Chương 30: Chapter 29. Ghost Port Operation

Through the quiet evening paths of the academy grounds, Adom's footsteps carried the weight of frustration. Another day of subtle sabotage – or attempts at it, anyway. Four times he'd tried to derail the prototype today, each attempt more creative than the last, and each time feeling Hugo's sharp eyes following his movements with growing suspicion. The worst part wasn't even the failed attempts.

It was watching Professor Kim's eyes light up at each "mistake," that dangerous spark of scientific curiosity growing brighter. Every suggestion Adom made to lead the research astray just seemed to fuel Kim's fascination. The man was treating Adom's carefully planned misdirection like an intellectual puzzle, a game of "what if" that only made him more determined to see his original project through to completion.

"At this rate," Adom muttered to himself, adjusting his glasses, "he'll have a working prototype within the week." The thought sat like lead in his stomach. He needed a new approach, something more direct, but what? The prototype was nearly complete, and time was running out. Each passing day brought them closer to—"Student Adom Sylla!" The sharp call cut through his brooding like a knife, causing him to stop mid-step.

"You have a visitor waiting at the entrance," the messenger raven announced.

"They identified themselves as Eren."

"Thanks," Adom said, watching as the raven immediately spread its wings and took off without another word.

"Rude." His earlier frustrations about Kim's prototype evaporated, replaced by a sharp alertness. Adom adjusted his course toward the entrance. He spotted Eren before Eren saw him - a small figure in a worn jacket, leaning against the academy's outer wall, one foot propped up against the weathered stone. When Eren finally noticed him approaching, he pushed off the wall with an easy motion that didn't quite hide his tension.

"Hey Eren," Adom said.

"Everything alright?"

"Hey." Eren's grin was quick but didn't reach his eyes.

"Not great, to be honest."

"What's going on?" Eren glanced at the passing students, lowering his voice.

"Things got really messy in the undertow lately."

"What do you mean?" Adom asked, feeling his stomach tighten.

"Cisco wants to see you as soon as possible. He'll explain everything."

"How soon?"

"Now."

"That bad?"

"Probably worse," Eren said quietly. Adom let out a short, stressed laugh.

"Of course it is." He ran a hand through his hair, glancing back at the academy towers.

"Where?"

"The cafe. You know, the one from last time."

A few moment later...

"We have a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"Star Knight problem."

"Oh." Silence"That's bad."

"Very bad, indeed."

"How bad are we talking, exactly?"

"The kind of bad that killed three of my men," Cisco said flatly, setting his cup down with a soft clink.

"Left one alive and deeply traumatized to spread the word. Made quite a show of it too."

"He was asking questions." Marco added.

"About?"

"You."

"... Me?"

"The troublesome mage who caused trouble in the Undertow and caused the Children Of The Moon to enter a war with the Silver Circle."

"Ah."

"Yeah. Ah." The cafe's usual warm atmosphere felt suddenly cold. Through the window, Adom watched people pass by, going about their normal day, completely unaware of the conversation happening inside. He could almost pretend this was just a casual coffee and pastry time, if not for the grave look in Cisco's eyes.

"All this time," Adom said, his voice barely above a whisper, "I thought I was being clever. Playing them against each other. A perfect little distraction while we..." He trailed off, staring into his untouched coffee.

"I never thought they'd bring in a Star Knight."

"Nobody did," Cisco said.

"The Children aren't known for outsourcing their problems."

"They must be desperate," Marco added.

"Or angry," Eren said quietly. Adom replied.

"Both. Definitely both." Then asked.

"How did the Knight become involved?"

"According to our intel, he was in the capital," Marco said, leaning forward.

"Doing mercenary work for some noble families. Mostly intimidation, few assassination jobs. The Children approached him a few days ago."

"After the warehouse incident," Cisco added.

"The one where—""Yes. Where we exposed their smuggling route to the Circle. Cost them nearly half a million in product." Marco's voice dropped lower.

"They lost face. Bad enough to lose the cargo, but letting their rivals know about the ghost port was the kind of embarrassment they couldn't let slide."

"So they hired the one person who could guarantee results," Cisco finished.

"Someone even the Circle's elite would think twice about crossing."

"Star Knight," Adom said, the name tasting bitter.

"Star Knight." This was less than ideal. No, that was an understatement - this was a catastrophic deviation. Adom sighed, rubbing his temples.

"What exactly did you have in mind, Cisco?"

"There's a price on your head." Cisco said casually as he took a sip of his coffee. Adom opened his mouth to respond, but the beastkin's cold laugh stopped him.

"Not just yours. Me, my men... seems the Children want to make an example of everyone involved in this little escapade." Marco nodded grimly.

"They're making it personal."

"So we have no choice but to act," Cisco concluded, his tiny fingers drumming a quiet rhythm on the table. Adom's mind raced. Going to the authorities was worse than useless. The Children had too many badges in their pocket, and a dead informant in a dark alley would just be another unsolved case. He glanced at Cisco, the information broker who'd built his empire on knowing exactly which officials could be bought and which ones might actually care.

If even Cisco wasn't suggesting the legal route, that spoke volumes.

"What if we outbid them?" Adom asked. Cisco let out a short laugh, then caught himself.

"First of all, I'm impressed. You've been holding out on us if you think you can match what they're paying." He shook his head.

"But more importantly, that's not how this works."

"What do you mean?"

"Mercenaries operate on reputation, young man. The moment one accepts a counter-offer, their career is over. No one would ever hire them again. Other mercenaries would hunt them down themselves, just to keep the system intact." Cisco leaned forward.

