The dusty travel clothes came off first. A scalding hot bath followed. After inhaling a massive plate of roasted beef, Adrian finally felt nice and relaxed.

He hit the capital streets an hour later. His target was a specific high end auction house he had read about in the novel.

Adrian had zero plans of buying stuff at the moment. He just lazed on a bench in the lobby and played the part of a bored rich kid. He let the local nobles show off their shiny coats. Eventually a worker walked by and shoved a flyer into his hand.

The next grand auction was happening in exactly four days.

Adrian smirked as the timing was perfect.

He walked back to his inn room and locked the door. He opened his system interface before he willed the dungeon to create a thick piece of plain paper.

He then grabbed a charcoal pencil and started drawing on one side.

It was a map. He carefully sketched out mountain ranges, rivers and specific landmarks. On the back of the paper he wrote out a detailed address.

He grinned like a money hungry merchant as he looked at it.

The location he just mapped out was situated right in the middle of Marchioness Vaneira’s territory. His lovely ex wife.

According to the novel, Vaneira was supposed to discover a massive mana crystal deposit there in about six to eight years. That mine gave her stupid amounts of money and military power, turning her into a major character. In a way, she basically acted as a massive support pillar for the protagonist later on.

No way in hell was his ex getting that kind of firepower.

Adrian rolled the paper up, tied it a string and stuffed it into his travel bag and booted the whole sack under the heavy wooden desk.

Downstairs in the lobby, he slapped five silver coins onto the sticky counter.

"Five more days." Adrian told the innkeeper.

The guy grinned and wrote it down while Adrian left without another word.

The commercial district wasn’t too hard to navigate. He spotted his target sitting right on a street corner. It was a small restaurant and Adrian thought that it probably looked cozy once upon a time.

Now? The front windows were filled with cracks.

There were no customers inside. The wooden tables and chairs were broken into multiple pieces and overall, it looked like there was a very chaotic bar fight that happened in here.

Adrian walked through the open doorway and yelled, "Anybody here?"

The sound of footsteps from the back room and a man walked out. The man looked like he was in his early twenties. He was extremely good looking but he was on the softer feminine side. He was covered in dirt and looked absolutely exhausted.

Adrian knew this man was actually twenty nine years old and that his name was Cassius.

"Looks like your place is going through some trouble," Adrian said casually.

A small boy peeked out from behind Cassius’s legs. The kid was around ten years old and he was shaking as he looked at Adrian with fear.

Adrian knew exactly why. Cassius was currently drowning in debt and the guy got completely scammed by loan sharks. They forged his signature on an altered contract and jacked the interest rates to impossible levels.

In the novel, Cassius lost everything to these thugs. They already took his wife as collateral. Soon they would take his son. Cassius would eventually escape, build a massive merchant empire from scratch, and become the richest man on the continent. His personal wealth would rival the royal treasury.

But all that money never brought his dead family back. He just became a miserable depressed billionaire. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Adrian wanted that billionaire working for him.

"I might be able to help you out," Adrian said. "What is your name?"

The man looked suspicious. After all, nobody offered free help in the capital.

"Cassius," the man muttered. "I own this place... well I used to. I took a loan to start the business, the thugs altered the contract and forged my sign. Now the interest is impossible to pay. They smashed my shop because I missed a payment and now, I can’t even run the business anymore."

Tears started rolling down Cassius’s dirty face. Adrian was just standing there listening. He did not mock him and nor did he laugh. Cassius felt a weird sense of relief as he finally felt like he finally had someone to vent to.

"They took my wife," Cassius sobbed. "They said they will not give her back until I pay, but I do not have the money."

Adrian knew the thugs were coming back for the son in a matter of weeks. But he needed Cassius completely desperate. He needed absolute loyalty.

"I understand your pain," Adrian lied smoothly. "I have an offer. Leave this broken shop behind and I will give you exactly half the money you need to pay off that loan."

Cassius looked up with wide eyes.

"In return," Adrian continued coldly. "You sign a contract to work for me for the rest of your life. Your entire family works for me forever."

It was a complete trap, a deal that was basically just a daylight robbery.

Cassius gritted his teeth. "Get out."

Adrian just shrugged and walked right out the front door. He barely stepped off the porch when he spotted the welcome committee. Half a dozen massive guys armed daggers to bronze knuckles were walking right towards the ruined restaurant.

Seeing this, he just stood right in front of the shop as he leaned against it’s wall. He knew the novel timeline was slightly vague on the exact dates of these events. But he felt pretty lucky today.

Shouts echoed from inside, glass shattered and the boy screamed.

Five minutes later, the thugs walked out. One thug carried Cassius’s son on his shoulder while kid screamed in pure panic. Soon, the group rounded a corner and disappeared.

Adrian watched them go as he wondered how things were lining up exactly how he wanted.

A minute passed before Cassius dragged himself out the front door with blood dripping down the side of his face.