Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 545: Magic Letters

When Sein awoke, he found Yuri in his arms.

The recliner in his laboratory was too small for two, so Yuri rested only the upper half of her body in his arm, careful not to put her full weight on him for fear of waking him.

As Sein opened his eyes, he realized Yuri was still asleep.

The engineer from the Neisse Civilization was quietly enjoying the tranquility and Sein’s natural scent, sleeping more peacefully than usual.

Looking down, Sein noticed that his robe showed no signs of being disheveled.

It was evident to him that the effect of the Mirage Soul Enslavement spell on Yuri was deepening.

Fortunately, she showed no signs of going against him, which was a relief, considering the potential consequences.

For the past ten years, Sein had never once viewed Yuri as a slave, despite the circumstances.

As he slowly rose to his feet and extricated himself from her embrace, Yuri, being a light sleeper, stirred awake.

“Master, you’re awake,” she whispered, her face flushed.

For some reason, Yuri appeared unusually shy at the moment, her eyes gleaming with emotions.

This was the first time she had taken such a bold initiative, and it seemed even she was taken aback by her own audacity.

The “Mirage's Almanac of Souls” subtly transformed Yuri, influencing her without directly distorting her sanity or judgment.

She retained her original values, life outlook, and memories.

Yuri was likely embarrassed by her own behavior.

Throughout her time with the Neisse Civilization, several accomplished engineers had declared their affection for her.

However, it had always been others who pursued her; this was the first time she had taken the initiative.

“Yes. Let’s quickly freshen up and resume our experiment,” Sein said, his expression unchanging and his tone neutral.

The colder Sein acted, the more intensely Yuri felt drawn to him, as if a fire were kindling in her heart.

She could not pinpoint what was affecting her so profoundly, but she knew she appreciated Sein’s demeanor and yearned to stay by his side, even if it meant only watching him in silence.

“All right,” she responded obediently.

***

A typical mage’s life followed a simple pattern—daily repetitions of experimental research, and meditation to recover focus and mana.

To outsiders, this routine might seem monotonous and dull.

However, most mages deeply engaged in their work did not see it that way.

They relished their busy lives, finding special satisfaction in each experiment and each discovery of truth.

Sein had spent over two years at the Summoner Alliance’s Deep Blue Summoning Divine Tower.

When the initial lease on the magic tower expired, he renewed it for another six months based on his research needs at the time.

During his tenure, he had paid a total of two thousand magicoins to the Deep Blue Summoning Divine Tower.

Hence, when it was time for him to depart, the Rank One female mage responsible for overseeing his stay was somewhat reluctant to see him go.

Not all mages were as affluent as Sein.

Many faced financial challenges in their quest for knowledge, with their explorations of truth often hampered by a lack of funds.

Venturing recklessly into research was not feasible either—a reality that even Sein had to acknowledge.

Despite his wealth, Sein was not exempt from other constraints, but he was in a better position than most mages of his rank since he did not need to worry about resources for the time being.

More than ninety percent of the mages who took part in interplanar wars were not motivated by the thrill of battle. Instead, they participated to earn magicoins or to discover new knowledge through the conquest of different planes.

The two thousand magicoins Sein had spent was just a part of his expenditures over the years.

Since then, he had engaged in several costly long-distance communications with Leena, each time incurring significant expenses.

Yet, the rewards he gained were always proportional to the efforts he invested.

Both Sein and Leena’s understanding of spatial magic had rapidly advanced, and they had even developed preliminary experimental theories on interplanar bartering.

It seemed likely that soon, Sein and Leena would be able to exchange items through a magic array.

If that were the case, could the day of their reunion be near?

Over the years, Sein had spent more than six thousand magicoins—a significant investment that explained why he seldom indulged in idle chatter during his communications with Leena.

Every moment wasted meant another energy crystal consumed.

Leena’s situation was somewhat better; she mentioned utilizing the necromantic energy from the Catacomb Chasm of the Black Tower of Cinderbones as her energy source.

On Sein's side, however, he relied solely on his reserves of energy crystals.

His expenditures could probably be mitigated when he returned to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

There, he could use the elemental pool inside the tower as a source of energy for the magic array to reduce the cost of operation.

Sein ended up spending a total of four years with the Summoner Alliance, and he had initially planned to extend his stay, especially to explore the underworld.

However, he eventually prioritized his experimental collaboration with Leena and his advancement to Rank Two, deeming these more urgent matters.

Exploring the underground world beneath the Summoner Alliance would have to wait until his return next time.

After leaving the territory of the Summoner Alliance, Sein continued his journey eastward, passing several smaller forces as well as many divine towers and orders of the knights.

Deep in the heart of the Magus World, the magical civilizations in this region thrived.

Sein also discovered that teleportation arrays were common throughout the Magus World.

The only reason there were none in the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring was because it had only been recently established.

In most other divine towers, and even among the orders of knights, teleportation arrays were exceedingly common.

Each divine tower typically housed several teleportation arrays.

The more prosperous ones boasted as many as a dozen sets, some of which were even directly linked to other planes.

By paying a specified fee in magicoin, any mage could use these arrays to travel to the planes under these organization’s control.

Sein was naturally intrigued by these micro and small-sized planes that he had never heard of.

However, after careful consideration, Sein abandoned the idea of impromptu planar exploration, resolving to wait until he returned to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring to make any further plans.

Having been away for over thirty years, he was beginning to miss the familiar faces back at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

***

After passing through the territory of a small force led by necromancers known as the “Skeleton Clock Tower”, Sein arrived at an intriguing location called Windpost Fortress.

The Skeleton Clock Tower controlled four divine towers and eleven orders of the knights.

While traversing this area, Sein managed to acquire a large batch of necromantic magic ingredients at favorable prices for his upcoming experiments.

Windpost Fortress, however, was a unique region rumored to have been founded by a Rank Six knight.

Strangely, this knight did not establish any orders but instead built a special network linking several large, medium, and small forces in the vicinity.

The castle itself lacked distinctive features, except for its advanced transportation and communication infrastructure, reputed to be able to dispatch magical letters or items to any location in the Magus World.

Upon learning this, Sein decided to write two magic letters and handed them to the staff for delivery.

Both letters were addressed to Viridescent Land—one to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and the other to House Grantt.

The courier who collected his letters was a Rank Two Land Knight.

Sein paid him fifty magicoins and said, “I’ll leave them in your capable hands.”

The Rank Two Land Knight glanced at the addresses on the letters, then assured him with a smile, “If it’s to Viridescent Land, they'll reach the recipients within six months at most.”