Sovereign of the Ashes

Over the years, Sein had encountered countless treasures. From "divine artifacts" wielded by beings of Rank Four and above, to even rarer world‑class secret treasures, he had studied them all.

The square‑shaped hammer in the hands of the blond, muscular man before him was also a world‑class secret treasure!

Its grade surpassed even Tourmaline's arm ribbons, rivaling the Faceless Mask itself.

Sein's exclamation drew the attention of the blond foreign god nearby.

The man looked at Sein, or rather, at his Faceless Mask.

Moments later, the blond god approached of his own accord.

He seemed easy enough to get along with; at least Sein did not sense any hostility from him.

First impressions were always mysterious like that.

The Faceless Mask revealed the man's strength to be at Rank Five, yet among all the Rank Five beings Sein had met, none had a stronger presence than this one.

"Greetings, I'm the Tower Master of Ashes. You may call me Sein," he said as the burly man closed the distance.

After all, he had been staring at the man the entire time, and curiosity had gotten the better of him.

"Uh... Greetings, I'm..." The burly man paused briefly, then continued, "You can call me Thunder God. My name is Thor."

"Thunder God?" Sein echoed, eyeing the man curiously.

In Titan World, gods gained divinity through faith. "Thunder God" was most likely his divine title, while Thor was his true name.

Normally, deities did not casually reveal their real names to strangers, but this was Magus World.

Thor saw no reason for caution, especially since he believed Sein had given him his real name as well.

"Your mask is quite unique. Would you mind letting me take a look at it?" Thor asked bluntly.

Whether he was simply an outgoing deity or just the sort who always spoke directly, the Thunder God's straightforwardness caught Sein off guard.

A faint smile tugged at Sein's lips, and he nodded. "Sure. But would you mind lending me your hammer for a look?"

Thor glanced at the hammer in his hand and tossed it to Sein without hesitation.

A faint smile appeared on Thor's lips too, but he seemed extremely amused.

As the silver hammer flew toward Sein, it seemed plain and unassuming.

But as it drew near, it erupted with thunderous power, startling Schlesyn at his side.

This surge of thunder was not intentional on Thor's part.

It came from the natural energy factors within the hammer.

Since Sein was not its master, the hammer naturally unleashed a backlash.

Along with its thunderous energy, the hammer also carried an astonishing physical force.

Thor had assumed that a Rank Four mage like Sein would have no chance of catching it, but what happened next surprised him.

Sein suddenly drew his magic rod and pointed it ahead.

An elemental ray was released, disrupting the hammer's balance and significantly reducing its momentum.

When the hammer finally reached him, Sein transformed his right hand into a demonic claw and grabbed its handle directly.

Thunder erupted even more fiercely, arcs of lightning like dancing thunder snakes crawling across Sein's magic robe.

With both hands gripping the silver hammer's handle, Sein finally subdued it.

When the Thunder God's hammer came to a halt beneath Sein's feet, Thor's expression shifted to astonishment.

"That's incredible. How did you do that? Aren't mages from Magus World frail because of weak constitutions?" Thor asked, still in disbelief.

Even now, crackling arcs of electricity lingered on Sein's body.

Thanks to the passive evolutionary state he had achieved through his body‑tempering experiments, Sein's body had become incredibly resilient.

He did not really mind the arcs of lightning either.

Ordinary lightning could no longer aid his experiments, but the thunderous power carried by Thor's hammer still had an effect on him.

After a while, the numbness slowly faded, and Sein exhaled softly. "I've been conducting body‑tempering experiments. Your hammer is truly impressive."

With that, Sein removed the Faceless Mask from his face and tossed it to Thor.

Since Thor had been willing to hand over his hammer for Sein to inspect, it was only natural that Sein returned the gesture.

Sein's Faceless Mask was theoretically capable of concealing and shielding even Rank Six beings.

Although it was unclear how this deity from Titan World had sensed something unusual about Sein's mask, the fact that he wielded a world‑class secret treasure was enough reason for Sein to consider befriending him.

Besides, in Magus World, Sein had no fear that someone would attempt to seize his secret treasure.

Sure enough, after receiving Sein's Faceless Mask, Thor showed no hint of greed—only curiosity.

He marveled at the mask, turning it over repeatedly in his hands. Just as he was about to return it, a purple bolt of lightning shot from its surface.

Despite being the god of thunder, Thor could not fully nullify the electric shock that surged through him.

Sein laughed heartily at the sight. "We're even now."

Thor rolled his eyes, tossed the Faceless Mask back, and extended his right hand.

With a sharp whoosh, the silver giant hammer that had rested beneath Sein's foot shot back into Thor's grip.

Compared to Sein, who had yet to unlock the Faceless Mask's full potential, Thor's mastery of his weapon was unquestionable.

"Is this your space fortress? Looks pretty impressive too!" Thor said, glancing up at the Azure Starbane behind Sein.

Born and raised on Titan World, Thor judged a space fortress by its size and the destructive power of its main cannon.

Sein's Azure Starbane was not much smaller than the one Thor had just purchased, which explained the compliment.

"Haha, it's decent, but definitely cannot compare to yours," Sein replied, casting an envious glance at the fortress behind Thor.

The massive pale gold fortress was not only slightly larger than Sein's but also far superior in almost every other respect.

Schlesyn glanced at him, then explained to Sein via mental focus that it was a "golden‑type" space fortress with a base price exceeding one hundred million magicoins.

This guy's filthy rich—that was Sein's impression of the bare‑chested, muscular Thunder God standing before him.