Chapter 120: Second Monthly Settlement
After completing the first transformation, Ian returned to his bedchamber exhausted and took a nap.
It wasn't until just before midnight that Rol woke him as instructed, as today was the settlement day for the second month.
At midnight, the auxiliary system chimed precisely on time.
Ian closed his eyes, logged into the system, and began checking his messages.
[Settlement Report for Day 61: Current Number of Remaining Players: 33]
Ian vaguely remembered that the number of remaining players had reached this number more than half a month ago. So much time had passed, and no new players had been eliminated.
Ian had two guesses about this.
First, the remaining players were indeed scattered, with little opportunity for confrontation. Although the treasure chests in Volantis and Yi Ti hadn't been found yet, there were probably not many players there.
Second, most of the remaining players already had some points; they knew they wouldn't be targeted by the leaderboard assassination mechanism, so they became less aggressive and risky in their actions.
But regardless, based on previous experience, this number would soon reach thirty.
Without much hesitation, Ian opened the second message.
[Congratulations to the player who ranked first on the leaderboard on the second month's settlement day!
Player rewards: 10 points, 1,888 Gold Dragons, and one S-rank NPC of your choice (within the region)]
The updated character sheet is as follows:
[Ian: Strength 32, Agility 27, Mental 13 Skills: Etiquette Basic, Common Tongue Literacy Basic, Swordsmanship Advanced, Riding Advanced, Lance Intermediate, Skinchanger Novice
Attribute Points: 0 Skill Points: 5 Points: 45 Items: Basic Skill Selection Scroll]
"Nice." Ian snapped his fingers.
Although he only gained single-digit points this month, and his total points at the settlement were only thirty-five, he still retained his first place on the leaderboard, even though other players couldn't find a way to farm points.
After all, the main quest was incredibly difficult, and there were only two optional quests per month. Currently, the biggest way for players to farm points was by hunting other players, but there were hardly any players to kill in the second month.
Maintaining first place was not unexpected for Ian.
What truly surprised him was that the settlement rewards for the second month were higher than those for the first month.
Last month, the top scorer received five points, 888 gold dragons, and two A-rank NPCs. This month, the reward has increased to ten points, 1,888 gold dragons, and one S-rank NPC.
While these resources are merely icing on the cake for Ian now, the increase in rewards is incredibly intriguing.
What will it be next month? And the month after that?
This points ranking system truly embodies the Matthew effect to its fullest extent.
For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
After a brief moment of excitement, Ian began to claim his reward.
As before, the selectable NPC in the area consisted of three cards:
[Braavosi Water Dancer: Strength 31-36, Agility 38-46, Mental 0-6 Skills: Swordplay Mastery, Riding Basic, Random Other Skills
Equipment: Braavosi Rapier, Water Dancer's Garb]
[Unsullied Spear Master: Strength 28-35, Agility 37-48, Mental 0-6 Skills: Swordsmanship Intermediate, Lance Proficient, Throwing Advanced, Formation Command Intermediate
Special Ability: Fearless (Immune to all pain)
Equipment: Leather Armor, Short Spear, Pike, Throwing Spear, Round Shield]
[Qohorik Black Goat Temple Cavalry: Strength 32-40, Agility 28-35, Mental 4-8 Skills: Arakh Advanced, Mace Advanced, Riding Advanced, Lance Intermediate
Equipment: Qohorik Arakh, Mace, Qohorik Black Goat Armor, Heavy Destrier]
"I have to say, the system NPC rewards are really generous," Ian couldn't help but exclaim, then began to analyze these three units.
First was the Braavosi Water Dancer. While their strength was relatively weak among S-rank units, their agility cap was a staggering 46. Considering that Rol and Cass's agility was only around thirty, and Ian already thought their sword strikes were incredibly fast.
What level did 46 represent?
Ian immediately thought of Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper who had outmaneuvered the Mountain with his spear—that was probably the pinnacle of agility.
"But the equipment... well, the Water Dancers' equipment is indeed a bit too basic," Ian chuckled wryly.
"Then there's the Unsullied Spear Master, an enhanced version of the Unsullied." Ian had analyzed the Unsullied before; a single Unsullied isn't very valuable, so he could rule them out.
"Finally, there's the Qohorik Black Goat Temple Cavalry." Looking at the preview image on the system interface, Ian couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Although he already knew that Qohor's metalworking was world-renowned, he truly hadn't expected it to be this impressive.
His first impression of the Black Goat Temple Cavalry was—aren't these the ram riders from the Iron Hills dwarves in The Hobbit?
The only difference is that the Iron Hills cavalry are dwarves riding rams, while the Qohorik cavalry are rams riding horses—wait! Humans wearing black goat helmets riding horses.
Just looking at the preview image, Ian could feel a sense of intimidation wash over him.
Looking at the information, Ian hesitated for a while before finally choosing the Braavosi Water Dancer.
Although he was very curious about the level of armor the Qohorik, who claimed to possess the pinnacle of forging techniques in the known world, could create for their temple cavalry, at this moment, choosing the Braavosi Water Dancer was clearly the only way to maximize his benefits.
After all, all these specialists would need Ian to re-equip them to conceal their identities once they came to his side; without that armor, the Black Goat cavalry would obviously be less valuable.
Having made his decision, Ian prepared to draw his card.
This was an exciting moment. For unlucky players, the reward of an S-rank card might only be a decent swordsman, while for lucky players, if the skill level was slightly higher, they might get a Syrio Forel.
"Father, Mother, Warrior, Smith, Maiden, Crone, Stranger, R'hllor, Many-Faced God, Black Goat, Great Stallion, Great Shepherd, Night Lion, please let me draw the highest attribute configuration!" As soon as Ian finished speaking, he immediately pressed the 'Confirm' button on the system interface.
Soon, a new result appeared:
[Yaqqa Mor: Strength 34, Agility 45, Mental 4; Skills: Swordplay Master, Riding Basic, Valyrian Intermediate;
Equipment: Braavosi Rapier, Water Dancer's Garb]
'Excellent!' Ian clenched his left fist and slammed it into his right palm.
Strength and Agility both above average, and his swordplay skill is Master level! Another powerhouse like Cass!
So, are all the S-rank characters cultivated by the developers top-tier in their respective fields?
(End of Chapter)
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