Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 477: Ghur

A swamp capable of trapping a Rank One knight was clearly no ordinary quagmire.

Sein noticed that the wet mud was dragging the knight deeper while emitting a faint geo elemental glow.

The mud appeared to be valuable geo elemental magic materials, but it was clearly not something an average person could easily collect.

Confronted with the trapped knight's plea for help, Sein stood pensively by the swamp’s edge for a good while before he began fetching magic materials from his spatial equipment.

He was not deliberating whether to assist but rather planning the best method of rescue.

Now that Sein had finally met another person, he was eager to glean some information from the knight.

His knowledge of the Knight Continent was limited to the general information he had gathered from common sources in the Western Archipelago.

The trapped Rank One knight, qualified to enter this secret realm, likely possessed deeper insights.

Mages were better problem solvers compared to knights.

While knights might struggle with a swamp capable of swallowing Rank One creatures, mages like Sein could devise multiple solutions.

Complex incantations echoed throughout the forest as Sein scattered special gray magic spices around the area.

Through the manipulation of magic elements, a narrow, solid path quickly formed in the previously wet and muddy swamp.

However, this was a temporary path, as evidenced by tiny vortexes appearing around the swamp’s edges.

After casting a Lightfoot and Flight spell on himself, Sein hurried toward the trapped knight.

***

It did not take Sein a long time to rescue the Rank One knight. The magic spices used were inexpensive, yet they earned Sein heartfelt gratitude from Ghur.

Ghur hailed from the East Coast, located east of the Western Archipelago, with which it frequently engaged in dealings.

On the East Coast, battle qi and magic were developed in harmony, giving rise to unique professions such as Magiknight and Battle Mage.

Magiknights initially focused on battle qi and, upon reaching a certain proficiency, they began to delve into the realm of magic, thereby wielding dual powers.

Conversely, Battle Mages started as mages specializing in elemental power but they eventually began to develop their melee combat style, making them more adept at physical combat than typical mages.

However, this diversity of skills also meant their focus was divided, preventing full dedication to laboratory research.

Ghur shared all this information with Sein, having mistakenly assumed Sein was a Battle Mage.

“The control you have over your muscles isn’t typical of ordinary mages,” Ghur explained when Sein questioned the assumption.

“I’ve met a few Battle Mages who gave off a similar vibe," Ghur added as he tended the evening campfire.

Meanwhile, Sein was busy examining the pale yellowish mud he had collected from the swamp. It was notably sticky and seemed to possess significant magical conductivity.

He also observed several worms, ranging from a few centimeters to a dozen centimeters in length, that had come with the mud.

Hearing Ghur’s reply, Sein nodded, then picked up the wriggling worms and said, “The real culprits that trapped you in the swamp are probably these little creatures.”

“Hmm... considering the faint elemental energy they emit, they must be some kind of magic creatures.”

Sein’s words soured Ghur’s expression.

As a powerful Rank One Knight, nearly being defeated by a group of small magic creatures was both humbling and slightly embarrassing, even though he was intrigued by them.

“You saved me, so I’ll grant you a favor within my ability,” Ghur offered generously.

His generosity hinted at a considerable background.

Indeed, those qualified to venture into the Knight Continent were typically exceptional prodigies from certain regions or divine towers, or they came from backgrounds rich with resources and connections.

Given Ghur’s recent misfortune of being ensnared in a swamp after his arrival here a month ago, it seemed unlikely he belonged to the former category.

Sein’s Aura Restraint spell made him appear exceedingly ordinary.

Although Ghur recognized traits of a Battle Mage in Sein, he could not discern his real strength.

Regardless, no Battle Mage was weak; while those of Rank Two and above were rare, even Rank One Battle Mages were quite formidable among their peers of the same rank.

Sein was not particularly interested in material wealth, as he was not lacking in resources.

“Tell me everything you know about Knight Continent then. I’m more interested in information,” he said to Ghur.

Ghur gaped at him for a moment, then asked incredulously, “Didn’t your mentor or family elders tell you what to expect before you came here?”

His question reminded Sein of his mentor, Lorianne, who was currently far away in the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring. He shook his head calmly.

“Your mentor must be quite irresponsible,” Ghur muttered.

***

Running into Ghur proved to be a minor yet insightful incident after Sein entered Knight Continent.

From this Rank One knight, Sein gleaned information about the continent—details that were otherwise inaccessible from the outside world.

It was estimated that about a hundred thousand trialists were participating in this opening of the Knight Continent, scattered across various trial zones throughout the continent.

The female mage Sein had noticed earlier might not have been assigned to the same area as him, and there was a possibility that some of these zones were not interconnected.

It seemed likely that the entity controlling the laws of the Knight Continent had randomly selected a few areas to allocate to this cohort of trialists.

The trialists were not solely human knights and mages; starting many years ago, some aquatic races had also begun to partake in these trials.

This information reminded Sein of the aquatic races he had seen in Port Allen, which was near the Knight Continent.

Greenland Island boasted several port cities of comparable size, not to mention the smaller ones.

Given that trialists also entered from the other three directions of Knight Continent, it was unsurprising that the total number might reach a hundred thousand.

In a typical low-level plane, this figure might represent the entire population of Rank One beings.

However, within the Magus Civilization, this figure represented merely the newest cohort of potential talents, born in the last millennium.

Moreover, this group of trialists in the Knight Continent could be considered one in a million among the Magus Civilization’s population.