[CEO's Cheat Sheet]
Headhunting: The process of recruiting executive-level or highly specialized S-Class talent, usually at a very high cost.
Onboarding: The process of integrating a new employee into a company's ecosystem and culture.
Cybersecurity (Fantasy): A multi-layered magical defense system to protect physical assets from hacking (intruders).
"System, perform one S-Class Employee Gacha pull," Stephanie commanded in her mind.
[Ding! Deducting 1,000 WP.]
[Remaining Balance: 37,500 WP]
[Processing S-Class Talent Summon...]
Unlike Ornn's summoning which only emitted a standard golden light, this time the air inside Stephanie's office vibrated violently. A rainbow-colored pillar of light erupted from the stone floor, swirling gracefully and emitting pure magical particles that made the air feel cool and smell of fresh mint leaves.
A transparent crystal card floated down into Stephanie's hand.
[Ding! Congratulations! You have obtained an S-Class Employee (SSR)!]
[Name: Sylas Thorne]
[Race: High Elf]
[Profession: Grandmaster Runeweaver & Chief Financial Auditor]
[Traits: Workaholic, Perfectionist, Sharp-tongued, and Extremely Charming.]
From the rainbow pillar of light stepped out a man who would make anyone hold their breath.
He was tall and slender, wearing an elite aristocratic suit of silver and emerald tailored with absolute precision. His platinum blonde hair was tied neatly at the back of his head, revealing his signature pointed Elf ears. On his nearly flawless face rested thin, gold-rimmed reading glasses.
The Elf's emerald eyes swept the messy room with a highly critical, judging gaze, before finally locking straight onto Stephanie.
"Horrendous infrastructure, substandard spatial efficiency," Sylas Thorne commented in a baritone voice as smooth as silk. He then smiled faintly and stepped closer to Stephanie. "However, I smell infinite money here."
Sylas bowed with the grace of an ancient noble. He gently took the back of Stephanie's right hand, lowered his head, and kissed it as a formal Elven greeting.
"Sylas Thorne, reporting for duty, Madam Director," Sylas said softly, his lips barely brushing Stephanie's skin.
FWOOSH!
The room temperature skyrocketed to the boiling point in a fraction of a millisecond. The wolf fur rug beneath Revista's feet instantly burned to ash.
A massive hand, covered in pitch-black veins and radiating lethal heat, grabbed the back collar of Sylas's luxurious suit. With pure, brutal strength, Revista threw the Elf's body until it crashed hard against the stone wall across the room.
CRASH!
"Take your filthy lips off her skin, or I will tear your jaw off," Revista growled.
The Cursed Prince's voice sounded like grinding hellstones. His red eyes blazed brightly, emitting an Abyssal-Class murderous intent that made the air in the room feel as heavy as a block of iron. Revista immediately stood in front of Stephanie, completely shielding her petite body with his broad, sturdy back like a shield.
Sylas, who was embedded in the stone wall, merely adjusted his glasses calmly. As an S-Class, a crude physical attack wasn't enough to kill him.
"Ah," Sylas smiled faintly, dusting off his collar. "The Cursed Crown Prince. A highly unstable SSS-Class combat asset. Madam, your risk management truly... gives me the chills."
"Revista, stand down," Stephanie commanded in a flat tone.
Revista turned his head, looking down at Stephanie with his broad chest heaving from rapid, heavy breaths. His eyes were full of dark, possessive jealousy. "He... touched you."
"It was merely a business greeting," Stephanie sighed, reaching out to lightly pat Revista's oven-hot chest. "He is our new Head of Magical Security, as well as the Chief Accountant who will handle all the financial paperwork that gives me a headache. Don't kill him. He is worth a thousand Wealth Points."
Stephanie's cool touch and her highly logical tone slightly quelled Revista's anger. However, the silver-haired man didn't step back even an inch. Instead, he grabbed Stephanie's waist from the side, pulling her flush against him, and shot a deadly, threatening glare at Sylas.