"You can't buy loyalty in this world - not the professional kind. Once a contract is signed, it's final. Breaking it isn't just unprofessional; it's suicide." An idea then came. Adom leaned back.

"Well then, if we're all in the same sinking boat..." He picked up his coffee cup, finally taking a sip.

"Perhaps we should focus on sinking theirs first."

"Did you not hear the part about the Star Knight?" Eren's voice cracked slightly.

"Because I feel like you're not properly processing the 'Star Knight' part of this situation."

"Actually..." Adom set his cup down.

"There's something in what Cisco said that made me think." He leaned forward, lowering his voice.

"What happens if the client can no longer pay the service?"

"Thinking along the same lines, I see." Said Cisco.

"The Knight's fee alone must have cost them a fortune." Marco added.

"And they're already stretching thin trying to maintain their territory against the Circle and other organizations," Cisco said.

"Hit them hard enough, fast enough..."

"They won't be able to maintain their contract," Adom finished.

"And a mercenary without payment..."

"Is no longer our problem," Cisco concluded.

"The question is, how many of their operations can we disrupt before he catches up to us?" Adom sat straight, fingers interlaced around his coffee cup.

"When's their next big operation? Something that would hurt if it went wrong?" Cisco glanced at Marco, giving a slight nod. Marco pulled out a small notebook.

"According to our intel, they have three major moves tomorrow night." He flipped through the pages with his thumb.

"First, weapons shipment coming through the north docks. Mid-level risk, decent security. Would cost them about fifty thousand if disrupted." He turned another page.

"Second, protection money collection from the merchant district. Low risk, but high visibility. Losing that would cost them around thirty thousand, plus reputation damage with the merchants." Marco's voice dropped slightly.

"Third one's the big one. They're moving something through the ghost port. Don't know what exactly, but..." He tapped the page meaningfully.

"They've stationed their elite guards there. Triple the usual security. Conservative estimate puts the cargo value at half a million, minimum."

"I'll take the ghost port," Adom said quietly. The cafe fell silent. Even the gentle clink of cups seemed to pause as three pairs of eyes fixed on him. Eren was the first to break the silence.

"You're joking, right?"

"Their elite guards," Marco said slowly, "are there for a reason." Cisco just watched him, eyes narrowed, waiting for the explanation he knew was coming. Adom took a deliberate sip of his coffee, ugh, so bitter. Honestly, he preferred tea. The fragrant, tasty type. Anyway.

"Think about it." He begain.

"The Knight's probably watching the obvious targets - the docks, the merchant district. But the ghost port?" He set his cup down.

"That's their secret ace. They wouldn't expect us to know about it, let alone hit it. Not after what happened last time."

"Which is exactly why they've tripled security," Marco pointed out.

"Yes," Adom smiled thinly.

"Which means they've pulled guards from other locations. They're expecting muscle. They're expecting the Circle. They're not expecting one mage who can slip through their defenses." Adom's smile faded slightly.

"Of course, it's a gamble. The Knight could very well be there, watching their most valuable operation."

"And you're not afraid?" Eren asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"To face a Star Knight?" Adom turned to look at Eren, a glint in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

"Who said ' I' would do it?"

The cafe felt different after Law left. Quieter, somehow, though the ambient noise of other patrons hadn't changed. Eren had muttered something about needing to get back before curfew and slipped out moments after the mage, leaving just the two of them at the small corner table. Marco hadn't said a word since. Cisco sipped his coffee, watching his lieutenant stare at the table like it might provide answers to questions he wasn't asking.

The silence stretched on until it became noticeable, then uncomfortable, then downright pointed.

"What is it?" Cisco finally asked. Marco looked up.

"What's what?"

"You're being silent."

"I'm always silent."

"Not this silent." Cisco set down his cup.

"Out with it." Marco's jaw worked for a moment before he spoke.

"I don't think we should keep working with the mage."

"Why not?"

"A Star Knight is involved now." Marco's voice was flat, matter-of-fact.

"We're risking our lives and the men's lives for an outsider."

"A customer," Cisco corrected.

"A customer," Marco amended, but his tone didn't change.

"Is it worth it? Really?" Cisco leaned back in his chair, studying the young man's face.

"You think we should cut him loose."

"I think we should prioritize our people."

"And I think you're not seeing the bigger picture." Marco's expression tightened - a sign of irritation Cisco had learned to read years ago.

"Then please explain it to me, sir."

"That kid," Cisco said, gesturing toward the door Law had left through, "is going to be somebody important someday."

"Based on what?"

"I'm seventy years old, Marco. Not bad for a mouse beastkin. You know what that gives you? Perspective. The ability to gauge potential." Cisco's small fingers drummed against his cup.

"He's what, twelve?"

"Exactly." Cisco leaned forward.

"He's twelve, and he's already orchestrating conflicts between criminal organizations. He's twelve, and he's thinking three moves ahead. He's twelve, and he just proposed hitting the ghost port while a Star Knight is hunting him." Marco was quiet for a moment.

"You think he'll make it to adulthood."

"I think if he does, he'll be a name everyone knows. The kind of person who can help us develop the Dregs. The kind who can pull our people out of poverty and misery instead of just managing it."

"And if he doesn't make it?" Cisco shrugged.

"Then we're back where we started. But the potential payoff..." He shook his head.

"You don't get opportunities like this often, Marco my boy. Investing in someone before they become powerful? That's how real change happens."

"Investing." Marco's voice carried a bitter edge.

"Sir, with all due respect, it feels like you're gambling with our people's lives on a maybe."

"Everything we do is gambling with our people's lives. At least this gamble has upside."

