Sovereign of the Ashes

By the standards of the Magus World, a Rank Three mage should have a focus of 10,000 points, while a Rank Three knight should have a constitution of 10,000 points.

However, this standard didn't exist in the ancient era, when the Magus World's body tempering and magic development had not yet reached their zenith.

Back then, beings with a focus level of just a few thousand points could already be classified as Rank Three.

Moreover, the selection and measurement units of focus have continually evolved within the Magus Civilization.

For instance, alongside the most commonly used points, Hertz is also an important unit for measuring focus.

In his laboratory, Sein massaged the bridge of his nose while musing to himself.

The pursuit of truth involved more than just experimenting. Sein also needed to understand the history of the Magus Civilization, particularly the historical progression of the specific experiments he was conducting.

This was why mages were typically erudite—there was simply too much to learn and comprehend.

It was no wonder that Magus World's spellcasters generally regarded extraplanar beings as "ignorant" and "low-level".

This attitude stemmed from their arrogance, derived from standing at the pinnacle of a top-tier civilization, coupled with a genuine belief that certain creatures were indeed all brawn and no brains.

This belief extended to their views on knights, fostering a sense of general superiority among mages over the knights in Magus World—a sentiment that even the knights themselves acknowledge.

This perceived superiority was also partly due to the smaller population of mages and because the splendor of Magus World was significantly attributed to their wisdom.

The fact that knights in Magus World were the primary beneficiaries of advancements like space fortresses, teleportation arrays, alchemy equipment, and magic potions, made them the envy of beings from other civilizations.

Though both are Rank Two beings, mages from the Magus World can have a focus as high as several thousand points, whereas creatures from other planes in the Astral Realm might only have a focus of a few hundred points, or even less.

However, they have undergone deeper levels of evolution in other aspects compared to mages from the Magus World. Therefore, the gap in focus value does not necessarily equate to a difference in life level.

This gap in numerical value is limited to the strength comparison among mages from the Magus World.

Except for those with intelligent self-evolutionary system like the Magus Civilization's mages, most creatures born in the Astral Realm follow a passive evolutionary pathway, ascending their life levels by enhancing the strength of their bodies and cells.

Natalya's constitution is on the higher side for a Rank Two Knight.

Reina's constitution and other stats are even more extreme. Although her sensitivity is slightly worse, in all other aspects, Reina is exemplary among Rank Two creatures that primarily undergo passive evolution.

Under normal conditions, her constitution exceeds 7,000 points. If she activates her bloodline transformation or enters a combat state, her constitution can surge to over 10,000 points.

This is why she can temporarily overcome the barrier of life level and contend with Rank Three creatures!

Even in the Astral Realm, the constitution of ordinary Rank Three creatures, such as the Rank Three Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly from Verdant Leaf World, paled in comparison to Reina's.

"I might explore this area further later on to help Reina improve even more. There's still a considerable amount of untapped potential in that immense body of hers," Sein murmured to himself while stroking his chin.

Previously, Sein's research on Reina was driven more by his own interests in unraveling the mysteries of body tempering.

Next, Sein planned to use Reina as a crucial subject in his experiments, employing truth and elemental research to externally aid her in breaking her genetic limitations.

This could lead to enhancements in her constitution, explosive power of her muscles, endurance, and cellular restoration capabilities.

This technique was not uncommon in the Magus World.

Historically, even in the early ancient and primordial eras, knights were generally subordinate to mages of the same rank.

In fact, the very profession of the knight was created by mages with the purpose of cultivating a group of helpers with exceptional constitutions to assist them in experiments and other tasks.

At that time, these "mages" had another name. They were known as "magus"—the origin of the Magus World's name.

The reason the knight profession had developed to the extent that it now rivaled the mages was due to various factors, including their higher population and easier breakthroughs.

The Magus World also relied on a significant number of knights to maintain its superiority in routine interplanar wars and its dominance over the vast star domains under its control.

Furthermore, it was rumored that the first Rank Nine creature in the history of Magus World was a knight.

The Knight Continent, which Sein explored during his time in the Western Archipelago, was the secret realm left by this formidable entity.

Consequently, this greatly elevated the status of knights in the Magus World.

At least at the regulatory level—among the divine towers, Magus Alliance, and guardians—it was confirmed that knights and mages in Magus World were equal in status.

The conventional notion that mages were generally considered more honorable than knights by half a rank was a widely accepted concept, though not explicitly stated in the laws of this world.

One of Sein's next research directions was to assist Reina in developing her cells and unlocking her genetic potential.

While Reina benefited from her enhanced strength and passive evolution, Sein could deepen his study of human body mysteries, which could later be applied to his own body tempering experiments to enhance his overall strength.

This was a mutually beneficial and complementary mode of cooperation.

Throughout the history of the Magus Civilization, especially in the primordial era, there was no shortage of powerful knights who served as retainers to mages.

With the mages' help, they possessed greater strength, and the mages, in turn, relied on the knights for security and applied the discovered truths to themselves.

Sein was merely following in the footsteps of his predecessors.

***

Reina arrived in the third month after Sein returned to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Sein had urged her so strongly that Reina could not find an excuse to refuse.

Her temporary residence was set up on the 703rd floor of the divine tower, where Natalya lived.

Tower Master Lorianne was extremely generous to Sein; while other Rank One and Rank Two mages had to share a single floor with a dozen or more colleagues, Sein was allotted more than ten floors to himself.

This was a privilege he had enjoyed since his Rank One days.

The rooms in the divine tower were spacious enough to accommodate Reina.

In recent months, a number of specialized training rooms—including a gravity room, an endurance room, and a muscle room—had been constructed.

Natalya had truly made this place her home.

While setting up these training facilities, she not only utilized the advanced equipment of the divine tower but also invested a significant amount of her own magicoins.

Thanks to the resources available within the divine tower, Natalya was able to purchase most of what she needed without venturing out.

For items that were difficult to obtain, she could ask Sein to create them.

Even if Sein was too busy, Selina was often willing to assist Natalya.

Natalya and Selina had always maintained a relatively harmonious relationship.

This was likely due to Selina's gentler personality.

Moreover, although Natalya was assertive, she was not inherently jealous or spiteful, and over time, she came to accept Selina's presence in their life.