Sovereign of the Ashes

Of the five Star Cores delivered, two came from low-level planes and were the most valuable.

The remaining three were from ordinary microplanes.

It seemed the knights from the Jehannah Kingdom who had taken part in the assault on Nocchi were decent people.

They did not embezzle Sein’s share of the profits just because he had left the civilized battlefield early.

The five Star Cores radiated dazzling light, holding law power and elemental energies of different attributes.

These cores, each holding the very essence of a plane itself, were among the most exquisite treasures in the Astral Realm for beings at Rank Four or above.

As Sein studied one that was from a low-level pyro elemental plane, he could already picture how to use it for upgrading his magic rod.

But their utility went far beyond that. Even the Divine Tower of Ashes could be reinforced through the power of these Star Cores.

For the planar will of Magus World, foreign Star Cores were like “potent tonics”.

By feeding them into the planar node, Magus World’s will could assimilate their power.

In return, the law power of the planar node where Sein’s divine tower stood would grow stronger.

It had been nearly half a year since Sein returned to Magus World. Even without relying on rare potions, his wounds had almost fully healed.

This was thanks to the planar node and divine tower steadily channeling their power into him.

Within the Divine Tower of Ashes’s sphere of influence, Sein’s strength was boosted by almost thirty percent.

However, for nearly ten thousand years, battles involving Rank Four beings or higher had rarely broken out within Magus World.

As a result, the divine tower’s strength-boosting effect for its owners had never truly been put to the test.

Through the knight sent by the Magus Alliance, Sein managed to learn more about the Huusians’ situation at the frontlines.

The Huusians were a newly admitted alien race that had joined the Magus Alliance under Sein’s recommendation. With two of their princesses bound to him through contractual marriages, it was only natural that Sein felt obliged to look after them.

Besides, when the Magus Alliance eventually sent him back to the frontlines, the Huusian forces might prove very useful.

The knight knew little about this new foreign force, but he told Sein that the Huusians had been relocated to some low-level planes in the central region of the Magus Alliance to recuperate.

Though the Clash of Civilizations was still in its early stages, many members of the alliance had already been annihilated or lost.

The most devastating blow was their crushing defeat at the Netherworld Star Domain, where hundreds of millions of allied troops were wiped out and thousands of member planes were affected.

The decline and weakening of these planes were inevitable.

Given that the Magus Alliance was willing to grant them resource subsidies, it was not unreasonable to ask them to accommodate the Huusians.

This world was cruel.

No matter how nobly Magus World portrayed itself within the alliance, it only valued those who served its practical interests.

Useless lives with no worth deserved no sympathy.

Magus World was already fulfilling its obligations by handing out a token subsidy in magicoins.

The surviving high-ranking beings on those allied planes understood this well enough.

What more could they possibly ask for after receiving subsidies from the Magus Alliance?

“Since you are from the Western Archipelago, Sir Soryl, you must know Sir Mayne, right? Where is he?” Sein asked casually as he bid farewell to Soryl. “I haven’t seen him in quite some time. Even after returning to Magus World this time, I haven’t been able to reach him.”

“Heh, it’s only natural you haven’t been able to reach Sir Mayne, Master Sein. He’s been in seclusion since a few years ago to work on his breakthrough to Rank Five,” Soryl replied with a smile.

“Sir Mayne is one of the brightest young talents of the Western Archipelago. I once had the honor of working with him for a time,” he added.

“I see. So, Sir Mayne has begun his push for Rank Five so soon, huh.” Sein sighed.

***

After seeing off Soryl, the knight from the Western Archipelago, Sein summoned Marie.

“Offer up a Star Core as part of the existing commission the Divine Tower of Ashes posted through the Marmett Union Alliance to hire Rank Four or higher necromancers,” he instructed.

A generous reward was sure to draw out the talented. With a Star Core as payment, it should be enough to stir the interest of those skilled in soul magic.

“Understood,” Marie replied.

Sein continued, “The Magus Alliance has just delivered another batch of payments to me. Combined with the profits from Aurelia’s operations over the years, we now have enough for you to withdraw a portion and invest it entirely into the divine tower. The Clash of Civilizations could last tens of thousands of years. Our Divine Tower of Ashes must ensure that its full-fledged mages remain on duty to meet the demands of this war.”

“Yes,” Marie agreed.

The greatest challenge in developing a divine tower had always been the shortage of funds.

Now Sein had more than enough. With resources piling up, the Divine Tower of Ashes could easily expand its intake of initiates tenfold!

The tower had already established exchange channels with over a dozen public magic academies in the Magic Empire.

As long as Sein was willing to provide the funds, Marie could reach out to even more academies.

Even without relying on smuggling initiates, the problem of initiate intake could pretty much be solved.

With another Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War approaching, both past experience and projections suggested that once the tournament ended, the Divine Tower of Ashes would gain nearly a hundred new full-fledged mages within the next few years.

Marie’s latest report put the tower’s current roster at 3,215 registered mages.

Since the Pyreling World War, the number of mages had nearly tripled in just a few centuries!

This remarkable achievement was the direct result of Sein’s relentless investment in the tower’s growth.

Through its ongoing efforts to increase the intake of initiates, the divine tower was ensuring that its ranks of full-fledged mages would continue to grow steadily.

After discussing work matters, Sein gave Marie some personal advice.

“Don’t neglect your training and pursuit of truth. I still expect you to reach greater heights, so that we may spend more time together.” Sein sighed. “It’s painful when old friends and loved ones pass away one after another.”

A flicker of emotion crossed Marie’s face.

Ever since Sein came back with Natalya, he had grown more attentive to those around him.

In the past two days, he had even set aside time to help Selina and Eileen with their pursuits of truth. Marie was also there, with her junior[1].

“Draw another thirty thousand from the divine tower’s funds. This is my personal contribution to you, a reward for your years of service to the Divine Tower of Ashes,” Sein said generously.

“I’ll also send you some experimental materials I collected years ago. Don’t disappoint me.” He looked at her with high expectations.

Faced with Sein’s generosity, Marie’s cheeks flushed slightly as she lowered her head and replied, “I won’t.”

1. Translator’s Note: I had to check the glossary because I forgot Marie’s junior name... It’s Angie! ☜