Adam was in a bad mood.
After all the preparation he made and the precious spirit he sacrificed, only to find that his opponents were only normal humans.
Not a single one of them had a trace of Mana.
Agh! He wanted to smack the pirate in front of him to death and drag his corpse across the sea to vent his frustration.
Only by sheer will did he manage to calm down. He left a few scum breathing for interrogation, not torture.
But if they were useless, well then…
"You bastard! Why did you attack us? We never provoked you!"
Adam looked at the pirate glaring at him with both fear and hatred.
"Since when did pirates care about who they provoked?" His voice carried amusement.
Jack froze. He knew the truth. Pirates never cared. They attacked any ship they saw, no matter the victim.
"Did we hurt someone you know?!" Jack blurted, panic creeping in.
He thought Adam's family must have been one of his victims. If that was true, his death was certain.
But Adam shook his head.
"No. Not really. I have no idea who you are."
Jack's eyes widened. "Then why…"
Adam's grin was cold.
"I just saw a few scum on my way and decided to clean the sea a bit."
Jack was stunned. Then he laughed bitterly.
Of course. The strong had no reason to care about the weak.
As a pirate, he understood that better than anyone.
Would this be his end? The freedom he always sought was destroyed by the whim of a passerby.
"Get it over with, bastard. Make it quick."
But Adam didn't kill him.
"You're the captain, I presume."
His voice was calm, almost casual.
"I have two options for you. Live… or die."
Jack swallowed hard. "Of course I want to live."
"Then answer me this. Two pirates. A man and a woman. Likely siblings. One with red hair, the other brown. You know them."
Jack froze, shoulders trembling.
Adam's eyes narrowed. He stepped forward and clamped a hand around Jack's throat.
"You really do know them." His voice turned cold. "Choose your words carefully. They might be your last."
Jack's face turned pale, veins bulging as Adam's grip tightened.
"I… know… I know!" Jack struggled, thrashing uselessly. "I'm useful… please!"
Adam released him, letting him collapse to the deck.
"You're going to take me to them, right?"
Jack coughed, clutching his throat.
"But I don't know where they are. Pirates aren't exactly gangs with dens. Ships are our homes, and the sea is our town."
Adam's eyes narrowed. "So you're useless, then."
Mana gathered in his palm, glowing faintly.
Jack's eyes widened. "Magus! Wait—wait! Let me tell you something! Just listen!"
He backed down in fear, heart pounding. He hadn't expected to kick the bucket today, much less run into a Magus.
Fear kicked Jack's survival instinct into overdrive, and he quickly came up with a solution.
"I know a place. It's Pirates Island. Only our kind know the location. The Faraday twins will definitely be there."
"So that's their name… Faraday!" Adam gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.
He had finally found a clue.
Don't worry, Mom. I won't let them live for long, he thought.
"Alright. You're coming with me."
Adam grabbed Jack's collar and dragged him toward the edge of the deck.
"Ah… excuse me…"
Brian and the sailors, who had kept silent until now, finally spoke, trying to stop their benefactor.
"Thank you so much for saving us, Sir Magus. If there's anything I could serve you with…"
"No need!" Adam cut him off. "I'll be taking this one with me. You can deal with the others however you see fit."
Brian opened his mouth, but in the end didn't dare voice his opinion. He had overheard the conversation between the two and knew his savior was in a hurry.
If he delayed him for even a second, he might suffer.
Without wasting time, Adam leapt over the rail. His boots hit the small boat waiting below with a dull thud.
It rocked against the waves, but Adam stood firm and hurled Jack down beside him.
Grabbing the engine handle, he fed it with mana. The boat roared and began to move.
"Which direction?"
Jack had no time to marvel at the Magus's method of powering the boat and quickly replied, "East. Go east."
Adam directed the boat and sailed away. As for the valuables on the pirate ship, he didn't bother to look at any.
What was precious to ordinary people was insignificant and useless to a Magus.
"Tell me what you know about the Faraday twins."
"Ah, yeah, sure… But," Jack stammered, "couldn't you wait for me to get treated? I might not even make it past the night looking like this."
He clutched at his injured shoulder and knee.
"Are you threatening me with information?" Adam's tone was sharp.
"…I would never," Jack said quickly. "It's just… the place we're heading to is quite far. By the time we arrive, I'll probably have bled to death."
"And what's that got to do with me?" Adam's eyes narrowed. "By then, you'll be useless to me."
Jack swallowed hard.
"I don't think so, sir. Even though you're a Magus, you can't blindly charge in. The island is inhabited by several other Magus. You'd be in trouble if you caused too much ruckus."
Adam's lips curled into a faint grin.
"Hah… and you can prevent that." He finally understood Jack's purpose.
"Yes, yes!" Jack nodded eagerly. "I can be your guide and provide you with all the information you need. You're after the Faraday twins, right? Those bastards offended many pirates… You could use them to attack the twins with you."
Adam was thoughtful. Even though he was confident he could deal with Magus using his sniper, he couldn't deny the metric of such information.
If he could rally a few pirates to create chaos, killing two Magus would be much easier.
"You got yourself a deal."
Adam conjured a potion with [Visionary] and tossed it to Jack.
"Drink it," he said, without further explanation.
Jack hesitated, staring at the glowing liquid before gritting his teeth and swallowing it whole.
He was already at the mercy of the Magus. There was no need to resort to cheap tricks to deal with an injured guy like him.
His wounds began to close before his eyes. Jack was both amazed and envious.
Adam smirked. Was he really naive to think he would trust him this easily?
It was true that he spent few spirit points to create this healing potion, but what he didn't mention was the fact that it would dehydrate him until he became a mummy.
No amount of water could save him. A fitting death for scum like him.
"Good boy."
Jack's lips twitched, feeling like a dog.
"Now, tell me what you know about the twins."
After setting their course, Adam turned his full attention to Jack, trying to gather as much information as he could about his prey.
"I don't know them personally," Jack tried to distance himself from the twins before continuing. "But I do know they're Magus specialized in fire and water. They command a crew of about eighty normal pirates and seven Adepts. Usually, they don't return to Behave Island much, which makes tracking them extremely difficult."
He paused, then added nervously, "But lately, in the past few months, their movements have become increasingly obvious. They've been attacking islands more frequently."
Jack lowered his voice.
"I heard rumors they managed to find an artifact that lets them locate nearby dungeons. I don't know if that's true… but many old Magus on the island were tempted to make a move and snatch it."
"So that's how it is."
Adam finally understood why his island had been attacked. The twins were drawn to the dungeon… but they hadn't expected it to be guarded by Mark.
A compass for dungeons, huh. Adam's eyes gleamed. Not a bad thing to take.
He had already claimed the item in his mind before even dealing with the twins.
Whether that was confidence or arrogance remained to be seen.
Just then, his stomach growled, interrupting his thoughts.
"It's been almost half a day since I ate."
The sun had already begun to set, and dark clouds filled the sky.
It was unwise to keep sailing in the dark, but Adam had no intention of resting.
With a single thought, three boxes of pizza materialized before him.
He reluctantly tossed one to Jack before digging into the food he missed most from his previous life.
"Delicious!