In addition to making a breakthrough in body tempering, Sein also achieved major progress in apothecary.

Over the thirty years since returning to Magus World, Lorianne had finally succeeded in refining a hybrid potion that combined Golden Apple and Sacred Fruit.

The formula used a large number of strange and rare ingredients, some of which had been generously provided from Feylis’ collection.

According to Lorianne, the new potion was more than three times as effective as her previous Golden Apple Potion.

Of course, such potent effects also meant the quantity she could produce was limited. After all, balance was always preserved within the Astral Realm.

In the end, Lorianne managed to refine only six vials of this new potion.

Because its two main ingredients were Golden Apple and Sacred Fruit, and because of its color, Lorianne named it the Golden Silver Potion.

Throughout the refinement of the Golden Silver Potion, Sein, as Lorianne’s apprentice, took part in and observed nearly the entire process.

His mentor’s skill in apothecary left him deeply impressed.

And it was precisely because he had remained by Lorianne’s side throughout the potion’s creation that his own apothecary abilities also advanced by leaps and bounds.

By now, Sein was already capable of refining many rare potions suitable for Rank Five creatures.

Since Sein’s life level was actually a rank above Lorianne’s, his understanding of certain laws and of life force itself was deeper than hers.

At times, when certain aspects of the laws left her puzzled, Lorianne would even seek Sein’s advice.

So rather than saying Sein was studying apothecary under Lorianne, it would be fairer to say that master and apprentice were learning from each other and moving forward together.

The improvement in Sein’s apothecary skills brought him tremendous benefits.

His mentor could not remain by his side forever. Amidst the chaotic and dangerous Clash of Civilizations, relying on himself was always the more dependable choice.

Following the growth of his apothecary skills, Sein’s mastery of the Ashen Flame and the mechanical knowledge connected to the Magic Cube also advanced considerably.

Thanks to his considerable wealth and the spoils he had brought back from the frontlines, Sein was able to gather large quantities of rare flames from many different sources after returning to Magus World.

Some of those flames had even come from large-sized planes within the alliance.

In the Astral Realm, even Rank Six beings would rarely come into contact with such a wide variety of pyro elemental energies, let alone flames carrying rare and powerful laws.

Yet through the support of the Magus Alliance’s advanced system, along with his own immense wealth, Sein was able to acquire these flames with relative ease. Each of them was highly valuable to him.

At some point, Sein’s Ashen Flame had already begun moving down a path of devouring and fusing all kinds of flame.

What he truly wanted, however, was another unique flame like the Decomposing Azure Flame, one capable of dealing even greater destruction to the Gallant Federation’s legions on civilizational battlefields.

Unfortunately, specialized flames of that caliber were obviously rare and difficult to obtain.

Aside from strengthening the overall power of his Ashen Flame by feeding it other flames, the most rational and reliable way for Sein to increase his combat strength on the battlefield was still through developing new spell models and even unique forbidden spells with the Azure Flame.

That was achievable without relying on luck.

Over the years, Sein had made frequent breakthroughs in this area. Beyond ordinary spell models, he had also developed three new forbidden spells in recent years.

One of them was even a forbidden-level mechanical spell.

After that achievement, Sein could finally call himself half a mechanic.

As for Leena’s problem, which had troubled Sein for so long, it ended up bringing him an unexpected benefit during later experiments.

Because Leena had inherited and shared many of Mikaeli’s memories, she also came to possess Mikaeli’s lifelong research and understanding of the mysteries of pyro elemental laws.

Since Sein himself was also a pyromancer, Leena did not hesitate to share with him the truths that Mikaeli had uncovered.

Truth was priceless, and no one valued knowledge more than the mages of the Magus Civilization.

In a way, Sein and Leena had finally reclaimed some compensation from Mikaeli for all the harm she had done.

For Sein, who wielded the Ashen Flame, the most valuable of all was Mikaeli’s core truth—the Cinderbone Flame, an exceptionally rare and powerful type of fire.

The Cinderbone Flame also seemed to possess traces of soul-corroding power and the aura of death. It could even form a certain synergy with the Phantom Crow King’s flames.

After losing these core truths to Sein and Leena, the long-silent Mikaeli erupted once again.

Treacherous and unruly as she was, she was still a spellcaster.

To have the truths she had devoted her entire life to pursuing inherited against her will by two younger mages was a humiliation that left her heart full of bitterness.

This was far more shocking than her first experience with Sein. At least that had only been physical pain. This time, the pain reached deep into her soul and mind.

“Hmph. After taking in so much of my hard-earned knowledge, the two of you could pretty much be considered my apprentices. Can you at least let me down now?” Mikaeli said as she lay strapped once again in a particular position on the experimental table.

At that moment, Sein was still applying his newly refined body-tempering potion to Leena’s skin.

He rolled his eyes at Mikaeli’s request and replied, “If you would just leave Leena’s body, you wouldn’t have to endure any of this.”

Mikaeli let out a cold laugh. “You know that is impossible. In my soul’s current state, and with you still unable to find me a suitable new vessel, leaving would mean only one thing—death.”

Sein paused for a moment, then said flatly, “So, you’re saying there’s still no room for negotiation.”

He glanced at Mikaeli before continuing what he had been doing.

While Sein had advanced rapidly in both body tempering and pyro elemental magic over the years, Leena’s progress had not fallen behind either.

If not for the instability caused by the two souls sharing one body, Leena’s current strength would already have been enough to rival a peak Rank Four.

Beyond those research breakthroughs, the final fifty years of Sein’s recuperation period in Magus World also brought another major development.

The Magic Cube finally completed its preliminary analysis and modification of the Ashen Fortress, the Flame Demon Fortress, and the Steel Heart Fortress.

The Steel Heart Fortress was Reina’s space fortress. Sein still did not quite understand why she had chosen such a name for it.

With the Magic Cube’s modifications, the three space fortresses could now merge into an even larger fortress complex!

This was the cube’s newest ability!

Before this, Sein had never heard of any space fortresses in Magus World being able to merge with one another.

He had heard of powerful Rank Six mages or overlord-level beings constructing starports and building combat clusters around them, but that was an entirely different concept from Sein’s newfound ability.

This unique new capability left the pilots of all three space fortresses both stunned and fascinated.

Once the three heavy-duty space fortresses merged, they formed an absolute behemoth, even by the standards of the Astral Realm.

And it was not only the space fortresses—even prism forts and war airships could theoretically be merged and enhanced in much the same way.

Unfortunately, Sein’s Magic Cube was not yet capable of that. And in any case, modifying massive war machines was never a task that could be completed quickly.

In any case, modifying massive war machines was never something that could be done in a short period of time.

Still, that was not what left Sein feeling a little regretful.

What made him sigh was that the two hundred and twenty years of rest he had been granted had passed in what felt like the blink of an eye and were now coming to an end.