Sovereign of the Ashes

On his first day teaching, Sein entered the classroom precisely on time and departed immediately after the class was dismissed.

He never lingered to ensure that the initiates had grasped his lessons.

Sein was not a typical academy mage; he only taught at divine tower academy at the request of his mentor.

To Sein, the status and backgrounds of his students were irrelevant; none of them could possibly compare to him.

Most likely, the figures these initiates revered as elders were merely ordinary Rank One or Rank Two mages from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

When the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring rapidly absorbed two thousand hedge mages from Viridescent Land, some of their undesirable practices were inadvertently introduced to the academy.

When Sein was an initiate, such an atmosphere was less pervasive.

Currently, the divine tower's Rank Three deans, with Master Archimedes being the representative, were stationed in the Verdant Leaf World.

The more opinionated cohort leaders were all absent and only a handful of passive mages remained. It was no wonder the atmosphere had begun to change.

Resolving these issues was beyond Sein's capabilities as he lacked both the experience and the inclination to devote much time to such matters.

In recent years, Sein had achieved a significant breakthrough in his research on the Everburning Violet Flame.

After conducting his lectures, Sein always hurried back to his laboratory to continue his experiments.

Even while sharing advanced pyro elemental knowledge during class, his mind often wandered to the details fo his previous night's research.

Given these commitments, how could Sein possibly dedicate himself to rectifying the academy's growing cultural problems?

Surely, that responsibility fell to Master Archimedes and the other deans of the divine tower academy.

After all, given their substantial salary, it should be their job to address every challenge the academy faced on Lorianne's behalf.

Sein maintained a casual approach to public courses but conducted his private lessons in his own way.

On the first day, he removed thirteen of the twenty magic initiates who had originally filled the seats of his private class.

He promptly replaced them with a group of higher-ranked initiates who had conducted alchemy research to a certain extent.

His actions were acceptable as a private instructor had the right to choose his apprentices.

The dismissed initiates exited the classroom with embarrassed and awkward expressions.

Some were relatives of full-fledged mages within the divine tower or even members of royal families from across Viridescent Land.

Yet, Sein remained indifferent to their prestigious backgrounds and was particularly irked by the presence of a junior initiate who was a hydromancer in his private alchemy lesson.

Although he had no idea how this initiate managed to secure one of the twenty slots in his alchemy course, Sein could not tolerate any waste of his time.

The initiates who secured places in Sein's private course were generally intermediate initiates and above, well-versed in pyro elemental magic, possessing a foundational understanding of alchemy, and had likely attended Sein's public classes.

Although Sein was often distracted during these sessions, he could still manage these "little brats" who still had much to learn.

The thirteen initiates Sein chose as replacements had made a notable impression on him during the public courses. Among them were several modestly dressed youths from less affluent noble families.

The atmosphere at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy had indeed deteriorated in recent years due to lax management.

Nevertheless, the academy continued to attract a higher caliber of initiates from across Viridescent Land than in Sein's time, including those along the Verdant Wave Canal and the distant East Coast.

Sein's private classes were not scheduled rigidly, running according to his preference, although each session had a set duration.

Initiates were also required to pay one to three magicoins per class.

Unfortunately, this modest sum of magicoins was not enough to motivate Sein, especially when he was deeply engrossed in his experiments in recent years.

As a result, courses that could typically be completed in a month—or at most, half a year—were often extended to over two years due to Sein's experimental commitments.

For the magic initiates lucky enough to be part of Sein's private alchemy course, it was not unusual to go months without seeing him.

The effectiveness of Sein's intermittent teachings remained a mystery.

Two years later, after the conclusion of Sein's private alchemy course, a red-robed initiate approached him in the classroom while he was packing up his experimental equipment.

He was one of the twenty students in Sein's private course. Despite over two years of sporadic interactions, Sein only knew him by name—Freymond.

The lavish brownish-red robe he wore hinted at his prestigious family background.

Being remarkably gifted, Freymond was already a senior initiate in his twenties.

Given his age and abilities, he was considered a prodigious talent at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy—potentially on track to become a Quasi Mage by forty and a full-fledged mage by seventy.

"Is there something you need, Initiate?" Sein asked, observing the nervousness in the young man's demeanor.

"Honorable Master Sein, your insights into alchemy are profound. I would be grateful for the opportunity to continue my studies under your guidance, perhaps even as a junior assistant in your laboratory," Freymond proposed, his voice a mix of excitement and trepidation.

At his words, the gazes of the other initiates in the classroom turned toward them.

Clearly, Freymond was not the only one with such ambitions; he was merely the first to boldly step forward and voice his request.

"Oh? You wish to be my apprentice?" Sein asked, raising an eyebrow.

The young man's intention was clear, despite expressing his willingness to become Sein's junior assistant.

This scenario was common within divine towers.

However, full-fledged mages were mindful of their reputations, and the decision to take on an apprentice required careful consideration.

Hence, becoming a junior assistant to a full-fledged mage was often viewed as a crucial stepping stone toward apprenticeship.

Even if the mage eventually decided against taking the initiate as his apprentice, it would not matter.

After all, the agreement was only to take on the initiate as a lab assistant, without an explicit promise of apprenticeship.

Sein's direct question caused Freymond's cheeks to turn noticeably red.

Becoming an apprentice to someone of Sein's stature was probably a coveted dream for nearly all initiates at the academy.

Freymond's heart pounded with excitement at the prospect of being accepted, sensing that his family's future prosperity might soon be secured.

Unfortunately, his hopes were quickly dashed when Sein shook his head.

"I'm not planning to take on any apprentices at the moment. Now, please, step aside, Initiate," Sein replied.

With that, he walked past the disappointed initiate and flew toward the upper levels of the divine tower.

Unlike his mentor who impulsively took on an apprentice, Sein was more cautious.

He had no immediate plans to take on an apprentice and, if he ever did, he would think through his decision and carefully evaluate the candidate beforehand.

Sein was determined not to replicate Lorianne's hasty decisions, taking on an apprentice whose elemental mastery did not align with her own, which led to struggles in mentoring them.

ACHOO!

While Sein rejected the request of the initiate named Freymond, far beyond the Verdant Leaf World, Lorianne suddenly sneezed.

She paused, looking around in mild confusion, before returning her attention to the crystal ball before her.

Engrossed in her calculations, Lorianne was figuring out how many magicoins she could muster to fund her application for a space fortress.

Apart from this acquisition, she also needed to reserve funds for the daily operations of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and upcoming military commitments in the Verdant Wilderness World.