Sovereign of the Ashes

While Sein had no intention of keeping his power ranking, he found himself receiving the power rankings rewards for three consecutive months.

The reason lay in the relatively fixed nature of initiate rankings within the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy.

The group of senior initiates and Quasi Mages who consistently dominated the list were the ones who maintained a keen interest in battling on the arena stage.

Hence, the addition of new faces in the list was not a common occurrence.

Had it not been for the entry of two new senior initiates into the top twenty of the power ranking list in the past two months, Sein might have continued to receive the reward for several more months.

Interestingly, Mark, who had suffered defeat at Sein’s hands, managed to reclaim a position in the top twenty of the power rankings after healing from his injuries in three months, securing the 19th position.

However, Mark’s return to the top twenty power rankings did not bring him the expected thrill.

Despite dedicating over two months to analyzing Sein and devising strategy against him, Mark discovered that his opponent had not returned to the arena since their last confrontation.

It made Mark feel as if all his efforts were in vain.

After the incident at the arena, Eileen began paying more attention to Sein.

Because of this, she took notice of her grandson’s persistent desire for revenge against Sein.

“You’re wasting your time on useless thoughts! Do you have any idea what Sein has been doing while you’re fixated on something so meaningless?” she scolded.

“What has he been doing?” Mark asked curiously.

“He regularly attends classes conducted by various full-fledged mages. Not only that, he also visited the library as many as twenty-seven times in a month, spending an average of more than six hours per day studying there!

“And what have you been doing during this time? I heard you got a new girlfriend, and she happens to be the princess of the Malgheria Kingdom?” Eileen poked Mark’s head angrily with her sharp fingernail.

Faced with Eileen’s disapproval, Mark did not dare to make any retorts.

He merely responded weakly, “Securing a relationship with the princess of the Malgheria Kingdom is a significant achievement for our family. If it works out, both my father and grandmother will surely praise me.”

Eileen could only roll her eyes at Mark’s response.

***

The encounter with Mark was merely a brief episode in Sein’s ongoing academic journey at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy.

Mark and Sein were distinct individuals. As Sein continued to deepen his understanding of elemental knowledge, his mastery of magic also improved day by day.

When Sein reached new heights, the gap between them would only widen further.

Three years later, inside the library of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy...

Sein stood on the seventh floor, having just discovered the magic book he had been looking for.

Holding the somewhat weathered book titled the “Atlas of Light”, he made his way downstairs to complete the rental procedure.

The academy offered three methods for accessing magic books in its library.

The first involved reading the books directly within the library and returning them afterward. This was the cheapest option to read as it only incurred academy merit point deductions based on the time spent reading.

The second option was to pick a book and complete the rental procedure in the hall on the first floor. While this option was pricier than the first, it allowed initiates to take the book back for leisurely reading, with the risk of paying the full price for any damages.

The third and least common option was to directly purchase a printed copy of the magic book from the divine tower, but this was the most expensive choice, as this was a form of selling knowledge.

The majority of initiates in the divine tower usually opted for the first option, which was reading the books in the library.

The gray-haired initiate in front of Sein, engrossed in a magic book, was one of them.

Bringing magic books back to the dormitory for slow study, like Sein, was among the very few in the academy.

After all, wealthy initiates like Sein were rare, even in the divine tower academy.

“Grimm, you’re still reading up on knowledge of obliteration magic related to pyro and cryo elements?” Sein asked the gray-haired initiate.

Normally, disturbing someone’s reading in the library was extremely rude and impolite.

However, Grimm was not only friendly but also the only initiate Sein had “befriended” during his five years at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy, so the disruption was welcomed.

Neither of them minded each other’s company.

“Yes, Sein. I find the hydro and pyro explosion resulting from the fusion of water and fire elements too powerful, and the instability it brings is too much for initiates like us,” Grimm shared.

“On the contrary, the malleability of the fusion between cryo and pyro elements is much stronger. I recently discovered a newly arrived magic book in the library, and the author, Master Brand, provides profound insights in this area. I’m exploring his works, and I wonder if our library has any other books by this master...”

Grimm, a fellow senior initiate, typically had a reserved nature, but when it came to magic, especially within his specialties, he became animated.

Such enthusiasm was considered quite unappealing, so Grimm’s circle of friends within the divine tower academy was limited to only a few fellow initiates who hailed from the same human nation as him.

Sein and Grimm became “friends” for two peculiar reasons. Firstly, Grimm had provided Sein with helpful advice over a year ago when he was searching for a specific magic book in the library.

Secondly, their character and routines were remarkably similar, both being “tough guys” who preferred the solitude of the library over attending noble balls.

Perhaps it was due to their similar personality, or maybe it was because they had spent over a year sitting and studying together, that the two formed an unusual friendship.

Grimm’s ability to form a friendship even surprised the other initiates who hailed from the same nation as him.

However, after learning about Sein, they immediately understood the reason.

It turned out that only people as strange as Grimm could be friends with him.

Although Grimm had arrived at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy nearly twenty years before Sein, they were of similar age, with Sein being slightly older by a year or two.

Grimm was no doubt another genius in the academy to become a senior initiate at the mere age of around thirty.

Unlike Sein, Grimm did not possess resources and magic books left by someone else. He was a true product of the academy’s teachings.

Even without additional resources or fortuitous encounters, he managed to surpass many noble children within the divine tower academy.

His achievements today were solely the results of his diligence and hard work.