Sovereign of the Ashes

Time seemed to pass quickly for Sein in the Knight Continent’s trial zone.

Perhaps it wasn’t that time itself moved swiftly, but rather that the moments he spent with Leena just flew by.

In what felt like the blink of an eye, another ten years had elapsed since the Dark Crystal Rod was crafted.

Sein stood before a crystal ball inside the tent, reviewing his stats:

Focus: 577.9

Mana: 580.12

Constitution: 660.77

Pyro Elemental Affinity: 87%

Umbra Elemental Affinity: 43%

Lumen Elemental Affinity: 51%

***

Sein’s crystal ball could now record data with even greater accuracy and precision, thanks to his continual enhancements to its functions, enabling him to collect data more scientifically.

In the relatively short span of fifteen years since arriving at the Knight Continent, Sein’s focus, mana, and constitution were approaching 600 points.

However, a mage’s true strength was determined by their knowledge rather than the numerical values of their focus and mana levels.

Nevertheless, there were two basic requirements to become a Rank Two mage in the Magus World—having over 1,000 points in both focus and mana levels, and the ability to cast a Rank Two spell successfully.

Acquiring knowledge allowed mages to enhance their focus and mana more rapidly. Each breakthrough in elemental understanding and each newly created spell led to a subtle improvement in a spellcaster’s focus.

With Sein’s current stats, he was almost at the late stage of Rank One.

However, Sein had already achieved power equivalent to that of a peak Rank One mage—such was the power of knowledge!

“The Knight Continent’s trial is ongoing... I wonder if my focus and mana levels will reach the heights of a peak Rank One mage by the time I leave,” Sein mused as he gazed into the crystal ball.

“It’s time to go. The next wave of beasts will be here soon.”

The tent’s flaps suddenly opened, and Leena stepped inside, clad in a black robe.

Sein nodded in response, swiftly packing away the simple experimental table, the crystal ball, and other items before following Leena out of the tent.

As far as Sein could recall, the “beast horde” in the Knight Continent’s trial zone began three years ago, in the twelfth year since he and the other trialists first arrived on this continent.

He was initially puzzled as to why Rank One knights and mages were forced to leave the Knight Continent after only a decade or two, especially since the normal opening period for the Knight Continent’s trial space was one hundred years.

Now, Sein understood that the beast horde sweeping through the Knight Continent was one of several factors forcing trialists to evacuate as soon as possible.

It drove all the trialists toward the southeast of the trial area, where Sein suspected the exit gate might be located.

As a mage with lofty ambitions, Sein was not inclined to leave the trial zone under such circumstances.

In response to the relentless waves of the beasts, Sein and Leena moved in the opposite direction, heading northwest instead.

Over the years, Sein felt that they had reached the heart of the trial zone—or at least he had felt this way three years ago.

After all, Sein deduced that this trial zone was designed for Rank One beings, as he had spent more than ten years here without encountering any knights or mages above Rank Two, leading him to conclude that the area could not be excessively large.

Nevertheless, he continued marching toward the north for two reasons—to counter the beast horde and to explore the vast, unfamiliar expanse of the north.

Many of the species here were vastly different from those Sein had encountered and collected over the past decade.

The Knight Continent was a rich gene pool of species. Even though Sein had been diligently collecting for more than a decade, the rare specimens he had gathered were likely only a fraction of what the entire Knight Continent had to offer.

Furthermore, Sein and Leena believed that the Knight Continent was divided into many trial zones, likely interconnected in some way.

He wondered about the conditions in the adjacent trial zone and what life level of creatures it was designed for.

It was this blend of curiosity and defiance that propelled Sein and Leena to continue moving forward in their chosen direction.

Despite their small team as a duo, their considerable strength as top-tier Rank One beings meant that the pressure they faced from the onslaught of beasts remained manageable.

Sein had just stowed the metallic tent into his spatial storage equipment when Leena said, “Wait a little longer. Hessie and the others will be back soon.”

No sooner had Leena spoken than four little blue and green creatures leaped about in the jungle’s canopy, eventually appearing before Sein.

Each was less than a meter tall, with heads resembling lizards but walking on two legs.

They had a few external gills on each side of their heads, their bodies were covered in a layer of fine scales, and their slender tails had barbs.

These four little creatures were hatched from the sea lizard eggs that Sein had acquired from the Sea Lizard tribe in the Boundless South Sea, at the high cost of one magicoin each.

The energy levels they exhibited clearly surpassed those of their peers of the same age in the Boundless South Sea.

This was partly due to the richer concentration of elemental energies on the Knight Continent, which far surpassed the harsh conditions of the trench where the Sea Lizard tribe resided.

Additionally, during the hatching process, Leena performed various blood sacrifices typically associated with synthesizing undead chimeras.

As a result, the creatures before her could no longer be considered purebred Sea Lizards.

While they were being hatched, Leena utilized many of the precious resources she and Sein possessed.

Sein had even invested a bottle of dragon blood into one of the four Sea Lizards, who had now become the leader of their group.

This leader was distinguished by its bluer scales, in contrast to the greener scales of the other three.

Despite being similar in size, the blue-scaled Sea Lizard could easily overpower the other three.

Recognizing its superior strength and potential, Leena named it Heisse.

The other three little Sea Lizards were also named, but most of Sein and Leena’s attention was focused on Heisse.

Sein recalled that Heisse was supposed to be the son of the Sea Lizard chief, a descendant of a pure Rank One creature.

However, the Heisse before him now bore no relation to the Sea Lizard chief.

For a creature hatched from an egg, it was most attached to the first person it saw after breaking its shell.

The first person these four little Sea Lizards saw was Leena, who was conducting a ritual at the altar at the time, naturally making her their mother.

Sein, being the second person they saw and due to his close relationship with Leena, was naturally regarded as their father by the young Sea Lizards.

“They are my gift to you,” Leena said, leaning into Sein, her voice weary from her somewhat depleted mana.