c5: Escape Game
"So there is a kill reward," Ian muttered, nodding thoughtfully. "That'll certainly motivate some players to hunt each other. But still, it's not a game-changer. Killing a player nets just four points. Even if you managed to kill one hundred of them, that's only 400 points. Still a far cry from the ten thousand needed for ultimate victory."
He paced slowly across the cold stone floor of his room in Harrenhal, the towering shadow of the melted Kingspyre visible through the narrow arrow slit.
"Besides," he continued, speaking aloud for Anne's benefit, "since benefits from indirect kills are halved, the kill mechanic won't be as attractive. Let's be honest after the early stages, how many players will even get the chance to strike the killing blow themselves? Unless someone's lucky or arrogant enough to capture another player alive and execute them personally."
It was a harsh truth. Most players, Ian guessed, would prefer to build power quietly rather than take risks early on.
"Continue, AI," Ian commanded with a wave. His instincts told him the true twist hadn't been revealed yet.
"The second is the Alliance Mechanism," Anne explained in her ever-measured tone. "Once inside the game, players may form alliances through the auxiliary system. Alliances must be created face-to-face, and each can include up to four members at a time."
Ian raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Note," Anne continued, "players who kill their own allies will receive no kill rewards, nor will such kills count toward any achievement or quest completion."
"Doesn't matter," Ian said with a mirthless chuckle. "I don't have allies. Not yet." His tone carried a hint of sarcasm and bitterness. In a world like this, even trust was a luxury.
"Proceed," he said, folding his arms.
"The third and most critical mechanism is the Points System," Anne went on. "Points are the primary strategic resource of this simulation. Players begin with a single point, and can earn more through four methods: completing system-assigned quests, killing other players, unlocking achievements, and executing extraordinary highlight events recognized by the system."
She paused for emphasis before continuing.
"These points serve three functions: purchasing gear and abilities from the Points Mall, serving as your position on the global Points Leaderboard, and determining your eligibility for final victory."
"Points list?" Ian echoed. "What's it for?"
"This game has a competitive structure built around monthly rankings," Anne answered. "Beginning on Day One of the simulation, the points leaderboard will be updated monthly. On each settlement day, the top three players with the highest point totals will receive strategic rewards, scaled to their rankings."
"If two or more players tie for a position, they'll share the rewards for all the tied places. For example, if two tie for first, they equally divide the rewards for first and second place."
Ian's eyes narrowed, lips twitching into a grim line. "That sounds generous. Too generous."
"Conversely," Anne continued, "starting from the second settlement day, the bottom three players will be targeted by assassination events. The lowest-ranked player will be hunted by the Faceless Men of Braavos. The second-lowest by the Regret Society of Qarth. The third will be targeted by standard regional assassins in their area."
Ian's heart sank. "Bloody hell," he muttered.
"If multiple players are tied at the bottom, priority selection for assassination will be randomly determined from the lowest-scoring group. If fewer than three tie for the bottom, the system will draw randomly from the next-lowest tier to fill remaining targets."
"And what happens when the number of remaining players drops?" Ian asked, his tone edged with suspicion.
"When the number of surviving players falls below 20, the monthly rankings and the assassination system will be deactivated," Anne replied.
"F*ck..." Ian hissed through his teeth. "Now it makes sense."
He let out a sharp, bitter laugh, shaking his head. "I kept wondering why would the devs call this a 'battle royale' when it's clearly designed like a feudal lord-building sim? Now I get it."
The sudden realization hit him like a sword to the gut.
This wasn't just about conquest. It was a pressure cooker. Every month, you were either climbing toward power or running from death.
No neutral ground. No peace. Just an endless game of knives in the dark.
"It's a damned poison trap disguised as a throne room," Ian whispered. "A different kind of death game entirely."
Even by Westerosi standards, this was far more terrifying than a slow-acting poison. Poison might kill you quietly but here, no matter how diligently players accumulated points, someone would always be in the bottom three. No matter how you strategized, someone had to lose and loss meant death.
In this way, if players wanted to avoid being hunted by assassins from Braavos, Qarth, or beyond, they had only one choice: keep grinding, faster and harder than everyone else. Relentless, merciless progression.
A brutal spiral of escalation.
"What a nightmare..." Ian muttered.
"Continue," he said to Anne.
"That concludes the mechanical systems," Anne replied. "You may now close your eyes and enter the auxiliary interface embedded in your consciousness to explore available functions."
