Linsey stopped at the same time.
He studied the girl before him seriously. After watching her for several seconds and waiting for the Decryption Game to present its prompt, he suddenly realized something.
Ailini's source essence level had already surpassed that of most enemies he had encountered.
She was firmly at the Seventh Stage!
Linsey had also heard that Ailini had become a major merchant.
But when faced with that reality, he could not help feeling surprised:
"You... are already at the Seventh Stage."
Ailini was somewhat surprised as well:
"You could tell that?"
"A merchant's source essence is usually separated from their body, so it's hard to judge!"
Linsey shrugged.
"You haven't known me for just one day. Of course I have my ways of judging."
Thinking of Linsey's strange skills, Ailini gave a bitter smile.
"Actually, there's nothing much to be surprised about."
"A merchant's craft comes from the accumulation of wealth. I gained the recognition and support of the Business Association at the Courtyard in the Forest. Once the money was in place, everything became easy to arrange."
"And, Linsey, I don't want to hide it from you either."
"I came to the City of Law this time not only to help people caught in the war obtain supplies. I also wanted to build up capital for myself."
Linsey caught the other meaning in Ailini's tone.
"Continue building capital? You... want to advance to the Eighth Stage!"
Ailini did not care that her clothes were dirtied by the soil. Leaning against the ridge between fields, she sat beside a patch of cabbages.
"Even if a merchant's craft is rather flexible, that's still difficult."
"To advance to the Eighth Stage, the hard requirement is to completely control every economic lifeline of an entire world and become something like