Sovereign of the Ashes

The magic initiates from Mystralora City who had arrived in this plane referred to this world as the “Sand World” or the “Desert World”.

Its exact size remained a mystery, even to someone as knowledgeable as Zorro, who held the rank of a Quasi Mage.

He could only confirm that the Sand World was considerably smaller than the Magus World.

According to Master Morsidor, the Magus World was vast and belonged to the upper echelons among the countless planes in the Astral Realm.

Sein, having no knowledge of the Magus World’s size, could not make a fair comparison to the Sand World before him.

Even after extensive discussion and speculation among the black magic initiates, they were still unable to determine whether the area they had been active in for recent months constituted merely a fraction, perhaps even a thousandth, of the Sand World’s total expanse.

The initiates’ limited perspective left them unable to fathom the grandeur of the Sand World.

The stark contrast between the environment of the Sand World and the Magus World was enough to bewilder these initiates who had not yet reached Rank One. The tales of creatures from other planes hostile to the Magus Civilization, as recorded in books, only added to their unease.

During his discussions with Faye and Zorro, Sein discovered that the black magic initiates’ survival in this harsh foreign environment was made possible by a consistent water supply from initiates specializing in hydro magic.

Food, on the other hand, was predominantly supplied by initiates proficient in dendro magic.

As long as they could use geo magic to create soil and maintain an adequate water supply, the dendro-type initiates could cultivate edible plants.

This exemplified the wondrous nature of magic.

If it were the common folk of Magus World who came over, they probably would not have lasted even a day.

***

In the afternoon following his arrival at the camp, Sein finally met Leena.

For Sein, it had only been a month since he had last seen her, but he knew that Leena had not seen him in over four months.

They were filled with emotions as they reunited once more.

Nevertheless, they kept their emotions well hidden, especially Leena. She was adept at keeping her feelings hidden behind an inscrutable facade that revealed little to outsiders.

Faye, on the other hand, was the one who wore her heart on her sleeve. She even enthusiastically expressed her intention to introduce a dear friend to Sein.

***

The camp in the Sand World, set up by the black magic initiates, was relatively modest in size.

There were fewer than twenty portable tents of various sizes, brought there by a Quasi Mage.

The central tent housed special magic equipment, which Zorro explained as the primary components of the coordinate generator.

Following Faye, Sein arrived at his temporary dwelling, a welcome change from the pit in the sand he had inhabited for a month.

The tent offered protection from the harsh wind and sun, Sein would at least be able to sleep more soundly in it.

The tent was somewhat compact, and there was already an occupant in it.

“Seriously, Faye? This tent is cramped enough for the two of us, and you brought someone else here?”

A voice came from within the tent, behind a curtain that hid its owner from Sein’s view.

Judging solely by the voice, it belonged to a young woman who appeared to get along very well with Faye.

“You can find another tent to stay if this is too crowded for you. I want to spend time with my junior,” Faye responded nonchalantly.

As soon as Faye finished her sentence, a female initiate in black robe emerged from behind the curtain.

This young woman, though not very old, wore thicker makeup than Faye.

Her eyes were large and striking, yet they made Sein feel uneasy.

Furthermore, the perfume she wore was off-putting to Sein.

Conversely, the female initiate’s eyes lit up upon seeing Sein’s face.

She approached Sein, unabashedly sizing him up before letting out a hearty laugh.

“So this is the junior you’ve been talking about? Not bad at all. I can see why he’s on your mind so much.”

The female initiate with heavy make up stopped in front of Sein and offered a gracious introduction. “I’m Marlena, I’ve heard about you for a while now. Marie is my junior, we’re from the same faction.”

Sein’s initial impressions did not influence his attitude toward the female initiate.

Despite his reservations about Marlena’s heavy makeup and the fragrance she wore, he responded with a smile, “Hi, I’m Sein.”

He deduced that Marlena was also an apprentice of Daelis, as she mentioned that she was from the faction as Marie.

It appeared that there was a strong connection between Master Daelis’ and Master Morsidor’s factions.

Not only were Master Daelis and Master Morsidor close, even their apprentices also shared a strong friendship.

Marie once mentioned that she had two seniors in her faction. Sein wondered if the other one was also in this camp.

After a brief conversation with Marlena, Sein, who had grown weary from his travels, found a corner in the tent to rest.

Leena was currently away, attending to a task in another Quasi Mage’s camp and would only return later.

The peaceful surroundings provided an ideal atmosphere for Sein to unwind.

Despite his vigilance and cautious nature, Sein quickly drifted off to sleep.

The predominant black color of the tent’s interior had an oddly calming effect, lulling Sein into rest. The darkness reminded him of Gloomhaven in the Underworld.

During his deep slumber, Sein vaguely sensed another presence nestling into his arms.

The familiar aura provided comfort, keeping him from waking up. He instinctively embraced the unknown presence.

“Oh my, the three of you seem to be having quite the time together. It’s been years since I last tried something like this. Mind if I join in?” Marlena chimed in.

Faye, in her typical straightforward manner, quipped, “Go away. Don’t you dare to taint my junior. Go to Jacques or Thomas if you’re horny. Leave us alone.”

Marlena whined in response, “Oh, I’d love to go to them, but Thomas is just an intermediate initiate. There’s no guarantee he’ll reach the camp alive. As for Jacques, he was swept away in a sandstorm two months ago, and his body is still missing. Where do I find solace in times of my loneliness?”

With an even more audacious turn, Marlena suggested, “I know! I’m not greedy. How about you just let me have his hand. I can finish off by myself with it.”

Faye’s reply was concise, laced with exasperation.

“Scram!”