"Does it? Or are you just telling yourself that because you like the kid?" The question hit closer to home than Cisco wanted to admit. There was something about the young mage that reminded him of himself at that age. But that wasn't the point.

"It doesn't matter if I like him," Cisco said.

"What matters is what he can become."

"And what if you're wrong? What if he's just a clever kid who's going to get us all killed?"

"Then we adapt. We always do." Marco leaned back, frustration clear in every line of his body.

"So we're doing this. All of it. The ghost port, the Star Knight, everything."

"We're doing this."

"Because you have a feeling."

"Because I have experience." Cisco's tone carried a finality that Marco recognized.

"Enough." Marco's hands clenched once on the table, then relaxed. He nodded curtly and stood up, leaving his coffee half-finished. Cisco watched him go, then returned to his drink. The coffee had gone cold, but he finished it anyway. Sometimes being a leader meant making decisions others couldn't understand. Sometimes it meant betting everything on a twelve-year-old boy with too-smart eyes and a dangerous smile. Sometimes it meant hoping you were right.

Back in their shared room, Adom dropped onto his bed face-first, not even bothering to remove his shoes. The mattress creaked in protest.

"That you?" Sam's voice came muffled from the bathroom, accompanied by the sound of running water and brushing.

"Yeah," Adom mumbled into his pillow.

"Hey, I found some interesting references about those enchantment arrays we were discussing the other day." Water splashed.

"There's this fascinating variation from the eastern provinces that uses a completely different geometric progression-" Adom made a vague sound of acknowledgment, his mind already drifting. Tomorrow. Ghost port. He needed to review the layout again. Do some shopping. Some work. The timing would have to be perfect. And then there was still Kim's prototype to deal with...

"... and apparently, they've been using this method for centuries, can you believe that? It's like we've been doing it the hard way all this time..." Sam's enthusiastic voice faded into a comfortable background hum. Adom's thoughts grew hazier, mixing with half-formed plans and calculations. Elite guards. Security patterns.

"... Adom? You still awake?" But Adom was already gone, his breathing deep and even, still fully clothed on top of his covers. The last thing he heard was Sam's quiet chuckle and the soft click of the bathroom light being turned off.

Morning. 7AM. Adom stared at the transportation crystals laid out before him, listening to a halfling try to scam him. The merchant was a round-faced fellow with meticulously combed sideburns and clothes just a touch too fine for his shabby little shop - the kind of outfit meant to suggest prosperity without actually proving it.

"... finest quality, straight from the Crystal Gardens themselves," the halfling continued, his stubby fingers gesturing at the array of blue-tinted stones.

"You won't find better prices anywhere in the capital, I guarantee it. Why, just last week, a noble from the upper district came by and bought three dozen-" To anyone with basic knowledge of transportation crystals, the flaws were painfully obvious. One had a visible crack running along its surface - a disaster waiting to happen. Another's core was clouded, its energy matrix probably destabilized.

Using any of these for emergency teleportation would be like playing dice with death, except the dice were loaded and death was definitely winning.

"-and my supplier, very exclusive contact, mind you, ensures each crystal is personally inspected by master artificers-" Adom watched the halfling's animated performance with a sort of detached fascination. The merchant hadn't even noticed that his potential customer's eyes hadn't left that cracked crystal for the past minute. Or perhaps he had noticed and was hoping his steady stream of practiced patter would somehow hypnotize Adom into ignoring the obvious death trap he was trying to sell.

"-so, what do you say? Interested in making a purchase? For you, I could offer a very special price." Adom looked at the crystals again. By all rights, he should be furious. A defective transportation crystal wasn't just bad business - it was practically attempted murder. That crack alone could send someone into the void between spaces, or worse, scatter them across half the continent. He sighed. It wasn't worth the energy.

"Thank you for your time," Adom said, already turning toward the door.

"Wait, wait!" The halfling's voice jumped an octave.

"Perhaps we could discuss the price? I'm sure we can reach an arrangement that-" The door's bell jingled as Adom stepped outside. This was the fifth store he'd visited this morning. He walked a few steps, then stopped. No, he couldn't just leave it. Defective transportation crystals weren't just a scam - they were a public hazard. Someone less knowledgeable might actually buy one of those death traps. As if on cue, he spotted a city guard doing his morning rounds.

"Officer," Adom called out, gesturing at the shop he'd just left.

"That store is selling malfunctioning transportation crystals. One of them has a visible crack in the matrix." The guard's eyebrows shot up.

"You're certain?"

"Absolutely. Saw them myself." Adom said casually.

"Just thought you should know." The guard's expression hardened as he started toward the shop.

"Right. I'll handle this." Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He had it coming, Adom thought as he sank into a bench near the park. The morning air was still crisp, carrying the scent of dew and fresh bread from nearby bakeries. He'd been out since 5 AM, searching for transportation crystals suitable for tonight's operation. They weren't exactly rare, but ones powerful enough to cover the distance he needed? Those were another matter entirely.

His initial plan had seemed so straightforward in the cafe yesterday. But after five shops and nothing but frauds or weak crystals, he was starting to reconsider. Maybe he should call it off. A failed attempt would be worse than no attempt at all, especially with a Star Knight in play. Adom stood up, stretching his stiff muscles. Well, might as well check if Biggins had returned, as he did every morning. The familiar walk to the Weird Stuff Store helped clear his head.

The usual cluster of cats was absent from the storefront - probably too early for their daily congregation. The bell chimed as he pushed open the door.

"Welcome to the Weird Stu- oh, hey Adom!" Emma's cheerful voice greeted him from behind the counter.

