Michael opened his eyes, completely unaware of how much time had passed.
[Hello, Michael. I am ChatJK4, and I am here to be of your service. Just ask anything you want, and I will try my best to answer it.]
The disembodied voice of his personal AI assistant brought him back to the real world.
I feel…different, he said to ChatJK4.
[Yes, Michael. This new software update allowed me to consolidate all the basic Physical and Mystical Art spells that you have gathered throughout the years. I have taken it upon myself to optimize your mana flow to maximize its efficiency.]
He looked at his own body and barely even felt the Unity mana course through his veins, which was quite impressive for how volatile and powerful they were. It was smooth now, perfectly mixing the mana flow for his Mystical and Physical Arts in the most efficient way.
But it wasn't just him who felt different, ChatJK4 felt different too. It looked like he was talking to an actual human assistant now. Back then, the voice was indeterminate and wasn't an actual sound that he could hear. Now, he heard the voice of a feminine woman loud and clear.
ChatJK4, what are the new features of this software update?
[Although there may not seem such a drastic change in your capabilities, I can assure you that your potential for magic has received a substantial increase. Try to feel the mana in your body,] ChatJK4 said.
Michael closed his eyes and used his Supreme Skill to observe his mana.
I feel so much more in tune with my body and the Unity magic within it, he said, a smile forming on his face.
He could control the entirety of his mana with much more finesse, allowing him to exert fine and complex control needed for things like magic spells.
Does this mean what I think it means? he asked ChatJK4, excitement growing on his face.
[You are now able to use Unity mana for your magic spells.] she said plainly.
This was a huge accomplishment for Michael. All this time, he had mastery over all the eight known elements of the world. He could control them and cast any spell he knew without a problem.
However, he was never able to use all of it simultaneously. He could do two at a time, three at a time, or maybe even four at a time, but not all eight.
This was because no spell that he knew of required the need for all eight elemental mana. He guessed that the reason for this was because of the natural volatility of Unity mana, tending to explode uncontrollably rather than be part of a complex and delicate magic theory.
But now, Michael felt like he could create the very first Unity spells. He didn't know what that would entail for now since this was like stepping into the complete unknown, but he was excited for it. The possibilities were endless, he just had to find the right one.
ChatJK4, can you create a magic spell using Unity?
[Yes, but I must warn you that I cannot synthesize complicated magic spells for now. My understanding of Unity mana is still too shallow for me to properly create a magic theory that will not explode in your face.]
ChatJK4 almost sounded a bit disappointed in itself.
That's fine, I understand that. But I do have an idea for a very simple magic spell. You think you can do it?, he asked.
[Very well. I shall synthesize this magic spell for you. It will take an approximate 12 hours for me to find the right magic theory and test its effectiveness.]
[Estimated time remaining: 11 hrs: 59 mins: 57 secs]
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Michael teleported back down to the first floor of the Magic Tower where he saw Trakius playing chess with some of the other wizards.
It turned out that barely an hour had passed after Michael entered the magic library, so Trakius was quite surprised that Michael had taken so little time to study.
"Thanks for your help," he said to Trakius and handed him a thin rectangular box made out of pristine dark wood.
The Tower Master looked at the box with wide eyes. He stood up impulsively, completely ruining the position of the chess pieces on the board. But he didn't care.
"Is…is that?" Trakius asked, almost salivating at the box.
"Yes. It's a little gift from me to you. I had this prepared a while ago ever since Seberus told me to meet you," he said, pushing the box towards the Tower Master's trembling hands.
Trakius accepted the fine box and lifted its lid slowly as he tried to peek at the contents inside.
Then, he saw the glimmer of a crystal-like wand with intricate carvings of water and the ocean placed in a velvet mold. It glowed a dim blue light, making Trakius' Water mana almost jump out of his hands.
"Thank you!" Trakius screamed.
Michael had already turned around as he coolly waved at the Tower Master before leaving the Magic Tower entirely.
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A few minutes later, Michael arrived at the entrance of the Reborn Department Store, their Headquarters.
Even now, when the sun was about to set, the whole place was still filled with customers shopping and trying out new armors and weapons for themselves.
Just like a clothes store back in his previous world, Michael allowed customers to try out the weapons and armors they liked in a designated training spot on the other side of the main floor.
Business was doing well because of this, which made the Rebornians quite busy.
Michael walked up to the second floor, to the dormitory for him and everyone else.
Already, he could hear the sounds of raucous laughter coming out of the Dragonborns' rooms. They seemed to be quite busty entertaining themselves with one of the board games he introduced to them.
For tonight, they seemed to be playing Uno, the card game.
"Plus four!" Sheina casually said.
"Aw! Curse you, sis!" Zion cried out.
"You're skipped, so it's my turn and I would like to change the color to black!" Fudge said, garnering the groans of his opponents.
"Fufu, like we said, there's no color black in this game!" Yuna chuckled.
Michael opened the door and leaned against the wall.
"Fudge. You still don't know the rules of the game?"
"Master!"
They quickly welcomed Michael back from his trip to the Magic Tower, leaving a space for him to play with them.
He spent a couple of hours playing Uno, beating all the Dragonborns in the game, and arguing with Yuna about the rules until the sun completely set, leaving only the light of the candles illuminating the room.
Since it was nighttime, they all decided to end the game and leave it for tomorrow.
It was just a shame that they still had to rely on candles to illuminate the floor. He wished he could finally construct the Golden Road to this City so that he could connect it to the electric lines back in Neo Orcus.
But for that to happen, he needed permission from the owner of this territory itself, the Duke.
I should probably prepare for my meeting with him. They said that I could just walk up to their castle doors and they'd let me in.
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The next morning, Michael was awoken by Sheina with a letter in her hands, addressed from the Duke himself.