The offer left Arij stunned.
At the Garon Institute, he only earned 20 gold coins per month. Yet the Mechanicus Church was offering five times that amount!
While it paled in comparison to the fortune he had amassed through piracy, that was ill-gotten wealth.
Of course, this 100-gold-coin salary would be subject to an 80% deduction as compensation for his prior actions. Still, even after the deduction, he would receive 20 gold coins monthly, which matched his previous earnings at the Garon Institute.
Despite the appealing offer, Arij hesitated. It felt too good to be true.
“What’s the catch?” he asked warily.
“Of course, there are requirements,” Karien replied.
Karien rose from his chair, hands clasped behind his back as he slowly approached Arij.
“You are a skilled engraver, and your task will be to help us expand the production of magical chips. Specifically, you’ll be replicating designs—this time for the Mechanicus Church.”
“In doing so, you’ll gain access to some of our unique magical circuit patterns. Whether or not you understand their intricacies, you are strictly forbidden from sharing them.”
“If any leaks are traced back to you, the consequences will be dire. At that point, monetary compensation will be the least of your concerns.”
Karien’s stern tone made the stakes clear. Arij nodded in acknowledgment.
“To ensure confidentiality, we’ve arranged for you to live in this secluded manor on the outskirts of the forest,” Karien continued.
Arij recalled the carriage ride with Simon that had brought him here from the city.
“For me?” Arij asked, surprised by the gesture. “How much does this place cost?”
“It’s rented. About 500 gold coins a year.”
Just… 500? Arij thought, doing the math. Even working for two years straight without spending a single coin wouldn’t cover that rent.
“We’ve made this investment to minimize your contact with outsiders. This doesn’t mean you’re prohibited from leaving, but you’ll need to submit a request. Here, take this communicator.”
Karien placed a small, cube-shaped device, roughly 20 centimeters in length, on the table.
“This is the third iteration of my Silent Recorder,” Karien explained, demonstrating its features. “It combines sound recording with remote communication via elemental circuitry.”
Arij leaned in curiously.
“To start recording, press the first button,” Karien explained.
“To stop, press the second.
“To send the recording to me, press the third.”
“Send?” Arij’s eyes widened. “You mean… you’ll receive it no matter the distance?”
Karien nodded. “Correct. Think of it as akin to a third-tier ‘Sound Transmission’ spell, but without the need for an intermediary like an owl or a pigeon.”
“Does the box… fly?” Arij asked, bewildered.
Karien didn’t bother explaining the mechanics in detail. Instead, he continued:
“When I respond, this light will turn on. At that point, press the fourth button to hear my reply.”
The communicator’s functionality sounded impressive but involved several technical steps.
Through meticulous design, Karien had linked the communicator’s components with markers that allowed him to sense their coordinates. When two markers merged, it indicated activation. From there, he could transport the recorded soundpiece to his own device and play it back—or send a response back to Arij.
While Karien planned to refine this technology further, the current model was sufficient for now.
“Remember,” Karien emphasized after his demonstration, “you must not disclose anything about the communicator or your work here. Understood?”
Arij nodded, increasingly in awe of the Mechanicus Church’s ingenuity.
A HEFTY TASK WITH EVEN HEFTIER SUPPORT
Karien handed Arij three Arc Iron chips and said, “Your first task is to engrave these three types of first-tier magic circuits. Create a thousand copies of each.”
“A thousand?” Arij hesitated. “Although engraving first-tier circuits is easy for me, three thousand copies will require substantial elemental power.”
Karien gestured toward a box in the corner of the wooden cabin.
“Don’t worry. That box contains elemental coins—ten of each of the five elements needed for these circuits.”
Fifty elemental coins? Arij’s jaw dropped. That was worth 5,000 gold coins!
“In addition, there are potions to nourish your mental energy,” Karien added. “The workload is intense, but the compensation will match. If you perform well, we can further improve your benefits.”
After careful consideration, Arij nodded. “Alright, I accept.”
The task was daunting but achievable. Moreover, the Mechanicus Church’s transparency about his role eased some of his concerns. What unsettled him most were vague and secretive intentions, which were clearly not the case here.
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“However, I have one question,” Arij said.
“Ask,” Karien replied.
“If I pay off the 2,000-gold debt, will I be free to leave?”
Karien nodded. “Of course. But you’d have to forgo this high-paying job. Moreover, you must ensure that none of the circuits you encounter here are revealed after you leave.”
“I won’t reveal anything!” Arij assured him.
“In that case, let’s sign the contract,” Karien said, placing a document on the wooden table.
BINDING AGREEMENTS
In Enze Continent, contracts were sacred. Middle-tier mages often relied on contract magic, while ordinary citizens used physical contracts notarized by religious institutions. Breaching a contract invited divine punishment.
The Mechanicus Church’s contracts, invoking the so-called "God of Mechanica," were no exception.
Arij carefully read the contract. Every clause was clear—he would face no repercussions as long as he adhered to the terms. After a moment of deliberation, he picked up the pen and signed.
After leaving the manor's wooden cabin, Karien took a carriage back to the city.
With Arij now handling the replication of chips, Karien’s workload would be significantly reduced. After all, Karien wasn’t an Archmage, so every time he inscribed a magic array, he had to invest a lot of preparation and spend a considerable amount of elemental currency.
Arij, on the other hand, was a second-tier Archmage. Replicating a first-tier magic array was effortless for him. This not only increased the efficiency of chip replication but also minimized material waste.
Moving forward, Karien only needed to develop a prototype chip himself and then hand it over to Arij for mass replication. The investment to bring this talent into the fold was undoubtedly worth every coin!
As for trusting Arij or the risk of leaking technology, Karien already had plans to address those concerns.
