Chapter 312: The Heist Plan
We returned to the Guest Spire just as the first rays of the artificial sun began to illuminate the upper canopy of the World Tree.
The city below was still in chaos, the Silver Guard scrambling to chip away the glacial monunt Maria had created in the Plaza.
Inside the Spire, the atmosphere was thick with tension.
Maria was sitting on the balcony railing, swinging her legs over a three-hundred-foot drop. She looked bored.
"Did you enjoy your swim?" I asked, collapsing onto a chair and pulling up the map of Sylvaren on my interface.
Maria turned, her matte-blue eyes flashing. "It was... refreshing. The water spirits were screaming, but the silence that followed was exquisite. Did you get the intelligence?"
"We got it," Leon said, pacing the room. He looked at Selena, who had imdiately seated herself at the table and begun drawing a schematic on a piece of parchnt. "Lysandra confird it. The Tree has an Abyss Root attached to it. The Council is feeding it."
"And the Royal Archives contain the location of the Spirit Gate," Selena added, not looking up from her drawing. "However, the Archives are located directly beneath the Council Hall. Security is S-Rank."
She spun the parchnt around to face us. It was a perfect architectural blueprint of the Archives’ defenses.
"Three layers," Selena listed, pointing a charcoal-stained finger. "Layer One: The Silver Guard Garrison. Two hundred elite knights stationed at the entrance. Layer Two: The Mana-Web. An alarm system sensitive to any non-Elven mana signature. Layer Three: The Royal Seal. A blood-lock that only responds to the DNA of the Veylan lineage."
"We have the ring for Layer Two," I said, tapping the erald signet King Elandor had given . "And we have you for Layer Three."
"The problem is Layer One," Leon noted. "We can’t fight two hundred elite knights. Even with Maria’s upgrade, we’d be overwheld before we reached the door."
"We don’t fight them," I said, leaning forward. "We move them."
I looked at Maria.
"Tomorrow night is the Feast of the Silver Moon," I said. "It’s a mandatory gathering for the High Nobles and the military leadership to ’purify’ their spirits before the execution. Captain Aelion and the bulk of the Silver Guard will be there providing security for the Elders."
Maria tilted her head. "You want to crash a party?"
"I want you to start a war," I corrected. "Not a magical one. A political one. High Elves are prideful. If a human—a ’corrupted’ mage—were to publicly insult the Captain of the Guard during a holy feast, protocol dictates he must respond to a challenge."
Maria smiled. The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.
"I can do that," she whispered. "I have... a lot of insults stored up."
"Good," I said. "While Maria draws Aelion and his elites into a duel, the periter around the Archives will be thinned. That’s our window."
"And the Mana-Web?" Selena asked. "The ring grants access, but your personal Void mana signature is a red flag. The mont you step across the threshold, the alarms will trigger."
"I’m working on that," I said, standing up. "I need one hour. Nobody disturb ."
I retreated to the small washroom adjacent to the main suite. It was the only place with running water and privacy.
I opened my Inventory.
[Materials Available]
Void Silk (Remnant) - x2
Heart of the Guardian (Rare) - Looted from Elandra (Golem Boss)
Silver Wolf Pelt - Scavenged from Vargr’s Army
Mana Crystals (Empty) - x5
"System, initiate Crafting Interface," I muttered.
A blue holographic grid appeared in front of .
In The Extra is a Hero, crafting was a miniga. Here, it was chemistry mixed with taphysical engineering.
I placed the Void Silk on the counter. It shimred like oil on water. Then, I took out the Heart of the Guardian. It was a seed of white wood, corrupted by the Rot at its core. It pulsed with a faint, chaotic energy.
"The sensor net looks for foreign mana," I muttered to myself. "So I need a cloak that doesn’t just hide ... it needs to make taste like the Tree."
I crushed the Heart of the Guardian.
CRUNCH.
Thick, white sap oozed out. I mixed it with the Void Silk. The silk hissed, turning from black to a shimring, translucent silver.
[Crafting Attempt...]
[Compatibility: 68%]
[Risk of Failure: High]
"Stabilize with the Pelt," I ordered, throwing in the fur of the Frost Wolves. The innate cold resistance would dampen the thermal signature.
I poured my own mana into the mix. Not my human mana, but the trace amounts of Void energy I had absorbed from the dungeon.
HUMMMMMM.
The materials fused. A cloud of grey smoke filled the washroom.
When it cleared, three hooded cloaks lay on the counter. They looked like they were woven from smoke and moonlight.
[Item Created: Mantle of the False Root]
[Rank: A-]
[Effect: Masks the user’s mana signature to mimic the ambient frequency of the World Tree. Grants ’Stealth’ against Spirit-based detection.]
[Durability: 3/3 Uses]
"Perfect," I whispered, wiping sweat from my brow.
The Night Before
I walked back into the main room, tossing a cloak to Leon and Selena.
"Put these on when we move," I said. "Maria, you don’t get one. You need to be seen."
"Understood," Maria said, examining her fingernails, which were currently sharp enough to cut glass.
The sun began to set, casting long shadows over the Spire. The city below was lighting up for the festival.
Leon walked out to the balcony, looking toward the dark outline of the Royal Archives building in the distance. I joined him.
"You okay, Hero?" I asked.
Leon gripped the railing. "I’m scared, Michael. Not of the elves. Not of dying."
He turned to look at Selena, who was sitting at the table, running maintenance on her scythe with the cold precision of a clockmaker.
"I’m scared that even if we win... she won’t co back," Leon whispered. "She looked at today like I was a math problem."
"She’s surviving, Leon," I said, watching Selena. "Just like you."
"I’m not a robot," Leon argued.
"No," I agreed. "You’re the guy who stood in front of a thousand arrows with a broken shield. That’s a different kind of malfunction."
Leon managed a weak chuckle. "We’re a ss, aren’t we? A tactician who thinks like a villain, a mage who wants to freeze the world, a princess who thinks in binary, and a hero who can’t save anyone."
"We’re not a ss," I said, looking at the team.
Maria was testing the balance of her staff.
Selena was calculating entry vectors.
Leon was standing tall despite his fear.
"We’re a raid party," I said. "And tomorrow, we clear the dungeon."
I turned back to the room.
"Get so sleep," I ordered. "Tomorrow night, we crash the masquerade."
(To be Continued)
Reviews
All reviews (0)