After determining his lineage, career, and growth path, Jon Snow turned his attention to the final option – the starting location.
[Finally, you have arrived?]
[Westeros, Essos, thoros]
Looking at these options, Jon couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. He could understand Westeros and Essos, but what on earth was thoros doing here?
It was an uninhabited and poisonous land where even the greatest explorers couldn't survive.
If a player started there, wouldn't it be a death sentence?
After some thought, Jon clicked on Westeros, mainly because the original books described this region in more detail. Jon believed that with this knowledge, he could develop better in the early stages.
Next, more options appeared.
[Kingdom, Riverlands, Stormlands, Reach, Vale, Dorne, Westerlands, North, Iron Islands, North of the Wall]
Jon chose the Riverlands, mainly because it was centrally located, allowing him to quickly reach any area where competition might arise.
However, just as Jon was about to select a specific city, the system didn't show the next options.
This surprised him, as it meant the player's exact starting location was random.
Thus, players who had already formed alliances couldn't start in the same city. They would need to meet at a pre-agreed location after landing randomly.
Of course, this didn't offer Jon any advantage, since the rendezvous wouldn't take more than a few days.
After confirming one last time that the information was correct, Jon clicked the "OK" button.
[Please enter your name.]
"Name?" Jon repeated, then casually entered [Ian].
[Please customize your appearance.]
"Eh? Can you really customize your face?" Jon was stunned as he saw the preview of a mercenary knight, armored and holding half a sword, riding a tame horse. He then began to modify the knight's face.
After a while, Jon realized that he had no talent for creating faces. The ones he made looked so bad that they resembled those of a horse-drawn swordsman.
So, he gave up and opted for random generation. After three minutes of trying, he finally settled on the image of a handsome young Andal with blonde hair.
[Character creation complete.]
Soon, a detailed background story appeared.
[Background Overview:
You have the blood of both the First Men and the Andals. (Strength +2, gain skill 'Common Language Speaking')
Your father is a farmer in the valley, and your mother is a maid in the manor of a local wealthy knight.
In 281 AC (Note 1), you were born as the eldest son in your family, and your father named you Ian. It was an unusually warm late winter, as though spring had come early because of your birth. However, by the end of the year, the coldness of winter suddenly returned to Westeros, and heavy snow fell everywhere. This year came to be known as the 'Wrong Spring.' (Starting capital + 200 silver stags)
When you were one year old, Jon Arryn, the Lord of the Eyrie and Warden of the Vale, raised a banner of rebellion and declared war on the Targaryen royal family. Your father was conscripted by the local lords, took up arms, and marched south, but he never returned.
After the war, to repay the debts your father incurred purchasing equipment before the war, your mother had to sell the family mill. She then took you to the knight's manor to care for you. Your intelligence was appreciated by the knight's wife, who arranged for you to tutor her son, who was your age. (Spirit +1, gain the skills 'Basics of Etiquette' and 'Basics of Common Language Reading and Writing')
At the age of 11, you and your young master were sent to the count's castle to begin learning swordsmanship, horsemanship, and lance combat from the instructors. Your performance was exceptional. (Strength +4, Agility +4, gain the skills 'Basics of Swordsmanship,' 'Basics of Horsemanship,' 'Basics of Cavalry')]
Two years later, you defeated your young master in a joust and earned the qualification to serve as a squire to a knight from the Earl's family. (Strength +5, Agility +5, acquire the skills 'Beginner Swordsmanship,' 'Beginner Lance,' and 'Beginner Horsemanship')
When you turned 16, you shone in an operation against the mountain clans in the valley. After the war, your master knighted you. That night, you completed your vigil in the sanctuary, anointing yourself with the Seven Holy Oils. (Strength +10, Agility +10, acquired skills: 'Intermediate Swordsmanship,' 'Intermediate Lance,' 'Intermediate Horsemanship')
Not long after, you married the daughter of the housekeeper at a wealthy knight's manor. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but you were deeply fascinated by her.
However, on your wedding night, your former young master drunkenly broke into your new home with four guards. With the anger from his past defeat, he declared that your bride was his. He wanted to exercise his lordly right—the right of the first night.
But the right of the first night, a tradition dating back to ancient times, had been abolished long ago by King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, the fourth monarch of the Targaryen dynasty, following the advice of his Queen Alysanne.
You saw this demand as a provocation and humiliation. You loudly called for your attendants and friends to help, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.
After the fight, you killed your former young master and his guards, but your wife and companions also perished in the melee.
The battle started a fire, and the manor where you had spent your entire childhood was quickly consumed by the flames. You had no time to grieve. Hastily, you packed your belongings—a plain half-hand sword with no heraldry, a complete set of old chainmail with heraldry, a tame horse, and 200 silver stags—and fled the valley overnight. You made your way to the river and began your career as a mercenary knight.
The background story was followed by detailed character information:
[Ian: Strength 21, Agility 19, Mental Strength 1
Skills: Basic Etiquette, Basic Common Language Reading and Writing, Intermediate Swordsmanship, Intermediate Horsemanship, Intermediate Lance]
(Note: Reading and writing skills in the common language automatically cover speaking skills. Speaking skills will only be demonstrated if you can speak but not read.)
"Reminder: The bodies used by players are all bionic humans released by the organizer into this world. They appear out of thin air. The native people of this world will have no memory of the player characters." After confirming that Jon had read the information, AI Annie spoke.
"But the system generates a reasonable background story for the player based on their custom choices. Players can acquire knowledge and memories related to the background to help them integrate into the world of A Song of Ice and Fire with their new identity."
"Isn't this quite thoughtful?" Jon couldn't help but nod. This feature was definitely helpful for players. After all, even those who knew the original work and history best still had gaps in understanding the real-life details of certain professions in this era.
But it also raised a problem: it would be harder for players to recognize each other. If two players disguised themselves well enough, they might not realize the other was a player, even if they were sitting together in a tavern, laughing and talking.
This seemed to contradict the receptionist's statement that players would fall into fierce competition and even kill each other as soon as they started.
From a game design perspective, if the organizers wanted players to kill each other at the start, they shouldn't have created a system that helped players hide their identities.
This didn't make sense. Jon quietly noted the issue in his mind.
"Now that you've completed all the steps in the creation phase, you only need to click the OK button to officially begin your journey," Annie reminded. "Although you can't act before all players have finished traveling, you can take this time to familiarize yourself with the game mechanics and support systems."
Jon agreed with Annie. After all, the organizers required players to understand the detailed game mechanics once they entered the game.
If he used this preparation time to analyze the system, he wouldn't waste a second when the official start came.
Thinking this over, Jon stopped hesitating and clicked the OK button.
The moment he clicked, he suddenly felt as though he was being dissolved. His vision, hearing, and touch faded one by one, and the whole world turned into an endless white void.
Notes:
AC (After Aegon's Conquest) refers to the years following the crowning of King Aegon I Targaryen, the first king of Westeros, marking the start of the Aegon Calendar.