The strategy room of the Valeris City guild branch was quieter than usual, an atmosphere fitting the gravity of the missiohan had been called to discuss. He stood in front of the holographic dispy, the map detailing a Syndicate-trolled alloy refinery facility glowing in the dim light. Bright red markers indicated turret pts, patrol routes, and choke points. This was no ordinary mission, and it was clear the guild wasn't taking any ces.

  This mission wasn't just about sabotage; it was about precision and timing, both of which were critical to disrupt a vital node in the Syndicate's operations. As Ethan examihe details, he heard footsteps behind him.

  "Walker, I presume."

  Ethan turo face a wiry man with sharp features and a calm yet authoritative presence. His lightweight bat armor bore the scuffs of experience, and the psma sniper rifle slung across his back looked both sleek and deadly. This had to be Zyrix Korran, the merary whose name carried weight not just in the Asheor but beyond.

  "That's me," Ethan said, nodding.

  Zyrix's gaze swept over Ethan before settling on the hologram. "Rising to D-Rank in a few months? Impressive. Let's see if the stories match the skills."

  Ethan smirked faintly. "Guess we'll find out."

  Zyrix stepped closer to the hologram, his firag the voy route that led to the refinery. "The Syndicate has been using this facility to refine preaterials for their mind-trol alloy. It's one of the most critical links in their supply on Kynara. Our job is to disrupt it pletely, destroy the refinery, eliminate key personnel if necessary, and bring bay intel we find."

  Ethan studied the map. The refinery was a fortress, surrounded by yered defenses: automated turrets, patrol drones, and guards statio strategic points. "Looks like they're doubling down on security. Any reinforts nearby?"

  "Closest outpost is fifteen clicks away," Zyrix said, pointing to a sedary marker. "If we're quid , they won't have time to mobilize. But if they do, we'll have a problem."

  Zyrix theured toward a ridge overlooking the facility. "I'll take position here. From that vantage point, I eutralize sentries and provide cover if things go south. You'll infiltrate, pnt charges on the refining equipment, aray data you access. Ohe charges are set, we rendezvous at the southern service tunnel for extra."

  Ethan nodded, itting the pn to memory. "Straightforward enough, but the Syndicate's been uable tely. They've been reinf supply lines aggressively."

  "Desperation," Zyrix said ftly. "They're under pressure, which makes them dangerous. But we use that against them if we stay oep ahead."

  As they tio refiheir pn, Zyrix turo Ethan with a more serious toell me, Walker. This isn't your first run-in with the Syndicate, is it?"

  Ethan's jaw tightened. "No. I saw what they were doing ihar's pound. The experiments, the outpost civilians… It was enough to make anyone want to take them down."

  Zyrix's expression darkened. "Be careful with that ahe Syndicate's good at exploiting it. They lure people into traps by preying on their emotions. I lost a team that way, good meraries who thought they could outfight and outsmart the Syndicate e alone."

  Ethan frowned. "What happened?"

  "They set an ambush. Wiped out my eeam to send a message. I barely made it out alive." Zyrix's gaze ierg as he tinued. "The Syndicate doesn't just kill, they dismahey'll target your allies, your resources, anything they to make you vulnerable. The more you interfere, the bigger a target you bee."

  Ethahe warning sink in but didn't waver. "I'm not reckless, Zyrix. But I'm not stoppiher. Someone has to push back."

  For a moment, Zyrix studied him, then gave a small nod. "Fair enough. Just remember...surviving isn't about winning every fight. It's about knowing whies to take and when to step back. This mission is important, but so is staying alive to fight the one."

  With the missioails solidified, they started to gear up. Zyrix ied his psma sniper rifle, its modifications evident iended barrel and ized energy coils.

  "This rifle's taken out more Syndicate officers and bandit scum than I t," Zyrix said with a faint grin. "Accurate, armor-pierg, and just quiet enough to keep me hidden. You hahe chaos; I'll handle precision."

  Ethan chuckled lightly. "Sounds like a solid pn."

  He checked his own new equipment: a silenced ser pistol, his trusty psma dagger, a pact explosives kit, a few psma and smoke grenades, a hag tool and his cloaking module. Each item had proven its worth as this would be the sed time he'd deploy them as a D-Rank merary. The weight of responsibility felt heavier than the gear itself.

  As they walked toward the exit, Zyrix offered a final piece of advice. "Walker, the Syndicate's more than just a criminal empire. They're a work of greed, trol, and power. They've got resources most of us only dream of. That's why preatters, one misstep and they'll make sure you don't get another ce."

  Ethan stopped at the door, turning baeet Zyrix's gaze. "I get it. But every mission we plete, every piece of their operation we dismantle, gets us closer to shutting them down food."

  Zyrix smirked, the fai hint of respe his expression. "Let's hope you're right. See you at the rendezvous point."

  As Ethan made his way to the rented hover truck parked outside the guild, his mind was a swirl of thoughts. Zyrix's warnings about the Syndicate's methods weren't o him, but hearing them from someone who'd survived their wrath added weight to the caution he already carried.

  The truck hummed to life as he started the es vibrations grounding him in the present. The road ahead was uain, filled with danger and unknowns. But that was the life he'd chosen, and he wasn't about to back down now.

  Ethan ched the steering trols, his resolve firm. This mission wasn't just about taking down a facility. It was about proving that even a massive work like the Syndicate could bleed from him. And with someone like Zyrix Korran watg his back, he felt ready to take aep forward.