Sovereign of the Ashes

Although the social mores and attitudes of the citizens of the Magic Empire were unsettling to traditional mages like Sein, it was undeniably revered as a sacred site for spellcasters in the Magus World.

The Alveroth Empire boasted an exceptionally large number of spellcasters, which contributed to the flourishing of various spellcasting professions.

Should Sein have the opportunity to build his own divine tower in the future, he would undoubtedly choose to establish it in the Alveroth Empire.

Due to the staggering number of spellcasters there, any newly established divine tower could easily attract over a thousand full-fledged mages.

However, this would only be feasible if Sein had sufficient funds.

The survival pressure on Rank One mages in the magic empire was significantly higher than elsewhere in the Magus World.

When a Rank Four mage considered establishing a divine tower in the Alveroth Empire, the primary concern was not the location but whether they could afford the salaries of all registered mages.

Due to the excessive number of spellcasters in the Alveroth Empire, the number of Rank Four and above mages far surpassed other leading forces in the Magus World.

Yet surprisingly, the number of divine towers publicly acknowledged by the empire was fewer than three thousand.

This figure, merely double that of the Marmett Union Alliance, appeared disproportionate to its vast base of spellcasters.

This discrepancy suggested that many mages in the Alveroth Empire chose not to construct divine towers after advancing to Rank Four or higher.

Sein later also realized that while the public magic academies were open to everyone, they were not entirely free.

Graduates from these academies were obligated to serve the Alveroth Empire for about thirty years.

Moreover, mages who managed to become full-fledged mages were subject to additional stipulations.

The Alveroth Empire was widely regarded as the Magus World’s largest slaver, possessing more enslaved realms than any other top-tier power.

Alongside the Byrne Empire, it was among the most aggressive in terms of foreign wars and expansion.

This aggressive stance was necessary; without the substantial profits from interplanar warfare, the Alveroth Empire could not sustain its vast number of mages.

Should the Alveroth Empire stop participating in wars, the very foundation of this magic empire might begin to crumble.

After all, the height of its mighty magical civilization depended on using magicoins to stimulate the economy and enforce its laws, functioning like a colossal, ever-advancing war machine.

From tens of thousands of years ago, the Alveroth Empire had begun implementing population controls, becoming the only nation in the Magus World that limited the number of its lower-class citizens.

This policy prompted the question of whether the growing number of lower-ranked spellcasters was beginning to overwhelm the empire’s elite.

***

Sein had chosen a city known as Frans in the Alveroth Empire as his temporary refuge.

Although it had been a year and a half since his arrival in the empire, this top-tier force in the Magus World still baffled him somewhat.

His stay in Frans City was extended due to a breakthrough in his interplanar communication experiments with Leena.

Just last month, they had successfully completed their first long-distance barter, although the teleportation channel still imposed strict limits on the size and weight of the items exchanged.

Who could say whether it might become possible to transfer items in bulk in the future?

Early this morning, Sein was in the laboratory, sipping his tea and recovering from another night spent awake working.

The fox maiden gently massaged his shoulders to alleviate his fatigue, while Yuri meticulously tidied up the experimental table.

Sein’s laboratory included a micro-sized elemental pool, a feature provided by Frans City rather than his own invention.

Beneath the entire city, a high-power elemental pool delivered energy not just to him, but to all of Frans City.

The energy from this micro-sized pool was far more stable than that derived from energy crystals.

However, using this facility required Sein to make substantial weekly payments in magicoins to Frans City.

Sometimes, absorbed in his experiments, he would forget to pay, but the city would graciously continue to supply energy for up to a month.

If Sein failed to settle his dues within that period, the city would send personnel to collect the overdue payment plus an advance for the following month.

Failure to comply would result in the city cutting off his energy supply.

Initially, Sein struggled to adapt to the lifestyle typical of the Alveroth Empire, but gradually, he acclimated to its conveniences.

Since the fox maiden and Yuri were always busy, the responsibility of answering the door fell to the mermaid, whose primary duty was cleaning.

Frans City even offered cleaning services by magic initiates for mages, but Sein never utilized it because the mermaid managed the task well enough, often with a little help from fox maiden.

At the door stood a magic initiate, only 1.5 meters tall, his face marked by pimples. Despite appearing to be only thirteen or fourteen years old, he was already a junior initiate.

He worked as the paperboy for Frans City, delivering magic newspapers to Sein each week.

In return, Sein was required to pay a monthly fee of one magicoin for this service.

Frans City had developed all sorts of peculiar service charges. For example, its citizens were required to pay an annual fee for street lighting and air purification—though each of these fees was modest, amounting to just one magicoin per household.

Fortunately, there was no water fee, as most mages were capable of conjuring water balls themselves.

For an outsider like Sein, these small but numerous charges felt both strange and burdensome. Yet, it was a norm for the locals.

The city’s residents, primarily families of mages or knights, could manage these expenses, albeit just barely.

In this environment, it was clear why the Alveroth Empire emphasized that “money is everything”.

It was not the usual day for newspaper delivery, so Sein was surprised to see the paperboy at his door.

Outside, the freckled boy did not realize that one of the Rank One mages was observing him from inside the lab through detection via mental focus.

Visibly nervous in the presence of the beautiful mermaid, the boy shakily said, “There’s a letter for you!”

He then pulled a magic letter, faintly glowing with elemental energy, from his brown canvas bag.

The magic letter quickly reached Sein, who was taken aback that someone could deliver it here.

As he quickly opened the letter and read the contents, his demeanor visibly shifted.

“It’s time for us to leave,” Sein announced abruptly.

Seeing the grave expression on Sein’s face, Yuri nodded respectfully, though she did not fully grasp the situation.

The magic letter addressed to Sein had come from the distant Viridescent Land, specifically from House Grantt.

Apparently, the Order of the Steel Fist—of which three ranked knights from House Grantt were members—had been fighting in an interplanar war for the past fifteen years.

The letter disclosed that Sein’s father, Kelman Grantt, along with his great-grandfathers, Jeremy and Julius Grantt, had actively participated in the conflict.

However, Sein’s father had been severely wounded in the war, and his fate remained uncertain.

With this grave news, it was clear that Sein had to cut his travels short and return to Viridescent Land.

Until Sein fathered children of his own, Kelman Grantt was his closest living relative, and there was no disputing that fact.