Sovereign of the Ashes

Sometimes, good intentions yield unexpected results—not necessarily zeal, but rather insatiable greed and invasive scrutiny.

Sein’s mentor, Morsidor, excelled in many areas, yet his “excessive kindness” as a black mage was his downfall.

“I will avenge my mentor’s death,” Sein declared in a dangerously low voice.

Immediately afterward, dozens of red and green Verdant Flame Eyes vividly manifested amidst the verdant flame storm behind him and opened.

Daelis, a Rank One black mage, had grown increasingly deformed and grotesque. In stark contrast, Sein, who was taller and infused with stronger elemental energy, appeared ever more formidable.

Sein’s signature spell, Solar Eye, had evolved with him from his early days as a magic initiate.

As he advanced to a Rank One mage, it developed into the formidable Verdant Flame Eye.

Over time, Sein had continuously enhanced and refined this magic spell.

Now, armed with his verdant flame elemental energy and wisdom, the destructive power of Sein’s Verdant Flame Eye spell was formidable enough to threaten even Rank Two creatures.

Furthermore, its power was doubled by the Verdant Flame Eye Mask.

The sky, dense with the swirling verdant flame elemental eyes, was enough to instill terror in any Rank One creature.

“Is this truly the power that a Rank One mage could achieve?” Liliana wondered aloud, stunned as she watched from a distance.

Although Liliana was herself a Rank One mage, the sheer magnitude of Sein’s display made her own magic powers seem laughably inadequate.

Under the influence of two potent potions, Daelis, though strengthened, seemed insignificant beneath the overwhelming power of Sein’s verdant flames.

How could ordinary Rank One mages hope to compete against such a formidable presence?

These were the true prodigies; the elite mages of the Magus World.

Liliana, once incredibly proud of her prowess when she was an initiate, now seemed a mere joke in front of Sein.

Even if he’s a genius, it’s impossible for someone his age to achieve such heights so quickly, teetering on the edge of promotion to Rank Two!

Could he have gone to the Knight Continent? Now that I think about it, he’s been missing for the past twenty years. Zorro mentioned he had headed to the southern part of the Western Archipelago.

The question is... how did he even obtain the qualification for the Knight Continent’s trial in the first place?

Martin wondered with a mix of shock and frustration.

Unfortunately, no one could answer his question.

The duel between Daelis and Sein commenced swiftly and escalated to peak intensity in mere moments.

The potent and dense rays of the Verdant Flame Eye swiftly penetrated Daelis’ multilayered elemental shields, reducing them to a sieve almost instantly.

With its incredible penetrating power, dense concentration, and ultra-fast firing rate, the Verdant Flame Eye spell proved to be an exceptional weapon in its rank, especially after being enhanced by the Verdant Flame Eye Mask.

Daelis was primarily skilled in hydro elemental spells and one of its derivatives—acid magic.

She was also a black mage once hailed as a genius, evident by her early promotion to full-fledged mage.

Daelis was considerably younger than Sein’s mentor, Morsidor, and had not yet surpassed five hundred years of age.

Her deteriorated appearance was solely due to Gandra who controlled and tortured her soul.

In the Magus World, a thousand years was only the theoretical lifespan of Rank One mages.

Some Rank One mages extended their lives beyond this limit using special methods.

Conversely, due to various unforeseen circumstances, some lived far shorter than their expected lifespan.

Daelis fell into the latter category. Even if Sein did not come to avenge his mentor, she would be fortunate to reach seven hundred years given her tormented state.

In other words, Sein’s actions were merely hastening her “liberation”...

The potent rays of the Verdant Flame Eye punctured the elemental shields surrounding Daelis, rendering her enlarged form virtually defenseless at that critical moment.

Black, foul-smelling blood oozed from the holes riddled across her body.

A sea serpent, conjured from special hydro elemental energy, materialized in the air. Emitting a silent roar, it charged directly at Sein.

Daelis’ spells remained relatively conventional, unlike Sein, who possessed a variety of tricks up his sleeve.

The menacing sea serpent was half vaporized by the verdant flame wave emanating from Sein’s body before it could even reach him.

This starkly illustrated why even a single life level difference in the Astral Realm could result in such a vast disparity in power.

Sein’s verdant flame body bore similar characteristics to the elemental bodies of Rank Two mages.

While not a true elemental body, it was still highly resilient against the elemental strikes of Rank One mages.

The rising water vapor was a reflection of the disparity in power between the two combatants.

The white wall of vapor seemed to draw a clear line between Daelis and Sein.

Sein stood aloft, gazing down at Daelis coldly.

Below him, Daelis looked up, her face twisted with resentment.

“Corrosive acid magic, enhanced with rare toxins?” Sein mused aloud, touching the rising wall of white vapor, drawing a look of disbelief from Daelis.

The potent toxin was capable of incapacitating a formidable ranked magic beast in Daelis’ laboratory.

Daelis, limited by her perspective, could not grasp why Sein seemed immune to it.

However, Sein could see a thin, glaze-like epidermal layer on his skin.

Observing the glossy sheen of this layer, Sein was reminded of the “verdant glaze”, a Rank B resource he had discovered in the Viridian Venom Flame World.

This material, the most precious resource discovered there, was exclusively owned by the Verdant Flame Faction.

The conflict in the Viridian Venom Flame World did not erupt because Anridar the Venom Flame Demon King, was a treacherous manipulator who secretly aligned itself with the Neisse Civilization.

Instead, it was sparked by this particular resource.

To this day, Sein possessed an impressive stockpile of verdant glaze.

He had acquired some from the battlefield in the Viridian Venom Flame World, and more was gifted to him by the Grandmaster Verdant Flame.

Grandmaster Feylis had promised that these verdant glazes would be supplied indefinitely to the verdant flame magic users in their faction.

Sein’s success with the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique over just a few decades could be attributed not only to his own research and diligence but also to the unique properties of the verdant glaze.

The glaze visible on his skin was a symbol of the success of Sein’s body tempering efforts.

Some powerful knights, having tempered their bodies to extremes, could grapple with magic beasts and their skin was as tough as the scaled armor of these creatures.

Sein’s tempering methods, however, were subtler and less crude than those of the knights.

As a result, his skin remained remarkably smooth, earning him the nickname “pretty boy” from a knight in the black market.

Nevertheless, Sein could beat that burly knight in arm wrestling.

The battle above the sea raged on.

As Daelis’ magic corroded his skin, Sein suddenly gained new insights about the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique.