‘’I was starting to think that I’ll never see you again, boss,’’ Adrian said, ignoring Todd who was knocking on his armor. ‘’Especially after Ryan scoured almost all of the Union.’’

‘’Ryan?’’ Ethan asked, pointing at his own forehead. ‘’The one with the scar?’’

‘’That’s the one.’’

‘’Oh? Did you guys team up?’’

‘’Not really. Everyone is doing their own thing, but we still look after each other. The guys from Cut-Throat are still listening to me. When I sent Ryan to search for you with a small amount of money, he didn’t utter a single complaint. Even though, after months of looking for biochip users, he came up empty-handed.’’

‘’I see. What about the others? Did you hear anything about Vince or Wu?’’

‘’Nothing on Vince,’’ Adrian replied. ‘’But apparently, Wu Qian crossed a big chunk of the Union and went to Misty Peaks about a month ago.’’

Ethan’s lips stretched into a smile. ‘’Yet another piece of good news. Among the three of you, I was worrying the least about Vince. I can’t really say I’m surprised about Wu, though. I bet she was overjoyed after learning this was a cultivation world and started searching for the best sect on the continent.’’

Adrian chuckled before raising an eyebrow. ‘’What do you mean you worried about Vince least? I can beat his ass anytime.’’

Ethan rolled his eyes. ‘’Survival isn’t only about strength, you know? More so when there were people here who could kill us with a look. Vince can make his way anywhere he wants, while you guys are tactless bastards. Just the look on your face is enough to offend others, not to mention Wu who often messes with others to amuse herself.’’

Adrian seemed displeased but didn’t argue against it.

In a good mood, Ethan called a cup of beer and placed it next to his pastries. ‘’I’m guessing you still don’t drink?’’ Getting a nod, he added casually, ‘’So, tell me about what you were up to. Doing missions with your assassin buddies?’’

‘’I only joined them three months ago. Before that, I was mostly running for my life in the Mighty Domains. Not a fun place for someone who isn't even tier-1,’’ Adrian explained with a wry smile, to which Ethan replied with a sympathetic look, remembering the Ivory Woodland. ‘’About half a year later, I chanced upon a strong adventurer team and came to Elim with them. Settling down, I registered as an adventurer and did some jobs while being still in contact with that group. Give or take three months ago, they introduced me to an old man who eventually became my master and brought me to Miri.’’

Ethan listened in fascination. ‘’Master, huh? Is he any good?’’

Adrian nodded. ‘’Early tier-8, but that’s not all. I’m not sure yet but I think Master Damon is the ex-guild leader of the Assassin’s Guild in Mirasatra.’’

Gawking his eyes, ‘’Damn. For real?’’ Ethan asked and added doubtfully, ‘’And he… what? Just wants to teach you how to kill better?’’

‘’Still having trust issues, I see,’’ Adrian jabbed. ‘’Honestly, I was expecting something fishy as well, but I found some reasoning in the past three months. Having powerful disciples is like a big accomplishment for powerful people and a good way to show off, and more importantly, they want to pass their hard earnings of decades –or sometimes centuries– to someone they like. Master Damon first approached me as a wealthy merchant and tried to give me a shady job. Only after I refused his generous offers, again and again, did he explain his intentions. Even after that, there were many small tests, and I’m still not an official disciple but one of his three honorary disciples. So far, he did nothing but help me. I don’t know, boss, I started to like him.’’

Ethan nodded thoughtfully. ‘’Well then, I’m happy for you, Ace. It’s just… stay vigilant against these powerhouses. To be able to rise to the top in this kind of world means they are not to be trifled with. I’d expect most of them to be pragmatic, ruthless, and often hide more than what it seems.’’

‘’As far as what I witnessed, that definitely seems to be the case for the most,’’ Adrian said gravely before changing a hopeful tone, ‘’What about you, boss? Did you find what you were looking for?’’

His experiences in Azora passed before his eyes. Thinking about Evelyn, Liam, Fraeya, and others, a light smile formed on his face. ‘’Maybe? It’s too early to say, but I’m certainly glad that we chose to come here.’’

‘’Are you kidding me?’’ Adrian retorted with an excited smile. ‘’Magic? Immortality? Higher realms? This is a lot better than I expected.’’

Ethan laughed aloud and it became louder when he saw Adian pushing Todd’s hand which was now starting to scratch his armor aggressively.

Pointing at Todd, ‘’What’s up with that guy, anyway?’’ Adrian asked curiously.

‘’Nothing!’’ Todd blurted out.

‘’Nothing my ass,’’ Ethan grumbled. ‘’He spilled everything about Earth to some count of Mirasatra who now has 13 earthlings as prisoners and is dying to get biochips for his family.’’

Adrian's face fell. ‘’T-That’s serious.’’

