"Are you blind? Look at what you've done to my new carriage! Do you see the damage you've caused?"

In the south district of the royal capital, Yaderi City, on Brave Street.

A middle-aged man dressed in a black suit grabbed the coachman's collar, pointing at the slightly cracked parts of the luxurious carriage, angrily shouting:

"Do you have any idea how much I paid for this? Two hundred and fifty gold coins! You’ve been driving for decades, and you couldn’t pay for the repairs even if you worked for a lifetime!"

"I'm sorry! I’m really sorry!"

Although the collision happened because the luxurious carriage suddenly changed lanes, causing the two vehicles to crash, the coachman didn’t argue. He just kept apologizing.

Slap!

The well-dressed man slapped the coachman again, yelling:

"Is that all you can say?"

"If you don’t compensate me today, I’ll drag you to the Church for judgment, and you’ll spend your whole life as a slave!"

Hearing this, the coachman’s face turned pale with fear, his voice trembling as he begged:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don’t take me back, I’m sorry..."

Listening to the coachman’s increasingly frantic apologies, the well-dressed man could no longer tolerate it. He slammed the coachman's head to the ground, preparing to kick him with his foot.

"Stop!"

A voice interrupted his actions.

A figure appeared—Karien, wearing a black knitted hat and round glasses—who walked over and casually tossed a small pouch to the well-dressed man.

The man, startled, caught the pouch. At first, he looked displeased, but when he heard the sound of coins inside, he quickly opened it. Inside were ten gold coins.

"Will this be enough to fix your carriage?"

Tying the pouch shut, the man looked down at the coachman, who was still curled up on the ground, and sneered:

"Consider yourself lucky."

Without a second glance at Karien, he jumped into his carriage and ordered his driver to leave immediately.

"Thank you, thank you!"

The coachman, still lying on the ground, kept thanking Karien as the luxurious carriage disappeared into the distance.

After the crowd dispersed, Karien turned to the coachman and asked, "What’s your name?"

The coachman, still trembling slightly, slowly got up, bowing as he replied:

"Sir, my name is Archie..."

Karien pulled out a copper coin covered in a faint gray mist and smiled.

"Don’t be nervous. I’m a missionary of the Mechanical God Church. Could I have a little of your time to tell you about our teachings?"

Though most people in Durand Kingdom worship the Dark Church, the government does not forbid other religions. So, in addition to the Dark Church, there are actually several other sects in the royal capital, though the Church of Light is excluded.

"Mechanical God Church?" Archie was a little confused, as he had never heard of this sect before.

Despite his confusion, he nodded earnestly and said:

"Sir, you saved me, so I’m more than happy to listen!"

"Our teachings are very simple," Karien said with a smile, improvising.

"We create more efficient machines to liberate human labor, improve productivity, create wealth, and achieve equality for all!"

Archie didn’t understand much about machines or labor, but the last phrase—"equality for all"—made his eyes light up.

However, before he could say anything, his expression dimmed again. He forced a smile and replied:

"That’s a truly great philosophy, sir."

Karien handed the mist-covered copper coin to Archie and said:

"I know that achieving equality for all is not easy, but at least, by following our church, you can earn wealth."

Taking the coin, which now emitted a faint silver-gray mist, Archie asked:

"Sir, is this the wealth you speak of?"

Karien grinned and explained:

"This is a token of the Mechanical God. Through the token, the God will assign tasks to the believers.

"Whenever a believer completes a task, the God will reward them.

"If you wish to earn wealth, take the token tonight at 10 p.m. and wait alone for the God’s instructions."

Archie stared at the coin in his hand, uncertain. After a few seconds of thought, he nodded and said:

"I understand, sir. Thank you for this gift."

The "gift" he referred to was, of course, the coin.

Karien knew that the coachman wouldn’t be easily convinced, but he didn’t try to push further. Instead, he added:

"Remember, this token must not be seen by others.

"Also, unless you have permission from a god or a missionary, you must not speak of the Mechanical God Church to anyone.

"Breaking this rule will lead to punishment by the God!"

Archie nodded solemnly.

Karien took a step back, gave a slight nod, and placed his fingertips to his forehead, bowing reverently:

"May the God bless you!"

Archie hurriedly imitated his movements and repeated:

"May the God bless you!"

With that, Karien left.

He took a detour and returned to his house.

Though what he did earlier was spontaneous and a bit theatrical, the more Karien thought about it, the more he liked the idea of the Mechanical God Church.

