The Outer God Needs Warmth

---

I jumped on a train headed straight towards the heart of the continent.

And I mean straight up no plan at all.

Unless you count the fact that there’s a war going on, I don’t know anything about the inner parts of the continent. And it’s not like I have an accurate map or anything.

Harvesting machine, you say?

Even if a harvesting machine from Brightshin is out there in the transport business, that’s still within the country.

The transport company in the capital is domestic, you know.

As long as they’re in the transport business, they’re handling foreign goods. But really, all they do is either distribute imported goods or ship items for export out of the country by ship or train.

I mean, I’m talking about someone who was supported in the slums.

Even if they’re good at their job, they still lack credibility.

Poverty takes a lot from a person.

Without proper education, everyone else is doing it, and to survive, hesitation is a luxury. First, it’s action, then food.

Someone said, “What are you thinking when there’s no rice at home?”

Good and evil take a back seat when survival is at stake.

So, I chose the slums for this reason.

To put it another way, once survival is guaranteed, that’s when you start thinking.

Many people feel the value of life, help others when they can, and try things they previously couldn’t do.

It seems that humans born in trash heaps can’t be fixed.

It’s a sad thing.

Or rather, I got caught up in weird thoughts, but in short, the harvesting machines lack information about foreign places. So, I don’t really know much about the outside world.

With that in mind, I set out aimlessly to find the battlefield. If I have the ability to heal people, I guess I’ll end up right in the middle of a war zone.

That’s a skill that shines in battle.

Clatter.

While I was pondering this and looking out the window, the train shook violently.

Must have hit something, right?

Even a train that weighs close to 150 tons can bounce off the tracks if something too big is caught between the rails and wheels.

But it’s hard for something that big to even be there. After all, the combat vehicles ahead are blasting apart any monsters that might emerge.

I guess it could be leftover debris or something.

Outside, there’s a dense forest on one side, and on the other, a mist is rising from somewhere.

Strange places often house monsters or remnants of some magical explosion.

As I gazed outside, I sank back into the bed of the train I had been on for a few days.

***

Fourth World.

A major festival took place here. Finally, Jeber and Aliura’s child was born.

It’s a boy. He has purple hair and white skin, the distinctive features of a harvesting machine’s offspring.

His mother, Aliura, either seriously cursed by magic or genuinely disgusted, is ignoring the child and fawning over Jeber.

The system hasn’t faced any problems, but it’s odd that multiple ornaments have died.

Anyway, it’s actually Jeber who seems to care more about the baby.

He’s putting in even more effort than he did with the previous child.

Even if his mother abandoned him, an artificial human is designed to care for a child.

The artificial human has been looking after Jeber’s offspring for quite some time.

The child of an entity mixed between a deity and a demon, no less.

So there weren’t any problems with the child’s growth.

What’s that about?

Is he now thinking of the next generation?

Seriously, he can’t possibly live less than 80 more years at this rate, right?

And considering he’s a biotechnologist or a life-magic expert, he could live even longer.

Yet, he’s already preparing…? He knows the lifespan of harvesting machines has doubled compared to regular creatures, yet still?

I really can’t figure out what Jeber is thinking.

Based on his character so far, I thought he would just see the child as another experimental subject to use and discard. But he doesn’t do that.

And the care he shows seems genuine, at least from my perspective.

He held a festival.

He is, in name, the chairman of the noble council in this land, and he just had a legitimate successor, after all.

With the festival underway, wizards from all around came to attend.

Compared to the last gathering, the numbers have dropped drastically, but many wizards still showed up.

What caused the decline?

People died during the warring states period, that’s why.

Now, surviving wizards are either those who have killed other wizards to gain countless territories or those who have ensured their lives by bowing down to these powerful wizards.

Oh, and it’s funny that the reason other wizards survived here is tied to a god-like position.

It could quickly lead to the rejection of other gods and the rise of a singular, supreme deity.

But the truth is, wizards are still human.

Being supported by ignorant people is totally different from being supported by those on at least the same level.

It’s like the difference between an idol and fans; if you only have fans, you might feel the joy of being supported, but you won’t get the feeling of being superior by stepping on someone beneath you, right?

Or am I wrong?

Nope, humans are wired that way.

That’s why PvP games thrive, and why people mock others with lower ranks, or go all out in games to climb ranks—it’s all because of that.

