Sovereign of the Ashes

The only person who could possibly send a letter to Sein was none other than Earl Grantt.

The last time Sein sent a letter to Earl Grantt was two months ago, a time when Sein had yet to achieve a breakthrough. As a result, Earl Grantt remained unaware of Sein’s recent promotion to a Quasi Mage.

Beyond the routine updates on the recent occurrences within House Grantt and inquiries about Sein‘s wellbeing at the divine tower, Earl Grantt delved into the primary reason for writing this letter.

Sein’s maternal grandfather had passed away.

As one of his few immediate family members in the Magus World, Sein deserved to be notified about his grandfather’s passing.

The genuine affection Sein’s maternal grandfather had for Sein’s mother, Catherine, fostered a certain emotional connection between Sein and the elderly man, despite their limited interactions.

Sein could still vividly recall the way the old man spoke to his late mother at her grave.

The passing of his grandfather stirred up a touch of melancholy in Sein’s serene state of mind, which had been cultivated through his immersion in studies at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy.

Such was the path chosen by the seekers of truth.

In their pursuit of unraveling the truth and elemental mysteries, sacrifices were inevitable.

Familial bonds, it seemed, were often among those sacrifices.

Sein pondered whether mages in the Magus World, with lifespans stretching into the hundreds or even thousands of years, also grappled with the pain of losing loved ones.

The fleeting decades of ordinary creatures’ lives appeared woefully brief in comparison.

Only truth was eternal.

As time marched on and mages grew stronger, they tended to detach themselves emotionally, focusing more on the pursuit of truth.

Sein’s grandfather had lived a relatively good life, given his noble status.

Even in his final moments, he was not in pain.

According to Earl Grantt’s letter, Sein’s grandfather’s passing was very unexpected. Just the night before, he was enthusiastically discussing the prospect of finding a noble suitor for his granddaughter, Selina, during dinner.

The old man was even looking forward to cradling his great-grandchild in his arms.

Sein’s grandfather passed away with a smile, leaving Sein to wonder if he departed while cradling his great-grandchild in his dreams.

The person deeply affected by the passing of Sein’s grandfather was Sein’s cousin, Selina, whom he had not yet met.

Earl Grantt conveyed this in his letters, adding that Selina would also be joining Sein at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring after her grandfather’s funeral.

However, the decision for Selina to come to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring was likely not her own initiative.

In his letter, Earl Grantt speculated that House Farion might have been the one to suggest Selina to come to the divine tower.

The alleged reason behind this was Sein’s grandfather expressing his final wish for Sein to look after his cousin before his sudden demise.

The perplexity arose from how the old man could express such a desire and instruct Selina to find Sein at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring if his passing was indeed abrupt.

House Farion had only become aware of Sein’s presence at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring two years ago.

After indulging in an excess of aged fine wine, Earl Grantt accidentally disclosed it to numerous nobles in the Lysian Alliance during the banquet celebrating the birth of his grandson.

Given the considerable distance between the Lysian Alliance and the divine tower, it would undoubtedly take some time before Selina would arrive at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

The only problem was that the divine tower was currently not accepting any initiates.

If Selina wished to join the divine tower academy, Sein would need to find an alternative solution.

Should he approach Master Jovian or Eileen for assistance?

Alternatively, he could seek help from other full-fledged mages at the academy by expending a few Rank One energy crystals.

Preferring to keep his wealth hidden, Sein opted to seek assistance from an acquaintance instead.

Shaking his head, he set aside these concerns for the moment.

Upon entering his residence, Sein headed straight to the meditation room on the second floor.

His mental focus level required stabilization after recently achieving a breakthrough.

Sein could not help but wonder if he could improve his focus points to 90, which was the maximum limit for an initiate, within the five years before the Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War.

***

Half a year later...

In the laboratory, Sein was hunched over an experiment table covered with crystal lenses, calmly observing the experimental phenomena and the specific values fed back to him.

Within Sein’s laboratory, there were now a total of six experimental tables like the one before him!

Thanks to the ample inheritance left by Master Morsidor, Sein could delve into such challenging compound experiments despite still being an initiate.

Of course, Sein’s personal abilities and knowledge reserves played a significant role, as not every Quasi Mage could conduct such complicated elemental experiments.

A beam of golden light suddenly appeared, instantly illuminating the entire space.

It swiftly passed through the crystal lenses on the table as well as those on the other five tables.

The golden light bathed Sein’s laboratory in a dazzling glow.

Upon closer inspection, one would notice a spot of blinding golden radiance in the center of each of the six experiment tables.

These were the cores of Sein’s experiment, and those golden radiance resembled a scaled-down version of a golden eye!

The complete upgrade and remodeling of the Solar Eye spell had been a long-term plan set in motion by Sein five years ago upon joining the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy.

It was not until three years ago that Sein addressed the gaps in his foundational knowledge.

About a year and a half ago, he began delving deeper into lumen element magic, officially initiating the improvement for the Solar Eye spell.

Half a year ago, the project had reached a critical stage of progress.

Sein realized that to fully upgrade the Solar Eye spell and achieve his desired effect, relying solely on pyro elemental energy was insufficient.

He needed to incorporate the power of the lumen element, increasing its ratio to fifty percent or even more to achieve the effects he wanted.

By then, the Solar Eye spell would no longer be a pyro element spell, but a lumen-pyro dual elemental spell.

Sein’s unique creation was anticipated to be three to six times more powerful than its original version!

It would no doubt be the most powerful magic spell an initiate could possibly wield, outperforming typical advanced magic spells, nearing the capabilities of a ranked spell wielded by a full-fledged mage!

Sein’s ambition, however, extended beyond this—he believed there was still room for improvement in the Solar Eye spell!

He delved into the knowledge of pyro and lumen elements like a madman, seeking to unravel key mysteries and perfect his research.

Each ray of golden light coming from the experiment table held crucial information, waiting for Sein to record, discover, and decipher!

In this intricate web of information, the truth remained hidden.

Sein relentlessly pursued it, with a maniacal smile on his face.

Only someone completely absorbed in the quest for truth like him could find joy in these seemingly mundane experiments.

All of a sudden, his crystal ball began vibrating. The ensuing audio message caused Sein’s hand to tremble.

Not only did the golden light on the experiment table before Sein vanished, but also the ones in the other five tables.

All the light in the room vanished at the same time, causing the expression on Sein’s face to darken.

If looks could kill, any unfortunate quasi beast in his presence now would have been skinned alive by him.

“Sein, someone is looking for you. She seems to be a relative of yours!” Eileen’s voice came through the crystal ball.

Sein took a deep breath and suppressed his rage before replying, “Got it.”