"It's easy to see why you'd think that. You're right, adventurers do end up going poof during runs, but I assure you, nothing about their disappearance was normal," Freya said, the fairy shuddering as the words left her mouth.

Ryan's eyes widened.

"It definitely wasn't normal. Most of the disappearances occurred within one to three days of opposing Looters Heaven, without fail. Nobody knows how it happens. Looters Heaven aren't made up of adventurers, from what we know," Sasha chipped in.

"It isn't like most of the adventurers were amateurs or noobs—we're talking about high-ranking adventurers. That's why we're trying to find another angle to attack from," Uro said.

"And that, my good friend, is why we need you. You can be the final piece to the puzzle we've been assembling," Cicero said.

"So how exactly am I going to be of use to you guys? What exact role am I going to have in this... rebellion?" Ryan asked.

"Fantastic question. Unfortunately, we will not be divulging that information until we know that you're onboard," Cicero said.

Ryan's entire body went cold. The adventurers surrounding the table seemed to be relaxed, but he could tell that they were tense and were probably going to jump him or try something if he said no. However, he believed in the benefit of a doubt—not like he had a choice in the matter.

"What happens if I refuse your offer?"

"Well, Sasha over here will wipe yer memory of this conversation and yer'll be back on yer merry way," Uro said.

"Wipe my memory? Is that even safe?" Ryan asked, a bead of sweat rolling down his head at the thought of what could be done to him.

"Well, it works out fifty percent of the time, doesn't it, Sasha?" Cicero asked.

"Affirmative. The last twenty people that I've worked on have gone on without a hitch," Sasha said with a wink.

The last twenty people—how many times had they done this? Was he even their first choice? Could he even trust them? He'd be letting a complete stranger mess with his mind if he agreed. Ryan must've been visibly shaking because Uro cleared his throat noisily.

"Sorry about that, the stench of fear tickles my throat," Uro said with a chuckle, the others at the table joining in. Ryan managed to let out a nervous chuckle.

The way Ryan saw it, this was certainly a reasonable option. However, if he did refuse...

"If I do choose to refuse, what piece of information were you going to give me to clear your debt?" Ryan asked.

"Oh that, let's just say that I might know a way to activate the ring on your finger," Cicero said nonchalantly.

Ryan's breath caught in his throat. He glanced at the ring that had fused to his finger—surely not?

"This ring or another one? I'm pretty sure that this ring is a fake," Ryan pointed out.

"That's because it hasn't been activated," Cicero said with a relaxed smile.

"Even if, it surely can't be the real one. I got it cheap—by Veron's clangers, I swear," Ryan exclaimed.

"What's special about the ring anyway?" Freya asked, seemingly lost as to why Ryan was losing his mind over a piece of jewelry.

"That dull ring, my dear, belonged to none other than—drum roll please... No?" Cicero paused, taking in the disapproving looks from his squad mates. "Oh, you're all no fun. Anyways, it belonged to the legendary merchant—Sarinth."

Ryan's breath caught in his throat for what seemed to be the umpteenth time that evening.

He couldn't believe it. Was the adventurer pulling his legs? He'd bought the ring way too cheap compared to what something like that would go for in auction houses—even deactivated as it was.

This had to be an elaborate scam. Were these adventurers working with the one who scammed him, or was he just being misled by multiple people?

Ryan hoped not. Sarinth's rings were objects of mythical value; he couldn't even imagine how much something like that would cost.

How much something like that would net him in gold—heck, he might even get to retire off this one thing, but first...

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"I'm listening. How do I activate it?" Ryan asked.

"Cicero, if that really is it, should you really be giving that information to... well, him?" Uro asked.

The dwarf was staring at Ryan the same way he assumed hungry fishermen looked at fish.

"Calm yourself, dwarf. I swear that greed of yours would be the end of you. The ring doesn't work for adventurers, so it's a waste of our time. Besides, the ring has chosen him. It's fused to his finger already. Look," Cicero said, pointing at the ring on Ryan's finger.

"Doesn't matter, we could take hi—" Uro said but received a withering glare from Cicero.

"You better swallow those words that you were about to utter, Uro. Everyone present should know that Ryan here is a business partner, and we should have a win-win mentality. There's nothing wrong with growing your investments, eh Ryan?" Cicero asked with a tight smile.

Ryan didn't know what to say. The beads of sweat that had dried up from their earlier interaction seemed to have resurfaced, running down in rivulets to his neck.

"Err, yes. It's definitely wise to nurture your investments," Ryan said to the group, trying and failing not to stare at Uro, who was still eyeing the ring with avarice.

"Fantastic, you all heard the man. So what's going to happen is that we're going to have a gentleman's agreement," Cicero said.

"What are the terms?" Ryan asked.