‘’It’s not!’’ Todd said with a shrug before giving his attention to Beet.

Ethan shook his head lightly and sipped his beer. ‘’I’ve some plans to clean his mess, and I’m gonna need your help as well.’’

‘’Anything, boss. A Count, though? It’s not gonna be easy,’’ Adrian said with a troubled face. ‘’If we explain everything, my master might help, but I know you wouldn’t want that.’’

‘’It must be an inside operation. Not only I don’t want any leaks but I’m also interested in this guy's treasury. Oh, he is the weakest count of the kingdom, by the way, surname Reinhardt.’’

‘’Alexander Reinhardt. He should be peak at tier-7.’’ Adrian said, raising an eyebrow. ‘’Y-You can’t possibly take him out, r-right? What’s your tier, anyway?’’

‘’Mid tier-4. Yeah, no fucking way I’m fighting him head-on,’’ Ethan replied with a smile. ‘’What about yours?’’

‘’Almost tier-4. I need a few months at most,’’ Adrian said. ‘’Then, what’s your plan, boss? We have to involve some other powerhouse to this.’’

‘’How about your buddies in the guild? Can we hire people without letting them know what’s going on?’’

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

‘’That’s… possible. No need to mislead them. There are rune contracts that make sure the assassins keep their mouths shut, but they are expensive. Not to mention to hire tier-7 assassins…’’

‘’What’s their rate?’’

‘’No idea,’’ Adrian replied, shaking his head. ‘’Hundreds of mana stones?’’

‘’Good. I can manage that, maybe we’ll offer them a share from the loot as well,’’ Ethan said, his eyes calculating. ‘’That brings us to another subject. I need to find an auction house to sell some stuff. And I need information. Detailed and accurate information.’’

‘’The auction is easy. You might have to wait for a few days for a big one, but no more than a week or two,’’ Adrian said. ‘’We can go to the black market and probe some people for information. There are also information agencies as well but their fees are extortionate.’’

‘’No leaks, remember? We’ll start with those agencies. As long as their service is up to my expectations, I have many other jobs for them.’’

‘’You really struck it rich, huh?’’ Adrian said, leaning close. ‘’What do you have? We could also show it to royalty. They say if the king is interested in something, he always buys it above the market, and you can get a favor from the royalty.’’

Ethan considered it for a moment but shook his head. ‘’Nah, I'd rather stay anonymous for now. The origin of this thing might spark curiosity in many. Let’s use a big and reliable auction house.’’

Adrian nodded. ‘’Then we should try the Heaven Tinkers. Rumor says they are just a branch of an organization from higher realms. Their rules are ironclad, and they give a face to no one. Normally, their big auctions are monthly, but if you present something good enough, they could change the date and even attract more people from all over the continent in a short time.’’

The mention of the higher realms reminded Ethan of his conversation with Katherine. Adrian had also become an orphan in that last war and he deserved to learn the truth about his parent's deaths. However, looking at his old friend’s happy conduct, he couldn’t bring himself to dampen his mood. He decided that it was best to not enter this subject on the day of their reunion. ‘’Sure, we’ll do that. One last thing. Part of the information I need is about a new friend of mine. Right now, she is in the Union and probably doing something dangerous. After learning about her situation, I’ll need to send someone to check up on her and inform me if anything goes wrong. Do you think Ryan would be okay with this mission? I’ll naturally pay handsomely.’’

‘’If it comes from you, he’ll be more than okay, and he would probably be offended if you offer money,’’ Adrian said with a wry smile. ‘’You don’t seem to understand the feelings of your old subordinates, boss. These guys respect you more than you can imagine. The first thing they asked me when we first met was your well-being and whether or not you’d mentioned anything about leading them in this new world. I told them that we never thought about arriving in this kind of world, but I still don’t think that you have such intentions. Despite their disappointment, they all asked me to inform them if I hear anything about you. Other than Ryan, two more guys in Miri were members of The Dominion once. You can trust them with any mission you have in mind.’’

Ethan grimaced a little. ‘’I don’t want to give them false hope. I don’t have any intentions to go back to those times anytime soon.’’

Adrian shrugged. ‘’Then just tell them that. They should be okay with your decision.’’

Ethan sighed and chugged his beer before leaning back in his chair. ‘’How come you’re still at tier-3 after staying at the Mighty Domains for so long? Trash talent like me?’’

‘’Average talent in shadow but the rest are trash. I could’ve advanced two months ago but Master Damon forbade me to. He wants me to use the skills he gave me before advancing,’’ Adrian explained and raised an eyebrow. ‘’How is it that your talent is trash with that kind of speed?