On the Enze Continent, there were many sects that worshiped various gods. While gods occasionally performed miracles, they did so through their clergy. Ordinary people had no direct contact with the divine, and their faith was guided solely by the teachings of the clergy.

But the Mechanical God Church, which Karien had just invented, may not yet have any followers, but he could use the teleportation beads to perform a small miracle. At the very least, it wouldn’t be difficult to remotely send some gold coins.

By using this method, he could recruit followers and have them help him with tasks. Wasn’t this a viable approach?

Of course, he knew that he couldn’t rush things; otherwise, it could backfire.

So, he decided to try this first with Archie. If he could successfully send a task and guide the coachman to complete it, then he would consider expanding his followers, and maybe even create a real Mechanical God Church!

But before that, he still needed to slowly sell his batch of herbs.

To avoid drawing attention, he planned to keep a low profile, finding several shops and selling small amounts of herbs with a bit of time between each sale.

Even if the herbs lost their freshness and their value dropped, he couldn’t afford to rush it.

After spending half the day visiting three other shops, Karien managed to sell a batch of low-level herbs, including the White Leaf Orchid from earlier. In total, he earned nearly ten thousand gold coins.

As for the rest, he planned to deal with them in a few days.

Near dusk, after completing a large amount of shopping, Karien teleported back to Red Leaf Academy.

He first checked on all the students’ progress and well-being. Once he confirmed there were no issues, he returned to his room.

Though he had been busy all day, Karien felt exhausted.

But despite the fatigue, he fought off sleep and retrieved the first letter from Horus.

Earlier that morning, after saving Horus in the Misty Forest, Karien had prepared seven marked papers for him, asking him to write one letter per day.

With a thought, Karien summoned the paper filled with Horus’s message.

The letter mainly stated that Horus had a friend in the royal capital who needed help delivering news of a rebellion in the Golden Knife Region to the king.

It seemed Horus hadn’t given up on regaining his title.

After considering it carefully, Karien decided he could help, but he couldn’t go himself.

Getting involved in political struggles was too risky.

Instead, he would wait until his plans in the royal capital were more solidified, and then pass along the message through task delegation.

For now, he would put the matter on hold.

Karien wrote a letter telling Horus that once he was finished with his current tasks, he would help him with the issue and asked Horus to rest and heal in the meantime.

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Along with the letter, Karien also sent the advanced healing potions he had purchased in the royal capital, as well as various other supplies for Horus’s stay in the Misty Forest.

After taking care of Horus’s matters, Karien glanced at his pocket watch and saw that it was already 9 p.m.

For the next hour, he needed to prepare thoroughly to play the role of the mysterious Mechanical God.

In the South District of Yaderi City, Royal Capital

Archie, with heavy eye bags, a gaunt figure, and a hunched back, dragged his weary body back home.

As he opened the moldy wooden door, three frail, big-headed children immediately rushed toward him, their eyes filled with hope.

"I'm sorry..."

Archie forced a bitter smile and said,

"Something happened while I was driving the carriage today. I crashed it, and not only did I lose my job, but my wages were also deducted..."

The children’s eyes dimmed slightly at his words, but one little girl with yellowing hair grabbed his hand and smiled brightly,

"It’s okay, Uncle Archie. We’re not hungry!"

Another pale, malnourished boy ran into the cramped, damp house and brought Archie a glass of water.

"Uncle, you’ve worked so hard. Drink some water. Drinking water will make you feel full!"

Archie took the cup, ruffled their hair, and pulled out a piece of stale, hard bread. He dunked it in the water, waiting for it to soften before breaking it into pieces and giving it to the children.

As the three of them passed the bread back and forth, Archie’s face was filled with guilt.

He opened his clenched left hand and looked at the copper coin in his palm, silently hoping for a miracle.

After coaxing the children to sleep, Archie sat in the corner of the room, counting down the time.

The missionary had said earlier that the Mechanical God would deliver his instructions through the token at 10 p.m. tonight.

Whether what the missionary said was true or not, Archie, having lost his source of income, had to try.

Even if it failed, at least the copper coin could be exchanged for another piece of black bread.

Archie didn’t have a clock or a pocket watch, so he simply stared at the token, waiting.

Just as he was beginning to feel drowsy, a black box suddenly flashed in front of him.

Before he could react, a stone appeared on top of the box.

The stone glowed with a magic circle, and a voice echoed from it:

"Please bring this box to the herbal medicine shop at 125 Green Leaf Street in the Magic Trade Market tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. and give it to the shopkeeper, telling him that Mr. Sixteen sent you.

