Chapter 16 Martell Cole

Nightfall!

Inside a hotel room.

Gunie sat silently cross-legged on the bed, operating the system.

He removed the fourth-level Small Thunderflame Curse and the second-level Blood Ritual Curse.

In their place, he set the beginner-level Secret Pattern Curse "Dark Inscribed Arcane Channel" and the high-level Energy Bullet "Arcane Bullet."

The ultra-long-range method of Dark Inscribed Arcane Channel would be used more often at sea, so it naturally needed priority for idle training.

Small Thunderflame Curse was already close to level four, sufficient for now.

As for the Blood Ritual Curse, Gunie estimated he wouldn't need it for a long time, so there was no rush.

With the two tomes placed in the idle training slots, Gunie began to carefully sense the nuances of these two texts.

"In a few days, I'll be able to smoothly attempt Arcane Shooting."

"Then I'll test its power. I hope the secret-pattern-level Arcane Shooting, combined with the Death Beast's destructive energy, won't disappoint me."

Afterward, Gunie walked to the window.

The night breeze gently stirred the curtains.

Gunie felt the slightly salty and damp sea breeze, his eyes narrowing as he gazed into the distant depths of the ocean.

"Exploring ocean treasures is just a minor goal; along the way, I can also capture a powerful demon leader to condense a secondary soul."

"The main purpose is naturally to follow the guidance of the golden conch, heading to an unknown region to obtain the magical and powerful rune related to the Dominator—the Enchanted Rune."

"Moreover, the pace of life at sea is slower. Steadily improving my strength through idle training at sea is also very important to me."

"I just need to steadily acquire resources at sea and enhance my strength."

"When I return to land, I think I won't have to worry about assassination by Transcendent Masters anymore."

Then Gunie's gaze fell upon the dense cluster of ships in the harbor.

"Since I've borrowed Captain Jack's name, in this age of Transcendent Navigation, it's only fitting to make the name Jack Sparrow resound across these waters."

In the dark room, Gunie pondered quietly.

...

Haimlong Tavern.

These past few days had been bustling with activity.

Every day, Transcendent sailors came in an endless stream—some to drink, some to participate in recruitment tests, some to watch the recruitment battles of the Curse Master "Captain Jack" from the Whale Adventure Group, and so on.

Each year, no fewer than a hundred adventure groups were established in Harutef Harbor.

The reason the Whale Adventure Group, recruiting in the backyard of Haimlong Tavern, had become so famous was this:

The group's "Captain Jack" was powerful and enigmatic.

Not that his strength was truly overwhelming—he was only at Transcendent Tier 3, not a high rank.

But few Transcendents could last more than a few seconds against him.

Even formidable Tier 4 Transcendents had little room to resist in the hands of this Tier 3 Captain Jack.

That a Tier 3 Transcendent possessed such formidable power was precisely why the Whale Adventure Group had quickly made a name for itself in these few days.

This also attracted many nearby Transcendent sailors to come for the recruitment tests.

The tall, burly "Buster Johnson," with a few scars on his cheek, pushed open the door of Haimlong Tavern with a creak.

At the same time, he looked toward the windows and corridor near the backyard, crowded with Transcendent sailors holding mugs.

He walked to the bar and tossed out a Silver Dragon coin.

"Barkeep, a large mug of Black Ale."

In a moment, the bartender placed a large mug of Black Ale before Buster Johnson.

"Keep the change, and I'd like to ask you something."

Looking at the Silver Dragon coin, the bartender smiled: "Go ahead."

"I heard there's an adventure group here called the Whale Adventure Group, pretty capable, and they're recruiting crew?"

"Yes, they're in the backyard."

"What are their recruitment rules? Tier? Or some tests?"

"Tier is definitely a factor. Those recruited in the past few days are mostly Tier 2 mid-to-late stage, with two Tier 3s."

"No Tier 1s at all; clearly, this group doesn't need ordinary Transcendent sailors."

"As for the test... I heard no one has passed it these days."

"Oh? How so? Is the test very hard?" Buster Johnson raised an eyebrow.

"The test isn't hard—you just have to cut off a wooden dummy's head from thirty meters away by any means."

"And that Captain Jack stands right next to the dummy, casting various curses to stop you."

"I hear these curses are quite powerful, but Captain Jack's control over them is astonishing—so far, no one has been seriously injured or killed."

"The worst injury was someone getting numbed by electricity and twitching on the ground for a while."

"So no one passes the test, yet some are recruited—meaning if one is strong enough, they can meet Captain Jack's mental threshold?" Buster Johnson mused.

"That seems to be the case?" The bartender nodded.

"And what if someone damages the wooden dummy?"

"Then they can take a position in the adventure group."

"Who said that?"

"Captain Jack himself."

"How interesting." With that, Buster Johnson narrowed his eyes and looked toward the backyard.

At that moment, the windows near the backyard and the corridor of Haimlong Tavern were packed with people.

"Whoa! He's flying again."

"Haha... I knew this Tier 2 kid wouldn't make it."

"Even Tier 2 mid-stage Transcendents get thrown around badly; this Tier 2 early-stage guy will fall even harder."

Sure enough.

In the spacious, abandoned backyard of Haimlong Tavern,

"Thud!"

The young sailor, around eighteen or nineteen, landed awkwardly on the flattened grass where previous test takers had fallen.

Standing up, "Martell Cole" shook his body, only to find that sheer strength couldn't break free from the invisible thread bindings.

"This Captain Jack is really something. I couldn't even get within ten meters of the dummy. Looks like I'm out of luck," Martell Cole thought to himself. Then, with a deft spin of the dagger in his hand, the blade aligned with the invisible threads.

He flicked it upward with force.

"Snap!" The weakened puppet threads broke apart.

This scene caught the eye of Gunie, sitting behind a wooden table in the distance.

"Hmm, he easily snapped the weakened puppet threads. Even though I only used one Source Power unit to supply this level-five puppet thread, its power is less than a quarter of its original might."

"But it's not something that can be cut so casually with a blade and Source Power. Besides, this guy can faintly sense the presence of my puppet threads."

"Even though I deliberately didn't conceal them, the fact that he can sense them shows his perception is quite good."

"More importantly, he's young with growth potential—more suitable to keep by my side than those old salts."

"Martell Cole, you're accepted." Gunie announced loudly.

"Huh?"

Martell Cole, who had thought he'd failed and lost his chance, was taken aback.

Then he looked toward Gunie, a look of surprise on his face.

"I'm accepted?"

"Yes." Gunie nodded and beckoned him over.