I check around my driveway for any suspicious persons before leaving my car with my packages in hand. Some might say that I am too paranoid, but I would like to see them being hunted down by a bunch of wizards. Being the target of someone who can conjure fireballs out of thin air would make anyone slightly more cautious than usual.

Getting the package themselves was surprisingly quick. The drop point was at a run-down laundromat. I received a magical version of an email to explain what I had to do to get my stuff. In the end, there were no flashy arcane circles or special effects. I would lie if I said that I am not a bit disappointed.

I only had to put the stolen granite phone near a locked washing machine. It opened, revealing my packages.

To be honest, I would have never expected that place to be used as a cover by the magical equivalent of Amazon. But I would also never conceive that a magical Amazon existed in the first place.

We truly live in strange times.

I was certain that I would encounter the sisters or another agent of their organization at the laundromat, so I came prepared. However, the shop was empty. It does not mean that I am free from potential retribution, but I can assume that I'm not a target for the time being. It likely will change in the future, but I will handle the situation when it gets there. My plate is already full as it is with all this supernatural business, so I don't need to worry about that.

I enter my home and sigh as I drop the packages on the table in my living room. The external appearance of the boxes does not betray their fantastical contents; any onlooker would think that it was just a regular delivery. But I know better than that, so I quickly open the first box. My jaw drops at the faint blue hue coming from the contents of the box. A faint smell of fresh plastic mixed with a faint hint of iron reaches my nose.

If this were an RPG, I would be happy since I discovered a pretty rare item. But it's not uncommon in the slightest, just a bit pricey. I glance at the crystalline batteries, and MERTICORE fires up as I expected.

***Source of MertiPoints detected! Absorb? (Yes/No) ***

Of course, I accept it immediately. The flood of MertiPoints makes me smile. I'm close to five hundred now. Now I need to unpack the rest of the items I bought with the generous help of Miss Farsight. The books look surprisingly ordinary, but I'm starting to believe that the magical world isn't as magical-looking as I first thought. Sure, wizards can probably teleport around or summon demons, but that doesn't mean it has to be a light show. I bet it would get old very quickly.

Hell, even the light emitted by MERTICORE when it changes something is a bit of an annoyance. But I digress, I will complain about my reality-defying powers at a later date. For now, I open the last package. The parcel contains a black plastic box, which I also open. The contents are not impressive at all, but that's why I choose this particular model.

The armor I ordered is in some cut foam. It looks like thermal full-body underwear, except made of a cloth-like silvery metal. I chose this armor because it's concealable. After all, people would freak out if I walked around while being dressed like a high-level paladin who just got hit by the fantasy equivalent of truck-kun. I could probably make the armor invisible, but I need the mobility. I also don't want to waste my edits on such a feature.

In truth, the appearance of the armor doesn't do justice to its capabilities. This thing can probably stop a burst of .50 BMG without too much trouble. But I chose it mainly because it helps to disperse the Mana of a spell. If I understood correctly, it should weaken the spells that hit me and make them more survivable. To think that such power is hiding in this smooth, glass-like metallic cloth is astonishing.

Of course, it's all within limits. For instance, I doubt I would have a good time if someone shot me with a beam of magma, or if hurling a miniature sun in my general decision sounds like a good idea to some sorcerer I offended.

But that's only in its basic form. MERTICORE will make it even more protective!

I should not delay the upgrade any longer, so I focus on the armor and narrow my eyes.

***Warning! Unknown parameters detected! Cannot Edit Object! Universal Interface Level 2 recommended! ***

Of course. I sigh and buy the next level of the Interface, which cost me more than half of my MertiPoints. This system is stingy, but I know that I can't complain. A lot of people would kill to be in my place.

I take a deep breath and focus on the armor again. I clench my fist; if I need the next level of the Universal Interface, then I don't know what I'll do. But everything shows up like it is supposed to.

Fuck me. I'm glad that I fused with MERTICORE. Just reading all the elements in that never-ending list would take me a week. I select all the parameters that I deem worthwhile and make a sub-list. I need to be careful with what I edit, and also how much I change. The 10mm MERTICORE taught me that there was a limit on how much I could modify an item.

Should I focus on the purely physical side of things? I shake my head, that doesn't make a lot of sense. I bought this armor specifically because it's focused on the magical side. It comes with a lot of features that would be useful if I ever face a spell caster, like temperature control. It doesn't sound impressive until you discover that the armor can handle heat up to five hundred degrees Celsius without the wearer feeling anything.

It makes those fireballs a lot less scary. Don't get me wrong, I will not go out of my way to be shot by a fireball, but it's nice to know that I will not be turned into a very burned toast if I have to fight a wizard.

Choosing what I have to upgrade is going to take a while, so let's get down to business.

...Nicole's PoV...

"So, let me get this straight." My supervisor repeats as he massages his temples. "You walked into the location and put up a Veil as per your orders." The Arch-Wizard says.

I'll be honest. I feel small in that Victorian-styled office. The middle-aged man wearing a black three-piece suit glares at me through his glasses. Even my usually energetic sister stares at the floor in silence.

