A few minutes later, Michael had another win in his belt.
“I…I lost,” the scruffy mage said in utter disbelief. He couldn’t believe how easily a five-year-old kid beat him in just a couple of moves!
Michael felt bad for the guy. It was as if they were the kid, and he was the adult bullying them in a grown man’s game.
As a consolation prize, he decided to give him pointers on how to avoid being checkmated in less than twenty moves.
“When I put my queen here, you should have been wary of my next move because…”
Michael replayed the moves on the chess board and taught the scruffy mage about what would have happened if he made the right moves.
The man slapped his own head after realizing how much he blundered. And he couldn’t believe that Michael was able to think that far ahead.
The man had to put down his hat on the table, showing Michael the respect he deserved.
“You have bested me, clear as day. And as promised, I will hold up my end of the bargain and perform one of my signature 4-star spells.”
The scruffy man raised his hand and snapped his fingers, with mana particles shooting out of his hand and forming into a definite shape once it was out in the air.
An animate crow with a transparent body entirely made out of violet mystic energy appeared in the air. The crow circled Michael’s head, with its eyes showing clarity as if it were a real living being.
Michael looked back at the man and saw his eyes had turned milky white.
“This is a 4-star spell called Mystic Crow Summon. It allows you to create a crow that you can completely control.”
[Magic theory acquired.]
[Mystic Crow Summon]
— ★★★★
— Dark and Lightning element
— This magic creates a summoned crow. The user can see everything that the crow sees.
These were very useful spells that Michael could use someday. The [Cloud of Daggers] looked like a great offensive and defensive spell, while the [Mystic Crow Summon] was great for scouting ahead.
Even though he wasn’t planning on putting himself in danger, he couldn’t deny that the danger could come to him at some point in the future. This was a fantasy world after all.
“Young man, can I have a go next?”
Michael saw a couple more mages waiting in line to sit at the chair opposite him.
They were part of the small crowd that saw what Michael did to defeat the scruffy magician. They felt amazed at his chess strategies and wanted to fight him at least once.
But perhaps the reason why they were so eager to play against him was the tutoring session after each battle.
The two mages that Michael defeated came out of the match with looks of excitement and curiosity. They wanted to experience that too. And the price to pay for this immensely helpful lesson was just a simple magic presentation for the little child.
It was more than a bargain, seeing that they were being personally tutored by a master of chess.
“As long as you show me your spells, I’m willing to take you on,” Michael said, preparing the chess pieces for another game.
…
…
…
Time passed by as Michael defeated mage after mage without breaking a sweat.
These mages were so inexperienced with chess that they were falling for easy traps and set-ups that were extremely popular back in his previous life. Michael exploited this weakness to defeat as many mages as possible, with the express intent of farming their magic spells.
And as he defeated more and more, he started to gather the attention of the whole room.
Even one of the front runners to win the whole chess tournament was tempted to fight against Michael.
And as usual, Michael beat him as well, albeit with a little more effort.
This skyrocketed his reputation within the Magic Tower, with almost all the mages lining up to try and get a chance to beat the unstoppable five-year-old kid.
[Magic theory acquired.]
[Magic theory acquired.]
[Magic theory acquired.]
[Magic theory acquired.]
…
…
…
“Please, let me go next!” one mage pushed through the crowd and raised his hand.
“No, I’m next. I’ve been waiting for forever!” another mage pushed him back.
“I should go next. I already beat you, so there’s no chance you’ll win against the kid.”
“Winning isn’t my intention. I just want to learn how to get better!”
Michael sat in the middle of the library with his table getting crowded by a sea of overly eager mages.
He was glad that he was learning a lot of spells, but there came a point where there were just too many of them. Most of the spells he learned were cool but had little practical uses. He had to get picky.
“The spells I’m seeing are getting boring. If any one of you can present me with an interesting spell, then I’ll battle them next round,” Michael announced.
His words sent the mages into a frenzy. They immediately shouted their most secret and sacred spells out loud just so that they could get a chance to play a round of chess with Michael.
“I can show you a 4-star spell called Duplicity. It will create three clones beside you that make it virtually impossible to see which one is the real thing.”
“That’s nothing. My 4-star spell can summon a giant meteor from the sky to rain down onto the ground.”
“I have a 5-star spell called Cloud Surf. You can summon a moving cloud under your feet that you can use to traverse the air like a bird!”
Michael was interested in a lot of them, but he couldn’t decide which one he was going to choose.
Just then, amid all the chaotic shouting of the mages, an old serene voice somehow won amongst the rest and reached Michael’s ears.
“Gugugugu…if it’s a spell you want to see, then how about an 8-star spell called Draconic Blaze?”
The rest of the mages went silent as they heard this voice. They wouldn’t dare speak out.
They slowly made way for him as he walked towards Michael with a leisurely step.