When Karien returned to the House of Mechanics, he was surprised to see a crowd blocking the entrance. Puzzled, he entered through the back door and summoned Archie to ask about the situation.
"It's still those people who bought the counterfeit goods," Archie explained, wiping sweat from his brow. "After we managed to persuade a batch of them to leave yesterday, a new group has shown up today.
"Plus, the blacksmiths from Cobblestone Street’s Smelting Workshop are here. They were hired by Band to forge the air conditioner shells and were promised half a silver coin per day.
"Now Band has disappeared, leaving them unpaid for a whole week. With nowhere else to turn, they’ve come to us for help."
Archie shook his head and muttered, "This is absurd! We’re victims too, yet everyone comes running to us for answers."
Karien realized that if this matter wasn’t handled properly, the House of Mechanics' reputation would be tarnished. However, they absolutely couldn’t take responsibility for this; otherwise, any similar issues in the future would also land on their doorstep.
Smiling behind his mask, Karien shared a plan with Archie on how to respond to the crowd.
Compared to the day before, the number of people blocking the shop entrance had grown. Although they understood that the malfunctioning counterfeit air conditioners weren’t the House of Mechanics’ fault, they had no idea where else to go.
Thirty-five gold coins was a significant sum, even for middle-class families. After all, not everyone earned twenty gold coins a month like Arij.
“Our demands aren’t unreasonable! Just fix it for us, and we’ll pay for the repairs!” someone shouted.
“Sir,” Archie replied, “we’ve explained many times that the counterfeit air conditioners have inherent flaws, and we can’t repair them.”
“Then what am I supposed to do? It doesn’t even cool anymore!”
After just two days of high temperatures, many of the counterfeit air conditioners' magic chips had burned out from overloading, effectively rendering the devices useless. It was as if their thirty-five gold coins had gone up in smoke, leaving the buyers frustrated and desperate.
As the crowd grew louder and even started pushing toward the shop, Archie hurried out and shouted, “Everyone!!”
His shout silenced the crowd, drawing all eyes to him.
“The losses caused by your counterfeit air conditioners are something we cannot take responsibility for—”
Before he could finish, the crowd erupted again.
“BUT! But!” Archie raised his voice to regain their attention. “There is someone who should be held accountable!”
Hearing this, someone in the crowd said, “You mean Band? That crook disappeared ages ago! Even the police couldn’t find him!”
Archie scanned the faces before him, a grin forming under his mask. “I know where he is!”
Thirty-five kilometers southeast of the capital, in a rural village.
Dressed in a black suit and sporting a thin mustache, Band lounged on a stone chair in a courtyard shaded by a large tree. His left arm wrapped around a curvaceous young woman, while his right hand held a glass of red wine.
After taking a sip, Band exhaled contentedly and laughed. “This is the life!”
Over the past few weeks, Band had made over ten thousand gold coins by selling counterfeit air conditioners. It was more than he had earned in two decades of shady business dealings. Ten thousand gold coins—enough to buy himself a minor noble title!
Anticipating retaliation from the Church of the Machine when he made his first fortune, Band had prepared this rural retreat as a fallback. He had planned to lay low here until the dust settled and then decide where to go next.
“Should I move to the Olo Kingdom or the Boya Principality?” Band mused aloud. He gave the woman by his side a playful squeeze. “Why don’t you come with me? Your husband’s useless—stick with me, and you’ll live in luxury!”
The young woman giggled and leaned against him. “Wherever you go, I’ll follow.”
Band’s laughter filled the courtyard, but it stopped abruptly when he noticed a large group of people gathered outside the gate.
“There he is!”
Dozens of individuals surrounded the courtyard, some armed with swords and knives. Many were customers who had purchased counterfeit air conditioners, and a few had even brought their household staff for backup.
Seeing the mob charging into the courtyard, Band panicked. He shoved the woman aside and tried to run, but he only managed two steps before someone grabbed him and slammed him to the ground.
“What the hell, swindling our money and living it up here?”
“Give us back our money!”
“Pay us what you owe!”
A flurry of punches and kicks rained down on Band, leaving him bruised and battered. Someone in the crowd shouted, “Wait, stop! Let’s find out where he’s hiding the money first!”
Terrified, Band weakly raised his hand and pointed toward the house.
The mob quickly discovered nearly ten thousand gold coins hidden in the village house. After dividing the money among themselves, they dragged Band back to the capital and handed him over to the authorities.
Karien had observed the entire spectacle from a distance, ensuring the situation resolved itself. Throughout the ordeal, the Church of the Machine maintained plausible deniability, merely providing Band’s location.
How did Karien know Band’s location?
Simple. Over a month ago, when Band tried to intimidate Archie, Karien had beaten him up and discreetly placed a marked pebble in his pocket—just in case. Luckily, Band had taken that suit with him when he fled. Using his teleportation beads to track the marked object, Karien easily pinpointed Band’s hideout.
In the end, Band’s downfall was his own doing. With the counterfeit air conditioners gone, sales at the House of Mechanics gradually recovered.
Meanwhile, Karien unveiled a new product: the magical refrigerator!
For just thirty gold coins, customers could buy a small box that attached to their magical air conditioner, transforming it into a refrigerator. This feature had been pre-planned, as Karien had designed the air conditioners with extra space for add-ons like refrigerators, heaters, and even speakers.
These modular upgrades ensured that customers would continue to invest in the product line, solidifying the air conditioner’s value and steadily increasing its market price.
With the House of Mechanics’ plans for the capital taking shape, three months passed in the blink of an eye.
On July 15th, the Palos Magic Academy’s graduation assessments began. Karien teleported back to Redleaf Academy, ready to lead his prepared students in the long-awaited graduation trials.