Sovereign of the Ashes

The immense power of magic, coupled with the labor of numerous enslaved creatures, enabled the rapid construction of a magic tower nearly thirty meters tall under Selphy’s supervision.

Since she would be using this magic tower, it was built with top-tier materials.

During the Thunderfall World War, Sein was also given his own magic tower.

However, this current tower, with its cone-shaped tip emitting a unique elemental light, was clearly on another level.

Upon completion, Sein and Selphy promptly inspected the interior of the tower.

After some friendly negotiation, Selphy claimed the top three floors of the seven-story structure, while the bottom four were allocated to Sein, whose advanced experiments required more sophisticated and complex devices.

The two basement levels of the magic tower were also designated for Sein’s use.

Since their first encounter, Sein had found himself getting along well with Selphy, including during the negotiations for this tower, which was practically gifted to him.

The Divine Tower of Verdant Flame clearly had a more abundant reserve of war materials compared to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

After verifying that the construction of their magic tower had been completed, Selphy said, “Just let me know if you need any magic ingredients. I can make a request at the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame’s logistics office for you.”

“Of course, you’ll have to pay me,” she added with a sly smile.

“I don’t need any for now,” Sein quickly replied.

He was not lacking experimental equipment; everything he needed was neatly packed in his space conch.

What Sein truly needed now was... Leena, Natalya, and the others.

After spending many years infiltrating the Verdant Wilderness World, Sein found himself really missing those girls.

Reflecting on his time at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, he realized that he seldom spent time with the girls, mostly secluding himself in the laboratory, engrossed in experiments that spanned more than a decade.

It was only after leaving that he truly learned to cherish those moments.

In the past few years in the Verdant Wilderness World, Sein kept up with his experimental research without falling behind, yet he found himself missing the girls.

Images of the fox maiden and the others frequently flitted through his mind.

Sein wondered whether the lengthy body tempering experiments or perhaps his maturing character, shaped by years of experience, were making him more sentimental instead of more indifferent and aloof.

After some quiet contemplation, he concluded it could indeed be the former.

Although Sein did not trouble Selphy with requests for materials for his experiments, they had several in-depth discussions about Verdant Flame magic and the mysteries of body tempering settling into their magic tower.

All this time, Sein managed the most challenging side effects of the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique with the help of women.

In his opinion, it was better to address this issue directly rather than working around it.

Besides, an intense session always significantly enhanced his meditative focus.

By marrying Natalya, a Rank Two female knight, Sein believed he had also fully addressed his issues with his strong libido.

On every first night following his body tempering experiments, Selina and Eileen served merely as his “appetizers”, while Natalya, with her superior constitution, was his “main course”.

Sein also learned that Natalya had a “surprising appetite”.

Unlike Sein, who was under the influence of the special potions he used during his body tempering processes, Natalya was always eager and even seemed happy to accept his invitations.

During one of their sessions, Sein and Natalya forgot to activate a soundproofing barrier.

As a result, Reina, their downstairs neighbor, endured a sleepless night and struggled through her training the next day.

Natalya also noticed that these vigorous sessions boosted her motivation for her physical training regimen.

However, through research and observation, Sein later concluded that this effect was largely psychological.

Sein occasionally applied some minor techniques from his body tempering experiments on Natalya.

Once, Reina accidentally noticed a scarlet mark on the side of Natalya’s chest.

When questioned by Reina, Natalya was at a loss for words.

Her reaction only intensified Reina’s apprehension toward Sein.

Unlike Sein, Selphy adopted a “milder” approach to managing the side effects of the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique.

She opted for a potion to neutralize the excess “heat” in her body.

This potion was a commonly used neutralizer within the Verdant Flame Faction, which Selphy had simply concocted based on the original formula with minor modifications to suit her specific needs.

This neutralizer was not a closely guarded secret within the faction; although not documented in the Verdant Flame magic’s legacy crystal ball, it was widely known among the members.

“Sein, did you seriously not know about the existence of a neutralizer? How have you been countering the adverse effects of the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique before?” Selphy asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Sein could only smile wryly.

He was certain that his mentor had never mentioned any neutralizer to him.

Perhaps she was not even aware of it; after all, as a dendro-type mage, she was a complete novice when it came to the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique!

“I learned that vigorous activities or working out in a gravity training room like the knights can significantly mitigate the side effects,” Sein explained, massaging his brow.

“As for the neutralizers, I’ve indeed never used it before. Could you show me the formula?” he asked Selphy earnestly.

“Of course, it’s not a secret formula; at least not in our faction. We often share and discuss our formulas with each other,” Selphy replied with a smile.

This was the advantage of being part of a conducive learning environment. For those delving into verdant flame magic, the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame was the ideal place.

Not only was it established by Master Feylis, who pioneered verdant flame magic, but the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame also boasted the highest number of verdant flame mages. This was largely due to Feylis’ fifth and sixth apprentices, who dedicated much of their time to teaching and nurturing their own apprentices.

In comparison, the learning atmosphere for verdant flame magic at the Divine Tower of Whispering Flame and the Divine Tower of Floating Flame was significantly inferior.

The most challenging environment was at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, where Sein struggled alone as his mentor could not offer any substantial assistance.

Sein had reached his current level through sheer diligence and innate talent.

When Sein mentioned adopting a knight’s approach to body tempering, Selphy nodded in approval.

He was not the only one who thought of this; many in the Verdant Flame Faction had also expressed similar opinions.

The most enthusiastic advocate of this approach was undoubtedly Master Gregory.

His physical capabilities rivaled those of knights at the same rank, making him a unique type of mage!

This unusual combination also significantly enhanced Gregory’s combat effectiveness.

Within the Magus World, Gregory had certainly made a name for himself.

When Sein had traveled to the Marmett Union Alliance, he met one of Gregory’s acquaintances, a mage beyond Rank Four.

It could be said that Feylis had started what could be considered a new school of thought in the Magus World.