--------

It had been fifteen minutes since I planted myself behind this tree, crouched low like some wannabe spy.

Fifteen minutes of waiting, watching, and trying not to get too comfortable.

The Aegis Collective branch wasn't at all what I expected.

I thought it'd be impressive, sure, but this? This was something else.

The compound was wide, building was massive, steel and glass fused into something that screamed power.

Even from this distance, I could see how polished it was, how every inch of it radiated wealth and authority.

And with that kind of quality came security. A lot of it.

Guards patrolled like machines, moving in patterns that weren't random at all.

Cameras rotated in precise intervals. Magic wards glowed faintly across the perimeter, lines of power woven into the very ground.

It was like staring at a fortress.

And if this was just one of their branches, then I couldn't even imagine what the headquarters must look like.

Probably a damn city of its own.

That thought alone was enough to keep me still.

I wasn't dumb enough to try sneaking in. Not yet.

That would've been suicide. Aegis wasn't some small-time gang with loose ends, they were the kind of people who made sure loose ends never existed.

So I waited. And while I waited, I watched.

Car after car rolled up to the gate. Sleek black sedans. Heavy buses. Vans and trucks with different markings. Each one stopped at the checkpoint.

And every single time, the guards didn't just wave them through.

They scanned everything. Plates, documents, even the people inside.

If you matched their database, you were fine. If not? I didn't want to find out.

But something told me it wouldn't end with a simple "please leave."

That was why I was here, lying low, letting time slip by as I searched for the smallest opening.

Not in the security itself, I wasn't crazy enough to think I could break their systems head-on.

No.

I was looking for something else. A moment. A chance.

I pulled out the telescope I'd kept in my inventory and pressed it to my eye.

And there, far down the road, a truck was making its way toward the branch.

Perfect.

My lips twitched into a grin, though I didn't let myself get too excited.

Because this plan? It was all I had. And it had to work.

Failure wasn't an option. The system's penalties were brutal enough, but that wasn't the worst of it.

One wrong move here and I wouldn't just lose stats, I'd lose my life.

I adjusted the mask on my face and glanced down at my clothes.

All black. Simple. Practical.

I wasn't dumb enough to wear my academy uniform.

That would've been like walking up to the guards with a neon sign flashing over my head.

Here I am, come arrest me.

No, I needed to be invisible. A shadow. Like a true villain.

My heart beat faster as I set the telescope back into my inventory and focused back on the road. The truck was getting closer.

This was it.

No more waiting. No more hesitation. Time to move.

I pulled out my phone and opened Blue Ice.

That place was a haven for people like me. Shady, discreet, and full of things you'd never find on any legal marketplace.

Exactly what I needed.

Scrolling through my library, I went straight for the cheapest grenades I could find.

Nothing fancy. No enchantments, no rare metals, no explosive runes, just regular, plain grenades.

The kind that did their job without any bells and whistles.

That was why they were cheap.

Cheap enough to fit my budget.

The delivery options popped up. I didn't waste time overthinking, I chose the only one that was safe for me right now.

And, as always, I placed the order anonymously.

At this point, I was probably the most paranoid buyer on Blue Ice.

Every trace, every detail, erased.

Better to be cautious than dead.

The screen showed the order processing. I pointed my phone down at the ground.

A faint blue light flickered from the camera, a small flash, and then, just like that, a box appeared at my feet.

One of the trademark delivery methods of Blue Ice.

Other sites had copied the system, sure, but Blue Ice still did it best.

Smooth, instant, quiet.

I crouched, grabbed the small box, and opened it.

Inside were five grenades neatly packed together.

I let out a quiet breath.

Perfect.

For the record, the only reason I hadn't ordered these earlier was simple, I couldn't risk it at the academy.

The entrance scanners there were no joke. They would've flagged me instantly.

Sure, I had my inventory, and technically the chances of them catching me were slim to none.

But "slim to none" wasn't good enough.

Not for me.

I wasn't about to test whether that machine could peek into inventories or not.

I'd rather stay on the safe side, no matter the cost.

Now, with the grenades in hand, I had what I needed.

My plan wasn't to launch some mindless attack.

I wasn't stupid enough to think I could go head-to-head with Aegis on their own turf.

No.

I wasn't here for a fight. I was here to cause chaos. Smart chaos.

Enough to give me an opening.

I bent down, picked up a stick from the ground, and pulled my katana from my inventory.

The blade gleamed faintly in the dim light as I unsheathed it.

With steady strokes, I sharpened the tip of the stick, the scrape of steel against wood filling the silence.

When I was done, I set the stick aside and kept the katana by my side.

I wasn't about to stash it back into my inventory.

If something jumped me, I wanted my weapon ready in an instant.

Next, I reached into my inventory again and pulled out a piece of black fabric.

My fingers moved quickly, tying the cloth around the sharpened stick.

I gave it a small shake to make sure it held.

It stayed firm.

Good.

The beginnings of my distraction were ready.

And soon, the real fun would begin...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.