Chapter 115: Pentos's Situation
After calming his excitement, Ian quickly noticed a problem: the difficulty of this quest was rated as "Medium," yet he had done almost nothing.
Meanwhile, the quest to avenge Black Falcon, also rated as "Medium," required a tremendous amount of effort to complete.
To be honest, Ian had never quite understood the criteria for determining the difficulty of optional quests. He had tried asking Annie, but was told it was a secret.
Ian's initial thought was that the difficulty rating of optional quests should be related to current strength.
After all, once a player had developed enough power, tasks like killing a knight or eliminating a mercenary company, which were rated "Easy" or "Medium" in the early game, would be effortless.
If the quest difficulty rating didn't change, players could easily create their own scenarios and endlessly grind low-level quests.
Knowing the developers' cunning nature, Ian believed such a huge exploit was impossible.
But this quest was baffling—it was a quest that didn't need to be done.
Looking at the quest description again, Ian realized the problem.
The task itself still required Ian to [find the traitor within the Illyrio Merchant Guild], meaning the [Medium] difficulty rating was for catching the traitor.
Assuming such a traitor did exist, given Ian's current strength, classifying such a task as [Medium] was perfectly normal.
As for Ian completing the task directly, that was because he had Illyrio add a completion criterion—no slave ships appeared.
Upon discovering this, Ian's heart raced with excitement; this was going to be a goldmine!
Although this exploit was far more insidious than the one whose difficulty rating didn't change with strength, requiring extremely coincidental circumstances to discover, its potential was just as absurd!
With the developers explicitly promising not to fix any exploits, he could easily follow the same pattern to create 'scenarios' and mass-produce corresponding quests.
But wait—given that lousy game designer's skill level, hadn't they prepared any safeguards beforehand? Ian immediately thought.
Oh well, he'd find an opportunity to test it again.
"Sir Ian?" A voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Ian's thoughts.
"Who are you?" Ian was momentarily taken aback by the well-dressed old man before him.
"My name is Mills, and I'm Magister Illyrio's steward. As instructed by Magister Illyrio, I'm here to answer your questions."
Oh right, he almost forgot his business. Ian suddenly remembered that although he already knew the traitor didn't exist, he didn't have any evidence to convince Illyrio.
Of course, even if he had evidence, Ian wouldn't just hand it over to Illyrio like that. He needed to get to know Illyrio's capable subordinates better and then leverage their assistance.
Now, things were much better. Without the real concern about the traitor, his next actions could shift from smuggling in personal agendas to being entirely self-serving.
"Steward Mills, I appreciate your help."
"This is my duty," Mills smiled. He had a favorable impression of the young man.
"So, where do we begin?"
"Here's a list," Mills handed Ian a sheet of parchment. "It records detailed information about the merchants in His Grace's guild who have ships expected to return to Pentos by the end of this month or the beginning of next month.
The seven people on the first page are the ones we need to focus on. The first two are because they are close to Tarobyne, the third through sixth are members of the Braavosi faction that have already been identified, and the seventh is from the Volantene faction."
"These are identified spies? Why keep them around?" Ian asked immediately.
"His Grace is a merchant. His aim in not getting involved in factional strife is to avoid offending either side, not both at the same time. So, when other magisters want to get involved in these profitable ventures, Magister Illyrio usually turns a blind eye."
Ian nodded.
"So, any other questions?"
"No, this information is sufficient." Ian took the list and gave a confident smile.
Of course he was confident.
"It's good that you have a plan," Mills smiled as well. "Furthermore, His Grace has specially arranged assistance for your investigation. They are on their way to the magister's manse. You can wait for them here."
"Yes, sir."
"Sir Ian," Mills addressed Ian formally again, "perhaps you should consider whether you have any other questions?"
Other questions? Ian realized something was amiss. If Mills had just been asking routine questions, this was clearly a hint.
But what questions could he possibly have? Ian stared at the list in deep thought. If he hadn't known beforehand through the system that there was no traitor, what questions would he need to ask before conducting his investigation?
"Steward Mills," Ian answered quickly, "would you mind telling me more about the Pentos factional strife?"
"You're even sharper than I expected, Sir Ian," Mills said, somewhat surprised. "You've grasped the key point without me even needing to prompt you." He paused, then continued,
"Magister Illyrio asked me to tell you that when examining something, you must see beyond the surface to its essence. The guild traitor is essentially part of the Pentos factional strife. If you plunge into these troubled waters without a comprehensive understanding of the situation, you might not only come away empty-handed but also put yourself in danger."
"I'll remember that," Ian nodded, his tone more sincere.
He could tell that Illyrio was genuinely trying to mentor him, and as a modern man who, despite reading many works on political intrigue, still only had theoretical knowledge, he could undoubtedly learn something from an old fox like Illyrio.
"Pentos is currently roughly divided into three factions," Mills said, seeing Ian's receptiveness, and began his explanation without further delay. "The first is the Trade Magisters' faction, led by Magister Illyrio. We uphold the principles of peaceful commerce and hope to maintain friendly relations with both Braavos and Volantis, opposing any reckless ventures.
We originally had four magisters on our side. Although it was a loose alliance, we held considerable influence in Pentos overall. However," Mills paused, "two years ago, House Taragaros suffered misfortune, losing seven large ocean-going ships within two years, declaring bankruptcy due to insolvency, and thus being removed from the Magisters' Council."
(End of Chapter)