"Hey Emma," he smiled back.

"Aren't you supposed to be at Xerkes? Kind of early for a morning shift."

"Oh, my classes don't start until afternoon," she explained, organizing some crystals in a display case.

"I'm on the healer's path, so most of our practical sessions are scheduled later. The morgue's busier in the evenings, you know?" Adom nodded. Made sense - most magical accidents tended to happen in the afternoon labs when students were tired and more prone to mistakes.

"I assume Mr. Biggins hasn't-""No, still no sign of him," Emma said apologetically. Adom sighed.

"Well, I'll just take a-" A sudden blur of motion was his only warning before something slammed into his chest with enough force to knock him backward. Emma gasped. Adom groaned, pushing himself up onto his elbows. The world was still spinning slightly.

"Oh gods, are you alright?" Emma rushed around the counter.

"I'm so sorry! This is exactly what I was afraid would happen!"

"I think so," Adom managed, rubbing his chest.

"What exactly-" Then he saw it. Lying innocently on the floor beside him was a transportation crystal roughly the size of a small barrel, its blue surface pulsing with a gentle inner light. His academic mind immediately started cataloging details - crude cut, unpolished edges, but the core... the core was practically singing with power.

"What the- how did-" Then it hit him. The thought-reading enchantment on the store, designed to provide customers with what they were looking for, as long as it existed somewhere in the inventory. Emma was already trying to wrangle the massive crystal, muttering under her breath.

"I always knew this would cause trouble. Who even puts something like this on the top right shelf? It's just asking for accidents..."

"Why is there a transportation crystal in this store?" Adom asked, still slightly dazed. Emma gave him an apologetic shrug.

"We sell all kinds of things. It is the Weird Stuff Emporium, after all..."

"Fair enough," Adom replied, surprised by her touch of sarcasm. He pushed himself to his feet, studying the crystal more carefully. Despite its rough appearance, the energy matrix was remarkably stable. Perfect, actually.

"Can I... buy it?" Emma's face lit up with unexpected enthusiasm.

"Yes! Please! Everything here is for sale, especially this menace that's been threatening to fall on my head since day one!" She squinted at the small tag attached to the crystal.

"Oh, it's one silver piece." Adom's jaw dropped.

"One silver piece?" He stared at the crystal, then back at Emma.

"For this?" He'd seen smaller, less powerful crystals sell for tens of gold pieces. This one was crude, yes, and needed serious polishing, but the quality was undeniable. One silver piece was absurd. It was practically giving it away. A smile spread across his face.

"Deal."

A few moments later...

"Is that a transportation crystal?"

"Yep."

"It's huge."

"Yep."

"Must have cost your entire allowance and a kidney," Sam whistled, eyeing the crystal.

"These things aren't cheap."

"One silver piece." Sam's laugh died when Adom didn't join in.

"You're joking."

"Nope." Adom fished in his pocket and pulled out both the original price tag and a slightly crumpled piece of paper.

"Emma even wrote me a receipt. Well, not really a receipt - the Weird Stuff store doesn't do those - but I asked her to write it down because I knew you wouldn't believe me." Sam snatched both items, staring at them in disbelief.

"One silver... how is that even... what?"

"You planning to make a lot of crystals?"

"Yeah." Sam leaned against the doorframe of their shared room, watching as Adom carefully positioned the massive blue crystal on his workbench.

"That's why you were out since morning?"

"Among other things." Adom was already pulling out his tools - precision chisels, measuring instruments, stabilizing runes.

"Need any help?" Adom looked up from his work, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"I thought you'd never ask."

"So what's the plan?" Sam asked, pulling up a stool.

"Well, transportation crystals, obviously. But I've got something else in mind too. Something more complex."

"I'm listening." Now, for one unfamiliar with the intricacies of magical transportation, it would be important to clarify - transportation crystals are not to be confused with transportation portals. Where portals were fixed magical constructs requiring elaborate rune circles and permanent power sources, crystals were more... let's say, personal. See, a transportation crystal starts its life as part of a larger whole - a mother crystal, like the impressive specimen currently occupying Adom's workbench.

The trick was, one needed two crystals from the same source, cut from the same block. They were like twins, in a way, sharing an inherent magical resonance that can't be replicated between crystals from different sources. The real artistry lay in the extraction and attunement process. The craftsman had to carefully carve out two smaller crystals while maintaining their internal matrix structure. Then came the delicate part - feeding mana into both crystals, attuning them to the same frequency.

This mana infusion created a unique magical signature, ensuring the pair would respond exclusively to each other and ignore the resonance of any other crystals from their original source. It was like teaching them to sing the same note, a note that carried the magical signature of their maker. A poorly attuned pair could lead to chaos. With each jump, the crystals would swap positions - the destination crystal taking the place where the traveler had jumped from.

In badly harmonized pairs, the destination crystal might even materialize at random locations within the resonance perimeter. Stories abounded of inexperienced craftsmen losing their crystals entirely, watching helplessly as each jump scattered them further and further apart, turning simple travel into a dangerous game of magical hide-and-seek. But when properly maintained, the magic worked with elegant simplicity. One crystal would be placed at the intended destination, while its twin remained with the traveler.

A jump required only focused thought on the desired location. As long as the destination lay within the perimeter created by the resonance between the two crystals, travel was possible to any point in that space - much like a spider moving along its invisible web of threads. The larger and purer the original mother crystal, the greater the distance these paired crystals could cover. And judging by the size of Adom's new acquisition, he was planning to cover quite a distance indeed.