Some might call it a base sense of superiority, but this has existed since the dawn of time, or at least since gender emerged in living beings.

The desire to be better, stronger, and more beautiful, and to be chosen by a mate is deeply embedded, not just genetic, but in the very essence of our genetics.

As long as a creature has gender, escaping from this desire is nearly impossible.

Thus, the so-called “paths of survival” were born.

Ultimately, the surviving wizards formed factions around the wizards who had subjugated them.

And we find ourselves in a situation where a primitive political system has been reestablished.

While regular people’s technological prowess has surpassed that of the Third World, in other respects, they are even worse off than the First or Second Worlds.

It’s like a bunch of magic-throwing apes.

Wizards gathered to celebrate the birth of this legitimate heir. Do you think they sincerely came to congratulate him?

Nah.

“I liked the last toy, but can we get that one for the next?”

“I’m interested in the mother. How about it? Right now, I’ll even give you the land I own as a congratulatory gift.”

“Aren’t there others besides the used-up mare? If you have a new one, let me pick something pretty.”

Nope, that’s not even caution level.

It’s like kids who already have toys saying they want each other’s toys.

I mean, right?

Aliura Rempinion was originally a tool meant to humiliate the Rempinion Family. That was exactly the vibe when I met her at the last wedding.

But it wasn’t just Jeber who changed; they’ve changed their perspective, too. That tool turned out to be quite usable after all.

They learned how hard it is to build up a reason.

And how easy it is to gobble up someone who possesses it.

The position of king that the Rempinion Family had built up must have sparked their lust for power.

Especially since that spot is vacant right now, huh?

Jeber swept it under the rug in the form of an aristocratic republic…

Well, that’s how it goes.

Even ranking first at Platinum Rank doesn’t mean much compared to the next Master Rank.

Selfish, petty, and lustful desires.

In a situation brimming with a desire to dominate from a higher position, they likely approached Jeber, asking him to hand over the keys to the upper echelons, while seeing it as a merciful suggestion.

But Jeber rejected their proposal.

“No. That kid is my successor.”

That was how it sounded to the wizards around him.

“The Master Rank ticket is mine.”

The atmosphere soured instantly, and the festival unceremoniously came to an end.

Essentially, it was like declaring he would inherit the throne, but the one making that declaration—Jeber—seemed blissfully unaware.

What mattered to Jeber was solely his magic.

In that sense, he’s a pure wizard.

So, he was clueless about the thoughts of those whose notions of a conqueror went beyond a wizard’s identity.

Though Jeber had learned a thing or two about media, pretexts, and power, he was still too naive.

There were also severely lacking references for him to draw upon.

Thus, he was unprepared.

While Jeber wasted his time without preparation, he had turned into a public enemy.

The reasoning was simple.

There’s a bad wizard who deceived the noble Rempinion Family and took their place through wicked means.

By using foul magic, he eliminated the wizards of the Rempinion Family and brainwashed the princess into bearing children against her will.

Just imagine how disgusting that sounds.

And it was indeed true.

They cried out for justice, demanding the punishment of the Haideka Family and the rescue of the princess.

Now, all the great wizard factions began to target Jeber.

I’ve seen this kind of scenario in a faded world, in the work called Romance of the Three Kingdoms, with a guy named Dong Zhuo.

He created a puppet emperor to manipulate and threw the country into chaos, prompting the lords of the Han Dynasty to rush in and chop off his head, thereby achieving the prestige of restoring the nation.

That’s exactly the situation we find ourselves in.

The city Jeber had filled with joy as a new capital quickly became the worst city.

Roads were blocked, supply lines were cut off, and tales of the wicked villain Jeber spread like wildfire.

Despite caring about the press for the sake of his successor, he tried to suppress the stories.

Unfortunately, he ended up pulling the worst move.

The rumors spread like they had wings.

And when the citizens were on the cusp of rebellion, one wizard quietly advanced towards Jeber’s domain.

Then, as if a dam had burst, all those seeking the tasty reason of the Rempinion royal family invaded Jeber’s territory.

Unlike before, when only wizards came to deal with Jeber, this time it wasn’t just them.

A staggering army surrounded Jeber’s territory.

At that point, Jeber bellowed in rage, questioning why this was happening, but no one had the answer for him.

Aliura sought to please him frantically to relieve his anger, and the artificial human went about its usual tasks.

And then…

Attacks on Jeber’s city began from all directions.