"Kill rewards, huh?" Ian nodded thoughtfully. "That definitely incentivizes PvP, but... honestly, not by much. 4 points per kill? Even if I wiped out the entire lobby, that's only 400 points. That's a long way off from the 10,000 needed for victory."
"Plus," he continued, "the 50% penalty for indirect kills makes it even less appealing. Unless it's the early game, the chances of personally executing another player are slim—unless you're confident enough to order your men to capture them alive just so you can finish the job."
"Keep going, AI." Ian waved his hand. His gut told him the developers were hiding the real game-changer for later.
"Third is the Point System," Annie skipped ahead. "Points are the most critical strategic resource in this game. You can earn them via four methods: System Missions, Killing Players, Unlocking Achievements, and 'Highlight Plays.' Every player starts with 1 Point."
"Points serve three purposes: Currency for the Point Shop, ranking on the Leaderboard, and declaring Final Victory."
"Leaderboard? What's that for?"
"The game implements a reward and punishment system based on rankings," Annie explained.
"Starting today, the Leaderboard will settle its scores once every month. On settlement day, the Top 3 players will receive massive rewards corresponding to their rank. If there is a tie, the rewards are split."
"However," Annie's voice remained perfectly calm, "starting from the second month's settlement, the Bottom 3 players will face assassination contracts."
"The player in last place will be targeted by a Faceless Man from Braavos. The player in second-to-last place will be targeted by a Sorrowful Man from Qarth. The third-to-last player will be targeted by a local assassin."
"If there is a tie for the bottom spots, the targets are chosen randomly among the tied players. When the number of survivors drops below 20, the Leaderboard system is disabled."
"Holy shit!" Ian cursed immediately.
He finally understood why a strategy-heavy "Lord Simulation" was titled Battle Royale.
This was just a twisted version of the shrinking "gas zone" or "blue circle" in shooter games.
Actually, strictly speaking, this was worse than a gas zone. No matter how hard everyone farmed or how many points they scored, someone had to be in the bottom three.
To survive the system's hitmen, players would have to engage in a frantic, cutthroat rat race to out-score everyone else.
It was a recipe for disaster.
"Go on."
"There are no further core mechanics. You may now close your eyes and access the Support System interface to familiarize yourself with the functions."
Ian did as instructed.
The interface was clean and minimalist. At the bottom was a dock with eight icons: [Missions], [Alliances], [Info], [Achievements], [Mail], [Inventory], [Shop], and [Leaderboard].
He clicked on [Missions] first. A small question mark icon offered a tooltip:
> MISSION FUNCTION:
> Given the player's humble beginnings, the System provides missions to aid in development.
> Note: There is no penalty for mission failure.
The tab was divided into three sub-categories: Main Story, Bounty/Public, and Optional/Triggered. Since the game hadn't officially started, the lists were empty.
Ian exited and checked [Alliances].
Only the [Face-to-Face Alliance] button was lit up; everything else was grayed out. A tooltip explained: Two players must be within one meter of each other and activate this function simultaneously to exchange information.
Skipping past the boring [Info], [Achievements], and [Mail] tabs, Ian opened his [Inventory].
> INVENTORY:
> A storage space accessible at any time.
> Initial Capacity: 1 Liter (approx. 10cm x 10cm x 10cm).
> Upgrade Cost: 10 Points to quadruple size (Max 4 upgrades).
"That's pathetic," Ian muttered. Compared to standard RPGs, this was weak. A one-liter box couldn't even hold a large bubble tea.
But, considering this was a "real" world, having a small magical pocket did have one major practical use: Money.
Players would likely be traveling merchants or mercenaries. carrying kilograms of gold or silver around without a bank account was dangerous and heavy. This little dimensional pocket was the perfect wallet.
He backed out and opened the [Shop].
> LEVEL 1 SHOP:
> Large Coin Pouch (Contains 300 Silver Stags): 1 Point
> Medium Coin Pouch (Contains 20 Gold Dragons): 5 Points
>
>
> Current Balance: 1 Point
300 Silver Stags wouldn't help much with buying gear or trading, but if he just spent it on food, it could keep a person fed for a long time. It was a safety net for players who dumped all their stats into combat and started penniless.
20 Gold Dragons was a solid chunk of startup capital, but 5 Points felt steep.
Ian tried to turn the page. Instead of a Level 2 Shop, a prompt blocked his view:
> LEVEL 2 SHOP:
> Unlocks when player possesses 10 Points.
Probably high-tier items. Ian filed that away for later.
Clang! Clang!
Two crisp metallic chimes rang out in his head, making him jump.
"What the hell?"
"That is the Mission Alert," Annie said. "The three-hour preparation phase is over. The match has officially begun."
"Missions are up?" Ian nodded and quickly reopened the Mission tab.
> MAIN MISSION 1: PATH OF HONOR
> Description: As a Hedge Knight, you have strayed from the path of honor for too long. Gold has blinded you to your vows. It is time to reclaim your glory.
> Objective: Win a formal Jousting Tournament in one of the Five Major Cities.
> Reward: 5 Points, 3 Attribute Points, 3 Skill Points.
[Accept] [Swap]
"A joust in a Major City?" Ian's mouth twitched.
That was Hell difficulty right out of the gate.