Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein returned to his laboratory on the top floor of the divine tower with a third of the Black Jade Bamboo he got from Eileen’s specimen.

As he arrived, he saw Natalya exiting the training room.

At home, Natalya often dressed casually, and today was no exception.

Having just completed her physical training, she wore a set of black, tight-fitting workout clothes that accentuated her toned and shapely figure.

Unlike Sein’s slender frame, Natalya possessed significant muscle mass.

Without these muscles, her body would be unable to sustain her formidable physical prowess. After all, she was a knight whose strength depended heavily on her muscle power.

Nevertheless, her muscles did nothing to diminish her overall beauty.

Every woman indeed had their own unique charm.

Eileen embodied the refined elegance of a traditional female mage, while Natalya’s athletic physique showcased the health and vigor characteristic of Magus World’s female knights.

Of course, not all female knights shared Natalya’s perfectly balanced form.

Some leaned toward extremes, like Reina, while others had rougher appearances with disproportionately developed muscles.

Drenched in sweat from her training, Natalya exuded a raw and captivating energy.

Her signature red curls fell loosely over her shoulders, and as she noticed Sein’s return, she wiped her neck with a towel and greeted him casually.

“Oh, you’re back?”

Normally, Natalya’s charm might have attracted Sein.

Since he already had a passionate session at Eileen’s quarters, he managed to suppress the stirrings of desire as he faced Natalya’s enticing figure.

Mages could keep their cool most of the time. Besides, Sein still had several experiments to complete and had spent quite a long time with Eileen earlier.

“I’ll sleep with Natalya tonight after finishing a few smaller experiments,” he thought to himself.

This very thought had revealed Sein’s priorities—his pursuit of magic and truth outweighed fleeting physical pleasures.

“Yeah, there are still three experiments I need to finish today, so don’t wait for me at dinner,” Sein replied.

“Oh, and the body-tempering potion I prepared yesterday in the potions lab. Don’t forget to take it,” he added, giving Natalya’s firm backside a light slap.

Natalya had returned to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring six months ago, alone this time.

Reina was supposed to join her but after the conclusion of the Wild Star Domain War, Reina, having endured multiple life-and-death trials, had finally reached the bottleneck for advancing to Rank Three Sky Knight.

Every knight house with a strong heritage had its own methods and tricks to improve the chances of a successful breakthrough.

Reina had returned to her family, hoping that their assistance would allow her to achieve Rank Three in one decisive step.

The theoretical lifespan of a Sky Knight was slightly shorter than that of Rank Three mages, but it was still formidable.

Given that Rank Three mages could live nearly ten thousand years, breaking through to become a Sky Knight was surely no trivial feat.

Even Reina herself could not predict how long the process would take.

Based on the information Sein had gathered over the years about Rank Three breakthroughs in the Magus World, the time frame could range from a few years to as long as a century.

Of course, there were rare cases of geniuses completing this leap in as little as six months, but such instances were the exception, not the norm.

“It’ll likely take ten or twenty years,” Sein estimated silently.

With her best friend already approaching the barrier to Sky Knight, Natalya—impatient by nature and never one to fall behind—had thrown herself into rigorous training to strengthen herself.

For knights, progress was often a slow and steady process.

Mages might experience sudden breakthroughs inspired by flashes of insight or fruitful experiments, but this was not the case for knights.

Their strength and life levels could only improve through endless training and grueling battles.

After nodding at Sein’s reminder, Natalya dried herself off and watched as he flew toward his laboratory.

Though she had been dedicating herself to intense training during this period, Natalya was always keen to keep her marriage lively.

Today, she had deliberately chosen a set of tight-fitting training clothes, well aware of Sein’s preferences after decades of marriage.

She had been confident that her appearance would leave him unable to resist her charms.

“Have I lost my allure?” Natalya muttered to herself then sniffed her armpit curiously.

All she caught was the scent of sweat mingled with a faint fragrance.

It was the perfume Natalya had purchased from a magic store during a shopping trip with Selina on the outskirts of the divine tower.

Natalya loved the fragrance, and the shopkeeper had even claimed that this perfume was attractive to the opposite sex.

Natalya, Selina, and Eileen were all well aware of each other’s relationships with Sein, yet they had strangely managed to coexist harmoniously over the years.

The three women frequently went shopping together, Selina and Eileen occasionally shared Sein on the same bed too.

Despite being a female knight, Natalya was not as open-minded about such matters as Eileen.

Natalya had always spent her intimate time with Sein alone.

It was only in those moments, lying on the bed and passively yielding to Sein’s advances, that she could indulge in the illusion that Sein belonged solely to her.

After Sein quickly left and entered his laboratory, Natalya shrugged and made her way to the potions laboratory.

After downing the body-tempering potion Sein had prepared the previous night, she intended to stop by the kitchen.

After every intense training session, Natalya experienced a hunger that seemed to come from deep within her body.

Fortunately, her eating habits were far better than Reina’s, and Sein’s strict dietary regimen ensured that Natalya would not put on too much weight.

With food and power as her two main indulgences, Natalya hummed a little tune as she headed off.

***

Meanwhile, in the laboratory, Sein had already set the Black Jade Bamboo on an experimental table.

With a slight furrow of his brow, he began his research, using advanced equipment and observation instruments.

Although he did not need to delve into the complex mysteries of dendrology like a dedicated Dendromancer, Sein needed to grasp the fundamental principles to complete the basic assignment given by his mentor—mastering the Rank One spell known as “Thorned Groundburst Vine”.

With Sein’s Rank Two peak status, mastering a simple Rank One dendro elemental spell should not be too challenging.

In addition to his research on dendrology, Sein had two female Ice Gorillas standing obediently in one corner of his laboratory, and a vial of demon blood swirling with peculiar blue and purple patterns, both awaiting his attention.