Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein spent six months in Esca Underground Metal City.

During this time, he had conducted a myriad of experiments—not only on Elisa, the mermaid, and Yuri, the female engineer but also on himself.

After this intensive half-year of experimentation and enhancements, Sein observed significant changes in his capabilities.

Focus: 180.1

Mana: 191.3

Constitution: 129.4

The notable increase in his focus stemmed from Sein’s relentless pursuit of knowledge over the past six months.

His mana had grown at a moderate rate.

However, Sein was somewhat dissatisfied with the progress of his constitution.

It had reached a plateau even though he had been diligently experimenting with the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique during this period.

The slowdown of the improvement in his constitution was not an overall decrease in the growth rate, but rather a reduction compared to what he experienced six months ago.

As a Rank One mage practicing the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique, Sein’s development still outpaced that of his peers within the Verdant Flame Faction.

Despite his achievements, Sein was still far from being satisfied.

Sein got off the experiment table in the laboratory. As he read the recorded values in his crystal ball, he could not help but sigh.

”My constitution improved faster when I was with Tourmaline. That special life magnetic field... Yes, I must find a way to make it stay at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring for an extended period!” he mumbled resolutely.

It had been just over half a year since they parted ways, and Sein was already missing Tourmaline.

Sein’s goal was ambitious—he aimed to push his mental and mana levels beyond 200 points and also elevate his constitution to 140 points before reaching the Western Archipelago.

Achieving this through his efforts alone proved daunting. He knew he could not do it without Tourmaline’s assistance.

After exiting the body tempering laboratory, Sein drank a nutritional potion to regain his stamina before entering the adjacent alchemy laboratory.

Over the past six months, Sein had also made significant progress in his research on spatial equipment that could fit in a person.

Just recently, he had completed a new prototype and immediately tested it on Yuri.

The metal hatch of the alchemy laboratory opened with Sein’s mana seal.

As Sein approached the center of the lab, a semi-transparent barrier opened up, revealing a dark-colored metal ring in it.

The metal ring was fully functioning now; the only remaining step was to test it out.

Unlike the azure crystal necklace worn by the mermaid, Sein’s black metal ring lacked aesthetic appeal. It did not matter though, as this was his first attempt at crafting such an item.

His success in creating the ring already demonstrated that Sein had significant potential and a solid foundation in alchemy.

Pursuing aesthetic perfection at this point might be overly ambitious. For now, Sein needed to refine his skills further before he could be capable of that.

As Sein entered the alchemy laboratory, Yuri quickly followed closely behind him.

The more time they spent together, the more comfortable the female engineer seemed around Sein.

This was largely due to Sein’s laid-back nature. He never exercised his authority and bossed Yuri around.

Since she frequently assisted with experiments, Sein even granted her the freedom to access the laboratories.

Yuri was working on her mecha in the adjacent metal storeroom when she heard the sounds of Sein concluding his body tempering experiments.

Hearing Sein entering the alchemy laboratory right after that, she hurried over to join him.

She had grown noticeably attached to Sein, perhaps influenced by the Mirage’s Almanac of Souls, or possibly due to her own feelings.

Despite Yuri’s delicate demeanor in Sein’s presence, he clearly remembered how she wielded her huge hammer while working on Burning Flame Unit’s mechanical arm just two months ago.

The modified body tempering experiment Sein had conducted on Yuri was more successful than anticipated.

Her constitution had increased significantly. Although it had yet to reach 100 points like Sein, it was already rapidly approaching 40 points, and the rate of growth was set to accelerate from here on out.

Sometimes, Yuri would take the initiative to approach Sein and give him meaningful looks.

Whenever she acted this way, Sein would comply and conduct even more intense body tempering experiments on her.

“Although we still need to complete the final testing, all the data seems right. What do you think of this ring of yours?” he asked Yuri.

The increased time they spent together had fostered a growing sense of partnership between them, so Sein would sometimes seek her opinion.

“I’m quite satisfied with it, thank you, Master,” Yuri responded softly.

Sein nodded and returned his attention to the black ring displayed on the metallic pedestal before him.

Creating this black ring had not come cheaply.

Beyond the rare materials and magicoins, Sein had also fused the crescent-shaped metal piece he previously received from the Sea Lizard elder into the ring, to enhance Yuri’s soul resonance.

The results were satisfactory; all the specified metrics had been met.

Likely due to the incorporation of soul metal, the black ring Sein crafted boasted an additional property not found in the mermaid necklace—soul rejuvenation.

“Let’s test it out. If we can store you inside it, our upcoming journey to the Blackhaven will be easier and much safer,” Sein explained.

Yuri nodded in agreement, respectfully following Sein to a designated testing area.

Originally, Sein had crafted the black ring as a bracelet or an arm ring. However, upon arriving at the testing site, Yuri requested to wear it around her neck instead.

Given Yuri’s relatively slender neck and well-proportioned figure, the repurposing of the ring intended for her wrist undeniably caused a tight fit and constricted her breathing.

Surprisingly, the tightness and slight respiratory constriction did not cause discomfort to Yuri, Instead, she appeared to be exhilarated, as evidenced by a subtle improvement in her body’s overall feedback metrics.

This unexpected reaction left Sein momentarily taken aback. He could not help but wonder whether this was another influence the Mirage’s Almanac of Souls had on her.

“If you prefer to wear it as a collar, I suppose I could make some adjustments,” Sein suggested, stroking his chin as he considered the modifications needed.