But when Jon Snow saw through Gou's conspiracy, this information instantly became his greatest advantage at the moment.
Now, Jon's next plan was clear - he would change his initial appearance, then ambush other players in locations most likely to serve as meeting points for allies.
He was currently at Harrenhal, so the closest meeting point that other players might choose was obviously the Crossroads Inn, situated at the intersection of the north-south Kingsroad and the east-west River Road and High Road.
It was the crossroads between the North, the Riverlands, the Vale, and the Crownlands. Jon believed many players would certainly appear there, whether by agreement to form alliances or simply passing through.
The next question was how to disguise himself? And after successfully concealing his identity and discovering other players, how would he defeat them?
Neither problem was easy to solve.
First was changing his initial characteristics. The idea seemed perfect, but execution would be difficult.
None of his distinctive equipment was unnecessary. Whether weapons, armor, or horse - these were Jon's core equipment. Even his choice to start as a hedge knight was because of this gear.
With only 200 silver stags to his name, he couldn't afford better armor. If he wanted to change his appearance, he would have to switch to inferior equipment, which would greatly reduce his fighting ability.
In such a case, he might discover other players and attempt to trick or attack them, but would likely fail to defeat them.
Unlike Jon, who had been a civil servant in his previous life with combat abilities relying solely on his character stats, many other players attracted by the huge bonuses were martial arts champions or cold weapon fighting masters in their former lives.
With their rich combat experience and skills, they could exert strength far beyond what was shown on their character sheets.
Unless their average attribute was no more than 5?
"Traveling merchant!" Jon suddenly thought of this profession.
If someone was a traveling merchant, even with the soul of the Mountain or the Sword of the Morning, it wouldn't help them much. After all, they couldn't even properly wield their weapons.
Just like before Arya completed her Faceless Men training - when she tried to kill the hound with Needle, the animal could simply stand there while she jabbed at it, unable to pierce its hide.
So, would it be possible for him to hunt a traveling merchant?
As this idea formed in Jon's mind, clues began connecting frantically.
First, traveling merchant was undoubtedly a popular starting role, with many players choosing it.
Second, driven by the "First Blood" mission, these powerless merchants wouldn't dare meet their allied players, having neither the means to kill other players nor the faith to trust their supposed allies.
Unless they hired mercenaries - which happened to be the most common starting role with the least obvious characteristics - but recruiting mercenaries was risky, requiring them to visit locations where mercenaries gathered.
Therefore, beginning-stage traveling merchants were indeed good targets for Jon. They had neither allies nor mercenaries.
However, since these merchants weren't joining their allies, this created a problem - Jon had no way to track them.
"No," Jon immediately shook his head, "There are still clues."
Without being able to earn points by killing other players, the traveling merchant's only hope for gaining points lay in the main mission.
So what was the main mission of the traveling merchant? Jon might not be able to guess how other professions' tasks were designed, but for traveling merchants, regardless of specific design, their tasks would inevitably involve running a business to make money.
Moreover, the traveling merchant had a huge natural advantage from the start - unlike mercenary knights who had no gold, merchants began with a full 100 gold dragons!
For Jon, a task like "earning 1,000 gold dragons" was almost unimaginable, but for merchants with proper business sense, it wasn't impossible.
Therefore, those merchants would most likely focus on trading after they began.
For running a business, the Riverlands where Jon currently found himself was an ideal location.
The Riverlands connected in all directions, and unlike during the chaos after the War of the Five Kings, under House Tully's rule, security here was considered exemplary throughout Westeros, with few bandits or outlaws.
It was clearly a good place to conduct trade.
The question was, which goods would be most profitable?
Northern furs? This had potential. One could buy furs cheaply in northern villages and sell them in southern cities.
It was a perfect trade route, as fur prices could double in southern cities (even more if smuggled to avoid customs duties).
But there were timing issues. Westeros was vast. Even starting in the North, it would take at least two months to transport goods southward. Starting in the South would take even longer.
For players who might be targeted by assassins within two months, the fur trade might not be appealing.
If furs wouldn't work, what about iron ore from the Westerlands?
This was also highly profitable with shorter trade routes. The distance from the Westerlands to ideal shipping points in the Riverlands or the Reach was less than one-third of the northern trade route.
Unfortunately, with system backpacks limited to 1 cubic decimeter, ore would need transport by mules and carts. Small volumes wouldn't increase profits significantly.
Moreover, iron ore might be a crown-controlled commodity. Under Westeros's feudal system, few commodities were crown-controlled. Wait... crown-controlled?!
"Salt!" Jon immediately grew excited.
Commodities like salt and iron had always been government-controlled in the Great Celestial Dynasty's ancient times. However, in Westeros, management rights for territories large and small were scattered among hundreds of lords, and the crown couldn't monopolize these trades. The salt and iron trade was left to lords and merchants.
Converting salt for personal use had been punishable by beheading in the Great Celestial Empire, yet people still flocked to this business. The profits involved were immense.
Among all merchant players starting in or near the Riverlands, who could resist salt's temptation?
"If they want to engage in the salt trade," Jon thought as he mentally reviewed the map of Westeros that he knew by heart...