Chapter 17 Buster Johnson

When the young Martell Cole with short silver-gray hair came to the wooden table, Gune took out a small pouch and a high-level contract scroll.

“Inside are 50 gold pounds.” Gune shook the small pouch of gold pounds.

“Sign this high-level contract scroll, and the gold pounds are yours, and you will become a member of the Demon Whale Adventure Group.”

“The contract is valid for three years. During the term, you must fulfill the obligation to protect the Demon Whale and obey and execute the captain’s orders.”

“Your monthly salary is 50 gold pounds.”

“If you participate in adventure activities, there will be additional income from the adventure proceeds.”

“You should know about adventure groups. Compared to adventure proceeds, these basic salaries might mean that the income from one adventure could be higher than a year’s salary.”

This remuneration was indeed so generous that it stirred a restless heat in one’s heart.

An ordinary adventure group paid only ten or twenty gold pounds a month. But this Demon Whale Adventure Group started at fifty gold pounds.

The high pay was also one of the reasons so many超凡者 had come for the test these past few days.

He looked at the small pouch of gold pounds, then at the high-level contract scroll. The blank space below already bore many signatures; it was a one-to-many contract scroll, and above were densely packed contract terms.

This Demon Whale Adventure Group was more formal and compliant than he had imagined.

He knew that many adventure groups just put together a parchment contract that looked decent on the surface, not even a real contract, with binding force equal to zero, relying entirely on the captain’s and his trusted men’s fists and strength.

But this high-level contract scroll was clearly different, and it was even a soul contract scroll.

Once signed, the binding force was quite strong.

However, the more so, the more pleasantly surprised young Martell Cole was.

This way, at least he could be sure that this adventure group was a real one, not a pirate ship or even a black ship transporting contraband.

Joining a powerful adventure group, adventuring on the ocean, battling the wind and waves, and fighting the deep-sea alien races—this was young Martell Cole’s dream.

After happily signing the catalyst contract, Martell Cole signed his name again.

“Captain Jack, can I stay by your side these few days?”

After signing, Martell Cole looked at Gune and asked.

“Oh?” Gune narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

“I have nothing to do these days anyway. By staying by your side, I can get to know more of our crew and also run errands and deliver messages for you.”

“Hmm! A diligent young man.”

Gune nodded and then said.

“Stay by my side these few days.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

Martell Cole had just taken his place behind Gune.

A burly figure appeared before Gune.

The man who came into view was in his early forties, wearing a shabby coat with a slight fishy smell, his face rough with a few scars—clearly an old sailor long tempered by the sea.

“Is this the assessment point for the Demon Whale Adventure Group?” the burly man asked.

“Yes.” Gune nodded slightly. “Are you here for the assessment?”

The man nodded lightly.

“Do you know the rules?”

“Yes.”

“Your name?”

“Buster Johnson.” The man said in a low voice.

Buster Johnson, Gune wrote down the name in his notebook.

“Good.” Then Gune pointed to a large rock about thirty meters away.

“Behind the large rock, I’ll shout ‘start’ and you begin.”

“No problem.” The man smiled lightly.

“Start!”

As the man stood behind the large rock, Gune shouted “start.”

The moment Gune’s voice fell.

With a “whoosh!”

The man rushed forward swiftly like a leopard.

Its speed was incredibly fast, as if it would cross the thirty meters in the blink of an eye.

Gunie was not at all surprised by this scene; he had sensed earlier that this fellow was an expert.

"Very fast. From the burst of source power, this guy is a fourth-stage mid-phase, or even late-phase, transcendent, and his star rank is not low."

"At the same time, his control over source power is very strong—he's a veteran."

While pondering this in his mind, he quickly unleashed a series of Arc Lightning spells covering a wide area.

If Gunie unleashed Arc Lightning at full power, covering the entire area, this Buster Johnson wouldn't be able to charge through at all.

But for a simple test, Gunie wasn't about to unleash his high per-second overlap.

At this moment, Gunie's per-second overlap remained at the level of five spells per second.

Whether it was these ordinary spells or the high-level puppet threads, they were all at this per-second overlap level.

As for those lethal spells, Gunie had no intention of bringing them out; making the testing ground bloody and messy would ruin the atmosphere.

Three Arc Lightning bolts, with extremely tricky angles, forced Buster Johnson to slow down and move in a curve.

At the same time, Gunie's high-level puppet threads quickly wound toward Buster Johnson.

Sure enough, when Gunie's low-source-power, unconcealed puppet threads landed on Buster Johnson,

his expression suddenly shifted.

He sensed these puppet threads.

While advancing, his right hand reached to his waist.

With a sharp "Ring!"

A silver-white radiance suddenly appeared, and with a light slash,

Bang—bang—

two puppet threads wrapped around his body were cut directly.

At the same time, Buster Johnson's short knife slashed fiercely toward the wooden dummy in front of him.

By then, Gunie had already manipulated three more puppet threads to wrap around Buster Johnson.

If he pulled back now, Buster Johnson might not be able to withstand it and could be yanked away, preventing him from cutting the wooden dummy.

But Gunie thought it over and ultimately didn't pull.

A strong guy like this, letting him cut the wooden dummy to get a position, shouldn't be a problem.

The purpose of the test was to screen for experts; since it was confirmed that this guy was a fourth-stage expert, he could just let him pass.

With a "Crack!"

the wooden dummy's head was slashed to the ground by Buster Johnson's knife.

The onlookers fell silent for a moment, then burst into exclamations.

"Someone actually cut the wooden dummy."

"This guy is really strong, and so fast."

"In about two seconds, this guy is at least third-stage late-phase, or even fourth-stage."

"Would a fourth-stage expert join an adventure group like this?"

"Why not? A fourth-stage expert already joined before, and I heard he's the first mate."

"I know that guy; it's Asen Howell. I have to say, Asen is really strong."

"I saw another fourth-stage expert come for testing before, but that guy was clearly causing trouble, and Captain Jack taught him a harsh lesson."

As the crowd's murmurs arose,

Buster Johnson, who had cut the wooden dummy, did not look relaxed.

When he slashed at those invisible threads earlier, he could feel their toughness—very strong.

He also felt that, just before he cut the wooden dummy, three invisible threads had already wound around his back.

But those three mysterious threads didn't pull him; otherwise, he wouldn't have cut the wooden dummy as easily as it seemed to outsiders.

Most importantly,

danger, intense danger.

When he approached this captain named "Jack Sparrow,"

he felt an extremely intense danger from him.

If that slash just now had been aimed at Captain Jack instead of the wooden dummy, he would probably be severely injured by now.

"This guy is more capable than I imagined. No wonder he became the leader of an adventure group at third-stage and even got a fourth-stage expert as his first mate."

"He's a formidable opponent." Buster Johnson gave him a high appraisal in his mind.