"You want to know why there are no guards to the south of Emeraldwood City, no city gate even?"
In the Black Alley Market, Bajin looked at Lynn beside him, raising a brow.
Lynn gave a slight nod.
"I don't see why that's so hard to understand," Bajin said. "That side borders directly on the Emerald Shadow Forest, only beasts and magical creatures out there.
"And the ones that ordinary walls, gates, and guards could keep out? They're hardly worth worrying about. The people who frequently venture into the forest will compete to deal with those themselves.
"As for the ones they can't handle, well… when the time comes, a wizard will go take care of it."
Lynn nodded. That matched his guess. He was about to drop the subject and move to his real questions when Bajin preempted him.
"You're not about to ask me, 'If no one's stationed on the wall to raise an alarm, how do the wizards even know?' are you?"
Lynn shook his head. "No. I know when enough people die, the wizards will know… I just think…"
"A bit cruel, isn't it?" Bajin rocked his head thoughtfully. "Can't be helped. The Hossens Wizard Domain is in a remote, dangerous place like the Emerald Shadow Forest. A few beast or monster attacks are normal.
"Besides, that tier-three mana crystal vein is right there on the slope where the academy sits. No wizard wants to go stand watch in the south, where mana is scarce.
"And for the wizards, it's no problem if they don't bother. The big gangs and the academy have protective arrays. Even if every single commoner outside died, they'd be fine.
"At most, they'd just buy a few batches of new commoners from the human kingdoms outside… just like when Hossens first moved here decades ago."
Here, Bajin suddenly asked, "By the way, you used to live up on the mountain where mana is thick. Didn't you ever feel anything special? Hossens hoards most of the mana up there."
"No. You know these ordinary people can't sense the difference. I haven't crossed the threshold into the extraordinary yet," Lynn answered.
"The extraordinary threshold… wonder when I'll manage that," Bajin sighed.
Ever since Lynn had picked up that broken sword bargain from him, he'd drop by whenever selling spell shards, and they would chat. Over time, they'd grown familiar.
Lynn had learned that Bajin was the son of a hedge-wizard, his father a third-class hedge apprentice who had gone into the Emerald Shadow Forest one day and never returned.
"Hedge wizard" was a blanket term for all wizards not from the formal academies.
"Actually," Lynn said now, "I came today mainly to ask you about the southern Emerald Shadow Market. You know it well?"
"Of course. I go there about every other day, and I've even hired two men to keep an eye on it for me," Bajin nodded.
He glanced at Lynn, then, after a moment's hesitation, said,
"Honestly, I'm only telling you this because I like you; that place is a goldmine."
"How so?" Lynn made a show of listening intently.
Bajin went on: "Don't be fooled by the fact that it's only a two-hour walk from here. Many of the common hunters there have never in their lives come this way, and have no idea there's such a big market here.
"You know what that means?"
"There's an informational gap between them and us?" Lynn said.
Bajin blinked, then looked at him. "Yes… an informational gap. I like that phrase!
"It's one of the most important things I've learned about doing business!
"Remember that broken sword?"
"You mean, go and swindle the hunters there?" Lynn frowned slightly.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm not that bad. That time was… well, never mind. What I mean is, a lot of goods there have no fixed price. Sometimes you can buy something there and sell it here for a profit.
"And all it costs you is a little time."
"That simple?"
"That simple… yeah, right! You still have to know all the prices, have a sharp eye, and be able to decide fast!" Bajin curled his lip.
"I still don't get it," Lynn said. "If they can make more selling here, why don't the hunters just come?"
"Lynn, you're from the academy, and my father was a wizard. You can't judge those commoners by our perspective. Most of them can't even read." Bajin patted him on the shoulder.
"I'll tell you something, among the commoners I've met, a good number believe the Stonehouse District is just as dangerous as the Emerald Shadow Forest, maybe even more so. They think the moment they come here, terrifying wizards will slaughter them without mercy!"
"That's…"
"Right, stupid, huh? But they have no teachers, no access to people like us, where would they get better information?
"All they know is: you need money to buy things, and rent has to be paid on time.
"Especially the rent that's tied to the academy's income, and next to food, it's the most important thing in all of Emeraldwood City. That, you should know better than me."
Lynn nodded.
The wizards of the Hossens Academy generally did not engage in any kind of production, yet they enjoyed an endless supply of abundant resources, and those resources certainly didn't appear out of thin air.
All the land within the Hossens Wizard Domain belonged to the academy. Anyone living on it, even wizards themselves, had to pay rent to the academy regardless of whether they had built the house themselves.
For convenience, the academy would periodically lease parcels of land to the city's major gangs at a fixed price.
Those gangs would then sublease it down the chain, eventually reaching small gangs like the Iron Claws, who in turn collected rent from the commoners.
"Ordinary folk live like this, and we're no different," Bajin said, shaking his head. "Emeraldwood City might not be huge, but the waters run deep here!
"Even I still don't know everything.
"For example, that Black Ring Assembly membership I've been trying to figure out the requirements for days, but I still haven't gotten anywhere."
"Black Ring Assembly?" Lynn was momentarily taken aback.
"You know the place?"
"I know a little."
Bajin's eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he pulled out a lesser magic stone. "Tell me how to get a membership there, and it's yours."
"You said it," Lynn replied with a raised brow, taking the stone before answering, "First, you must be a wizard. Second, a second-rank or higher wizard apprentice must be willing to vouch for you. Third, you must command an extraordinary power with an attack strength of at least five degrees. Fourth, you must be a member of the Hossens Academy. Fifth, you must pass at least one of the seven extraordinary knowledge tests they've set. Sixth, you need to have at least one hundred commission points."
Back when he was still a member of the Hossens Academy, he and a friend had visited the Black Ring Assembly, and he'd learned these requirements then.
"So that's how it is…" Bajin murmured, then looked at Lynn. "See? This is exactly what I mean by an informational gap. You academy brats don't even realize what you've got in your hands."
Lynn simply smiled without refuting him. Bajin wasn't wrong.
Either way, with the freshly earned lesser magic stone in his hand, Lynn suddenly felt enlightened.
He had only come here intending to ask Bajin about the Emerald Shadow Market, hoping for some suitable hunting targets.
But perhaps all those years of working for others in his past life had left his thinking too rigid!
Making money solely by relying on a single skill, or by going into the Emerald Shadow Forest to hunt, was an inherently inefficient choice.
In this world, where there was no such thing as the internet, informational gaps were everywhere.
If Bajin could earn a comfortable income this way and toss him a magic stone without blinking, there was no reason he couldn't do the same!
By dusk, Lynn returned to his shack with a satisfying haul.
The doors of Giggs' and the others' shacks were still tightly shut.
Still not back?
Puzzled, he stepped into his shack.
Before he could even sit down, a sudden knock came at the door.
When he opened it, he saw Giggs.
The exhaustion on the other boy's face made Lynn's heart sink instantly.
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