Sovereign of the Ashes

Although Sein had taught before, the difference between teaching as a Rank One mage and doing so as a peak demigod was like night and day.

There was a time when he had disliked teaching initiates. He believed it was a waste of time—time he could have spent progressing his research.

But now that many of his experimental projects had reached the limits of what his current stage allowed, returning to those foundational basics gave him a completely new perspective.

“No wonder Master Lorianne insisted I take on more classes at the divine tower academy. So this is what she meant,” Sein murmured to himself.

Today, he was teaching his specialty—pyro-elemental arcana. Several of his other courses also touched on different aspects of pyro-based theory.

Inside the spacious public classroom, over two hundred initiates were seated. Surprisingly, there were also several full-fledged mages in attendance.

With Sein’s current level, he was definitely qualified to teach them.

Among the audience were a few familiar faces—an old acquaintance, and none other than Jessica, who had just chewed him out in front of the academy building earlier.

Jessica seemed to have come specifically to observe the lesson. As the dean, it was her duty to assess the teaching quality of every mage in the academy.

The presence of higher-ranking listeners did not bother Sein in the slightest.

In fact, he had structured the class to speak to two audiences at once.

The first group was the initiates, who were absorbing his explanations of basic elemental theory. They were explained with such clarity and simplicity that only someone with truly profound knowledge could deliver them that way.

While the initiates were busy scribbling down the notes, the second group—the Rank One mages and above—focused on the subtler insights Sein wove into the gaps between topics.

Those who had done significant research in pyro-elemental theory were already frowning as they mulled over the conjectures and advanced information Sein had shared.

This included Jessica.

Each lesson ran about one hundred Magus World sandglasses in length.[1]

When the session ended, the room immediately erupted into a soft hum of voices. Some initiates hurried off to their next class, while others gathered in small groups to discuss one of the theories Sein had touched upon during the lesson.

Sein followed the flow of students and stepped out of the room.

One listener caught up with him as he exited.

“Grandpa Dean, you’re finally back!” she chirped happily, her voice full of fond familiarity.

It was Gloria—the child Sein had personally taught and looked after back when he served as dean of the Divine Tower of Dark Flame.

It had been many years since he had last seen her, and she had grown into a Rank Two mage now.

Still, her aura lacked the weight of someone who had stabilized at that rank. She must have only broken through recently.

At first, she had not been sure it was Sein as his aura had been carefully concealed. Only after he released a small hint of it did recognition dawn across her face, and her expression lit up with joy.

“Yes, I did not expect you really came to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring,” Sein said. “What about your father? How has he been these past few years?”

When Sein had left the Divine Tower of Dark Flame back then, Gloria had said she would come find him at Verdant Spring someday. He had not thought the girl would actually follow through, but here she was.

“He’s been busy with an experiment since last month. I don’t think he knows you’re back yet,” Gloria replied.

Her father, also a Rank Two mage, was well-liked in the tower. The two of them had settled in nicely at Verdant Spring.

Thanks to her old connection with Sein, Gloria had also become close with Selina and the others.

During her early years at the tower, Selina had looked out for her a lot.

Sein and Gloria only chatted for a short while before Jessica, who had just come out of the classroom behind them, approached and interrupted them.

“Master Sein. During your lecture, you mentioned that pyro elemental energy might affect the user’s internal organs and emotional state. Can you elaborate on that?” Jessica asked, her tone a little urgent.

Gloria covered her mouth in surprise, casting a curious glance at the dean.

Isn’t Dean Jessica a Dendromancer? Why is she asking about pyro elemental theory?

Sein, however, was not surprised in the slightest. Thanks to the Faceless Mask, he already knew quite a bit about her.

In addition to the concealed special devices hidden underneath her clothes, Sein had also picked up on several strange anomalies within her body.

Sein turned to her and said, “Master Jessica, it seems like you’re dealing with a certain problem.”

Jessica did not dare to raise her head to meet his eyes.

The confidence Sein exuded while wearing the mask gave her the uncanny feeling that all of her secrets had already been exposed.

Before she could say anything, Sein continued, “If you want to solve your issue, come see me at the top floor of the divine tower. I’m curious about your condition as well.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Jessica remained rooted to the spot, her face pale. Next to her, Gloria looked on in confusion.

***

Jessica never came to see Sein, which left him feeling just a little disappointed as he thought about it between his experiments.

Then again, if Jessica did show up, she would risk exposing whatever secret she was hiding.

And with her pride, there was no way she would reveal something like that just because of a few words.

It was not as if it was a life-threatening issue anyway—at worst, it only awakened a certain “kink” in her.

And really, most full-fledged mages had a quirk or two.

Jessica’s problem was hardly anything serious.

***

Aside from teaching at the Divine Tower Academy, Sein also made time to visit House Grantt during his free time.

He had known for a while now that his great-grandfather, Jeremy, had passed away.

Still, House Grantt had developed quite well over the years.

The founder, Julius, had already advanced to Rank Three, and his mount—the Reverse Winged Lion King—was stuck at its breakthrough to Rank Three.

Sein’s father, Kelman, remained the only Rank Two knight in the family for now, but House Grantt now had seven Rank One knights. One of them was already on the verge of a breakthrough to Rank Two.

To Sein’s surprise, the family even had a Rank One mage now. The child had already become a registered mage at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Sein had already been back at Verdant Spring for a while, but no one had mentioned it to him.

As for the Reverse Winged Lion King, that lazy beast did not seem to be making any effort to progress at all.

When Sein arrived at House Grantt, the lion was stretched out on the castle’s wide lawn, sunbathing without a care in the world.

1. Translator’s notes: 100 sandglasses is 100 minutes, so each lesson lasted an hour and forty minutes. ☜