After going through a lot of trouble, Claude finally reached the nearest town, and what he saw made him frown.

This town... the people are not only impoverished, their eyes were also filled with hopelessness as if they already accepted that they don't have long to live in this world.

Claude entered the town with a heavy heart. While he has his own priorities, it doesn't mean that he was heartless. He still pities these people.

With his soft heart, he can't help but head to a nearby stall that sells bread to buy bread for these poor people.

"How much for bread?" Claude asked the seller.

It has been a year since he was rescued by his master. Naturally, he has already learned the common language of the universe.

Since the Eclipsion Realm is not a primitive realm that has any contact with the rest of the universe, whether it be the natives or foreigners, they all adapted the common tongue, which makes it possible to communicate.

Looking at Claude, who did not look like he was from this impoverished village, the seller looked at him strangely.

His handsome face, his neat clothes, and the noble demeanor he possesses make him definitely not a poor young man. Why is he even in this kind of place?

Is he the son of a noble who decided to travel and experience the world?

"Three low grade mana stones for one bread" the seller replied, not wanting to offend what looked like a young noble.

This price, although not a problem for Claude, still surprised him. A single bread actually costs three low-grade mana stones when the ingredients are just normal crops?

Looking at Claude's face, it was as if the seller could read his thoughts.

"It's expensive because the townspeople cannot farm peacefully. There is the threat of the magic beasts as well as the constant plundering of the bandits, making prices higher."

"Even Senior Mages or Great Mages cannot live without food, although they can survive for a long time without it. Low production, along with the threats and constant plundering, makes the price high."

"Even if we want to sell products at a low cost, we simply cannot afford to do so."

The seller explained, and Claude judged that the seller was not lying. Just before reaching this town, just how many bandit groups did he encounter and kill?

"I will buy all the bread" Claude said calmly, causing the seller to be taken aback.

He wants to buy all of the bread? What is he even going to do with them?

There were at least forty bread here! That's 120 low-grade mana stones. It might not be much, but for the poor townspeople, it was enough to help them survive for a few months.

Of course, this was just for normal people. For mages, even thousands of mana stones aren't that much due to their consumption needs.

"I will provide an additional 80 low-grade mana stones, rounding it up to 200 mana stones. Can you help me distribute it to the people on the streets?" Claude offered while glancing at the homeless people with a lifeless look in their eyes.

"I can but... are you sure? This town is both poor and dangerous. This might cause you to encounter trouble" the seller kindly advised, but Claude just shook his head.

"It's fine. I am not afraid" he said confidently. Even if he were to encounter a Great Mage, he was not afraid, despite only being at the first cycle Senior Mage.

The number of life-saving treasures he received from his master can flatten this realm to death. What is there to be afraid of?

Of course, Claude also wouldn't lightly use them. He prefers to solve things using his own power.

"Very well"

The seller didn't say anything else after seeing Claude's calmness and helped give food to the poor.

However, despite receiving the bread and eating it, the lifeless eyes of the homeless didn't vanish nor ease even by the slightest. They still didn't see hope for life.

At that, Claude can only sigh. This is life, not everyone is as fortunate as him.

After a simple act of kindness, Claude went to a tavern in the town. Deciding to stay in the meantime while gathering some information.

The internet contains a lot of information, but the Eclipsion Realm isn't really a famous realm. Most people are uninterested in it due to the realm not offering any special benefits. As such, Claude can only gather general information.

For more precise details, he could only gather them on his own.

In any case, the sun is almost setting already. If Claude doesn't want to stay the night in the wild, he also needs to find a place to stay.

After entering the tavern, Claude's facial features and demeanor attracted a lot of attention. It was not every day that they encountered someone like him who clearly didn't belong in this place.

"Ohoooo, what's a pretty boy doing here? Want to find someone to give you a night of fun?" One of the tavern's customers joked, causing the surrounding people to laugh loudly.

As for Claude, he didn't pay the drunkard much attention. As long as they don't really hinder him in any way, he wouldn't care.

Ignoring the drunkard, Claude went straight to the counter and retrieved a mid-grade mana stone, placing it on the countertop.

"I need information"

Claude knew that to gather information, one of the best places to go was a tavern. Many people talked about all sorts of things here, and oftentimes, the owners themselves are in the business of selling information.

With nimble hands, the tavern staff took the mana stone and hid it. Mid-grade mana stones are more valuable than low-grade mana stones, and they are typically used by Senior Mages.

For this poor, impoverished town, even just thousands of mid-grade mana stones were a huge wealth, as the foreigners that invaded the realm owned the majority of the realm's resources.

Not to mention, the foreigners also did excessive mining, and there are too few mana stones circulating in towns such as this own.

This is the fate of a realm that was exploited by the strong.

Even a realm that can birth Noble Mages might have fewer mana stones and treasures than a realm that can only birth a Senior Mage due to too much exploitation.

"What information would the Young Master be interested in?"

"What are the biggest bandit groups nearby and what is their strength?"

Claude's master threw him into this realm, only wanting him to spend more time with people as well as to temper him.

Aside from that, he doesn't really have a set goal. Since that is the case, Claude might as well do some good and help the people of this realm.

Even if he cannot save the whole world, he could at least save this small town, right?

"This town is called Ponen Town, surrounded by mountains and forests, making it easy for bandits to gather and hide."

"Overall, there are three large bandit groups with peak Senior Mages. There might even be hidden Great Mages in these bandit groups. These three are called Black Bear Bandits, Lion Blood Group, and Poison Ivy Team. When they come, the townspeople can only let them do what they want; we are powerless to resist."

"Aside from these three largest bandit groups, there are also tens of medium-sized bandit groups. At the very least, they have high-cycle Senior Mages, and the stronger ones also have Peak Senior Mages, although their numbers are lower compared to the three biggest bandit groups."

"As for small bandit groups, they are too numerous to count. Almost every day, a small bandit group would be formed, and at the same time, many small groups would also be destroyed."

The staff explained, and Claude had a more thorough understanding of this place. It seems like the situation of this town was more perilous than he had imagined.

"Are there no authorities that handle these bandits?" Claude asked, and the tavern staff stared at him before speaking.

"Young Master seems not to be a native of Eclipsion Realm. Almost everyone here in this town is native, with the occasional foreigners staying for some time."

"These bandit groups are backed by the mages who occupy this realm. They rob people and even catch some to be sold as slaves from time to time, and pay tribute to those mages. Naturally, no authorities will deal with them since they are the ones supporting the bandits."

"The foreigners have it better. Most of the time, the bandits will only rob them and not capture them to be sold as slaves, since they are afraid. Compared to us natives controlled by those mages, the foreigners that come here might have a backing that even the invaders cannot offend."

Hearing this explanation, Claude's eyes darkened. This realm really is chaotic, and the natives are severely oppressed.