The safehouse was silent, drowned in darkness with only the static from holograms interrupting the peace. Arthur sat, fingers crossed, watching as clips from the Creedence Steelworks encounter streamed across his screens. The broadcast showed him outmaneuvering one of the most feared organizations in the Northern Sector, the Conclave—a display that showed meticulous planning and precise implementation . The legend of the "Magician" was shaping up right in front of his eyes.
He leaned back, lips curling in a faint smirk. He had planned it all, the escape, the broadcast, even the consideration that Conclave would be the one to bite the bait. This was not a coincidence. It was orchestrated, through months of planning, And a little help.
The truth behind the spectacle was his secret: Arthur had never intended to avoid danger. He wanted to go big and so he had done.
Months ago, he had come up with a simple plan. To put on a show for the underworld in Quadrangle region. At that time, he was still a newcomer in the circle, doing small jobs for smaller gangs. But he knew himself the best. He had the tools, the brains and the conditions to grow ideally and make a name for himself slowly. But where was the fun in that.
Instead, he covertly set a bounty on his own head, an open invitation for mercenaries to chase him—a carefully manufactured storm designed to catapult him from obscurity into the ranks of the most dangerous. But this wouldn't immediately attract the kind of attention he was wanting.
So he made use of his SEEK AI, a masterpiece of his own creation and genius to manipulate data streams with surgical precision. It fed rumors, leaked curated information, inflated his reputation while orchestrating a masquerade of threat and power. The Conclave's package at his doorsteps was just the final part of his plan, where the hunter picks the bait. He had prepared his debut carefully and the results were pleasing to say so.
But of course, it wasn't smooth sailing either. A few week's ago he had been contacted by a mysterious message, left inside his inbox with no traces. It was as if someone had reached out and placed a cupcake besides his lunch in the cafeteria, but he had no idea who. Despite his brilliance, he failed to uncover the mystery mailman. So the only option left was to follow the instructions provided in the mail.
Arthur was a cautious man, ambitious but extremely cautious. And while he enjoyed taking risks and having his fair amount of fun, he remained aware at all times. If there was one flaw that he had little control over, that would be his curiosity. Hence, he had accepted the invitation present in the mail, only to end up face to face with one of the most dangerous mercenaries of current day.
"Specialist"
That was a legend, a special grade mercenary who had risen up from nowhere. His identity was not known to anyone, but his prowess were widely spread. He wasn't the strongest, the fastest, the smartest? Amongst the special-grades, he did not stick out as someone with a talent in anything unique. And that itself made him unique, granting him the title of Specialist. This was because he never failed a job. The only one so far to have a hundred percent record.
That man had appeared in front of Arthur the moment he had accepted the invitation. As if he had teleported here.
But rather quickly, Arthur realized it was a hologram. A shockingly life-like hologram.
"Your recent actions have attracted attention, young man"
Arthur immediately his tone. His voice was warm and mild, but it made him feel like he was being lectured.
"Placing a bounty on your own self, although not unheard of, has been banned for a long time. But you are in luck, since no one seems to have to caught onto you yet. So, I am here to warn you, if anyone comes up to lodge a complaint against you with the Council, you will be punished accordingly"
The Specialist continued with his narrative, not paying attention to Arthur's scowling face. His two mechanical arms, his trademark feature looked menacing under the low light.
From what he could tell though, it seemed this was just a regular warning of sorts, not to step out of line too much blah blah blah. But something irked him wrong.
He closed the hologram message, understanding that it was just a recording and he wasn't meeting the real Specialist.
What was this Council that the message spoke of? He hadn't heard off this organization. He wasn't even aware that the bounty board was maintained by some entity. Which seemed stupid on his part, since this was a resource available to all, of course there would be an entity handling it.
But the common consensus in the underworld was that the Bounty board was secretly managed by the government, to have some control over the pests that littered the society. There was no mention of the Council anywhere. But from the message, Arthur was sure that government had no hand in this, since the Specialist seemed to be a member of this organization. This was big news.
For the next few days, he spent all his time trying to find anything he could about this Council. And on the third day, another mail appeared in his inbox.
"You seem to be looking for us?"
It was the guy from earlier, his mild voice greeting Arthur once again. But something was different this time.
"You are not a recorded message this time?" He questioned, his back a bit straighter now.
"Since you wanted to find us, possibly learn about us, its only natural to grant you audience. The Council has decided to make you aware of its existence, Arthur Greenhill"
The young man shuddered upon hearing his last name said out loud. He had abandoned that surname for many years now, ever since he left his father back in the slums. He stared back at the life like hologram, his eyes cold and calculating.
"You don't have to put on your guard. I have come this time to present you an opportunity. Recognizing your talents, the Council has decided to test you. I am pretty sure that in your last three days of research you must have found absolutely nothing about us, which can help you to figure out identity pretty well. So, are you up for the test? To become a special grade?"
The amount information he received was too much for Arthur, as he descended into silence.
The Specialist was right, he could not find anything about this organisation, but lack of information was enough for him to speculate and make conjectures of his own. But the last part of his sentence caught him off guard. To become a special-grade? That was the dream.
He did not remain silent for long, making up his decision almost immediately.
"What does the Council ask of me?"
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
And that was how, with a little help from the Council, Arthur was able to make a fool out of the Conclave. Even though he had not hurt their interests directly or even managed to damage any of their members, since all the mercs back at Credence were hired thugs. The fact that it happened on their home ground was enough.
The smashing of the rotary phone he had acted below in the secret exit? Council had asked him to do so. In fact he was completely unaware of its use, but he was sure that this was a covert move from Council's side against the Conclave. And he was the camouflage.
For now, the Credence incident would continue to broadcast to everyone. Arthur had achieved his goal, to create big splash and announce his entry into the market. The greatest ad campaign ever. And his tracks would be covered by the mysterious Council. Life was on track.
As the hours lapsed and watchers across sectors replayed every move, a new message flickered onto his encrypted channels—a ripple sent from a shadow. A summon.
Arthur's heart skipped once, excitement coursing through his veins. He made his way to his entrance.
The visitor who stepped through the secure door was nothing like the relentless mercenaries he'd faced. Tall and imposing, long hair tied in a bun, his two arms metallic yet fluid, eyes cold, expression unreadable. The Specialist. In flesh.
Looking at Arthur, he asked "Are you ready for your test? After today, if you pass you will no longer be addressed by your name anymore. You will take up a new title and continue to work in the shadows alongside the Council."
Arthur nodded and answered with a big smile, "Call me the Magician henceforth, I already conveyed the same to "Monolith" earlier. It sounds like a fun title"
"Magician, a nice title. Come on, we need to make haste, reach the Southern region before sunrise."
Magician followed closely behind the man with the robot arms, feeling a little cold and unreal. His journey was only beginning. But for now, the night was still young for some chaos!