Sovereign of the Ashes

Kurt was a decent guy, or perhaps it was his years of experience operating in the gray area that taught him how to cultivate a loyal customer base.

Even a sum of a few or ten magicoins was significant. In fact, the conflict might not have erupted had this amount initially been given to the Sea Lizards.

Despite his impulsiveness and boldness, Kurt was undeniably a Rank One knight with a good head on his shoulders

Sein was more than willing to forge a friendship with a knight like that.

After Sein returned to the ship, Kurt took nearly another hour to recuperate before setting sail again.

They had navigated through the most perilous part of the giant storm. With the storm season winding down, the seas ahead were expected to be calmer.

Aside from potential encounters with sea bandits like the Sea Lizards, there seemed little else to worry about.

***

Not all the knights and mages aboard Kurt’s worn ship were bound for the Monique Black Market like Sein.

Almost two days after the battle with the Sea Lizards, the first passenger disembarked at an islet in the middle of the ocean.

The unassuming islet did not appear to offer much, leaving Sein puzzled about the Quasi Mage’s reasons for stopping there.

From a hushed conversation Sein overheard between Kurt and the Quasi Mage, it seemed they had agreed that Kurt would return in a few months to pick him up and take him back to Storm City.

Sein speculated that the passenger might have been seeking to break through to Rank One or perhaps conduct some research there.

Nevertheless, he did not pursue the exact reason.

Following the Quasi Mage’s departure, passengers began disembarking over the next few days at various locations—some at a trench, others on an island.

Among the various disembarkation points, Sein noticed that the location where two senior initiates disembarked seemed to be inhabited by many aquatic races.

Sein was not the only one engaged in private dealings with the aquatic races; such transactions were common among others as well.

The fares Kurt charged were quite high, leading Sein to wonder if these senior initiates would manage to recoup their costs or even turn a profit through smuggling or other means.

This showed that those operating in the gray area typically possess commendable resolve and cunningness, regardless of their strength.

Sein disembarked late in the journey, at a location that was also the destination for most of Kurt’s passengers.

Disembarking alongside him were Yuri and a group of six, including the Rank One brown-robed mage.

At this point, only two passengers remained on board; they were headed southwest to continue their journey beyond the Monique Black Market for about another week.

“When will you guys be back?” Sein asked before leaving the ship.

Having developed a good rapport with Kurt, Sein was keen to continue his travels aboard Kurt’s ship after leaving the black market.

“About a month. I have some other errands,” Kurt replied, scratching his head.

Throughout their conversation, Kurt’s gaze frequently drifted toward Yuri behind Sein.

After witnessing her capabilities during the battle with the Sea Lizards, Kurt could not help but envy Sein for having such a beautiful and powerful soul slave.

Despite Kurt’s wealth, he knew he could not afford a soul slave with combat capabilities comparable to a peak Rank One or Rank Two being.

Additionally, factors like Yuri’s appearance, gender, and degree of submissiveness would only escalate her value, typically making such a prime soul slave unattainable for less than three thousand magicoins.

“I’m quite curious, what exactly is at the bottom of the ship?” Sein asked Kurt curiously.

A troubled expression crossed Kurt’s face, but he chose to be honest with Sein, who was about to disembark. Considering Sein’s wealth and the strength of his soul slave, Kurt believed that Sein was unlikely to covet his cargo.

A small pink fish appeared in Kurt’s hand.

“This is what we are transporting—twenty-seven hundred spirofish, though we lost five hundred in the recent battle,” Kurt explained.

Sein looked at the unfamiliar palm-sized fish, sensing a remarkably gentle aura and the presence of hydro elemental energy emanating from it.

What Sein did not realize was that these spirofish were specially cultivated marine creatures, highly prized as a top delicacy among elite aquatic races.

Previously, the trade of spirofish was restricted to entities like the divine towers, the orders of the knights, and the sea king palaces.

Only the divine tower mages had the means to cultivate and produce spirofish in large quantities, as the naturally occurring supply in the oceans was insufficient for the demands of high-level aquatic races.

However, with advances in civilization and the expansion of aquatic trade, major commerce chambers and organizations had begun to enter the market.

Bluntly put, Kurt’s business involved undercutting the business of the divine towers, the orders of the knights, and other major players in the market.

Interestingly, Kurt had not partnered with any powerful high-level aquatic races but had instead aligned with certain intermediate-level aquatic races.

The appeal of spirofish to aquatic races was well-known—these tiny fish carried microelements essential for the growth of most aquatic creatures.

Historically, control over this rare fish was monopolized by the upper echelons of the aquatic races.

Kurt’s efforts had opened trade channels among the intermediate-level aquatic races that wielded considerable power.

Sein surmised that the Sea Lizards’ attack on the ship might well have been motivated by the small fish Kurt was smuggling.

Nevertheless, these fish were primarily valuable to aquatic races, and they were not that expensive. If Sein ever wished to study spirofish, he could simply purchase them at any major divine tower.

After nodding and bidding farewell to Kurt, Sein and Yuri made their way into the black market behind them.

***

Known as Monique Black Market twenty years ago, this area had since been renamed Swell City.

Sein would never have expected a black market to exist within such a thriving city on this huge island had he not been informed beforehand.

Indeed, Swell City was not solely a black market.

Black market and gray area activities only took place during the storm season.

Once the storms subsided, airships from the Divine Towers, along with ocean liners from major merchant groups would return. The city would then revert to the sunlit Swell City—the immaculate city governed and protected by the divine towers and the orders of the knights.

This seamless transition from “gray to white” epitomized the substantial protection the island city enjoyed.

Upon arriving, Sein quickly noticed how different this place was compared to other cities he had visited.