The small, rented storage space near the outpost entrance had been converted into a temporary command center. Garl was stretched out on a cot, his fractured leg elevated, his face a picture of pure misery. Varya was meticulously cleaning her silver disc, humming softly with the pride of her 10% equity.
"I still say this is the worst idea you've had so far, My Lord," Garl groaned, wincing as he shifted his leg. "Stealing from the Guild is one thing. Breaking a notorious traitor out of the Dissolution Facility is asking the Royal Guard to personally execute us. We have income now—why risk it?"
Rian ignored the complaining. He was leaning over a rough map he'd sketched of the Facility's layout, his eyes fixed on the critical points: security rotations, ward placement, and the location of the power nodes.
"The current income is eighteen Gold Marks a day, Garl. The debt is fifteen hundred Gold Marks," Rian explained, his voice flat. "That means we lose this domain and are publicly ruined in eighty-three days. We need capital now to clear the debt and invest in long-term security. Seraphina Vast is a high-value resource who is currently free of cost, locked in a cage."
Rian pointed to the Facility on the map. "She is Tier 4. Her combat skill is unmatched in this sector. She needs vengeance; we need a bodyguard capable of defending a newly profitable mine. This is a mutually beneficial contract."
"It's a suicide mission, My Lord," Garl countered. "The Dissolution Facility uses Royal Wards. Not the cheap security spells the Guild uses. You can't trick the Royal Guard with smoke bombs."
Rian gave a faint, cynical smile. "The Royal Guard is still bound by the laws of budget. The Facility is enormous. They rely on high-cost, high-mana wards to secure the perimeter, but they have to conserve power on the interior cells. Their weakness is not magic; it's money."
He looked at Varya. "Varya, your new task is to perform an Energy Audit of the Facility. I need the precise time window when the internal mana shields on the isolation block are at their lowest cycling frequency. They save power during shift changes."
Varya's eyes widened with intellectual interest. "Analyzing their power conservation routines? That's brilliant. I can sense the flow fluctuations. But I need a large, external distraction to pull the command out of the building."
Rian nodded. "The Decoy Protocol needs to create an immediate economic panic that requires the physical presence of the Royal Watch's high-ranking officers to verify. Think simple. Think what a greedy noble values more than their own life."
Garl spoke up immediately. "Their pedigree papers! Their title deeds!"
"Exactly," Rian confirmed. "The Noble District stores their deeds and warrants in the Tower's central data archive. Varya, I need a simple, harmless illusion spell—a fake System Transfer Notification—that broadcasts a high-value Noble's deed transferring ownership to an unregistered low-tier adventurer. It will paralyze the entire Royal Watch's data division."
Varya grinned, the ruthless potential of her new contract showing in her eyes. "A simple, temporary digital illusion. Low-mana, high-impact. It will force every officer to run to the archive to verify the supposed fraud. I can do that with minimal risk."
"The time is the 22nd Bell, during the shift change," Rian stated, pulling a long, concealed wire coil from a drawer—a simple tool of copper and braided steel he had retrieved earlier. "Garl, you will stay here. Your injury prevents tactical participation. You are our Communications Hub. Answer the stone only when you hear the code phrase: 'Is the market open?'"
Garl sighed dramatically, leaning his ax against the wall. "Fine. I'm the glorified telephone operator with a broken leg. Just promise me, My Lord, that when you get back, we stop robbing prisons and start buying proper beds."
"When we get back, Garl," Rian said, his eyes fixed on the wire in his hand, "we won't need to buy beds. We will be one step closer to owning the company that makes them. Now, Varya, let's prepare the tools for the Seraphina Vast Acquisition. We move in two hours."
The Tower Dissolution Facility loomed over them, a massive, black basalt structure that felt cold and oppressive. Rian and Varya had taken a circuitous route, emerging onto a deserted maintenance level high above the main entry.
