Game of Thrones: Second Son of House Targaryen

Chapter 6: Automatic System

As news of the duel spread, the market didn’t empty out entirely, but it grew much quieter. Dany's eyes sparkled with excitement, clearly wanting to go. ordinaryly, Viserys would have forbidden her from running around, but seeing her eagerness, he relented.

“Let’s go! Let’s take a look,” Viserys said, putting the water jar in a relatively hidden spot. He took Dany’s hand and they hurried toward the square. Dany's face flushed with excitement as she tried to keep up with Viserys' pace.

Viserys was very interested in the so-called Water Dance. Arya Stark, Ned's daughter, had learned the Water Dance from a Braavosi swordsman in King's Landing, and she used this skill to kill the Night King. These techniques were truly remarkable.

Realizing Dany’s short legs couldn’t keep up, Viserys picked her up under his arm and strode toward the square with long steps. They arrived just as the two swordsmen were in the middle of a fierce battle.

“Dany, come!” Before she could react, Dany found herself on Viserys' shoulders. At first, she felt a bit embarrassed but quickly settled, feeling this was better than when she was little. Perhaps it was a compensation from the Seven Gods?

Dany soon focused on the two swordsmen. To Viserys, the Water Dance technique resembled the fencing competitions he had seen. The two swordsmen appeared to be around twenty years old, standing sideways and fighting on a single line. One wore a light yellow shirt, the other a dark red one. They moved swiftly and gracefully, like deer in the mountains or squirrels on tree branches. The light from their swords flashed, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Despite the elegance, the fight was brutal. The man in the yellow shirt had several wounds, with bright red blood soaking his clothes, making him look miserable. The scene scared Dany, who nervously grabbed Viserys’s shoulder. Viserys, however, was fully engrossed in the duel.

He observed that the Water Dance swords were very narrow, aimed at speed. Though not as thin as fencing swords, they were only about two fingers wide, likely ineffective against armor. Still, the swordsmanship had merits, especially in footwork. Unlike the stability-focused swordplay of Westeros, the Water Dancers prioritized agility.

Viserys decided that if given the chance, he would learn this technique, and teach it to Dany too. In their current situation, acquiring more skills could only help.

Predicting the duel's outcome, Viserys noted that despite the yellow-shirted swordsman’s injuries, they were superficial. The maroon-shirted swordsman, though appearing fine, was in worse condition. His steps were already disorganized, his deeper injuries masked by the color of his clothes. As their bloodied clothing soaked, Viserys saw that Dany seemed scared.

“Let’s go,” he said, taking her away.

“Yes,” Dany nodded, relieved.

...

Dany was very happy. To her, Viserys was becoming more and more human. Not only had he stopped abusing her, but he also carried her around to watch duels and now, he even cooked for her. The sweet, braised fish melted in her mouth. The joy brought by a satisfying meal was incomparable!

Soon, the two siblings had eaten their fill. Dany tried to help with the dishes, but Viserys stopped her.

“We just finished eating. Let's talk about it later.”

“Mm-hmm,” Dany nodded and sat down next to Viserys. She felt that her brother had changed a lot, but she couldn’t figure out why. Her little brain worked hard to understand. She inched closer to Viserys, and when he didn’t object, she rested her head on his lap. Viserys opened his arms and let her rest, soon hearing the light sound of her snoring.

He opened his panel to see if he could improve his skills. As he did, he noticed something strange.

“I remember that firearms became an entry-level skill yesterday, but now it’s a ordinary skill?”

Viserys had reduced his firearms skills to Entry-level (100/100) +, but now it had become Ordinary (87/300) +. He looked at his skills in court etiquette and common language, and sure enough, they had both increased by dozens of points. The other skills that had not been deducted remained unchanged.

Despite the oddity, Viserys was excited. This meant something significant. If he learned more skills and mastered them to a certain extent, he would gain a steady stream of proficiency points! He checked the Assignable Points again and found they had increased from 4 to 17.

“Huh? I’ve gained 13 points?”

He saw that the Assignable Points had now become 0.1, seeming to refresh every day. “Assignable Points seem to increase by 0.1 daily, and Proficiency points fluctuate,” he mused. He had only been in this world for less than a day, so there were too few samples to draw concrete conclusions. However, Viserys realized his system was more powerful than he had initially estimated.

For now, upgrading his swordplay and combat skills would take time. Therefore, he needed to start making crossbows as soon as possible. He glanced at the gutted fish on the ground.

The merchant had told him that the fish contained paralytic toxins and needed to be cleaned thoroughly before eating.

After carrying the already asleep Dany back to bed, Viserys began working on the crossbow. In addition to the crossbow, he also wanted to set up some warning mechanisms. As he looked at the wooden doors and the wall, an idea began to form in his mind.

...

Danglar had experienced a string of bad luck over the past two years. He once commanded five ships, but four had sunk, and the fifth was still missing. Now, he was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

At this desperate moment, a Braavos nobleman from the upper reaches of the Long Canal approached him. This nobleman, of course, didn’t show his face but sent a servant to offer Danglar a hefty sum of a thousand gold dragons to acquire Dany, the princess of the fallen kingdom.

The nobleman chose Danglar because, even before he became wealthy, Danglar had been a hooligan with a lot of experience in shady dealings. He was a qualified white-glove, capable of handling delicate and dirty work. So, when Helbo failed, Danglar immediately sought help from another group.

He turned to Banergar from the "Fierce Fish Company".

The Fierce Fish Company was notorious among the lower classes of Braavos, implicated in more than a dozen murders. To this day, no fewer than twenty members were fugitives, each with at least one murder to their name.

Take Banergar, for example. In his early years, he had been involved in a gang war and had his left cheek slashed off. Due to limited medical care, it couldn’t be stitched up, leaving his left teeth exposed. He looked like a zombie from a movie, his face grotesque and menacing even without making facial expressions. When he smiled, he looked ready to bite someone’s neck off.

“I don’t care what method you use. After the job is done, 300 gold dragons!” Danglar demanded.

Banergar sneered, “Heh, I’ve seen that little bitch from the fallen kingdom. Even without her status, she’s worth 500 gold dragons just for her face. Do you think I’m stupid?”

As he spoke, Banergar twisted his neck, deliberately showing Danglar his yellow, mottled teeth. But Danglar was no saint either.

“This is Braavos. Do you know how much it would cost to settle this just because she is a fallen princess?” Danglar countered.

Banergar was unmoved. He took a sip of wine and stood up, “Then find someone else.”

He pretended to leave, testing Danglar's resolve. One step, two steps, and Banergar was about to leave. It was only about ten steps from Danglar’s desk to the door.

Danglar finally caved, “Name a number.”

Banergar smiled and turned around, his relatively intact right cheek submerged in darkness, while the light from outside shone on his broken left cheek, making him look like a ferocious fish with its teeth bared and claws outstretched.

“Five hundred gold dragons, plus 20% of the last ship you own,” Banergar demanded.

Danglar knew that Banergar was also trying to clean up his act and planned to buy some property.

“Done!” Danglar agreed.