Sovereign of the Ashes-Chapter 930: Thriving

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After the new rules for the divine tower academy were implemented, the entire Divine Tower of Dark Flame seemed to radiate renewed vigor—or perhaps, a heightened sense of urgency.

Every day, initiates could be seen hurrying to every corner of the academy.

Dance saloons grew deserted, and masquerade balls became increasingly rare. Instead, the academy’s public library was packed almost every evening.

It was not just the initiates who had been enrolled for over ten years who felt the pressure of these changes. Even newly admitted initiates grew tense, influenced by the academy’s charged atmosphere.

After the lowering of the initiate enrollment criteria was approved by Dean Keith, the first cohort of magic initiates with an initial focus score of 8 points or higher successfully enrolled at the Divine Tower of Dark Flame.

Most of these initiates came from commoner families and, compared to their noble counterparts, exhibited a more ruthless determination in their studies.

Sein’s “Initiate Elimination System” seemed particularly effective for these commoner initiates.

The looming fear of expulsion created constant pressure, while the top 100 excellence rewards acted like carrots dangling just out of reach, spurring the initiates to push themselves harder each day.

With a combination of strict penalties and enticing rewards, the academy’s new rules created a balanced system of motivation.

After a six-month trial period, the results exceeded expectations, leaving Keith and the other vice deans deeply satisfied.

As expected, humans thrived under pressure.

The enthusiasm and efficiency displayed by the initiates made even Keith, who prided himself on being fair and kind, question whether he had been too lenient in the past.

If he had pushed harder, the Divine Tower of Dark Flame’s previous initiates might have performed so much better!

***

The Divine Tower of Dark Flame Academy was gradually thriving under the implementation of Sein’s new rules.

Meanwhile, Sein himself had resumed his own experiments and research.

In addition to furthering his exploration and mastery of Ashen Flame, Sein had restarted his body tempering program.

Following his promotion to Rank Three, Sein’s elevated life level, enhanced cellular resilience, and improved muscle flexibility allowed his constitution level to rise once again after centuries of stagnation and decline.

For Rank Three mages, core stats such as focus and mana typically exceeded 10,000 points.

As a body-tempering mage, Sein’s constitution level had also surpassed the 10,000-point mark.

The reason high-ranking mages were far more powerful than low-ranking mages was that a mere doubling or even a tenfold increase in stats often translated to a difference of dozens or even hundreds of times in combat power.

After all, mages excelled at using the principle of leverage to amplify their elemental attacks to devastating levels.

Sein had once tested his strongest offensive spell after being promoted to Rank Three, and the attack power exceeded 50,000 damage points—an already remarkable figure.

Yet, this figure continued to rise as Sein methodically improved his core stats over time!

A great mage improved steadily, day by day.

After advancing to Rank Three, Sein immersed himself in the vast ocean of the mysteries of truth, and each day brought him new insights.

***

In addition to resuming his body tempering experiments, Sein reunited with Reina and Natalya, who had recently returned from their travels.

The two women had been wandering for nearly ten years, and when Sein asked about their experiences, he discovered that they had even ventured to a microplane controlled by a nearby order of knights on an adventurous expedition.

“It was a geo elemental microplane, filled with towering mountains and steep hills. The native inhabitants were reptilian creatures with bone armor,” Natalya shared.

“I know what you like, so I brought you some souvenirs,” she added with a grin.

Natalya presented over a hundred specimens of unique species from the foreign plane, which briefly piqued Sein’s interest.

However, the two women’s skill in preserving and preparing the specimens left much to be desired.

To Sein’s critical eye, over eighty percent of the specimens were poorly prepared, with some even damaged due to the women’s considerable strength.

Still, Sein’s expression softened; he appreciated their thoughtful gesture.

It had been nearly ten years since they last met, and without Sein’s guidance, Reina’s weight had begun to rebound.

Back when the Gumo Plane War had just ended, Reina had possessed nearly perfect body proportions.

Now, with the trained eye of a body tempering expert, Sein noted subtle but unmistakable changes—a slightly swollen belly and a chubby chin.

Reina had transformed into a softer, rounder version of beauty.

Fortunately, Reina had not entirely neglected her training during her travels.

Otherwise, her fondness for indulgent eating might have caused her to fully revert to her old appearance.

When Reina met Sein again, she appeared rather self-conscious.

Her fidgeting betrayed her embarrassment about the weight she had gained and her worry that Sein might reprimand her.

Yet, Sein said nothing about her gluttony. Instead, after observing her for a moment, he merely said, “Come to my lab tonight. I’ll give you a checkup.”

Sein’s words caused Reina’s face to flush a deep red.

When she used to be overweight, Reina had not felt particularly self-conscious.

After losing weight and spending a month holding Sein in her arms in the magma river of the Gumo Plane, she found herself feeling unexpectedly shy.

There was one thing neither Sein nor Reina had fully realized—Sein had thoroughly studied Reina’s body, frequently examining her while she was nearly stripped down to uncover the mysteries of her passive evolution.

It was unlikely that Reina would ever marry.

No male knight, after all, would tolerate the idea of his wife having been stripped down and studied by another man.

Even though Sein had respected certain boundaries during his research—never removing Reina’s underwear—it was still enough to raise eyebrows.

In the past, Reina had not cared much about marriage.

The male knights from the Order of the Steel Fist had always either feared or been repulsed by her, never considering her as a potential partner.

If she had not met Sein, Reina would likely have spent the rest of her life living with her parents.

Having declined their offers to find her a husband from among their extended family, she would have most likely remained single for her entire life.

Reina’s parents were, of course, deeply worried about their only daughter.

As one of the two female T-Rexes in the Order of the Steel Fist, Reina’s reputation indeed made finding a partner nearly impossible, even more so than it was for Natalya.

The last time Sein visited Reina’s family, her parents had been exceptionally welcoming toward him.

At the time, Sein had assumed they were simply warm and friendly people. In reality, Reina’s parents were likely treating him as a potential son-in-law.

After all, it was the first time Reina had ever brought a man home!

On top of that, there had once been a scandal suggesting Reina was romantically involved with Natalya.

This made her parents even more anxious—they were desperate for her to settle down.

Even if she brought home a married man, they would accept it.

Burdened by excessive obesity, Reina’s parents were in poorer health than knights of the same rank, and their lifespan was expected to be shorter.

All they dreamed of now was holding grandchildren in their arms.

For knight houses, the importance of continuing their bloodline was something a mage like Sein could never truly understand.