Sovereign of the Ashes

Reina came to see Sein today, not only to express her gratitude but also to discuss another matter.

“I heard you’re planning to start traveling soon,” Reina began, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. “I’d like to come with you.”

“Honestly, I have never ventured out of the area around the Order of the Steel Fist before,” she admitted.

Reina, who had once struggled with a deeply hidden inferiority complex due to her obesity, was an unusual recluse among the knights.

Even Natalya occasionally ventured out for fresh air or visited a certain magic beast forest to spar with a super-ranked magic beast.

Reina, however, holed herself up in her house for extended periods, much like a mage.

Aside from cooking, she spent most of her time in the training room, working out to blow off steam.

Her lifestyle was arguably even more reclusive than Sein’s.

At least Sein balanced his time between teaching, fulfilling tasks for the divine tower, conducting experiments, and occasionally spending time with the women.

Reina’s routine was simpler and far more extreme than mages.

Despite her young age, Rank Three was already within Reina’s reach, and she could even hold her own against opponents a rank above her.

Her achievements were undeniably a result of her lifestyle.

Eileen had once jokingly referred to “Sein’s family” as a group of lunatics.

While Reina was not officially part of the group, her frequent appearances in and around Sein’s laboratory earned her an honorary spot—and she certainly fit Eileen’s image of a lunatic.

Sein pinched the bridge of his nose at Reina’s request, taking a moment to consider.

Natalya had returned home not long ago, and at present, Reina was the only female knight within the divine tower actively cooperating with him on his body-tempering research.

Natalya had also mentioned her desire to accompany him on his travels, but she had yet to receive an answer.

Traveling was not a casual excursion or a leisurely trip. If Sein had been the type to treat it as such, he would not have achieved so much at such a young age.

This journey had been planned as a solo endeavor from the start.

Beyond Yuri and the fox maiden, who both possessed considerable combat power, Sein had no intention of bringing anyone else along—not even the mermaid and the other enslaved creatures in his laboratory.

His reason for including the fox maiden was only because he planned to visit the Beastmen World during this journey.

He had been curious about this large world for a long time. Among the large-sized planes in the alliance, it had one of the lowest entry fees.

Even the cost of living in the Beastmen World was significantly lower than in other large-sized planes, making it a popular choice for young knights and mages like Sein as their first major plane to visit.

Sein’s silence did not last long; he was not one to be indecisive.

Seeing the expectation in Reina’s hopeful eyes, he nodded.

“All right then, we’ll go together. You can start packing—we’ll be departing soon,” he said.

Reina’s round, chubby face lit up with a broad grin.She was the type of person who, if treated well, would give her all in return.

After years of working together and fighting alongside each other in multiple interplanar wars, Sein had no doubt that Reina was someone who would shield him from harm in times of crisis.

With her immense strength and passive evolutionary muscle power, taking her along on his travels might not be a bad idea after all.

Having settled things with Reina, Sein let out a soft sigh, shook his head, and returned to his laboratory to continue his experiments.

If Reina managed to break through her limitations and advance to Rank Three during this journey, her passive evolutionary traits and exceptional strength meant she would likely surpass an average Rank Three Sky Knight in physical power, even as a newly promoted knight.

The thought suddenly filled Sein with renewed research motivation.

He found himself wishing that Reina would achieve her breakthrough soon—so he could study and analyze her newfound strength in detail.

***

Sein’s departure for his travels was drawing near, but he had not anticipated that someone else would leave before him.

Archimedes, the esteemed old dean of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, who had been the pillar of the academy since its inception, was leaving.

The old dean did not leave alone; he was accompanied by his group of apprentices and grand apprentices.

Archimedes had dedicated his life as a true academy mage, personally mentoring dozens of apprentices, with his grand-apprentices now numbering well over a hundred.

To have taught and mentored a successful apprentice who achieved Rank Four and established his own divine tower was an extraordinary accomplishment.

Though the old dean himself was only a Rank Three grand mage, his exceptional teaching ability and vast experience were beyond dispute.

His departure was an undeniable loss for the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Archimedes’ faction was spread across many regions of the Magus World, but only four of his apprentices and a dozen or so grand apprentices had been with him at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

In truth, Archimedes had spent only around three centuries at the divine tower. For him, this was merely a chapter in his nine-thousand-year-long life.

Among those leaving with the old dean was Sein’s friend, Grimm.

He had recently been promoted to Rank Two following the conclusion of the Wild Star Domain War.

To reach Rank Two at his age marked him as a true genius.

Grimm was the third apprentice taken by Dean Archimedes during his time at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

The dean’s fourth apprentice here was a female initiate who had placed fifth in the individual score rankings during a previous Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War.

On the day of his departure, Lorianne personally arrived at the floating port outside the Divine Tower, accompanied by a group of mages, including Sein.

Thanks to Archimedes’ good nature and his lifelong dedication to nurturing younger generations, nearly two-thirds of the full-fledged mages from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring gathered at the port to bid him farewell.

Dean Archimedes was truly a Rank Three grand mage of exceptional integrity and character. Had this not been the case, his prestige within the divine tower’s network could have easily prompted many full-fledged mages to “jump ship” and follow him.

Had that happened, Lorianne might have found herself in significant trouble.

The fact that Archimedes left with only his apprentices and grand-apprentices spoke volumes about his professionalism and ethical conduct.

The situation awaiting Archimedes at his apprentice’s newly established divine tower was far from ideal.

It was likely much less favorable than what Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had faced during its inception.

When the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring was founded, it received considerable covert support from the divine towers of Verdant Flame, Whispering Flame, and Floating Flame.

However, this was not the case for Archimedes’ apprentice.

Unlike Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, his apprentice’s divine tower lacked the backing of a powerful Rank Six mentor or a network of equally formidable seniors.

Its path to development was bound to be even more arduous than the challenges faced by Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Through Grimm, Sein learned the name of the new tower—the Divine Tower of Crimson Blaze, founded by a Rank Four Pyromancer.