Chapter 2107: I Will

Inside the room, Sein glanced at the crystal roses in Catherine’s hand with a hint of surprise.

He suddenly realized that his timing might have been a little terrible.

Sein had only just teleported into the room. With his strength as a peak Rank Five Grand Mage, short-range spatial jumps were hardly difficult for him, even though he had never specialized in spatial magic.

Besides, this was the Divine Tower of Ashes. It was practically his own home.

Catherine, however, had no idea who the masked stranger standing inside her residence was.

The moment she saw an unfamiliar mage intruding into her quarters, she reacted without hesitation.

Two magical projectiles wreathed in pale green flames shot straight toward Sein.

Sein watched them approach without even bothering to dodge.

The two green-flame projectiles, each carrying an attack power of at least seven hundred damage points, struck him directly.

Yet they failed to so much as scorch the fabric of his magic robe.

Seven hundred damage points...

If Sein were to quantify his current strength, even a spell casually cast by him would likely deal six figures’ worth of damage.

Of course, raw attack power had never been the true measure of a mage’s strength.

Knowledge was.

Sein glanced down at his magic robe, then reached out and caught a few pale green pyro elemental particles still lingering in the air between his fingers.

A look of satisfaction appeared beneath his mask.

Catherine, meanwhile, immediately realized that the intruder before her was far beyond anything she could handle at her current level.

She still had two ultimate spells with considerably greater destructive power, but either one would require a much longer incantation.

And this mysterious figure standing before her, whose aura she could not even properly sense, clearly would not give her that kind of time.

Even if he did, Catherine had the faint feeling that those spells still would not be enough to harm him.

Since her attack had failed, her next thought was to turn around and run!

Catherine possessed sharp combat instincts and was quick to assess the situation.

In the blink of an eye, she made the most rational decision available to her.

Where was she?

The Divine Tower of Ashes!

Who would dare cause trouble here, much less force their way into the private residence of a full-fledged mage?

As long as Catherine could get out of the room, she would not even need to activate her divine tower badge to call for help.

All she had to do was send out a shout through her mental focus in the hallway, and the nearby mages would quickly arrive and drown this intruder beneath a sea of elemental spells.

Sein immediately realized what the girl was planning.

With a light snap of his fingers, a wisp of Ashen Flame appeared between them.

An elemental force field swept outward in every direction, instantly sealing off Catherine’s surroundings.

To anyone outside, Catherine’s door simply slammed shut with a loud bang the moment she stepped inside.

***

Surrounded by endless flames, Catherine watched Sein approach, a trace of fear gradually appearing in her eyes.

She might have been a full-fledged mage. She might even have shown enough courage during the academy war to rally other top initiates against a mechanical legion ten times their number.

But in Sein’s eyes, she was still just a girl who had barely turned one hundred.

No matter how self-reliant a Rank One mage might be, when confronted by a powerful existence they could neither comprehend nor resist, one that was steadily drawing closer, some fear was only natural.

And this was before Sein had even released his elemental pressure or aura.

Otherwise, the girl might already have curled up with her arms wrapped around herself, trembling beneath his overwhelming presence.

Sein had witnessed far too many similar scenes during the interplanar wars of the past.

The surging sea of flames around them was, in fact, Sein’s elemental domain.

Under his precise control, the flames caused no damage whatsoever to the wooden furnishings inside Catherine’s residence. They seemed almost detached from the surrounding space, burning fiercely without affecting anything around them.

Scaring his apprentice during their very first formal meeting probably was not the best start...

Sein had once secretly grumbled that Lorianne did not know how to teach an apprentice. In reality, he was not much better.

He simply believed he would make a good mentor.

After all, this was his first time actually taking on an apprentice.

Faced with the frightened Catherine, Sein, who had absolutely no experience in such matters, displayed remarkable shamelessness.

Still wearing the Faceless Mask, he paid little attention to whether the girl was frightened and calmly declared, “I am Sein, tower master of the Divine Tower of Ashes, and the mentor who chose you. From today onward, you will be my first apprentice.”

His approach was somewhat forceful.

Back when Lorianne had taken Sein as her apprentice, she had at least asked whether he was willing.

Now, looking at Catherine’s pale face, Sein had simply forgotten that such a question was supposed to be asked.

Then again, after waiting all these years, was he really going to let her refuse?

It had to be said that Sein, who had always been rather reclusive, and Lorianne, who possessed a natural warmth and charm, were two very different kinds of mages.

If Lorianne knew her apprentice had frightened her grand-apprentice this badly during their very first meeting, she would probably smack Sein on the head with her scepter.

Still, since this was their first meeting as master and apprentice, a gift seemed appropriate.

According to the traditions of Magus World, a mentor was supposed to give their new apprentice a small gift upon formally accepting them.

Unfortunately, Sein had only just returned from Sky City and had nothing particularly suitable prepared.

In fact, he had not prepared anything at all!

If Marie had not reminded him, Sein probably would have gone straight back to his laboratory.

He had nearly forgotten that there was still an apprentice waiting for him at the Divine Tower of Ashes, one he had personally taken a liking to all those years ago.

After thinking for a moment, Sein finally took out three items and placed them before Catherine.

The first was a refined Verdant Flame Elemental Crystal.

The second was a magic mask Sein had once used himself.

And the third was a section of a mechanical arm.

Sein’s greatest areas of expertise were pyro elemental magic, alchemy, and mechanical arts.

By giving Catherine these three items, his intentions were clear. He hoped that one day, she would inherit his legacy in all three fields.

The Ashen Flame was still far too advanced for Catherine at her current level.

Having her begin with Verdant Flame magic instead was much more appropriate and also aligned with the faction they belonged to.

As for the mask, Sein vaguely remembered crafting it back when he was still a Rank Three mage, using several rare materials he had obtained in Faeloria.

Its level was still somewhat beyond what Catherine could fully utilize at present.

But as a peak Rank Five grand mage, Sein naturally could not choose anything too shabby for his apprentice.

The mask alone would already provide her with considerable assistance at her current stage, especially on dangerous battlefields where an additional defensive measure could easily save her life.

Besides, Sein could not simply hand her divine artifact-level magical equipment imbued with the power of laws at this point.

With Catherine’s current strength, she probably would not even be able to use such a treasure properly. Giving her something far beyond her level would only do more harm than good.

The final item had once belonged to a Rank Two mechanical angel.

Sein did not expect Catherine to immediately understand all the mechanical principles hidden within it. For now, simply familiarizing herself with its internal structure would be enough.

The three gifts floated quietly before Catherine.

Sein waited patiently for quite some time before the young woman finally recovered from the shock of learning that the mysterious masked intruder standing in her room was actually the tower master.

She looked at Sein, then at the three treasures floating before her.

The raging elemental flames still surrounded them on all sides. Yet despite standing in what looked like an endless sea of fire, Catherine could not feel even the slightest trace of heat or discomfort.

It was almost as though everything around her were nothing more than an illusion.

And yet, the masked man standing before her made Catherine absolutely certain that none of this was an illusion.

The three gifts floating before her were also treasures far beyond anything she had ever possessed.

Just as Catherine was still processing everything and slowly reached toward the Verdant Flame Elemental Crystal, Sein suddenly seemed to remember something.

“By the way, I forgot to ask earlier... Will you become my apprentice?”

“I will!” Catherine replied without hesitation as she reached out to the gifts with her right hand.