I, a cultivator, have ended up in the wizarding world.

Chapter 118 Intelligence
After settling in Goldenport, Jemin quickly adapted to life there.

Although the city was noisy, it gave him a long-lost sense of freedom.

He rented a simple room. During the day, he wandered the streets and alleys as "Jack," and at night he returned to his residence to study intelligence while quietly cultivating his skills.

After taking care of Carl, the other party surprisingly didn't cause any more trouble, perhaps because they were genuinely frightened by Jemin's methods.

Jemin didn't pay much attention to this. Through Jack's memories, he knew that there were only "mere" five "legends" in the entire Golden Harbor.

If nothing goes wrong, then "Mr. Jack, the low-level adventurer" will naturally not cause trouble, but if something does happen, then it will be "Jamin, the first-level official wizard" who will step in.

At that point, it won't be a problem that can be solved by the deaths of two people.

One of the reasons that Jemin let Carl go earlier was that he wanted to try his luck at fishing.

He was quite excited in the first few days, but he was slightly disappointed when Karl didn't take the bait.

However, the previous attempt to establish authority was indeed quite effective.

When he stepped into the "Drunken Dolphin" tavern for the second time, the orc bartender's face showed less impatience and more awe.

After Jemin asked for a small task to collect monster materials, the bartender pointed with his short, stubby fingers to the wooden staircase deep inside the tavern.

"Hey, Jack, a tough guy like you shouldn't only take those low-level jobs." The bartender lowered his voice, a hint of flattery in it. "The second floor is for you truly 'powerful' adventurers. There are bigger fish there."

Jemin glanced at him impassively, then strode up the stairs.

The second floor was much cleaner and brighter than the downstairs.

A huge wooden board was covered with various mission scrolls. Unlike the missions downstairs, whose rewards were generally a dozen to a few silver coins, the missions here offered rewards ranging from a dozen to hundreds of gold coins.

The adventurers here are noticeably more elite; muscular warriors, agile rangers, and cunning thieves are everywhere.

They either gathered in small groups, discussing the mission in hushed tones, or stood alone, their sharp eyes scanning the mission board.

Jemin noticed that most of the missions here involved dangerous monster lairs, exploration of ancient ruins, and reconnaissance missions deep into certain dangerous areas.

Occasionally, when an adventure team returns after completing a difficult mission, it always attracts envious or jealous glances.

However, Jemin also noticed that magic-based professions were extremely rare, both downstairs and upstairs.

Even in a bustling city like Goldenport, the number of times one can see a spellcaster is very small.

Based on Jack's memories, most spellcasters were retainers of noble families and would never appear in such a mixed adventurer's guild.

After visiting many times, Jemin developed a good relationship with a middle-aged adventurer nicknamed "Old Gray".

Old Gray was an experienced warrior, weathered by time, with a scar on his left eye.

He always liked to sit in the corner of the bar, quietly drinking his ale.

Among the generally low-quality adventurers, Old Gray, though stingy with money, is a rare "upright" character.

Jemin was happy to be around him, occasionally treating him to a glass of fine rum or sharing some unusual materials he had discovered in the wilderness, which would then start Old Grey talking.

"Hey, Jack, you're a real freak. Those little fish and shrimps don't even last three seconds in your hands." Old Gray downed his drink in one gulp and said with a hint of alcohol on his breath, "But you have to know, the adventurer's business is a deep and murky place. On the surface, it's all about doing work for money, but in reality, there are two kinds of people in our line of work."

He lowered his voice, his tone filled with emotion: "One type is people like us, risking our lives in the wild for food and a few coins. Even if you are quite strong, in some people's eyes you can only be considered as the bottom."

"Oh?" Jemin swirled his wine glass. Hearing this, he asked curiously, "Then what qualifies as the top tier? Is it the other kind you're talking about?"

Old Gray's tone was full of disdain: "Another kind... humph, that's those big adventurer groups. They're the black gloves that do the dirty work for the various kingdoms. You know, the Adventurers' Guild doesn't just issue missions randomly. They all have the approval of local government officials behind them. Especially those large missions, which basically involve strategic materials or politics. How could the noble lords just casually hand over such important matters to some people who don't know the details?"

Jemin stroked his chin, realizing he really didn't know anything about this, and Jack had no relevant memories either.

After all… before this, “Jack” was just a low-level adventurer.

