"Me! Mouse_Is_Duck! I'm a Player, and I just got my ass kicked by an NPC!"
Seeing Mouse_Is_Duck looking like a complete wreck, a smirk crept onto the faces of FaFo and the others.
"So, you're telling me they even took your knife?" Serious_Bush_Camper (Zhao Xiaotian) felt it was disrespectful to laugh out loud at his friend's misfortune. After all, he was a cultured and upstanding young man.
Despite this, his shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.
"A tiny assassin, what a joke." FaFo chuckled, walking over and patting Mouse on the shoulder in mock sympathy.
"F!" Despite having a thousand curses in his heart, Mouse_Is_Duck could only sum up his feelings with one word.
Honestly, Mouse was just unlucky. He had accepted the "Steal" quest and actually pulled off the theft part quite smoothly—swiping three loaves of bread from a baker and pinching two copper coins from a blind beggar's bowl.
But before he could leave the market, he was caught red-handed by the local mafia. Stealing on someone else's turf? That's a beating in any world.
As a Player, Mouse naturally didn't take a few NPCs seriously. He immediately whipped out his starter weapon—a dull, rusty dagger.
The result didn't need much explanation. He got absolutely bodied by several large men, dragged on the ground, and sent limping back to the "Newbie Village."
"Street thugs who hang around the market. Most likely Black Tooth's men," Viserys said, walking out of the room to explain the situation to the three players as he looked at the battered Mouse.
"Your Grace! You must avenge your loyal servant!"
When things were chill, he was just a lowly NPC. But now that there was trouble, suddenly it was "Your Grace" this and "Your Majesty" that. In just half a day, Mouse_Is_Duck had already mastered the art of being a treacherous courtier.
[ As a King, you cannot sit idly by while your subjects are humiliated. Please seek justice for your servant immediately. ]
[ The prestige of House Targaryen cannot be trampled by mere street thugs. Upon completion, the Host will receive 500 Kingdom Coins and 1 Bronze Chest. ]
Not taking free money makes me a bastard. Seeing Mouse clinging to his thigh with snot and tears, Viserys waved his hand grandly and issued a new quest to the other three players:
[ Quest: Avenge Player Mouse_Is_Duck. ]
Objective: Defeat the market bully, Black Tooth.
Reward: 30 Kingdom Coins, 1 Iron Chest.
As soon as Viserys finished speaking, the eyes of FaFo and the others lit up upon receiving the quest notification from the System Sprite.
Forget the generous rewards for a second—no matter how realistic a game is, if there's no combat, it's boring as hell.
Realizing that the combat system they had been craving was finally opening up, the three players ignored everything else. They grabbed Mouse, who was still hugging Viserys's leg, and dragged him away.
In the blink of an eye, the four of them vanished from Viserys's sight like cartoons leaving dust clouds behind them.
"Ah, the leeks these days. So energetic." Viserys shook his head and went back inside to open his three Bronze Chests.
You ask about the Iron Chests? Those were incentives for the leeks to work harder. A farmer doesn't eat pig slop, right?
[ You have opened 3 Bronze Chests. Obtained: Dragonbone Longbow, 30 Arrows, +1 Strength, +1 Constitution. ]
[ Attribute points have been automatically added to the Host. ]
Viserys opened his character sheet and commanded his loyal Operations Manager.
> [ Host: Viserys Targaryen ]
> Strength: 8 (Average adult male: 8-10. Your Grace, have you not hit puberty yet?)
> Constitution: 7 (Average adult male: 7-9. We know you're malnourished, but ask yourself—is your laziness not also to blame?)
> Agility: 5 (You can't even outrun the old lady selling ice cream.)
> Perception: 6 (Average. You are destined to have no affinity with magic.)
> Insight: 8 (If you were a commander, your army would be run in circles by the enemy.)
> Willpower: 8 (With your weak will, you'd be overwhelmed trying to command even a thousand men.)
> Magic Skills / Talents: None.
> Combat Skills / Weapon Mastery: None.
> One-Handed Weapon Proficiency: 5.
> Combat Rating: 25 | Command Rating: 16 | Magic Affinity: 6
---
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Rondo, the blacksmith known for his fiery temper, crossed his arms and looked with satisfaction at the young apprentice skillfully working the bellows. He couldn't hide the admiration in his eyes.
Bun_Immortal caught the look out of the corner of his eye.
Bet you didn't expect I actually have skills IRL, huh? I placed in a 'Forged in Fire' competition back home. Impressing a medieval country smith is child's play.
Compared to Mouse, who got beaten senseless, Bun_Immortal's path as a Blacksmith was smooth sailing.
Rondo was short-handed due to a large order from a Braavosi sellsword company, so he didn't hesitate to take on Bun as a temp worker.
Rondo thought he was getting free unskilled labor. He didn't expect to find a forging prodigy who picked up the trade in half a day.
If the guy wasn't so young, Rondo would have thought a master smith was pranking him.
Watching the young man skillfully hammer a blade blank, Rondo felt a surge of appreciation. If I marry my daughter Lisa to him, I'll have someone to inherit my legacy when I'm gone.
Or so Rondo thought.
---
"Hey! It's them!"
Meanwhile, in an alley near the Pentos market, seven or eight burly men turned their heads at the shout.
"Oh look, the midget brought backup." Black Tooth shoved aside one of his minions, rested his hand on the shortsword he had stolen from Mouse, and looked at the newcomers with disdain.
"Hmph. You possess a death wish. We are the sworn swords of King Viserys! Your assault on him is an insult to House Targaryen!"
FaFo channeled his inner anime protagonist. He drew his sword with a flourish, the corner of his mouth twitching up in an exaggerated, arrogant smirk as he stared down Black Tooth.
Behind him, the other three players cheered internally: Behold, the Dragon King Smirk! Grass shall not grow where he treads!
"House Targaryen... Never heard of 'em!" One of Black Tooth's minions was intimidated by FaFo's confidence and glanced nervously at his boss.
Sensing his minion's hesitation, Black Tooth also felt a pang of uncertainty. He wanted to say these guys were bluffing, but they were holding real steel swords—weapons street rats couldn't afford.
The leader was even wearing leather armor. But if they were retainers of some big shot, why did they look shabbier than his own crew? Were they sellswords?
Black Tooth wasn't sure, so his tone softened slightly.
"What do you want?"
"Hmph. You beat our man, and you ask us what we want? I'll tell you this: Even if you kneel and beg me now, I won't show you mercy!"
FaFo flashed the Dragon King Smirk again.
With a dramatic point of his finger, the group charged at Black Tooth in unison.