Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein acquired the fundamental knowledge of the otherworldly planes he sought from Master Lance.

Following the conclusion of Lance’s private lessons, Sein resumed his regular schedule of attending courses in the academy, diligently soaking up knowledge like a sponge.

To the less observant initiates, Sein seemed like just another senior initiate frequently present in various basic courses.

Little did they know that Sein’s growth during this period marked his fastest personal development ever since he departed Mystralora City in the underground world.

Nearly two and a half months had passed since Sein joined the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy. The magic messenger dispatched to Grantt Territory finally returned, bearing a reply from Earl Grantt.

The exchange between Earl Grantt and Sein mirrored their succinct nature.

The content of the letter, costing an advanced energy crystal to send, was only half a page long.

Earl Grantt’s reply offered no mention of specific events but acknowledged Sein’s arrival at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

He briefly touched upon the ongoing border war between the Lysian Alliance and the Ohrque Empire, stating that he received Sein’s letter from the frontline of the battlefield.

Considering the high cost of magic letters, Sein decided against sending another to the earl after receiving a reply.

He planned to write back once every two or three years, as neither him nor Earl Grantt were excessively sentimental.

Subsequently, Sein’s academy life settled into a daily routine of shuttling between the academy building, the library and his dormitory.

While it might seem monotonous to most, for Sein, it brought a sense of fulfillment.

Sein’s lifestyle was not one that most initiates could emulate or endure.

Despite being only a senior initiate in his twenties, his lifestyle was close to and on par with the full-fledged mages of Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

However, full-fledged mages usually enjoyed a lifespan of several hundred years, and they had long since tired of materialistic pursuits before dedicating themselves to magical studies.

On the other hand, Initiates in Sein’s age bracket were usually still curious about the world and found it to be novel.

Sein was aware that the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy hosted weekly balls and social gatherings organized by the initiates themselves.

The attendees were predominantly magic initiates from noble families. These events, reflective of their status and style, attracted many initiates within the divine tower.

They served as more than mere entertainment, acting as avenues for building personal connections.

Regardless of whether these magic initiates would become full-fledged mages, the learning experience at Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy ensured they, along with their respective families, would forge numerous connections and channels.

This became a compelling reason for many prominent noble houses in the secular human nations to strive to send their heirs and heiresses to the Divine Tower Academy.

Sein had little interest in those aristocratic balls.

Even within the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, only a handful of initiates were acquainted with him.

Sein had not crossed paths with Tom, an intermediate initiate currently on an academy quest in the Jewel Bay, in the academy during the first six months of Sein’s enrollment.

The vast expanse of the Divine Tower Academy made chance encounters rare unless one actively sought them.

Furthermore, Sein’s meticulous time management had reached an extreme, with every minute allocated for specific tasks.

During his time at the Black Magic Academy, Sein desperately pursued knowledge as a means to strengthen himself and survive.

Although external threats no longer compelled him, Sein had grown accustomed to the intense learning style that pushed him to his limits.

In contrast, the other initiates in the divine tower seemed to adopt a more “relaxed” approach to learning, a mode Sein found difficult to agree with or adapt to.

He remained a loner, attending various basic courses at the divine tower academy.

This routine persisted for two years.

During this period, Sein managed to address the gaps in his foundational knowledge and master dozens of basic magic spells and tricks.

The accumulation of comprehensive basic knowledge, coupled with his expanded arsenal of magic spells, transformed Sein, a senior initiate, into a semblance of a “mage” in the Magus World.

The extent of Sein’s progress in his pursuit of truth remained a mystery to others.

Only Sein himself was privy to the changes he underwent in the two years since he embarked on this journey.

***

“Pyro Elemental Transformation” was an advanced magic course priced at two magicoins.

There were several full-fledged mages at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring offering the same course.

This prevalence of this course could be attributed to the historical significance of the pyro element as a major category within the magic elements.

While selecting an instructor for the course, Sein noticed a familiar name.

Traditionally, the classrooms located on the fifth floor and above in the central teaching building in the academy were reserved for intermediate and senior initiates.

This restriction existed because generally, only initiates at those ranks had the financial means to access advanced knowledge.

While some junior initiates might be financially capable, they often lacked the foundational knowledge to grasp more advanced concepts, making it potentially detrimental for them.

On this particular day, Sein entered a medium-sized classroom.

Due to his early arrival, there were only three intermediate initiates seated sporadically.

Interestingly, those initiates chose seats at the back rather than the optimal ones in the center of the front row.

Sein ignored them and proceeded to the center of the first row.

His action drew sidelong glances from the three initiates, but no one said anything. Everyone seemed to be quietly waiting for the class to begin.

As the start of the class approached, more intermediate and senior initiates entered the classroom.

Although the course demanded a fee of two magicoins, initiates at those ranks could barely manage to afford it, acknowledging the importance of the course for advancing their knowledge of the pyro element.

Moreover, those who could study at the divine towers often hailed from families with reasonable financial situations.

While they might not be able to afford all advanced courses related to the pyro element, they would prioritize essential ones like the Pyro Elemental Transformation course.

Sein, positioned in the first row with an unfamiliar face, garnered some attention and even a bit of surprise from the initiates entering the classroom.

The class attracted over twenty intermediate and senior initiates, including seven or eight senior initiates.

It was with the entrance of three senior initiates that Sein’s trouble began.