Yze got up off his chair and slowly approached the ‘clock’.
It was only now that he noticed its incredible craftsmanship. And within a few seconds of observing how the clock ticked in a constant manner, he immediately predicted that this was a machine made to keep an accurate track of time!
“When Bart Vanderbilt and his family visited the Kingdom a few days ago, they brought a gift for you to add to your collection,” the old man explained. “We don’t know what it’s for, but we didn’t want to offend them.”
Yze continued to inspect the clock, even opening the latch to look at the mechanism hidden inside.
“This clock…” Yze uttered. “It will revolutionize the entire way life works in the entire world.”
The Board of Directors looked at each other with confused looks. When they first received this gift from Bart, they didn’t think much of it. They thought it was just some kind of decoration that made a funny sound every so often.
But Yze’s praise for the clock made them re-evaluate its true worth.
“What are you talking about, Sire?”
Yze rubbed his chin, gazing at the clock with a bit of a smile. “This clock will allow us to coordinate everything with more precision, with time no longer becoming a vague and abstract concept.”
As expected of Yze Vanderbilt, he deciphered the clock’s true uses even though he had only observed the construct for a few minutes.
“Do you know the reason why it is so hard to coordinate business between large distances? Do you know why we lose millions of gold every month?” he asked his advisors.
The Board of Directors pondered over Yze’s question until one of them answered.
“It’s because we cannot communicate with accuracy over large distances. We waste time having to send messengers to our businesses overseas.”
Yze nodded. “That is correct. Now imagine if our people overseas have a clock of their own. If we told them to send the shipment of products at the seventh line of this clock early in the morning, then they would do exactly as we said without any deviation.
They would deliver the shipment on time, without any delay. Do you see the potential this could bring to our businesses? Do you see how this could change the way the whole world works?”
The Board of Directors weren’t idiots. Once Yze enlightened them about the true uses of the clock, they quickly understood the implications of this ‘simple’ contraption into the world.
“My gosh…it is as you say, Sire. This clock will be the key to creating a more organized workforce.”
“Not to mention, there are also a lot of uses aside from commerce. It can be used in navigation, clerical organizations, and even magical advancements. I know of a particular mage who would want a clock for himself to create better potions.”
“We have been underestimating this clock…”
The Board of Directors were ashamed that they didn’t understand the importance of Bart’s gift to them.
Yze then looked back at his advisors. “You say that Bart’s kid created this?”
Even though Yze knew Bart wasn’t the type to lie, he still couldn’t believe that a ten-year-old child was able to create such an innovative contraption all by himself. He knew the kid was talented in magic, but he didn’t know he was intelligent in craftsmanship as well.
“Is it really possible for a kid like that to create something as complicated as this?” Yze asked his advisors.
The Board of Directors all looked at each other, awkwardness spreading among them.
“Actually, Sire. There is a development with Michael that we did not expect…”
The old man explained everything that happened when Michael and Bart visited the kingdom.
They told him that Michael had a magical talent that surpassed even that of the geniuses in Magic Tower. They told him of his talent in craftsmanship and innovations as well.
And most of all, they told him that during his Talent Awakening, he was able to obtain a Supreme Skill.
With that kind of repertoire of talents, it wasn’t that hard to believe that Michael created the clock all by himself without any help.
Upon hearing this, Yze Vanderbilt sauntered over to his throne and sat down. He was in deep thought, looking far off into the distance.
Yze was starting to realize something. All the pieces were starting to come together until they congealed into one single fact that lingered on his mind.
Goosebumps. Yze felt his hair stand up on end.
This realization was so shocking that he couldn’t help but start to smile. And eventually, this smile turned into a laugh, which then further escalated until only his cackling resounded through the throne room.
“ha…Haha….HAHAHAHAHA!”
The Board of Directors looked at Yze with concern painted on their faces. They wondered if the legendary Vanderbilt lion had finally lost his marbles after all this time.
“My luck hasn’t dried up yet, it seems,” Yze said, looking up at the ceiling as if he were thanking a certain goddess.
“What do you mean?” his advisor asked.
“Here I thought that no one in the Vanderbilt lineage had inherited my killer instinct for business…but as it turned out, everything was passed down into the youngest son of the Vanderbilt family!”
The Board of Directors was still clueless.
“That craftsmanship, that intelligence, that innovation….and most importantly, his gift from the Goddess.
I am certain. Michael is the owner of Reborn.”
It was only unfortunate that Yze wasn’t here when Michael visited the Kingdom. He could have seen the kid’s marvelous intellect with his own eyes. He could have taken him in and poised him to become his successor.
Now, they were probably angry at him for missing such an important event. He was probably resented because Michael was only given a paltry inheritance.
The legendary Vanderbilt lion would only later learn how much of a mistake his absence that day became. It would be his biggest regret in his entire life.
Yze then looked at his advisors with a crazed expression. “What did Michael inherit from me?”
“The Parched Lands, Sire,” the old man answered,
“HAHAHAHA!” Yze laughed once again, displaying an energy that none of them had ever seen before in the last fifty years.
“Perhaps this is also fate…hahahaha…Michael, if you do have that killer instinct like me, you won’t let go of the chance to create your own legacy.
Come…show me what you can do with that barren old wasteland. Show me how you can build Reborn into a global business that can contend with mine.
If you do…then I will not hesitate to give you the entire wealth of the Vanderbilt Business!”