Michael and his parents were incredibly impressed with Castelle’s expertise. They were more confident than ever that the Reborn company was in good hands.
“That is an amazing idea,” Michael complimented her. “As expected of my new CEO!”
There was just one thing they needed before they could start the sewer project.
“Young Master, we still need the help of the Magic Tower. If we want the construction to go as smoothly as possible, we need the help of Earth mages—a lot of them,” Castelle said.
She had cause for concern with this because the Magic Tower earned a lot of money from getting commissioned by the City to cleanse the river. If the sewer system finished construction, then they would lose all that money going forward.
But Michael waved off her concern. “I can deal with that,” he said.
…
…
…
Michael, Castelle, and his parents all went their separate ways as they prepared for the construction of the sewer system.
Castelle remained in the Reborn office, starting to organize her plans for the project. She had to find the right workers, the right managers, and even the right materials for the plan to go smoothly.
Bart went to the Vanderbilt office to use their family name as an influential force to make the governmental bodies in Kingsbridge City sign off on the project.
Lylia also went off on her own, visiting her rich Madame friends to spread the news about Reborn’s new project that would help the entire City.
With her influence, word would quickly disseminate throughout the City without having to use a lot of resources. After all, gossip was free.
Meanwhile, Michael visited the Magic Tower again after five years.
He went directly over to the top floor, where the Tower Master resided.
“Ahh, Michael. It is good to see you,” Seberus said, greeting Michael with respect by tipping his pointy hat.
“Hello, Seberus. It’s been a while,” Michael said, looking at the room. Even after five years, the room still looked the same as before. The only thing different was the chess boards scattered around the room, with some pieces floating in the air.
“I’ve heard you’ve gone through your Talent Awakening. May I ask what you obtained?” Seberus asked, sipping a glass of water casually.
“I got a Supreme Skill.”
The Tower Master spat out his drink, drenching himself in water. His eyes stared at Michael, trying to see if he was kidding.
“You’re not joking,” he realized.
“I got lucky, I guess,” Michael said as shrugged nonchalantly.
But the Tower Master knew that luck did not have a part in this. Every person in history who received a Supreme Skill ended up ruling or changing the world in a major way.
The treaty of no ocean pollution between the whole world was made because the King of the Seas threatened to drown the whole world.
People stopped enslaving monsters because the Demon Queen razed an entire continent off a map.
They could finally traverse large distances because the Draconic Empress united the dragons, allowing them to offer their services to the world.
It was mind-boggling to think that Michael could someday become synonymous with those figures.
It was so surprising for Seberus that he ended up drinking all the water in his cup even though he had just spat out a load of water.
“I need your help, Tower Master. I want to prevent a plague,” Michael said.
Seberus almost spat his water again, but this time, he held it in and drank the water in his mouth.
“Plague? What are you talking about?”
Michael went on to explain the human waste pollution in River Dames and how it could spread disease throughout the City.
“Hmm…that is troubling to hear,” Seberus said, stroking his long, white beard.
“So, I’m planning on creating a city-wide sewer system that would fix this problem. But I need your help. I need the help of the Magic Tower.”
Seberus went silent for a few seconds as he paced back and forth.
“And why should we do this?” he asked Michael. “We’ll lose a million gold per year if this sewer system gets constructed.”
Michael’s response was simple. “We’ll play a game of chess for it,” he said.
“Deal!”
Michael chuckled. He knew that the old man wasn’t as heartless as he wanted to look. Seberus just didn’t want to say yes immediately because he was waiting for Michael to suggest they play Reborn chess with a wager.
Of course, Seberus valued human life more than anything.
Not only that, the mages of the Magic Tower actually hated cleaning the River Dames, treating it as a chore every time. Michael would be doing them a favor.
And they didn’t need money. The only reason why they continued to cleanse the water was because they didn’t want the people to suffer from disease.
They knew that it was a temporary solution. But now that Michael came up with the sewer system, they could finally solve the problem once and for all.
“Let’s play!” Seberus said, telekinetically fixing the pieces into their places.
…
…
…
Michael and Seberus went head to head in Reborn Chess.
But because it’s been five years, Seberus’ skills increased immensely. He was even starting to make Michael sweat while he cornered his pieces.
“I think I can finally win this game.” Seberus excitement bubbled. “You have no way to win.”
But in response to the threat, Michael smiled. There was still one move he could make.
He placed the pawn piece diagonally with a move called ‘en passant’.
This allowed Michael to completely change the situation, threatening to defeat Seberus in the next move.
“What?! That’s an illegal move! You can’t do this!”
Michael shrugged. “It’s in the rule books.”
Seberus’s eyes suddenly lit up in a white light as he searched through his mind. After a few seconds, he determined that Michael’s move was indeed a legal move according to the official rule books of Reborn Chess.
However, it was such a rare move that no one in this world thought it was even possible.
“How did you know this? I’ve never seen anyone use it before,” Seberus asked before gulping another glass of water.
“I wrote it. I’m the owner of the Reborn company.”
Seberus sprayed out a mist of water in the air, almost choking out of complete shock.