When Lex walked out of the head chef's room, he had already transformed into another person: an ordinary-looking man, with dark skin, around thirty years old. This unremarkable face would make it difficult even for Captain Marco to recognize if Lex was one of his crew.
In the ship's corridor, a single, dimly lit storm lantern was placed at long intervals.
Outside, the wind and rain were raging, and most of the pirates had already returned to their rooms, with only a few waiting out the storm near the deck exit.
Lex walked with his head down through the dim corridor, heading towards the Seer Roch's room.
The first person he was going to hunt was Roch!
Without the Seer, the pirates wouldn't dare to harm Danitz's life rashly. Moreover, losing a Seer would significantly reduce the information the other party could acquire in the future.
At this moment, Danitz had already been captured by them. If Roch wanted to commune with spirits, he would likely have to return to his room.
Even a Seer, without a magical item capable of 'spirit communication,' must use spiritual materials to set up an altar to communicate with spirits.
Lex believed that Roch wouldn't carry those materials with him. Judging by the man's attire, he was a meticulous person. Someone who valued appearance wouldn't stuff various bottles and jars into his formal wear.
Furthermore, he was a pirate operating in the capital of the Rothes Islands, where there were many official Beyonder. If he showed any weakness, the consequences would be endless.
Therefore, if Roch wanted to commune with spirits, he would definitely need to return to his room to retrieve the materials.
This was Lex's reason for going to Roch's room; he would hunt the Seer there.
At the Clown stage, Seers don't have many abilities for practical combat. Their qualitative change occurs at Sequence 7, which is the Magician.
At the Clown stage, they merely become more agile, possess skilled fighting techniques, and can turn cards or paper into deadly weapons.
These were not big problems for Lex.
However, Clowns have strong spiritual intuition, especially regarding attacks and ambushes targeting them. They often perceive these through their intuition beforehand, allowing them to evade or escape.
Therefore, how to deal with this powerful intuition was the problem Lex needed to address.
"No big deal," Lex had already thought of a solution. For him now, dealing with this issue was already quite easy.
In a flash, Lex found Roch's room. He first listened carefully, hearing no sound inside the room, then pushed the door. As he expected, the door was locked, but pirate ships would not install strong anti-theft locks.
Especially for someone of Roch's status, the lock was mainly for privacy. Lex pulled out a playing card, inserted it into the door crack, and with a gentle flick, he heard the bolt inside slide open.
Indeed, it was a relatively simple lock.
He pushed the door open, stood by the door, closed it, and didn't forget to slide the bolt.
Then, Lex raised a finger, and an orange-red flame ignited at its tip, illuminating the room.
He immediately saw a thin steel wire suspended above the floor ahead. Following it to the corner, he saw it tied to a bell. If Lex had advanced rashly, his foot would have tripped the wire, triggering an 'alarm.'
"What a cautious person."
Lex surveyed the surroundings again. In the small room, a short crossbow hung on the left wall; it was well-made, and the grip had some delicate inscriptions. Three arrows were also suspended nearby. It appeared these were items Roch collected.
On another wall, there was a cabinet filled with various bottles. Most of the bottles contained various mystical materials for rituals. However, there were also a few bottles containing liquids of unknown purpose.
The cabinet was locked, with no signs of having been opened.
"It seems my luck isn't bad," Lex smiled, then shifted, allowing himself to completely merge into the darkness by the door.
He relaxed his mind and used meditation, waiting quietly.
Coming out of the interrogation room, Roch walked towards his own room. He heard the sound of the storm outside, felt the rocking of the ship, and noticed the air becoming humid. He frowned slightly and said in a voice he could hear, "I hate rainy days."
Seeing no one in the corridor and hearing snores from some rooms, Roch snorted even more: "These lazy pigs, it seems they've been too comfortable lately."
Next, Zot should properly drill these guys, lest a battle occurs and these pigs run a few steps and start panting heavily. Roch let his thoughts wander, even coming up with several almost cruel training methods, and as he walked, his face unnaturally curled up, revealing a smile like a circus clown.
Arriving at his room door, he pulled out his key and opened the door.
He didn't enter the room directly. He first used a match to create light, saw that the steel wire on the ground showed no signs of being triggered, then Roch entered the room and lit a gas lamp placed nearby.
Roch carried the lamp to the cabinet, took out his key to unlock it, retrieved the materials he needed, and then locked the cabinet.
He frowned as he put these materials into his pocket, then turned around with the gas lamp. He suddenly saw a strange fellow standing behind him, raising his right hand, pointing a black gemstone ring on his little finger at him.
Before Roch could react, he heard the fellow utter a word in Hermes: "Sleep."
On that black gemstone ring, 'Midnight Dream' suddenly spread, and the room was instantly filled with a sense of tranquility, like a soothing night, gently but irresistibly enveloping Roch.
Roch's vision suddenly drifted upwards. He saw the wall flash by, saw the cobwebbed ceiling, and then saw nothing at all.
The Seer fell into a state of unconsciousness.
As he fell, Lex grabbed his collar, lifted him, and placed him on a chair by the desk.
Emptying one's mind and harboring no hostility—this was the trick to dealing with a Clown's intuition. Of course, the prerequisite was having a magical item like 'Midnight Dream' that could subdue the enemy in an instant.
Otherwise, using other items or abilities directly for attack would likely trigger the Clown's intuitive perception, making them aware in advance.
"Next," Lex looked at the short crossbow on the other wall, then at the bottles of unknown liquid in the cabinet.
Five minutes had passed.
In the interrogation room, Marco frowned: "Why hasn't Roch returned yet? Laffey, go hurry him up."
The man, who was reapplying makeup to his face, reluctantly agreed upon hearing this, pushed the door open, and left the interrogation room. He quickly arrived at Roch's room and knocked on the door: "Roch, are you in there?"
The door wasn't locked; it opened with a knock.
Laffey immediately saw his companion sitting by the desk, with a gas lamp on the table and several books scattered nearby.
It looked like the Seer was reading.
"What are you doing, reading now? Everyone's waiting for you."
Laffey walked in, suddenly remembering that the Seer's room had an alarm. After carefully stepping over the steel wire, he no longer hesitated and walked towards Roch. Suddenly, he felt like he had bumped into another steel wire, and before he could react, he heard the sound of a sharp object cutting through the air.
Then, his head and neck simultaneously felt a sharp pain, as if something had pierced him. Laffey stumbled back a few steps, his eyes wide open, and fell to the ground.
Three arrows were embedded in his temples, his face, and his neck.