Sam held the stabilizing frame steady. Adom's hands moved with surgical precision, guiding the enchanted chisel along invisible fault lines in the massive crystal. Sweat beaded on his forehead - one wrong move could shatter weeks' worth of potential.

"Little more to the left," Sam murmured, squinting at the crystalline matrix through a mage-lens.

"There's a natural cleavage plane... right... there." A soft chiming sound filled the air as the first smaller crystal separated cleanly from its mother. Sam caught it in a cushioned basket while Adom let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"One down," Adom grinned, already repositioning his tools.

"Ready for round two?" The second extraction went even smoother than the first. Soon, they had two perfectly matched crystals, each about the size of a fist, gleaming with inner light.

"Now comes the fun part," Adom said, setting up the attunement circle. Runes carved into the wooden workbench began to glow as he positioned the crystals. Sam watched, fascinated, as Adom closed his eyes and began channeling his mana. The crystals' blue glow intensified, then shifted, taking on a slight purple tinge that matched the color of Adom's magical signature.

"They're fighting it," Adom muttered through gritted teeth.

"Still too connected to the mother crystal."

"Try modulating your output," Sam suggested, monitoring the resonance patterns.

"Pulse it, like a heartbeat." The change was immediate. The crystals' glow stabilized, pulsing in perfect synchronization. Hours melted away as they tested the pairs. They started small - Sam would place one crystal in the courtyard while Adom jumped from their workshop. Then they pushed further - the market square, the city limits, the farming districts beyond.

"This is incredible," Sam called through their low range communication crystal as he placed a crystal in a field well outside the city.

"The resonance is still strong, barely any degradation. How far are we?"

"Forty-five kilometers," Adom replied, checking his measurements.

"Want to push it further?" They did. With each successful jump, they added distance. At fifty kilometers, most transportation crystals would have started showing strain. These barely flickered. The afternoon sun was high in the sky when Adom made his final modifications, carefully etching enhancement runes into the crystals' bases. The purple glow deepened, gained complexity.

"Seventy kilometers," Sam announced finally, reading the distance measurements with obvious pride.

"Stable as a rock. For homemade crystals, this is incredible. I mean, sure, the Imperial artificers managed that insane 340-kilometer jump with their specially grown crystals, but this? With a random find from the Weird Stuff store?" Adom collapsed into a chair, magically exhausted but satisfied. The crystals pulsed softly on the workbench, their harmony perfect, their attunement complete.

"Not bad for half a day's work," he smiled, watching the last rays of sunlight play across the crystals' facets.

"Not bad at all."

"Man, I missed this," Sam said, stretching his arms overhead.

"Just us, doing weird magical experiments. Feels like forever since we've had time for side projects."

"Between our club duties and my... everything else," Adom shrugged, organizing his tools.

"Speaking of which," Sam glanced at the darkening sky.

"I should head to the club. Got a meeting with some of the seniors about next week's event."

"Go ahead. I'll stay here, get some more work done."

"Don't blow anything up while I'm gone," Sam called over his shoulder, already heading for the door.

"That's YOUR job!" After Sam's footsteps faded, Adom waited a few extra moments before reaching into his inventory. The golem emerged. When transportation crystals were first discovered, everyone saw two crystals connecting and allowing transport between them. They assumed both crystals were equally creating this connection. When measuring maximum range, they'd place the crystals apart and test jumps, naturally concluding that 70km was the "maximum connection distance." Confirmation bias.

This assumption was so fundamental that for centuries, no one thought to question it. All experiments were designed to measure "connection distance," so that's exactly what they found. A breakthrough 30 years from now happened when a mage was experimenting with crystal resonance patterns and noticed something odd, with the proper runic configuration, one crystal generated a consistent field regardless of its pair's location. It turned out one crystal created the field, and its pair just responded to it.

Simple, but nobody saw it because they were all too busy measuring "connections" between crystals to notice one was doing all the work. Adom carefully completed the runes he'd started earlier, but with a crucial difference. Instead of the traditional configuration that treated both crystals as equal partners, he modified one to be the controller - the field generator. Its paired crystal, which he embedded in the golem along with the talisman, would be able to instantly relocate anywhere within that 70km bubble.

He'd had the idea during the coffee with Cisco - crazy, maybe, but potentially brilliant. The golem was already an extraordinary piece of work, but with these crystals... He carefully began dismantling the chest plate, looking for the perfect spot to embed one of the transportation crystals. The other purchase he'd made that morning burned in his pocket. The talisman vendor had been... an experience. The shop had been tucked away in an alley so narrow Adom had to turn sideways to reach the door.

Inside, a thin man with uncomfortably intense eyes had watched him browse the "relationship enhancement" section with growing amusement.

"Ah, the Connection Talisman," the vendor had practically purred when Adom finally pointed to it.

"A popular choice. Very popular. Though usually purchased by... shall we say, more paranoid lovers?"

"It's for a project," Adom had muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"Of course, of course. They all are." The vendor's knowing smile had made Adom want to sink into the floor.

"Would you like me to wrap it in our discrete packaging? Many customers prefer-""Just the talisman, please." Now, looking at the innocent-seeming piece of jewelry, Adom pushed away the lingering discomfort. Yes, these were typically used by suspicious partners to spy on each other - hence the vendor's unsettling implications - but the magical principle was sound. Once linked, the talismans would allow him to see and hear everything from the golem's perspective.

He carefully embedded the transportation crystal into the golem's chest cavity, then attached the talisman next to it. The matching talisman went around his own arm. With these modifications, he'd be able to instantly summon the golem anywhere within that 70-kilometer radius, while maintaining perfect awareness of its surroundings. The crystals pulsed with their soft purple glow, harmonizing with the golem's existing enchantments. Perfect.

