Five days later. Noon.

On the halfway point on the mountain across mine entry three, under the shade of a pine tree, on a round boulder, nothing could be seen.

That was the effect of Ray's cloak and his talent [deception].

Ray leaned against the tree idly as he watched myriads of bandits setting up blockage on the valley road.

By dusk, nothing notable had happened. Then the sound of horn blared from every direction. Army by the thousands stormed the valley. In correspondence, groups of adventurers rushed through the mine entry.

The man leading the charge was a frail man in a plain robe... the owner of the black market store.

Ray gulped when the man glanced at his hiding spot. Scary. Ray took a few deep breathes to calm his throbbing heart.

Right. He just happened to pass by. He wasn't planning to do anything. Anything at all. He wasn't with the bandits. Right. Not guilty.

The bandits did not even last five minutes. The ones who surrendered where chained and led back by the army.

Two hours later. It was completely dark. A large convoy slowly advanced on the valley road.

At the very front were slaves with barely enough to cover themselves crammed in a large cage. In the middle was a four-tusked elephant carrying a golden throne. Inside, a fat man could be seen being massaged by four young women. In the back were caravans loaded with cargo.

Ray glanced at the group with [eye of truth] and one slave interested him in particular. A skinny slave sitting on the floor, clasping his hands together. But before he could observe any further, a young woman in white dress jumped out of the mine and in front of the elephant.

Ray pointed at the girl and activated [deception]. He had no idea why he did it. It was just based a weird feeling.

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"I, I, I'm robbing you!" She shouted. The knife she held trembled so much, she could disarm herself.

The fat man focussed his eyes on the girl and tapped his chin. "She'll sell well."

The guards surrounded the girl immediately.

"Wait. This isn't right. Why does Anthony have guards? Let me go! Wait! The information broker lied!"

The girl was bawling in tears as she got locked up. Ray had a mysterious smile as he watched the convoy travel into the distant.

"Well, time to work." Ray murmured as he walked to the valley road.

In around half an hour, Ray could see a figure approach him. The figure noticed Ray too and paused.

"I thought you were going to keep the white dress on haha. You actually got a black cloak now. Smart." Ray gave her a thumbs up.

The figure blurred into the darkness.

In response, Ray turned back and jogged.

Within a minute, he caught up with the girl. "Nice! You know [shadow walk]? Man, you are a real rogue. Much better than me. I still don't know a single rogue skill."

The figure blurred again. Ray jumped back. A white magic circle glowed where Ray just stood. The girl ran right into it.

"Hey, I'm easily scared you know. Oh, you got blood on your dagger. You took Anthony's life? You are in big trouble now." Ray laughed.

"Shut up! We are both going to die when the guards catch up." The girl's face was flushed with blood. Couldn't be sure if it's because of anger or the exercise.

"Ok, give me the storage ring and I'll let you go." Ray offered.

The original plan was to use the girl as a decoy for the guards as he got away. For some reason, he didn't want to follow through.

"I'd rather die. I need the money to save the villagers." The girl refused without room for bargain.

"Hmm, I'll take the ring, you take everything inside." Ray shook his head as he turned down the idea of threatening.

"How about I take the ring and you take everything inside?" The girl offered back.

"How do I carry the stuff?" Ray asked.

"Exactly!" The girl replied.

"Hey! I see her! Right over there!" A guard shouted in the distant. Barking of hounds could be heard.

Maybe it's because of the girl's goals, or maybe it's just because of the girl, Ray changed his mind.

"Alright, let me see the ring first." Ray held out his hand.

The girl thought for a moment, but still passed it to him.

Ray examined the ring with [eye of truth]. "It's tracked and locked."

He pointed at the ring and a green light flashed out.

[dis-spell] is a spell that disses other spells... so uhh... they get angry and self-detonate.

The storage ring contained a dimensional space the size of a bath tub. Ray quickly glanced through the items inside.

"Nice, greater magic stones." Ray threw six out forming a hexagon and held one in his hand. A magic circle formed on the ground. With a flash, the couple disappeared.