Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 986: Exploration

Sein’s doubts remained unanswered for now.

No matter the world, the use of elemental energy and cultivation methods was rarely widespread.

Take the fishing village before him, for instance. Dozens of people lived here, yet not a single one had grown into a so-called “adventurer”.

As for knights and priests, those professions were confined solely to the temples.

From the fragmented images he had extracted from the fishermen’s memories, Sein deduced that “adventurers” in this world were individuals below Rank One, who had only just begun to grasp elemental power.

In essence, they were similar to the magic initiates and squires of the Magus World.

As for what lay beyond Rank One and above, Sein had yet to uncover the answer.

Interestingly, he noticed something unusual about this world: there were remarkably few large-scale wars between nations.

The population was not small—Blackwater City alone boasted hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, despite being considered a “small city”.

Yet, while wars between nations were uncommon, the same could not be said for the conflicts between major churches and temples.

The residents of Mora Village worshiped Ysor, the God of Storms.

Their faith was deep, and they sought aid only from the Temple of Storms, never once considering the other two churches.

Such loyalty was not uncommon.

Tensions between different faiths simmered constantly, often boiling over into open bloodshed.

The naive fishermen had no idea where these calamities originated, but for Sein, the answer was not difficult to deduce.

The faint traces of death energy he had detected pointed to a likely cause: A conflict between rival churches that ended up harming the innocent.

The villagers might not understand the girl’s strange condition, but the templars who had visited that day...

They should have noticed it.

Perhaps, Sein mused, these mysteries would soon unravel, one piece at a time.

His strength was returning faster than expected.

While he still could not summon Yuri, he had managed to access his spatial storage equipment.

With the help of potent restorative potions, combined with his meditative practices, his strength had nearly returned to Rank Two.

He definitely intended to go to Blackwater City.

But before that, there were some loose ends to tie up here.

Sein could not help but lower his gaze to the Silver Spider Ring on his finger.

The once-glimmering surface remained dull and lifeless, but Sein, having already formed a bond with the artifact, discovered a ball of spider silk within the ring.

These strands were the same ones that had wrapped around his body before. They were his lifeline and the key to returning to the Magus World in the future.

Alongside the silk, a square stone slab also rested within the ring.

Ever since Sein’s descent into this world, the gray slab—once brimming with potent spatial energy—had gone completely inert.

It now felt like nothing more than a cold, ordinary piece of stone slab.

This item was beyond Sein’s current understanding, so he had no plans to study it for now.

He had also lost his connection to the Spider Queen.

The Silver Spider Ring, once an extension of her divine will, now felt like an empty shell.

Sein resolved to wait and give it time. He did not believe the queen would abandon him or more precisely, the stone slab and the world it was connected to.

***

Night had fallen once again.

Tonight, however, the sky was darker than usual.

The moon, which normally bathed the village in pale, luminous light, was now veiled by thick, heavy clouds.

Rain seemed inevitable in the coming days.

The girl had drifted into another deep sleep.

As a “half-undead creature” burdened by the flower of death rooted in her soul, her mental state and willpower were exceptionally fragile.

Perhaps due to the flower’s influence and her unstable mind, she rarely spoke. The only word she mumbled, again and again, was “Big Brother... Big brother...”

It had been several days since Sein first arrived in this world. He had survived and had not fallen to the gray monster’s attack two days prior.

He was likely the first living person to stay by the girl’s side for so long, and he could feel the growing dependency of this teenage girl on him.

The girl had cared for him when he was at his weakest. Now, it was only right that he offer her protection in return and, if possible, find a way to solve the problem plaguing her.

Of course, Sein did not deny that the curious spellcaster within him was intrigued by the strange condition of this teenage girl.

But all of that would have to wait. He needed to recover fully, and more urgently, he had to address the lurking dangers around them.

Sein waited until the girl was sound asleep before sitting up in bed and carefully prying her fingers loose from his right arm.

The flower of death at the back of her head quivered softly in the darkness.

Sein studied it with the detached focus of a spellcaster and determined that it was close to “maturity”.

If someone had intentionally planted the flower in the girl’s soul, they would soon return to harvest it... perhaps within the week.

In any case, that was a problem for another day.

He buried several Viridescent Seeds in the soil around the wooden cabin and set up a few protective wards.

Satisfied with his work, Sein adjusted his tattered magic robe and flew toward the underground sewer to the west.

Sein could have easily cloaked himself in a fresh set of magic robes now that he had access to his space ring—he actually had several spares stored away for such occasions.

Yet, he chose not to, opting instead to remain inconspicuous.

Had he not been confident that no one else would appear tonight, he might have even considered draping himself in the worn fisherman’s leather coat he had collected earlier that day.

The crude garment, stitched from low-quality leather and coarse fishing thread, spoke volumes about the harsh realities of life in Mora Village.

The dark, stinking underground sewer pipes were far from an ideal place to explore.

At first, the foul-smelling, dirty water barely reached his ankles.

But as he ventured deeper, the water level steadily rose.

By the time he reached the innermost sections, the murky liquid had climbed to nearly two meters, and grotesque fish with jagged teeth slithered past him.

Instead of frowning at the stench of the creatures, Sein’s spellcaster instincts compelled him to collect several specimens.

Others might find these sewer-dwelling creatures disgusting, but to Sein, the pursuit of truth transcended beauty or ugliness.

These biological samples would provide valuable insight into the lifeforms of this world.

His collection efforts did not last long.

Soon enough, he found what he had come looking for.

Even in his weakened state, with planar suppression still weighing on him, Sein’s detection magic and keen mental focus allowed him to spot anomalies within nearly a kilometer’s range.

The lack of any shielding force fields made the task even easier.

He doubted that even with its three temples—or churches—Blackwater City, his next destination, would house anyone with the power of a Rank Three Grand Mage.

A Rank Two powerhouse would have been surprising enough.

But if this large-sized plane somehow boasted more Rank Three powerhouses than he expected, Sein would seriously consider summoning the Spider Queen to pull him back to the Magus World.

Sein turned a corner and halted.

There, lying on the damp floor beside the waterway, was a familiar gray shadow.

It was the monster from two nights ago, and it was still wounded.

Since Sein’s Aura Restraint spell remained activated, the creature—slow-witted as it was—remained oblivious to his presence.