Sovereign of the Ashes

Sea God Bay was surrounded by five medium-sized islands.

These “islands”, bigger than the main continent in an average low-level plane, were prepared by the knights and mages from the Western Archipelago to accommodate Tourmaline’s family.

Beyond these five medium-sized islands, the bay was surrounded by about twenty-one smaller islands and over three hundred micro-sized islands and islets.

Overall, the total area of this region alone rivaled that of a medium-sized realm—perhaps even surpassing it.

The total area of this region alone rivaled, perhaps even surpassed, that of a medium-sized realm.

This special area, which Sein might not fully explore even within a hundred years, was Tourmaline’s home.

The fact that this region was named the “Sea God Bay” highlighted its unique significance within the Western Archipelago.

Upon reaching Sea God Bay, Tourmaline’s movement through the ocean accelerated noticeably.

Like a swift arrow, it glided through the water with a speed that belied its massive size.

The aquatic races that had followed Tourmaline from the southeastern reaches of the western ocean halted at the edge of Sea God Bay.

To them, Sea God Bay was sacred, a place that should not be defiled.

In the waters of Sea God Bay, only specific races and ordinary fish were permitted to swim freely.

No other aquatic races were permitted to enter or exit Sea God Bay.

This restriction was upheld not only by the mandates of the higher aquatic races but also by their own deeply held beliefs.

The waters of Sea God Bay were remarkably calm, devoid of the terrifying hurricanes and whirlpools typical of deeper oceanic regions.

The ocean surface shimmered under the sun, creating a serene ambiance that Sein found relaxing as he stretched his back.

Tourmaline, having grown up in Sea God Bay since young, was extremely familiar with the area. It knew every interesting or unique spot in the region.

Throughout their time together, Tourmaline had come to understand what sparked Sein’s curiosity.

One by one, Tourmaline retrieved a variety of marine products or items it had played with as a child from the seabed. Believing these to be of use to Sein, it carefully laid them before him.

Sein had about two dozen pieces of spatial equipment, but Tourmaline eventually managed to fill each one completely.

Sein deeply felt a profound sense of friendship and generosity from Tourmaline’s actions.

When the spatial equipment—originally used by Yuri to store her mecha units—was filled to the brim, Sein had to intervene to halt Tourmaline.

Although Sein was touched by Tourmaline’s gesture, it also left him feeling amused.

Many of the items Tourmaline presented were beyond Sein’s ability to appraise.

For instance, Tourmaline unearthed a colorful conch from a trench. This giant conch, about twenty meters in length, had been its favorite “toy” when it was little.

As this “toy” took up all the available space of the spatial equipment used to store one of Yuri’s mecha, Sein realized there was no room left for potentially more valuable items like undersea pearls and amber.

These underwater products were no ordinary treasures. The rich hydro element in them indicated that these ocean pearls—each larger than an average human head—were exceptional marine resources.

Sea God Bay, revered by countless aquatic races of the Magus World, was a trove of such wonders.

Anything Tourmaline had cherished as a toy when it was little was bound to be extraordinary.

Previously, Sein had felt quite satisfied with the spoils he received from the Rank Two black mage.

However, after arriving in the Western Archipelago with Tourmaline, he began to understand what true wealth was.

Compared to other Rank One and Rank Two mages, Sein was considered wealthy with his savings of tens of thousands of magicoins.

After receiving all these gifts from Tourmaline, Sein was now “truly wealthy”.

Many of the items that Sein could not appraise were indeed rare and invaluable treasures in the Magus World.

Even the massive conch, which Sein found unremarkable, used to be a Void Conch with a rare spatial ability.

Tourmaline’s second brother had snagged the Void Conch during its voyage in the Astral Realm, thinking it would make a great pet for Tourmaline.

Unfortunately, the Void Conch did not adapt well to the environment of the Magus World and perished within a few centuries, leaving behind an empty shell endowed with potent spatial properties.

Tourmaline had always played with this conch as a child.

Sein was unaware of the colorful conch’s immense capacity; his life level was too low to comprehend its spatial properties.

Had he known, the revelation would have been enough to make an alchemist like him leap for joy.

Besides, even if some of the items Tourmaline presented to Sein had no practical value, they held a different kind of worth.

Sein could always spark interest among the superior aquatic races simply by revealing to the superior aquatic races that these “toys” were once Tourmaline’s childhood belongings.

Possessing vast oceanic resources, these races would likely offer substantial magicoins to acquire these items, viewing them as collectibles.

Due to his travels across parts of the South Sea and the West Sea with Tourmaline, Sein had gained a certain prestige among the superior aquatic races.

Consequently, these aquatic beings would likely trust Sein if he decided to sell Tourmaline’s gifts.

Of course, Sein had no intention of doing such.

At the same time, he was also clueless about the real value of the gifts Tourmaline had filled over two dozen pieces of his space equipment with.

If Master Lorianne, were here, she would undoubtedly tell Sein to shamelessly ask Tourmaline for more gifts.

After all, these gifts were not just resources and magicoins but also a way to clear her loan of tens of millions of magicoins and alleviate her burden.

“I always thought all dragon creatures were hoarders; I didn’t expect you to be an exception,” Sein remarked somewhat bluntly.

When communicating with Tourmaline, straightforwardness was essential because subtleties were often lost on it.

“Well, it does sting a little to hand over all my treasures to you. But we’re ‘friends’, aren’t we? Anyway, these items are just a tiny part of my collection,” Tourmaline said, snorting proudly.

That revelation forced Sein to reassess the true extent of Tourmaline’s wealth.

Out of politeness and perhaps a sense of reciprocity, Sein planned to offer Tourmaline a parting gift before he left.

However, before he could broach the subject, a massive white wave surged from the distant sea.

This was no ordinary occurrence in such calm waters.

Without waiting for Sein to ask, Tourmaline announced excitedly, “My third sister is here!”