Sovereign of the Ashes

On the shopping street of the East District...

By the time Sein visited the shop where Bousse worked, Bousse had successfully sold out the goods Sein had provided him previously.

It had been nearly a month since Sein returned from his quest.

Bousse could have sold out everything earlier, but for the sake of maximizing the profits, he decided to take the three Green Plume Eggs to a small auction recently held in Mystralora City.

Sein had to admit, Bousse was a brilliant merchant.

In the end, Sein received an astounding 577 autrum from Bousse. This was the final amount after accounting for Bousse’s commission.

It was the first time Sein had seen such a substantial amount of autrum in his life.

This influx of autrum would significantly accelerate his progress in alchemy.

Zorro had warned Sein that the early stages of alchemy were financially demanding and bore no immediate returns.

The Green Plume Claws and Beaks alone were far from enough for Sein to practice with.

Sein recognized the need to invest in more experimental ingredients and alchemical instruments, instead of constantly relying on Zorro’s generosity every time he needed to conduct an alchemy experiment.

Although Master Morsidor’s laboratory was equipped with high-quality alchemical equipment, it was too advanced for Sein, and he worried about potentially damaging it.

As a novice, Sein preferred to practice with simpler tools.

He understood the importance of starting with the basics and accumulating experience over time.

Besides, he knew he had time on his side, as he was still young.

As Bousse handed over a pouch overflowing with more than five hundred pieces of autrum, he continued to chatter about his amazement at the wealth of those demihuman tribes.

After participating in the small auction in Mystralora City, Bousse had broadened his horizon and refined his tastes.

Despite his little talent in magic and alchemy, he excelled in business.

Furthermore, Bousse harbored grand aspirations. He believed that as long as Marie and Sein consistently supplied him with magic potions and magic items in the future, their collaborative efforts could lead to substantial prosperity down the road.

His ambition and promises brought an amused smile to Sein’s face.

As Sein was about to discuss something with Bousse, a loud steam whistle echoed throughout Mystralora City.

The sound prompted Sein, Bousse, and many others to rush outside their shops.

Everyone in the city looked up and saw a massive black silhouette under the glow of the lumenstones.

A massive flying ship, measuring two hundred meters in length and fifty meters in height, had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

The moment it appeared, several full-fledged black mages swiftly flew up to the massive ship.

More than a dozen academy overseers followed suit, positioning themselves around the ship.

Beside Sein, Bousse could not help but sigh. “Another batch of newcomers. I wonder how many there are this time and how many will measure up to the academy’s minimum requirements.”

Bousse appeared to be reminiscing about the time when he had first arrived in Gloomhaven, which gave him a touch of nostalgia.

Sein, on the other hand, did not feel any emotions. The moment he saw that massive ship hovering over Mystralora City, his immediate thought was...

Another year has gone by, I’ve turned seventeen.

***

Half a month later, the Black Magic Academy was abuzz with the news that the full-fledged black mages had abducted nearly a thousand young children from the surface world this year.

However, only 272 of them, less than a third, met the academy’s minimum focus requirements.

To become a black magic initiate, a minimum initial focus of seven points was mandatory.

Sein possessed an impressive initial focus of eleven points, which greatly contributed to his rapid progress as an initiate.

The initial focus level had a significant impact on an initiate’s early progression.

Sein’s promotion to an intermediate initiate at the age of sixteen marked him as a prodigious talent.

Those who remained junior initiates well into their twenties or thirties were typically hindered not only by their limited intellectual capacity and limited ability to comprehend magic powers, but also by a lower initial focus level.

This led Sein to ponder whether there might be a correlation between the initial focus value and intelligence.

The arrival of over two hundred newly enrolled initiates revitalized the once somber and oppressive Black Magic Academy.

The timidity, fear and curiosity of the newcomers reminded the experienced initiates of their own experiences when they first arrived in the academy.

Many experienced initiates also sneered inwardly, knowing that the newcomers would soon experience the coldness and despair of the Black Magic Academy.

Following the usual pattern, their numbers would likely dwindle in the subsequent year.

More than half of them would probably be among the “eliminated”, primarily due to their inability to adapt to the academy.

After all, throughout the academy’s history, only a small minority of newcomers managed to progress as junior initiates.

The odds were slim, and a mere fifteen was already considered a commendable number.

Over the years, despite numerous waves of fresh initiates, the number of intermediate and senior initiates had remained constant.

That was a telling reflection of the prevailing circumstances.

Unlike other initiates, Sein was not bored enough to go out of his way to “scrutinize” the fresh initiates.

After gaining a basic understanding of the situation regarding the fresh initiates, Sein continued to immerse himself in his studies.

***

Sein, as was his usual routine, headed to Master Morsidor’s laboratory.

However, on this particular day, he found Master Morsidor entertaining Master Daelis in the common room on the first floor instead of conducting an experiment in the laboratory.

After respectfully greeting his mentor and Master Daelis, Sein made his way to the laboratory.

While he was still within earshot, he overheard the two black mages discussing the new initiates.

“Only about two hundred of them met the requirements this time. I wonder if the number of qualified initiates in the academy will still meet the dean’s expectations in ten years,” Master Daelis expressed in concern.

In recent times, Daelis had been a frequent visitor to Morsidor’s residence. Their shared origin from the Western Archipelago had led to a quiet alliance between the two of them.

A month ago, Daelis had received exclusive insights into Mystralora City from Morsidor.

This knowledge alone had propelled her to a prestigious position among the top ten full-fledged black mages.

Sein could not help but wonder what Daelis had learned this time to make her express concerns about the future of the academy and its number of qualified initiates.