Omega had to admit that he had underestimated the rituals summarized by these tech-obsessed individuals, who were proficient in various black technologies and mastered the mysteries of the human body, over ten to twenty thousand years. Hypnotic suggestions were cleverly hidden within these rituals, and one could be subtly brainwashed if not careful.
If his waist and forehead hadn't kept reminding him that he'd die if he kept kowtowing, he might have really fallen for it.
There was nothing he could do. For the sake of his lumbar discs and to avoid becoming a tech-obsessed fanatic, Omega had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask Father Jacob, the head of the Rune Mech-monks, for leave, using a ready-made excuse.
Having made up his mind, he took a few quick steps to stand before Father Jacob.
"Sage Jacob, excuse me for bothering you."
Omega's main strategy was to be sweet-mouthed, calling everyone "Sage" regardless of how familiar he was with them.
"Oh, it's the little Priest. Is there anything you need?"
"Uh..."
The words reached his lips, but Omega still paused involuntarily. After all, it was only the first day. If he angered the other party and they didn't let him come anymore, wouldn't he have to resort to his "True Leg-Hugging Technique" again?
Jacob's still-unmodified flesh eyes looked at Omega, who had an adult-like demeanor and an oily face, with a smile.
It should be noted that while the Adeptus Mechanicus advocates rationality and mechanical augmentation, low-level Tech-Priests do not have the wealth or technology for extensive mechanical modifications. At most, they perform simple upgrades to their bodies, such as prosthetics, bionic eyes, and auxiliary brains.
The emotions that ordinary humans should possess are not lacking in them. However, as followers of the omnissiah, they advocate rationality, believe that knowledge is sacred, and that machinery is sacred. Coupled with their intelligence and knowledge reserves, which are far superior to ordinary people, and the Adeptus Mechanicus's independent social system, outsiders mistakenly believe that Tech-Priests lack humanity. (High-ranking Priests, who retain only a small amount of their original bodies, do indeed lose some humanity.)
For example:
In Commissar Cain's memoirs, he also mentioned encountering a Great Sage who chose to retain his body's eating and digestive systems, rather than replacing them with machinery, and could even set up cooking servitors to prepare delicious food for him at any time.
Sage Lauster also possessed highly distinctive personal hobbies and emotions.
"I want to... I want to..."
"You want to ask for leave, don't you?" Father Jacob said, finishing Omega's unspoken sentence.
Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ
"Yes..."
"Good, it's fine. From now on, you can work one day and rest for four days."
"Thank you, Sage, I'm truly grateful to you."
Jacob waved his hand and said, "It's not me, it's Sage Lauster's arrangement. Your main task now is still to learn to awaken the knowledge in your mind."
Sage Lauster, from now on, I'm your godfather! (Something feels off here, doesn't it?)
He paused, Jacob seemed to be recalling something, then he spoke again: "I was the same on my first day as a Rune Mech-monk. After all, flesh and blood are weak; you really can't do without a mechanical spine and an alloy forehead."
"Exactly, exactly..."
The Priests with alloy foreheads standing nearby echoed in agreement.
No! I have to run! I absolutely cannot become a Rune Mech-monk when I grow up.
Rune Mech-monks or Rune Mech-monks are a type of Tech-Priest within the Adeptus Mechanicus, responsible for tasks such as:
Blessing (acceptance, consecration)
Appeasing machine spirits (troubleshooting, mechanical maintenance)
Purification rituals (repair, modification)
Rune Mech-monks write runes and chant prayers on new machines during their ignition rituals.
Rune Mech-monks are trained in the mystical branches of scientific knowledge, such as:
Intuitive mechanics (I guess)
Reasoning (should)
Improvisation (connect a wire and make do)
They are known for their lateral thinking (if you can't solve the problem, skip it).
When strict logic and standard procedures fail (when kowtowing according to the manual doesn't work).
They are called upon to solve problems. (No one understands kowtowing better than I do)
They are the Rune Mech-monks among Tech-Priests—kowtowing masters proficient in various machine repairs, the Priests with the hardest kneecaps, the brightest foreheads, and the most developed waist strength among Tech-Priests.
No matter how much Omega dissed it in his heart, he still had to continue. After all, the sweet water with industrial sweetener tasted really good. He decided to take it to the library tomorrow to let his little brothers, who had never tasted or seen it, have a try.
It was earned by their boss kowtowing. Who would dare to say no? They must be executed by the Mechanical Axe Leg-Breaking Punishment.
The next morning, Omega appeared in the library, twisting his creaking waist (do children have waists?) and carrying an axe.
Why did he always bring an axe? There was nothing he could do; his little brothers strongly requested it, their gazes too ardent, making it hard to refuse.
"Ah! I finally see you again. After a day without seeing you, it feels like the Omnissiah has left me."
"Exactly! I even dreamed of It last night!"
Omega said speechlessly, "You guys are almost done. And here I brought you gifts..."
"Little Boss really went to earn gears yesterday?"
