Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 485: Trial

Leena’s experiences during her initiate days were far richer and more perilous than Sein’s.

While Sein was engrossed in his studies at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, delving into the mysteries of truth and magic, Leena was already undertaking extremely dangerous academy quests in Blackhaven.

Moreover, sometimes the real danger came not from the vicious magic beasts in the dark magic beast forest or the undead creatures in the Catacomb Chasm, but from the black mages residing nearby.

In Leena’s opinion, the Black Magic Academy in Blackhaven was far more brutal than the one in Mystralora City.

The initiate elimination rate there was three times higher compared to Mystralora City.

Every day, new initiates perished in strange ways.

Those who died directly on academy missions were considered fortunate.

Many initiates, aside from falling at the hands of their peers, met another grim fate—becoming experimental specimens for irritable black mages on a whim.

The mages of Blackhaven were generally under significant mental stress.

Some did not even need a reason to kill.

It was normal for someone to be killed just because they were an eyesore.

In such a place, it was rare to find anyone of sound mind.

Even those who were not initially mad were on the brink of being driven to insanity.

After listening to Leena’s account of her past experiences and the events at Black Magic Academy, Sein held her hands in his.

“Once this trial on the Knight Continent is over, why don’t you come with me? I’ll bring you to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring!” he suggested, his eyes alight with determination.

The intensity and certainty in Sein’s gaze were unmistakable to Leena.

Yet, despite his invitation, she shook her head with a bitter smile, hinting at unspoken troubles.

“By the way, how did you end up at the Black Tower of Cinderbones?” Sein asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

He presumed that much of Leena’s troubles stemmed from her affiliation with the Black Tower of Cinderbones.

Typically, mages who joined a divine tower were bound by magic contracts. These bindings were presumably even more stringent at black towers.

In most divine towers, breaking a contract usually resulted in the mage paying a hefty sum of magicoins.

However, the repercussions of breaking stricter magic contracts could lead to a backlash, affecting the mage’s focus and mana.

In Blackhaven, violating a contract with a black tower could cost a mage their life—or even result in their soul being subjected to severe sanctions by the black towers.

“Master Fareena advanced to Rank Two shortly after returning to Blackhaven. She was invited to join the Black Tower of Cinderbones, so I followed her,” Leena explained.

In Blackhaven, Rank One black mages needed to pay a certain “protection fee” to join a black tower.

However, mages who had achieved Rank Two or higher were exempted from this fee. Instead, they were often recruited by various black towers throughout Blackhaven.

Strength was the cornerstone for knights and mages in this world.

With sufficient strength, they could achieve almost anything. Without it, their options were severely limited.

Leena had initially followed Fareena to join the Black Tower of Cinderbones. However, after the conclusion of the Death Trial over twenty years ago, her exceptional performance brought her to the attention of the black tower’s upper echelons.

Consequently, Leena was regarded more highly than her mentor Fareena, as her accomplishments were extraordinary among ordinary black mages.

Unbeknownst to the outside world, the Death Trial held by the Black Tower of Cinderbones was a joint effort with two other nearby black towers.

This meant Leena emerged as the top candidate among all the black magic initiates of the three towers. It was little surprise that she caught the eye of the Black Tower Master of Cinderbones.

As for Leena's unspoken troubles, she was not only bound by a soul contract with the Black Tower of Cinderbones but had also become a wanted individual across various divine towers and knightly orders in the Magus World.

Leena and Sein spent their first night together nestled close, talking to each other.

By morning, the campfire in the cave had extinguished, and Sein had consumed most of the cooked bear paw.

As elemental light filled the cave and then gradually faded, Leena reappeared in Sein’s view—standing only 1.5 meters tall in her most familiar form to him. However, her hair was half red and half black.

She flicked her curly hair and said, “The excess umbra elemental energy in my body hasn’t been fully absorbed yet. It will take some time before I can completely return to my former appearance...”

Before Leena could finish, Sein stepped forward and embraced her. He could not deny that he found comfort in her current appearance.

***

Leena could alter her forms, though each transformation required extensive preparation and took considerable time.

Moreover, changing her form impacted both her strength and sensitivity to elemental energy.

Undoubtedly, Leena was at her strongest when she was tall, with straight black hair.

In that form, she could harness her umbra elemental energy to its fullest extent.

Conversely, her red-haired form enhanced her affinity for pyro elemental energy.

Sein was curious and inquired about the Umbra Elemental Body Immersion technique Leena used when she was attempting to be promoted to Rank One.

This method, which she had earned as a reward for finishing first in the Death Trial, was highly coveted by many black mages.

Immersion in a dense liquid of the umbra element not only provided a nearly ninety percent chance of advancing to Rank One but also enhanced a mage’s aptitude by boosting both their umbra elemental mana reserves and affinity.

This method explained why Leena, although a recent newcomer to Rank One, could exhibit strength and a quantity of mana comparable to those in the later stages of Rank One when in her explosive state.

In the Magus World, geniuses were plentiful.

Nevertheless, both Leena and Sein were considered prodigious among Rank One beings.

Since Leena had regained her height of 1.5 meters, Sein easily scooped Leena up and planted a kiss on her cheek.

“Come on, let’s continue our trial in the Knight Continent!” he said.

In that moment, Sein’s demeanor transformed significantly. Now genuinely happy and relaxed, with Leena by his side, he felt everything he did was filled with meaning and joy.

Leena, unbothered by Sein’s saliva on her cheek, nuzzled her head on his chest and replied, “Yes, together.”

Together, they headed north to continue their trial.