Sovereign of the Ashes

Back in his private meditation room within the Ashen Fortress, Sein steadied his breath and began meditating.

With Radbow World at peace and no signs of conflict stirring in the nearby regions, he could finally enter a deep meditative state without anyone disturbing him.

***

Time was always fleeting when one trained.

The higher a mage’s rank, the more easily days, months, and even years blurred together during meditation or research.

Even Sein had not expected his deep meditation this time to last three full years before he opened his eyes again.

As soon as Sein awoke in the room thick with elemental energy, he could already feel mana flowing steadily in his body.

His mental focus had almost completely recovered, though his body still carried traces of fatigue and a few wounds that had yet to heal.

Nevertheless, he was more than ready to fight again. By his estimation, he could now wield at least seventy percent of his full strength.

Taking a deep breath, he stood and changed into a fresh, simple mage robe before heading straight to the laboratory next door.

Sein was not one to indulge in idleness. Even after years of meditation, his thoughts immediately turned to experimentation.

This time, his focus was on furthering his research into the Azure Flame.

During his battles, he had gained new insights into merging the Azure Flame with lumen elemental law, and now was the time to put those theories to the test.

However, his research did not last long.

Barely a month after resuming his experiments, he was interrupted by a new order from the Magus Civilization.

He was to participate in a major offensive at the Grand Eye Demon World frontlines.

The higher command had likely assigned him a new mission, believing that he had recovered sufficiently after years of recuperation.

This new mission was a solo operation; Sein was not required to bring his divine tower legion along.

On top of that, the mission was not mandatory; he could decline it if he wished.

But Sein had no intention of refusing. The moment he received the message through the crystal ball, he began preparing to depart.

During the years Sein spent in deep meditation, the Magus Civilization had already distributed rewards to every combat legion that had fought on Radbow World.

Not only the knights and mages, but even the enslaved creatures from foreign planes had received generous compensation.

Naturally, Sein’s own rewards were far greater.

Instead of requesting magicoins, he applied for rare and costly magic materials.

At his level, ordinary resources were no longer of much use.

After his recent breakthroughs in fusing the Azure Flame with lumen elemental law, some of the materials he needed were so scarce that even medium-sized planes rarely had them. Only a few large-sized planes within the Magus Alliance produced them in small quantities.

Given his accomplishments, the Magus Civilization would almost certainly approve his requests. After all, only someone like Sein could put such precious materials to their best use.

Leaving his laboratory, Sein made his way toward the fortress command center, where he saw Sia, Reina, and the others.

Their quarters were close to his private laboratory.

In the Divine Tower of Ashes, proximity to the tower master was a privilege reserved for those whom he valued.

Sia and the others appeared to have just finished their training session. Sweat beaded their foreheads, not that they cared much for appearances. No outsiders ever came to this section of the fortress anyway.

The only one who might occasionally pass through was Marie, the dean of the Divine Tower of Ashes Academy, to whom Sein had also assigned quarters in this area.

The long war on Radbow World had been an ordeal for all of them.

Although they were spared from dangerous missions thanks to Sein, nowhere on that battlefield was ever truly safe.

Fortunately, the worst any of them had suffered were only minor injuries.

The women were caught off guard when Sein suddenly stepped out of the laboratory.

Given his habits, they assumed he would still be buried in his experiments.

Aside from Scarlet, who stood at the back in her crimson armor, Sein also spotted Gwyneira and Gwyndira. From the looks of it, all of them seemed to be getting along quite well.

Among all of them, Reina had grown the closest to Sein.

Her hair was still tied up in a high ponytail, but she had slimmed down a lot.

Of Sein’s women, Reina currently had the best figure and most flawless skin.

It was pretty strange, now that he thought about it. While most Sia and Natalya had developed healthy bronze skin from occasionally training under the sun, Reina’s complexion remained an almost unnatural shade of pale.

Not only that, her skin was soft and smooth, without the roughness common to female knights.

Since Natalya had fallen into her coma, much of Sein’s attention had quietly shifted toward Reina.

She, in turn, never failed to meet his needs.

When she noticed Sein’s gaze lingering on her chest, barely concealed beneath her tight black training top, Reina’s cheeks turned crimson.

“I’ll go clean up. I’m all sweaty from training,” she murmured.

Her words made the other women glance between her and Sein.

Reina could be so oblivious sometimes. How could she say something like that out loud?

Sein cleared his throat and said in an even tone, “I’ll be leaving Radbow World soon for another mission. You all stay here. If you need anything, speak with Marie.”

A look of relief crossed Reina’s face.

Without Natalya around to share the “burden”, she often felt a bit flustered being the focus of Sein’s attention.

After bidding farewell to the group, Sein went to meet Marie once more.

After discussing a few matters, Marie handed him a massive snow-white chrysalis from the Frost Crystal Silkworm. It was around ten meters long and thin as a cicada’s wing, faintly shimmering with traces of snow elemental law.

It was still in its raw state. Turning it into a magic robe would require multiple rounds of refinement.

Stowing the chrysalis carefully, Sein summoned Yuri, and the two made their way out of the plane.

For this new assignment from the Magus Civilization, Sein brought only Yuri with him.

Thanks to the Magic Cube, Yuri’s Burning Flame Unit had almost fully recovered—its condition now nearly matching Sein’s own.

***

Beyond the Mirage Wurm World, Sein met Jimmy Donald, a Rank Five mage who oversaw the battlefield there.[1]

Jimmy had a long face and short, platinum blond hair.

When he saw Sein, he greeted him warmly. “Ah, Master Sein! It’s only been three years since you completed your last mission, and you’re already back on the frontlines. You’ve truly been working hard.”

Then, with a smile, he openly admitted, “To be honest, I was the one who asked Master Clair to have you transferred here. I hope you won’t hold it against me.”

1. Translator Note: Okay, Mirage Wurm World is actually “Shen Insect World” in the raws. In Chinese mythology, the “Shen” is a shapeshifting dragon or shellfish-type sea monster believed to create mirages or Fata Morgana (refer to image below). I did my best to make it sound better while preserving the original meaning. I picked Wurm because Shen has dragon form, and a Wurm could be a wingless dragon or a reptilian worm.☜