After the affairs on the Neksum Forge World concluded, Osiris began to arrange his return to the Death World where the ancient dimensional teleporter was discovered.
He had successfully been promoted to Archmagos, finalized the technology sharing agreement with Fabricator-General Vox, and confirmed the basic modification plan for his future flagship, the NXS-07. All these core objectives had been achieved.
At this moment, his focus naturally shifted to the next stage—returning to the Cyberpunk World.
Although he carried a dimensional teleporter within his mobile workshop, and theoretically could initiate cross-dimensional teleportation from any location as long as there was sufficient energy, Osiris had never considered performing such an operation on a Forge World.
Even though Neksum was located in a remote area and could not be compared to the heavily guarded Mars, it was still filled with various monitoring nodes and garrisoned by a considerable number of Tech-Priests.
An unannounced large-scale energy burst or spatial disturbance would very likely trigger an alarm, attracting the scrutiny and investigation he least wished to face at the moment.
In contrast, returning to the ruins of the Death World, which he had completely controlled, would take a little more travel time but would maximize the safety and secrecy of his actions.
In that isolated and barren land, he could conduct teleportation experiments undisturbed and freely travel between the two worlds.
Upon consideration, this time cost was undoubtedly worth paying.
Before initiating the return journey, Osiris clearly realized that he had to address an urgent issue: expanding his core team.
The Cult Guard, led by Sekhmet, was loyal and reliable, and their combat effectiveness was beyond doubt, but this army could not handle tasks such as research assistance, technical management, and daily administrative work.
He needed technical backbone personnel who could understand his Ideas, execute complex instructions, and true confidantes like Sekhmet who could both stand on her own and be entrusted with complete trust.
According to Adeptus Mechanicus tradition, such roles were usually filled by apprentices personally selected and trained by a Priest, or by a direct team of Tech-Priests.
There were two main sources for these assistants: one was "customized adjusters" born from training tanks, who were genetically engineered to be loyal tools.
The other was individuals selected from hive cities or subordinate residential areas, who, with their extraordinary talent and perseverance, stood out in fierce competition and eventually gained the favor of a Priest.
Osiris himself was a typical example of the latter.
His starting point was far from glamorous.
As a transmigrator who unexpectedly arrived in this world, Osiris initially landed in a working-class family in the lower levels of a hive city.
His childhood and adolescence were shrouded in the never-ending roar of machinery and the pungent smell of industrial waste, surrounded by endless rusted metal and numb faces.
In this world where knowledge was strictly controlled and almost monopolized, acquiring true technical knowledge was exceptionally difficult.
Formal education was out of reach for working-class children like him; every basic technical manual was expensive, and every systematic lesson required tuition fees he could not afford.
Most of the people who toiled with him on the assembly line had long grown numb, resignedly repeating monotonous work until the end of their lives.
But Osiris, from another world, could not accept his fate.
His thirst for knowledge, far exceeding that of ordinary people, became the only burning flame in the dim hive city.
Every day after finishing his heavy compulsory labor, while other co-workers dragged their tired bodies to seek cheap entertainment, he, too, dragged his equally tired body, trying every possible way to absorb knowledge.
His primary method was to "audit" classes at the simple Adeptus Mechanicus missionary temple in his district.
He squeezed among the bewildered or devout believers, eagerly listening to the highly simplified and filtered doctrines and basic technical knowledge that lower-ranking Priests preached to the public.
These contents were merely routine for the Priests, but for him, they were a precious window into a glimpse of the vast technical system.
He couldn't afford the high fees for private consultations, so he shamelessly seized the brief interval after the Priest's sermon ended, mustering the courage to ask the questions he had accumulated for a long time.
The Priests weren't exactly hostile; it was more a detached, business-like indifference.
They usually had expressionless faces, spoke briefly, occasionally answered one or two of the most basic questions, but more often politely refused with reasons like "This is beyond the scope of the sermon" or "You need systematic study," and then ignored him.
"Another hive city kid trying to change his fate with petty cleverness," he could vaguely sense such looks.
But he did not give up.
Lacking data pads and textbooks, he used discarded parts and metal scraps he found to engrave circuit diagrams and formulas on the ground from memory; without experimental materials, he would discreetly observe the mechanical structure of the assembly line during work, repeatedly simulating it in his mind.
His hands were covered in scars and calluses from prolonged contact with rough metal and oil, but his eyes remained focused, fixed on the distant Palace of knowledge, climbing upwards with difficulty, utilizing every possible crevice.
This persistence, which seemed meaningless and even ridiculous to others, continued for several years.
The turning point came on an ordinary day when an Explorer Priest, passing through the area, happened to notice the young man who always appeared in the corner of the temple, his eyes burning with a thirst for knowledge that was out of place with his surroundings.
Perhaps it was Osiris' inadvertently revealed, extraordinary understanding when answering a basic question that piqued the Priest's interest; or perhaps it was the simple yet fully functional signal amplifier model he pieced together from discarded parts that demonstrated his practical ability and potential.
In any case, Osiris seized this sole opportunity.
With years of accumulated, albeit fragmented but solid, foundational knowledge, and an undeniable passion, he finally moved the Explorer Priest and obtained the coveted qualification—an opportunity to leave the hive city and become an Adeptus Mechanicus apprentice.
This was just the first step.
Entering the gates of the Adeptus Mechanicus did not mean an easy road to success.
His humble origins, scarce resources, and the huge disparity in starting points compared to those "customized adjusters" or noble descendants all became obstacles he had to overcome.
He had to put in several times more effort than others just to keep up with the lessons; he had to remain humble and vigilant at all times, finding his footing in complex interpersonal relationships; he had to carefully prove his worth in countless practical assessments and factional infighting, while avoiding becoming a casualty.
Every step was taken as if treading on thin ice, and every promotion was accompanied by sweat and calculation.
He was like a pebble thrown into a giant gear assembly, either to be crushed to powder or to find a crevice, stubbornly wedge himself in, and become part of this colossal machine.
This experience of climbing all the way from the bottom of the hive city shaped his resilient, cautious, and pragmatic character, and also made him more aware than anyone else how rare and how important reliable confidantes were in the cold and cruel system of the Adeptus Mechanicus.