Lich for Hire

Chapter 230: Using His Fists

The desert wind cleared the fog from Harvey's head, and with it came the realization that he'd been scammed.

"This doesn't make sense... I'm supposed to be dead. How did I run into scammers at a time like this?"

He had no intention to let those two swindlers walk away, not when they'd interfered with his long-awaited appointment with fate.

Meanwhile, Hastin and Hares had holed up in an inn in Sweetdew City.

They shed their disguises, revealing grotesque bodies made of machinery and liquid mercury.

"Heh... didn't expect to run into such an easy mark. Guess we've got our travel funds now," Hastin said. His voice echoed strangely from the magitech reactor embedded in his chest.

Hares, now a shifting mass of mercury, rippled as he spoke. "We've wasted so much time already, but we still haven't even seen a single paladin. At least now we can cross the desert's sandstorm barrier and find them. Still, we'll need to buy some gear in Sweetdew City first. Otherwise, one Sacred Slash and we're done for."

After transforming the two brothers into unnatural undead constructs, Ambrose had given them a single mission: to test whether their new bodies could withstand a paladin's Sacred Slash.

Unfortunately, he hadn't given them any gold to help them out.

By the time the brothers reached the surface, the war between the dwarves and Lyon had already ended. The sandstorm barrier in the desert had become the border between the two nations.

Crossing it on foot was impossible. Even their enhanced bodies would be ground to dust by the endless sandstorms.

After some digging, they learned of a smuggling route.

It was a hidden underground passage with which they could bypass the sandstorm barrier.

But access didn't come cheap: it would cost them ten thousand gold per person.

But the two brothers didn't even have a single coin between them.

At first, Hastin considered rushing through by brute force.

They were no longer the weaklings they once were. His mechanical body was cutting-edge Alkhemia tech, and Hares' living mercury form gave him the strength of high-tier adventurers.

Taking down a few smugglers shouldn't have been a problem.

But after some investigation, they realized they were negotiating with middlemen who didn't even know where the passage was. Only once they paid would the real smugglers appear.

If they acted rashly, they'd only scare off the real targets.

With no other choice, they fell back on their old trade: taking bounties in taverns... and running the occasional scam.

They had been short on funds before Harvey showed up.

Harvey had handed them a thousand gold just like that, giving them enough to afford the crossing.

"That kid... is he really a diviner?" Hastin asked.

Hares was the one who had spotted him first. Before Hares had pointed it out, Hastin hadn't even known about the existence of diviners.

Hares' mercury body pulsed slightly. "I only learned about that thanks to our new master. While that kid was gambling, I saw him make a few subtle hand gestures, exactly the same as our master's. And only a diviner could win that consistently at the table."

Despite knowing that Harvey was a diviner, they still chose to scam him. Their plan had been simple: Hastin would lie, while Hares would tell the truth.

If Harvey chose Hares, they would turn in the mission following his plan.

The sand lizard scale that he possessed was the exact same scale that Ambrose had turned over to the tavern when completing his own bounty. While no one was paying attention, Hares had transformed into a mercury slime, snuck into the tavern's warehouse, and stolen the scale. It would surely pass muster for the real deal.

His plan was to squeeze Harvey for his share of the profits as much as possible to make a modest profit. A few more such scams, and they'd have enough gold for the crossing.

But Harvey turned out to be an even easier mark than expected. No tricks were needed. They simply walked off with his gold.

Their preparations complete, the two brothers set off for Lyon. It was time to test if their bodies could block a Sacred Slash.

Hares flowed up Hastin's body as the brothers merged into a single figure. Cloak on, mask secured—one traveler, ten thousand gold in hand.

Perfect ...or so they thought. The moment they stepped out of the inn, they saw Harvey standing at the entrance, arms crossed, a cold smile on his face. Clearly, he had been waiting.

Hastin, however, acted as if he hadn't seen him and casually walked by.

"Hey!" Harvey snapped. "Are you ignoring me, now?" fгeewebnovёl.com

Hastin turned, feigning confusion. "You speaking to me? I don't believe we've met."

Harvey's eyes widened in disbelief. "You scammed me out of a thousand gold at the tavern! Do you think putting on a different cloak and mask will fool me?"

Unfazed, Hastin replied, "Listen to yourself. How can you be sure this isn't a case of mistaken identity? Have you ever seen this scammer's face? Want me to take off my mask so you can check?"

"You—!"

Harvey realized, to his shock, that he couldn't win this argument. He had no proof, after all.

"I'm quite busy. If I happen to meet this scammer you mentioned, I'll be sure to remind him to return your money. Bye."

Hastin turned to leave.

Harvey exhaled slowly. If words wouldn't work against a shameless liar like Hastin, he'd have to switch methods. A die of fate silently appeared and fell upon his body.

A few seconds later, cloth tore. Coins began spilling from inside Hastin's cloak and clattered across the ground.

Hastin scrambled to pick them up. His bag had gotten snagged on a mechanical joint and been torn open.

The brothers didn't have magical storage—just a literal sack of gold.

But now, all the gold coins were spilling out everywhere.

Naturally, passersby gathered instantly. "Oh dear, how careless! Let me help you pick those up!"

A dozen hands reached for the coins and disappeared just as quickly. In the blink of an eye, half the gold was gone.

Such was the "honest" charm of Sweetdew City.

After hurriedly picking up what remained, Hastin took stock of how much they had left: six thousand gold. They were still short.

His expression darkened. He grabbed Harvey by the collar and lifted him into the air. "You wanna die?"

Harvey mimicked his earlier tone. "What could you possibly be talking about? I've just been standing here. I haven't done a thing."

He expected to outplay the scammer with his own tactics. Instead, Hastin's fist slammed into Harvey's eye, instantly causing it to swell shut.

"You think I need proof for this?"

He'd held back—otherwise, Harvey's skull might have shattered.

Harvey reeled, stunned. This guy's moral compass was... flexible, to say the least. When Harvey called Hastin out, Hastin had replied glibly. But with their roles switched, Hastin hadn't even bothered with a verbal argument. He went straight for his fists.

Enraged, Harvey hurled another die of fate. Hastin's body rattled violently. Several bolts popped loose and fell from beneath his cloak.

The power of fate ensured that any potential accidents would surely take place. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Hastin's right arm locked up completely.

That was when Harvey noticed that he wasn't facing another human, but rather a magical automaton.

"...Wait," Harvey said slowly. "You... you wouldn't happen to be sent by my master, would you?"

He'd seen Ambrose's aberrant skeletal constructs and the bizarre materials in his laboratory. This... felt familiar.

Still, Harvey had no proof. He could only go off his instincts.

Hastin set him down. "Master? Who's your master?"

"The Elden Lord!" Harvey replied.

Hastin's other fist struck Harvey with even more strength.

"I don't know any ‘Elden Lord'!" Hastin growled, grabbing him again. "Kid, if you don't pay up today, you're not going anywhere!"