After visiting his grandmaster, Sein returned to his daily research routine.

This time, however, he found it difficult to immerse himself as deeply as before.

From time to time, Lorianne would come by to visit.

At first, she brought him a few vials of purification potions specifically formulated to eliminate the abnormal energy lingering within the Ashen Fortress.

The potions proved remarkably effective. They were capable of purging even the residual divine energy particles unconsciously emitted by the Rank Six God of Decay.

Fortunately, those residual energy particles were few in number.

Had the God of Decay deliberately emitted this energy, even Lorianne’s purification potions would not have been enough.

Naturally, Sein expressed his sincere gratitude to his mentor for resolving the issue.

Rather than compensating her with something as mundane as money, he instead sent her a portion of his recent spoils of war.

When the flesh specimen of a Rank Six Apocalypse World creature appeared in Lorianne’s laboratory, the lips of the young Rank Four dendromancer trembled slightly.

Sein even arranged for Fermera, who was still recovering from her injuries, to stay at Verdant Spring Fortress for a period of time.

Unfortunately, Master Lorianne showed little interest in studying the Rank Six angel robot. She found Fermera intriguing, but nothing more.

Lorianne had no background in mechanical studies, and Fermera’s internal robotic structures left her completely baffled.

During Fermera’s stay at Verdant Spring Fortress, however, Bernice visited frequently for some reason.

In addition to the specially brewed purification potions, Lorianne later delivered Fluorescent Potions and an enhanced version of the Apocalypse Potion to Sein.

The Fluorescent Potion was specifically designed to treat the symptoms of the fluorescent radiation that continued to afflict his body.

After all, Lorianne was a professional apothecary.

Sein had originally intended to tough it out with his exceptional constitution and recover gradually using other healing potions.

But after Lorianne arrived at this subspace, Sein’s recovery accelerated by nearly a third!

Gregory found himself in a similar situation.

Given the severity of his injuries, Gregory could have returned directly to Magus World to recuperate.

However, once Lorianne took charge of his recovery treatment and potion supply, Gregory chose to stay.

With his extraordinary constitution and healing speed, a few more years of rest would be enough for him to recover and rejoin the battlefield.

Returning to Magus World for treatment would have required a long journey, and Gregory himself refused to leave in such a state.

As for the “Enhanced Apocalypse Potion” Lorianne eventually delivered, it came as a pleasant surprise to Sein!

The enhanced version she crafted showed a twenty-seven percent increase in potency over Sein’s original formula, while also incorporating additional reinforcement for skeletal structure, vascular systems, and bodily hair.

Seeing Sein’s astonished expression, Lorianne covered her mouth and chuckled. “I have been around your grandmaster and the others long enough to know what you guys are after. Even some of the body-tempering potions your grandmaster regularly uses were brewed by me.”

“While I can’t craft fully body-tempering potions tailored specifically to your bloodline and constitution, you can always consult me for adjustments like this in the future,” she offered with a smile.

As for why Lorianne could not create fully tailored body-tempering potions for Sein, it was because such potions required the apothecary to possess an exceptionally deep understanding of the user’s physical condition—especially their bloodline power and complete physiological data.

Recalling how Sein had previously conducted body-tempering experiments on Reina, Kram, Yuri, and others, it became clear just how “intrusive” the preparatory work for such experiments could be.

Sein felt a little embarrassed about troubling his mentor, but he still accepted the offer. “Then I’ll impose on you, Master Lorianne.”

“It is no trouble at all,” Lorianne said with a laugh. “Just do not mind me dropping by to interrupt you from time to time.”

“Of course not,” Sein replied.

***

With Lorianne’s assistance, Sein healed rapidly, and his body-tempering progress soon advanced by leaps and bounds.

During this time, the war between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation continued to rage across the subspace battlefield, with clashes between their respective overlords showing no signs of stopping.

The central region of the Steel Ruins had now become a forbidden zone, completely inaccessible to the living.

Yet even amidst this prolonged state of war, negotiations between the two civilizations had never truly ceased.

They continued intermittently, and their content increasingly aligned with the expectations of both parties.

It was, in truth, quite surreal!

The Magus Civilization’s leadership ultimately agreed to the information exchange proposed by the Gallant Federation.

Sein was not sure what drove the decision, but his instincts told him that whatever either side eventually handed over would differ greatly from the original data obtained from the ancient ruins—or might even be deliberately misleading.

In wartime, no one would be foolish enough to genuinely assist their enemy.

The Magus Civilization’s continued deployment of reinforcement legions to this subspace battlefield only strengthened Sein’s suspicion that something else was at play.

Perhaps the agreement itself was nothing more than a smokescreen.

Was the true intent to buy time and stabilize the Gallant Federation?

Two years later... 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

While conducting research in his laboratory within the Ashen Fortress, Sein suddenly received a notification from Marie—someone had come to visit him.

Over the past two years, Sein had largely recovered. His legions had been reorganized, and a fresh batch of enslaved creatures had arrived from the rear.

Based on the hint Lorianne had dropped last time, Grandmaster Feylis would likely order him back to the battlefield within half a year.

This warzone fell under Feylis’ command, but there were rumors that another Rank Six mage would soon be stationed here.

As Feylis’ grand apprentice, Sein would invite criticism if he continued to remain holed up in the fortress without participating in combat now that his injuries had healed.

Sein was not opposed to battle. Over the past two years, he had maintained close contact with the Klytheran Legion, the Huusians, and several other Magus Alliance forces with whom he shared friendly relations.

When the time came to return to the frontlines, he could rely on these allied legions to watch each other’s backs.

But who could have come to visit him?

The first names that came to Sein’s mind were Orric the Ocean King and Darian Wraith of the Shadowbat Civilization.

Orric had previously expressed his desire to reclaim his throne and had sought backing from the Magus Alliance.

His goal was to split and absorb the Aquarian Legion, thereby legitimizing his eventual reclamation of Planet Aquaria.

Sein had already reported this matter to his grandmaster.

As for Darian Wraith, he had left this subspace battlefield more than half a year ago, returning to the Shadowbat Civilization’s star domain to regroup and assemble a new legion.

By now, he should have been on his way back.

What Sein had not expected, however, was that the visitor was neither Orric nor Darian, but another friend entirely—one he had not anticipated at all.

“Hello, Master Sein! It’s been ages!”

A familiar chorus of caws rang out beyond the walls of Sein’s space fortress.