Villain Hiring: Help! Author Wants Me Dead-Chapter 93: Scam?

"That journal… it does not belong to this world." The old man said, instantly peaking at my interest.

Damien stiffened. "Okay, yeah. I really don’t like that phrasing."

Although the all-knowing system said that, I flipped the book open anyways.

hufff

There was nothing like the fear that the book in front of me wouldn’t open.

I was so traumatised by the Book of Sin that every single time book I tried to open a book, I felt nervous.

The first page was blank. So was the second. But on the third, words began appearing—written in ink so fresh it still glistened.

Hello? Is someone there?

I snapped the book shut.

"Nope," I said, stuffing it back on the shelf. "Not dealing with this haunted diary."

The old man cackled. "A shame! That one is quite talkative."

I ignored him and kept searching.

At the very back of the shop, in a glass dome, a single candle stood, its wax untouched despite the melted remnants pooling at the base.

The Eternal Flame. That was the only description on the plaque.

I reached for it.

The moment my fingers brushed against the glass, a sudden heat surged up my arm. It wasn’t painful, but it felt alive, pulsing like a heartbeat.

Before I could react, Damien snarled, "Noah, don’t—"

The old man appeared beside me so fast I hadn’t even heard him move.

What the fuck?

The man’s speed was as fast as my grandpa’s, if not more.

Weirded out, I gave the man another, proper look.

He was wearing 2, if not 3 robes over his body; as if the man was freezing but there were no signs of him feeling cold.

The old man seemed to be around 45-50 years of age, his face carved out with a thick, grey beard covering almost half his face along with a moustache.

The man had plenty of lines on his face, indicating that he was old, his skin was wheatish and maybe it was the over-exaggerated amount of robes but he looked pretty huge for his age.

"Ahh," he breathed, staring at me with those beady eyes. "You felt it, didn’t you?"

I yanked my hand away. "What the hell was that?"

"A flame that never dies," he murmured. "It will burn as long as its wielder breathes."

I stared at the candle. It wasn’t even lit.

Damien clicked his tongue. "I knew this place was bad news. Everything in here is alive in some way."

The old man smiled. "Power comes at a price, young one. The only question is… are you willing to pay it?"

I exhaled slowly. "I think I’ve had enough shopping for today."

Thinking hard and fast about it, I still decided to roam another section before I left.

Then, I saw it.

A tiny black cube, no larger than my palm, resting alone on a dusty wooden shelf.

I reached for it.

And suddenly, Damien went silent.

The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёnovelkiss.com.

A first.

I frowned. "Damien?"

Nothing.

Picking it up, I had just started turning in my hands when Damien’s voice rang in my ears.

He seemed... weirdly excited?

"What?" I asked him, thinking of all the weird things this system could tell to scare me.

And out of all of them, Damien had exactly chosen the thought that he knew wouldn’t let me sleep peacefully nights.

"This better not explode." He said seriously, before bursting out loud.

"Hehehe, I’m kidding. Chill out a little, Noah. You look like you ate shit or something~"

And this time, I really couldn’t stop myself from cursing this failure of a system.

"Listen here you little bitch-"

"Alright, alright I’ll tell you the truth," Damien said. His voice was lacking the usual sense of amusement as he continued.

"…I don’t know what that is."

I nearly dropped it. "Wait, for real?"

"You heard me."

It surprised me that there was another thing this weird all-knowing system did not know about and the thought made me feel better about myself.

I glanced at the old man. "What is this?"

"That?" He rubbed his beard. "Found it in the ruins outside the kingdom. Never figured out what it does though."

Although it seemed unnecessary to buy it, I glanced at the price of the object and tossed five silver onto the counter. "I’ll take it."

’Wouldn’t hurt buying it,’ I thought.

What if it turns out to be another powerful artifact?

And as I turned toward the exit, the wooden floor creaking beneath my feet, the shop’s bell chimed again—this time, loud and forceful, as if the door had been thrown open.

A gust of wind rushed inside, scattering a few loose papers from the counter.

Then, a boy stormed in.

His hair, an unruly silver-grey, was almost the exact shade as the old man’s.

But unlike his—who hunched over in layers of robes, eyes glinting with sly amusement—this boy stood straight, sharp, and burning with barely restrained frustration.

His piercing blue eyes swept the shop, locking onto the old man behind the counter with a fire that made me raise a brow.

For a moment, I just watched.

And then, for the first time ever, Damien spoke in admiration.

"Well, I’ll be damned."

I nearly choked. "What?"

Damien hummed, looking the boy up and down with his so-called Soul Sense.

"Kid’s strong," he mused. "Real strong. And unlike you, he actually looks the part. Look at that posture. That confidence. Noah, take notes."

I scowled. "Excuse me?"

The boy, completely unaware of my internal conversation, stomped toward the counter, glaring at the old man.

"What the hell are you wearing that stupid lens for again?" he snapped.

The old man grinned. "A salesman must always—"

The boy cut him off, pointing at the shelves.

"And you’re back to scamming people with all this useless junk?"

***

A/N: Dear readers, I’d hope y’all could help me in polishing Noah’s sword —

With this, I start a new event!!

The sword polishing event for the men’s and women’s of culture—

For every 1000 coins worth gift = 1 Bonus Chapter.

For every Magic Castle and above = 6-9 Bonus Chapters!!