Chapter 46 - 45: The Outer Market

Chapter 46: Chapter 45: The Outer Market

Chapter 45: The Outer Market

Charles left the mission hall, and Noah followed him into one of the wide corridors running between the Academy’s buildings. Neither of them was in a hurry, so they walked at an easy pace while students passed around them in both directions.

Charles came back to the question once they had put some distance between themselves and the crush of the hall.

"Better we get a little away from the crowded spots. House Charlemagne’s name is somewhat bad, and we don’t want any unnecessary investigations."

He glanced at Noah from the side.

"The Academy is not as cut off as it appears. The area around it is patrolled on a schedule, and there are a few roads the caravans take, but the further you go, the more magical beasts start showing up. That’s why most students don’t leave on their own, particularly in the early years."

Noah nodded without comment. This was expected, so he went straight to what mattered.

"And trade?"

"There’s the market in the Academy, but not everything passes through it. Some traders deal with us from outside, and there are shops connected to the Academy on the roads and nearby areas. They sell materials and buy them, and they deal with the nobles and the caravans too."

"Tied to the Academy?"

"Not part of it in the direct sense, but they work under its protection, or on contracts with it. The Academy needs materials constantly, and the traders need a safe way to operate. Both sides come out ahead."

They passed a stairway climbing toward another level. Charles waited until a group of students had gone by before he went on.

"Beyond that, there are markets that don’t answer to the Academy. Some nobles use them more than the students, some are just trade points that shift with the road and the season. But if you’re thinking of heading out now, I wouldn’t advise it."

"I didn’t say I’d go now."

Charles smiled.

"Are mage techniques sold there?"

This time Charles thought a little.

"Materials, potions, weapons, those are easy but the techniques are a different matter. The houses don’t sell what they rely on, and the Academy keeps its own. What reaches the markets is usually techniques that are already common like things that came down from small families"

"And the higher-rank techniques?"

"Anything above the low level is locked up by the Golden noble houses and the Academy alone. On top of this, finding a technique that suits your trait above the middle level might not be guaranteed even in the Platinum houses."

Noah kept that line in his mind.

The outer market wouldn’t solve his problem, but it offered an alternative. Once he moved to Middle Grade, he could search more discreetly than by going to the Academy library, which would be a bad idea for a novice.

The two of them kept walking until they reached a corridor open partway onto the mountainside. Here the air was a bit colder, and among the far rocks there were some of the Academy’s outer structures.

Noah asked:

"Aside from missions, what ways do students use to get mana stones?"

Charles didn’t need long to think.

"They sell what they gather, or what they make, or what comes off a hunt. Some work with the traders or as assistants to mages, and some help in the labs or with processing materials. The alchemists have the best shot, if they’re good enough."

"Isn’t the alchemy market held by the Academy alone?"

"At first, yes. But things shifted gradually as it developed. Even the more open noble houses began to shift their view and train their own alchemists, which has grown the market and the demand for materials and assistants a lot."

Charles said it like the matter was obvious, then added:

"But if you are asking because you want to buy potions for training, better not spend too much time on it. Most of them are expensive and useless to nobles under the low grade."

He looked at Noah with an odd smile.

Noah didn’t notice. He was lost in thought.

It was natural for Charles to think that. A new student with high blood asking about ways to earn stones after visiting the library and the mission hall. The simplest read was that he was after the potions and materials that would help him progress.

And that was better.

"You said some students work with the traders."

"Yes."

"How?"

"The outer shops need people who understand magical materials,record the goods and help to sort them or deal with the customers. pay in stones or let the worker buy at a better price.

It’s not as profitable as a dangerous mission, but it’s steadier."

Noah went quiet.

This was closer to what he needed.

He wasn’t after five extra crystals at the end of the week. He needed a place where he could get a feel for the prices, the sources of the materials, the ways the goods moved, who bought and who sold. To work in an outer shop connected to the Academy would give him a natural reason to stay there and watch the market without looking like a new student asking questions that didn’t suit him. Had it not been for Charles and some good luck, Noah would have been suspected of being a spy examining how the Academy ran, and Noah didn’t want to risk it.

"Can a new student get a place in one of them?"

Charles shrugged.

"If the shop owner takes you. The Academy doesn’t stop students from working as long as it doesn’t clash with the rules."

By the time they approached the residential area, his decision was starting to take shape. For now, the goal was to get to the middle grade and to find a way to land in a certain shop and start to build his own strength quietly. Sooner or later he’d need a big load of magic stones. So he can start by using his blood and hiring an alchemist to make high-quality potions, so that he can cover enough of the costs to keep going.

Charles stopped at one of the corridors.

"All right, my place is a bit far, so we’ll split here. Looking forward to our next meeting."

He smiled, then they parted.

Noah walked off towards the residential area without looking back; Charles remained where he was for a few seconds, watching him go. His smile faded bit by bit, and a quieter kind of interest came.

"Strange..."

He lowered his voice further.

"Even with mana this thin all through the millennium, talents like this still turn up."

He thought about Noah’s result and the place he’d grown up in, then his eyes narrowed a little.

"Has Charlemagne worked out a way to hide the bloodline type?"

He paused a moment. A faint smile showed on his face before he muttered:

"If I hadn’t reached the low grade, I wouldn’t have been able to feel it. Interesting."

He turned and left without saying a word.