The other gamblers in the room watched in amusement as the First Mate gently stroked the Villa Stone, while ignoring the Dimensional Compass, which he had been eager to purchase only a few seconds earlier.

"If you would like to purchase it, I am looking for curiosities. Rare resources and trinkets that I might not have seen before." Karl suggested.

They were a trading vessel, and he was from the New Home Merchant Clan. He was even wearing their badge, so it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that he wanted to trade.

"I think that we can come up with something. Cash in your chips and I will take you to the hold. No unattended chips, and they can't leave the gambling room."

They were enchanted to set off an alarm if they were removed, or placed next to chips without the enchantment on them.

The code of the seas was clear.

You could and should kill a man for cheating you.

Karl collected his winnings, nearly five thousand coins worth in total, and traded them to the man by the chest of coins.

What he got back was a mix of Elven and foreign coins, along with local. But the System said they were all worth roughly the same, despite being different sizes and shapes.

"You don't count your payment?" The First Mate asked.

"The System tells me how many coins are in the bag when I put it in my inventory." Karl clarified.

"Good function for a merchant. Alright, first things first. Did you want the dimensional compass? Or will you trade it for equivalent value?"

"If there is something here worth buying, I will trade it. If not, I will take it with me and trade it later."

The Elf smiled. That was a good answer, and didn't commit Karl to anything. But they had all the good stuff on this ship. They just didn't show it to the public.

In Karl's mind, Opal was laughing hysterically as he unintentionally cleared a man of the vast majority of his life savings, then managed to unwittingly access the hidden treasure hold of a Waverider trading ship. They were notorious pirates, organized crime on a global scale.

But Karl just saw it as a gambling den, which the luck of the world dragon would allow him to excel inside.

The hold of the ship was more like a trophy case, in Karl's mind. All sorts of rare items were on display, set out for purchasers or whoever came to admire them.

The only downside was that most of them were weapons and accessories, and that was not what Karl needed.

"I imagine this isn't quite as impressive to you as to most who enter the room, given that you made the item you're looking to trade for treasures from the Captain's personal stash.

There should still be something, though."

Karl stopped as something caught his eye. It was the wing of a Supreme Ranked butterfly, pure crystal, and radiating faint power.

"Oh, now that is lovely."

The Elf gave him a confused look. What could he need it for? He was not an illusionist, or a Fae, who could integrate the Supreme Ranked butterfly into their bloodline to advance and evolve.

"Will we be able to make a trade?"

It wasn't a whole corpse, just a wing of a supreme ranked being. Matilda had used a supreme ranked octopus as a snack, so it shouldn't be too horrifically expensive.

The Elf sighed as he checked something. "The Forest Trickster Butterfly is extremely rare, and the wings are an excellent resource for Fae evolutions."

"So, the Villa Stone and the Compass?"

The Elf shook his head. "I don't think that will be enough to sell the deal to her."

Karl looked at the pile of stuff in his inventory. The Captain was a mage of some sort, her name was that shade of blue in the interface. So, she wouldn't need a strength item.

Or perhaps she would. It would be funny.

"What about if I add this lovely strength ring on top?"

The First Mate examined the ring, then laughed. "Oh, that ring is nasty. That is a

lot of added strength. But you do know she is a mage, right?"

"If you would like, I can teach her to use [Fist] as well. It's quite effective in close quarters."

The First Mate blushed bright blue and choked on his words.

Right, that could be taken a couple of different ways, especially by a sailor.

The First Mate paused as he sent a System Message. Then boots thumped softly down the steps, so gentle that Karl nearly missed them, even with his super sensitive hearing.

Only the fact that he had Soul Sight made him certain that it was the Captain, and not an assassin or other stealth type class.

"So, you want my butterfly wing, do you?" She asked as she entered the room. "Indeed. I have offerings of treasures. A dimensional compass, a Villa Stone that can be used to turn your quarters into a highly defensible separate space, and a max stat strength ring, with both base strength, and a percentage bonus. Even for a mage, that much extra strength is useful. Plus, it's stylish. Act now, and I will upgrade the Villa Stone to include a bunny girl maid to see to all your needs. Or perhaps you prefer a nubile Elven boy toy?" The Captain smiled. "And who says that the Clergy don't know the way to a woman's heart? Is there a way to make the appearance optional?"

Karl nodded slowly. "Give me five minutes, and I can do that. Just hand me the stone and I will make adjustments."

Actually, he would take it back and make her a fresh one that looked the same. Altering a finished item wasn't that easy.

"Do you have a preferred design? If I'm altering the space, I can make it look

like anything."

"If that's the case, make it look like a Spider Goddess Temple. That would be

best."

Karl winked at her. "I know exactly the thing for you."

Or, Rae did.