Sovereign of the Ashes

A week passed swiftly.

In the pervasive darkness of the Underworld, Sein, aboard the airship, found it challenging to discern the precise route to Shadow Valley, despite occasionally strolling on the deck.

Upon their arrival at an underground valley after a week-long journey, Sein turned to Leena, who was beside him, and asked with a hint of uncertainty, “Is this Shadow Valley?”

The valley was now brilliantly illuminated with numerous magical crystal lamps and magic items, scattering light throughout and rendering it as bright as day.

Sein also noticed two imposing magic towers that stretched into the sky.

A blue energy shield enveloped the entire Shadow Valley, powered by elemental energy that seemed to have come from the two magic towers at the heart of the valley.

After they arrived at Shadow Valley, Sein sensed the formidable presence of more than a dozen full-fledged black mages, as well as many geo elemental golems, ranging from two to five meters in height.

Although their combat capabilities remained a mystery, their sheer physical strength was undeniably impressive.

Several tools and supplies from the airship were transported to their designated locations by these golems.

These geo elemental golems appeared to lack intelligence, leading Sein to suspect that they had been summoned by a powerful black mage.

They resembled the skeletal warriors Sein could summon with his basic magic spell, Skeleton Summoning.

However, these golems were far stronger than Sein’s fragile skeletons. Even the smallest golem could easily obliterate his skeletal minions with a mere slap.

Sein estimated their numbers to be between twenty and thirty, leaving him to ponder which powerful black mage had conjured these formidable creatures.

The initiates disembarked from the ship after a week in the cabin, under the guidance of the full-fledged black mages and the academy overseers.

Sein spotted Seven among the group, but they exchanged only a brief nod of greeting.

The initiates were mostly in groups. Upon closer inspection, it became evident that the intermediate and senior initiates, who had mentors, were grouped based on their factions.

In contrast, the intermediate and junior initiates without mentors, as well as the less experienced fresh initiates, were grouped according to their shared dormitories or cliques.

Solo initiates were a rarity.

Sein, together with his girlfriend Leena, approached Zorro and Faye.

Although Bousse did not join their group, he stood not too far from Sein.

Marie remained with her own faction alongside her two female seniors.

“Our stay in Shadow Valley won’t be brief. It’s a vast area, but due to terrain limitations, there won’t be many tents. The reputation of our mentor won’t be able to help us much in that regard. We’ll have to quickly secure two tents for ourselves later on,” Zorro whispered to Sein.

“All right,” Sein replied.

As they conversed, a siren blared.

The airship that had carried them began to ascend into the air, eventually disappearing into the darkness of the Underworld.

***

The tents that Sein and his companions had managed to secure were strategically positioned to the right of one of the magic towers.

Their proximity to the magic towers provided them quick access to the full-fledged black mages in case of a crisis.

Their tents were situated in a flat and open area, relatively close to the massive magic altar located at the center of the valley.

From the tent’s entrance, Sein could observe the magic altar emitting a radiant white elemental luminescence from a distance.

Sein learned from Zorro that the space-time rift was housed within the magic altar and anchored by it.

As usual, nobody in the Black Magic Academy was easy to deal with. During their attempt to secure the two tents, Sein’s group found themselves in a minor altercation with two other groups of initiates.

Although the senior initiates and Quasi Mages were rarely seen in the academy, they all made their appearance in the Shadow Valley expedition, following the orders of the full-fledged black mages.

Sein was secretly surprised to discover that the Black Magic Academy had a total of eleven Quasi Mages and twenty-six senior initiates.

During the tent allocation, Faye and Leena were paired in one tent, while Sein shared a tent with Zorro.

Bousse came over and joined them at some point.

Considering the red copper ingot that Bousse offered and his friendship with Sein, Zorro chose to overlook the matter and permitted Bousse to sleep in one corner of their tent.

Much like his mentor, Morsidor, Zorro had been deeply involved in experiments and alchemical research throughout his academic life at the Black Magic Academy.

Socializing was not a regular part of his daily routine, and Zorro hardly had any friends to engage in casual conversations with, let alone have a girlfriend.

Zorro, along with the other Quasi Mages Sein had yet to meet, were unfamiliar but powerful presences among the initiates in the academy.

***

The next day in Shadow Valley, the full-fledged black mages swiftly issued a series of orders, clearly indicating the academy’s urgency to expedite the Shadow Valley mission.

The first group set to venture into the depths of the magic altar consisted of eleven Quasi Mages, including Zorro.

It remained uncertain whether Master Morsidor had any influence over the selection order, but Zorro found himself as the second to last among these eleven Quasi Mages to enter the magic altar.

After the Quasi Mages, including Zorro, stepped into the magic altar, a black mage asked the person beside him inside the magic tower in the valley, “Do you think these young initiates can really help us place the coordinate generator on the other side of the space-time rift?”

The other black mage shook his head and replied, “Who knows? The scale of this space-time rift is so small that it can’t even accommodate a Rank One creature. That’s why Morsidor and the vice deans spent so much time here reinforcing the space-time altar. It’s meant to protect the young ones. The unstable nature of the space-time rift is a significant threat to us, let alone these young initiates. It would be a blessing if two-thirds of them make it through. Moreover, we have no knowledge of what awaits them on the other side.”

Interplanar exploration was inherently fraught with uncertainties, particularly when conducted through a space-time rift rather than a direct descent from outside the plane.

If the destination on the other side of the space-time rift turned out to be a desolate and uninhabitable wasteland, it could spell doom for these young initiates.

Many black mages in Mystralora City desired access to the resources of demiplanes, but those planes were often hostile environments unsuitable for creatures below Rank One.

For example, in a plane dominated by pyro elements, Sein and the other initiates would likely be incinerated as soon as they arrived.

Planes that could accommodate Rank One life forms and below were complete planes, but they were also fraught with perils.

Even if the laws and climate were similar to the Magus World, outsiders like Sein and the others would inevitably face hostility from the plane’s indigenous communities and the will of the plane itself.

Therefore, regardless of the circumstances on the other side of the space-time rift, these initiates, who were not even at Rank One, faced survival odds as unfavorable as one in nine.

It was no wonder that Master Morsidor had painstakingly crafted numerous life-preserving magic items for his apprentices.