Roster territory.

A young man crouched at a laboratory door, constantly scrolling through the Magic Net. "Just 10 more minutes, then I'll go back in and keep developing... 10 minutes won't hurt anything. Besides, I need to clear my head."

"Hehe, no wonder they're clerics from the Church of Love and Beauty—they're really gorgeous. I spent so many years in the capital and never saw anyone this beautiful."

With each video he scrolled past, the young man's smile grew wider.

If anyone else saw this, they'd be shocked, because this young man was definitely famous in Roster territory. Horace—maybe not many knew that name, but the title "Apprentice" was unforgettable.

At some point in the magic conductor industry, the word "Apprentice" had become his exclusive title. The Wandering Wild Mage's best partner—together they'd developed countless different magic conductors. Calling them the fathers of mortal realm magic conductors wouldn't be controversial.

But right now, this guy was grinning like an idiot, and music was blasting from his Magic Net device.

About an hour ago, too full from lunch and feeling carb-drunk, he'd decided to rest for half an hour and watch the Hunting Pope trim donkey hooves. But he didn't expect to see a cleric from the Church of Love and Beauty dancing. How could he resist?

Before, he'd been a mage apprentice, but in the Dawn Kingdom capital, that level was a dime a dozen. After coming to Roster territory, he'd basically spent every day obsessed with research and development. Suddenly seeing something like this, he just couldn't hold back.

Over an hour had flown by just like that.

Those "10 minutes" he'd mentioned naturally flew by too. Seeing it was already 12:48, he thought: "Maybe I'll start at 1:00. Nice round number."

With that thought, Horace kept scrolling to the next video...

"Huh? How's it already been two minutes? Maybe wait till 1:10?"

"Just five more videos. After five more, I'll get to work."

"That girl's so pretty. Maybe three more? If there's one I like in these three, I'll reward myself with one more. If not, I'll stop."

"No, no, I can't keep watching. If I keep going it'll be 1:30. I'm a man who wants to be a magic conductor pioneer—how can I be addicted to the Magic Net?"

"Horace, oh Horace, Viscount Roster finally gave you this chance. You need to treasure it! You can't keep going!"

Time passed for who knows how long. Just as he was about to close the Magic Net, another video appeared—a type he'd never seen before. Heroic, skilled movements... Horace fell in again, his fingers frantically tapping the screen, then he started writing comments.

But right then, someone patted his shoulder: "What are you doing here, kid? Get back to work. Viscount Roster wants to implement this ASAP! Word is it might directly impact the entire continent's food structure. If it goes well, maybe even commoners could eat meat once every three days in the future."

Horace, who was typing a comment, jumped and immediately closed the Magic Net, stood up, and looked at the Wild Mage, wondering if the Wild Mage had seen him scrolling through pretty girls...

"I know, trimming donkey hooves is really stress-relieving, and you've been under a lot of pressure lately. But you gotta moderate." The Wild Mage looked at his friend across the generations and smiled. "Speaking of which, I recently discovered another type of video that's super relaxing. You should try it later... Come to think of it, they're kind of in the same field as us."

"Same field?!" Horace heard the first part and almost blurted out "You watch pretty girls too?" but managed to hold back. Otherwise, that would've been truly mortifying.

"Yeah, they're blacksmiths."

"Black... blacksmiths?" Horace didn't quite understand.

"Yeah, but they only forge knives. The blacksmith shop owner organized it—several apprentices competing to forge knives, then the shop owner and their master judges the knives they made." The Wild Mage smiled. "What do you think? Kind of like our field, right? Though it's weird—when I first saw it, I didn't think much of it, but it's genuinely addictive. Feels like all my recent stress is gone... Anyway, I'll send it to you after work. Right now we gotta get to work."

"Speaking of which, you're here helping me with this—how's the ultra-high-speed train project going?" Horace gradually snapped back and pushed those thoughts aside.

"You know we're still missing some key raw materials. Viscount Roster already asked the Golden Merchant Guild elves to procure them for us, but delivery will take at least ten-plus days. While we've got these few days, let's try to finish this project."

The Wild Mage had high hopes for that ultra-high-speed train. If the few of them weren't mistaken, the coverage area of the ultra-high-speed train would determine the scope of magic-tech industrialization. Wherever the ultra-high-speed train reached could quickly transform into magic-tech industrial territories and become perfect sales regions for magic conductors.

Unfortunately, some of the materials they needed were extremely rare in the Kingdom of Dawn. They could only wait for the Golden Merchant Guild to deliver them.

Horace had unparalleled talent in magic conductor development, but in other areas, he was ultimately a bit slow on the uptake.

He had no idea that the clerics from the Church of Love and Beauty who'd delayed him for nearly two hours had, in just a few hours' time, caused an enormous impact on this world. Countless people were addicted just like him.

Even some wealthy nobles and powerful supernatural beings felt different when facing the clerics of the Church of Love and Beauty. And the Church of Love and Beauty's clerics weren't just pretty girls—there were handsome guys too.

The Church of Love and Beauty was already a first-tier church. To become a cleric of this church required tremendous standards for appearance and temperament. Its divine arts system could further enhance appearance and provide certain illusion and charm effects. How could the impact not be huge?

In her divine realm, the Goddess of Love and Beauty felt the endless stream of faith power surging toward her, her face full of joy. "Hunting really didn't lie to me. This Magic Net video thing is like a natural treasure trove for us gods. Just a little action brings huge returns! And it's only been this long... But why do so many people still like watching those ugly people? And why does Hunting's Pope look like a donkey? Are there some tricks I don't know about?"

Even gods experience greed when faced with faith power, and the Goddess of Love and Beauty was no exception. After experiencing the benefits and seeing she couldn't monopolize it, she began thinking about techniques.

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