"What kind of address is 'Little Boss'?"
The currency issued by Tyeedan Forge World—gear coins, or simply gears.
"Don't the Priests all call you 'Little Priest'? So we'll call you Little Boss."
Omega's face turned pale with fright, thinking, if his little brothers found out about the "True Leg-Hugging" incident, where would his boss's dignity be!
"What! You all know already? Which Priest is so gossipy!"
"Know what?"
"Uh... don't ask too much about matters between Priests."
"Oh..."
Please don't say Omega is childish. Playing at being a boss among these apprentices was entirely forced by reality!
Due to Omega's unique nature, none of the Priests in the Mechanical Temple took him under their wing, except for occasionally teasing him when they were in a good mood.
Don't expect anyone among these Frankenstein-like figures to truly care for him; not starving to death was their greatest care.
These apprentices were Omega's only source of interaction and information at the moment.
Of course, most of the news from these apprentices was outdated, and its veracity was questionable. Unreliable examples include:
Legend has it that many years ago, when Great Sage Will was inspecting and commending a particularly excellent factory, he disliked the workers' shaved heads and ordered the fleet to conduct orbital bombardment of the entire industrial zone.
This led to an unwritten rule in all factories on Tyeedan Forge World: no bald heads allowed.
Of course, there was also some useful news, such as the black market.
Some workers would steal parts from factories and sell them on the black market, though most of these parts were damaged.
At the same time, some weapons would be traded to black marketeers by crew members and soldiers traveling to and from the Forge World.
The black marketeers would also sell these individuals contraband prohibited by Imperial law: powerful hallucinogens, high-explosive bombs, bolt guns, viruses, and so on.
It was said that the source of these prohibited items was a group of Tech-Priests led by Great Sage Will.
Omega commented: "Of course, how can you do business without someone at the top? Isn't it just a black operation? As expected, the people's eyes are sharp everywhere. See, they immediately exposed the mastermind."
There are various types of news, which will not be listed one by one; everyone will slowly learn more as they follow Omega.
Returning to the topic of Omega and the apprentices, although the degree of misery for workers on the Forge World varied greatly, the factories in the district managed by Sage Lauster produced conventional weapons like lasguns used by the Astra Militarum, and did not produce factories for "rad-weapons" with strong radiation used by the Adeptus Ministorum.
The worker families living in this safe industrial zone were all specially privileged people; members of their families had been selected to become Adeptus Ministorum.
But don't expect the Forge World to provide benefits like military pay to the Adeptus Ministorum. When they are selected and modified, all they have left is absolute loyalty and fervent faith in the Omnissiah.
Unlike Tech-Priests who consider themselves servants and followers of the omnissiah, the Adeptus Ministorum consider themselves tools of the omnissiah.
The faith and modifications of the Adeptus Ministorum mean that each of them cares almost nothing about what they are doing; they only care about completing their tasks, because completing tasks from the Priests is serving the will of the omnissiah, and that is enough for them.
Even when facing death, their core thought is to upload their damage data to the unseen Sages above, so that the Sages can gain knowledge from their deaths to advance the great progress of the omnissiah.
The moment they are chosen to become Adeptus Ministorum, that person is already dead in a sense.
Slave laborers are still slave laborers, unless your family member becomes a Tech-Priest, but that only allows you to become an ordinary worker with a meager salary, able to buy food instead of eating the unidentifiable, strange-smelling nutrient gruel squeezed from warehouse pipes.
You say life shouldn't be like this!
Then the Great Sage asks you, are you still the omnissiah's good little treasure? Say it, are you or aren't you!
In summary, perhaps it was due to loneliness, or need, or pity, or the desire for change...
When Omega proactively interpreted scattered knowledge from the classics for the apprentices, his position in their hearts was established.
"More gifts?"
Someone among the apprentices exclaimed. Omega recognized it as Annie, that little girl (taller than Omega).
Not keeping the apprentices in suspense, Omega pulled out two cans and a bag of sweetener from his robe, holding them high.
"Worship! This is real food!"
"Wow..."
Two Grox meat cans were shared by eight apprentices of varying sizes. The industrial sweetener mixed with the purified water provided by the temple allowed everyone in the library, including those not yet apprentices, to drink until they were full. There was still more than half a bag left, which Omega told them to divide and take home, eliciting another round of cheers.
It has to be said that the class disparity on the Forge World was so vast that even after a month of transmigrating, Omega still found it hard to believe. For example, kowtowing for one day earned him more than an ordinary worker earned in half a month.
Now he could have meat cans for three meals a day, work one day and play four, one day more than the Sanhe Great God. True Priests have true gold under their knees.
Days passed, kowtowing, reading, reading, reading, kowtowing, in a continuous cycle. But Omega always felt like something was missing.
What exactly was missing?
It wasn't until the night of the "Hundred-Day Banquet" that Omega and his apprentice little brothers "luxuriously" threw for themselves.
"omnissiah, where is my hang? Where did my hang go?"