However, although he spoke with disdain, he could detect a hint of suppressed envy in the man's tone: "So, those high-ranking adventurer groups are basically the private soldiers of those nobles and kings, and they're just using the name of the Adventurers' Guild to act... Isn't that just being the dogs of the nobles?"

"Shh! How dare you say that so loudly? You must be tired of living!" Old Gray looked around in slight panic.

Now that no one was paying attention to him, he breathed a sigh of relief and smacked his lips, saying, "But you're not wrong, but... being a dog isn't something just anyone can do. At least in front of us lowly people, they're still high and mighty masters."

Old Gray suddenly couldn't help but feel smug again: "However, being a black glove isn't so easy. Although you earn a lot, they're the first to step in if there's any real danger."

"Like now, ever since those 'otherworldly demons' (wizards) invaded, those great adventure groups have been conscripted by various kingdoms and sent to the front lines as high-end combat forces. This has made us small fry smug, and it's not so hard to snag some work."

“That’s a good thing,” Jemin nodded in agreement.

Old Gray was already quite drunk, and he slumped onto the table, muttering, "It's true, but the situation has completely spiraled out of control, and even this place is becoming increasingly dangerous..."

Seeing that the other party was completely out of commission, Jemin didn't say anything more, flicked out a few copper coins to pay for his drinks, and turned to leave.

During this time, through casual conversations in taverns, announcements of adventurer quests, and secretly observing the words and actions of the town's residents, Jemin silently pieced together the current situation in the Erosian plane:
First, there was the human kingdom, which had been constantly at war with the orc empire to the north and the elven kingdom to the west, and was also internally unstable due to noble disputes.

After the wizard invasion, under immense external pressure, the human kingdom signed a peace treaty with the other two countries to jointly resist the foreign enemy.

However, this peace is fragile, and friction continues beneath the surface.

Especially recently, with the wizards' offensive easing again, border friction between humans and orcs has become more apparent, with small-scale clashes occurring from time to time.

The Elf Kingdom is relatively isolated; they live deep in ancient forests and remain highly vigilant against external invasions.

However, the internal structure is not monolithic. There are different factions that advocate "being close to nature and avoiding the world to protect themselves" and "actively resisting external enemies and maintaining the purity of the plane," and there is a subtle opposition between them.

The dwarves are very much in line with the stereotype of being stubborn, holding fast to their ancient mines and generations of forging techniques, and remaining highly vigilant against invaders.

Their mountain fortresses are easy to defend and difficult to attack, but they rarely launch attacks, preferring to defend themselves against wizards' invasions.

The Orc Empire has always worshipped primitive and powerful gods, and revered strength and war.

After the wizard invasion, they became the most direct and primary source of military strength to resist the wizard invasion with their amazing bravery.

However, the orcs were willing to resist the wizards because the human empire promised to provide supplies. But since the wizards' offensive has slowed down, some short-sighted human nobles have begun to renege on this promise.

The core that supports the operation of the entire plane is the system of gods.

The gods of Erosia have distinct roles: there is a god of life who governs life and abundance, a god of death who controls death and the soul, a god of war who symbolizes power and conquest, and a god of wealth who brings riches and trade, and so on.

Other deities besides the Supreme God are not original deities. They can only directly unleash divine magic and intervene in the mortal world by receiving a continuous stream of faith power through the devout prayers and offerings of believers.

On the day he arrived in Golden Harbor, he chose a small church with a long history but little popularity. After pretending to be a devout believer, he began to make small donations over a long period of time.

He donated only a few silver coins each time and showed a keen interest in the doctrines of the gods, spending half a month establishing simple relationships with the lower-ranking priests and pastors of the church.

Through casual conversation, Jieming gradually learned some deeper information.

For example, the gods were indeed highly vigilant against the intrusion of wizards and regarded it as a serious threat.

However, what most gods are truly worried about is not the fall of the mortal world, but the fact that the wizards, after their invasion, will compete with them for faith.

After all, once the source of faith is severed, even a powerful deity will gradually weaken.

Jemin sneered at this, as it perfectly matched the information he had gathered in the workshop.

This is precisely the "weakness" and "purpose" that the wizards deliberately displayed during their invasion. They intentionally demonstrated a strong influence on the laws of the plane and a covetousness for the power of faith, in order to reduce the self-destructive tendencies of the gods to some extent.

This would prevent the gods from recklessly using the essence of the plane to engage in a final, all-or-nothing battle with the wizards, after weighing the pros and cons.

(End of this chapter)