Sovereign of the Ashes

Although Sein had facilitated the Golden Apple deal, he still volunteered to cover part of the cost.

It was not much—just five million magicoins, which happened to be slightly less than what Lorianne had contributed.

Together, Feylis’ apprentices and grand apprentices gathered thirty-seven million magicoins, but they were still thirty-three million short.

In the end, Feylis personally covered the rest without hesitation.

“A potion made with a Golden Apple as its core ingredient is easily one of the best recovery items in the entire Magus Alliance, but I’m not skilled enough to handle material of this caliber yet. It’ll be best to hand the Golden Apple over to a Rank Six apothecary to maximize its value...” Lorianne said meekly.

Before she could finish, Sein interrupted her.

“No. I think this Golden Apple should go to you, Master Lorianne. You should be the one to refine the potion.”

Apothecary and alchemy had one thing in common—they both burned through money at alarming rates.

Top-tier apothecaries and alchemists consumed vast amounts of precious materials for daily training in order to build up experience.

Talent was essential, but wealth was important too. In most cases, wealth outweighed talent entirely.

Lorianne hesitated, worried she might “waste” the Golden Apple. However, if she missed this chance, it could be ages before she ever got her hands on another top-tier treasure like it.

Since the Golden Apple had been acquired through Sein’s efforts, he had every right to decide how it would be used.

Seeing her apprentice interrupt without hesitation did not annoy Lorianne. Instead, she felt a quiet warmth in her chest and even a hint of pride.

“I agree. Lorianne is our best apothecary. Why let anyone else have the chance to work with an ingredient as rare as the Golden Apple?” Gregory chimed in.

“I agree as well,” Bernice quickly added.

The others in the starship echoed their support. In the end, Feylis made the final decision that Lorianne would refine the Golden Apple into potions.

No one knew exactly how many potions could be made from a single Golden Apple, nor whether there would be enough for everyone present to share.

Even so, everyone in the Verdant Flame Faction warmed Sein’s heart.

***

After the alliance conference concluded at Howling Stone World, Sein returned to Magus World with the others in the Verdant Flame Faction.

With the Clash of Civilizations drawing near, Feylis asked her apprentices and grand apprentices if they had any immediate difficulties. If they did, she urged them to speak up so she could help resolve them.

If they ever lacked cannon fodder, Feylis still had several planes under her control that could supply high‑quality enslaved creatures. She had enough to share with her apprentices and grand apprentices.

Her questions were directed mainly at Lorianne, Aelid, and Sein.

Gregory and Bernice’s divine towers were already long mature and running smoothly, requiring no extra support from Feylis.

Lorianne explained that her world laboratory could meet her needs for now, and if any shortages arose, she would not hesitate to seek help from her mentor and seniors.

Sein mentioned that a friend had invited him to develop a high-quality enslaved creature production plane, so there would be no shortage of cannon fodder for his forces in the future.

Aelid added that he had struck a deal with several Rank Four pyro elemental kings from Violet Ember World, giving him another army of elemental creatures under his command.

Hearing this, Feylis felt relieved and proud of the progress her apprentices and grand apprentices had made.

In Magus World, this was how a normal faction was meant to function—helping one another and staying united.

After returning to Magus World and saying farewell to his elders in the faction, Sein headed back to Ashenreach.

The region had been developing rapidly in recent years, steadily shaping itself into the hub Sein envisioned.

It had become an important connection point linking the four corners of the world. Much of this success was thanks to the Goddess of Wealth, Aurelia, whose capabilities had far exceeded Sein’s expectations.

She had been very modest when she first introduced her abilities to Sein.

But whether it was funding major projects like purchasing a space fortress or driving Ashenreach’s overall growth, Aurelia’s financial acumen had surpassed her own promises.

Given that much of Sein’s wealth, especially from the Blackhaven trade, was questionable, Aurelia advised him not to repay his magicoins loans immediately.

Following her suggestion, Sein began actively building connections with the tycoons and wealthy families already established in Magus World.

And yes, Magus World had its fair share of tycoons.

The Goddess of Wealth was not the only one skilled in the laws of economics. In Magus World, there were individuals far more talented in that field than she was.

Aurelia often mentioned that House Morgan of the Western Archipelago, the Blackstone Chamber of Commerce of the Byrne Empire, and House Donald of the Alveroth Empire were deep-rooted consortia capable of forming strong trade ties with Ashenreach.

Sein had no interest in hoarding wealth; he intended to spend it. Without hesitation, he entrusted Aurelia with full authority, telling her to move forward as she saw fit and that she had his full support.

As long as Aurelia could steadily supply enough wealth for his experiments, Sein even promised to support her in other ways.

For instance, while Aurelia was not allowed to openly spread her faith in Magus World, Sein hinted that he could offer her opportunities to gather followers on certain enslaved planes under his control.

On top of that, he intended to speak on her behalf to the Spider Queen and even help secure her release from the lowest levels of Infernal Purgatory, restoring her freedom.

Sein valued Aurelia’s abilities far more than the Spider Queen ever had.

After all, Lorthisra grew up with little understanding of money, while Sein knew very well the importance of wealth.

When he returned to the Divine Tower of Ashes, Sein also received word that his space fortress, the Azure Starbane, had been refitted and delivered to the designated starport.

It no longer felt right to keep calling it the Azure Starbane. Sein was not great with names, so he simply followed his mentor’s naming style and renamed his upgraded space fortress the Ashen Fortress.

The fortress was still being operated by the professional team he had hired at great expense from the Capiche Business Alliance and Steel City.

Having a capable manager back at home allowed Sein to rest easy. Even while he was still at the Magus Alliance Conference on Howling Stone World, Marie already had plans to train a group of qualified fortress operators for him after hearing the fortress had arrived.

Operating a space fortress was actually not overly complex.

With guidance from the professional team from Capiche Business Alliance and Steel City, mages at the Divine Tower of Ashes had already mastered the basics.

All they needed now was the experience of one real war to become fully proficient.

Sein also needed to establish a proper command center within the space fortress. After all, he could not personally issue every order during an interplanar war.