Lucky One

Allen had no idea how he had ended up like this.

He had thought arriving at Crossroads Inn on the third day of the opening was fairly quick, and had planned to make some arrangements here while waiting for his allies to arrive.

Yet the moment he entered, he spotted a Sellsword Knight wearing equipment identical to his own, sitting in a corner drinking. Worst of all, when Allen looked at him, the man looked back.

Only then did Allen realize that the players' Starting Gear was a massive loophole.

In that instant, two thoughts flashed through his mind: kill or run.

Although someone knew which old bastard had already completed the first bounty mission, Allen still hoped to form an alliance with his prospective allies as agreed, rather than hunt each other down.

But he had no way of telling whether this man was one of the allies he had arranged to meet, nor did he dare test him when he had most likely already been exposed. So he either had to try to kill him or run for his life.

The next moment, Allen turned and sprinted out of the inn.

However, the moment he reached the stable and prepared to untie his mount's reins, someone knocked him unconscious with a club.

When he woke up, he was already tightly bound and locked in this wine cellar.

By the time Ian returned to the inn, it was already afternoon. On the road, he had read the second-day settlement report in the system, which he had forgotten to check after midnight last night.

As of last midnight, the number of remaining players had fallen to ninety-seven. In other words, aside from the two who had died at Ian's hands, the first lucky one had appeared.

What surprised Ian was that the moment he entered the inn, Denzel, the Dornishman who had been thoroughly beaten down by reality, told him there was another lucky one locked in the inn's cellar.

Since that fellow had tried to flee the instant he saw the "bait" Ian had laid out, Denzel pounded his chest and swore that he had to be someone "Ser Lucian" wanted to catch.

With Denzel's solemn assurance, Ian could only suppress the drowsiness brought on by having slept for merely two hours beside a tree last night, then brought Roar down to the cellar.

When Allen saw the blond nobleman in a brocade hunting coat and the noble knight in full plate armor approaching him, he was completely dumbfounded.

He had originally thought he had been seized without explanation by a player alliance. He never expected the one who had captured him to be an indigenous noble.

"You seem rather confused," Ian said first.

"Yes, my lord." Allen hurriedly nodded. His face, swollen into a pig's head from the beating, carried an inexplicable comedic effect. "I don't know why you arrested me. I don't think I've ever met you before, have I? Is there some misunderstanding here?"

"There's no misunderstanding. I can tell you why I captured you, but perhaps that will leave you even more confused." Ian wore a teasing smile.

"This must be a misunderstanding. You must have mistaken me for someone else," Allen said with certainty. I've only been in this world for a few days. I haven't offended anyone at all, have I?

Thinking that, Allen felt a trace of secret delight. Thank goodness he was not a player!

"I'm a player."

"???" Allen's eyes instantly widened. He looked Ian up and down in disbelief, then turned to look at Roar beside him. For a long while, he could not say a word.

"See? Aren't you even more confused now?" Ian yawned.

"How can you—" Allen instinctively wanted to ask, but halfway through, he suddenly realized there was something more important. Then he dropped to his knees with a swish. "I surrender. I surrender to you."

As he spoke, he glanced at Roar again. "I wonder whether your alliance still has any openings. I surrender to you. I can join your alliance as a vassal. Please, don't kill me!"

"A vassal? What's that?" Ian looked puzzled.

"Huh? You don't know? It's one of the ways players can form an alliance." As Allen spoke, he suddenly saw Ian gesture for silence and immediately stopped.

"Ian called out in his mind, remembering that when Annie had introduced the game's three major mechanics before, she had mentioned an alliance mechanic. Since he had not had any agreed-upon allies at the time, he had skipped it directly. Annie, explain the alliance mechanic.

"Alliance mechanic: after entering the game, players can form an alliance face-to-face through the Auxiliary System's alliance function. Each alliance can accommodate up to four people."

"Players in an alliance may unilaterally declare their withdrawal, which takes effect one day after the declaration. After leaving an alliance, players may gain rewards or complete missions by killing their former allies.

"Players in an alliance may also betray their allies without leaving the alliance. In that case, killing an ally grants no rewards.

"There are two identities for players joining an alliance: ally and vassal.

When an ally unilaterally declares the dissolution of the alliance, one-quarter of their current points will be deducted. If they betray an ally, half of their current points will be deducted.

When a vassal unilaterally declares the dissolution of the alliance, half of their current points will be deducted. If they betray an ally, all of their points will be deducted."

"Uh..." After listening, Ian looked at Allen again. "How many points do you have right now?"

"O-one point." Allen smiled awkwardly.

"Then does this alliance mechanic have any binding force on you?" Ian laughed.

Clearly, this mechanic was meant to restrain players from breaking alliances in the mid to late stages. By then, players would generally have several hundred or even a thousand points. Losing at least a quarter of them in one go would hurt.

But now? I have more than ten points, and you only have one. Seven Hells! You become my vassal and face no restraint, while I'm the one restraining myself?

"Uh..." Allen seemed to realize that as well. "Perhaps the alliance mechanic has very little binding force, but I have neither the strength nor the reason to betray you, do I? If I can cling to you, I'll be thrilled. Why would I go looking for death?"

"That makes sense." Ian nodded, but before Allen could breathe a sigh of relief, Ian immediately asked, "But what value do you have to me?"

"My value? I can work for you."

"But as you can see, everyone in this inn works for me, and they captured you with ease."

"Oh, there were six of them. There was no way I could beat them, okay?"

"This isn't the time to make pointless excuses. You should be racing against the clock to prove your worth to me, because I might lose patience at any moment." Ian could not stand watching any longer and decided to teach him a few interviewing skills.

"How am I supposed to prove myself while you have me tied up here?" Allen could not help growing irritated. "Only if you give me something to do can I prove my abilities, right?"

"See? I've lost patience already." Ian shook his head and drew his sword. You'll have to wait until your next life to use the skills I taught you.

Seeing this, Roar directly grabbed Allen by the hair and pressed his head down onto an empty barrel beside him.