"Well," he said to the empty workshop, "let's see what you can do." He closed his eyes, channeling mana into the small jewel. The metal grew warm against his skin, then- The world... doubled. Adom's breath caught. He was still himself, standing there in the workshop, but he was also... taller. Much taller. Through the golem's eyes, he watched himself - a slim figure in academy robes, looking somewhat better than he remembered from the mirror this morning. Was his hair always that neat?

And when did his shoulders get so straight? The sensation was dizzying, magnificent, terrifying. Two sets of eyes, two sets of ears, both feeding information to his mind with perfect clarity. Through the golem's enhanced vision, the workshop appeared sharper, more defined. Each sound came through with crystal clarity - his own breathing, the distant chatter of students in the hallway.

"This is..." he whispered, and watched himself speak through the golem's eyes. The word echoed strangely, bouncing between his perspectives. An idea struck. Without really thinking about it, without any conscious command, the golem moved. Two smooth steps brought it to his bed. Metal fingers slipped beneath the frame, and-"Oh." The word escaped him as the golem lifted the entire bed one-handed, as easily as if it were made of paper.

Through his own eyes, Adom watched two meters of enchanted metal and stone hoist his furniture skyward. Through the golem's eyes, he looked down at his human self from what felt like a mountain's height. He found himself grinning. The golem didn't grin - couldn't, really - but he could feel its mechanical readiness through their shared connection.

"Put that down," he told himself, half-laughing, "before Sam comes back and thinks I've lost it." The bed settled back into place without a sound. The golem's control was perfect - all that strength, wrapped in precision. Like having the power of a storm contained in a surgeon's hands. Right. The transportation crystal. Adom fingered the smooth surface in his pocket, then glanced at the golem's chest where its twin lay protected beneath layers of enchanted metal. Time to try the real test.

He focused on a spot about five steps ahead, right next to his workbench. Clear visualization, that was the key. Just like they'd practiced with Sam earlier. A touch of mana into the crystal, a clear thought of the destination, and- THUD!

"Whoa!" Adom's actual body stumbled backward, landing hard on his behind as the golem vanished and reappeared instantly at the targeted spot. The jump had taken less than a blink, but the sudden shift in perspective - seeing himself fall from across the room while also experiencing the fall - sent his head spinning.

"Okay," he muttered, pushing himself up, "that's going to take some getting used to." As he steadied himself, another thought crossed his mind. The beach. The one where he and Morgana had walked last week, with its distinctive rock formation jutting out over the water. He could picture it perfectly - the weathered gray stone, the way the waves crashed against the cliff face, the exact spot where they'd stood watching the sunset... Blip.

"AHHH!" Splash! Cold seawater engulfed the golem's frame as it materialized three feet off-target - right over the ocean instead of the beach. Adom's real body, safe and dry in the workshop, still let out a yelp of surprise. He couldn't feel the water - the golem had no sense of touch - but the visual sensation of plunging into the sea was so vivid his brain insisted he should be soaked. He willed the golem to wade out of the surf, metal feet crunching against wet sand.

The sound of children's excited shouts drew his attention.

"Uriaș de fier! Uriaș de fier!" A group of Veyshari kids had stopped their game to stare at him, dark eyes wide with wonder. Adom made the golem wave, earning delighted squeals and enthusiastic waves in return. Time to go before he drew more attention. He focused on his workshop, on the exact spot he was looking at from his flesh-and-blood eyes, right in front of himself- Blip. The golem reappeared precisely where he'd been looking, water still streaming from its joints.

Adom let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Well," he said to his metal companion, "looks like we need to work on our targeting. A few feet off might not matter in an empty room, but..." He glanced down at the puddle forming around the golem's feet.

"Let's try to keep our feet on solid ground from now on." Over the next few hours, Adom practiced jumps within the safety of his workshop. Five steps ahead. Next to the window. Beside the bookshelf. Each jump got more precise as he learned to focus his visualization. A clear mental image was everything - the exact height from the floor, the specific angle, the precise spot in space. But there was still one glaring problem. THUD.

Even with perfect positioning, each landing announced the golem's presence like a hammer strike. Two meters of armored construct hitting the ground wasn't exactly subtle. And for what he had planned...

"This won't do at all." He called the golem back, already reaching for his engraving tools. Sound dampening runes were tricky - too weak and they'd be useless, too strong and they'd create suspicious zones of silence. But if he modified the standard configurations... The first set of runes went around the golem's feet and joints, designed to absorb impact vibrations. The second set, spiraling up its legs and torso, would catch and disperse any residual sound waves.

A third set, more complex, created a kind of acoustic barrier - sound could pass through, but muffled, distorted. For good measure, he added concealment runes along the golem's shoulders and back. Not true invisibility - that would require way more power than he could spare - but enough to blur its outline, make it harder to spot in shadows.

"Right then," he said, setting down his tools.

"Let's see if-" A knock at the door nearly made him jump out of his skin. Sam's voice carried through: "Adom? You still up? I forgot my key..." The golem vanished into his inventory just as the door handle turned. Adom threw himself onto his bed, trying to look casual. Sam stepped in, then paused. His eyes narrowed.

"What were you doing?"

"Nothing. Just... working."

"Uh-huh." Sam's gaze drifted to the bed, which was sitting at a distinctly different angle than usual.

"And why is your bed crooked?" His eyes dropped to the floor.

"Is that... water?"

"I was working with the crystals."

"Right." Sam crossed his arms.

"So why do you look like I just caught you doing something inappropriate?"

