Chapter 9: Hunting Plan
However, once Ian had uncovered the developers' trap, this information instantly became his most valuable asset.
Now, Ian's next plan was clear—he would alter his distinctive appearance and then ambush other players at a location most likely to be chosen as an allied rendezvous point.
Since he was currently at Harrenhal, the closest rendezvous point likely chosen by other players was the Inn at the Crossroads, located at the intersection of the north-south Kingsroad and the east-west River Road and High Road.
As the meeting point of the North, Riverlands, Vale, and Crownlands, Ian was certain that many players would be there, either having agreed to form an alliance or simply passing through.
The next question was how to disguise himself? And once he had successfully concealed his identity and discovered the other players, how to defeat them?
Both challenges were formidable.
First, altering his distinctive appearance was easier said than done.
After all, not a single piece of Ian's equipment was superfluous.
Whether it was weapons, armor, or his horse, these items were Ian's core assets at the moment. In fact, he'd chosen to start as a hedge knight precisely for this equipment.
With only 200 silver stags, he couldn't afford better armor. This meant that if he wanted to change his appearance, he'd have to downgrade to inferior equipment, which would undoubtedly significantly reduce his combat effectiveness.
By then, he'd likely find other players and even resort to deception or ambush, but he wouldn't be able to defeat them.
Unlike himself, a civilian in his previous life whose combat power depended entirely on his stats, many of the other players attracted by the massive prize had been MMA fighters or HEMA practitioners in their past lives.
With their extensive combat experience and skills, they could undoubtedly unleash strength far beyond what their stats suggested.
What if he targeted someone whose stats were no more than 5 across the board?
"Traveling Merchant!" Ian suddenly thought of this class.
If he targeted a traveling merchant, even if the spirit of the Mountain or Jaime Lannister were placed in that body, it wouldn't help, right? After all, they couldn't even lift their weapons properly.
Just like Arya, before her Faceless Men training, using Needle to kill the Hound—even if the Hound stood still, she couldn't have penetrated his armor.
So, could he possibly hunt a Traveling Merchant?
As soon as this thought occurred to Ian, pieces began to connect rapidly.
First, the Traveling Merchant was a popular starting class, and there was no doubt a large number of players would choose it.
Second, driven by the "First Blood" quest, a powerless Traveling Merchant would certainly not dare to confront their allies. They lacked the ability to kill other players, nor did they trust their allies.
Unless they recruited sellswords—however, sellswords were the most popular starter class with the least distinctive characteristics. Recruiting sellswords was a very risky undertaking, so Traveling Merchants would likely avoid mercenary haunts.
Therefore, the Traveling Merchant at this early stage was a perfect target for Ian, as they had neither allies nor mercenary protection.
But the Traveling Merchants' reluctance to reunite with their allies also posed a problem: where could Ian find them?
"No," Ian shook his head. "There are still clues."
Unable to earn points by killing other players on their own, the Traveling Merchants' only hope of earning points lay in the main quest.
So what was the Traveling Merchants' main quest?
Ian might not have known what the main quests for other classes would be like, but for the traveling merchants, no matter how they were designed, their mission was essentially to profit from trade.
Furthermore, traveling merchants had a huge natural advantage at the start: unlike the penniless hedge knights, they started with a full 100 gold dragons!
For Ian, the quest of "earning 1,000 gold dragons" seemed almost unrealistic, but for the traveling merchant, it wasn't completely impossible if they played it smart.
Therefore, merchants would most likely choose to engage in trade after their start.
For that, the Riverlands, where Ian currently was, were an ideal location.
The Riverlands were well-connected and hadn't yet descended into the chaos that would follow the War of the Five Kings. On the contrary, under the rule of House Tully, the region had some of the best security in Westeros, with bandits and outlaws being relatively rare.
Trading in this region was clearly a sound strategy.
The question was, what kind of goods would be most profitable?
Northern furs? This was a classic trade: buy furs cheaply in northern villages and sell them in southern cities.
This was a perfect trade route, as furs from the North fetched triple the price in the larger southern cities (even higher if you could avoid paying customs duties).
However, there was a time constraint. Westeros was vast, and even if you started in the North, transporting goods south took at least two months—much longer if you started in the South.
For players who faced an assassin lottery in two months, fur trading might not be appealing.
If furs didn't work, then what about iron ore from the Westerlands?
This offered high profits, and the trade route was shorter. The distance from the Westerlands to an ideal market in the Riverlands or the Reach was less than one-third of the distance from the North.
Unfortunately, with a system backpack limited to one cubic decimeter, ore could only be transported by mule or wagon. If the quantity was too small, the profit margin wouldn't be worthwhile.
And iron ore might even be a restricted commodity. According to Westeros' feudal system, it was almost impossible for any commodity to be state-controlled in the European sense. Wait... monopolized goods?!
"Salt!" Ian immediately became excited.
Salt had always been heavily taxed and regulated throughout medieval history, but due to Westeros' feudal system, the management of territories, large and small, was dispersed among hundreds of lords. The Iron Throne had no way of monopolizing the salt trade, leaving it to the lords and merchants to conduct business on their own.
In Earth's medieval period, salt smuggling could be a death sentence, yet it still couldn't stop people from flocking to it. The profits were astronomical.
Just imagine any merchant player starting in or near the Riverlands. Who could resist the allure of salt?
"If they want to trade salt..." Ian mentally reviewed the map of Westeros he had memorized.
(End of Chapter)
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