The next morning Ethan gathered Lorian Mira and a few apprentices in front of the guild hall Today is the day we test our first real service FireCourier goes live Lorian looked pale I fear the sprite will burn something Ethan said Everything burns at first That is part of the journey Mira laughed softly at that and the apprentices began preparing rune markers for the route Ethan had designed their first official delivery a short but meaningful trip from AMAX to the Merchants Circle a busy marketplace two districts away The message was simple a sealed parchment saying FireCourier Delivery Demonstration but the goal was not the message The goal was to see if the process worked Ethan reviewed the route thick with morning activity Merchants shouting buyers negotiating and floating carts drifting past like silent boats It was a perfect testing ground He knelt beside the sprite which hovered nervously ready for action Listen buddy he whispered This is your moment Do not incinerate the product The sprite chirped puffing a tiny smoke ring Ethan smiled and attached the parchment to a small heat resistant packet then signaled Lorian Start the run Lorian raised his hand creating the loop rune Ethan had designed The sprite zipped forward spinning in the loop once grounding its behavior then darting into the busy street Apprentices ran alongside not to chase it but to observe Ethan walked calmly behind them taking notes on pace altitude and mana consumption He felt like a field investor watching a prototype drone fly for the first time The sprite dodged floating carts weaved between shoppers and followed each glowing runestone that marked the route It moved with surprising discipline and even curiosity A child pointed at it laughing A merchant ducked as it zipped over his head and a guard tried to grab it but missed The sprite reached the final plaza hovering above the target stone before dropping the packet with perfect accuracy The parchment landed without burning Ethan exhaled slowly They had done it He turned to Lorian Your first public delivery Lorian looked ready to faint Mira clapped beaming One of the merchants walked over picking up the parchment What is this He asked Fire courier service Lorian said voice trembling The merchant raised a brow As in magic delivery Ethan stepped forward Yes and we can move messages faster than any runner or bird The merchant studied the sprite now circling above He said If it can deliver orders across the district without burning them I will pay for regular service Ethan saw opportunity forming He said We can set up a pilot plan discounted early access The merchant nodded and handed Lorian a few silver coins Lorian stared at the money as if he had never seen it before Ethan felt a surge of joy This was revenue real revenue small but real They walked back to AMAX triumphant though exhausted Ethan called everyone into the pitch room We have proof of concept he said Now we scale Mira said My logistics spells are improving I can summon hounds small enough to carry letters or big enough to move crates Ethan nodded Good You will run the second trial today A merchant in the textile district needs fabric samples transported Mira swallowed That is far but I can try Ethan said Do not try Do test And learn They walked to the textile district for Miras test run She drew the summoning circle with focus creating clean symmetrical lines A smoke hound emerged low to the ground ready for orders Ethan gave Mira a nod She placed the fabric samples in a reinforced pouch and attached them to the hounds back The hound dashed forward its smoky tail leaving soft trails like clouds Ethan jogged behind analyzing speed and maneuver behavior The hound reached the client a seamstress with sharp eyes and a sharper voice She examined the pouch then the creature then Mira You trained this She asked Mira nodded quietly The seamstress smirked Faster than my apprentice I will use your service again Ethan smiled They were building trust one customer at a time On the walk back Mira said quietly I never imagined people would pay for my magic I always thought I was too unstable Ethan replied Great founders often begin as unstable It means your imagination is bigger than your structure But structure can be taught The rest of the day was filled with more test runs small deliveries adjustments new route markings three burned crates one torn bag and a smoke hound that got distracted by a street musician But Ethan saw success He saw momentum That evening back at AMAX he gathered everyone again Lorian holding his sprite Mira still covered in summon chalk apprentices exhausted Ethan said Today we learned that our ideas work Tomorrow the city will hear about us And when the city hears about us the guilds nobles merchants and even kings will want a piece of what we build Lorian asked Should we be worried Ethan answered Only if we stay small We are not staying small The hall fell quiet Ethan placed both hands on the table and said This is the beginning of mana commerce and we are the ones building it The room filled with determination and the faint glow of runes answering their ambition AMAX had completed its first public tests and the kingdom had no idea what was coming next