"Oh please," Adom rolled his eyes.

"I know about your special collection under your bed. Don't even try playing this game." Sam's face reddened. He hurried to his desk, snatched his locker key.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The magazines, Sam. The ones with the-""I'm going back to the club!" Sam practically bolted for the door.

"And we're never speaking of this again!"

"Deal."

"I'll be back in an hour. That should be... enough time, right?"

"Will do!" Adom called after Sam's retreating back, face burning. Adom groaned and buried his face in his pillow. Great. Now his friend thought he was some kind of... He groaned again, louder. At least it made for a decent cover story. Better to have Sam think he was up to something embarrassing than figure out what he was actually planning. Though he'd definitely need to be more careful about the water puddles next time. Adom rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling.

A part of him wanted to tell Sam everything - about the golem, the crystals, all of it. But no. Sam would freak out. He'd probably try to talk Adom out of it, or worse, insist on helping.

"He's just a kid," Adom muttered to himself, then snorted at how that sounded. They were technically the same age, but... well, Sam still got excited about new enchantment theorems and academy gossip. He shouldn't have to worry about criminal organizations or whatever Adom might find in that place tonight. Adom sighed, pushing himself up from the bed. His stomach growled, reminding him he'd skipped lunch entirely. Between the crystal work and the golem modifications, he'd lost track of time completely.

He straightened his bed, carefully adjusting it back to its proper angle. No need to give Sam more ammunition when he returned. The library would be quiet this time of day. He could grab some food, find a secluded corner among the towering shelves, and just... think. Plan. There was still so much to consider, and tonight... Tonight, he would strike. The thought sent a shiver down his spine - equal parts excitement and apprehension.

He checked his inventory one last time, making sure everything was secure, then headed for the door. Time to clear his head. He had a few hours left to make sure everything was perfect. It had to be perfect.

Night. 2AM. A letter from Cisco had arrived earlier through a raven - encrypted.

"Star Knight confirmed in Meridian District. Window clear." Simple, direct. Just what he needed to know. After hours spent in the library practicing micro-jumps and height control until his head ached, Adom settled into position in the practice room of the Combat Athletic Club of Xerkes, 50 kilometers from the ghost port. He'd burned those cargo coordinates into his memory. There was something he'd been itching to try since he got the golem knight.

At the time, he'd wondered what practical use such an asset could have. Now he knew. [Golem Knight Activated] The moment Adom activated the golem, his consciousness stretched like taffy being pulled in two directions. One part remained anchored in Xerkes, while the other... the other plunged into his inventory for the first time. It wasn't the abstract menu he'd grown used to - it was an endless void, neither dark nor light, simply... nothing. And there, suspended in that nothing, stood his golem knight, waiting.

He took it out. Cisco's detailed map of the ghost port flashed in his mind - the exact spot he needed, marked with precise coordinates. Third warehouse, central courtyard, where the support beams created a perfect killing ground. He focused on those coordinates, and reality... shifted. The void cracked open, and suddenly he was seeing through eyes that weren't his own. The golem materialized silently - those hours of practice paying off - behind a thick support beam.

Through enhanced senses, he caught the glint of two guard uniforms not five meters away. His consciousness melded with the golem's frame, heart pounding in his actual body back in Xerkes. One wrong move...

"Did you hear that?" Guard One's hand twitched toward his weapon.

"For fuck's sake, Milo, how much did you drink?" Adom pressed the golem's frame against the beam. The warehouse was full of shadows and blind spots. Even with enhanced vision, he could barely make out the path to his target through the forest of containers and support columns. One wrong jump in this darkness...

"Just... just a bit. Zara offered, and-""The succubus from the red light district? Again?" A deep sigh.

"You absolute moron." He needed them to move. Every second here was a risk, but jumping blind would be worse. Much worse. Through the golem's vision, Adom watched Guard One's face flush red.

"It's different with her! She actually listens when I talk about my dreams. About opening that little shop in-""She's a succubus. It's literally her job to make you think-" Come on, move. Just take three steps forward. Clear the path.

"You don't know her like I do! Last night she told me about her childhood in-""Succubi don't have childhoods, they manifest from- you know what? Fine. Waste your savings. Just don't come crying when-" A distant metallic creak echoed through the warehouse. Both guards tensed, hands on weapons. Adom's consciousness froze in the golem's frame. Three seconds of absolute silence.

"... probably just the wind," Guard One muttered, then brightened.

"Anyway, Zara said once I save enough, we could-" Guard Two's groan almost masked the sound of Adom's relief cycling through the golem's cooling vents. The pair began walking their patrol route, their voices growing distant as they argued about succubi and true love. The path ahead finally clear, Adom let out a slow breath back in Xerkes, his golem frame stepping out from behind the beam- Orange light spilled across the floor. His core processes froze.

A guard, torch in hand, had just rounded the corner of a cargo container. Not ten feet away. The flame's glow caught the golem's semi-transparent frame, casting ethereal shadows on the warehouse walls. Time stretched like cold honey. The guard's eyes went wide, torch trembling in his grip as he took in the two-meter translucent figure before him. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. His hand inched toward his sword. Adom raised one finger to where the golem's lips would be. Don't. The guard's mouth twitched.

His fingers wrapped around the sword handle- No choice. The golem crossed the distance in a blur. One hand clamped over the guard's mouth, muffling his startled intake of breath. The other fist connected with his face in a sharp crack. Blood sprayed from his arcade, running into his eyes. He swayed, dazed but still conscious, trying to focus through the crimson veil. The second punch dropped him like a stone. Adom's heart hammered in Xerkes as the golem dragged the limp body behind a cargo container.

