Reward Settlement (Part 1)

"Now?" Ian's first instinct was to keep waiting for people at Salt Town.

Unlike the hesitation and fear he had felt before drawing his sword against the Brotherhood Hunter who had attacked Harui, Ian now felt no psychological burden whatsoever about hunting players.

Just as that nameless Hunter had fired an arrow into Harui's double's chest without saying a word, Harui had not hesitated to order his mercenaries to kill Ian after realizing he was a player.

Players were enemies locked in a fight to the death. From the moment they signed the agreement and came to this world, they had become foes who would never stop until one side was dead.

Although the sight of corpses strewn everywhere still made Ian want to vomit, he understood more clearly than ever.

If he had shown even the slightest softness or hesitation in the earlier clash, Harui would be the one standing beside his corpse and lamenting life right now.

Continuing to hunt merchants in Salt Town was indeed a good choice. After all, he had already made a detailed plan for it, and now that he had two more knights under his command, his odds of catching people off guard had undoubtedly improved considerably.

But for someone who already had two powerful knights and more than 3,000 Gold Dragons, didn't this seem like far from the most cost-effective option? Ian suddenly had that thought again.

After all, his Salt Town hunting plan only targeted Traveling Merchants, and he had estimated that catching even one in a month would count as a success.

Granted, that result had been ideal for the old him. As long as he gained kill points, he could secure a period of development free from the threat of the assassination mechanism.

But now, he was no longer threatened by the rankings in the first place. Finding a way to develop quickly was what mattered most, and the best way to develop was still trading.

"Let's find an inn and rest for the night first. We'll decide tomorrow," Ian said. He wanted to finish settling the rewards and analyze the new missions before making a decision.

"If we're looking for an inn, the closest one is Crossroads Inn. It's no more than a two-hour ride from here," Roar said with a nod. "We can rest there for the night, stock up on good wine and food, then decide what to do next."

"Crossroads Inn?" Ian's eyelid twitched when he heard that familiar name.

"Although Crossroads Inn isn't far from here, we've already dealt with every survivor. Even if these corpses are discovered tomorrow, no one will suspect us," Roar said, mistaking Ian's expression for concern over that issue.

Ian shook his head, indicating that this was not what worried him.

The name had simply stirred up some memories.

Crossroads Inn had been the hunting ground he had originally envisioned.

Unlike Salt Town, where he could only wait for Traveling Merchants, Crossroads Inn occupied a location that could practically be called the crossroads of four provinces. The chance of players appearing there probably ranked among the top three in the entire world of Ice and Fire. The first was Pentos, where players gathered to fawn over Dragon Mother. Ian had no idea where the second was; he only said top three because he was used to leaving himself some room.

In short, for Ian, who had already discovered the enormous flaw in players' Starting Gear, Crossroads Inn was practically a perfect hunting ground.

He had previously given up on going to Crossroads Inn and chosen Salt Town solely because he feared he could not defeat players who had already possessed formidable combat ability in their previous lives.

But now, he had two such powerful NPCs and such an enormous amount of money.

He only needed to do as Harui had done and confirm with the Mercenary Captain that there were no newcomers in the company when hiring mercenaries. Then he could safely hire a Mercenary Company and gain an absolute advantage in military strength.

Thus, the plan to hunt at Crossroads Inn was once again on the table.

But the cost-effectiveness of doing so still seemed rather low.

In the early stages, one player was only worth 4 points. If he did not kill them personally, he would only get 2 points, and there was almost no additional profit. Perhaps spending two months waiting here and killing a few players would bring him less benefit than a single trading run.

Thinking that, Ian shook his head again and dismissed the idea.

Although hunting players did not yield many points, other players had no way to earn points. If he could use this to climb to first place on the ladder rankings, the reward resources he gained, combined with the Attribute Points from hunting players, might be worth more than a single trading run.

And even aside from those rewards, eliminating some players early on would definitely be beneficial. After all, he could never know just how powerful players might become in the later stages.

Take Harui, for example. Based on the strength that man had displayed, how great a threat would he have posed if he had survived and developed into the later stages?

While he held such a huge advantage, the optimal solution was to smother as many of these seeds as possible in the cradle.

"We're going to Crossroads Inn." Ian gave the order. He planned to have a hearty meal and get a good night's rest first.

Before setting off, Ian claimed that he was simply too exhausted and ordered Roar to carry him after removing his armor. In any case, they had captured three spare horses, which could be used to carry their things.

Of course, the real reason was that the damn system required him to close his eyes before he could log in, and he could not ride with his eyes closed for long.

Once they were properly on the road, Ian closed his eyes and logged into the system, beginning today's reward settlement.

The first thing Ian saw was the red dot on his mailbox. With his mild compulsive tendencies, he immediately opened it and began reading the messages one by one in chronological order.

Completed Bounty Mission One: "First Blood." Obtained 3 Attribute Points, 3 Skill Points, 3,000 Gold Dragons, and two selectable S-Class NPCs (claimed).

Successfully killed one player. Obtained 4 points, seized 1 point, and received an additional 2 Strength.

A subordinate successfully killed one player. Obtained 2 points, seized 1 point, and received an additional 1 Willpower.

"Eh? The points seized from a subordinate's kill are also 1 point? Did it round up?" Ian smiled. Half a point was not much, but getting something for free was always satisfying.

With that thought, he continued clicking downward.

Achieved D-Class Highlight Performance. Obtained 1 point.

"Highlight Performance? How is that calculated?" Ian remembered Annie mentioning this during the mechanism introduction, but there had been too much information to process at the time, so he had selectively ignored it.

Unexpectedly, he had earned a point from it by chance.

"A Highlight Performance mainly refers to a player making an impressive decision in planning or adaptation and thereby gaining a major advantage. Highlight Performances are judged according to the system's built-in AI algorithm. The highest rank is S-Class, while the lowest is D-Class," Annie answered Ian's question the next second.