“Magic towers, you say…tell me more.”
“A magic tower is a tall spire where all veteran mages and aspiring wizards gather. The upper floors are restricted for locals, but they have their first floor open for business.
There, they sell books and scrolls, and one could even employ a mage through them.”
Michael was incredibly interested in the magic tower. He imagined it to be like the fantasy books he read, with moving paintings, floating floors, and secret chambers.
“Have you been there before?” he asked Castelle.
“Once. When I was young, I was fortunate enough to chance upon one of the mages showing his magic spells to the public. It was breathtaking. I would have wanted to become a mage if I had the aptitude,” Castelle reminisced.
Michael suddenly looked up at Castelle. “The mages showed off his spells? Is that a normal occurrence?”
Castelle nodded. “Not too often though, mostly on special occasions. The Guild of Arcana performs so that the local people are reassured that they are safe under their banner. Oh, the Guild of Arcana is the organization in charge of the Magic Tower…”
Castelle went on to talk more about the Magic Tower, but Michael was barely listening.
He was too enchanted by the fact that he could potentially witness a veteran mage perform one of his spells in person.
After all, his ChatJK1 could analyze its theory and allow him to cast it himself!
It was a very promising prospect, one that tempted Michael to get out of the mansion for the first time and visit the magic tower. Kingsbridge town was only about two to three hours by carriage away from here, so it wasn’t that far.
“Young master, are you listening?”
Michael trusted his ChatJK1 to listen to him. He didn’t have to pay attention.
Can you summarize what she said?
[The Magic Tower is managed by the Guild of Arcana. They are a nationwide organization in charge of keeping the peace among mages and the people.]
He simply reiterated ChatJK1’s answer and impressed Castelle with his listening skills.
“Do you think I can go to the magic tower?”
Castelle was taken aback and immediately shook her head. “I’m sorry, young master. For a person of your stature, it would cause far too much fanfare. Your mother and father will immediately be notified once you leave the estate. They would immediately return home and fire us all for letting that happen.”
Michael kept forgetting that he was the youngest son of the Vanderbilt name, the richest family in the entire world. Even in his previous world, the children of celebrities would immediately be crowded by paparazzis. This world looked to be no different.
“Fine. There’s no rush,” he said.
“That is the best course of action, young master. There’s no doubt that your mother and father would want you to visit the Magic tower once they find out about your magic aptitude anyway.”
Michael nodded to himself. It would be advantageous to come to the Magic Tower with his parents. The mages would surely want to curry favor with them, which Michael would take advantage of by making them perform spells in front of him.
They would see it as nothing more than a child getting curious, but Michael would secretly learn their spells.
…
…
…
Another day passed, and Michael was starting to get bored. Ever since Castelle told him about the Magic Tower, he couldn’t keep his mind off it.
My mind is too active…is there something I can do to keep me mentally active?
Just then, Michael remembered something. Before he died in his previous life, he was addicted to an online game he played on his computer.
This game became quite popular during that time even though it had existed for more than a thousand years before the modern age.
It wasn’t a role-playing game, it wasn’t a multiplayer game, it was much more simple than that.
It was online chess.
Since he spent every day in the confines of his own home, he couldn’t really play the board game version of chess.
But now, he had the chance to.
Michael didn’t waste time and got out of his bed. He rushed past the busy maids washing dishes and gave them a curt greeting.
Then, he walked into the forest to find a big tree with a thick stump.
Using the 1-star spell [Splinter wood], he chopped down the tree one slice at a time.
After a while, he looked at the fallen tree and envisioned a perfect 8×8 grid, perfect for a chess board.
…
…
…
A couple of hours later, Michael emerged from the forest carrying a thin rectangle board and a couple of wooden statues in a small bag.
The clock bell had already rung, meaning everyone’s work was already done and it was time for relaxation.
Most maids immediately went into the hot springs, but some butlers got too tired of bathing in hot water every day. They spent their relaxation doing nothing but lounging on their chairs.
THUMP!
The butlers were jolted awake as Michael plopped down the chessboard onto the table.
“Young master, you’re here,” they greeted him.
Michael sat opposite the board and looked at the butlers with a mischievous grin on his face.
“Let’s play a game,” Michael said in a weird voice, as he arranged the chess pieces onto the board.
“What is that?” they all asked simultaneously.
“This is chess, an intellectual game for distinguished gentlemen. If any one of you can beat me, then I will give you 100 gold coins!”
The butlers perked up upon hearing the juicy sound of a bag of coins being put on the table.
“Is that real, young master?” one of the butlers asked.
“Only if you beat me, of course.”
The veteran butler with white hair and mustache pushed the younger ones away and faced the young master.
“Hohoho…I am nothing but an intellectual and distinguished gentleman, young master.”
Michael smiled. “I knew you’d find this interesting, Sebastian. Good. This game is called chess and here are the rules…”
The butlers listened intently, with their faces slowly furrowing as they heard how simple the game looked.
Just capture the King? It was easy, they thought.