Taking a steadying breath, Ian obeyed.
As soon as he closed his eyes, his vision faded into the dark void of the auxiliary system. A faintly glowing interface materialized simple, clean, and eerily minimalist. Eight icons stretched across the bottom like a row of runes: Tasks, Alliances, Information, Achievements, Mailbox, Backpack, Points Mall, and Scoreboard.
He tapped on the Tasks tab first.
A small question mark blinked beside the toolbar. When he clicked it, a brief description appeared:
[Task Function: To account for the player's modest starting conditions, the system provides development tasks to guide early progression.]
Note: Failure to complete missions carries no penalty.
Beneath that were three collapsed sub-tabs: Main Quests, Public Bounties, and Optional/Triggered Tasks. But since the game hadn't formally begun yet, all categories were empty.
He exited that screen and opened the Alliances tab next.
Only the [Face-to-Face Alliance] button was lit up. Everything else remote invitations, voice links, and coordination features remained grayed out. When Ian tapped the button, nothing happened except a brief tooltip:
"To form an alliance, two players must activate this function simultaneously within one meter of each other. Upon confirmation, both parties gain access to each other's profiles."
So much for recruiting allies remotely.
With nothing else to explore there, Ian skipped the Information, Achievements, and Mailbox tabs none of which seemed relevant yet and went straight to Backpack.
[Backpack: Personal, portable storage accessible at any time.]
Initial capacity: 1 cubic decimeter.
Each expansion costs 10 points and quadruples current capacity. Maximum: 4 expansions.
Ian scoffed.
One cubic decimeter? That was barely enough to fit a large tankard of ale, let alone a sword or armor. Compared to inventory systems in traditional MMORPGs, this was downright stingy.
Still, he had to admit even a small, private storage space was invaluable in Westeros, a world where travel was perilous and theft common. Carrying gold or valuables openly invited bandit attacks, especially for a hedge knight without a sworn retinue.
A discreet, magical pouch like this could be used for stashing coin, contracts, letters even poisons or rare herbs. And since players might need to trade or travel across the Seven Kingdoms and beyond, such a function made practical sense.
Exiting the Backpack, Ian clicked into the Points Mall next.
The First-Level Mall interface opened with a spartan selection:
Big Coin Pouch – 300 Silver Stags: 1 point
Medium Coin Pouch – 20 Gold Dragons: 5 points
*Current Points: 1
Silver stags were common currency enough to feed and house someone for a few weeks, assuming no extravagant expenses. For a player who started with maxed combat stats but no coin, it was a lifeline.
Twenty gold dragons, however, was a small fortune enough to outfit a knight, bribe a local official, or even secure a minor contract for mercenary work. But at five points, it was steep for the early game.
Ian considered it, then swiped left.
Instead of a new page of wares, a pop-up window blocked his view:
[Second-Level Mall: Preview available once you reach 10 points.]
So that was where the truly powerful items lay likely rare gear, legendary skills, or unique game-changing perks. But for now, it remained out of reach.
"Ding!"
Two sharp metallic tones rang in Ian's head, making him flinch.
"What in the seven hells was that?"
"That was the task announcement," Anne answered. "Your three-hour preparation window has ended. The competition has officially begun."
Ian's stomach twisted. "So the real game starts now."
He quickly reopened the Task tab. A new prompt had appeared under Main Quests:
---
[Main Quest #1: The Road to Honor]
Description: As a hedge knight, you've wandered too long without purpose. Greed and survival have dulled your blade and buried your oath beneath coin. It is time to remember who you were.
Objective: Win a formal jousting tournament in any of five major cities.
Reward: 5 Points, 3 Attribute Points, 3 Skill Points.
[Accept] [Replace]
---
"A jousting tournament... in the five major cities?" Ian muttered, lips curling.
What kind of absurd hell-level quest was this?
He was a hedge knight nameless, landless, and poor. He didn't even have a proper squire. Winning a single tournament was hard enough, let alone doing so across five major strongholds, where knights from noble houses some with Valyrian steel and purebred destriers would be competing.
The tournament circuits in places like King's Landing, Oldtown, and Lannisport were the stomping grounds of seasoned warriors. Lords like Jaime Lannister or Ser Garlan Tyrell could crush a man's hopes in seconds.
Still, the reward was tempting.
Ian narrowed his eyes.
"This system really doesn't want us to take the slow route, huh?"
---