But it was still better than struggling with only a Level Four Wizard Talent.
In less than a month, Carl had successfully constructed the Zero-Circle Magic, Azure Wave Guardian, in his Spiritual Inner Sea. This magic occupied a significant amount of spiritual power, so much so that he even had to temporarily forgo the Arcane Missile he had mastered. Fortunately, once witchcraft was constructed, reconstructing it later wasn't troublesome. It was somewhat like the Spell slots in a game; the lower the spiritual power, the fewer the Spell slots. Swapping Spells required freeing up a slot.
Carl's face was grim as he followed the lead of a few people into a slum, eventually arriving at a small, low courtyard. In the center of the courtyard, a wooden plank lay with a body on it, covered by a white cloth.
"WHIMPER... WHIMPER..."
A few women and children knelt beside the body, quietly weeping.
Carl stepped forward and lifted the white cloth. Below lay the corpse of Blackbeard Gray, dead as a doornail. The corpse's face was swollen, and its chest organs had been hollowed out by something, leaving only an outer layer of skin and flesh.
One man cried out, "My brother was killed by water monkeys. Crazy water monkeys surged onto the ship, and my brother fought them fiercely to protect the crew. In the end... my brother died! Died at the hands of the water monkeys!"
"Condolences." Carl covered the body with the white cloth, his face expressionless. "Where's Charles?"
"He's sustained severe injuries and needs to recuperate for a while; it's not convenient for him to come out." The man looked up. "My name is Gal, Gray's brother."
Compared to his brother Gray, Gal was thinner, and his eyes flitted about as he spoke, giving off an unreliable impression. Although he spoke of his brother's death with a pained look on his face, there was no emotional fluctuation of grief. When he entered the courtyard, the few people weeping on the ground didn't even rise to greet him, making him seem more like an outsider.
"So..." Carl took a deep breath and asked, "Was the mission a failure?"
"That..." Gal's eyes flickered before he replied, "It's not entirely a failure. In the end, Gray and the others managed to capture one water monkey and bring it back."
"One?" Carl frowned, then sighed lightly. "One it is, then. Better than none. Bring it over."
"Not so fast." Gal rubbed his hands together, the sorrow over his relative's death vanishing from his face, replaced by the cunning typical of a merchant. "Mr. Karl, how about we settle the agreed-upon payment first?"
"Payment upon delivery," Carl waved his hand. "Where is the water monkey?"
"That..." Gal looked displeased, but eventually waved to the group behind him and shouted, "Bring that beast over!"
"Yes." A few men responded and quickly ran to the backyard. Soon, they returned, dragging a slumbering water monkey with them.
This water monkey was small and obviously not yet fully grown. It was covered in injuries, its body as thin as kindling.
Carl's expression turned somewhat unsightly. Even with his usually good temper, he couldn't help but complain, "Why is it so small?"
Under these circumstances... it's questionable if it can even be used.
"That's the size it is!" Gal said hurriedly. "People come in tall and short, fat and thin. Water monkeys are the same. You didn't say a small one was unacceptable."
"..." Carl was speechless.
He shook his head, took a money pouch from his person, tossed it over, and walked toward the water monkey.
Just as he bent down to pick up the water monkey, Gal, holding the money pouch, looked puzzled and exclaimed, "Wait a minute! Why are there only one thousand Divine Grace Coins? Didn't we agree on three thousand?"
"Three thousand?" Carl turned. "Three thousand is for three water monkeys. The agreement was for you to bring three water monkeys to me within half a month. Nearly a month has passed, and you've only brought one. One thousand Divine Grace Coins is already generous."
"No way!" Gal shook his head. "The agreed price was three thousand! My brother died because of this! How can it be just one thousand?" As he spoke, he stepped forward. "You can't take the water monkey for just one thousand Divine Grace Coins!"
Hmm? Carl's expression darkened, and his body slowly straightened, the powerful aura of a Peak Knight beginning to surge.
"What?" he looked at Gal, his voice cold and severe. "Are you not satisfied?"
The agreed half-month deadline stretched to nearly a month, three became one, and it was even a juvenile water monkey.
Under such circumstances, paying at all was out of respect for the dead, yet this guy was still unwilling?
Gal's body stiffened, frozen on the spot. He didn't react, but the crowd behind him started jeering.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Trying to force the sale?"
"Gal, don't be afraid of him!"
"Mr. Karl." Gaining courage from the support behind him, Gal raised his head and said, "My brother lost his life for this water monkey, and others were injured. You offering only one thousand Divine Grace Coins doesn't seem right, does it?"
"Three thousand!" he shouted. "Give three thousand Divine Grace Coins, and then you can leave!"
"Heh..." Carl scoffed, reaching for the water monkey on the ground, no longer interested in arguing with them. "I'd like to see how you'll stop me."
Saying so, he stepped forward.
"Stop!" Gal roared, "I said stop! If you don't pay, you can't..."
Before he could finish speaking, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. His entire body was lifted off the ground and crashed heavily back down. After landing, he rolled twice and vomited blood.
Gal's body trembled, and then he stopped breathing.
"Courting death!" Carl's face was grim as he slowly withdrew his hand.
Charles, who should have been seriously injured, was energetically drinking wine and eating meat, with no sign of sorrow on his face for his friend's death.
The door was pushed open, and someone hurried in.
"PTUI!" Charles spat out a bone and said, "Call me Captain! Gray is dead. His ship is mine. After being First Mate for over ten years, I've had enough of that title."
"Yes, Captain." The man corrected himself in haste.
Charles then nodded in satisfaction and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Yes." The man nodded. "Gal tried to demand the remaining three thousand Divine Grace Coins and was killed on the spot by that Pharmacist, Carl."
"Killed? Killed just like that?" Charles looked solemn. "He really dared to make a move."
It was his idea for Gal to ask for the money. At the time, he'd considered that Carl might refuse to pay or pay less.
But he hadn't expected...
That Carl would just kill him outright!
This little-known Pharmacist was truly a ruthless one.
"Hmph!" With a cold snort, Charles wiped his mouth. "Killing my men... that can't be the end of it!"