Sovereign of the Ashes

The main base of the fortress had undergone significant changes over the past six months.

The most noticeable was the absence of one out of the three space fortresses that used to hover in the sky.

It turned out that the space fortress from the Divine Tower of Whispering Sigh had departed, heading toward the northeastern region of the Flame Continent to establish a subsidiary base.

The largest and most imposing space fortress that belonged to the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame, continued to loom silently overhead.

Unbeknownst to Sein, Grandmaster Feylis had recently left the Viridian Venom Flame World.

A significant portion of this fortress’ command had been transferred to his mentor, Lorianne.

Upon returning to the main base, Sein’s first stop was the mission hall, where he reported his war efforts from the past six months.

Thanks to the crystal ball’s real-time recordings, disputes over mission completion were rare among the war mages.

This time, Sein earned over a hundred magicoins.

Although it was a small sum for him, considering his wealth, this was a lucrative earning for a Rank One mage.

After completing his report, Sein ascended toward the space fortress.

In the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame’s fortress, he had a room of his own.

With the Magus Civilization Army’s invasion of the Viridian Venom Flame World past its critical initial phase, the frequency of mandatory war missions had decreased.

Sein, having just returned from a six-month campaign, was due for at least two months of break.

***

Upon returning to the space fortress, Sein chose not to contact Eileen, whom he was more familiar with on his contact list.

He presumed that she was out there fighting like Master Jovian and had not returned.

He actually had quite a number of contacts in his crystal ball by now. Among them, there was Luna, a Rank One mage he met upon arriving in the Viridian Venom Flame World, as well as other seniors from Grandmaster Verdant Flame’s faction.

However, Sein refrained from reaching out, feeling that his relationships with those people were not close enough for him to do that. Besides, he had never been keen to socialize.

Once back in his quarters on the top floor, Sein took a brief rest before immersing himself in various experiments he had already planned beforehand.

He avoided overly time-consuming or theoretically immature experiments, considering the ongoing war and the possibility of being interrupted, and called back to battle earlier than expected.

In his laboratory, Sein started with two test tubes of Verdant Glaze he had managed to recently collect.

The green slurry was emitting a rather peculiar odor. Though not pleasant, the scent seemed to resonate with his Verdant Flame elemental energy.

Conjuring a verdant fireball in his hand, he stared at the burning ball of green flame and mused, “I should begin by modifying the spell models of the magic spells I’ve mastered.”

Shaking his head, he added, “Relying solely on the Solar Eye spell makes my attacks too one-dimensional. I’ll likely find myself vulnerable against certain opponents one day.”

As a Rank One mage, Sein had a vast repertoire of pyro elemental spells at his disposal.

His current task was to infuse these spells with the properties of Verdant Flame magic.

The simplicity of the Fireball spell model meant it allowed him to apply it in combat without much research. However, the more advanced and complex spells would require careful analysis in the laboratory.

Fortunately, this type of research demanded more patience and time than inspiration or luck.

Sein’s robust foundation, laid during his days as a magic initiate and reinforced by teachings from the crystal ball given by Master Lorianne, provided a deep understanding of Verdant Flame magic’s varied properties.”

Engrossed in his work, Sein lost track of time in the outside world.

Sein had initially planned only a two-month research break in the space fortress.

However, once deeply engrossed in his studies, he was unlikely to stop unless forcibly interrupted.

Sein’s intense focus led to an accelerated growth in both his strength and knowledge.

Initially, his goal was merely to infuse a hint of Verdant Flame energy in all his pyro magic elemental spells. Yet, once he had refined all the spell models, he seamlessly delved deeper into the profound mysteries of Verdant Flame magic.

***

“What has that guy been up to lately?” Lorianne, the Rank Four mage overseeing the resource allocation of the war, finally remembered her apprentice.

Nearly a year had passed since the Viridian Venom Flame World War began, and several months had slipped by since Sein’s return to the space fortress.

Yet, he remained undisturbed and unsummoned for war duties.

This was a privilege Sein was entitled to as the apprentice of the tower master.

However, this privilege was not given to him by Lorianne, but rather by the Rank One and Three grand mages of both the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame, out of respect for Lorianne.

Additionally, the war was a joint effort of four divine towers, even though such a low-level plane could be easily occupied by the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame alone.

With a massive force of two hundred mages, Sein’s absence was hardly noticeable.

The front lines were more than adequately staffed, even overstaffed, with combatants.

The war, expected to last up to thirty years, seemed likely to conclude much sooner, possibly within a decade or fifteen years, given the Magus World’s rapid progress.

A month prior, Gregory had again triumphed over Anridar the Venom Flame Demon King, near the central lava sea in Viridian Venom Flame World.

The interplanar war, expected to be a decisive and straightforward conflict, brought considerable relief to Lorianne, who was experiencing her first warfare as a Rank Four Mage.