Sovereign of the Ashes

“What in the world is that damn boy up to now? The crystal ball can’t reach him, and even the Verdant Spring Badge fails to pinpoint his location. If not for the Surveillance Eyes here in the academy, I might have feared the worst for him!” Master Jovian’s angry voice echoed in the shadowed forest of the academy grounds.

Accompanying Master Jovian to Sein’s residence were two full-fledged mages, Eileen and another male mage.

As Eileen contemplated Sein’s impending predicament, a smirk spread across her face. She could not deny a certain satisfaction in his troubles.

It had been three or four years since she had last seen Sein.

To full-fledged mages like Eileen, whose lifespans stretched into centuries or even close to a millennium, such absences were normal.

However, for magic initiates, such prolonged disappearances were both unusual and unsettling.

Eileen, seeing potential in Sein, had intended to mentor him in pyro elemental magic before the upcoming Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War.

It would be a shame, she thought, if such a promising talent fell during the war.

To her surprise, Sein had been elusive for several years, unreachable through both crystal ball and badge.

Given that Eileen and Sein were not particularly close, she eventually gave up after several failed attempts to contact him.

Her visit to Sein’s dormitory with Master Jovian today was spurred by the academy’s recent call to arms.

The divine tower academy had begun intensive pre-war training for its senior initiates and Quasi Mages in a specialized classroom a few days ago, in preparation for the upcoming Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War.

While intermediate initiates and below were expected to participate in the war, their roles were more akin to supporting troops or more grimly, cannon fodder.

In contrast, senior initiates and Quasi Mages, who were highly valued by the divine tower, bore the weight of high expectations.

They were the ones who would truly champion the academy’s honor in the war.

Master Jovian’s anger was fueled by Sein’s consecutive absence over the past few days!

Even if the number of senior initiates had been rising in recent years, they were still rare assets in the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy.

Each senior initiate was viewed as a potential seed of potential. Unless they had already perished or were unavoidably detained by mandatory tasks, they were expected to return promptly to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring to gear up for the Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War.

Failure to participate in the war, or any attempt to avoid it, would result in severe consequences, including potential expulsion from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and other significant penalties!

The Divine Tower of Verdant Spring was already burdened by a history of underperformance in past academy wars.

The very notion of an initiate shirking battle was enough to invite scorn from neighboring divine towers.

This strict expectation for all initiates, particularly senior initiates and Quasi Mages, made Sein’s continual absence from the pre-war training sessions for the past few days glaringly noticeable.

Master Archimedes, one of the three esteemed deans, oversaw the pre-war training.

He was the most experienced dean in the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, a revered figure invited personally by the tower master herself.

At the same time, he was also an important guiding figure for Master Jovian.

The fiery-tempered pyromancer was particularly incensed by the disappearance of a senior initiate from his cohort.

Typically, any senior initiate avoiding battle would face severe repercussions, but Sein’s case was peculiar.

He was not only a senior initiate but also an acquaintance of Master Jovian, who had personally endorsed his admission to the academy.

This context added layers to Master Jovian’s frustration.

It was hard to believe that an initiate commended by Medich could be a timid coward, and Master Jovian had always placed immense trust in Medich’s judgment.

Surprisingly, the Surveillance Eyes within the academy had revealed a puzzling truth—Sein had not deliberately absented himself; he had simply not left his residence for years.

This revelation intrigued both Jovian and Eileen.

Sein’s residence remained largely unchanged over the years except for its somewhat neglected appearance.

The house showed signs of not having been cleaned for a long time, both inside and outside.

In contrast, the stone path in front of it was relatively clean, indicating that it might still be in use.

Eileen was aware of Sein’s living arrangement. With a smile, she commented, “I’ve heard Sein’s been sharing this place with another female initiate, who is apparently his cousin.”

Her remark only served to enrage Master Jovian even more, like pouring oil on a fire.

He could not help but speculate whether Sein’s reclusiveness was a result of indulging in carnal pleasures.

A bulging vein appeared on Jovian’s forehead. In a burst of frustration, the Rank Two mage amplified his voice with a sonido magic spell as he bellowed at the building in front of him, “SEIN, YOU LITTLE RASCAL, GET OUT HERE!”

The powerful sound wave shook the building and trees in the surrounding area.

Eileen quickly covered her ears with a smirk on her face.

However, Jovian’s demand was met with silence from Sein.

Instead, after a brief pause, a thunderous explosion erupted from within Sein’s dormitory!

The blast left Jovian, Eileen, and the other mage momentarily stunned, as billows of pitch-black smoke poured out from Sein’s residence.

From within, a series of coughs could be heard.

Shortly after, two soot-blackened figures emerged.

The taller one was unmistakably Sein, and a shorter one was Selina, who had been assisting with his experiments.

Sein’s appearance was shocking. His skin was covered in black soot, his robe tattered, and he sported a thick, unkempt beard, clearly having neglected personal grooming for some time.

Despite the disruption and the subsequent explosion in his laboratory, Sein did not seem overly annoyed. In fact, he seemed rather happy and excited.

While slightly irritated, Sein refrained from expressing frustration upon recognizing his visitors.

Although Jovian had no idea what Sein had been up to, he was perplexed by the subtle hint of delight on Sein’s soot-covered face.

“Did that explosion fry his brain?” Jovian could not help but wonder aloud.