Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein masked his nervousness and stress beneath a composed exterior.

Unfortunately, his peculiar demeanor did not escape the sharp observation of Medich, a Rank Two mage from the Divine Tower.

Medich chuckled and assured, “No need to be nervous. I have no intention of harming you.”

“Moreover, you deserve credit for discovering a foreign Rank Four creature in the Sand World,” he added.

The Divine Tower mage had recently made a round trip to the Divine Tower of Dawn.

Situated on the coast of the Magus Continent, south of the Gloomhaven, the Divine Tower of Dawn was a considerable distance from their current location.

Despite being a Rank Two mage, it also took Medich a month of walking to return to this place.

His return to Gloomhaven was not specifically to intercept Sein.

Sein was not prominent enough to warrant such attention. Instead, Sein’s unfortunate discovery by Medich’s detection magic during his return to the surface was purely coincidental.

The primary reason for Medich’s return to Gloomhaven was the upcoming battle in the Sand World.

Battles involving creatures of Rank Four or above were rare. While Medich had participated in several interplanar wars, he always had to hide in the area outside of the battlefield.

After all, there was a good reason why creatures of Rank Four were referred to as “Gods” by the less educated worlds.

Creatures below than Rank Three, specifically those below the peak of Rank Three, would be useless in such battles.

At over five hundred years of age, Medich was a renowned peak Rank Two mage from the Divine Tower of Dawn, excelling in lumen elemental magic.

His accomplishments had garnered praise from the deans of the Dawn Academy and even attracted the attention of the Tower Master.

In the ongoing conflict with black mages in Gloomhaven and the impending Sand World battle, Medich’s role and influence rivaled that of peak Rank Three mage, Rhomwald, from the Divine Tower of Dawn.

It was undeniably fortunate for a Rank Two mage to extend kindness toward Sein.

Medich, with an amused expression, remarked, “You managed to break free from the prohibition array I placed on the stone building and went missing. It appears you’ve found what you were searching for?”

Medich’s gaze initially fell on the piccolo hanging around Sein’s neck before shifting to the brown jar on Sein’s back.

The focus of a Rank Two mage allowed Medich to gather information without relying on detection magic at such a close distance.

Medich knew Sein possessed a space ring before.

However, the interference from both the piccolo and the space ring prevented him from detecting the valuable space bangle in Sein’s possession.

In response to Medich’s inquiry, Sein remained silent and kept his head bowed.

The stark difference in strength left Sein without any means of resistance or defiance.

Medich could easily crush Sein and seize everything from him if he wanted to.

Even if Sein’s mentor, Morsidor, were alive, he would likely be no match for this peak Rank Two mage from the Divine Tower.

Fortunately, Medich refrained from such actions. Instead, he observed Sein with interest and, after a moment, pointed to the brown jar behind Sein. “Who’s in there?”

Although the jar contained ashes, Medich had easily discerned its true nature.

Faced with Medich’s inquiry, Sein finally spoke.

Initially, he wanted to say that it held a friend’s ashes, but he could not bring himself to utter those words.

Under Medich’s curious gaze, Sein truthfully replied, “My mentor.”

Sein’s honesty earned him respect from Medich.

In the world of mages, mentorship held significant importance as it represented the inheritance of knowledge.

The existence of mages was rooted in the commitment of older spellcasters imparting their lifetime of wisdom and the profound mysteries of truth to the succeeding generations.

Medich was undoubtedly a Divine Tower mage with noble character.

Despite knowing that the ashes likely belonged to a full-fledged black mage, he did not impose on Sein.

On the contrary, he found a certain admiration for Sein’s act of carrying his mentor’s ashes.

Medich had never been aware that black mages held such reverence for their mentors.

Truth be told, his knowledge of black mages was very limited. In fact, this was his first time participating in a black mage hunt.

On the main continent of the Magus World, black mages were a rare sight.

Even if individuals wanted by the Divine Tower occasionally appeared, they were swiftly dealt with by the forces of the Divine Towers.

The true breeding ground for black mages was the northern part of the Western Archipelago, located to the west of the Magus World.

That region, known as “Blackhaven”, lay beyond even the reach of peak Rank Two mage from the Divine Tower like Meich.

The subtle admiration in Medich’s eyes did little to alleviate Sein’s mental pressure.

The fate of his wealth remained uncertain, and the possibility of Medich conducting a search left Sein contemplating whether resistance would be necessary.

Furthermore, Seven was inside the piccolo.

Sein was not sure if an injured quasi-ranked magic beast could possibly withstand the might of a peak Rank Two Divine Tower mage.

Sein, having grown up and survived in a place like the Black Magic Academy of Mystralora City, harbored doubts that a Rank Two mage would remain unaffected by a fortune exceeding thirty Grade Two energy crystals, despite the seemingly humble and courteous behavior of the Divine Tower mage.

Fortunately, Sein’s worst fears did not come to pass.

Medich did not request an inspection of the ashes of the black mage, even though such remains could fetch him a substantial reward from the Divine Tower.

“I was able to relay the intel regarding the Sand World that you provided to me in a timely manner. It has earned me a double reward from the academy as well as the Tower Master from the Divine Tower of Dawn. What is it that you seek? Maybe I can fulfill your request.”

Medich surprised Sein with an offer.

Rather than responding to Medich’s generous offer, Sein countered with a question, “Are you not going to take action against me because I am a black magic initiate?”

“Oh? Where is that black magic initiate? I only see a little guy who was inadvertently taken captive underground. I can tell from your appearance and temperament that you seem like a noble too,” Medich smiled and responded, refusing to acknowledge Sein’s identity as a black magic initiate.

Medich’s response brought relief to Sein.

The Divine Tower mage’s reply also indicated his intention to overlook the jar containing the ashes of a black mage that Sein carried.