Chapter 143 - Only The Feudal Lord Left

The change was peculiar, yet no matter how much Tom looked, he couldn't spot the ongoing process. 

'I'm sure it's thinner than it was before,' he thought, squinting his eyes. 'I can already see his muscles pretty well,' he added, not sure what to think about the situation. 

The one thing was obvious. The man's arm continued to thin out as if he was consuming the fat in his arm for every second of the arm-wrestling match. 

'Is he using it for fuel?' Tom thought, puzzled by the situation. 'I might not be a biologist or a medic, but that shouldn't be possible, would it?' he thought, confused by the situation. 

'Well, at least now I know why they were so confident about winning the match,' Tom thought, closing his eyes in order to focus even more strength in his hand. 

At this point, his biceps burned with pain as if they were really on fire. His entire arm was turning numb from the overexertion, threatening that if the match wouldn't be stopped soon, it could end up permanently injured. 

'Still, I wonder how it works,' he thought, keeping his eyes closed as to not let this strange situation distract him. 

The two men continued to push their hands for the next few moments, hoping to overwhelm their opponent. Yet, just like before, they were pretty evenly matched. 

Tom opened his eyes. While this meant risking losing his focus, he wanted to see whether there was any noticeable difference to the man's arm. 

'What the hell,' he thought, noticing how much thinner it became. 

Sutra's arm no longer appeared as imposingly as before. Right now, it was ripped to no end, free from even the tiniest hint of fat. From the look of desperation on his face, it was clear that he wasn't going to give up, but...

'What is he going to consume once he runs out of the fat?' Tom asked himself before the possible answers appeared in his mind. 

There were only two possibilities there. Either the man would lose his edge once he would have no more fat in his arm to consume, or he would start turning his flesh and muscles instead. 

Tom closed his eyes. He took a single breath and allowed the man to push his hand a little. 

It wasn't a trap. 

Bit by bit, Tom allowed his hand to take an angle. Once it was just a few centimeters above the surface of the table, he finally gave up, allowing Sutra to slam his arm into the wooden piece of furniture. 

The silence in the room continued for a few more moments as Sutra's friends took a while to realize what had just happened. 

And then, the room erupted in cheers. 

"We won!" Someone shamelessly claimed a part of the victory as if he contributed something!

"Serves you right!" One of the men that initially chased after Tom spat this shout in the young man's face.

"Horray!" 

'I guess that does it,' Tom thought, leaning back on his chair. 

For him, it was no difference whether he would win or lose. His only objective was to obtain the support of those people so that the takeover of this land could proceed smoothly. And whether or not they would pay any taxes? 

Even if their business was booming, it would be nothing when compared to what Tom could bring to this town with a single trip to the dungeon! Even if the major were to complain about the decreased tax revenue, Tom was more than capable of just paying it all from his pocket for the next few years ahead. 

'And that's assuming they will remain in the business even after I bring my family here,' Tom thought, unsure what kind of expression he should make. 'Well, no matter what, their skills will still be of use,' he came to a conclusion. 'And I don't want to have that man's fate be a reason for guilt trips down the line.'

For a smith, losing the ability to swing his leading arm would be akin to losing their meaning in life. Even if Sutra had enough savings to live the rest of his days in peace, Tom could tell that smithing wasn't only his job but also a passion. 

'Thinking about this, I believe it applies to everyone in the room,' he realized as he scanned over the faces of the cheerful crowd. 

"Well then, just as promised, you will no longer need to pay any taxes, but you will support my claim to this place. Is that correct?" he said, turning his face to the leader of the group. 

"That's right!" the man replied, unable to hold back his smirk. "I bet you thought you could win!" he added, reveling in the victory of his friend a little bit too much. 

"He could win," Sutra muttered, averting his eyes as soon as his leader took a look at his face. "He threw the match. I saw it in his eyes," he added before standing up from his chair and lowering his head to Tom. "For sparing my arm, you have my gratitude. If there is anything, I can do to repay this debt..." 

"Can you tell me what was that in the first place?" Tom quickly asked, both to sate his curiosity and to change the topic. For some reason, the cheerful atmosphere of this place allowed him to fare better against all the depressing thoughts that ate away at the core of his soul. 

"It was no magic, sir," Sutra replied, sitting back in his chair, still unable to look Tom in the eye. "While this is shameless for me to say now, we are honest workers. We wouldn't cheat the match by using it," he added before putting his weakened arm on the table. 

Previously, it was ripped to the point where Tom couldn't see a single spare gram of fat on it. Only the skin and the muscles. Yet now, although a small amount, fat already started to return to the man's flesh, slowly filling in the gaps. 

"This ability is something I was born with, a special constitution that only a handful of people are," Sutra said, revealing the truth behind his inhuman strength. "Most of them end up as adventurers... But that wasn't something I ever wanted to do. Smithing is way more interesting," he added, his face brightening up as soon as he started to talk about his interests.

'So there are people like that too. I wonder if there are other constitutions that one can have in this world,' Tom thought, taking a mental note of this potentially important fact. 

After all, he just got an example of how potentially powerful such a constitution could be. In a situation where one's magic would be hampered or even completely cut off, it appeared that the bodily constitution would work, as usual, allowing one to easily exceed the natural limits of the human body. 

"Now then, I guess it's time for me to go," Tom said, satisfied with what he learned. "After all, I still have the lord at the province's border to deal with," he added offhandedly, without even thinking about it. 

'Huh?' he thought, surprised by his own honesty. 'Why did I tell them that? It's not like it's important or vital information, but still...' Tom thought, confused by his own actions. 

Was it the relaxation he experienced thanks to everyone's joy? Was the short time of complete loneliness in this world already started to affect him?

But the young man didn't get the time to think deeper about the topic, as his words instantly made the atmosphere in the guild sour.

It was as if the source of everyone's joy suddenly disappeared without a trace. 

"What happened?" Tom asked. The change was so obvious that he didn't even need to explain what he asked about. 

"I guess that's it for our tax freedom," the leader of the guild sighed before shaking his head. 

"Could you please elaborate?" Tom asked another question, raising up from his seat. Given how the change happened as soon as he mentioned the feudal lord of the place, it was pretty obvious that those smiths knew something that could potentially influence his last opponent on the path of taking full control over the area. 

"You are not going to win him over. Not unless you can bribe his brains out," Sutra said, clearly hoping to somehow pay Tom back for sparring his arm. 

"Guys, I appreciate the worry, but don't forget that what you saw right now was me... but without any magic," Tom said, leaning his head over the shoulder. "While I don't mind using bribes if it's the easier way out, don't you think that you are underestimating my capabilities a little?" 

"No, we are not," the leader of the guild said with a conflicted look on his face. "First of all, the lord's keep has a huge quantity of Mylerit embedded into its walls. So you can say your farewells to the idea of using your magic inside," he said before closing his eyes. 

"And even if you bribe him, that fucker will backstab you at the first given opportunity," Sutra finished the warning, finally raising his eyes and looking Tom directly in the eyes. 

"So that's the case..." Tom muttered, taking a moment to think. 'This mylerit is quickly starting to annoy me,' he thought, recalling his first experience with it. Although it wasn't the metal that Claudia's chains were made of, it was still a pretty annoying thing to deal with. "Well, it doesn't change anything if I were to be honest," Tom added as a huge smile appeared on his face. 

"How so?" the leader of the smiths asked, looking at Tom as if he was some kind of naive child. 

"From what I figured out so far, mylerit blocks one from activating or forming any magic, right?" Tom said only for his smile to blossom even further. "But I observed it had no effect on the magic that's already cast!"