Sovereign of the Ashes

Being part of a powerful civilization indeed came with a tremendous advantage.

Relying on the reputation of the Magus World, Sein, who was not even close to being a Rank One creature, had surprisingly established communication with a Rank Four creature.

The only reason the Sandworm King extended respect to Sein was solely due to the Magus World’s influence.

As Sein left the sand valley, he glanced back and recalled the task from the Sandworm King.

“Establish contact with a tower master so that he could vouch for it, huh? It appears that colossal worm lacks a clear understanding of the internal dynamics within the Magus World and remains oblivious to the contentious relationship between black mages and regular mages from the Divine Tower.”

“Even if I were capable of this, it would involve contacting the black mages within the academy. I wonder what Master Morsidor and the vice deans would think of this creature,” Sein wondered.

***

After leaving the Sand Valley, Sein followed the instructions provided by the Sandworm King. Using the three suns in the sky as directional markers, he set off in a specific direction across the seemingly endless expanse of sand.

It seemed that the sandstorm more than a year ago had really carried Sein far away, or perhaps it was the effect of the geological shifts of the quicksand environment.

Even with the approximate direction provided by Sandworm King, Sein estimated that it would take two months to reach the coordinate point and communicate with the Magus World.

In reality, Sein took longer than expected.

It was not until half a year later that Sein, who was constantly traveling in the yellow sand, finally got a reaction from the black key in his hand.

The image displayed by the crystal ball in Sein’s hand was a flat desert that did not appear significantly different from the landscapes in other parts of the Sand World.

Over a year ago, there had been many tents standing here, and several alchemy magic artifacts that Sein could not figure out the exact purpose of.

Now, everything lay buried beneath the yellow sands.

If it was not for the reaction of the black key in his hand, Sein would not believe that this was the same area where the spatial passage was located back then.

“It seems that the spatial passageway has been completely destroyed. I wonder why Master Morsidor and the vice deans haven’t attempted to reconstruct it in the past year or so. Could something have gone wrong? There were indeed many mages from the Divine Towers on the other side of the passageway back then...” Sein wondered aloud as he held the crystal ball in his hand.

The surface of the crystal ball bore a noticeable crack.

In fact, it had been broken a year ago. It was only about three months ago that Sein managed to repair it through a stroke of luck.

Many other pieces of equipment in his possession had suffered similar fates, including the geo elemental shield ring and the invisibility cloak.

In the two years spent in the Sand World, nearly all of Sein’s magical equipment had sustained varying degrees of damage.

The only item that remained unscathed was Leena’s black crystal bracelet.

Sein had figured out the general purpose of the black crystal bracelet in the last year. In addition to enhancing the recovery of the umbra elemental mana by 30%, this black crystal bracelet also came with a “Dark Light” spell.

It was both an offensive and defensive spell.

In its offensive form, it could unleash a powerful beam of umbra energy, powerful enough to threaten a senior initiate.

In its defensive form, it could transform into an umbra energy barrier.

Together with the geo elemental shield, this barrier had helped Sein to survive the sandstorm.

After counting all the items in his possession to ensure that he had left nothing behind in the Sand World, Sein activated the elemental beads in his hand and channeled his mana into the black key.

The familiar effect of magic pulling force appeared once again, though it felt rougher than the last time.

Sein could not fathom the significance of this change, but there was nothing he could do at this point.

When the magic pulling force enveloped him completely, a thought suddenly crossed in his mind:

What will happen if this doesn’t work out? Will I die?

Strangely, Sein did not experience fear when the thought of potential death entered his mind.

Instead, he felt oddly relieved.

Perhaps Sein had already harbored a death wish for a long time.

From the time he could not find his way back to Magus World in the Sand World and decided to venture deeper into the underground sand cave to explore, he was already prepared to die.

The tremendous pulling force caused Sein’s consciousness to fade.

In an instant, the black figure on the sea of yellow sand vanished from the Sand World, along with the key in his grip.

***

When Sein’s consciousness returned, he found himself surrounded by endless darkness.

The darkness did not instill fear in Sein’s heart. Instead, it enveloped him with a profound sense of comfort and warmth.

He knew he had returned to Gloomhaven. The Magus World. His homeplane.

Anyone who had been away from their homeplane for an extended period would invariably notice the difference upon their return.

Sein felt akin to a toddler reuniting with his mother, or a traveler returning to his homeland.

It was a distinct and comforting feeling that he could not find in any other plane.

Typically, only mages of Rank One or higher would have the opportunity to experience the distinctions between different planes.

This was because only mages at Rank One or above met the recruitment criteria for various Divine Towers and Knight Orders during interplanar wars.

Only a full-fledged mage could travel to the many enslaved planes under the Magus Civilization’s rule, as well as those allied with the Magus Alliance.

Exploring other planes as an initiate was an exceedingly rare occurrence.

Sein had gathered experiences shared by less than one percent of the initiates in the Magus World.

Due to his extended stay in the foreign plane, Sein had been significantly influenced by the environment and atmosphere of that world.

When he became aware of the disparity between his homeplane and the other planes, the sensations and subtle changes he experienced far surpassed those of Zorro, and the others.

The cracked crystal ball quietly materialized in Sein’s hand.

In the dim surroundings, the faint radiance of the crystal ball allowed him to discern the values displayed in it.

Focus: 52 points

Mana: 47 points

Constitution: 16 points

Throughout his three years of study in Master Morsidor’s faction, Sein’s focus had only increased by 8 points.

In just two years within the Sand World, his focus had soared by 14 points in a single leap.

He not only met the minimum focus requirement of a senior initiate but even surpassed it.

Once Sein acquired and mastered the spell model of an advanced magic, he would officially be promoted to a senior initiate!

“When I last tested myself with this crystal ball before leaving the Sand World, both my focus and mana levels were only around 45 points. What could have caused such a significant increase? Could it be connected to my return to the Magus World?” Sein mused, stroking his bearded chin as he contemplated the reasons behind this sudden surge of power.