Sovereign of the Ashes

The skeletal dragon was the last to leave, bestowing gifts upon Sein and the others before its departure.

It might have seemed overly optimistic to expect a stingy, treasure-hoarding dragon like Sanchez to give lavish gifts.

The gifts they received from Sanchez—soul crystals, soul essences, and various necromantic materials—were of little value to an undead creature like itself.

However, the sheer quantity of these items made them unexpectedly generous gifts.

The combined value of the soul crystals and necromantic materials alone matched, if not surpassed, the total gains Sein’s group had harvested from their explorations in the subspace realm.

Thanks to these resources, Angreas’ overall gains were substantial.

Had he not joined Sein and Leena, Angreas would never have been able to gather such abundant resources on his solo adventures into these secret subspaces.

Sein and Leena managed to harvest even more!

Thanks to the unique branding applied to the souls of all undead creatures, Leena could now summon these beings from the Undead World with priority and at a reduced cost.

Sanchez, along with the Rank One undead creatures under its command, were invaluable allies.

To establish a solid presence in Blackhaven, Leena needed more than just the backing of Master Fareena and the Black Tower Master of Cinderbones.

One could only truly establish themselves through their strength.

It was also essential for Leena to demonstrate her formidable strength and potential to ensure continual support from the Black Tower Master of Cinderbones.

Before plunging headfirst into the portal gate, Sanchez snapped off the tips of its three bony fingers and handed them to Sein, Leena, and Angreas.

It explained that they could be used to contact it and facilitate its summoning.

Using a part of the extraplanar creature was the most common method for a summoning ritual.

Typically, only extraplanar creatures on good terms with their summoners in the Magus World would be generous enough to share a piece of themselves, given the inherent risks.

If these pieces were to fall into the wrong hands, the creatures could be subjected to curses or other malicious practices, causing them considerable suffering.

Sanchez trusted that these three young Rank One mages from the Magus World would treat it well, given the non-hostile relationship between the Magus Civilization and the Undead World.

“It seems like that guy doesn’t realize that it’ll be marked with a special brand while crossing the spatial passage. We don’t even need this thing to summon it. The black crystal alone is enough,” Sein remarked to Leena, who was leaning weakly against him.

Leena nodded and murmured, “A total of 21,378 undead creatures have passed through the spatial passage.”

“Isn’t the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring newly established? Perhaps the next time you and your mentor wage an interplanar war, you could amass a sizable undead force,” she suggested with a weak chuckle.

“I’ll introduce you to my mentor when the time comes,” Sein responded quickly, clearly understanding Leena’s intentions.

A small smile appeared on Leena’s face as she nuzzled against Sein’s shoulder.

Perhaps due to the excessive strain, Leena had reverted to her teenage form after Sanchez passed through the spatial passage.

Recovering from mental focus strain was more challenging than mere mana depletion.

Mana could be swiftly replenished with potions. Although potions could also aid in restoring focus, this process was not as straightforward.

In severe cases, overexertion of focus could even inflict permanent damage on a mage.

***

Inside the spatial passage leading to the Undead World, Sanchez let out a deep sigh of relief after the portal gate snapped shut behind it.

Despite its seemingly silly behavior in the graveyard, Sanchez was actually a skeletal dragon with a sharp intellect that had lived for eons.

Having once served as a mount for a demigod-level mage for thousands of years, it had absorbed much of its master’s wisdom.

It scratched at its skull with its huge, sharp bony fingers, contemplating a discovery.

Deep within its soul, it had found a dim and well-hidden mark—a remnant undoubtedly left by the cunning old mage named Peano.

“Ugh, that old man is still causing me trouble even in death. Forget it, I’ll treat this as assisting his juniors on his behalf.

“But what’s the deal with that subspace realm? The material world beyond it has an elemental concentration higher than both the Undead World and the Magus World!

“Even though I was tricked by that old man into guarding the graveyard for six thousand years, I gained substantial benefits.

“The energy feedback alone surpasses anything I gleaned from six thousand years of slumbering in the Undead World, sparking a transformative change in my powers.

“Could this be... the demigod realm? Am I nearing the realm that old man once reached?”

Sanchez’s voice echoed through the spatial passage.

***

After being sustained for more than five days, the subspace realm began to close.

A spatial vortex appeared in the sky, signaling to Sein and the other trialists that it was time to leave.

While some could choose to stay, doing so meant remaining in this subspace indefinitely—perhaps until the Knight Continent reopened it in another thousand years.

Sein, Leena, and Angreas were the first to exit the subspace realm.

Upon their return to the Knight Continent’s trial zone, they were immediately enveloped by the warm and comforting sensation of its rich elemental energy.

Even without miraculous encounters or heavenly treasures, merely spending a year or two training and meditating diligently in the trial zone could yield benefits akin to centuries of hard work in the outside world.

In fact, the rich concentration of elemental energy was the true treasure of the Magus World, embodying the legacy of its civilization.

It was no surprise that the Magus World consistently produced geniuses. Every ten thousand years, it saw the emergence of exceptional leaders and innovators.

With such a development system, how could any ordinary civilization, large or medium, compete with the Magus World?

The knights and mages emerging from the subspace all wore expressions of satisfaction—especially the knights, whose gains seemed particularly substantial.

Through their quiet exchanges, Sein learned that the manor indeed belonged to a demigod-level mage named Peano.

One of the mages had even acquired a copy of Peano’s magic notes.

As the subspace realm closed, a small bazaar sprang up in a jungle clearing.

Those who had just completed their exploration of the subspace realm traded items they had acquired there and from the past three years on the Knight Continent.

Sein and Leena browsed the modest bazaar, purchasing some rare magic ingredients they had not seen before, though they chose not to sell anything.

After browsing all the stalls, they resumed their journey through the Knight Continent.

As expected, Angreas declined Sein’s suggestion to travel together, opting instead to continue his solo exploration of the Knight Continent.

“I’ll stop third-wheeling both of you now. We can easily keep in touch through our crystal balls anyway,” Angreas said with a smile.