‘’It was below average but became average with some items. My speed is mostly from mad grinding. How I ranked my skills up, I still have no idea other than luck,’’ Ethan said, chuckling. ‘’Oh, right. Are there any tournaments in Mirasatra?’’

‘’Uh, very rarely,’’ Adrian replied, taken aback. ‘’Why?’’

‘’Just to watch and get more data for Ani. That might be the only way to make up for our bad talents. Well, other than external items and legendary elixirs.’’

Adrian’s eyes lit up. ‘’Do you mean for Ani to create VR? I have something better actually. Come, let me show you.’’

‘’What? Now?’’

Adrian jumped to his feet. ‘’Yeah, you’re gonna love it.’’

‘’Alright,’’ Ethan said, intrigued. Beet just needed a look to understand that they were leaving, but Todd didn’t even flinch against the strong pat on his shoulder, watching the bowling players like the most fascinating thing he saw in his life. ‘’Come on, Todd. We’re leaving.’’

‘’Okay. Goodbye,’’ Todd replied without moving.

Ethan rolled his eyes and turned to Jeff, raising his hand. ‘’Jeff! Can you come here for a second?’’

Jeff left the poor kids alone and walked toward them. ‘’What’s up?’’

‘’We’re leaving for a bit. I’ll leave Todd with you,’’ he said and took out a mana stone before passing it to Jeff. ‘’Keep giving him your strongest booze until he passes out. I’ll pick him up before you close.’’

‘’No problem,’’ Jeff said and turned to Adrian. ‘’Hey, do you know where Carmen is? Why didn’t she return with you?’’

‘’The girl you’d sent? I don’t know. I left in a hurry after learning that the boss was here,’’ Adrian answered, puzzled. ‘’I thought she would follow me after.’’

Jeff narrowed his eyes. ‘’Where were you when she’d found you?’’

‘’Uh, in my chambers in the guild?’’

‘’Was there a bed in your room?’’

Adrian nodded, not following.

‘’God damn it,’’ Jeff cursed under his breath. ‘’She must've slept in your room. She has a weakness against beds. Anyway, just wake her up and send her back here when you return to the guild.’’

‘’S-Sure.’’

They left the bowling alley and hit the roads of Miri. Ethan let Adrian lead the way and followed closely with Beet on his shoulder.

‘’Beast companion, huh?’’ Adrian said, giving a side glance at Beet. ‘’And a peculiar one nonetheless.’’

‘’Don’t underestimate my buddy,’’ Ethan said with a smirk. ‘’Beet isn’t the kind to fool around.’’

‘’Noted,’’ Adrian replied, believing readily.

They kept walking and chatting casually while Adrian explained some inner workings of Miri and what the other earthlings were doing. He wasn’t much informed but he knew where to find information and explained to Ethan anything that came to his mind.

After a short walk, they arrived at their destination. Ethan was expecting some underground place where they did illegal fights, but after he read the sign of the shop Adrian brought him over, he realized the simple solution to his problem.

There were three words on the signboard; Helen’s Jade Slips.

‘’Memory tablets?’’ he asked in a deep tone, excited.

Adrian smiled and nodded before entering the place. ‘’Come.’’

Row by row, the walls of the small shop were filled with shelves that contained hundreds of jade slips, and there was a glass-like structure with runes before them, seemingly protecting the items.

In the middle of the room, sat a young man who was reading a book. When they entered, he looked at Adrian and closed his book. ‘’Same?’’

Adrian nodded and gave two mana stones to the boy.

Standing up, the kid grabbed his coat and walked toward the door before changing the open sign to closed. He turned around and narrowed his eyes. ‘’15 minutes, and no funny business,’’ he said and left the shop.

‘’What was that about?’’

‘’That’s the apprentice of the owner. His boss didn’t like the idea of renting her jade slips for a short time, but the kid doesn’t have a problem turning a blind eye,’’ Adrian explained. ‘’There is no way we can pass these runes to loot the place, so he knows that all we can do is to peek at the inside of the jade slips with our [Mana Sense]. Which is all we need for Ani to record them.’’

Ethan looked around with a thrilled smile. ‘’Did you already upgrade your biochip? Can you enter the VR?’’

Adrian shook his head. ‘’No, it wasn’t enough. I’m very close to it and so are the others, but we think that one needs a rank-3 skill for Ani to understand this world's laws. Some went to the Union to find more stores like this but even they were stuck at the 99% after witnessing various kinds of skills.’’

Ethan’s brows furrowed. ‘’Hmm… Did any of you have more than one rank-2 skill? What about rank-2 skills with two different elements?’’

‘’I-I’m not sure, but I doubt it. There wasn’t any tier-4 among us,’’ Adrian said with wide eyes. ‘’Do you think that’d be enough?’’

Ethan turned his attention back to the jade slips. ‘’Let’s find out.’’