Sovereign of the Ashes

Seven exceeded Sein’ expectations with its intelligence and diligence.

It took Sein about a week to memorize and master the contents of the field guide prepared by Frank.

In contrast, Seven needed only a slightly longer period—around a week and a half.

Armed with newfound knowledge of magic ingredients and raw materials, Seven began venturing out more frequently in the evenings, and sometimes even daylight hours.

With its flying ability, Seven proved to be an invaluable ally, assisting Sein in scouting the areas ahead.

Over time, Seven’s efforts resulted in the accumulation of basic magic ingredients.

Some of these materials were unfamiliar to Sein and were not documented in the field guide.

Seven had collected and brought them to Sein because it detected a trace of elemental energy in them.

“How convenient it is to have a magic beast helper. I recall reading in one of my mentor’s books that some full-fledged mages opt for magic beasts with potential as their familiars,” Sein remarked.

Despite this, Sein had always viewed Seven more as a friend than a familiar.

Given Seven’s intelligence, Sein contemplated the idea of teaching it magic. Alternatively, if magic proved too challenging, he considered training Seven as a laboratory assistant.

The Aero Chain alone had proven invaluable in aiding Sein with obtaining specimens for his experiments.

That night...

The Screaming Branch outside the tent emitted a piercing shriek, waking Sein, who had always been a light sleeper.

Seven, who was always energetic at night, responded to the noise with remarkable speed.

A shadow flickered in the darkness, followed by screams and howls.

To most humans, and even magic initiates like Sein, a quasi-ranked magic beast like Seven was a formidable being, particularly at night, where it thrived.

“Another encounter with bandits? This marks the second time in the past three days. It seems like there’s a human city nearby,” Sein speculated in the tent as he sat up.

By the time he stepped out of the tent, the battle was almost over.

Seven had efficiently dealt with the ordinary bandits, leaving only two individuals who could harness battle qi.

One of them possessed quite a substantial amount of battle qi, equivalent to that of a junior squire.

“They seem like useful test subjects. Seven, try not to injure them too severely,” Sein instructed Seven using Voice Transmission.

It was a magic trick he had mastered shortly after leaving Berthold City.

The hoots coming from Seven were understood by Sein as its acknowledgement. Yet, to the bandits, it sounded like a foreboding whisper.

The following day, the forest remained mostly unchanged, except for the remnants of a campfire, indicating that a traveler had spent the night there.

Not far from the remnants of the campfire, two bandits lay exposed among the bushes.

One exhibited undulating chest movements, indicating he was still alive. The other was less fortunate and had long turned cold.

Sein had shown a heightened interest in the junior squire and ended up exploring too much and accidentally killing him.

The cuts on the torsos of the two men were not the result of sadistic torture.

Instead, they bore witness to a scholar who had recently embarked on the path of truth, delving into the mysteries of the human body with a humble and respectful demeanor.

Throughout the ages, beings from other planes surrounding the Magus World had labeled the spellcasters of Magus World as “lunatics”.

From their perspective, the designation seemed apt.

Yet, these foolish otherworldly beings could not comprehend the unwavering determination of Magus World’s mages in their pursuit of truth.

The true strength of the Magus World did not solely lie in the elemental mastery of mages or the battle qi of knights.

Instead, it lay in the spirit and will of spellcasters navigating the path of truth.

It was their audacious notion to challenge and even dissect the gods—an unyielding spirit in exploring the mysteries of truth!

***

Six months had passed since Sein departed from Mystralora City of the Underworld.

He found himself in the largest city in the northern part of the Gloomhaven, clearly marked on the magic map he received from Master Morsidor—Kirk City.

It would take approximately half a month traveling north from Kirk City for Sein to cross the boundaries of Gloomhaven and enter a new territory.

Recognized as a significant city in the northern part of Gloomhaven, Kirk City was a bustling metropolis that served as a crucial hub connecting various regions.

Its population was estimated to exceed a million, excluding the numerous cities and villages that were scattered and distributed in its vicinity.

Upon entering Kirk City, Sein’s first impression of this city was “a city with less impressive walls than Mystralora City”, even though it was his first time setting foot in a metropolis.

After half a year of travel, he needed a break to replenish supplies and gather information.

While enjoying a meal in an inn, Sein meticulously summarized the information he had acquired since his arrival in Kirk City.

To the north of Kirk City lay the expansive region known as the “Land of Verdure”, surpassing even the size of Gloomhaven itself.

Despite failing to gather any noteworthy intelligence about the mage councils or the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring there, he discovered the presence of three human nations in that region.

In this northern territory, the three human nations coexisted, presenting a more stable and unified environment compared to the fragmented rule of separate human cities in the Gloomhaven.

Furthermore, he gathered that there were no black mages causing trouble there due to the strong influence of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

While the learning environment in the north could not match the southern coast of the Magus Continent, where multiple Divine Towers thrived, it still proved to be significantly better than the circumstances in Gloomhaven.

Apart from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, the other mage councils seemed like viable options. After all, they could not be too bad considering they had connections to Master Medich, a Rank Two mage.

“The bloodline tracing magic Master Morsidor passed down to me hasn’t shown much reaction. This shows that my origins aren’t from Gloomhaven and my family must be further north. But which one of the three human nations could it be?” Sein wondered.

At that moment, a boisterous and ear-piercing laughter erupted from a table not far from Sein.

Seven or eight burly men were enjoying their drink. Their loud voices and the lingering scent of sweat in the air caused Sein to furrow his brow.

Unfortunately, there was little he could do as this was the best inn he could find.

While the situation here was not ideal, it was certainly better than the chaos one might encounter in taverns or cheaper inns.

Everyone in the rowdy group possessed the power of battle qi, and one among them appeared to be at the level of an intermediate squire.

They also seemed to belong to the same mercenary group.

Sein had only recently become aware of a unique organization in Kirk City upon his arrival—the mercenary guild.