Ian slept for a full fourteen hours. When he woke the next morning, his whole body ached and his head throbbed.
He had had another nightmare the previous night. This one had been long, but most of it vanished completely within seconds of his opening his eyes.
He only remembered the final scene: he stood before a mirror, and in it was a monster, trembling uncontrollably.
Shaking his head to cast off those absurd images, Ian closed his eyes and logged into the system to check the daily settlement report updated at midnight.
Third Day Settlement Report: Current Remaining Players: 96
"Four players were eliminated in the first three days, and three fell by my hand. Running into me really was your misfortune," Ian murmured before browsing through the system's other contents.
Only after confirming that neither the main quest nor the bounty quests had been updated did he formally get up, calling Roar from the outer room and Keith, who had returned not long ago, to join him for breakfast.
After Jannie confirmed that no one in the hall was carrying a ranged weapon, Ian entered the hall.
This time, Ian's breakfast was much more normal than before: bacon, two fried eggs, and a pork pie.
As for drinks, thank the gods, Ian had finally gained control of the inn and no longer had to stiffly endure morning ale. He instructed Martha to make him a cup of honey water from boiled water.
Just as he was about to eat, Ian suddenly heard a pre-meal prayer coming from the traveling caravan at the next table.
According to Jannie, the caravan had arrived at the inn the previous evening. There were fourteen of them in all: one leader, three guards, and ten laborers.
With such a large group