Sovereign of the Ashes

Twenty years had passed in the blink of an eye.

For Sein, it had felt like nothing more than the time it took to complete a few small experimental projects. But for others, it had been the most important period of their lives.

"Are there any promising candidates in this academy war?" Sein asked Marie.

As the academy's dean, Marie had just finished leading the pre-war mobilization meeting.

Looking at the eager, inexperienced students, she could not help but feel a little younger herself.

"The overall quality of initiates at our Divine Tower of Ashes is quite good. We have seven Quasi Mages and twenty-one senior initiates. The total number of initiates participating in this Academy War is 3,182, which puts us third among the six divine tower academies," Marie began.

"As for standout prospects... I am especially optimistic about these two." Marie raised her right hand, and two faces appeared in the emerald-green glow of an elemental light screen—one male, one female.

Though they were referred to as "young", that was only relative to Sein and Marie. The male initiate was a middle-aged man, whoappeareda little "older" than Sein at first glance.

This was the young man who had reached the Quasi Mage level. According to Marie's introduction, he was only thirty-nine.

Reaching Quasi Mage at that age was impressive. No wonder Marie thought highly of him.

But what truly made this magic initiate, Kayne, stand out was not just his talent; it was the number of trials he had taken part in over the past fifteen years. Many of them were dangerous quests that involved eliminating black mages.

There was a scar on Kayne's cheek that ran from the corner of his eye down to his lips. He had gotten it during a quest seven years ago from a black Quasi Mage.

That had been a fight against a stronger opponent, but Kayne had won and brought back the head as proof.

Spending so much time in the dark, treacherous corners of Ashenreach had taken a toll on Kayne's body.

That was why, despite not even being forty, he already showed clear signs of aging.

Some mages could keep a youthful appearance well into their fifties or sixties with the right care. Kayne clearly was not the type to worry about appearances.

Besides Kayne, Marie showed Sein another senior female initiate who was missing her right arm. She was slender, with a cold and determined air about her.

Sein actually remembered her. Pointing at her on the elemental screen, he said, "This female initiate... isn't she the..."

Marie clearly knew what he was about to say. She smiled and nodded. "Yes, she's the one Flacq brought back. I hear he's taken her as his apprentice now."

"It's a pity. I was actually quite interested in her and had planned to observe her first," she added.

Both Kayne and that girl possessed remarkable abilities.

Although their mana, mental focus, and other stats had not yet reached the limits of a magic initiate, combat strength was not decided by numbers alone.

Both of them had successfully challenged and defeated higher-ranked opponents.

The girl had even bested two older Quasi Mages on the academy's arena stage, earning herself partial resource privileges from the Divine Tower of Ashes.

The Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War was not just a test of a divine tower's teaching or educational quality over the past few decades.

If a tower's initiates performed exceptionally, it brought honor to both the tower master and the academy's dean.

In this war, both the Divine Tower of Ashes and the Divine Tower of Hosta were participating for the first time.

To show respect to the two divine tower masters and promote goodwill among the participating towers, all of the divine tower masters personally showed up at the trial secret realm.

***

When Sein arrived at the trial secret realm, the five Rank Four mages of the Byrne Empire were already there.

It was not that Sein was late; those five had simply arrived far too early.

The five divine towers competing in the academy war were all on the southwestern border of the Byrne Empire.

Sein did not yet know how many divine towers there were in the Byrne Empire.

But considering that the Marmett Union Alliance had more than a thousand, the Byrne Empire, as another of the Magus World's ancient powers, could not be far behind.

That said, the Byrne Empire's real strength lay in its knight legions, which were said to be far stronger than those of the Marmett Union Alliance.

Among the five Tower Masters of the Byrne Empire Divine Towers, only the Tower Master of Moon Tide was a young woman. The other four were all men.

Sein spent a little extra time chatting with the Tower Master of Hosta.

Both of their academies were participating in the academy war for the first time, so it was likely that much of the attention this year would be on them.

Many people were curious about how they would rank.

According to past academy wars, the two divine towers joining for the first time typically ended up in the last and second-to-last positions. This was seen as normal.

The Tower Master of Hosta was a relatively short but sophisticated male mage.

Describing him as "sophisticated" might not have been quite right, but he gave that impression, and there was even a peculiar incense-like scent about him.

Sein was not used to it, but this was apparently a popular fragrance among the upper nobility of the Byrne Empire over the past millennia.

When Sein asked why he named his divine tower after the flower, the tower master explained that his family in the Byrne Empire was known as "House Hosta".[1]

"And what about you, Master Sein? Why did you choose to name your divine tower after ashes?" the Tower Master of Hosta asked with a smile.

Even before the academy war began, there was already a subtle hint of rivalry between them.

"Because the law I command is the power of ashes," Sein replied, raising his palm to reveal a gray flame.

The flame, which gave off no heat, made the expressions of the five other Rank Four mages shift ever so slightly.

As fellow Rank Four beings, they could all sense the absurd amount of power hidden within Sein's Ashen Flame.

Judging by the attribute of his law alone, Sein, despite being newly promoted to Rank Four, was the most exceptional among the six of them.

"Hoho, Master Sein's power truly is extraordinary. I happen to be exploring the mysteries of the pyro element myself. Perhaps once this academy war is over, we can find a chance to exchange ideas and learn from each other," the Tower Master of Lava Volcano said, stepping forward with a hearty laugh to ease the tension.

1. Translator's Note: Hosta is actually Plantain lily. ☜