Touch her again, and you die, was the exact meaning of Revista's glare.
Sylas simply gave an elegant shrug. "I will limit my physical contact with your primary asset, Madam Director. So, what is my inaugural project in this freezing startup?"
Stephanie pointed out the window, toward the 15-meter-high black obsidian wall she had just built.
"Our physical infrastructure is solid, but it is still blind to magical attacks and aerial intruders," Stephanie explained, her eyes gleaming with ambition. "I need the highest-tier magical firewall. I want absolutely no flies from the Capital or pigeons from the Church of Light to enter Winterhaven without my written permission."
Sylas stared at the obsidian wall. His emerald eyes narrowed as he calculated a series of magical equations in his head.
"Pure Obsidian wall... a very expensive and perfect medium for Rune conduction," Sylas murmured, the corner of his lips pulling upward. "Give me ten minutes. I will install a Tier-4 Absolute Lockdown Ward. Anyone who tries to climb or hack this wall without security access will be vaporized into dust."
Sylas walked to the windowsill, spread his arms, and began chanting a spell in ancient High Elven. Hundreds of golden magic circles exploded from his fingertips, shot through the freezing air, and stuck to the entire surface of Winterhaven's obsidian wall. The wall glowed golden for a moment before returning to pitch black, hiding the deadly magical defenses within.
Nighttime. At the border of the Black Pine Forest, five kilometers from Winterhaven.
Three shadows moved swiftly and silently across the freezing tree branches. They were the Griffin Vanguard, a secret elite assassination unit sent directly by Duke Malakor Vane.
"The targets are Princess Stephanie and the Cursed Prince," whispered the lead assassin wearing a silver skull mask. "The Duke wants his own daughter's head. The castle is already destroyed, they must be dying of the cold. This will be our easiest assassination mission yet."
However, as the three assassins leaped out of the forest border, their tracks came to a brutal, screeching halt.
The mouths behind their masks hung wide open.
Instead of finding the ruins of a destroyed castle and a dilapidated shack, they were faced with a giant, 15-meter-high black obsidian wall stretching across the entire territory. At the very top, deadly ice spikes gleamed under the moonlight.
"T-This doesn't make any sense!" one of the assassins stuttered in panic. "Capital intelligence said Winterhaven only had a negative 500 gold coin treasury! Where in the world did they get the funding to build an Imperial-class fortress wall?!"
"Don't panic," the leader hissed. "It's just rock. Use the wind-grapple magic, we'll scale it silently!"
The leader threw a magical rope made of condensed wind toward the black wall.
However, the exact second the magical rope touched the obsidian surface...
BZZZZT—BOOOM!
One of Sylas's giant golden magic circles instantly materialized on the wall. The wall unleashed a blast of magical lightning thousands of times hotter than fire. In less than a second, the lead assassin didn't even have time to scream before his body was completely vaporized into black ash, blown away by the snowy wind.
The two remaining assassins fell to their knees in the snow, trembling so violently they wet themselves. They stared at their leader's ashes with bulging eyes, absolute horror squeezing their hearts.
"Retreat... RETREAT!" the surviving assassin screamed hysterically. "Winterhaven isn't a wasteland! This place is a monster's stronghold! Report back to the Capital right now!"
Inside the castle, Sylas, who was neatly organizing the ledgers by candlelight, pushed up his glasses and gave a cynical smirk.
"Hacking attempt detected. And successfully eliminated," the Elf murmured. "What a truly delightful startup."
[Nymphaearoot the Author]: Our Chief Accountant and Defense Hacker has arrived! Sylas Thorne instantly shows off his S-Class power, and Revista shows off his Abyssal-level jealousy! 😂 Meanwhile, the assassins sent by Stephanie's father immediately suffered a mental breakdown on their very first day. What's Stephanie's next move with this super-tight security? Let me know in the comments!