This time, Annan's conversation with Tan Juan was slightly different from the last.
Because this time, Annan didn't ask Tan Juan about "the black-haired and blue-eyed boy Claus asked about," and when Tan Juan left the room, his expression was not as grave.
On this occasion, Annan asked an extra question:
"Young master, where are you going?"
"I'm going to see Lord Benjamin," Tan Juan instructed him specifically, "If there's an emergency and you need to find me, go straight to the captain's cabin. Don't mind anyone who talks to you on the way, and don't get distracted by other places. Go there and come back quickly."
"Yes."
Annan replied.
Considering Tan Juan's age, he was already very cautious. He did almost everything he could… Sadly, he still miscalculated human hearts.
He placed too much trust in the captain of the guard. For nobles like them—especially those carrying heirlooms who had offended people and had no means of resistance—they shouldn't trust anyone.
That included John as well.
Annan pondered deeply, his heart filled with silent musings as he watched Tan Juan close the door behind him.
Indeed… it seems that my previous intervention had unwittingly changed something.
The main quest stated that one must prevent Tan Juan from drinking poisoned wine. This implied that, in actual history, the young master was supposed to be poisoned at dinner.
But just a short while ago, when Annan found Tan Juan, he had already been tied up and looked like he was about to die on the spot, making the poisoned wine and waiting for dinner superfluous.
The only possibility was that the words he spoke to the young master earlier had made him suspicious of the captain of the guard... and then he went straight to confront him.
The ensuing series of chain reactions may have alerted the enemy.
Perhaps the old wizard would not have died at that moment. It might have been Tan Juan's misstep that caused the plan to accelerate…
And this time, I didn't say anything superfluous.
So, the script should develop towards the original historical trajectory…
[Erosion level has risen to 4%]
Annan frowned slightly.
Does this mean that when entering such a copy, if one has multiple chances to load the game, it's best to try to replicate the choices of the original owner the first time? No, that's not necessarily the case… The original owner might actually be the least knowledgeable.
For instance, John didn't even know who the betrayer was.
I wonder how I can reduce this erosion level. Just in case, I'd better try not to die…
As Annan was thinking this, his vision was suddenly filled with a stream of data:
[Main Quest: Fulfill John's uncompleted last wish]
[Ascertain the real identity of the betrayer]
[Survive until the start of dinner]
[Do not let Tan Juan Geraint drink the poisoned wine]
But soon, the three lines below started to fade and then shattered.
In their place, new words emerged:
[Kill the captain of the guard, Claus]
[Eliminate all betrayers]
…So, it's possible to inherit the progress of the copy after dying?
Annan had a sudden realization, and a host of new ideas filled his mind.
But just by looking at these two new task requirements, he couldn't help but let out a pleased laugh, utterly at odds with John's honest demeanor, "This is much simpler now..."
Once a task is simplified to "where to go," "what to kill," and "how many to kill," every player breathes a sigh of relief.
Such tasks are simpler and more straightforward, and they are better at stimulating the players' adrenaline than complex puzzles and vexing goals whose means of achievement are unknown.
This time, Annan didn't wait for Tan Juan to get far—since he knew that the young master wasn't coming back—and began searching the room proficiently.
It took him just over a minute to find Tan Juan's short sword, ring, pocket watch, and John's gauntlet sword.
This time Annan didn't take the seal and letters with him but left them in the room. He wanted to see if new dialogues would "trigger" when the captain of the guard got the letters but not the ring.
Having lost the fear and anger, the world became more like a game to him… Even though logically Annan recognized its dangers and knew it was a real world, he didn't feel it was substantial.
Annan gently and slowly exhaled, drawing his long sword.
He left the scabbard in the room.
The reason was simple, it would be inconvenient and awkward to carry it with him.
After all, he wasn't going out to practice swordsmanship.
He was going out to kill.
Without any delays, Annan gathered his things and left the room.
By this time, Tan Juan hadn't gone far. Perhaps because they hadn't completely fallen out, those three tasked by the captain of the guards to watch John hadn't arrived yet.
They probably feared that Tan Juan might come back.
But Annan had no such fears.
His pupils moved rapidly, constantly looking at every possible hiding spot where someone could be. He walked softly, his breathing very steady—not to keep others from hearing him breathe, but to avoid disrupting his own listening.
He had just walked out of the corridor when he heard a series of disordered footsteps.
"Just go in and tie up John, right?"
"No, that idiot might not be smart, but he's quite strong. Whoever goes first is likely to get hurt... Anyway, I don't want to get hurt."
"Hmm, neither do I."
"Don't do anything unnecessary, just follow orders..."
Here they come, here they come.
Everything was as expected. Hearing the three men's complaints and chatter, Annan sneered silently and slipped into the nearest room without a sound.
Fortunately, the room wasn't locked, and it was empty. This saved him a lot of trouble...
At least when entering, he didn't have to knock out or kill anyone inside.
That's usually how Annan operated when playing stealth games before.
He held the knife, crouched by the door. His body's weight was evenly distributed on the door as he listened carefully to the voices of the three men.
Pressing his weight against the door was to prevent the old hinges from making a squeaking sound when his body suddenly leaned forward. So, from the very beginning, he had to press against it slowly...
That way, as long as the action of opening the door was fast enough, there wouldn't be much noise when opening the door.
"...Anyway, we'll just stay here," a somewhat lazy voice spoke, "Keeping an eye on John is safer than dealing with that old immortal. He's a real wizard, not one of those trick-playing swindlers."
"I think staying here is best."
The guard whom Annan had killed first interjected, "If the master's plan fails, we have a reason to explain. We didn't take part in the attack on Sir Benjamin. We can just say we were slacking off here... It's better than dying here if we get punished.
"If the master's plan succeeds, we'll have contributed to it. It's a win-win. This is the best course of action."
"Yeah, after all, John can't beat the three of us..."
The guard who had been frozen to death by Annan also agreed, "You make sense. It looks like we got pretty lucky."
"Of course, you see..."
Listening to the voices of the three men getting closer and then fading away, Annan's lips silently curled upwards.
He burst out of the door without hesitation, strode out of the room, and brandished his long sword.
Frost Trace—
One of the older guards, hearing a noise behind him, instinctively looked back.
He had never considered the possibility that John would leave Tan Juan's room and ambush them here, so he was almost entirely unguarded.
So the moment his face showed surprise, a frost trace slashed straight at his head!
A white trace spread rapidly from the cheek as the starting point, covering his entire head in an instant, not allowing him to make a sound, and continued to spread downward—
The other two, hearing the disturbance, quickly reached for their weapons at their waists.
But before they could even turn around, they felt a chill at the backs of their heads and then lost consciousness.
"—Have another taste of my 'Justice's Backstab'!"
Annan's much-delayed warning finally came sluggishly.
Though many things have changed, your fate of being backstabbed won't!