Sovereign of the Ashes

Once again, Sein met with the Tower Master of Dark Flame in his familiar office.

After listening to Bob's report on the divine tower academy's operations over the past few years, the Rank Five tower master waved his hand, signaling for Bob to leave.

Bob might not have been an outstanding dean, but his performance over the years had been decent enough.

At least, he had not wasted the generous salary the Tower Master of Dark Flame paid him every year.

"Hehe, I see there's something different about you now. I can't even quite figure you out anymore," the tower master said with a chuckle.

Even if Dark Flame could not see through the concealment of the Faceless Mask, he could still sense that Sein was no ordinary mage.

At the very least, Sein had already surpassed the level of demigod mages.

"I've actually ascended to Rank Four not long ago," Sein admitted.

Dark Flame was visibly taken aback.

He had suspected that Sein might have made the breakthrough. But speculation was just speculation—he had not expected Sein to confirm it so directly.

Back when Sein was offered the position of dean at the Divine Tower of Dark Flame by the tower master himself, he had only been at the peak of Rank Two, with the potential to reach Rank Three.

And yet, in just a thousand or so years, he had already reached Rank Four.

The speed of his advancement was genuinely astonishing.

"How did you manage to accumulate the elemental mastery and knowledge needed to reach Rank Four?" Dark Flame asked, clearly curious.

He could not help but wonder if Sein was a "Child of the Plane".

Sein did not go into detail. He simply said he had come across a few miraculous opportunities.

Dark Flame nodded in understanding. Indeed, without such rare opportunities, there was no way Sein could have advanced so quickly.

After catching up on Sein's situation, Sein brought up something else.

"During my travels in the Western Archipelago, I came across a special flame that felt very similar to your Dark Flame. I was wondering if the owner of that flame is related to you in any way?"

As he spoke, a ball of Cinderbone Flame ignited in his palm.

The Cinderbone Flame was the main type of flame Leena was currently learning to master.

When Sein first came across it, his initial impression was that it resembled the Dark Flame.

But as his understanding deepened and especially after he advanced to Rank Four, his grasp of the pyro element arcana reached a new level. That was when he realized the similarities between the two flames were far from mere coincidence.

When Sein presented the ball of Cinderbone Flame, the Tower Master of Dark Flame took it in his hands.

He examined it carefully for a moment. Though he seemed to sense something, his expression stayed neutral.

"No, I don't recognize the owner of this flame," he replied.

Then he added, "It has some unusual properties though. Mind if I keep it?"

Sein had picked up on the subtle reaction, but since the tower master refused to admit anything, he said nothing and simply nodded.

He stayed for a while longer, but the Tower Master of Dark Flame was not the warmest host. As the conversation gradually tapered off, Sein took the opportunity to excuse himself.

At first, the tower master had shown great interest in Sein's breakthrough to Rank Four. He had seemed full of questions and had even wanted to collect Sein's blood sample to check if he carried the bloodline of some ancient race that might explain his rapid advancement.

But in the end, he never brought it up again.

After watching Sein leave and closing the door to his office, the Dark Flame slowly opened his clenched right hand.

A pale gray flame flickered to life in his palm.

"Have you also broken through to Rank Four? The Western Archipelago, huh... Did you really end up becoming a black mage in Blackhaven?" he murmured, eyes closed, his thoughts drifting back to the distant past—to the days he had spent with his junior sister.

***

Just as Sein was about to leave the tower and head for other regions, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure within the Divine Tower of Dark Flame Academy.

"Oh, so you're still alive?" Sein said as he teleported directly to the fatty's side.

At that moment, the man was reclining comfortably in a lounge chair, sipping on his drink. Sein's sudden appearance and blunt greeting nearly made him choke.

The Divine Tower of Dark Flame was not especially prosperous, so building a private villa within its cramped space must have cost a fortune.

But judging by the man's lifestyle, he had clearly been living in luxury all these years.

Inside the villa, along with several scantily clad exotic maids, Sein also detected the presence of about ten young children.

These little ones seemed to be related to the fatty by blood. Sein never expected him to have so many descendants.

The man in question was none other than Bousse, who had once collaborated with Sein to poach initiates.

Bousse was not exactly a diligent mage, and his talent was limited.

So it came as quite a surprise to Sein that Bousse had managed to advance to Rank Two.

After all, the theoretical lifespan of a Rank One mage was only about a thousand years.

For someone like Bousse to break through, it meant he must have had some skill after all.

When Sein appeared wearing the Faceless Mask, he nearly scared Bousse to death.

The villa was protected by a magic array specifically designed to guard against Rank Two mages. By all rights, it should not have been possible for Sein to slip in unnoticed.

At first, Bousse was suspicious of the masked intruder's identity. But the moment Sein released a trace of his aura, the fatty recognized him immediately.

In a way, Sein was his benefactor.

Without Sein's support and encouragement back then, Bousse would never have reached his current status, nor accumulated such a vast fortune.

"It's you! You nearly scared me to death," Bousse said, rubbing his round belly.

They had not seen each other in centuries, and Bousse looked even fatter than before.

Of course, Bousse's weight gain was nothing compared to Reina's.

It was unclear whether Reina had followed the training regimen Sein had created for her during his years of seclusion.

If she had, there was still a chance she could slim down again.

Sein ended up chatting with his old acquaintance for quite a while.

From Bousse, Sein learned that the Divine Tower of Dark Flame had stopped poaching initiates years ago. The new dean, Bob, was not exactly the type who could handle outside pressure either.

With the tower's operations having stabilized long ago, there was simply no need to continue poaching initiates to keep things running.

For Bob, success was not about achieving great things—it was about not messing up. And the Master of Dark Flame seemed perfectly satisfied with that.

Since the tower had stopped poaching initiates, Bousse's income had taken a serious hit in recent years.

Fortunately, he had already amassed an incredible fortune—enough to retire comfortably within the divine tower.

In fact, his breakthrough to Rank Two had come with the help of countless rare materials, including life-extending potions.

In this world, one could buy just about anything with money.

Even life itself.