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Allen felt as if he had been trapped without warning.
When he first arrived at the Crossroads Inn on the third day of the game, he thought he had made good time. He had planned to make some arrangements and wait for the arrival of his allies.
However, as soon as he stepped inside, he spotted a mercenary knight, equipped the same as him, sitting in a corner drinking. The most unsettling part was that the knight looked right at him, and he was sure the feeling was mutual.
In that instant, Allen realized the flaw in the starting equipment of the players.
Two thoughts rushed through his mind: one, to kill, and the other, to run.
Although the bounty mission had been completed by an unknown old foe, Allen had hoped to form an alliance with his supposed allies as promised, not to be hunting each other.
But now, he couldn't tell if this person was one of his promised allies or not. He didn't dare to test it, as doing so might expose him. So, his options were either to fight or flee.
In the next moment, Allen spun around and bolted for the door.
But as soon as he reached the stable and was about to untie his mount, a blow to the back of his head knocked him unconscious.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself tied up and locked in the cellar where the wine was stored.
By the time Ian returned to the inn in the afternoon, he had read the second-day settlement report in the system that he'd forgotten to check during the early hours of the night.
The report showed that by last night, the number of remaining players had dropped to 97. This meant that, apart from the two who had died by Ian's hand, there was now a "lucky" survivor.
To Ian's surprise, when he entered the inn, Denzel, a Dornish man who had once been beaten by society, informed him that there was a "lucky man" locked up in the cellar.
Denzel explained that the man had tried to escape after spotting the "bait" Ian had set, and he was certain this was the person Sir Lucien wanted to catch.
With Denzel's assurance, Ian shook off the fatigue from his short nap by the tree and headed to the basement with Rohr.
When Allen saw the blond nobleman in a brocade hunting coat and the noble knight in full plate armor approaching him, he was utterly bewildered.
At first, he thought he had been arrested by a player alliance. But to his shock, the people who had captured him were locals, not players.
"You seem confused," Ian said with a smirk.
"Yes, sir," Allen replied quickly, his face swollen to the size of a pig's head, adding a touch of absurdity to the moment. "I don't know why you're arresting me. I've never seen you before. What's going on here? Is there some misunderstanding?"
"It's a misunderstanding. I can't explain why I arrested you, but it might just make you even more confused," Ian teased, his smile widening.
"This has to be a mistake. You must have confused me with someone else," Allen insisted. "I've only just arrived in this world. I haven't offended anyone, I swear!"
As this thought crossed his mind, Allen felt a bit relieved. Fortunately, he wasn't a player!
"I'm a player."
"???" Allen's eyes widened in disbelief. He looked Ian up and down, then glanced at Rohr. For a long moment, he couldn't find the words.
"See? More confused now?" Ian yawned, amused.
"How could you...?" Allen started to ask, but halfway through, something clicked in his mind. He suddenly kneeled to the ground, sweeping his arms in front of him. "I surrender. I surrender to you."
He glanced at Rohr, then added, "I don't know if your alliance has any openings, but I surrender. I'll join your alliance. Please, don't kill me!"
"Surrender? What's that?" Ian asked, genuinely puzzled.
"Ah? Don't you know? This is a form of player alliance." Allen was speaking when he suddenly noticed Ian making a quiet gesture. Immediately, he stopped.
"Annie," Ian called in his mind. He remembered that when Anne had introduced him to the three major mechanics of the game, she had mentioned the alliance system. He had skipped over it at the time, as he had no agreed allies then. "Introduce the alliance mechanism."
"With the alliance mechanism, players can form alliances face to face using the alliance function in the auxiliary system after entering the game. Each alliance can accommodate up to 4 people," Anne explained without hesitation.
"Players in an alliance can unilaterally declare to leave the alliance, and the declaration will take effect one day later. After leaving, players can earn rewards or complete tasks by killing their original allies.
Players in the alliance state can also backstab their allies directly without leaving the alliance. In this case, no reward is given for killing the ally.
There are two statuses for players entering the alliance: allies and surrenders.
When an ally unilaterally breaks the alliance, a quarter of their current points will be deducted, and if they backstab an ally, half of their points will be deducted.
For a surrender, if they unilaterally break the alliance, half of their current points are deducted. If they are backstabbed, all points are deducted."
"Um," Ian said thoughtfully after listening, then turned to Allen. "How many points do you have now?"
"One—one point," Allen answered, his face flushing with embarrassment.
"So, does this alliance mechanism have any binding effect on you?" Ian laughed.
The mechanism was clearly designed to prevent players from betraying their alliances in the later stages of the game, when players typically had hundreds or even thousands of points. Losing a quarter of their points at that stage would be a painful blow.
But now, Ian had ten points, and Allen had only one. If Allen surrendered to him, it wouldn't be much of a burden. In fact, it was Ian who would be more restricted.
"Well," Allen seemed to realize this, "maybe the binding force of the alliance system is low, but I don't have the strength to betray you, and no reason to do so either. If I can hitch my wagon to you, I'll be happy with that. Why would I seek death?"
"That makes sense," Ian nodded. But before Allen could relax, Ian's gaze sharpened. "But what exactly are you worth to me?"
"My worth? I can help you with things!" Allen quickly offered.
"But you've seen for yourself that this inn is full of people who help me, and you were easily caught by them."
"Oh, there are six of them—there's no way I could win, right?"
"Stop making excuses. You should be proving your worth to me now, while you still have time. I might lose patience at any moment," Ian said, growing impatient. "Let me teach you some interview skills."
Allen's frustration was palpable. "I'm tied up here, how can I prove anything to you?" He was starting to get annoyed. "I can only prove myself if you give me a chance to handle things. Right?"
"Look, haven't I lost my patience already?" Ian shook his head, drew his sword, and smirked. "Let me teach you skills you'll only be able to use in your next life."
Seeing this, Rohr grabbed Allen by the hair and slammed his face against the empty barrel next to him.