Sovereign of the Ashes

At the end of the green elemental passage, Sein encountered a light blue curtain of water.

The initial moment he passed through, he experienced extreme discomfort—the entire plane seemed to reject his presence.

This discomfort was partly due to the strain of the prolonged, long-distance spatial teleportation, which exacted a heavy toll on Sein.

Fortunately, Sein's remarkable constitution, bolstered by the protective focus provided by his mentor allowed him to survive the teleportation without sustaining significant damage.

***

When Sein opened his eyes again, he found himself on a golden beach.

The surrounding tidal waves consistently left shallow white marks on the sand.

A small creature with sixteen pointy legs and a green shell scuttled past him.

It seemed to sense something unusual about Sein.

However, after waving its two pointy front legs, it turned its body sideways and attempted to scuttle away, perhaps realizing that Sein was much bigger than him.

Sein reached out, halting the little creature.

From his fingertips, a three-dimensional elemental line shot out, quickly forming an elemental cage.

This creature, a native of Verdant Wilderness World which Sein dubbed a "green crab", became the first living specimen he encountered in this low-level plan.

At this moment, Sein noticed something different about himself as well.

His fingers were slightly thinner, and his skin had taken on a greenish hue.

The clear seawater nearby mirrored his appearance; even his hair had changed to a greenish color akin to Lorianne's.

Standing at 1.6 meters now, his features had subtly shifted; he looked different—somehow even more attractive than before.

Previously, Sein's handsomeness had an aristocratic flair, marked by a cold disposition. In his current form, he was just good-looking.

Staring at his reflection in the seawater, Sein felt that his altered appearance, courtesy of his mentor, resembled a creature from the Magus Alliance.

The three small, greenish metal hoops on his pointed ear looked exquisite, adorned with intricate engravings that Sein, with his deep knowledge of alchemy, recognized that they radiated an unusual aura.

"Stop being narcissistic and no need to be impressed by your mentor's impressive skills. We've deviated slightly during teleportation. Let's head east to meet up with the Green Spikefur King first," Lorianne said.

Her voice was transmitted to Sein through her consciousness and the help of those three little metal rings on Sein's ear.

It seemed that Lorianne had embedded a strand of her focus into those three small green hoops.

Sein's ears itched slightly whenever she spoke, causing his entire body to feel uncomfortable.

This was likely because it was a new sensation for him; people rarely whispered directly into his ear, much less while nibbling on it.

Glancing up, Sein noted that the sky in Verdant Wilderness World was a clearer blue than in Verdant Leaf World. The sun was smaller but doubled.

Using magic to orient himself, Sein maintained a low flight eastward.

During the flight, he mentally conversed with Lorianne. "Master Lorianne, did you turn me into an elf?"

"Uh, elves have the greatest affinity for plant creatures among humanoid creatures I've discovered on the planes I know. This world is rich in biodiversity, and I suspect the creatures here aren't fully aware of how many races exist within their plane. An elf's appearance won't seem too out of place here," Lorianne explained.

"Unless you prefer to be turned into a plant creature that looks like a peach or banana? I could change your appearance again if you want."

Lorianne's transmitted voice appeared in his ear again.

Sein shook his head hastily, preferring his current elf-like appearance to a more drastic transformation.

If one looked closely at Sein's face, traces of his original appearance were still visible.

"Master Lorianne, can you move somewhere else?" Sein asked.

"What's wrong?" Lorianne asked.

"My ear is a little itchy," Sein replied.

Lorianne fell silent for a moment before asking, "Where do you want me to go then?"

That was a tough question for Sein.

He glanced at his body and ventured, "How about my finger?"

"Never mind, I prefer staying at your ear," Lorianne replied.

"Don't you know? Both male and female elves usually wore earrings. It reflects their love of beauty and nature," she continued speaking, making up a fun fact that made no sense to Sein, leaving him confused.

"Beauty... and nature, huh?"

***

Compared to Verdant Leaf World, Verdant Wilderness World was significantly larger and more prosperous.

Sein flew east from the beach where he had arrived, traversing countless distances.

Along the way, he collected specimens of many native creatures of the Verdant Wilderness World.

A week later, he finally reached Emerald Forest—one of the nine major forests in Verdant Wilderness World.

Aside from the Lust Verdant Forest where the planar lord dwelled, and the Twilight Forest, home to the guardian, the other seven forests were comparable in both size and status.

The true ruler of the Lust Verdant Forest was the Green Spikefur King, who possessed demigod-level strength.

This suggested that the Verdant Wilderness World had at least seven demigod-level beings.

This was just the count known publicly; there were likely additional hidden existences.

Moreover, many plant creatures were rooted in the soil of their homeplane, giving them an advantage in strength and endurance compared to their opponents of the same rank.

This made conquering this low-level plane more challenging than others, a common trait when dealing with dendro elemental planes.

However, this challenge was balanced by the diversity of species and the abundance of resources inherent to dendro elemental planes, which were more plentiful than in other types of planes.

Upon reaching the edge of the Lush Verdant Forest, Sein stored all the native specimens he had collected into a spatial conch.

This conch was a gift from Tourmaline and served as Sein's only storage for his journey into Verdant Wilderness World.

Its capacity was sufficient for almost all of Sein's needs, except it could not contain living beings.

"Tsk, you have a lot of goodies in your hands, kiddo!" Lorianne's exclamation rang in Sein's ear.

"And what's with that magic rod? When I was at Rank Two, I didn't have anything nearly as nice as yours. At that time, only my magic robe was similar to what you have now," she added enviously.

"This was a gift from Tourmaline," Sein replied.

"As for the magic rod, I'm sure you already know how the head came to be, Master Lorianne," Sein shrugged.

Despite being an apprentice, Sein was richer than his mentor when she was at Rank Two.

Lorianne felt a mix of emotions.

Perhaps it was only natural that each new generation would surpass the previous one.

The potential, strength, and financial power Sein currently displayed certainly outstripped what Lorianne had managed back in her day.

"Tourmaline gave you this? That dragon turtle is indeed filthy rich. If only I could..." Lorianne mused, her voice trailing off.

She recalled the superb gems, rare crystals, and other top-notch resources piled high on Tourmaline's expansive shell when she first arrived in the Jewel Sea.

It was not an exaggeration to say that Tourmaline could get away without being robbed in the Magus World solely due to her powerful family's influence and her siblings' protection.

As a draconic creature, Tourmaline had a penchant for shiny treasures.

Unfortunately, Sein had not witnessed Tourmaline's magnificent appearance during her migration, and therefore, he could not understand the visual impact she had made on Lorianne.

He only knew of Tourmaline's penchant for sleep and was unaware that beneath the northern bay of the Jewel Sea, where Tourmaline had made her bed, lay a layer of treasures of immeasurable value.

If all that money had gone to Lorianne, perhaps she could have settled all her debts.

In truth, Tourmaline was the richest one among them, a fact known to very few.