Chapter 118: Shapeshifter Elementary
After bidding farewell to Butler Mills, Ian returned to his room, feigning a need to carefully study the business information he had been given.
In truth, he was far more eager to test the limits of the optional mission system than to work on a task that was, for all intents and purposes, already complete.
"A vast Dothraki horde is approaching Pentos. If you can defeat them before they arrive, I will pay you this gold dragon as a reward," said Rohr, his designated old tool of a quest-giver. At Ian's signal, he repeated the carefully constructed script. "If you can ensure that Pentos is not captured by them this time, you have completed your mission."
This was a scenario Ian had devised on the spot. It followed the same logic as the mole-hunt mission: the second objective, "ensure that Pentos will not be captured," was already a foregone conclusion, making the first objective, "defeat the Dothraki," irrelevant to the outcome.
[Trigger Mission Discovered: Defend Pentos]
[Mission Description: Khal Drogo is leading a khalasar of 40,000 screaming warriors toward Pentos. Sir Rohr hopes that you can defeat it in the field, or at least ensure that Pentos will not be captured by it this time.]
[Mission Reward: 1 Gold Dragon]
[Additional Reward: Unknown]
[Accept (consumes 1 Point)] [Reject]
Ian selected [Accept].
*Ding!*
[Optional Mission 4 'Defend Pentos' Complete]
[Mission Difficulty Rating: Moderate]
[Mission Reward: 1 Gold Dragon]
[Additional Rewards: 3 Points, 3 Attribute Points]
"A moderate difficulty rating?" Ian frowned.
Based on his current strength, defeating Khal Drogo's army was an impossible feat. Logically, it should have been judged as extremely difficult, if not impossible. The mission had completed itself instantly because Drogo was coming to claim his bride and had no intention of sacking Pentos at all. Its core logic was identical to the bug he'd exploited in the "Mole in the Illyrio Chamber of Commerce" mission.
*But why is this task also rated as moderate? It makes no sense!* Could it be that optional missions themselves only went up to a medium difficulty? Or was his entire theory about how difficulty was determined flawed?
Perhaps when judging such a mission, the system considered not only Objective One [Defeat Drogo's army] but also Objective Two [Defend Pentos]? If one factored in the high walls of Pentos and the Dothraki's notorious lack of siege skills, it was understandable that the second objective would be rated as moderate.
However, that conclusion seemed to conflict with the rating of the previous mole-hunt mission.
Shaking his head, Ian temporarily suppressed the doubts in his mind. There was no point in guessing without more data. He would need to test several more scenarios; with enough samples, the answer would naturally reveal itself.
Besides, even if he couldn't figure out the answer, if he could generate two guaranteed moderate tasks per month, he had a reliable way to farm rewards.
"The next one is…" Ian recited the content of the next script to Rohr.
"I suspect there is a mole in Strong Belwas's mercenary company. They may pose a threat to you. If you can catch him, I will pay you this gold dragon as a reward," Rohr dutifully cooperated. "If you can guarantee that you will not be killed by this mole, you have completed your mission."
Ian had further simplified the task, following the same logic but excluding external variables like the strength of Pentos itself. As a bonus, this mission would also serve as a genuine test of Belwas's men.
[Trigger Mission Discovered: The Mole in the Belwas Mercenary Company]
[Mission Description: Rohr suspects that there is a mole among Belwas's men and hopes that you can catch him, or at least ensure that you will not be killed by the mole.]
[Mission Reward: 1 Gold Dragon]
[Additional Reward: Unknown]
[Accept (consumes 1 Point)] [Reject]
Ian still clicked [Accept] directly, but this time it was not a task completion notice that popped up, but a different prompt box.
[Unacceptable!]
[Tip: The number of optional tasks accepted this month has reached the upper limit.]
*Upper limit?* Ian was stunned for a moment, then remembered. Last month, he had only accepted two optional tasks: [The Truth about the Death of the Black Falcon] and [The Treasure of Blackfyre], and he hadn't received any such prompt. He had now accepted two optional tasks this month as well.
Therefore, the monthly limit for optional tasks was only two. This was very troublesome.
According to his original plan, testing the rules for determining task difficulty would require dozens of experiments with controlled variables. The monthly limit made such an experiment a luxury he couldn't afford—it would take years.
But if he couldn't complete the experiment, how could he understand why a task like "defeat Drogo's army" was only judged to be of medium difficulty? It was difficult for Ian to imagine what kind of script would be required to trigger an "extremely difficult" rating.
Defeat the Night King? Or perhaps kill the Great Other himself?
Maybe, but he would have to wait until at least next month to find out.
"Forget it. Think on the bright side," Ian said to himself, halting his evidence-free speculation. "Although I can't test the difficulty rules further right now, I have a template. I can guarantee myself at least two moderate optional missions every month."
With the testing concluded for now, Ian began to take stock of the day's gains, pulling up his data card.
[Ian: Strength 32, Agility 27, Mental Strength 7]
[Skills: Basic Etiquette, Basic Literacy (Common Tongue), Advanced Swordsmanship, Advanced Horsemanship, Intermediate Lance, Basic Skinchanging]
[Attribute Points: 6]
[Skill Points: 6]
[Points: 35]
[Items: Basic Skill Scroll of Choice]
Without hesitation, Ian allocated all six attribute points to Mental Strength, and then used his skill points to raise Basic Skinchanging to the elementary level.
As soon as he finished, a torrent of knowledge flooded his mind.
First, there were warnings: a skinchanger's consciousness could more easily invade animals with which they shared a close bond. If the skinchanger's will was weaker than that of the animal, they could be negatively influenced. Invading a human consciousness was dangerous for both parties, unless the skinchanger's mental power was vastly superior to their target's. If an animal was killed while a skinchanger's consciousness inhabited it, the skinchanger would suffer extreme trauma. If a skinchanger was killed while inside an animal, a part of their consciousness would remain within the creature.
Then came the practical knowledge: methods to feel the presence of his own soul and control it, techniques for invading the consciousness of animals, and crucial things to be aware of during his first attempt.
Ian carefully digested all the information. He came to the conclusion that with the elementary-level skill, he could now begin attempting to skinchange into animals he was close to.
He summoned his attendant Denzel, the Dornishman, and asked him to go to the market and buy a few young eagles and cats. Then, he finally turned his attention to the business information given to him by Mills, Illyrio's butler.
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