Chapter 58: Talents of the Bounty World

The manner in which Harvey departed captured the attention of everyone in the bounty bar.

"Reynold, I didn't catch how he moved when he left. Did you see it clearly?"

"No, not even a trace."

"So it's not just a matter of speed, then?"

"Right, it’s very likely a teleportation ability."

"Let me tell you something terrifying: I foresaw my own future."

"In my future, I can see your every movement and action to come."

"But in my future, I couldn’t see a single sign of Kassadin, as if he simply didn’t exist."

"Like you, I could only witness his actions with my naked eye."

"You all know what this means."

These words silenced the thirty-some bounty hunters in the bar.

Psychic abilities weren’t rare in the universe; even here, several possessed such powers. Some boasted formidable bodies or supersonic speed, others wielded telepathy, or even a limited ability to foresee the future.

Most bounty hunters were individuals gifted with extraordinary talents, freeing themselves from the daily grind and seizing control of their own destinies.

Reynold, who spoke of not catching the speed, was himself a supersonic, a second-tier bounty hunter. He had previously teamed up with others to complete third-tier bounty assignments.

Third-tier tasks weren’t always out of reach for those of the second tier; if enough skilled second-tier hunters worked in close coordination, they could pull it off.

Yet, not a single individual in the bounty world was ever classified as a third-tier hunter alone. Only interstellar squads, forged through repeated cooperation on third-tier missions, could hope to ascend as a third-tier bounty-hunting team.

Even so, when investigating a hunter’s rank, those who joined such teams were still considered second-tier hunters, albeit with the emblem of a third-tier bounty squad later appended.

The one claiming to foresee the future was a Seer, also a second-tier bounty hunter. While he couldn’t directly peer into others’ futures, he could clearly see his own and anticipate coming events in his vicinity.

When disaster or extreme danger loomed, the Seer’s foresight expanded considerably. Armed with this power, formidable combat skills, and mastery of firearms, he was well-known in the bounty world.

Most importantly, working alongside a Seer significantly reduced the risk of death and greatly increased the chance of mission success. He was the most sought-after collaborator and a member of the third-tier bounty squad, the Star Wanderers.

Most present had partnered with the Seer before, but it was the first time they’d heard him say someone was beyond his vision.

Furthermore, Reynold, whose speed reached supersonic levels, admitted he couldn’t track Kassadin’s movements. Speeds approaching light were out of the question; none of them had ever heard of anyone capable of such velocity.

Thus, the only explanation for Kassadin’s feat was teleportation.

While the cosmos teemed with the gifted, the bounty hunter community especially so—any hunter of some renown possessed unique skills or powers. Those with teleportation were rare, but tales of them were not unheard of.

But none forgot Kassadin’s first assignment—traveling to Mogri, thirty light-years away.

They had previously gathered to discuss how Kassadin could have reached Mogri so quickly and completed the Desert Calamity contract.

Now, knowing Kassadin had teleportation, everything made sense.

The realization that Kassadin could leap thirty light-years in an instant unsettled them. Even the gods of Asgard relied on the famed Rainbow Bridge to traverse such distances in a blink.

Without it, even Asgard’s deities couldn’t cross light-years at will to visit distant worlds.

Now, a figure had emerged—possibly possessing such a terrifying ability.

And teleportation might only be one of Kassadin’s powers; after all, that alone wouldn’t have been enough to complete the Desert Calamity.

If someone of Kassadin’s caliber had appeared in another profession, they’d simply keep their distance. So long as their paths didn’t cross, there was little to fear. But the problem was that this exceptional individual walked among their ranks.

The bounty world was full of talent. Sometimes, in the face of perilous assignments, collaboration made things smooth—hunters relished forming teams to tackle jobs together.

Yet, if any of them were marked by a high bounty and caught a fellow hunter’s eye, that former best companion could become the deadliest of foes.

Still, difficult didn’t mean insurmountable. The universe was vast; if a bounty grew too high, one could always shorten their stay on any given planet. It wasn’t easy for someone to pursue them across the stars.

But now, with Kassadin—who could cross light-years in an instant, beyond even the Seer’s foresight—the stakes had changed. If he chose to hunt them, there might be nowhere in the universe to hide. The moment he accepted a contract and received the latest intelligence, he could appear on any world before they even had time to escape in their ships.

Hence, they all vowed to be more careful, lest they become targets of an exorbitant bounty in the future.

"I’ve looked into it. He only arrived on Xandar today."

"And there’s no record of him leaving by starship, so his teleportation is likely genuine."

"But we don’t know what other powers he might possess."

"Give me some time; I’ll dig deeper."

Having grasped the situation, someone had already begun an investigation and spoke up.

"That’ll take time, but judging by his first job, he seems to only take big contracts."

"The highest among us is Reynold at one and a half million, right?"

"A bit shy of a major contract. Let’s just be extra careful on the job from now on."

These words brought a collective sigh of relief among the other bounty hunters in the bar.

A bounty of one and a half million was no small sum, but to the second-tier hunters present, it was merely a modest job. To kill Reynold for that sum was less appealing than working with him for a much bigger prize.

As for first-tier bounty hunters, they posed no threat to Reynold, for there was a world of difference between first and second-tier bounty hunters.