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Chapter 73 - Chapter 73 Mission Clues

The timing was the worst part.

This new "treasure hunt" directly conflicted with his immediate plans. Darren Grafson and Rohr had already been waiting for him in Duskendale for nearly a week.

If Ian vanished to King's Landing on a treasure hunt of unknown duration, how could he possibly explain the delay? What could he say he'd been doing?

Of the three locations, King's Landing was his only realistic choice. Oldtown and Volantis were impossibly far. Even if he raced to the nearest port and chartered the fastest ship, the journey would take nearly two months.

So, should he just give it up?

Ian hesitated, but only for a moment before shaking his head.

He couldn't. He simply couldn't.

While the treasure chest itself wasn't a life-changing prize for him personally, the advantage it would grant an enemy was terrifying.

A Valyrian steel greatsword. For any other player in Westeros, that was a key to completing the second main questline.

If another player got their hands on that sword, they could march right to Casterly Rock and present it to Tywin Lannister. The Lord of the Rock would shower them with rewards—tens of thousands of gold dragons, or perhaps even a small castle in the Westerlands and the title of Baron. Tywin's desire for a Valyrian steel blade for his house was a lifelong obsession.

With one discovery, a rival could complete the first and second main quests in a single stroke. If that player had also managed to kill one or two others along the way, Ian's top spot on the leaderboard would instantly be in jeopardy.

To stand aside now would be to willingly surrender a critical advantage.

I have to get it, he decided, his resolve hardening.

The decision was about more than just the players already in Westeros. The players stuck in Pentos, those who couldn't find a way to get an audience with Magister Illyrio, would almost certainly see this as their best move. They would take a ship to King's Landing and throw their lot in with the hunt.

Pentos was only a week's sail from King's Landing. Volantis, their other option, was over a month away. Their choice was obvious.

If a player from Pentos secured that chest, the risk to Ian's own long-term plans—specifically, his eventual gambit with Daenerys—would skyrocket.

Therefore, even if it wasn't for the reward, he had to secure the King's Landing chest simply to deny his opponents the resources. It was a strategic necessity.

With his mind made up, Ian accessed the mission interface and selected [King's Landing] for Bounty Mission 2.

The screen refreshed, displaying the updated details.

[Bounty Mission 2: Treasure Hunt Game]

Objective: Seize the treasure chest hidden by the organizer in the city of King's Landing.

Reward: One Valyrian steel greatsword (two-handed), 4,000 Gold Dragons.

Clue: Flea Bottom (Gift)

"So they give you one free clue after you choose a city?" Ian murmured, a little surprised.

King's Landing was a sprawling metropolis of half a million souls. The qualifier "Flea Bottom" did narrow the search area considerably.

Of course, it wasn't much help on its own. Flea Bottom was the city's festering slum, the lowest and poorest district. It was a chaotic maze of pigsties, tanneries, stables, alehouses, and brothels. The buildings were crammed together, leaning over narrow, unpaved alleys that twisted and turned like a labyrinth.

Fortunately, there are still four clues available for purchase, he thought, navigating to the points mall.

[Tier 1 Mall]

Large Pouch of Silver (300 Silver Stags): 1 Point

Medium Purse of Gold (20 Gold Dragons): 5 Points

Clue (Bounty Mission 2) (4/4 remaining): 1 Point

Seeing that a clue only cost a single point, a knot of unease tightened in Ian's stomach. If all four clues could be bought for so cheap, the odds of another player quickly finding the chest would increase dramatically. The treasure might be gone before he even arrived in the city.

After all, a player earned four points just for eliminating a single rival.

Without hesitating, he made the purchase.

[Transaction successful. You have obtained the second bounty mission clue: (underground). Remaining points: 24]

"'Underground?' That's it? Just one word?" Ian rolled his eyes, feeling like he'd been scammed.

Flea Bottom was massive. Nearly every hovel and shop could have a cellar. A clue this vague was almost as useless as no clue at all.

He glanced back at the mall interface and his eyes widened. The price for the next clue had changed.

It now cost two points.

A slow smile spread across Ian's face. It was the first time in his life he'd ever been happy to see a price increase. He had good reason to be. If the cost of each subsequent clue escalated, it would be far more difficult for other players to simply buy their way to the solution.

To confirm his theory, he bought the next one.

[Transaction successful. You have obtained the third bounty mission clue: (death). Remaining points: 22]

This clue was also just a single word, but "death" was far more specific than "underground."

Connecting the two clues, Ian's first thought was catacombs.

It was a common burial practice of the First Men; nearly every castle in the North had family crypts beneath it. But King's Landing was a new city, barely three hundred years old, built after the Targaryen conquest. As far as he knew, it had no such ancient catacombs. He couldn't be sure.

Perhaps it wasn't a catacomb. Maybe the chest was simply buried in a graveyard? That would satisfy both "underground" and "death."

Unable to form a clear picture, he looked back at the mall. The price had updated again.

[Clue (Bounty Mission 2) (2/4 remaining): 4 Points]

Four points. Ian felt a wave of relief.

This price was a serious barrier. It would stump the vast majority of players at this stage of the game.

He suddenly recalled a phrase he'd once seen online: It's not its flaw, it's your flaw.

The saying felt strangely appropriate. When other players couldn't afford the clues but he could, their prohibitive cost became his distinct advantage.

He clicked to buy again.

[Transaction successful. You have obtained the fourth bounty mission clue: (ruins). Remaining points: 18]

The moment he saw the word, one location leaped to his mind: the Dragonpit.

It was the colossal, domed ruin atop Rhaenys's Hill, the very place where the Targaryens had once stabled their dragons. After its destruction, no Targaryen ruler had ever bothered to tear it down. To this day, the skeletal remains of the Dragonpit loomed over the city, a silent counterpart to the Great Sept of Baelor on the opposing hill of Visenya.

The Dragonpit was the only structure in King's Landing that Ian could think of that fit the description of "ruins."

But there was a problem. The Dragonpit wasn't in Flea Bottom.

Seeing that the final clue now cost a staggering eight points, even the wealthy Ian paused. He wouldn't purchase it just yet. He decided to wait until he reached King's Landing and could investigate on the ground. If he hit a dead end, he would reconsider buying the last, most expensive piece of the puzzle.

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