150 kilometers south of the royal capital, in the Black Iron Territory.

Although this territory is not far from the royal capital, its development is relatively behind. The main reason for this is that it is mostly composed of mines, with sparse vegetation, making it unsuitable for habitation. The only notable industry here is iron smelting.

After Karien teleported here, he found a small town known for iron smelting, which had been passed down through generations. He entrusted a group of blacksmiths to forge iron cannons for him. Yes, after the successful development of firearms, Karien planned to move on to creating cannons directly.

The reason for making cannons was primarily for defense.

Defense against what?

Naturally, it was for the “territory” within the Magic Fog Forest.

At present, Karien's main source of income came from the Magic Fog Forest, so he needed to establish a secure base within it. The location where Horus was resting seemed perfect—it was backed by a mountain, offering natural caves for shelter, and the surrounding terrain was relatively flat.

Most importantly, Horus was there to help manage the area.

However, Karien had never forgotten how dangerous the Magic Fog Forest could be. The terrifying Sixth-Order magical beast, the Darkground Lizard, was still fresh in his memory, and it continued to haunt him.

He knew he needed a way to deal with such dangerous magical creatures.

Firearms alone would not be enough; they were only effective against low-level beasts, as they were small and portable but lacked power. To deal with mid-to-high-level magical beasts, cannons were required.

Of course, Karien could not afford to use Lan Iron to make the cannons—it would be prohibitively expensive. After all, Lan Iron was a magical material. For cannons, regular steel would suffice, with Lan Iron used only for some crucial parts. This way, he wouldn't need to hire a magical weaponsmith, and could instead hire ordinary craftsmen.

This is why Karien teleported to the relatively remote Black Iron Territory, where local blacksmiths could craft the cannons for him.

There were two main advantages to making cannons here: First, the cost would be low. Second, the location was discreet. As a small place, Karien didn’t have to worry about drawing too much attention.

Back in the royal capital, Karien had to keep his identity hidden and rely on Archie to lay the groundwork. This was because the capital was home to many important figures—mages, nobles, and wealthy merchants. If Karien made too much noise, he would quickly attract attention and land himself in a dangerous situation.

But in Black Iron Territory, there was less to worry about. While there were still mages around, they were relatively low-level and had little influence.

Moreover, this small town had a long history of ironworking, and its blacksmiths often took on business from other regions to forge various iron tools. Karien provided blueprints and hired a group of ten blacksmiths to forge the cannons. This was unlikely to attract attention from outsiders.

Since the cannons Karien planned to make were relatively intricate, he provided not only the blueprints but also various templates, ensuring that the blacksmiths could follow standardized procedures and minimize deviations.

When the blacksmiths heard the numerous requirements, they nearly quit. In response, Karien doubled their payment, and they immediately got to work with renewed enthusiasm.

With the cannon production underway in Black Iron Territory, Karien contacted Archie in the royal capital and sent another letter to Simon.

Royal Capital, Yaderi City.

Simon, the director of the Unstoppable Post, had used the first investment from the Mechanical God Sect to pay off some urgent debts and was now preparing to make a big move.

However, Simon soon realized that while 1,000 gold coins had solved his immediate problems, expanding the business would be much more difficult.

The Unstoppable Post had previously cooperated with many towns and territories around the capital, but these were often remote, requiring a carriage to travel back and forth. To repay his debts, Simon had sold off many carriages and was left with only two to maintain basic operations.

Now, if he wanted to expand, he would need to purchase more carriages and hire additional staff to drive them and transport letters and goods. However, after paying off his debts, the remaining money was insufficient to cover these expenses.

If he waited until next month, more debts would come due.

Given this situation, Simon would need at least three rounds of investment before he could confidently expand his business. But three months was a long time, and there was a risk that the Mechanical God Sect might pull out if they saw he wasn't managing well.

Just as Simon was despairing, Archie delivered another letter from the Mechanical God Sect.

Simon hurriedly opened it and read:

“Dear Simon,I hear that your post office is planning to expand. This is great news!From what I know about your business, if you can regain your old customers, you'll soon turn a profit.However, I understand that you lack enough carriages, and the merchant convoy that was once a key postal route stopped cooperating half a year ago, which has been a significant reason for your losses.Based on this, I’d like to propose a business partnership.Our Mechanical God Sect is willing to fund a new merchant convoy and purchase the necessary carriages, with you managing the operation. In return, you can take a 10% stake.The convoy will mainly carry medicinal herbs and other products to surrounding territories and towns, and the Unstoppable Post can use the convoy to transport letters and goods as well.It’s a win-win situation for both sides.Let me know what you think.”

