Chapter 27: The Shadow's Invoice
The interior of the "Magical Delivery LLC" van was cramped, smelling of ozone and Silas's sweat. Outside, the Magic Bureau was already swarming the recruitment hall with "hazard" tape and containment drones.
Xavier sat on a crate, his eyes fixed on the red notification pulsing on his tablet.
[Item: The Heart of the Bureau.]
"The Central Mana Regulator," Serena said, her voice dropping the playful edge it usually held. "It's the anchor for the city's dungeon network. Without it, the gates lose their 'lids.' They'll all overflow at once."
"And the 'Shadow' wants us to deliver it to them," Xavier muttered. "This isn't an order. It's an extortion."
Silas, who was currently trying to scrub black ichor off his forearms, looked up with wide eyes. "Xavier, you can't be serious. Stealing from the Bureau? That's not a delivery. That's a suicide run. My sister won't get her tuition if I'm in a mana-suppression cell!"
"We aren't stealing it for them," Xavier said, his voice hardening. "We're going to 'intercept' it before they do. If we refuse, they'll drop a breach on our heads. If we take it, we control the game."
"Logic: Sound," Serena added, tapping her chin. "But our infrastructure is insufficient for a stealth extraction. We need to optimize."
Xavier stood up, feeling a new prompt from the system. "Then let's optimize."
The Training: Route Sync
Back at the warehouse, the atmosphere was frantic. Xavier didn't have time for a week-long training arc. He needed Silas to be more than a gardener; he needed him to be a high-speed logistics officer.
"Okay, Silas. Stand still," Xavier commanded.
He activated the new skill: Route Sync.
A spectral blue tether snapped between Xavier and Silas. Instantly, Silas's knees buckled. His pupils dilated as the "Engine" humming in Xavier's chest began to echo in his own nervous system.
"Whoa," Silas gasped, his legs twitching. "I feel like I just drank ten cans of mana-espresso."
"That's ten percent of my Speed," Xavier explained, moving in a blur around him. "You're now the fastest Druid on the planet. Practice using your vines at that speed. If we're going into the Bureau, you need to be able to secure 'The Heart' in under three seconds."
For four hours, they ran drills through the warehouse's internal delivery chutes. Silas learned to lash his vines with the speed of a whip, while Serena prepared the "packaging"—a Lead-Lined Mana Box designed to silence the screams of a high-tier core.
Three hours later, the team stood before the sterile, white-and-gold facade of the Magic Bureau Research Wing.
Thanks to the disaster relief voucher they'd earned, the front desk didn't even blink. "Emergency Maintenance for the stabilization vents," Xavier told the clerk, flashing the Bureau-issued ID.
As they descended into the sub-basement, the air grew heavy. Most awakened would be suffocated by the sheer volume of mana in the walls, but Xavier felt nothing. His Engine Sync was mechanical; he wasn't a "user" of magic, he was a "machine" that operated within it. He was a ghost in their sensors.
They reached the vault. The Central Mana Regulator sat in a vacuum-sealed chamber. It wasn't a machine. It was an S-Rank Core, pulsing with a rhythmic, golden light that sounded like a heartbeat in Xavier's ears.
"It's beautiful," Silas whispered, his vines already snaking out from his sleeves.
"It's a prisoner," Xavier corrected, sensing the Core's distress. "Silas, secure the cargo. Serena, prep the box. We have sixty seconds before the—"
The lights didn't just turn off; they turned a violent, bleeding red.
"Sixty seconds was optimistic," a cool, familiar voice echoed through the vault's speakers.
Xavier froze. He knew that tone. It was the sound of a sibling who had caught you breaking a window.
The heavy blast doors at the far end of the vault hissed open. Standing there, silhouetted against the red emergency lights, was Veronica Cross. She wasn't wearing her usual trendy café outfit. She wore the sharp, navy blue uniform of a Bureau High-Investigator, a silver badge glinting on her belt.
"I knew you couldn't resist a high-priority package, Xavier," she said, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. "But even for you, this is a pretty big 'oops'."
Xavier didn't drop his guard. "Veronica? Since when do you work for the Bureau?"
"Since I realized my brother was going to become a national security threat," she sighed, her eyes flicking to Silas and Serena. "Step away from the Core, Xavier. I'm not here as your sister. I'm here as the person who has to arrest you."
New Gear Unlock: Stealth Delivery Crate
Designed by Serena for "off-the-books" transport.