This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 236 - 217 A Predetermined Calamity

Chapter 236: Chapter 217 A Predetermined Calamity

Alchemy City was gone, and the event shook the whole continent.

The political climate changed suddenly and dramatically, the Dwarf Kingdom eyed Alchemy City greedily, leading to everyone from Alchemy City becoming subjects of strict scrutiny, and there were even hefty bounties for their capture.

Harvey, the poor bastard, hadn’t even entered the city when he was caught by a group of roughnecks, half mercenary, half bandit orcs.

This was a band of orcs that adhered to a matriarchal clan structure. They intercepted Harvey outside Dew City, then surged forward and bound him.

Then, Harvey met the female orc beside him, or rather, the half-orc half-elf.

This half-orc female self-proclaimed as "Sawtooth Blade" used the most straightforward and primitive method for her interrogation, and that’s how Harvey ended up in this situation.

Harvey began to wonder if luck was a zero-sum game, that after his long streak of fortune, it was now time for misfortune.

Having taken a beating, Harvey barely managed to convince the group of orcs that he had no knowledge of the disappearance of Alchemy City, but "Sawtooth Blade" was displeased. After all the effort it took to capture and fiercely interrogate him, could it all be for nothing?

Right when "Sawtooth Blade" was about to slaughter Harvey and sell him to the black market necromancers, Harvey loudly claimed he could make her a lot of money.

"I’m really good at gambling!" Harvey said with a battered mouth.

Of course, the orcs didn’t believe him, someone brought out a few dice to play the simplest game of high-low stakes with him.

The rule was to cut off one of Harvey’s fingers for each loss, but Harvey won thirty times in a row until the orc could not stand the cheating anymore.

However, Harvey saw through the cheating at a glance, and the orc lost utterly and completely.

In a life-or-death situation, a Diviner Mage could always trust his intuition.

Seeing Harvey’s ability, "Sawtooth Blade" decided on the spot to keep this human captive.

No sooner had they dressed Harvey’s wounds than they brought him into Dew City, hoping to make a big profit.

Harvey, with his bruised face and a broken hand, looked so miserable that Amberser almost couldn’t restrain himself from helping. But upon reflection, considering that Harvey didn’t have a scratch on him the next time they met, Amberser assumed he solved his own problems and didn’t intervene.

After deciding to rescue Harvey, Amberser had acknowledged him as his student, so he was quite interested to see how Harvey would handle this trouble.

Harvey had no idea that Amberser had witnessed him in his wretched state; he was dragged by "Sawtooth Blade" to sit at the gambling table.

This was the dice game table, not managed by the tavern owner but rather by some locally renowned mercenary groups. It appeared to be an unwritten rule across the continent that tavern owners only sold beverages and operated commission intermediating services; they abstained from all other businesses.

Taverns served more as a platform for adventurers to exercise their freedom.

As soon as Harvey sat down, the gamblers already engaged in betting sneered at him mockingly.

The Drow Elf chewing on a dice cup even said out loud, "I’ve seen plenty of gamblers, but this is the first time I’ve seen one who comes gambling looking like he’s been beaten to a pulp. Have you gambled away everything and are staking your last on a final bet? Do you need a referral for a loan, because I know quite a few lenders."

Harvey simply tossed a Gold Coin and said, "Just shake it. You’re not a Bard earning money with your mouth, so why spout such nonsense?"

"Eh? This pighead has a temper? Fine, today you’ll lose everything down to your bandages!"

The Drow Elf noted the position of Harvey’s Gold Coin on the ’high’ spot and immediately smiled.

Of course, the dealer had his tricks up his sleeve. As a seasoned Wanderer, getting a low score for him was a breeze.

With a smack of the cup, the Drow Elf confidently opened it to reveal one, two, and three—a total of six, which was low.

Just as he was happily pocketing Harvey’s Gold Coin, the Drow Elf sensed something wrong. On the other side, where the high bets were placed, was a pile of small change that together exceeded the value of a Gold Coin.

Although he won Harvey’s bet, he made the boss lose money.

Frowning, he thought, how could he make such a rookie mistake? Angering clients and making the boss lose money – if word got out, he’d be in serious trouble. But this small loss was nothing; he just had to make sure not to repeat the mistake.

Harvey, unfazed, laid down a second Gold Coin, betting on high again. This time the Drow Elf checked carefully; there were more bets on high, so he decided to go with low.

The dice, precisely controlled by the Drow Elf, rolled a four, five, six - fifteen points for a high score.

This time the other gamblers grumbled in discontent, losing a significant amount.

By then, someone had said that this kid Harvey was like a beacon, starting to bet specifically against him.

Now the Drow Elf was in trouble, he couldn’t keep making the boss lose money. He had to roll numbers that would allow Harvey to win.

But to the Drow Elf’s shock, he couldn’t do it anymore.

No matter what Harvey bet on, the Elf kept losing, while those betting against Harvey cleaned up.

