Sovereign of the Ashes

The Gumo War, which had raged for four years and seven months after Sein’s participation, finally came to an end.

Sein returned to the Divine Tower of Dark Flame with the third batch of mages from the divine tower.

Natalya and Reina had no objection to Sein joining the Divine Tower of Dark Flame.

After all, the tower was located within the territory of the Ylli Knight Alliance.

Although it was situated on the outskirts, it was still convenient enough for the two women to travel south to visit when needed.

Over the past hundred years, Sein had taken the two women to explore various regions of the Ylli Knight Alliance. Yet, they had barely scratched the surface of what the alliance had to offer.

There were still countless other places within its vast expanse for the two to explore and sharpen their skills.

The contract that Sein signed with the Divine Tower of Dark Flame was set for a duration of two hundred years.

Initially, Sein had only planned to commit to a century.

However, the Master Dark Flame was not easy to negotiate with, and two hundred years was the absolute minimum he would accept.

Otherwise, he refused to give Sein a wisp of his precious origin flame.

Since Sein had to double his period of service, he made sure to negotiate additional rights and benefits for himself.

While the Master Dark Flame often appeared aloof and unsympathetic, Sein quickly realized that this Rank Five mage was surprisingly generous when it came to rewarding those under his wing.

From Sein’s perspective, the salary offered for the role of dean was substantial, yet the Tower Master did not so much as bat an eye.

In terms of magicoins alone, Sein stood to earn around one hundred thousand over his two-hundred-year term.

This was already an impressive sum, not to mention the additional benefits he would enjoy as dean.

These included access to the divine tower’s cutting-edge experimental equipment, which he could use free of charge, as well as the ability to purchase rare specialty materials at special prices.

***

Sein understood that his efforts would need to match the compensation he received.

The principle of equivalent exchange was a fundamental law that Magus World mages upheld, so Master Dark Flame had no concern about Sein reneging on their agreement after signing the magic contract.

Before returning to the Magus World, the Rank Five mage personally handed over the promised wisp of Origin Dark Flame to Sein.

As for the dean’s salary, which totaled nearly one hundred thousand magicoins, it was, of course, impossible to pay it all at once. Typically, such salaries were disbursed on an annual basis.

The wisp of Origin Dark Flame that the tower master gave Sein was contained in a black crystal bottle.

The bottle, crafted from an unknown material, was only about a finger thick.

The dark flame burning steadily within it was leagues beyond the embers Sein had previously collected from the battlefield.

The moment Sein laid eyes on the dark flame, his mind was irresistibly drawn to it.

Unfortunately, Sein could not immediately immerse himself in experimental research upon returning to the Magus World.

The immense workload of administrative duties for the Divine Tower of Dark Flame, which had been piling up for some time, now fell squarely on Sein’s shoulders.

***

Dark Flame and Sein shared remarkably similar temperaments—both were grand mages who rarely concerned themselves with the day-to-day affairs of their respective divine towers, preferring to delegate.

When Sein had been at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, he had often shirked his duties as a lecturer at the academy.

Now, with the responsibilities of an entire divine tower thrust upon him, he finally began to understand the immense workload and dedication of figures like Dean Archimedes and others.

Sein’s first task was to address the wave of resignations submitted by many of the registered mages at the Divine Tower of Dark Flame.

Of the three deans and seven vice deans originally at the tower, two deans and five vice deans had already submitted their resignations to Master Dark Flame and received his approval to leave.

This left only one dean and two vice deans who had chosen to remain.

All three were Rank Three grand mages and the only Rank Three mages still affiliated with the Divine Tower of Dark Flame.

When asked why they stayed, their reasons varied.

The dean explained that he intended to stay longer out of loyalty to Master Dark Flame, who had shown him great kindness in the past. He felt it was his duty to remain during such a critical time.

The two vice deans were more straightforward. They openly admitted that the relatively high salaries paid by the Divine Tower of Dark Flame were their primary reason for staying, and they had no intention of leaving until they found more lucrative opportunities elsewhere.

Regardless, the decision of the dean and the two vice deans to remain significantly lightened the burden on Sein’s shoulders.

Their presence ensured he would not have to handle all of the divine tower’s affairs entirely on his own.

Keith, the dean with short blond hair who favored white magic robe, was particularly helpful during this transition.

As per the contract Sein signed with Master Dark Flame, Sein’s position was also the dean of the divine tower academy.

The two vice deans, Bob and Weems, though less versatile than Keith, each handled specific aspects of the tower’s operations.

Bob was primarily responsible for recruiting full-fledged mages for the divine tower.

Weems, on the other hand, focused on maintaining and overseeing the public facilities within the tower and promoting the teaching curriculum.

The resignation of several deans, particularly the two deans, forced Bob and Weems to temporarily take on additional responsibilities to cover the gaps.

As for Sein, he found himself buried under the bulk of the divine tower’s administrative and operational duties, as he adjusted to his new role.

***

“Good day, Master Harris. I understand you were the 1,172nd graduate of the Divine Tower of Dark Flame and broke through to Rank One thirty-one years ago?”

Inside one of the public classrooms of the divine tower academy, Sein stood holding a crystal ball. He flipped through the information displayed within it while addressing the dark-haired mage standing before him.

“Y-Yes... that’s correct,” the young Rank One mage replied.

The familiar setting of the classroom made Harris feel a wave of nostalgia, as though he had been transported back to his days as an initiate, delving into the mysteries of truth and practicing spells over three decades ago.

“Then why have you decided to leave the divine tower?” Sein asked.

“I’m sure you’re aware that you still have a sixty-nine-year contract with the divine tower. Leaving without a valid reason means you are liable to pay 138 magicoins for the breach of contract,” he continued firmly as he pursued the issue.

For Sein, 138 magicoins was a trivial amount.

But for Harris, who had only recently been promoted to Rank One and participated in a single interplanar war, it was an overwhelming sum—enough to strip him of his entire savings.

During the recently concluded Gumo Plane War, Harris had only earned a total of 187 magicoins.

Most of that income had already been spent on magic ingredients for his experiments.

In addressing the growing number of registered mages attempting to sever ties with the divine tower, Sein and Keith adopted a clear division of roles—one played the “good guy”, while the other played the “bad guy”.

Being new to the Divine Tower of Dark Flame and unfamiliar with its registered mages, Sein naturally assumed the role of the “bad guy”.

However, he did not apply this approach indiscriminately.

The mages Sein sought to retain were chosen with care—those with active contractual obligations, those recently promoted to Rank One, or those facing personal hardships.

He made no effort to persuade the more powerful Rank Two or Rank Three mages to stay.

First, these mages could easily afford the penalties for breaking their contracts, and attempting to force them to remain could risk a fallout with the tower master.

Second, even if they were compelled to stay, their inevitable resentment would disrupt the academy’s operations and make Sein’s job far more challenging.

It was far better to let them go willingly than to risk future conflicts.

Retaining less-experienced Rank One mages was a strategic decision.

After all, the academy needed an adequate number of Rank One mages to handle teaching responsibilities and ensure its continued development.

About five minutes later, Harris exited the classroom with a troubled look on his face.

With a resigned sigh, he headed toward the upper floors of the divine tower, where his laboratory was located.

Sein calmly followed him out of the classroom, crossing out Harris’ name in the crystal ball.

“Next... Master Jenny, huh?” Sein murmured.