Sovereign of the Ashes

The Windpost Fortress was strategically situated, and accessible from all directions.

To the east were the endless plains and the hinterlands of the Magus World, with Sky City in that direction.

To the north of Windpost Fortress was the magic empire of Alveroth.

The Capiche Business Alliance was situated northeast of Windpost Fortress.

Thanks to the Magus Continent’s advanced teleportation arrays and airships, traveling between these locations was quite manageable.

The Ylli Knight Alliance lay to the south of Windpost Fortress, and the Pyro Secret Society was to the southeast.

Thus, when Sein arrived at Windpost Fortress, he was actually not far from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Had he headed directly for the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Sein could have returned in no more than four years, given his pace.

However, Sein had no plans to return directly to the Viridescent Land.

Instead, he intended to travel north from Windpost Fortress, then visit the magic empire, the Capiche Business Alliance, Sky City, and others in a sweeping arc that would eventually bring him within the territory of the Pyro Secret Society and back to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Upon reaching Sky City, Sein could also use their teleportation array to reach the Northern Witches Council, which had long piqued his interest.

The Northern Witches Council was currently the most complete force led by the magi of the Magus World.

This plane, known as the “Magus World” since time immemorial, had continuously served as a reminder that the magi were the forebears of all spellcasting professions.

Sein and Leena, though primarily a pyromancer and umbramancer respectively, had studied a broad range of subjects.

Their high achievements and deep academic knowledge in various fields could justifiably earn them the title of a magus.

A Magus was a seeker of truth who transcended the confines of their profession, driven by a curiosity to embrace all knowledge.

The magi were mostly associated with the terms “ancient” and “erudite”, reflecting their profound intellectual heritage.

However, in recent times, the profession of the magi had declined, while other spellcasting professions flourished.

This shift suggests that the magi might have fallen out of step with contemporary trends.

Despite this, due to the spellcasters’ tradition of honoring their mentors and various historical factors, the plane continued to be known as the “Magus World”—a name unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

“Each spellcasting profession carries a distinct label, and for a magus, beyond their erudition, it would undoubtedly be expertise in the ‘occult arts’. I should visit that place if time allows,” Sein murmured to himself, running his thumb over the Northern Witches Council’s symbol etched on the magic map.

***

After a brief stop at Windpost Fortress, Sein headed north as planned.

The content of the magic letters he sent to House Grantt and the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring were merely brief updates of his travels over the years and to let his family and Lorianne know that he was safe.

For his journey northward to the Alveroth Empire, Sein chose an impressive mode of transport—a Color Feathered Hawk Crane with a wingspan of nearly seven meters.

This was a large type of mount rented from Windpost Fortress.

This creature was popular among the knights and mages of the surrounding regions due to its size, docility, strong flight endurance, and ability to comprehend human speech.

“The Color Feathered Hawk-Crane will take you to Aubrey, the border city of the Alveroth Empire. From there, you can use the teleportation array to venture deeper into the magic empire. It’s less costly and fairly swift,” explained the Rank One Knight of Windpost Fortress, who oversaw the rentals.

Two months later, Sein arrived in Alveroth Empire.

As a top-tier force in the Magus World, the magic empire made a profound impression on Sein, far surpassing his experiences in the Marmett Union Alliance, Steel City, and Western Archipelago.

The reason was its remarkable prosperity and the near-perfect development of its magical civilization.

In every city and street of the Alveroth Empire, Sein witnessed the ubiquitous use of elemental energies.

Unlike other parts of the Magus World, where magic power remained in the hands of a select few, the Alveroth Empire democratized magic almost completely—normal civilians enjoyed access to magic, too!

From the magic streetlights illuminating the cities, the alchemy-powered buses, and the elemental waterwheels irrigating the fields with water vapor, the Alveroth Empire had harnessed magic to its fullest extent.

Sein learned that each year, the empire conducted a qualification test for school-age children.

Any child scoring above 10 points earned the right to attend one of the empire’s public magic academies.

What astonished Sein even more was the affordability of these academies. The enrollment fees were so minimal that even families of commoners could easily manage them.

This widespread enthusiasm for magic had elevated the Alveroth Empire’s national power to staggering levels.

In fact, it was said that nearly forty percent of all spellcasters in the Magus World resided in the Alveroth Empire, truly justifying its title as the “magic empire”.

Upon reaching the magic empire, Sein found himself curious about another major power in the Magus World—the Byrne Empire.

Known as the “Knight Empire”, it had long rivaled the Alveroth Empire for the title of the strongest empire of the Magus World.

To Sein, the Alveroth Empire was already a force more powerful than he could have imagined. He could not help but wonder just how formidable the Byrne Empire might be.

“How does Alveroth Empire manage to provide magic education to hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of civilians? Where do they get all the resources to be capable of such? And doesn’t the prevalence of so many spellcasters disrupt the traditional functioning and governance of the empire?” Sein mused.

With these questions fueling his curiosity, Sein pressed northward.

As he approached the capital of the Alveroth Empire, he meticulously observed his surroundings, seeking answers to the enigmas that puzzled him.

He believed that there must be a logical and explicable reason behind every extraordinary phenomenon.

After spending six months traversing the Alveroth Empire, Sein’s initial doubts were gradually dispelled.

While the proportion of mages in the empire was astonishingly high, he noted an abundance of magic initiates and a comparative scarcity of resources relative to other regions in the Magus World.

In the Alveroth Empire, it was primarily commoners with no prestigious background who attended the empire’s public magic academies.

In contrast, the more capable nobles and offspring from prestigious magic families typically enrolled in private academies at the divine towers.

The empire discouraged the use of supplementary potions like Laurent Water.

Most magic initiates had to rely solely on their innate talents and capabilities when advancing to full-fledged mages.

Of course, Laurent Water and similar potions were still available for purchase, but their exorbitant cost placed them beyond the reach of the average person.

As a result, this situation fostered a high level of “materialism” within the empire.

From mages to commoners, there was a pervasive eagerness to accumulate “magicoins”.

Sein found this focus on material wealth unsettling.

He remained committed to the traditional values of “knowledge and intelligence”, believing that true knowledge was the cornerstone for a spellcaster’s continuous transformation and growth, with money and other external resources serving merely supplementary roles.

However, within the magic empire, mages like Sein, who maintained a calm and clear perspective, were rare—especially among civilian mages.

Many were ensnared by the financial demands imposed by the empire’s annual levies.

Struggling to cover even their basic research expenses, these lower-tier mages found it nearly impossible to consider anything beyond basic survival.