Chapter 83: Visiting Crowe Group 1
Suddenly, my interface chimed with a new, crucial message.
Ding!
[Hello, I am executive director Lindy Crowe. I am sorry I couldn’t get back to you right away. If it is fine, I want to meet you right away, if the previous condition is still valid. I hope we can set a time and date.]
A wave of satisfaction, cool and intoxicating, washed over me. My lips curled into a triumphant, knowing smile. "Lindy Crowe has finally come to a conclusion," I murmured, the words a silent declaration of victory. "This concluded the first half of my plan."
The groundwork had been laid. The seeds of my influence had been meticulously planted within the powerful Crowe Group, specifically targeting the executive director. Now, the moment to reap the first rewards was at hand. "Now, if I can withstand the pressure today and work hard for a few more days, I can finish the first main story arc with a problem solved and my position solidified." The world felt like a meticulously arranged game board, and with this message, I was finally ready to make my most decisive move yet. The gears of my grand scheme were turning, and I was exactly where I needed to be.
A Glimpse Behind the Veil: The Crowe Group Institute
"Welcome, please this way."
A smartly dressed assistant led me through the gleaming, high-security corridors of the Crowe Group’s main research institute. Despite the lavish surroundings, my mind was focused on the true value of my recent investment. The Attribute Cube Kit we had acquired at the recent auction had been far more expensive than I had originally budgeted. Yet, when I overheard the hushed, excited conversations of the institute’s top researchers, I knew it had been a stroke of genius.
The Crowe Group One Institute housed a formidable collective of brilliant, yet incredibly prideful researchers. They were known for their fierce independence and skepticism towards outside work. I’d fully expected a cool, professional reception. What I received was far more revealing.
"The data is irrefutable. The item is so far ahead of our present technology; it is the breakthrough we have been desperately seeking for years," one head researcher practically whispered, his voice thick with awe rather than envy.
"They expected an S-class Magician or a veteran figure, someone with decades of experience who had already made it big in the magic field, to be the creator," a colleague chimed in, equally stunned. The Attribute Cube Kit was an innovation that fundamentally challenged their existing understanding of magic and material science. It demanded a creator of immense, recognized power.
But the reality was a shocking deviation from their proud, established narrative.
"Kael Vi-rel is no veteran. He’s not an S-class Magician, or even an A-class prodigy from an elite school," the first researcher scoffed, the disbelief palpable. He shook his head slowly. "He is just a hero cadet who was admitted to the Hero Academy mere months ago. A fledgling."
"I simply cannot believe a mere cadet fabricated this kind of item," the second agreed, eyes wide as he stared at the schematics on the monitor. The power and refinement of the artifact were too great, the complexity of its design too advanced for anyone so young and inexperienced by their standards. Yet, the evidence was right there, attributed to the one who sold it.
The very item that stood to revolutionize their field was the work of a novice. A prodigy so vast, his potential was already disrupting the highest echelons of research.
The Golden Goose
Standing before the sheer size of the Crowe Group’s main research facility, I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of humility.
"Woah, it is really big," I commented to the assistant, masking my true thoughts with a simple observation. The scale of their operation was staggering, but it only strengthened my resolve. The bigger the organization, the bigger the stage for my talent.
Meanwhile, in an executive meeting room shielded from my view, Lindy Crowe watched the real-time research reports flashing across her private screen, her gaze intense. The reports detailed the astonishing capabilities of the Attribute Cube Kit and confirmed the identity of its seller: Kael Vi-rel.
A singular, predatory thought solidified in her mind, a ruthless conclusion drawn from the data. This was not merely a talent; this was an anomaly.
"What a golden goose," she breathed out, her eyes shining with cold, determined ambition. The price of the Attribute Cube Kit was nothing compared to the long-term value of its creator. "I must get him, no matter what the price I have to pay."
Her knuckles were white where she gripped the edge of the desk. In the fiercely competitive world of magical advancement and power consolidation, such a genius could not be allowed to slip away. Kael Vi-rel, the obscure hero cadet, was not just promising he was destined.
"He is going to be someone who is going to shake the world in the coming future," Lindy declared, a promise to herself, sealing the deal that had just been struck. And she was going to be the one standing right beside him when he did. Her message to me, the request for an immediate meeting, was the first move in a high-stakes corporate capture. I had gotten her attention; now the real negotiation was about to begin.
"This place looks no different," I observed, my voice betraying a hint of distant familiarity as I surveyed the vast, reinforced testing facility. The walls were thick, layered with arcane dampeners, and the air hummed with barely contained energy.
Lindy Crowe, the executive director, walked beside me, her expression a careful mask of professional curiosity. "Have you been to this kind of place before?" she asked, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.
"Oh, yes," I replied casually, keeping my internal monologue tightly locked down. Yes, but it was only when I was playing the game and became an S-class hero capable of leveling entire dungeons. I know every schematic, every weakness, and the exact energy limits of these facilities from the blueprints I studied in my past life.
I stopped, turning to face the team of engineers clustered by the control panel. "Okay then, can you tell them to raise the barrier to the first level?" I instructed, my tone authoritative.
Lindy’s composed facade finally cracked. "First level?" she echoed, her voice sharp with surprise and a touch of alarm. She glanced at the engineers, who were already looking nervously at each other. "Mr. Vi-rel, the barrier surrounding this place is one of the most expensive installations in the entire institute. When it is raised to the first level, it requires hundreds of thousands of high-grade magic drives just to sustain the energy needed to create the protective field."
Her eyes narrowed, calculating the scale of the power I was about to unleash. "If you need a first-level barrier in a test area of this size... it means you are using it to prevent the backlash of a warhead test."
I chuckled, a low sound of amusement. "Oh, you don’t worry, Director. I am not going to use a warhead," I reassured her, though the subtle shift in my eyes probably did nothing to calm her nerves.
Lindy, though clearly concerned, was also clearly intrigued by my confidence. After a moment of internal debate, her sense of corporate duty and, perhaps, her desire to secure my contract won out.
"Alright then, please raise it to first level," Lindy instructed the control room workers, her voice now crisp and decisive. The engineers immediately sprang into action, the facility lights momentarily dimming as massive energy reservoirs were tapped.
I nodded approvingly. "Right. It’s a bit overboard to imagine it’d be a warhead in the first place," I conceded. I turned back to Lindy, a sincere warning in my voice. "However, there will be a similar shock, though I will try my best to control it on my part. I recommend you and your team stand back and be prepared."
The last vestige of Lindy’s professional composure dissolved into outright panic. "Pardon? What do you mean by that, and what are you trying to control?" she demanded, her voice rising as she looked around for the safest exit. The facility suddenly felt very, very small.
"It is better to be safe than sorry," I simply stated, my hand already moving to retrieve the item from my dimensional inventory. I placed a small, intricately designed black box on the reinforced floor.
A monotone voice boomed over the facility’s intercom: "First level barrier has been issued. All personnel evacuate to designated safe zones."
"Oh, what’s that?" Lindy asked, pointing a trembling finger at the box.
"Just something that will blow your mind," I said, a grin finally breaking through.
I knelt beside the box, speaking in a low, reverent tone, as if describing a piece of art. "This Potion Box contains a distorted space full of concentrated magic, supported by multiple high-grade magic stones. In addition to the standard containment field, I was able to incorporate a unique magic circuit of my own design."