Cicero seemed to beam at the question.

"I like this one," Cicero said to Sasha.

"Let's hope he lasts," Freya said.

"I'm sure he will. After all, Mr. Lionheart here seems to be a very, very smart man," Cicero said before turning to face Ryan.

"There's only one term: keep this conversation between us. Make sure it doesn't leak and our agreement will stand. So, are you on board?"

Ryan didn't have to think twice about it. In fact, he'd pretty much made his decision when he'd heard that they had information on Sarinth's ring.

"I am. Now, about my information?" Ryan requested.

"All in good time, Mr. Lionheart. The next time I reach out to you, the information will be given to you."

Ryan deflated like a balloon, the anticipation spluttering and dying out within seconds of hearing those words.

Was he being played? He couldn't tell, but he would definitely have to take a moment to relax and get his mind in order. These were certainly not the kind of people he could mess with.

They did look like people of integrity, and it had to be worth something. It had to, because that was the only thing that Ryan had to hold on to at this point. He couldn't even take a deep breath in their presence because he was scared of offending anyone.

"Okay, so do I leave now or do we have a couple of tankards or something like that?" Ryan asked.

Ryan was hoping that they wouldn't be offended by him slipping in the leaving part, as he really needed to calm his nerves.

"Whatever floats your boat, Ryan," Uro uttered as he ordered tankards to their table.

On second thought, it had been a while since he'd shared a tankard with anyone. Frenkie didn't count as the adventurer seemed to have sought him out.

Now that he thought about it, Ryan found it weird how the adventurer had approached him in particular, and he seemed to be certain that Ryan, even as inebriated as he was, would still be interested in the ring.

The fact that Cicero could recognize the ring at a glance should've meant that Frenkie should've known what the ring represented. He should've known the value of the ring and the best place to trade it for the maximum profit.

Damned schemes everywhere—it hurt his head to put much thought into it. He'd rather be in the present, with business partners, people that he hoped could turn into friends.

----------------------------------------

Ryan woke up in his little room in the messy inn. He was sprawled on the bed and, surprisingly enough, he didn't have much of a hangover.

Flashes of the previous night came crashing into focus.

He'd shared a few tankards, had the misfortune of listening to a few inappropriate tales from the group.

Had a moment with Freya, well, at least he thought he did. He had no idea how much of that was his imagination.

Turns out it was the fairy who took him back to the inn.

Ryan instantly turned beet red and almost let out a gasp at the possibility of what might've occurred the previous night.

Prying himself from the embrace of his bed, he stared around and couldn't see any sign of the fairy or anything that could suggest that she'd spent the night there.

"So much for wishing," Ryan said, flopping back onto the bed, the motion causing a mini headache to sprout up in his head.

Ryan couldn't even understand what was going on. He'd spent the previous day having a sit-down with accomplished adventurers.

They'd sought him out specifically—him. He couldn't put a finger on it, but he knew that there was soon going to be a change in his life.

A big one, hopefully a great one. The road to becoming the greatest merchant wouldn't be easy, but Ryan was going to do it, and he'd do it the right way. No shortcuts. He'd be immortalized; his start as a pauper wasn't going to define his end by any means.

"Time to get shit done, Veron's clangers," Ryan cursed as he rose from the bed, taking special care not to aggravate his mild headache. After all, a mild hangover was still a hangover. It wasn't as bad as a full-on hangover, but it certainly wasn't pleasant.

Ryan went down to the tavern, with Carl winking as soon as he saw him.

"My man, the man of the hour is up. How was last night, my friend?" Carl asked.

Ryan couldn't help but turn beet red at the question that the bartender was indirectly asking.

"Uhm, what do you mean?" Ryan tried to feign ignorance while simultaneously hoping that Carl would drop the issue or at least confirm his theory about Freya.

He wanted to know and at the same time, he didn't really want to. It was a weird feeling, to be honest.

"Well, I'm talking about the missus that came in with you last night. She left in a hurry. We bet that you were quick, but we had no idea that you'd be that quick," Carl said with a chuckle.

Ryan looked like he was burning up, his face comparable to that of a ripe tomato at this point.

"Wait, what do you mean you and the guys bet on me?" Ryan asked in horror.

"Ah, relax lad, it ain't nothing but a fair wager between friends, aye. Nothing personal—well, it is a little personal since you made me lose money. I had high hopes in you," Carl said, still aloof as if he was in on some inside joke.

"Well, that serves you right, trying to bet on my private life. And I assure you, whatever you guys thought happened up there didn't happen," Ryan said indignantly.

"No need to cover up, boy. Some people really are like tha—"

"Nothing happened between me and the fairy, on Veron's clangers!" Ryan hissed, interrupting Carl.