"Once the shopkeeper confirms it, he will give you a bag.

"During the task, do not open the box or the bag, or you will face divine punishment.

"Once the task is completed, I will take the bag and reward you with 20 silver coins."

The voice, though soft, repeated three times.

Archie’s eyes widened after hearing it.

20 silver coins!!

That was the equivalent of several months’ worth of income driving public carriages.

In the Kingdom of Durand, to unify the currency system, the gold coins had a relatively low gold content, while the silver coins had a higher silver content. This kept the currency ratio at 1:10.

The exchange rate between silver and copper coins was 1:100.

In other words, 20 silver coins from Durand were worth 2 gold coins or 2,000 copper coins.

For Archie, this was a fortune!

And the task was simply to deliver something.

After carefully memorizing the details, Archie picked up the box.

The stone that had been speaking to him disappeared, leaving no trace.

This was a miracle of the Mechanical God!

At first, Archie had been skeptical about the so-called Mechanical God Church, but now, having witnessed a miracle, he believed without a doubt!

Palos Magic School, Red Leaf Academy

Karien, holding a core stone engraved with the "Echo" spell, muttered, "This should work."

Just a while ago, he had used a pen and the core stone to carve the simple wind and thunder-based spell, "Echo."

This spell repeated the surrounding sounds for a short time after activation.

Karien recorded the voice, then used teleportation to send the core stone to Archie, giving him the "divine instruction."

Once he estimated the time was right, Karien sent the core stone back.

The core stone had been marked twice, so it could be teleported back and forth.

Of course, not everything that touched the teleportation bead could be marked endlessly. At any one time, only two marks could be made.

Just like the teleportation bead, when in full state, it could only be used twice.

With everything in place, Karien fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Karien returned to the royal capital and observed from the second floor of a coffee tavern across from the herbal medicine shop.

He noticed that even before 9 a.m., Archie, with his hunched back, had already arrived at the shop.

But it wasn’t yet time, and he couldn’t go in, so he waited outside.

Just as he crouched by the door, the shopkeeper shooed him away.

After all, Archie, in his shabby state, didn’t look like a mage or a man of wealth.

Reluctantly, Archie called out,

"Sir, Mr. Sixteen sent me!"

Immediately, the shopkeeper’s attitude did a complete 180. He bowed respectfully and said to Archie,

"You’re a friend of Mr. Sixteen?"

Being treated with such respect by someone of higher social standing took Archie by surprise.

He hurriedly handed over the box and said, "This is from Mr. Sixteen for you."

The plump shopkeeper opened the box and found it filled with White Leaf Orchids, nearly a hundred of them. There was also a cloth bag and a note.

The note read:

"From now on, White Leaf Orchids will be traded regularly. I will send someone to deliver them.

"The payment for the herbs is inside this bag, to be given to the deliverer.

"If you have any specific needs, write them down and put them in the bag.

"Remember, if you wish to maintain this herb supply channel, do not disclose this information to others."

The shopkeeper stood frozen for a few seconds before realizing that Mr. Sixteen’s previous two transactions had simply been to test his shop’s trustworthiness.

Now, with Mr. Sixteen’s approval, he could keep this herb supply channel open.

From now on, Mr. Sixteen wouldn’t deal with the mundane details himself; he would send someone else to handle it.

A smile spread across the shopkeeper's face as he quickly began counting the herbs.

When he was done, he placed the required elemental coins and gold coins into the cloth bag and handed it back to Archie.

Since Archie had memorized the "divine instruction," he kept his head turned and did not look at the herbs while the shopkeeper counted.

Once he received the bag, Archie hurried back home.

But halfway there, the bag suddenly vanished from his hands.

Startled, Archie first thought he had lost it.

But then, he quickly realized it must have been taken by the Mechanical God.

He also felt his pocket bulge.

When he checked, there was no longer just the copper coin, but a money pouch.

He opened it and found 20 silver coins inside, shining brightly.

Second Floor of the Coffee Tavern, Across from the Herbal Medicine Shop

Karien opened the cloth bag in his hand and looked at the several elemental coins inside.

He smiled softly and muttered, "So far, so good."

Although the process was a bit tedious, it had opened up a new path for Karien.

At least now, he could continue to push forward with his plans using Archie, the coachman.

Later that evening, Karien would assign another task to Archie—this time to apply for a job as a postal worker.