"Then, soon after your investigation," he says with a grave voice, "an unknown person held you at gunpoint. Is that correct?"

"Y-Yes Sir," I answer the man with graying short black hair with a nod.

"For the records, you were unable to sense the presence of this seemingly Regular person, correct? Despite the fabled Veil techniques of the Farsight family?" the Arc-Wizard asks.

"Y-Yes," Mary and I answer in unison.

"So, instead of immediately following protocol in such a situation, you engaged the suspect and revealed your identities. For the record, the suspect said that he was called 'MemeLord.' It doesn't take a genius to understand that's not his real name." The middle-aged man exhales deeply.

"Then," he says with a monotone voice, "You let him blow up more than half of the building by unknown means."

"And," anger stars to seep into his voice as he clenches his fist, "You somehow failed to disable him with the proper procedure. Despite the one hundred percent success rate."

"As if it wasn't enough, your report states that you two got defeated by a mysterious light and 'pretty shit memes.' I'm just citing Mary's report here." Our supervisor is now fuming. If looks could kill, then we would have died ten times already.

"You were also trapped into an almost never-ending slowed-down fall for more than THREE HOURS. Meanwhile, the suspect fled without any traces and stole your issued Mana Crystals along with your Terminal and your sister's weapon. Furthermore," he punches his massive desk. "You happened to have saved the Agency's card on the Shoppe, something that is STRICTLY against regulations. The icing on the cake is that the suspect spent close to three hundred thousand Credits for God knows what. As you know, the Shoppe takes the privacy of its customers seriously. So we don't know where the items were delivered, nor what the items are. IS. THAT. ALL?" the middle-aged man is shouting and keeps slamming his fist on his desk.

"The Credits will come out of your accounts." The Arch-Wizard says after taking a deep breath. "Some people got fired for less than this, and even your Farsight name has limits. It's is your last chance. If this happens again then you're out. NOW GET THE FUCK OUT!" The Arch-Wizard shouts while a storm erupts near the ceiling of his office.

I grab the teary-eyed Mary and run out of the room before our supervisor decides that blasting us will calm his anger. It has happened before.

"Holy shit..." I mutter once we are a good distance away from that wretched office. That was a close one. That old coot has gotten angry before, but never to such a degree. I guess this MemeLord- I need to find his name, I refuse to call him by such a ridiculous nickname. The bastard must have laughed at our expense, but it will not last. I can promise him that much. The Farsight name will not be dragged into the dirt more than this; he will pay no matter what.

"Sister, get your shit together!" I say to Mary, who is still mumbling while looking at nothing.

"H-He took my staff. I couldn't do anything, and he took my prized staff." The shocked woman mumbles. That staff was a gift from our mom, so I can understand why Mary was so attached to it. Let alone the fact that it was a decent weapon it also had tremendous sentimental value. Mom will also be pretty pissed if she discovers that we lost one of her gifts.

Mary takes a deep breath and steels her gaze, "What do we know about him?"

I don't need to ask about who she's talking about. The mysterious gunslinger who made us look like a bunch of fools and drove us to financial ruin.

"We don't know anything yet, but someone like him must be related to another group. He has to be." I say. There's no way that somebody who can bypass our defenses without breaking a sweat just happened to bumble into our investigation. There has to be something more to it. Maybe someone else was intrigued by the energy emissions?

I bet it's those stupid Sorcerers again. These idiots won't stop at anything to annoy us or make our life more difficult. I take a deep breath to calm down. Let's not jump to conclusions. The Sorcerers usually leave us alone as long as we don't interfere in their affairs, and we haven't done anything lately.

Then who could it be? The Agency has allies and enemies like every other group, but nobody who would send such a powerful mage to investigate what is, in the end, a minor incident. As it turns out, the data we collected in the lab was inconclusive. It was a false positive.

But the lab is of no consequence. I will use every resource at my disposal to find the one who humiliated us.

"I haven't felt any Mana from him, not a trace of unusual energy. Could he be a Cultivator or a low-level Artificer?" Mary asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Cultivators are very rare on this side of the world. They rarely come here. And Artificers are usually flashier." I say with a wry smile. The penchant of the Artificers to make everything needlessly complicated is well known. But I guess it comes with the territory, people must already be a bit damaged in the head to be willing to do what the Artificers do.

"He did blow up half of the building." Mary retorts.

I nod, "True, but that explosion was quite mundane, wasn't it? If our opponent is an Artificer then there would have been more colors, more illusions, and more noises. He would also have ridiculously introduced himself."

"Fair point... But he did say that he was called 'MemeLord'. That's something an Artificer would do." My sister says as we walk in the corridor. "I guess that still doesn't explain the lack of energy. Even they release a tiny amount of energy when they play with their doomsday devices."

"Don't worry. We will have our answers soon enough. I will make sure of it." I say with a resolute expression. "I'll do my research, and we will see how long this idiot thinks he can hide."

I clench my fist and grit my teeth. I will catch that bastard, and he better be able to give my Credits back!