Part 1: The Ceiling (Flashback - 3 Years Ago)
The meeting took place in the Gilded Spire of Port Siren, Floor 24.
Seated around a table of mahogany were the Guild Masters of the "Big Three":
Thorne (The Dynasty), Viper (Black Lotus), and Bastion (Guild Master of Vanguard).
They weren't discussing strategy for Floor 25. They were discussing profit margins.
"The scouting report for the Wet Grave is in," Viper had said, sliding a dossier across the table. "The water pressure requires Tier 4 Magic gear. The monsters hunt in packs of fifty."
Bastion, a massive man encased in plate armor, slammed his gauntlet onto the table. "If we send Vanguard's elites, we lose 40% of our tank division to equipment degradation. We cannot hold the line and climb."
Thorne smiled, sipping wine. "And if I send my fleet, Viper will assassinate my officers while they are distracted."
It was a stalemate of greed. They realized that climbing was a net loss. Why risk dying in the abyss when they could stay on the lower floors, tax the new players, and live like kings?
"We stop here," Thorne declared. "Floor 24 is the ceiling. We tell the public the upper floors are impossible. We tell them it's a suicide mission."
And so, the "Great Stagnation" began. For three years, the elevator stopped at 24.
Part 2: The Maniac Climbers (The 9-Day Miracle)
The lie held strong for three years. Then, in a single week, it began to crack.
It didn't start at the ocean; it started on the global leaderboards.
When Eclipse left the Starter Town, the notification system lit up like a beacon.
[Day 1]
System: Floor 14 Cleared. Time: Record Breaker.
Players in the taverns laughed. "Just a lucky run," they said.
[Day 3]
System: Floor 16 (Magma Pits) Boss Defeated. Casualties: 0.
The laughter stopped. "Zero casualties? In the Cinder Wastes? How?"
[Day 5]
System: Floor 19 Cleared.
System: Floor 20 (Chaos Zone) Entered.
Players glued themselves to the screens in the plazas. The Chaos Zone was where dreams went to die. It was a lawless hellhole.
[Day 6]
System: Bandit Group 'The Vultures' Disbanded.
System: Floor 22 Boss (Gorgon Queen) Defeated.
The whispers turned into shouts. In every safe zone from Floor 1 to Floor 23, players stopped grinding. They gathered around the message boards.
"They aren't stopping to rest," a Ranger noted, his eyes wide. "They're speed-running the death zones."
By Day 8, a nickname had emerged in the forums and taverns.
"The Spire Maniacs."
They were climbing so fast, so recklessly, that they made the terrifying middle floors look like a tutorial.
Part 3: The Empty Port
[Present Day - Port Siren Docks, Floor 24]
The cumulative effect of the "Maniac Climb" culminated here.
The docks of Port Siren were usually quiet, reserved for the rich merchants. Today, it was a sea of people.
Thousands of players had flocked to the harbor. They checked the leaderboards. They knew Eclipse had reached Floor 24 yesterday.
"Where are they?" a young mage asked, scanning the horizon. "They have to dock here to resupply. It's the only port."
A squad of Vanguard enforcers, led by a Captain, blocked the pier. They were ready to arrest Eclipse the moment they docked for "stealing the museum ship."
"Disperse!" the Vanguard Captain shouted. "The Eclipse Guild are criminals! They will be detained upon arrival!"
But the hours passed. No ship appeared.
The sun began to set.
"Maybe they're hiding?" someone whispered. "Maybe they're scared of the Big Three?"
Thorne watched from his tower balcony, swirling his wine. "See?" he sneered. "They are rats. They hit a wall, and now they are cowering in some cove."
Part 4: The Phantom Signal
Suddenly, the massive crystal screen in the center of the Port Siren plaza—which had been silent regarding floor progression for three years—let out a deafening chime.
BONG.
The crowd froze. The Vanguard guards lowered their shields. Thorne dropped his glass.
[Global System Notification]
[Floor 25: The Wet Grave - ACCESS CONFIRMED.]
[First Entry in 1,095 Days.]
[Guild: Eclipse.]
Silence.
Then, chaos.
"They're already there!" a player screamed. "They didn't dock! They didn't resupply!"
"They bypassed the Big Three entirely!"
"How?!" The Vanguard Captain roared, looking at the empty ocean. "We have the port blockaded! Where did they launch from?!"
In the back of the crowd, an old veteran player named Marcus looked at the notification. He looked at the blockade of guards that had stopped anyone from climbing for years.
He realized the blockade was a lie. Eclipse hadn't just climbed; they had proven that the Big Three were irrelevant.
"They're the Maniacs, alright," Marcus grinned, pulling a rusty diving helmet out of his inventory.
He walked to the edge of the pier, past the stunned guards.
"Hey! You can't go down there!" a guard shouted. "It's restricted!"
"Restricted by who?" Marcus laughed. "Eclipse is already down there looting the good stuff."
SPLASH.
Marcus jumped into the water.
Then another player. Then a party of five.
"To the Wet Grave!"
"Chase the Maniacs!"
The blockade shattered. Hundreds of players jumped into the sea, drinking diving potions, casting water-breathing spells.
The "Ceiling" of Floor 24 had been shattered—not by force, but by the sheer audacity of twelve people who didn't bother to ask for permission.
Thorne stared at the notification screen, his face pale.
The revolution hadn't started with a speech. It started with a notification.
"Send the submarine," Thorne whispered, his voice trembling with genuine fear. "Hunt them down. If they survive Floor 25... we are finished."