Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein had to sign the enrollment contract. It was a non-negotiable requirement.

Even with Jovian’s endorsement as a Rank Two mage, Sein was not exempt from this academy rule.

Speaking of Jovian, Sein had a vague understanding of the role the mage played as a cohort leader.

In the upper tiers of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy, beyond the tower master wielding the highest authority, three Rank Three grand mages served as deans.

The three grand mages remained mostly unseen by initiates and were rarely encountered even by Rank One mages.

It was the full-fledged mages teaching at the academy and cohort leaders like Jovian who interacted mostly with initiates like Sein.

Established over two hundred years ago, with cohorts spanning a decade, Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy appointed Rank Two mages as the cohort leader to assist the three deans in managing initiates and overseeing the teaching processes.

Considering the maximum period initiates were permitted to stay in the academy, there should be about seven or eight cohort leaders, including Jovian.

The “Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War” that Master Jovian mentioned before parting ways with Sein was a trial for initiates. It was held every fifty years, in collaboration with surrounding divine towers.

According to Eileen, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring did not perform well during the last Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War.

As a result, the cohort leaders and the three deans of the academy took the upcoming Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War very seriously.

Therefore, even without Master Medich’s recommendation, it was highly likely that Sein would be able to join the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring two years earlier solely based on his status as a senior initiate.

Joining the academy sooner was undoubtedly advantageous, as time was crucial for mages.

Those two extra years of education could allow Sein to make significant progress in his pursuit of truths and elemental knowledge.

Sometimes, the difference of two years could be transformative, potentially influencing a lifetime.

For instance, excelling in the upcoming Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War could draw the attention of the tower master or higher beings.

This could have a profound impact on Sein’s future development and potential achievements as a full-fledged mage, offering benefits beyond his current comprehension.

***

“All right, we have arrived at your dorm. Public classes will commence next week, so if there’s a class that interests you, feel free to attend,” Eileen informed Sein before leaving him at a rather secluded dormitory building.

By this point, Eileen had completed her task of assisting Sein with the enrollment procedures.

With Master Jovian’s recommendation and Eileen’s assistance, Sein’s enrollment process went smoothly.

The dormitory building before him was definitely considered a privilege for most of the senior initiates.

Despite the vast expanse of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy, dormitories with three floors and seclusion were highly coveted resources.

Sein was aware that access to such a privilege as a newcomer was made possible only through Eileen’s assistance.

After expressing his gratitude to Eileen, Sein retrieved ten magicoins from his space bangle and respectfully offered them as a token of appreciation for her time and assistance.

Although he was not inclined to spend the ten magicoins on the Featherbloom Sprite he saw on the commercial street, he deemed it a reasonable investment to express his gratitude to a full-fledged mage.

He called it an investment because the benefits it would offer surpassed those of an ordinary Featherbloom Sprite.

Eileen was taken aback by the magicoins Sein had produced.

The female mage, her honey-blonde hair cascading over her shoulder, chuckled. “I couldn’t tell you’re so well-off, little guy.”

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. With Rank Two mages like Medich and Jovian backing you, your background must be pretty impressive, right?” she asked.

Sein responded with a humble smile, not offering a direct reply to Eileen’s question.

Without any pretense, Eileen accepted the ten magicoins from Sein and remarked, “Even if you’re well-off, you should be mindful of your spending. Ten magicoins are enough to cover the cost of two regular magic courses.”

“I live on the 76th floor of the divine tower. Feel free to approach me for minor issues that you might not want to bother Master Jovian with. I’ll do my best to assist,” she offered with a smile.

After Sein expressed his gratitude to Eileen once more, the full-fledged mage turned around and left.

Watching Eileen depart, Sein mused to himself, “Do all full-fledged mages stay in the divine tower? I wonder if I will have the chance to be one of its residents in the future.”

***

The day after enrolling in the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Sein embarked on his academy life.

Since the public classes were set to begin the following week, Sein’s first destination was the library.

The Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy boasted a library a hundred times larger than the Black Magic Academy in Mystralora City!

Mages inherently treasured knowledge and sought the mysteries of truth, and the library served as a treasure trove of such information.

With the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring’s substantial investment, its library alone rivaled half the size of the entire Black Magic Academy Sein had previously attended.

The sea of knowledge within this vast divine tower library was beyond the capacity for a humble initiate like Sein to absorb and master.

Even for full-fledged mages, acquainting themselves with every branch of knowledge was an impossible feat.

Beyond common elemental knowledge like aero, pyro, geo, and hydro, Sein discovered an array of books covering lumen, umbra, electro, necro, dendro elements, as well as summons and even astrology.

Dedicated shelves to alchemy, apothecary, elemental arrays, and related subjects were also present.

Such a treasure trove of knowledge was expected from a revered divine tower academy!

While Sein was not certain about other aspects for now, it was evident that the richness and comprehensiveness of the knowledge in the divine tower library far exceeded that of mage councils in the Lysian Alliance such as the Ring of Thorns, Divine Harmony, and the Pyro Emblem.

However, borrowing these books came with a price.

Apart from academy merit points, which could be earned by completing quests assigned by the academy, the other form of payment was spending magicoins.

Although Sein had several hundreds of magicoins, he could not afford to spend them recklessly.

This aspect highlighted the value of knowledge—a costly commodity.

“It seems like I need to focus on learning a specific field of knowledge next. There are also public courses in the academy. Although they seem to cater to intermediate and junior initiates, there should be some courses that are useful to me,” Sein reflected.