Sovereign of the Ashes

“Cousin...” Selina skipped her way down the platform, her cheeks tinged with a hint of scarlet.

At that moment, thousands of initiates from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring gathered within the Windhowl Cliff Resource Point had their gaze fixed on Sein.

Selina, a female intermediate initiate of average standing, calling out to Sein as her cousin, inadvertently made her the center of attention.

Clearly, Selina was not accustomed to such attention.

Despite her noble descent, she had lost her mother at a young age, and her family branch was among the less prominent.

Although she had attended numerous noble gatherings, she seldom found herself in the limelight.

Apart from her doting grandfather, even Sein, her cousin, seemed to give Selina more attention than those from House Farion ever did.

Acknowledging Selina’s greeting, Sein nodded and asked casually, “It looks like you’ve grown quite a bit this past year. What’s your score now?”

Having traversed five territories, Sein’s keen perception allowed him to notice the subtle improvement in Selina’s prowess and demeanor even without resorting to detection magic.

Her time in the trial space had evidently spurred her growth and maturity.

When Sein learned Selina had accumulated nearly 400 points and even secured an intermediate-level magic beast specimen, he gave her a nod of recognition and approval.

“Not bad,” Sein commented.

His typically reserved demeanor made his simple words of encouragement exceptionally uplifting for Selina.

Having lived under the same roof as Sein for many years and assisted him in numerous experiments and research projects, Selina knew well that praise from him was a rarity.

“Where’s the mask I gave you?” Sein inquired, noting the deepening flush on Selina’s face.

The blush on her face intensified as she lowered her head and quietly replied, “I broke it accidentally during my second month in the trial space.”

Shortly after, a red mask, bearing three noticeable cracks appeared in Sein’s hands.

They seemed to be inflicted by some extraplanar creature’s sharp claws, and he was relieved to find no corresponding scars on Selina’s face.

Storing the mask away, Sein informed, “I’ll be at Windhowl Cliff for a while. I’ll fix this for you and provide you with some additional defensive tools.”

Their subsequent conversation between them unfolded through voice transmission.

With no one bold enough to approach Sein, the contents of their exchange remained a mystery.

***

Sein spent three days at Windhowl Cliff.

Three days were sufficient for him to repair Selina’s Crimson Mask and craft some Blazing Lumenbombs.

In addition to the bombs, Sein also selected two pieces of advanced as well as several pieces of intermediate magic equipment for Selina.

They were all spoils from other initiates he had encountered in the trial space.

Selina was visibly astonished when Sein emptied a large assortment of magic equipment and various loot from his space ring.

What truly astounded her was the sheer volume of spatial equipment, varying in style, that Sein possessed.

She could not help but wonder where he had acquired all these items.

These items, along with the golden light swirling around him and his abundant magic spells and equipment, shrouded Sein in an aura of mystery and power.

Despite their relationship, even Selina could not fully comprehend or see through Sein.

“Where are you headed next?” Daniel inquired of Sein outside Windhowl Cliff.

“I’ve heard that some resource points in our territory are under attack by initiates from the Divine Tower of Shadow. I’m planning to check them out,” Sein responded.

“I’ll accompany you,” Daniel declared.

“I’m joining as well,” Anna added.

Their enthusiasm was mirrored by the other initiates at Windhowl Cliff who noticed their conversation.

Even Selina, who usually obeyed Sein’s orders without question, seemed torn at this moment, her face flushed with the eagerness to join him.

The safety and advantage of acting in a group, as opposed to going it alone, were clear and undeniable.

A group of thousands would undoubtedly be more effective than Sein operating alone, a fact demonstrated by their recent collective success in amassing points outside Windhowl Cliff.

“All right, but I’ll leave you all behind if you’re too slow,” Sein warned, glancing first at Daniel and Anna, then at Selina.

***

The Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, which had consistently ranked last in the previous four Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy Wars, was on the cusp of a resurgence, largely due to the efforts of Sein, one of its top initiates.

Under Sein’s leadership, with thousands of Divine Tower of Verdant Spring initiates at his back, they managed to repel the intruding initiates from the Divine Tower of Shadow from their territory in just half a month.

Initially, it was only the initiates near the Windhowl Cliff Resource Point who joined Sein.

However, as news of their campaign spread, other initiates from different areas began to converge.

By the end of half a month, their numbers had swelled to over four thousand.

Had there not been a need to maintain defenses at various resource points and the presence of initiates less inclined toward combat, their ranks would have been even larger.

The swift expulsion of the initiates from the Divine Tower of Shadow was partly due to their reluctance to engage in combat.

Sein’s emergence alone was an insurmountable challenge to them.

Previously, many had tried and failed to trap Sein. Now, with Sein surrounded by thousands of initiates and maintaining his cautious nature, any attempt by the initiates from the Divine Tower of Shadow seemed to inadvertently contribute to his score.

Having successfully driven away all the initiates from the Divine Tower of Shadow, Sein was not content with just defending his territory.

At this point, his score had soared to an impressive 120,000 points.

“The Divine Tower of Shadow’s territory is about 1.5 times larger than ours and has more resource points. Do you... have any idea where to start?” Musing over their next move, he turned to Daniel and Anna.

At that moment, Daniel and Anna were still processing the magnitude of their victory.

Merely driving initiates from the Divine Tower of Shadow out of their territory was no longer enough to satisfy them either.

They craved more!

“Of course, remember that insufferable Poppuri from the Divine Tower of Shadow dared to attack my Windhowl Cliff Resource Point? Now it’s my turn to show her my strength!”

Anna, who usually exuded the elegance and grace of a noblewoman, was the first to respond with a fiery determination as she waved her magic rod around.

On the other hand, Daniel appeared to be more composed.

Though tempted by Sein’s proposal, Daniel recognized the risk of their potential endeavor and advised, “We must keep in mind that half of the initiates from the Divine Tower of Shadow are still there. Their resource points are well-fortified with magic defenses, so it won’t be an easy task to conquer them.”

Anna retorted confidently, “What do we have to fear? Under Sein’s leadership, we can surely shatter their defenses with our magic spells!”