as a hybrid race, I actually have two affinities from there—wind and earth, but water with my mage class.” She grinned. “Consider me your triple threat.”

  TJ chuckled. “Hidden power. Andras better be ready for us.”

  Joe smiled at the thought of a surprise cannon. Now it made even more sense as to why the earth-aligned blood thorns equipped so easily to her staff—her class affinity and race affinities were more than compatible. “Anyone else have combo orbs besides Dawn and me?"

  The group exchanged glances, each weighing the strengths they could bring to the upcoming challenge.

  Joe twisted the cord of his hoodie between his fingers, lost in thought.

  TJ nudged him with a grin. "What’s got your fingers all tied up, huh? I know red’s not our best color—unless we’re talking about enemy blood. But don’t let it get to you.”

  Joe managed a small smile at TJ’s relentless enthusiasm for their battles. “Since we’re stuck in the red zone, I couldn’t access Caspar.”

  “Not even through a trade window?” Dawn crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

  Joe let the cord slip from his hand, shaking his head. “Nope. He’s outside of his available hours here. Turns out the red zone has a really short trading window with him. But that’s fine. We’ll make do with what we’ve got. At least some of you managed to grab supplies before the window closed.”

  Dawn nodded. “Once we’re back in the orange zone, you can stop by Caspar before we head to the next floor.”

  “Maybe.” Joe settled into a seat and leaned against the table. “For now, let’s focus on our melee strategy. If you haven’t already, adjust your stance to maximize anything that’ll help us in the battlebox and on this floor.” He glanced around the group. “And don’t forget to use your inventory class items to boost your orb abilities.”

  Rose wrapped her hands around a paper cup of water, her expression determined. “Already ahead of you. I’ve run through the simulations, my stats are maxed, and...” She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “I’m more than ready to get back to the higher zones. I’ve got everything visualized.”

  She opened her eyes and looked over at TJ, who was picking his fingernail with the edge of his machete. “You ready?”

  TJ flicked some dirt off the blade and tapped the machete against the table, the metal clinking. “You kidding? I’m always ready for melee. Even put another point into intelligence.”

  Dawn laughed, sliding into the booth beside Joe. “Good. We’re going to need it. I’m more than ready to take down that emo elf and his followers.”

  Joe pulled up his stats, his smile fading into a more serious expression. If it hadn’t been for the last battles when they went to find Brian, he’d barely have made it to QRL 20. A weight settled on his chest as he thought about Brian’s struggle to survive the Lich’s threat. Brian, more than any of them, understood what it meant to avoid being GORED. Joe hoped his friend was closing in on Silver Rank QRL before the Lich decided that time ran out.

  Shaking off the unease, he focused back on his stats. He had a few flex points to assign. His rogue class naturally boosted his dexterity, intelligence, and charisma, but left him lacking in wisdom, strength, and constitution. He knew Andras’ charisma was high—probably his strongest stat. If Joe wanted to sway others to his side, he’d need more of it himself and his eternal honor, Silver-Tongued Rogue, only added plus one to charisma during trades.

  Joe tugged the cord of his hoodie as he’d made up his mind. He split his remaining flex points between charisma and wisdom, deciding to rely on TJ and the others for their strength. As for constitution—he’d just have to not get himself killed.

  [Ascender #: 10

  Race: Human

  Class: Rogue

  QRL: Bronze Rank, QRL 20

  Ascender Status: Red

  Health Points (HP): 200/200

  Mana Particles (MP): 246/224

  Stamina: 200/200

  Strength: 4

  Dexterity: 39

  Intelligence: 24

  Wisdom: 9

  Charisma: 22

  Constitution: 5

  Flex Points: 0]