Sovereign of the Ashes

Grimm was a commoner initiate, a rarity not only within the divine tower academies but also across the entire Magus World.

Founded over two hundred years ago, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring fell behind the other older divine towers in terms of resources and the quality of its initiates.

When Sein first arrived at the academy, Jovian, the cohort leader, had claimed that the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring was not significantly different from the Divine Tower of Dawn on the southern coast of the Magus World.

It was actually just a major bluff to make himself feel better.

In reality, the difference between the two divine towers was more pronounced than Jovian had suggested.

The Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had ranked last in the preceding three Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy Wars, leading to humiliation for the tower master and deans.

In response, one of the deans made a bold suggestion—since the exceptional noble initiates were being absorbed by other divine towers, why not turn attention to the commoners within the divine tower’s sphere of influence?

The dean who suggested this was a Rank Three grand mage who had traveled the Magus World extensively.

While he might not have been the strongest among the three deans, his experience and wisdom were highly regarded.

Even the esteemed tower master of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring would often heed his advice.

In the Magus World, the selection of magic initiates typically favored the noble class due to the presence of Rank One and above knights or mages among the ancestors of their noble houses.

Noble children had a greater likelihood of meeting the initial focus standards required for admission to divine tower academies due to the biological evolution and genetic inheritance.

Furthermore, learning magic was more resource-intensive and time-consuming than honing battle qi.

It demanded access to knowledge beyond what physical training alone could provide.

Physical training only yielded muscles and a robust body, aspects that did not align with the elemental knowledge essential for mages.

For commoners with meager resources, affording the substantial cost required for magic initiates to delve into the path of truth was nearly impossible.

Even for commoner knights not of noble lineage, navigating a smooth path was a formidable challenge, and the hardships they faced often went unnoticed.

Conversely, knights from affluent noble houses began their journey with superior breathing techniques for mastering control over battle qi.

Not only that, they also had access to various potions and magic beast flesh to enhance their physical abilities.

Those were privileges beyond the reach of commoner knights.

At times, it was necessary to acknowledge that around forty percent of one’s achievements were shaped by their origins.

A distinctive aspect of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, setting it apart from other divine towers, was its unique history. Before the tower’s construction, the tower master had secured a substantial sum of magicoins at a low interest rate from the Magus Alliance.

Perhaps due to the tower master being a female mage, she demonstrated a meticulous and astute approach to financial management, making judicious use of resources.

Upon completing the construction of the divine tower and progressing with various development initiatives, the tower master discovered a significant surplus of magicoins.

This amount was substantial, even for a Rank Four tower master.

Contrary to expectations that she would reserve this surplus for personal use, the tower master chose to reinvest it in further enhancing the divine tower’s construction and development.

Despite being a newly constructed divine tower, it boasted a magnificent library with an extensive collection of books—all thanks to the efforts of the tower master.

The dean’s proposal regarding commoner initiates stemmed from his awareness of the surplus funds within the divine tower academy. He aimed to explore the potential of uncovering promising talents among the commoners.

Reality proved the dean’s suggestion was sound and validated his foresight.

Grimm was one of the commoner initiates recruited in that cohort.

Upon entering the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Grimm not only enjoyed exemption from enrollment fees but also received an additional annual subsidy of one energy crystal from the academy.

However, the enrollment contracts differed for initiates like Grimm.

While Sein was obligated to serve the academy for a minimum of one century upon attaining Rank One, commoner initiates like Grimm faced a lengthier commitment to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy.

Those who did not demonstrate potential for promotion to Rank One would also be requested to withdraw from the academy sooner and contribute to the industries around the academy.

(Author Note: Sein’s enrollment fee was waived, possibly deducted from Master Jovian’s salary, as he was recommended to the divine tower by Medich and Jovian, the cohort leader.)

Commoner initiates like Grimm were a rare presence at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, with recruitment limited to only two cohorts so far.

Furthermore, it was exceedingly rare to discover commoners with an initial focus of ten points who qualified for enrollment, despite extensive search by full-fledged mages across several human nations surrounding the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

(Author Note: Recruitment for commoner initiates is restricted to the adjacent human nations, excluding the Lysian Alliance.

The primary challenge stems from the substantial costs involved, which cannot be adequately justified.

Additionally, the mage councils in more distant human nations actively oppose the divine towers’ monopoly on talent, going as far as to retain commoners they may not even be enthusiastic about recruiting into their mage councils.)

Grimm left a distinct impression on Sein, compared to the majority of commoner initiates.

Beyond establishing a friendship with Grimm based on the compatibility of their personalities, Sein also viewed it as a personal investment.

Despite knowing each other for over a year, Sein was somewhat surprised that Grimm had never approached him for a loan, despite knowing Sein was well-off as he regularly borrowed books from the library.

The two spent most of their time together reading quietly in the same section of the academy’s library.

As senior initiates sharing common ground in practicing pyro elemental magic, they often read similar types of books.

Sein attentively absorbed Grimm’s insights into the cryo and pyro magic he was currently exploring.

He had always been a good listener.

It was a skill he exercised both in the classroom, where he absorbed the wisdom of full-fledged mages, and in the library, where he absorbed the discoveries of this gray-haired senior initiate.

Grimm’s theories about cryo-pyro fusion magic spells showed great promise.

Even Sein, who had not extensively delved into cryo magic, could discern the maturity of Grimm’s theories.

Although Grimm was a nerd, his intelligence shone through.

After an animated discussion that lasted almost half an hour, Grimm only realized Sein was attempting to leave the library with an ancient book in hand.

He abruptly concluded the discussion with an embarrassed look on his face.

“I might have gone on a bit too long. Are you heading out?” he asked.

Sein nodded and replied, “Yes, I’m planning to return to my dormitory to study this book about lumen magic. My focus and mana levels had just broken through seventy points recently, so I need to stabilize them too.”

Grimm could not help but show a tinge of envy on his face.

“Oh, seventy points... You’ve reached the minimum requirement of becoming a Quasi Mage already?” he asked.

Sein affirmed with a nod, “Yes, just a few days ago.”