The Mission of Shadows
System Notification
DING!
New Mission Unlocked:
"Hide Your Skills From the Crown."
Objective:
As Jack Dawkins and as The Doctor, conceal your abilities from all nobles, military officers, and Crown representatives until you can defend yourself.
Rumors about the "miracle surgeon" have reached Governor Edmund Fox.
Maintain a low profile and avoid exposure.
Reward:
• Hidden Skill: "False Signature Technique" – the ability to disguise your surgical style to appear normal or sloppy
• +5 Stealth
• Reduced suspicion from nobles (temporarily)
Penalty for Failure:
• Immediate arrest warrant
• Loss of clinic
• Possible execution as a dangerous criminal
Jack exhaled slowly.
"Great… just what I needed."
Jack's Decision — A Secret Alliance
That same evening, Jack Dawkins requested a private meeting with Agatha Fox.
She arrived quietly, without guards, wearing a dark cloak. Belle followed close behind but remained silent.
Jack didn't waste time.
"Lady Fox," he began, "if the Crown hunts me… I won't survive without allies. Not noble allies. Someone who understands power."
Agatha held his gaze, wary.
"And what are you proposing, Mister Dawkins?"
Jack took a breath.
"I'll tell you who I am."
Belle straightened sharply.
Agatha froze.
Jack removed his outer coat, pulled off the simple disguise he wore at the clinic, then nodded toward the window where the moonlight hit his face.
"I am the Doctor."
Agatha didn't move.
Her lips parted in a small gasp—not shock, but confirmation.
"…Of course," she whispered.
"I should have seen it sooner. The talent. The precision. The way you vanish at night."
Belle smiled faintly, proud.
Agatha stepped closer, studying him with new clarity.
"You're not an ordinary surgeon. You hide your brilliance deliberately. The hospital sees a young man with decent skill—because that is what you allow them to see."
Jack nodded.
"And I need you to keep it that way."
The Deal
Jack extended a hand.
"My terms, Lady Fox:
You protect my identity from the nobles, the Governor, and the Crown.
Warn me if they begin hunting me.
Keep their suspicion far from my clinic."
Agatha considered this carefully.
"And what do you offer in return?"
Jack spoke without hesitation.
"Safety.
For you.
For Belle.
For anyone in your family you deem worthy."
He lowered his voice.
"As long as I am the surgeon in your hospital… no harm will come to you from the shadows I command."
Agatha slowly placed her hand in his.
"You will remain hidden," she said.
"And I will shield you."
Belle looked between them, feeling the weight of the pact.
Jack tightened his grip.
"Then we have a deal."
Agatha Learns the Truth
Belle left them momentarily, and Agatha sat across from Jack.
"Tell me," she asked quietly. "Who are you really?"
Jack hesitated, then gave her the simplest truth he could allow.
"Jack Dawkins. Former pickpocket. Former thief.
A man who clawed his way into medicine.
A man who refuses to serve the Crown ever again."
Agatha absorbed the information calmly—she had suspected something similar.
"So you are dangerous," she concluded.
"And brilliant."
Jack nodded.
"And hunted."
Agatha stood.
"Not while I am alive."
After a Few Days… Rumors Spread
Despite Jack's caution, despite his careful disguise, despite his false surgical performance—
The rumor grew.
A doctor who could heal the dying.
A surgeon who worked faster than thought.
A ghostly figure who never showed his face.
Whispers spread through the colony like wildfire.
"The Doctor saved a man with shattered ribs."
"The Doctor fixed a boy who should have died."
"The Doctor sees inside the body like a demon."
And finally:
"The Doctor is not from this world."
These rumors reached the home of Governor Edmund Fox.
He read the reports with narrowed eyes.
"Impossible," he muttered.
"No colonial surgeon is this competent."
He slammed the papers on his desk.
"Find him.
Find this Doctor.
And bring me everything."
Agatha's Hidden Reaction
At dinner, Agatha kept her expression calm as her husband ranted.
But inside:
So… it begins.
She excused herself early, hurried into the hall, and wrote a small note.
"Jack.
He is looking for you.
Be cautious.
—A.F."
She sealed it and sent it through the secret courier she had already arranged for Jack.
When she returned to the dining room, Governor Fox was still frowning over the reports.
Agatha smiled politely.
She would protect the Doctor.
No matter what the Crown demanded.
The False Signature Surgery
The rumor had reached the Governor's ears.
Investigators were already whispering through the hospital corridors.
Jack knew this would happen.
The System expected it.
And so today—
he would perform a surgery that looked nothing like the Doctor's work.
The Patient
Hetty rushed into Jack's hospital room.
"Jack—emergency! A merchant's son. Crushed leg. Needs immediate amputation!"
Jack stood slowly, breathing deep.
This would be the first test of his new mission.
DING.
Hidden Skill Activated:
False Signature Technique
Your movements will appear slower, sloppier, human.
Jack smirked faintly.
"Perfect."
The Operation Theater
The room filled with nurses, assistants, and curious onlookers.
Even Dr. Sneed slithered in, eager to criticize.
Jack approached the table.
The injured boy trembled as Jack put a gentle hand on his shoulder.
But inside?
Jack's mind exploded with precision.
Transparent World activated automatically—
Bones. Veins. Blood vessels.
All visible in glowing detail.
But he forced his body to mimic incompetence.
"Scalpel," Jack said calmly.
His hand trembled deliberately.
Gasps rose from the watchers.
Sneed snickered.
"Shaking already, Dawkins? Lost your nerve?"
Jack ignored him and continued.
Slow, uneven cuts.
Hesitation at the joint.
A little too much pressure on the saw.
A stitch placed slightly crooked.
He performed the surgery flawlessly—
but looked like a man barely holding it together.
The Observers Whisper
Nurses exchanged glances.
"He's good… but not that good."
"Definitely not the Doctor."
"See? He even fumbles his sutures."
Hetty watched silently.
Only she and Belle knew the act he was performing.
And they watched him with… awe.
Holding back skill was harder than using it.
Dr. Sneed Sneers
As Jack tied the final knot, Sneed strutted closer.
"Hmph. Workmanlike. Sloppy around the fascia.
You'll never advance at this rate."
Jack didn't react.
He only stepped back and announced:
"Operation complete. Blood loss minimal. Patient stable."
Applause rose from the crowd—
hesitant, unimpressed applause.
Exactly what he needed.
The Governor's Spy Reports
In the back corner, unnoticed by most, stood a thin man in a grey coat.
The Governor's eyes.
He scribbled into a notebook while observing Jack's every move.
Later that day, he reported to Governor Fox:
"Jack Dawkins: talented amateur.
Not remarkable.
Surely not the masked Doctor."
Governor Fox frowned.
"You're certain?"
"I watched every movement. The young man is merely… competent."
Fox dismissed him.
"Continue searching."
Hetty Confronts Jack Privately
After the operation, Hetty pulled Jack into a supply room.
"That was…" she paused.
"Incredible. You tricked all of them."
Jack shrugged.
"I have to. The System says the Crown will hunt me… soon."
Hetty's voice softened.
"So hiding your brilliance is the only way to survive."
Jack nodded.
"For now."
Belle Arrives, Breathless
She slipped into the room, eyes shining with worry.
"Jack—Mother sent another message.
The Governor will start questioning doctors tomorrow.
He wants to find the Doctor within the week."
Jack didn't flinch.
"Good."
Belle blinked.
"Good?!"
He smirked.
"It means they're looking in the wrong place."
Belle exhaled, half laughing in relief.
"You're terrifying."
"Efficient," he corrected.
With his identity hidden once again,
Jack prepared for the next move.