Sovereign of the Ashes

Even if Sein had been able to bring Lorianne along to the recently concluded Pyreling World War, she would not have had the time to go.

Lately, Lorianne had been pouring most of her energy into researching the Golden Apple Potion.

After all this time, she had finally made some progress.

“Oh? What kind of gift?” she asked curiously.

Over the years, Sein had brought her plenty of surprises and scares.

By now, she had developed a strong immunity to such things. She did not even bother to look up when she spoke, and just continued working on the material in her hands.

Sein chuckled and replied, “It’s a living Rank Four pyro elemental plant specimen. It’s got unique flame laws, and since it’s a plant creature, both of us can make use of it.”

With that, he summoned a light screen from his hand, revealing Blue Lotus in its confined state.

This time, Lorianne finally stopped what she was doing.

She glanced up with interest at the Rank Four specimen he was showing her, then let out a sigh. “I wonder when you’ll suddenly surpass me, brat.”

In terms of strength, Sein had already surpassed her.

With the Faceless Mask, he could even hold his own against a Rank Five creature for a short time. The recent Pyreling World War had been proof enough of that.

But when it came to foundational knowledge across various disciplines, Sein still lagged behind her, especially in botany, lifeology, and apothecary, where Lorianne excelled.

Sein had dabbled in apothecary himself, but after consuming a few potions his mentor had given him, he had to admit that his mentor was truly an expert.

At least, he still had a long way to go in apothecary before he could catch up to her.

“Even if that day comes, you’ll always be my mentor,” Sein said earnestly.

Seeing his serious expression, Lorianne smiled.

“What’s with the serious response? I’d be thrilled if you could surpass me. That’s a good thing,” she laughed.

Lorianne had always been a gentle, calm, and helpful person who rarely refused anyone’s request.

Because of this, she was always surrounded by friends, and Sein had never met a Rank Four or higher powerhouse who had a poor relationship with her.

After joking around with her apprentice for a while, Lorianne’s smile suddenly faded.

This time, it was not because of Sein, but because of the experimental bottleneck she had recently run into.

“The Golden Apple really is a top-tier ingredient I should not be dealing with at this stage. Although I’ve managed to produce the initial base solution for eleven potions, I feel like a significant amount of origin life force has been wasted,” Lorianne sighed.

For an apothecary, failing to bring out a material’s full potential was always frustrating.

A truly outstanding apothecary could do more than just draw out the full value of each ingredient. They could also combine them with special potion-making techniques to create finished products worth far more than the cost of their ingredients!

Lorianne was definitely a skillful apothecary. However, the raw materials this time were simply too high-grade.

She had never worked with anything on this level before, and this was her first attempt.

According to her, it might be better to just give the Golden Apple to someone to eat rather than have her turn it into potions.

The effect would be better that way.

However, Sein shook his head at that. He did not agree with his mentor’s opinion.

Besides, there was only one Golden Apple, so who would be the one to eat it?

According to Lorianne, she had already produced eleven potion concentrates.

The Verdant Flame Faction had six Rank Four or higher powerhouses: Feylis, Gregory, Bernice, Lorianne, Aelid, and Sein.

Even if they included Berecca, the knight who was close to Bernice, there were only seven people in total.

Distributing the eleven potions would not only give everyone one but also leave some spares!

And beyond the value of the Golden Apple Potion itself, Sein saw another benefit: the experience Lorianne had gained from the process.

Apothecary was an expensive profession, and if Lorianne missed this chance, who knew how long it would take before she came across another top-tier ingredient like the Golden Apple?

Sein was certain that with this project’s completion, his mentor’s skills as an apothecary would reach new heights.

How much she improved would depend entirely on her own insight and talent, but Sein had full confidence in her!

The comforting words and light teasing from her apprentice finally brought a smile back to Lorianne’s face.

Sein was not exactly great at making people laugh, but seeing him trying his best to cheer her up and spouting bits of profound wisdom was enough to make her chuckle.

After touching on some unpleasant topics, Lorianne shifted to something more interesting.

“I planted the core of the Golden Apple in my world-laboratory. Do you know what happened?” she asked with a smile.

“Did it sprout?” Sein asked, though he knew the chances of that were slim.

“Of course not,” Lorianne said with a regretful shake of her head, before quickly adding, “But through my instruments, I found that the seed still held a strong life force, and afterward the overall vitality of my world-laboratory increased noticeably.”

“It’d be nice if we could actually grow something from it,” she said, clenching her fists with anticipation.

“If you actually manage to grow a Golden Apple Tree, you’ll be a sensation in the Magus Alliance and a landmark figure among the Dendromancers,” Sein said, his tone carrying a hint of teasing.

“Sounds like you’re doubting my abilities,” Lorianne shot back with a glare.

“Not at all! I’ve always had complete faith in you,” Sein said quickly.

Their conversation stayed lighthearted and easy.

Lorianne, who often found it hard to confide certain things to Feylis and her seniors, could speak freely with Sein.

His promotion to Rank Four and status as a divine tower master meant she could no longer see him entirely as a junior or a child.

They were master and disciple, but also something like friends—enough for Lorianne to feel a faint twinge of reluctance when their conversation came to an end.

After ending the call with his mentor, Sein began preparing Blue Lotus, planning to send it to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring for Lorianne to study later.

Then, without delay, he contacted Leena, who was far away in Blackhaven.

It had been too long since they last spoke, and Sein truly missed her.