It didn't take long before Rui entered the surrounding regions of the Great Forest of Hypnonarak. The region was not divided into nations or any other political entities.
There were no kingdoms or even duchies, and certainly no empires. The reason for that was that the natives had been limited to villages and towns even before the forest was created.
However, once the continental forces learned about the forest and what it had to offer, the poor natives never stood a chance. They were completely overrun by forces that colonized and settled around the Great Forest of Hypnonarak.
Thus the only thing that Rui found was a large commercialized area that was entirely centered around the harvest and supply of narcotic flora. There weren't even divisions across the establishments throughout the region such as towns or villages.
Apparently, nobody cared for such things. And why would they? None of them cared to create an economy or a society. Each and every one of them were only there to make money.
Either off of raiding the forest and harvesting narcotic flora. Or making money by taking harvests, processing them, and supplying them to relevant markets elsewhere.
'Wow.' Rui took in his first glance at the establishment around the Great Forest of Hypnonarak.
A broad borderless and largely lawless sea of commercialization.
Poor civil engineering, infrastructure, and a dense population. Furthermore, an odd odor characterized the air. It came from the large stacks of plant harvests he saw being carted around by various people.
'Tsk.' Rui crinkled his nose, before walking into the large establishment that seemed to stretch forever. He already had an unpleasant impression of the entire place at first glance but got worse the more he walked in.
It reminded him of the Derimont Bazaar, though that place was far worse in his books.
At least it wasn't nearly as noisy.
"Hey! Move along!"
"Get out of the way!"
"A hundred silvers per kilogram?! That's outrageous!"
"Raider for hire!"
Rui sighed as he made his way past the crowds, glancing at all the establishments.
[Veyron Raider's Guild]
[Felethunder Raider Party]
[Vinfranian Noremin Processing Factory]
He wasn't even surprised that most of the establishments were centered around the narcotics sector. It was just far too profitable to expect too much else. However, it wasn't as though there was nothing.
[Ecological Survey Corps]
[Environmental Commission]
There were apparently some groups centered around other aspects of the forest.
[Clues into the Hypnomaster]
[History of the Hypnomaster]
"Interesting," Rui murmured as he strolled past several establishments that looked into the Hypnomaster who actually created the entire forest. of course, given that he had purchased a lot of information that looked into the forest and the Master, Rui didn't actually need any aid, but it was good to know that there were plenty of people who still cared about gaining the tutelage of the vaunted Martial Master.
'In fact, I'd say most Martial Artists here are actually here for the Hypnomaster.' Rui mused. 'The forest raiding is just a good way to sustain them while they're here.'
The Martial Artist population of the region was not scant.
Even as he walked through the dense populations, he could sense a large number of Martial Apprentices, many Martial Squires, and some Martial Seniors. They gave him an entirely different vibe from the assassins of Shadow Isles.
For one, purely off of a first evaluation, he did not get the sense that they were here for commercial purposes. Most of them were Martial Art attire and uniform, and most of them did not reek of narcotics in the way that only people who consumed them did.
Those clues alone were enough for him not only to infer why they were here but also to gain a broader understanding of the dynamics of Martial Artists in this region.
The assassins of the Shadow Isles had lost sight of their original objective under the highly favorable circumstances of the Shadow Isles. This place was one of the few places where assassins could safely come out of the shadows and practice their profession out in the open.
It was inherently attractive to them.
However, the same could not be said for the Martial Artists of the Gereign Region and the forest raiding and harvesting. There was nothing attractive about cutting and gathering plants, it was menial labor.
The Martial Artists that remained here were those of deployed forces from various organizations and mafias around the continent who were interested in the narcotics supply of the Great Forest of Hypnonarak, or they were people who were interested in the Hypnomaster.
In fact, Rui could go as far as gauging which of the two any given Martial Artist fell into. Martial Artists associated with organizations usually had emblems or crests of their respective organizations on their Martial Art attire.
Independent Martial Artists were less well-equipped.
"Ah, young man. I have a letter for you." A postman stopped him, giving him an envelope.
Rui narrowed his eyes as he opened it.
[Gereign Distribution Enterprise]
"...I see." Rui mused 'This is the Beggar's Sect's foreign affairs department in the Gereign Region.'
A distribution service sounded like a good cover for the base of operations of the foreign affairs department. He didn't even know such a thing existed, but such things tended to blend into the background, which was good for the Beggar's Sect.
He immediately headed towards the address specified, leading him to the closest executive branch of the distribution service.
It wasn't long before he was waiting side to be approached by a man.
"Ah, Senior John, we apologize for the wait, we have some matters to discuss regarding your commission payment, can we talk about it in a more private setting?" A man asked.
"That's fine by me."
He didn't mind the blatant exposure of the matter he was here for, since anybody listening would obviously assume that it was a commission payment for a transportation commission, rather than an intelligence one.
He was interested in completing the payment as soon as possible so he would have access to the intelligence as soon as possible.
