Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein spent an entire month in the underground mines of Scorched Lumenstone Mountain Ridge, undisturbed.

During this period, no senior initiates or Quasi Mages from other academies ventured into the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s territory to challenge him.

Typically, in the regional academy wars, a senior initiate or Quasi Mage from another academy would need to amass a sizable group of intermediate and junior initiates to confront someone like Sein.

After all, his solo sweep through several territories was an anomaly in the history of these regional academy wars.

While previous figures like Martinez were both arrogant and powerful, none had dominated all five territories in their first year like Sein.

Exceptional geniuses emerge every century or two, but most, like Gade from the Divine Tower of Land Academy, accrued points through conventional means of warfare with other territories.

Initiates like Sein and Martinez were so-called “outliers”, with Sein being an even more extraordinary case.

One month was insufficient for Sein to address the issue of the golden light emanating from his divine tower badge.

However, he managed to recharge his Solar Eye Mask, repair his geo elemental shield ring, and fully restore his mana and focus levels.

In the latter half of the month, realizing no other academy initiates were pursuing him, Sein devised a plan to create a batch of disposable magic items.

He used Scorching Lumenstones and other magic materials to craft what he called “Blazing Lumenbombs”.

These lethal magic items were inspired by and modeled after the ammunition of a simplified magic cannon.

The destructive capability of these Blazing Lumenbombs was roughly equivalent to that of intermediate or basic magic spells.

It was, after all, a hastily developed, simple and disposable magic item, so its power was necessarily limited.

Sein had embarked on this research and production in response to the challenges he faced while being hunted.

His focus and mana levels, though formidable, had their limits since he was only a magic initiate.

The seventy-two beams from his Solar Eye spells, capable of devastation in seconds, could still be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

The Blazing Lumenbombs provided Sein with additional defensive options. If faced with a retreat against overwhelming numbers, these would offer a means to block and disrupt the attacks of numerous opponents.

Sein was not afraid of fighting alone, but he was acutely aware that war was not a stage for him alone. He understood his strengths and limitations.

A month later, upon emerging from the Scorched Lumenstone Mine, Sein was greeted with news—the Divine Tower of Shadow had initiated an attack on the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s territory.

The Windhowl Cliff and its surrounding medium-sized and small resource points were already engulfed in conflict.

The Divine Tower of Shadow’s assault had been slower than anticipated.

In response, Daniel and Mark, the Quasi Mage and senior initiate, were prepared to support the Windhowl Cliff.

The intermediate and junior initiates, still naive to the war’s brutality, were eager to contribute.

“I’ll go too,” Sein declared calmly.

“But the Scorched Lumenstone Mountain Ridge, as a large resource point, needs guarding. Since you are so powerful and currently top the scoreboard, why don’t you stay behind to defend it?” Daniel suggested with a hint of concern in his expression.

“Heh, if someone needs to stay and guard the site, it’s best that you do. During the pre-war training right before the regional academy war, I recall hearing that weaker initiates in the trial space were advised to heed the commands of those with higher ranks and greater power,” Sein remarked, his tone tinged with amusement.

Sein’s remarks clearly struck a nerve with Daniel, leaving him visibly embarrassed and infuriated.

Without a comeback, he simply snorted in disdain and quickly left the scene.

Ultimately, nearly five hundred initiates, including Sein and Daniel, headed to support Windhowl Cliff.

Apart from them, Sein found out through his crystal ball that nearly two-thirds of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s intermediate and senior initiates, along with Quasi Mages, also converged on the battlefield.

The remaining one-third stayed behind, vigilant against any potential threats from the west, where the Divine Tower of Cipher lay.

Notably, the leaders left at Scorched Lumenstone Mountain Ridge were Mark and another Quasi Mage unknown to Sein.

Given that Mark had previously ranked in the top twenty of the academy’s power rankings and surpassed some Quasi Mages in strength, he was well-suited to oversee Scorched Lumenstone Mountain Ridge.

Mark, standing atop the highest point of the Scorched Lumenstone Mountain Ridge camp, watched Sein and the others head eastward with a conflicted expression.

***

Sein’s decision to support the initiates at Windhowl Cliff was driven not only by his duty as a member of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring but also by his commitment to continue earning points, regardless of his current score.

Having traversed the five territories, Sein was aware of the formidable competition in the regional academy war.

Among them were top Quasi Mages and the Gade from Divine Tower of Land Academy. In terms of individual strength and capabilities, he was not inferior in any way to Sein.

Gade, currently on the front lines of the war between the Divine Tower of Land Academy and the Divine Tower of Radiant Thunder, could potentially surpass Sein’s score in the remaining two years of the war.

Therefore, Sein was not inclined to halt his hunt for points.

Despite holding the first place, it was against his nature to rest on his laurels.

Windhowl Cliff, located in the northeast of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s territory, was the nearest to the Divine Tower of Shadow among the three major resource points.

The Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s territory was somewhat smaller than that of the Divine Tower of Cipher, allowing Sein, traveling at full speed on his metal disk, to reach just beyond Windhowl Cliff in ten days.

Despite his dissatisfaction toward Sein, Daniel, a skilled Aeromancer, trailed closely behind him, determined not to fall behind.

The hundreds of other initiates journeying with Sein were estimated to take another ten days to half a month to arrive.

However, with the onset of the initiate war at the cliff, many from nearby areas had already converged to lend support.

Sein and his group were not the first to arrive.

Outside Windhowl Cliff, thousands of undead and dark creatures were slowly advancing toward the steep cliff.

Behind these undead forces, a mass of initiates was casting spells.

Upon first observation, the initiates from the Divine Tower of Shadow surrounding the cliff appeared to be nearly three thousand in number.