The Drow Elf’s head was sweating bullets—they had managed to make the boss lose thousands of Gold Coins in just a few rounds.

Slamming down the dice cup, the Drow Elf looked at Harvey and said, "Kid, you dare to cheat in here?!"

With an innocent face, Harvey replied, "I’ve been losing money this whole time, and you’re accusing me of cheating. Is there no reason left? Besides, you’ve been rolling the dice, I haven’t even touched them—how could I cheat?"

The Drow Elf was at a loss for words but he was certain, this fellow wrapped in bandages had tampered with the game.

Otherwise, the dice couldn’t have possibly been this disobedient.

Harvey sighed and said, "Geez, accused of cheating just for losing money—what’s the point of playing? I’m out of here."

As Harvey stood to leave, "Sawtooth Blade" quickly came to his aid, and the two of them left the tavern together.

The Drow Elf had a bad feeling, because the female Orc that came with Harvey didn’t place any bets, which means the two really came here just to lose money—that was baffling.

However, shortly after the two left, several Orcs also exited the tavern.

They had arrived even before Harvey, already posing as customers betting in the tavern, casually losing a bit of money at first. But when Harvey showed up, they made hefty bets. Since the bets were spread across several individuals, it appeared that no single person won a lot, but together they had gathered five to six hundred Gold Coins.

This was equivalent to several months’ income for the Orcs, and they were thrilled beyond measure.

"Sawtooth Blade," both happy and puzzled, asked Harvey, "Why not just win the money directly? With your skills, you could win tens of thousands in one day!"

"One person winning that much? Aren’t you afraid of a fallout? My teacher taught me one thing, when it comes to making money, you’ve got to know the other party’s bottom line. Now we’re getting away safely without any trouble. If we’d won too much, there might have been bloodshed, and with my current look, I’d be the first to fall."

Harvey learned a lot from Amberser, like the time Amberser tricked him into setting up a Magic Array, making him believe he was going to be a sacrifice, so he cleverly modified it to self-destruct. Although he ended up being the fool, it was a great lesson for Harvey.

Sometimes intentionally showing a flaw can actually cover up more important information.

Using himself as bait, Harvey successfully covered for his companions. That Drow Elf would probably not figure it out until tomorrow.

I’ve really grown, haven’t I?

Although "Sawtooth Blade" thought Harvey was too cautious, they’d still made a profit. Generously, she said, "Then, as promised, I’ll heal you."

"Sawtooth Blade" smacked her palm onto Harvey’s body and her hand began to glow with a bluish-green light.

Harvey felt an itching sensation in his broken arm, and within dozens of seconds, it had completely healed.

Catching her breath, "Sawtooth Blade" retracted her palm and told Harvey, "That’ll do; my healing spells only go so far, so just bear with it."

Orcs are not adept at casting spells, and even Bloodline Sorcerers among the Orcs can only specialize in a few spells from their lineage. "Sawtooth Blade" was certainly no Sorcerer; her spell casting ability probably had something to do with her Half-Elf ancestry.

Despite his face still being wounded, the fact that his arm had recovered made Harvey very happy. The Orcs had kept their word, and his life was saved.

"Let’s make a deal—I help you win money, how much do I need to win to be set free?" Harvey asked.

"Ha, stop dreaming. Why would I let a gold-laying camel escape? From today on, you are my man, working for me for life!" she replied with a chuckle.

Harvey’s eyes widened beneath the bandages, and he said in shock, "What did you say?"

Sawtooth Blade laughed loudly and said, "Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. When my mother captured a Drow Elf, she was very careful in handling him. It’s a family tradition."

Sawtooth Blade then picked up Harvey and strode towards the city’s largest inn.

"Help... help me!" Harvey tried to yell, but was quickly silenced by a piece of moldy jerky stuffed into his mouth, making him unable to call out.

All of this was secretly observed by Amberser, who, along with Katherine, had been hiding nearby under an illusion all the way until Harvey was carried off.

Amberser sighed; the kid had made a bit of progress, but not by much. Who reveals their escape plans to their captors? Of course, you’ve got to keep them off guard and then find an opportunity to run.

"Aren’t you going to save him?" Katherine asked sympathetically.

Once she confirmed the victim was a Drow Elf, Katherine was relieved it wasn’t one of her kin. But she started feeling sad for Harvey—such a traumatic experience this would be.

Shaking his head, Amberser said, "I’ve already said, fate can’t be changed. If I intervened now, I might just accidentally push those two into bed. It’s the will of fate—Harvey will accept it."

After all, Harvey had said that if he knew he was going to die tomorrow, he’d face it head-on.

It’s just a loss of virginity; as an Adventurer, it’s inevitable. First time for everything, you get used to it quickly.

Amberser told Katherine, "Let’s also take some time to rest. I have a premonition that we’ll fulfill this false prophecy very soon. Just one last act to play out, and Harvey will be as good as alive."