Every second exposed was a second too long. He had to move. Now. Through the golem's senses, he listened. Footsteps echoing off metal - two pairs heading east, probably the love-struck guard and his partner. Another set moving along the upper walkway, boots on grating. Murmured conversation from somewhere behind the maze of containers - at least three more voices. There. The cargo Cisco described.

Fargonian make - the distinct copper-threaded reinforcements on the corners, those characteristic runes etched into the seals. Plain steel container at first glance. Third row, second stack. He moved the golem forward, each step calculated. Pausing only to snuff out the unconscious guard's torch - he couldn't risk the moving shadows betraying his position. Darkness enveloped him, and he cursed silently back in Xerkes.

A night-vision rune would have been invaluable, but the delicate arcane geometry would have taken hours to etch into the golem's crystal matrix. Too late for that now. One hand reached into the dimensional pouch, fingers closing around the artifact - a small crystalline sphere, no bigger than a marble. Looked innocent enough, but beneath its surface, intricate runic patterns pulsed with stored potential.

In his other hand, back in Xerkes, he held the trigger stone - when infused with mana, it would resonate with the identical patterns etched into each explosive sphere, setting off a chain reaction. The artifact felt cool against the golem's palm as he approached the container. Once placed, a simple surge of mana into the trigger stone would turn this entire weapons cache into- A clatter, followed by a curse.

"Everything alright down there?" A voice echoed from somewhere above. Adom froze, the artifact still warm in the golem's palm.

"Yeah, just... slipped on something." Metal scraped as the guard picked himself up.

"Slipped? On what?" The voice from above sounded puzzled.

"We keep this place bone dry. Can't risk water anywhere near the cargo." Through enhanced vision, Adom watched the guard bend down, torch hovering near the floor. A dark smear gleamed in the firelight. The guard's head tilted.

"Is that blo-" The golem's strike was precise. A dull thud, and the guard crumpled.

"Hey, what was that noise?" A pause.

"Marcus?" Another pause, longer, more annoyed.

"You know it's really rude to ignore people, right? We've talked about this. Just because you're new doesn't mean-" The voice was coming from the walkway above - third support beam, moving west. Adom willed the golem upward, silent as shadow.

"I swear, if you're playing one of your stupid pranks again, I'll-" The guard never finished his sentence. The golem's blow dropped him mid-word. Are they dead? The thought flashed through Adom's mind as he stared at the two still forms. He hadn't meant to- The first guard twitched. Relief flooded through him. The man groaned softly. Bam. Back to sleep. Adom moved the golem swiftly through the shadows, scanning. Time was running out - someone would notice the missing guards soon.

He sorted through sound patterns: two guards still chatting by the east entrance, one set of footsteps circling the perimeter, and- There. Second cargo. Same characteristics. He reached into the pouch- Footsteps above. Too close. The golem pressed against the container wall, becoming nearly invisible as a guard passed on the walkway overhead. Three seconds... five. Clear. Movement resumed. The second artifact joined its twin, nestled against the container's base. Just one more to-"Hey! Anyone seen Marcus?"

Adom's hands moved faster. The final cargo container stood twenty meters ahead. The third artifact felt slick in the golem's grip. Almost there. Almost-"Marcus? Marcus! Check the west section! He's not responding to me!" No time for stealth. The golem sprinted the final stretch, Adom started placing the artifact, metal fingers moving with precision despite the chaos. Just one more after this- There was a hole in the cargo Adom was trapping. He could have ignored it, but...

Through the golem's eyes, a soft blue radiance seeped beneath a massive iron door, pulsing like a captive heartbeat. The artifact in the golem's grip suddenly felt insignificant.

"No..." The word escaped Adom's lips, barely a whisper. His mind refused to process what his eyes were telling him. The footsteps were getting closer. He needed to finish placing the crystals. He needed to leave. But that light... he knew that light. Celestial Tears. The purest form of mana crystal known to exist. These crystals formed only in the deepest, most mana-dense dungeons, where ambient magical energy compressed under its own weight for centuries.

Like diamonds of pure magic, each one worth a king's ransom. Too pure and unstable to be used in common enchantments - they'd shatter at the slightest magical resonance. Unless, of course, they underwent the Awakening. A rare phenomenon where the crystals were exposed to a precise sequence of elemental energies. The process stabilized them, made them capable of channeling immense magical power. The same property that made them the final, crucial component of Dragon's Breath. Footsteps thundered down the corridor.

Adom directed the golem to quickly place the corrupted crystals. Time stretched like molasses. The void began to swallow the golem, reality peeling away layer by layer, when— Green. A sickly emerald glow came from the distance, closing fast. Too fast. Through the golem's enhanced senses, Adom registered movement at impossible speeds. Death approached, wreathed in verdant light.

"DODGE!" The golem twisted, catching the flash of blue flame-like energy coating the blade as it sliced through the space where its torso had been a fraction of a second before. Steel whispered past crystalline form, missing by mere inches. The figure pivoted, ethereal green light casting strange shadows across a face Adom knew. The same face he'd seen at Professor Kim's, the one that had made him think of his father. Gale. Their eyes met as the golem's head entered the void again.

A heartbeat stretched into eternity. Adom's fingers closed around the artifact in his pocket, sending a resonance pulse through the network of artifacts he'd laid. And Gale... smiled. The first fire from the artifacts ripped through the facility as the void claimed the last of the golem. That smile burned itself into Adom's memory. The smile of a hunter acknowledging his prey. One second. The entire encounter had lasted less than one second.