Sovereign of the Ashes

Two days and two nights had passed.

By the time Sein emerged from the side room, he was an intermediate initiate with focus and mana of more than 30 points.

This breakthrough had left him feeling extremely drained.

While meditation could replace sleep to some extent, it was not a real substitute for genuine rest.

In the past two days, Sein had only consumed two nutrient potions from Faye to replenish his stamina. As a result, he was currently physically and mentally depleted.

As soon as he exited the side room, he was greeted by the sight of the alchemy puppet crafted by Master Morsidor.

The puppet clutched a broom emitting faint magic fluctuation.

The red light on its head flickered, as it entered the side room Sein had just vacated and began the cleaning process.

Sein looked around but found no sign of his mentor, or the other apprentices in the common room on the first floor.

Pushing open the laboratory door carelessly could disrupt their ongoing experiments or research, so Sein decided to leave without disturbing them.

He quickly tidied his attire and departed from his mentor’s residence.

***

An intermediate initiate could pretty much be considered an expert at the Black Magic Academy in Mystralora City.

In fact, being an intermediate initiate meant being superior to 80% of the initiates in the Black Magic Academy.

Having stronger magic spells and increased mana allowed the intermediate initiates to defend themselves better in the Underworld

Moreover, they could escape the fate of being arbitrarily executed by the black mages in the academy.

Their status also granted them more access to the academy’s resources. However, the privileges came with responsibilities.

The academy assigned mandatory quests to intermediate initiates every two months. The quests varied in difficulty, ranging from the less treacherous duty of guarding the gates of Mystralora City to more perilous endeavors involving the hunt of rare magic ingredients or the extermination of formidable magic beasts.

Of course, the easier and less treacherous quests were highly sought after and only assigned to those with powerful connections or backgrounds.

Junior initiates had to fulfill mandatory quests once a year, whereas intermediate initiates had to undertake them every two months.

Since the mandatory quests for intermediate initiates came with higher levels of risk, they became the leading cause of injury or death among this group of initiates in the Black Magic Academy.

Despite the risks, successfully completing these mandatory quests earned the apprentices more academy merit points. These points granted them access to the public library, where they could find crucial study materials, or they could be exchanged for the much-needed, valuable magic ingredients.

On the second day as an intermediate initiate, Sein returned to his mentor’s residence and was finally permitted to set foot in the laboratory where Master Morsidor and his other apprentices usually worked.

“Take these magic tomes and read them in your spare time.”

Morsidor handed Sein five tomes, then pointed to a small experiment table in the corner of the laboratory and continued, “Your task today is to assist Faye in monitoring and recording the energy data from that experiment table.”

Each of the five tomes was at least twice as thick than the “Basics of Alchemy” and the “Fundamental Knowledge on the Pyro Element” that Sein had previously received.

Among the titles were “The Versatility of the Pyro Element”, “Uniting Alchemy and Elemental Energy”, “Annotations of Enthildor”, “The Essence of Mana” and “Introduction to Pandalea in the Magus World”.

The thickness of each tome was more astounding than the last.

Sein was particularly struck by the sheer thickness of the last tome, towering nearly half a meter in height, reaching up his shoulder.

It was literally a depth of knowledge.

Sein also noticed that Master Morsidor had seemingly retrieved these books out of thin air.

Having assisted other full-fledged black mages in their experiment during public classes, Sein recognized this as the ability of a rare spatial storage equipment.

These five tomes represented merely only a fraction of the knowledge Sein needed to acquire during his journey as an intermediate initiate.

Leena, despite her incredible talents, had to dedicate nearly fifteen years to accumulate the knowledge she needed to become a senior initiate.

Sein also learned from Leena that the transition from an intermediate initiate to a senior initiate was far more complex than simply increasing their focus and mana levels.

Only those who could truly create and structure a complete advanced magic in their own mind were qualified to become a senior initiate.

Advanced magic spells were known to be intricate. Constructing a spell model demanded an extensive knowledge and profound understanding of it.

Being able to memorize an advanced spell model was not sufficient for one to qualify as a senior initiate.

Understanding the underlying principles of the spells was essential to avoid a potential magic backlash, which could result in the loss of life in severe cases.

Leena actually devoted several years to dedicated study before trying her hands at constructing spell models.

Hence, it was crucial for intermediate initiates to remain patient and refrain from reckless experiments with advanced magic spells.

Diligence and wisdom were the keys to progress and growth.

Under normal circumstances, anyone who could become a senior initiate at the age of thirty was considered a genius.

Most initiates did not reach this stage until their forties or fifties.

Sein had never inquired about Faye’s age. Mages often employed various means to extend their lifespans and maintain youthful appearances, especially the female initiates.

Sein nearly broke his back moving the five bulky tomes to an empty corner of the laboratory. He planned to leave them there until he could bring them back to his dormitory room at the end of the day.

Over in the corner, Faye was already waiting for him next to a small experiment table with a complex instrument on it.

Faye briefed Sein on their task, which involved closely monitoring a translucent round crystal on the table and meticulously recording the specific energy data generated by the complex instrument.

The complex instrument before them was just a single component of Master Morsidor’s larger experiment. The primary experiment was taking place on the large central table within the laboratory.

Inside the laboratory, there were three experiment tables. Aside from the one occupied by their mentor and the one where Sein and Faye were working, the third one was a medium-sized experiment table used by Zorro.

Unique, enchanting magical light bathed every corner of the tightly sealed laboratory.

Sein could not help but question Faye upon noticing Morsidor insert an energy crystal into the instrument on the central experiment table. The energy crystal bore a striking resemblance to the one Fareena had used to bribe the vice dean.

“Do you have any idea about the experiment we’re conducting, Faye?”

“Well... from what I’ve gathered through Zorro, we’re creating four element fission generators.”

“It’s almost done. I believe it’s an assignment from the academy for Master Morsidor,” Faye whispered in response.