Chapter 11: Smoke and Silence
Virelux Innovations was built on secrets.
Magical patents, artifact research, and government contracts — all locked in encrypted ledgers and reinforced vaults. The Obsidian Circle protected it with arcane wards and legal barriers stronger than steel.
But I didn't need to tear down the walls.
I just needed to poison the foundation.
[Mission Update: Buyout Virelux Innovations – Phase 1: Sabotage & Subversion]
Objectives:
– Acquire Financial Ledger
– Trigger Internal Devaluation
– Force Emergency Sale
The Twin Blades
Two agents.
Kael, the Windmere merchant I'd used before, now trained in subterfuge and equipped with a false identity.
"Ash," an ex-smuggler Lena once caught robbing our grain caravans. Now rebranded as an inside fixer.
They didn't know about the system. They didn't need to.
They only needed to do their jobs.
Kael's Mission: The Ledger Theft
Kael's cover was elegant: a diplomatic financial auditor sent from Drevan's Treasury Office to "reconcile subcontractor records."
Virelux's archive in Sel'Tor was a tower of obsidian glass and spellstone. But Kael had a simple advantage: he knew what to look for.
[Subtask: Steal Encrypted Ledger of Shareholders and Off-Record Contracts]
Risk: High
Reward: Access to secret debts, expired patents, and bribery records
Three nights later, I received a sealed letter.
"Package secured. Ledger contains three forged ownership transfers and illegal Thaumasteel shipments to outlawed guilds."
Exactly the leverage I needed.
Ash's Mission: The Collapse from Within
Ash entered Virelux disguised as a contractor—"Arel Durn," a magic logistics consultant with expertise in void vault cooling.
His mission?
[Sabotage Directive: Disrupt Internal Systems to Trigger Operational Losses]
Subtasks:
– "Lose" critical inventory
– Corrupt internal accounting software
– Leak research notes to minor competitors anonymously
Ash was brutal.
One week in, Virelux lost a prototype archive to an "unexplained meltdown."
Then a rival startup announced they had duplicated a minor Virelux artifact… just before Virelux's official patent hearing.
[Result: Internal Panic | Stock Value Down 38% | Legal Hold on Assets Triggered]
Virelux's board issued a public statement about "strategic restructuring."
Translation? They were bleeding.
The Final Knife
I didn't wait.
I sent a formal offer to buy Virelux — at 35% of its estimated value.
Included with the offer were unsigned copies of their own stolen ledger — and a note:
"Accept this offer and save face. Refuse, and I'll make your secrets public at the next Trade Union Tribunal."
Two days later, they caved.
[Conglomerate Complete – All 7 Industries Acquired]
✅ Agriculture
✅ Logistics
✅ Manufacturing
✅ Textiles
✅ Finance
✅ Alchemy
✅ Magic/Innovation (Virelux absorbed)
[New Status: Full Conglomerate Formed – Title Unlocked: Merchant Lord of the Grand Circle]
[Warning: Obsidian Circle Leadership Reacting – Countermeasures Incoming]
A Crown Made of Shadows
In the mirror, I no longer saw the weak son of a disappointed Duke.
I saw a man who built an empire in silence, who bought out enemies like land, who turned magic, war, and debt into tools.
But above me now… was something bigger.
[New Mission Unlocked: "Break the Circle"]
Objective: Dismantle or Take Control of the Obsidian Circle
Bonus: Control the Merchant System Itself
Danger Level: Fatal
Ray entered my office. "There's movement in Norfall. Someone's watching the borders. They're not sending merchants this time."
"I expected as much."
I looked back at the glowing console only I could see.
It was time to go from King of Industry…
…to enemy of the secret world that built it all.