Sovereign of the Ashes

BOOM!

The resounding explosion of Sein’s Minor Fireball spell sent soil and gravel flying on the training ground.

The junior initiate across from Sein cried out in surrender before retreating from the battlefield in shame.

An arm that had been charred black and rendered useless by the heat of Sein’s Minor Fireball spell was the price that the junior initiate had to pay for challenging Sein and falling short.

The Black Magic Academy had never intervened in such situations. The frequent injuries and casualties among initiates were the reasons why the overall number of initiates remained relatively constant despite the annual influx of qualified children into the academy.

Upon Sein’s initial appearance on the field, initiates hesitated to challenge him for quite some time.

His notorious reputation appeared to mark him as a direct contender for one of the top three spots.

Nevertheless, there were some who harbored no fear toward death within the Black Magic Academy.

The challenger who had faced Sein earlier was one of them.

He challenged Sein despite being outmatched in strength, and he paid a heavy price, losing an arm in the process. This only served to further fuel Sein’s fearsome reputation.

What astonished many junior initiates watching the battle even more was the fact that Sein had never once drawn his strongest weapon—the Acid Wand. Sein’s mastery of the Minor Fireball spell alone set him apart from his peers, establishing him as a leader in his tier.

For the past two months, Sein had diligently pored over the two sets of magic notes provided by his mentor, Master Morsidor.

His efforts had paid off handsomely. With improved casting speed, more efficient consumption of mana, and Sein’s inherent combat talent and sharp reflexes, his victories were virtually assured, especially in one-on-one duels.

As a mage, the key to victory often lay in the swiftness of one’s casting speed.

Sein was grateful for the magic notes from Master Morsidor and the private guidance he received from Faye. Without their help, he would never have progressed so remarkably in just two months.

His confidence had grown considerably. If he were to venture into the Giant Saltwater Crocodile’s territory now, he would do so with a far greater sense of assurance. Although the dangers still existed, he no longer felt the same level of anxiety that had plagued him two months ago.

As Sein scanned the area for his next challenger, his right hand firmly gripped his magic wand under his black robe. Doing so allowed him to replenish his focus and mana.

If he recalled correctly, any junior initiate who managed to secure three consecutive victories would earn a reward from the academy.

Not all initiates, however, were willing to risk their lives for these rewards. Sein’s sixth-place ranking from the previous year had been achieved with two wins and one loss.

Apart from Sein, battles had ignited across the training ground between other initiates.

The battles between the junior initiates were probably the least exciting because they typically knew only one spell. Those who possessed knowledge of two spells were considered rare in this tier.

The real spectacle that captured the attention of the hundreds of initiates in the training ground were the battles among intermediate and senior initiates.

As the colorful bursts of magic spells illuminated the arena, the newcomers to Gloomhaven sensed the heavy pressure of survival and the imminent danger that existed here. Yet, the spectacle also ignited a profound yearning for power and a brighter future in their hearts.

For most initiates, power was the primary motivation behind their pursuit of magic.

The number of people who desired to grasp “the true meaning of magic”, as what Master Morsidor had said, was extremely low.

***

While battles raged on in different parts of the training ground, the three black mages in the stands paid little attention to the casualties below. They were busy chatting with each other.

To be specific, only two of them were immersed in their conversation. The other black mage, a man with blue hair and a cold demeanor, remained mostly silent.

“Master Andes,” one of the talkative black mages began, unable to contain his curiosity, “I’ve heard rumors that vice deans discovered a space-time rift in the Shadow Valley. Is it true?”

Full-fledged black mages, like initiates, also adhered to a hierarchy that reflected the importance of strength in this Underworld.

Andes, the blue-haired man, was regarded as one of the strongest full-fledged black mages in Mystralora City. According to rumors among some black mages, his strength ranked just below the three vice deans of the Black Magic Academy.

The three vice deans were all Rank Two mages, whereas Andes had yet to break through to Rank Two. Nonetheless, his reputation suggested that he was at the peak of Rank One.

Casting his emotionless gaze at the other two black mages, Andes finally spoke, “Indeed, it’s true. Lord Martin and Lady Jeanne are currently investigating it.”

“However, the space-time rift is quite small in scale. They have yet to identify the alterworld it may be connected to and its development value,” Andes continued, offering additional details that were news to the other two black mages .

His response sparked excitement in one of the black mages. “I hope it leads to a demiplane with valuable resources. Mystralora City is too barren! If the vice deans hadn’t imposed such strict restrictions on us recently, I would have ventured to the surface for some plunder.”

“The mage councils and the knight houses on the surface are all incredibly rich. We could simply choose one of them and...” His enthusiasm grew, his words taking on a darker tone.

Perhaps years of surviving in the Underworld had desensitized him, making discussions of dark matters seem as mundane as everyday topics.

The black mage next to him nodded. Though in agreement, he retained a modicum of rationality and added, “We must exercise caution when operating on the surface though. We may find easy targets among regular mage councils and knight houses, but if we provoke the divine towers or the orders of the knights by mistake...”

Fear was evident in his voice as he mentioned the two formidable entities. There was also another inexplicable emotion brewing in his voice when he mentioned the “divine towers”.

Master Andes, however, was not as interested in idle chatter as the other two black mages. He disapproved of baseless speculations but harbored a distinct fascination with the space-time rift. It was the reason he had collected extensive information on the subject.

“Have you considered the possibility of a complete plane existing beyond that rift, with its own established set of laws?” the more rational black mage suddenly inquired. After revealing a touch of intrigue in his own musing, his rationality seemed to diminish.

A complete plane was a world where countless lives thrived under a well-established set of physical laws. Such a world, even the weakest microplane, was far beyond Mystralora City’s reach.

Only the divine towers and the orders of the knights in the Magus World possessed the capability to wage war on an entire world, marshaling legions numbering in hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of enslaved beings.

On the other hand, there were only twenty or thirty full-fledged black mages in Mystralora City.

Attempting to seize a glimpse of a complete plane governed by its own set of established laws with such meager strength was akin to chasing a distant dream—nothing short of a fantasy.