"The Facility is secured by a low-frequency Detection Ward along the perimeter," Varya whispered, adjusting her cloak. "It will spot any large mana usage or anything resembling armor. Our simple laborers' clothing should mask us."
"The Ward is designed to stop powerful mages, not simple mechanics," Rian noted, looking at the main access panel leading to the outer guard barracks. It was secured by a thick steel bolt and a Tier 2 Mana Seal.
Rian didn't reach for Varya's magic. He pulled out his thin, flexible steel wire. He threaded the wire around the bolt's exposed end and twisted it tight, using the leverage of the wall itself as a fulcrum.
"The security is focused on magical interference. It doesn't account for simple mechanical force," Rian explained to Varya, his face intent. "They spent hundreds of Gold Marks on the spell, but five copper cents on the steel."
With a muffled SNAP, the bolt twisted, and the seal—unable to account for the physical manipulation—failed. Rian pulled the access panel open, revealing a quiet corridor of the outer Guard Barracks. The Golems and the heavy security patrols were concentrated deeper inside.
"Move," Rian ordered. "We have five minutes before the Golem rotation finds that tripped seal."
They slipped inside, moving quickly and silently toward the deeper isolation block. As they moved, the 22nd Bell began to toll across the Tower.
"Now, Varya," Rian whispered.
Varya gripped her silver disc. Her eyes closed, and her voice dropped to a low, powerful chant. The disc flared with a soft, warm light—the energy contained, focused entirely on overwhelming the Tower's external data stream.
Almost instantly, a high-pitched, insistent alarm began to blare from the Royal Guard barracks—not a physical alert, but a digital shriek of fiscal panic.
"It's working!" Varya whispered, triumph lighting her face. "The illusion is active! They're seeing the transfer! The highest-ranking officers are running to the archive now!"
Rian didn't wait to celebrate. They reached the entrance to the isolation block—the deepest, most heavily warded section of the prison, sealed by the immense, pulsing blue energy of the Eternal Ward.
Rian paused before the massive energy barrier. He pulled out a small communication stone. "Garl, report."
The stone crackled, followed by Garl's loud, exasperated voice. "The market is open, My Lord. The price is low. The Captain is yelling about his fishing rights being transferred to a swamp gnome. Good job."
"Good," Rian confirmed. He looked at Varya. "This is the final barrier. The Eternal Ward is too powerful to bypass normally, but the overload from the political panic will cause a slight, unstable power draw. The ward will flicker. You will force the gap."
Rian grabbed the heavy iron spike he'd concealed in his pocket. "The power cycle drops every thirty seconds. Varya, I need a high-mana signature on the ceiling thirty feet behind us—just a flash—to draw the attention of the internal patrol Golem. The surge from the Golem's power-up will overlap with the natural drop, extending the gap to two seconds."
Varya nodded, her eyes fierce. "A forced power surge. I understand the calculation." She darted back, disappearing into the darkness of the barracks corridor.
Rian waited, watching the pulsing light of the ward. Three... two... one...
A bright, silent flash erupted from the distance. A loud, clanking sound announced the Golem's charge toward the disturbance.
Now! The ward flickered, and the overload caused a full two-second shutdown.
Rian sprinted forward, slamming the iron spike into the floor exactly where the ward's power node would resume. He threw himself through the deactivated ward just as it snapped back into life, the mana crackling furiously around the embedded spike.
Rian was inside. He was now alone in the deepest part of the Facility, isolated from Varya by the pulsating energy field. He pulled out the communication stone.
"Varya, I am inside. Protocol is green. Monitor the Golem's path. I'm going for the prisoner."
He had bypassed the ultimate magical defense with a simple wire, a fake news alert, and a piece of scrap metal. Rian allowed himself a tight, satisfied smile.
The Tower is deeply inefficient. Now for the high-value asset.
A/N: Rian just bypassed the Tower's ultimate magical defense with simple leverage and perfect timing. Chapter 6: The Prisoner's Price—Rian meets Seraphina Vast.