Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein spent nearly half a month in the Grantt Territory, with the banquet continuing right until his departure.

The emergence of a Rank One knight was a monumental event for House Grantt, heralding a new era of prominence and expanding influence.

The family’s ascent was palpable, with expectations set high for its burgeoning stature within the Magus World.

Anticipating further growth, House Grantt stood at the precipice of extending its lineage. The banquet was subtly abuzz with guests hoping to form matrimonial alliances with them.

Targets of these matrimonial ambitions included not just Sein but also his father, Old Grantt, along with the members of both the main and side families.

In the Magus World, marital union served as a prevalent practice among the nobility to strengthen and deepen their connections with one another.

Sein noticed that his great grandfather, Jeremy, despite his affection for the younger members of House Grantt, showed very little interest in romantic engagements.

This was a trait that seemed to have influenced Sein’s father too.

Sein’s other ancestor, Julius, introduced Sein to a Rank Two female knight dressed in a long, green dress at the banquet.

Sein initially mistook her for just a friend of Julius’, only to be startled when the Reverse Winged Lion King sneakily whispered to him, “Hey, that’s your great-grandmother!”

“Initially, Sterk wasn’t interested in her, but that woman pursued him relentlessly after he rescued her once,” the winged lion remarked, shaking its head ruefully.

Sterk was a pseudonym used by Julius within the order of the knights. What began as an alias soon became the preferred name among his peers, including his own mount.

As a result, Julius adopted the name and became Julius Sterk Grantt. As the first-generation knight of House Grantt, he had the liberty to alter his name as he saw fit.

This practice of elongating one’s name with additional prefixes was cherished among well-established noble houses.

They would honor their family’s illustrious history by incorporating the names of notable ancestors to their own.

The Rank Two female knight who was labeled as Sein’s “great-grandmother” held no blood relation to him. She only came to know Julius after he was promoted to a Rank Two knight.

Furthermore, Sein also learned from the winged lion of her eagerness to arrange a marriage for Sein.

“Why settle for anyone from Ross’ family? I’ll find someone worthy of Sein, perhaps from the Ohrque Empire or within the order of the knights!” The Reverse Winged Lion King relayed the woman’s ambitious plans to Julius, mimicking her determination.

Sein responded with a mere twitch of his lips, choosing not to further comment on the matter.

Since Julius never introduced the Rank Two female knight as Sein’s “great grandmother”, Sein decided to feign ignorance of the situation.

While Sein’s interactions with Julius were limited, he found a closer connection with his other ancestor, Jeremy.

***

Sein’s stay in Grantt Territory was brief, yet it left him feeling more drained than the most challenging of magic experiments.

Still, the opportunity to meet numerous ranked knights was invaluable, laying the groundwork for future interactions in the Zephyr Kingdom, the Ohrque Empire, and the northern human nations.

Not only that, it also strengthened his influence and expanded his social network within the Lysian Alliance.

Upon his return to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Sein allowed himself a brief respite of two days before diving back into his intensive research.

The insights gained from the knights on their physical training regimes sparked an idea in Sein—perhaps their training methods could complement his Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique.

After all, both methods were aimed at strengthening the body.

The only core difference lay in their approach. Knights primarily relied on physical conditioning, whereas Sein’s method harnessed elemental power.

In the laboratory on the 714th floor of the divine tower, Sein became the subject of his own experiment.

Stripped down and strapped to the central experiment table, his body was left exposed to the air.

Sein was not a thin man, thanks to Selina’s excellent culinary skills. Since he was taller, he looked more robust than typical mages.

While his muscles were not as defined as knights and were usually concealed beneath his magic robe, his body was unmistakably toned as he lay exposed on the experiment table.

Currently, Selina was the only person present in the laboratory.

Sein had initially hoped Eileen would assist in the experiment, but she had returned to the Fran Dukedom ten days ago and had yet to return.

Although this was not the first time Selina had seen his naked body, her face was still tinged red.

It was not out of shyness, but nervousness.

The upcoming procedures held a degree of risk for Sein.

“Don’t worry, my current muscle strength should buffer any mishaps within a tolerable range. Just do as I instructed. Make sure to keep the elemental dosage within the limits,” Sein reminded Selina before closing his eyes.

He was actually focusing on using his mental focus to guide the elemental energy within him along a predetermined path.

Sein’s skin was decorated with complicated lines, reminiscent of the magic pattern he had drawn on himself during the Viridian Venom Flame World war. Yet a closer look revealed their greater complexity and their strategic avoidance of critical organs and blood vessels typical of the Magus World’s human anatomy.

Selina took a deep breath before she began to operate several complex levers by the experiment table, activating an apparatus Sein had specifically designed to temper his body.

A rumble echoed as a massive metal device descended from above the table, releasing a slim jet of red and green flame.

Under Selina’s careful control, the fiery jet inched toward Sein on the table.

Suspended above the device was a large container filled with various solvents.

They were painstakingly prepared by Sein through a significant investment of magicoins and effort.

Among these solvents was concentrated verdant glaze that Sein had acquired from the Viridian Venom Flame World, which was crucial for his body tempering experiment.

“Let the first body tempering experiment begin,” Sein thought as he harnessed his mental focus to guide the elemental energy through his body.