Bounty

The voice beside his ear made Dunn glance at Annie, who had come over at some point to look at his Career Card with him.

The information on a Career Card was not hidden from anyone other than its owner. Only entries such as talents, specialties, and abilities showed outsiders nothing but their names, without any details.

That was why many professionals in this world placed great importance on keeping their Career Cards confidential.

Dunn, however, did not mind Annie seeing his.

With 20 stamina, Dunn could still have been hacked to death by Green going all out.

But with 22 stamina and the Tekkai skill, Dunn could stand there and let Green slash at him. Green could exhaust himself to death without breaking through his defenses.

As for Annie, a second-tier [Navigator]...

[Navigator] was not a combat-focused class.

To Dunn now, her combat strength was already little different from that of the small-fry sailors.

To put it bluntly, after advancing to the second tier, Dunn could thrash everyone aboard this ship, including its two second-tier professionals.

So, with an absolute advantage in his hands, letting Annie know how powerful he was would greatly benefit the stability of their cooperation.

Dunn would not trust Annie, just as Annie would not trust Dunn.

Their temporary cooperation rested on nothing more than the threats and benefits their demonstrated abilities and potential presented to each other.

Dunn needed Annie as a [Navigator], while Annie was intimidated by Dunn's strength.

Thus, they now had a basis for peaceful cooperation. As long as no fundamental conflict arose between them, when Dunn displayed even greater strength...

Annie would behave herself even more during their cooperation, until she finally submitted to Dunn completely.

"You're actually one of Heaven's Favored, and one with a lower class, at that!" Seeing that Dunn did not mind her prying, Annie began chatting with him as though they were old friends, as if their earlier conflict had never happened.

"A few of you, carry Green to his room to rest."

Watching several quick-witted crew members step forward and carry the bandaged Green into the cabin, Annie continued, "Still, that makes sense. The advancement requirements for this higher class of yours are downright hellish."

"Apart from someone born extraordinary like you, very few people could raise their primary attribute to 19 at the second tier."

"Without a lower class, there would be no feasible way to spread this new class."

Spreading their class pathways was the responsibility that came with the blessings enjoyed by Heaven's Favored.

World Origin did not create a class solely for one of Heaven's Favored. They were responsible for spreading the class pathways they received beyond a certain scope.

Otherwise, they would incur World Origin's displeasure.

"And this requirement for advancing to the third tier-a total bounty of 1,000 gold coins! Is that really an advancement requirement for a second-tier professional?!"

Indeed, having a total bounty of 1,000 gold coins was far too demanding a requirement for advancing from the second tier to the third.

After all, hiring a second-tier professional generally cost only a few dozen gold coins a year, while even a third-tier professional earned only a few hundred.

The total bounty on an ordinary second-tier professional at sea was only a few dozen to a hundred gold coins. Even those who had mortally offended some major power, or committed heinous crimes, could not have a bounty higher than five hundred gold coins.

And even those bounties were only that high because finding someone on the vast sea was so difficult.

On land, the bounties would only be lower.

A bounty of 1,000 gold coins was a sum offered only for third-tier professionals.

For instance, [Oathkeeper] Gannis had a total bounty of only around 1,500 gold coins.

Yet Gannis was hailed as the pirate most likely to become the next Pirate King, and he possessed peak third-tier strength, with a creature level of 15.

After this incident, however, Gannis's bounty would probably double.

Clearly, this was not a requirement a second-tier professional could fulfill.

But advancement requirements generated by World Origin were generally tailored to Heaven's Favored. An impossible requirement could not arise.

Unless...

Seeing that Dunn kept staring at his Career Card without any intention of responding to her, Annie could only take the hint, shut her mouth, and return to her room to look after Green.

Meanwhile, the crew on deck all watched Dunn expectantly as he continued studying his Career Card.

The situation was already clear. The two sides had negotiated peace, and the captaincy had undoubtedly fallen to Dunn.

Now that Dunn had advanced to the second tier as well, his position as captain was secure.

Since Dunn had not spoken, the crew did not dare disturb him and could only watch him expectantly.

After a long while, Dunn put away his card.

Since he could not think of a way forward now, he would leave it for later. Advancing to the third tier was not urgent yet.

After all, his willpower and perception had yet to meet the requirements, and advancement could not happen overnight. Things would work themselves out when the time came. Perhaps he would find a solution when he reached the point of advancing.

Having secured the basic means to survive and establish himself for the time being, Dunn was feeling fairly optimistic.

He raised his head and swept his gaze over the sailors watching him expectantly.

"What are you all standing around for? Dispose of these bodies, repair the ship, and get her moving as fast as possible!"

"Yes!" × N

At Dunn's command, every crew member immediately got to work, each putting all their effort into performing well before their new captain, hoping he would forget their slight disrespect earlier.

After assigning the crew their tasks, Dunn walked straight into the cabin.

Next, it was time to take proper stock of the spoils.

The [Giant Tooth] was a merchant ship in name, but its actual business was smuggling.

Although the war between the New World and the Old World had come to a temporary end, everyone understood that its resumption was only a matter of time. The New World's powers would not give up on driving out the Old World forces occupying their homeland.

Nor would the Old World's powerful elites relinquish the enormous profits of the New World.

For that reason, although the New World and the Old World traded to meet each other's needs, their rulers still prohibited trade in certain strategic supplies from their respective continents.

But where there were policies from above, there were countermeasures from below. When the profits grew large enough, there was never a shortage of people willing to take the risk.

Thus, smuggling ships operating under the guise of merchant vessels came into being.

The box of Career Cards Dunn now held was among their most popular goods.

As external attribute panels for professionals, the benefits of Career Cards went without saying.

Career Cards were created by Legendary Wizards. With no wizard class, the New World naturally had no such things as Career Cards and could not even imitate them.

Moreover, once used, a Career Card became completely bound to its user, making it entirely unusable by anyone else.

Career Cards had existed in the Old World for over ten thousand years. That span, lengthy even for long-lived species, had left the Old World saturated with Career Cards, even producing a surplus.

Thus, a Career Card cost just one gold coin in the Old World.

Among the New World's natives, however, their prices had been driven up to dozens of gold coins. Those dozens-fold profits, combined with their small size and portability, made Career Cards the smugglers' favorite goods.

Had the Old World's Wizard Council not shown foresight and restricted how many individuals and organizations could purchase in advance...

The New World would probably have been flooded with Career Cards too.

Dunn now held more than twenty Career Cards, all that remained after Gannis's plundering.

Among the half-shipload of cargo left behind, these twenty-odd Career Cards were the most valuable items, especially to Dunn as he was now.