The group continued to travel and they encountered less and less monsters. "We're about two or three hours away now," Finn said, though not without taking a couple of plants, fruits, and berries he encountered along the way.

By this time, the group was already used to his spontaneous foraging behavior and didn't think too much of it anymore.

"I suppose we're heading to the midpoint…" Durgan said, looking around.

"Hmn, that is reasonable."

Finn looked at them. "Midpoint?"

"Yes. You know that the nearer the portals, the stronger and more numerous monsters are, yes?"

Finn nodded.

"The midpoint refers to the portion of Level 1 with a lesser number of monsters, and would only have predominantly Awakened monsters. It should start approximately 60 kilometers away from the main portals."

It was called the Midpoint, but it actually comprised a large portion of the so-called danger zone, situated between the occupied lands and the more dangerous areas with the portals, like a massive belt that was as wide as entire regions side by side.

The danger zone itself was massive—as big as a large country. However, the area where the monsters get summoned was not that large.

Although the areas where monsters were found were collectively known as the danger zone or the beast forest, the density of beasts farther away from the portals was naturally lower.

The areas where there was a sharp decline in awakened monsters were therefore called the midpoint. In retrospect, he must really have been near that place then.

After all, considering the sheer amount of monsters he encountered a few hours away from the Inn (protected by the repellent) could not be compared to what he had experienced while he was at the inn.

If the density of monsters around the inn was the same as the area where he found these four, then at least a dozen or two monsters would be harassing the inn at all times, with no breaks in between.

As for the lake he landed on, there were indeed quite a few monsters, but he reckoned it was because there was a lake there and they simply congregated in the area.

Of course, that wasn't to say that the monsters in the inn were few, but at least it was long as someone was fighting them every so often, they wouldn't pile up beyond control.

This so-called midpoint was also the area that could be traversed by most adventurers and mercenaries, and some caravans guarded by them.

"About 90% of adventurers and mercenaries doing missions in the danger zones are in this area."

His eyebrows rose. Cool. Traffic.

That said, why hadn't he had more customers? It was because the place was still damned big, and his location was far from the usual traffic pathways.

Since he could now confirm that there was traffic, all he had to do was to think of a way to attract customers to his inn— to let people know he was right there.

"Then perhaps…is your inn in a village that managed to survive in the danger zone?" Durgan asked, a bit hopeful. A lone inn in the wilderness was too hard to believe. This was more logical, though still extremely impressive.

Nona blinked and nodded. "I have heard of those rumors."

Leiah looked at her. "Those villages had long fallen, though."

Before the portals opened up, there were plenty of villages in the area. When the monsters first exploded, the many villages that had organically formed nearby perished. It was a great tragedy.

As for those that survived, they did so because they were either in favorable terrain, like in high plateaus, or were built in relatively hidden areas, like valleys or tunnels.

However, after so many decades and after so many Aphelion months, those territories fell one by one, until all of them just became part of history.

Now, the villages were all outside the danger zone and situated between the towns and cities. They tended to cluster together, as well, and their farm lands (which often served town populations, too) would often overlap.

There were also vast forests between territories, and these forests were also places where bandits and the like were often found.

Anyway, these guys probably assumed that he was from a village like that or a small group that had managed to find a safe zone amidst the terrain. That was the only explanation why he hadn't been in the safer regions where everyone was born.

That said, when he also asked about people's daily earnings so he could have a better understanding of the world's economics, he received a lot of pitiful gazes.

"Wow… you've been really sheltered…" Marcus muttered, patting his shoulder. Durgan sighed, while Nona shook her head. On the other hand, Leiah just looked at him before looking away, and he felt particular guardedness from her.

Cough. "That, I am," he said. "Can you guys just answer my questions?"

"Well, if we can help you be more aware and avoid getting scammed, it's the least we can do," Marcus said, explaining away.

Apparently, the daily earnings of laborers and peasants were around 30-50 danas. Peasants were generally the poorest people who lived in villages in the safe zones.

They handled the agricultural areas in between territories, as well as other industries related to manual labor. Generally speaking, they also comprise the majority of the non-fighting humanoid population and were spread out to the vast majority of livable land.

Next would be the daily earnings of commoners, which were approximately 70 to 100 danas. Commoners were those who lived decent lives in the few towns and cities. They were artisans, merchants, common workers, and so on.

There were also plenty of laborers to do the dirty jobs in these areas as well, and their wages were just slightly a bit bigger than those in villages.

The earnings of rich merchants and nobles were outliers, so they naturally could not have averages like this.

On the other hand, there was a class above commoners but below the nobles, which was adventurers and mercenaries.

Of course, adventurers and mercenaries also had varying earnings, but because the majority would take stable jobs, there was actually a daily average.

For instance, on a lull day where they only took guarding jobs or simple errands, the daily earnings ranged from 150 to 200 danas, which was still much higher than what commoners made.

And this was the lowest earning for this class, so it was no wonder many people wanted to become an adventurer or a mercenary.

On a decent day with slightly more difficult jobs, like inter-territory escort missions within the safe zone or suppression of bandits, the range could go up to about 300 to 600 danas a day. If the escorted people were generous, then it'd be even more.

Of course, for big contracts like monster suppression and long-term danger zone missions, which were generally taken once or twice a month and lasted a few days each, the daily earnings averaged one to three gold for Awakened.

For those who would go near the portals, this could be multiplied by a few times or so, but above the Awakened level the earnings could vary sharply depending on equipment, connections, and so on. As such, earnings of toughened level and above, like nobles, had varying outliers, so data could not be averaged.

Internally, Finn was already calculating his market prices. If he captured the markets, he was determined to make the lonely Inn bustle with activity—very soon!

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