Sovereign of the Ashes

An intense session with Natalya helped Sein vent his pent-up frustration from days of relentless experimentation.

Sein had to admit that among all the women he had encountered thus far, only Natalya could match his vigor between the sheets.

This was one of the drawbacks of body tempering.

While Sein’s constitution had been bolstered to an exaggerated extent, surpassing even his focus and mana levels, this enhancement brought its own set of challenges for a spellcaster like him—one of which was a heightened libido.

Given this, even if the arranged marriage with Natalya never happened, Sein would still need to find a partner with an outstanding constitution.

If he could not find a woman who met this criterion, then he might have to address this quality issue with quantity.

After their intense “workout”, Sein was still brimming with energy, whereas Natalya was utterly spent, despite her superior constitution. This was all because of the traditional physical advantages men often had over women.

Then again, this could also be due to a recent “experimental mishap”. Before this mishap, Natalya had longer endurance.

“I’ll let you off this time. Do not interrupt my experiments next time!” Sein warned after using a Water Ball spell to cleanse himself.

Once done, he delivered a hard smack on Natalya’s rear.

Exhausted and unable to move, Natalya could only muster a weak grunt from the floor. Sein was unsure if she had even comprehended his warning.

Shaking his head, he left the laboratory.

Selina came over, offering him a potion. Her cheeks were tinged with an unusual flush as she said, “Lunch is ready.”

“Come on, let’s eat together,” Sein beckoned, leading Selina downstairs.

***

After discovering the mystical grayish-white fire, Sein’s research interests gradually took a detour toward this enigmatic element.

His research approach was rather sporadic due to his rigorous and meticulous daily research routine.

After setting high standards for himself in body tempering, alchemy, and apothecary, Sein sought novel research avenues to fuel his passion for discovery.

He had pored over the “Da Vinci Whispers” gifted by Master Cipher countless times.

The tome was considerably thick, so Sein suspected he might have missed some crucial details.

“Could it be sonido elemental magic? But I’ve never ventured into this elemental system before,” he mused.

“I’ll head to the divine tower’s library. If I can’t find any materials on it, I can always visit Master Lorianne’s private library or consult her directly,” Sein decided aloud.

Without hesitation, he left the top floor of the divine tower and flew toward the library.

Sadly, the collection of materials for full-fledged mages in the library at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring did not match up to those of other Divine Towers.

This was because those books were quite expensive due to strict intellectual property rights upheld by Magus World mages.

However, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring boasted an impressive collection of spellbooks for magic initiates.

This was largely thanks to Lorianne’s early contributions.

She always wished to foster an excellent learning environment, aiming to continuously supply the divine tower with new talents.

Sein went directly to the area housing sonido magic for full-fledged mages.

As expected, the selection was sparse, with even fewer titles linking sonido magic to occult arts.

In this section, Sein only managed to find two relevant books, neither of which matched the obscurity or depth of Master Cipher’s gift.

These were more introductory texts, blending basic occult knowledge with sonido principles.

Nevertheless, Sein was intrigued by the content and ended up paying a considerable sum of magicoins to borrow these two books.

He even ventured into the initiate section in the library to select a few more books to take back to his quarters.

In the realm of magic, there was no hierarchy of truths.

Even the elementary teachings aimed at initiates could spark inspiration in a Rank Two mage like Sein.

Unfortunately, many of his peers in the divine tower did not share this perspective.

After advancing to higher ranks, they often scorned the simpler magical principles.

Yet, the deepest truths often resided within the simplest knowledge. This was a piece of advice Lorianne once imparted to Sein, echoing the teachings of Master Feylis.

Knowledge transmission involved not only the sharing of specific truths and mysteries but also the passing down of study methods and world perspectives.

***

Sein, who had just returned to the top floor of the divine tower with a stack of spell books, was settling in when his mentor called for him.

It had been five years since Lorianne last summoned Sein.

Sein’s schedule was usually fully packed with experiments and various research, leaving him barely enough time to study the mystical flame.

Thus, to him, it seemed as though hardly any time had passed since his last meeting with his mentor.

“The construction of the secret spatial channel, designed for your infiltration into Verdant Wilderness World, proceeded more smoothly than I anticipated,” Lorianne began.

“The inhabitants of that world are oblivious to the looming crisis. The demigod-level plant sovereign, Green Spikefur King, is prepared to receive us. When the time comes, we will serve as plant warlords under its command,” she explained.

“We?” Sein echoed in surprise.

“Yes, have you already forgotten that I’m sending a strand of my focus to accompany you too?”

“Go prepare quickly. We’ll move out in three months!” Lorianne said, giving Sein a slap on the shoulder.

“It’s about time we issue the war mobilization order at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring. The centaurs and aquatic races will be fighting with us this time too,” she added.

“Master Lorianne, how many Rank Four creatures are there in Verdant Wilderness World?” Sein could not help but ask.

Lorianne glanced at Sein and replied, “As of now, there’s only one Rank Four creature but the guardian of this plane is more of a trouble.”

“Despite being only a Rank Three creature, the enhancement from the planar law makes it a formidable opponent, not easily overpowered even by a demigod,” Lorianne remarked, her gaze drifting toward the northern Jewel Sea where Tourmaline slumbered.

Of course, there was no need to draw on Tourmaline’s power this time.

Lorianne was somewhat confident she could persuade the three Sea Kings, slumbering at the bottom of the Jewel Sea, to join the war.

“I’ll return and make preparations then. One more thing though, I’ve been having a bit of trouble lately with occult arts and sonido magic...” Sein said, looking at his mentor.

“Don’t look at me—I haven’t studied either of them,” Lorianne replied, raising her hands in the air.