"What does your captain's treasure look like?"
There were plenty of ways to quickly boost strength, but most came with side effects, and the most common one was the Outer Gods.
Just pray to an Outer God, and you'd gain power—but don't ask about the price.
"It's a card... Ever since the captain got that card, his strength started skyrocketing.
"He killed the previous captain, seized the ghost ship, and took over the pirate crew..."
As he spoke, Loren could feel the hatred in this pirate's heart.
It seemed he still had some affection for the previous captain. Telling Loren about the ghost ship was also a way to avenge his old captain.
But Loren didn't care about that. He couldn't be bothered with the grudges and grievances of these scumbags. What he cared about was something else:
"You said it's a card? A card like this?"
"Yeah, that's the one..."
Seeing the Tarot card in Loren's hand, the pirate was somewhat startled.
After spreading the news that he was the Observer, Loren had flown straight to the coast. His flying speed outpaced the spread of the news, so the people by the sea still didn't know who the Perpetual Observer was yet.
"Alright..."
Loren put the Tarot card away without changing his expression, showing no desire for the card. This had always been his habit.
He never let others know what he wanted.
"It's just ahead. Our captain is resting in that inn."
The pirate pointed toward an inn up ahead. It was a very modest establishment.
After all, this was still territory of the Orthodox Gods, so they had to keep a low profile.
Maybe robbing a few people wouldn't get the Church involved, but if they went on a full-scale killing and looting spree, the Church wouldn't just sit by.
"Good. Come in with me."
Loren chose to bring the pirate along. Loren never left witnesses when he handled things.
Not just to eradicate evil completely—Loren also didn't want anyone knowing he had Tarot cards.
Anyone who learned of this had to die.
"Do you need a room, sir?"
As soon as Loren walked in, the attendant eagerly approached him.
"I'm here to find someone."
"Understood..."
Hearing this, the attendant obediently stepped aside.
Running an inn here meant they had some capability, but that didn't mean they could meddle in conflicts between pirates.
If Loren was here to see a friend, great; if he was here for revenge, the inn wouldn't interfere either—at worst, they'd count themselves unlucky.
Loren had stormed in with a fierce air, his blade in hand. Seeing this, the others wisely cleared a path for him.
Eventually, the pirate led Loren to an ordinary room.
"They're inside..."
Hearing this, Loren didn't rush to act. Instead, he asked the pirate a question:
"How much is your head worth?"
"I... I don't have a bounty..."
"What a shame. I was thinking that if I had the wrong room, I could use your head to pay for the door.
"But you must have something valuable on you. Should be enough to cover it."
The pirate understood Loren's meaning and quickly started explaining:
"The captain is really in here."
"Alright, he's pretty cautious."
Having a ghost ship already made him a major pirate. There were plenty of better inns in town, and this one had nicer rooms too.
Yet he chose the most inconspicuous room.
Loren didn't tip his hand. Instead, he sliced through the lock with a single stroke of his blade and kicked the door open, not giving the people inside a chance to react.
Inside the room was a scruffy man holding a wine bottle, with two bodyguards standing nearby. Even in the inn, he was always cautious.
He glanced at Loren, who had burst in, then at the pirate who had led him here, and instantly understood what was happening.
"What do you want? Let's talk this out..."
The captain raised both hands without hesitation, immediately conceding.
He didn't know Loren, but since Loren dared to come for him, he must have some confidence. Better to be careful.
Rather than clash with Loren directly, it was smarter to back down first.
Especially since Loren had been brought by one of his crew members. With Loren's imposing manner, he didn't seem like someone here to join him. Plus, this crew member was a loyalist of the previous captain.
Before he could find a way to deal with this crew member, the crew member had struck first.
"I want this card."
Seeing this, Loren didn't bother with nonsense. He casually flashed a Tarot card for the captain to see.
The captain's willingness to adapt surprised Loren. It saved him the trouble of killing the man and slowly searching his corpse.
"This..."
Hearing that Loren wanted the Tarot card, the captain hesitated for a moment. Loren walked straight up to him and yanked out a handful of his hair.
The bodyguards nearby took a step forward, but the captain raised a hand to stop them.
The Tarot card was the captain's biggest trump card, and Loren had one too. The fact that Loren had come looking for him meant he knew far more about Tarot cards than the captain did. In fact, Loren probably had more than just one card.
"Just as I thought. I guessed right. Your hair is white, and you dyed it black on purpose."
Loren showed the hair in his hand to everyone. Just as he'd said, the roots were all white.
And with that, Loren figured out which card he had.
Temperance. The effect of the Temperance card could be summed up as equivalent exchange. He could trade his lifespan for power—that was why the captain had grown so strong so fast.
"Willing to trade away your own lifespan for power? Dyeing your hair black to hide the fact that you're aging, to threaten the others."
Loren released his grip, and the hair scattered to the floor:
"I don't understand why you'd do this. Even if you really became the Pirate King, how many years would you have left to live?"
Hearing Loren directly state the effect of the Tarot card, the captain completely gave up. He took off his captain's hat, pulled out the Tarot card hidden in a secret slot, and handed it to Loren.
[Tarot Card · Temperance]
Effect: Equivalent Exchange.
Description: All of fate's gifts come with a price already marked in the shadows.
The card's face showed a massive scale, with a soul on one side and wealth on the other.
The Temperance card had broad applications. Trading lifespan for power was the simplest use. It could even trade for fate itself, though the price was equally high.
At the same time, the Temperance card had an effect Loren had been longing for for a long time: converting magic to physical.
With this, Loren could directly switch from a single blade to dual blades. He could finally use those powerful martial skills he'd been unable to access, instead of relying on Throat-Severing Slash over and over until the enemy died.
Focusing on either Strength or Intelligence yielded the highest returns, just like in some games. Loren's Strength stat was essentially wasted, like useless base stats. The cuts he made in battle were all magic damage, or else he relied purely on the sharpness of Requiem.
Now that Requiem was gone, the arrival of the Temperance card was like finding a pillow just as drowsiness set in.
"Alright. Now that I have the card, I can settle accounts with you all."
Even as Loren said this, he didn't sense any despair from the captain. Instead, it felt more like relief.
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