After reading the letter, Simon was overjoyed. This was a lucky break!

The Mechanical God Sect was willing to fund the establishment of a merchant convoy, and Simon wouldn’t need to spend a penny to manage it. This would greatly help the Unstoppable Post expand.

Of course, managing a convoy would require a lot of his time and energy, but compared to bankruptcy, a little extra work was nothing.

He quickly wrote a reply and the next day received a start-up fund of 3,000 gold coins from Archie. The Mechanical God Sect also promised further investments in the convoy in the future.

Without wasting any time, Simon immediately set off to buy carriages and hire new staff.

Black Iron Territory.

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Karien looked at the large sum of Element Coins that had disappeared from his hands and sighed.

Setting up the merchant convoy through the post office was the second step in Karien’s plan. The medicinal herb market in Yaderi City was vast, but Karien had no background there and didn’t dare sell too much all at once. He could only rely on Archie to sell it in batches.

However, apart from the capital, nearby towns and territories also had a demand for medicinal herbs. With the merchant convoy set up by Simon, Karien could easily expand his sales.

The 4,000 gold coins he invested in Simon was just the beginning—there would likely be more investments in the future.

Of course, Karien had considered the risk that Simon might embezzle funds. But Karien had made sure Simon kept detailed financial records, so even if there was some embezzlement, it would be minor.

Moreover, the Unstoppable Post had once been a large operation, and Simon had a broad outlook. It would be foolish for him to ruin the post's future for a small amount of money.

Despite the risks, Karien felt it was worth the gamble. Once the convoy was up and running, he would no longer have to worry about sales, and gold would begin to flow in.

With that money, he could invest in industrial construction and begin creating more diverse magical devices.

Red Leaf Academy, Outdoor Training Ground.

Mia, with her ponytail and lake-blue eyes, stretched both hands forward and closed her eyes to regulate her breathing.

Soon, two magic circles, each the size of a disc, formed in her palms. She slowly pushed both hands forward, and a gust of wind swept out, sending a wooden beam—about the same height as her—flying more than ten meters away.

It was a First-Order "Wind Repulsion" spell.

Normally, this spell would have only a limited force and couldn’t send something like that flying over ten meters. However, the magic circle had been redesigned by Karien, optimizing the wind's force through principles of aerodynamics, maximizing the spell’s effectiveness.

Seeing the heavy wooden beam fly so far, Mia was a bit startled. She turned toward Karien, who was standing nearby, and asked:

“Teacher, did I really do that?”

Karien smiled and replied, “What else would it be?”

Looking at her hands in confusion, Mia asked, “This power... it’s already comparable to a Second-Order Wind Repulsion.”

Wind Repulsion was a basic spell, but as the magical elements used in the spell increased, its power could rise too.

In general, Wind Repulsion had six stages. The higher the level, the larger the magic circle had to be. A Sixth-Order Wind Repulsion might require a magic circle with a diameter of over twenty meters, sometimes needing several people to work together to complete it.

According to Mia’s understanding, even a Second-Order Wind Repulsion needed at least half a meter in diameter.

Karien shook his head. “Don’t let the level of the magic limit your thinking. That’s just a general classification system. In reality, magic is far more complicated.

“Also, just because someone can use higher-level magic doesn’t mean they are necessarily stronger.

“I had a colleague back at the Galon Research Institute who could already use Fifth-Order magic. But he admitted that he might not even be able to defeat a regular Second-Order Mage.”

“So, you need to be flexible. When you take the exam, you’ll need to use magic according to the situation.”

“Remember, magic is just a tool!”

Mia nodded seriously, understanding Karien’s point.

Clapping his hands together, Karien said, “Good. Next, we’ll move on to practical combat!”

Mia looked confused. “Combat? Where are we going to do that?”

After all, Mia was the only Mage in the entire Red Leaf Academy at the moment. Karien, her teacher, had no elemental affinity, so he wasn’t even considered a magical apprentice.

Grinning, Karien pointed behind him.

Mia turned her gaze in that direction and saw a dark-skinned man named Jack walking out from behind a nearby wall.

He was carrying an unusual backpack, with two sleeves extending from both sides of it, tied to his arms and connected to a pair of gloves.

