Sovereign of the Ashes

If the construction of a divine tower started at around ten million magicoins, expanding it to include both upper and lower sections would raise the cost to at least sixteen million.

However, to build the upper, middle, and lower sections as proposed by Master Wenger, the total cost would likely exceed twenty million magicoins!

Putting aside the staggering expense, once Sein's divine tower was complete, the power it granted him would reach its peak.

The pyro elemental law deep within the underground veins that Master Wenger had mentioned was precisely what Sein needed in his pursuit of the power of ashes.

For Sein, trading resources for accelerated growth was more than worth it.

"So, roughly how many magicoins are we talking about?" Sein could not help but ask.

"Hard to say," Wenger said, smacking his lips. "But at least twenty-three million. This is my first time constructing a three-part divine tower."

"Last time, I helped another young mage build a divine tower deep under the sea. That only cost eighteen million. Yours might be a bit more complex," he added.

"Alright... I'll figure out a way to find money," Sein replied, already feeling a headache coming on.

Building a divine tower did not mean paying everything up front.

With the twelve million magicoins brought by Tesdor, Sein had enough to cover the initial phase of construction.

According to Master Wenger's plan and timeline, the Divine Tower of Ashes was expected to be completed within a hundred and fifty years.

In truth, most divine towers did not take that long to build.

With established blueprints and experienced construction teams, divine towers built by Rank Four mages typically took around fifty years.

But Sein's Divine Tower of Ashes was designed with three full sections—upper, middle, and lower.

In terms of workload, his tower was effectively three towers in one.

Master Wenger, being a cautious and experienced scholar, had tripled the standard construction timeline.

That gave Sein plenty of time to gather the rest of the funds.

With a twelve million magicoin loan from the Magus Alliance and another nine million in personal funds, Sein had a total of twenty-one million magicoins.

That still left him two million short of Wenger's estimate.

Fortunately, Tesdor had brought some good news.

Due to the construction of the Divine Tower of Ashes in Darwell, a region historically plagued by black mages, efforts were being made to support Sein in completing his tower.

There was also hope that once the tower was established, it would help cur the unchecked activities of black mages in the area.

After internal discussions, the Magus Alliance had decided to grant Sein an interest-free loan of four million magicoins.

With this funding, the total construction budget projected by Master Wenger had finally been met.

Additionally, Tesdor mentioned that the Magus Alliance would also offer a portion of low-interest loans to newly promoted tower masters like Sein.

These low-interest loans were, without question, the most favorable available anywhere within the Magus Alliance.

This was because the interest rates were, overall, lower than the depreciation rate of magicoins within the alliance.

Other factions and individuals might offer loans as well, but their motives were usually profit-driven.

In contrast, the Magus Alliance's interest-free and low-interest loans were essentially loss-making—regarded as a form of internal benefit extended to native powerhouses by the Magus Civilization.

Of course, now that Sein had ascended to Rank Four and could view the world from a higher vantage point, he had begun to understand things that had once eluded him.

Take these loans, for example.

At first glance, it seemed as though the Magus Alliance was taking a financial loss. But had they really lost anything?

Magicoins operated under a massive, deeply intricate system of laws, designed by a soul overmage. The entire Magus Alliance, spanning tens of thousands of planes, was bound by these rules.

The tens of millions in magicoins loaned to Sein might seem immense to him, but from the perspective of the alliance, it was merely a drop in the ocean.

More importantly, the alliance's true gain did not come from the measly interest Sein would eventually repay, but from how the loans stimulated economic activity across its territories.

Newly ascended mages like Sein, burdened with such significant debt, would inevitably feel the pressure to launch interplanar wars to cover their repayments.

The war machine that was the Magus Civilization continued to roll forward—relentless and unstoppable.

At some point, magicoins had become more than just currency. They had become the "fuel" powering the Magus Civilization!

"How much low-interest credit can the Magus Alliance offer me?" Sein asked curiously.

"Roughly ten million. This is the standard amount most divine tower masters receive when constructing new towers," Tesdor replied.

"Of course, if you can demonstrate greater potential, or if someone is willing to vouch for you, that amount can be increased," he added.

Back when Lorianne was building her divine tower in the Viridescent Land, she received over ten million in interest-free loans, and also applied for an additional five million magicoins in low-interest loans from the Magus Alliance.

A large portion of that went toward tower construction and the creation of incentive programs to attract full-fledged mages.

In truth, Lorianne could have applied for even more support. But not wanting to trouble Feylis, or take on excessive debt, she held back from borrowing the full amount available.

Purchasing a space fortress later had been an entirely separate matter.

Sein knew his mentor still carried a small portion of that debt, which had yet to be paid off.

Building a divine tower was never just about erecting the structure. Like his mentor, Sein would have to invest heavily in its development and long-term growth.

Fortunately, during his time serving as the dean of the Divine Tower of Dark Flame, Sein had gained considerable experience in divine tower management.

Compared to the Divine Tower of Dark Flame, the Divine Tower of Ashes would have lower operational costsfor now, mainly because Sein had no registered mages under his command yet.

***

Faced with the offer of a low-interest loan from Tesdor, Sein gave it some thought but chose not to submit the application to the Magus Alliance right away.

Instead, he simply signed the agreement for the interest-free loan, which would grant him an additional four million magicoins.

As the magicoins flowed in and resources for tower construction arrived in steady waves, the central region of Darwell gradually came to life over the next few years.

The common folk, many of whom had likely never seen a full-fledged spellcaster in their entire lives, had recently begun witnessing mages soaring through the skies above them.

Some had even spotted a dozen or more massive airships drifting overhead.

These rare and wondrous sights were quickly transformed into tales and legends, passed down from one generation to the next.