The newly assembled team Kenji, Mateo, Elara, Zola, and Priya met in the dust-filled attic of Finnian's shop.
Elara took command of the planning, asserting her higher rank. "Since Tanaka's survival hinges on this reckless venture, we operate under three rules."
1. Rule One: Elara controls the formation. "If I say freeze, you freeze. If I say retreat, we run. We follow a standard five-person formation: Bjorn will serve as the mobile anchor (Tank), Zola, the heavy defense. Priya is the backline restoration. Mateo is the scouting flank. Tanaka and I are the dual assault, focused on precise hits."
2. Rule Two: Efficiency over glory. "We are in for one thing: the Epic Scrap. No side quests, no extra grinding. Get in, hit the target, get out."
3. Rule Three: Scrapsmith's promise. "Tanaka, you must agree that if the Epic Scrap is too volatile or the mission risks the team's lives, you leave the Scrap behind and we evacuate. You will not risk us for your ego."
Kenji agreed to all three rules. He looked around the circle. He had the toughest, most pragmatic collection of mid-rankers in the city.
"The Garrison Ruins," Zola began, pulling up a map. "It's a massive former military testing ground. The Golems there are generated from residual military shielding magic, hence the specialized defense scrap. They resist elemental damage, but they are slow."
Finnian, who had been quietly listening, walked over and pointed to a faint, unmarked location on the map.
"The Epic Scrap won't be in the main courtyard, where the low-rank Golems roam. That specialized defense scrap is always found in the Command Bunker, Level 3 the deepest, most secured area. It's guarded by the 'Bastion Golem' a high-end C-Rank boss. Geomancy protection, maximum kinetic defense."
Kenji's eyes lit up. "Kinetic defense. That's where the Sonic Disruptor shines. If it's pure kinetic defense, the structural weakness is its rigidity."
Priya then laid out the risk. "Bjorn will join, but his Runic Stamina is purely physical. If the Bastion Golem's defense is too strong, even he can't hold the line. We need to be fast and decisive."
The plan was set: Infiltrate via the supply tunnels, penetrate the Command Bunker, defeat the Bastion Golem using Kenji's precision strike, and extract the Epic Scrap.