This was the jetpack Karien had developed some time ago. In the past few days, Karien had made modifications, adding two gloves to the design.

In the palms of the gloves were small elemental stones, each etched with simple magic circles, while the backs of the gloves contained two elemental coins.

“Teacher, what is this?” Mia asked, circling around Jack, her curiosity piqued.

“This is a new magical device I’ve been working on,” Karien explained with a smile. “I call it the Combat Suit K1. Jack will wear this suit to face you in a real combat scenario.”

Mia lightly poked the jetpack and asked, “But Jack only recently opened the Earth Elemental Channel and can’t yet construct magic circles. How is he going to fight?”

Jack grinned sheepishly. “Just wait and see, you’ll know soon enough!”

He couldn’t wait to try it out. When Karien had first shown him how to use the Combat Suit K1, Jack had been utterly astonished. He was eager to see Mia’s reaction when she realized the suit’s true capabilities.

Since both Karien and Jack seemed confident, Mia stopped questioning and walked to the center of the outdoor training ground. “So how does the combat work?”

Karien explained, “At Palos Magic Academy, every year’s combat exam is different. We can use last year’s attack and defense scenario as a reference.

“We’ll place a flag in the center of the training ground. One of you will defend the flag, and the other will try to destroy it. You’ll have fifteen minutes.”

Both students nodded, agreeing to the terms.

Karien then placed the flag in the center of the training ground and positioned them accordingly.

“Battle... begin!” he shouted.

After the signal, Karien stepped aside to observe quietly.

As the defender, Mia took the initiative. She stretched out her right hand, and with a hum, a Wind Blade magic circle formed. A sharp wind blade shot toward Jack.

However, knowing that Jack wasn’t proficient in magic, Mia weakened the blade’s power a bit, so she wouldn’t accidentally injure him.

To her surprise, Jack quickly raised his left hand and released his own Wind Blade, which collided with Mia’s attack, neutralizing it.

Mia noticed something strange. When Jack cast his spell, he didn’t construct a magic circle. Instead, a faint glow appeared in the palms of his gloves.

This meant it wasn’t Jack casting the spell—it was the magic device at work.

What was even more amazing was that Jack didn’t need to gather any magical elements.

This implied that the suit wasn’t just etching magic circles—it also had the ability to store magical elements.

A thought flashed through Mia’s mind. Without hesitating, she expanded her magical focus, extending both hands to form multiple magic circles and releasing a flurry of Wind Blades that surrounded Jack.

But Jack suddenly grinned widely, leaped lightly, and floated into the air.

Mia’s eyes went wide with disbelief. “Wind Manipulation Magic...?!”

She stared at Jack floating in mid-air, stunned. Wind manipulation for flight was a technique only high-level Wind Elemental Mages could perform. How had Jack done it?

Seeing Mia’s shocked expression, Jack beamed with satisfaction. He spun his arms, tugging at the sleeve straps, and the jetpack adjusted direction, propelling him toward Mia.

Mia snapped back into action, quickly switching her magic circle to cast Wind Repulsion.

The whirlwind from the jetpack became turbulent, and Jack lost control of his direction, being blown backward and tumbling to the ground.

Luckily, the left glove of the K1 suit contained an Earth Elemental Reinforcement magic circle, so Jack used it just before landing, cushioning his fall and avoiding injury.

However, the jetpack had taken some damage and had deformed slightly.

Jack looked sheepishly at Karien.

Karien laughed. “No problem, keep going!”

The most expensive parts of the jetpack were the elemental stones and elemental coins inside, which were difficult to damage. As for the outer casing, it could always be repaired.

Jack nodded and once again took to the air. But this time, instead of approaching Mia, he flew around the flag, continuously launching Wind Blades at it.

Mia had no choice but to cast Wind Barrier to protect the flag while simultaneously launching her own Wind Blades at Jack.

Jack was hit again and fell from the air. Despite being able to fly, his movements were slow, making him an easy target.

“Alright, that’s enough. Combat over!” Karien called out, even though the battle had lasted barely three minutes.

After confirming Jack was unharmed, Karien turned his attention to the jetpack.

The real purpose of this combat was not just to test Mia’s fighting abilities, but also to evaluate the effectiveness of the Combat Suit K1 in real combat.

However, the results were less than satisfactory.

This indicated that the K1 still needed a lot of improvements.