With such an expansive city full of wealthy citizens, Michael would have thought that they would spend a lot of money keeping their place clean.
"Bhy ade dey nod cleading?" (Why are they not cleaning?)
"They do. Every week, magicians come and purify the river Dames. From what I know, they just cleaned it yesterday," Bart said.
"Yedterday?!?!?!"
They just cleaned the river yesterday, but it was already full of waste!
Michael couldn't believe it. He couldn't spend a day living in a place that smelled like feces. But the citizens of this city didn't even look dazed as they walked along the bridge. They were too used to the horrible smell.
You know what this place needs? A sewage system. Having mages purify the waste every week is ignoring the root of the problem. This is gonna spread disease all over the City.
[Would you like me to explain how a sewage system can work using materials available in this world?]
ChatJK1's suggestion made him think. Should he build a sewage system in Kingsbridge City?
Michael set his thoughts aside—at least for now. He doubted that the big wigs in Kingsbridge would allow him to construct such a large-scale renovation in their City.
…
…
…
Soon enough, they reached the towering spire.
It was as tall as some skyscrapers back in his previous world, with the same texture and color as the obsidian he saw from a certain blocky survival game he played back in his other life.
Interestingly enough, the entrance to the Magic Tower was a door-like portal that was made out of a swirling green liquid.
"We have reached the Magic Tower. The Tower Master has been alerted of our arrival and will send someone to welcome the young master," Sebastian said as he opened the carriage door.
Michael immediately got out and stretched his body. He couldn't wait to get more useful spells!
After a few seconds, the green portal shimmered as a figure came out from the other side.
It was a woman in her mid-twenties wearing a green robe and a black pointed hat, which was the typical attire of mages in this world.
"Welcome, esteemed guests," she said.
"We're here to see the Tower Master. Is he here?" Lylia asked straightforwardly.
The woman didn't seem to mind her rudeness and actually seemed as if there was a glimmer of admiration in her eyes whenever she looked at Michael's mother.
"It is an honor to meet the Earthen Witch," she said, referring to Lylia. "Unfortunately, the Tower Master has tended to some other business for the moment and cannot meet you this instant. But he will be back in about an hour."
"Tsk. What's that old man doing?" Lylia sounded annoyed.
From what Michael heard, it seemed as if his mother was acquainted with the Tower Master.
"Mom, do you know these people?"
This time, it was the woman who answered.
"Of course, little one. Your mother is one of the most talented mages to come out of this Magic Tower. She used to be called the Earthen Witch of the West. If she hadn't given up her hat, she would have probably become the next Tower Master."
Lylia waved off the woman's praises, treating it as nothing but a thing of the past.
"I told you, honey. I was a pretty talented Earth mage back in the day. You don't need to learn from the Magic Tower. I can teach you everything you need to know about Earth spells," Lylia said.
"Dear, you're being rude," Bart warned his wife. Then, he turned to the woman and asked her if they should come back at a later date.
"There's no need," she answered. "The little one here can take a little tour of our Magic Tower to get him acquainted with our business."
Michael perked up when he heard that. Would he finally be able to see mages hurling amazing spell after spell?
"Can I?!" he asked, showing his enthusiasm.
"Well, alright. We'll leave him in your care for now," Lylia said, a bit begrudgingly.
"Don't worry, Miss Lylia. We will take care of the little one," the woman said, taking Michael's hand and leading him to the entrance of the Magic Tower.
Michael bid goodbye to his parents as if he was a kindergarten student getting left off at daycare.
They were quite busy with some Vanderbilt business, so they couldn't stay with Michael for the whole day.
"So, little Vanderbilt. Why did you want to visit the Magic Tower? Have you taken an interest in learning magic? Your age is the perfect time to start gathering mana to form a core."
Michael looked up at her.
"They didn't tell you why I'm here?"
The woman shook her head. "No. We're only told that you were to meet the Tower Master."
Michael knew that it wasn't going to be a secret, so he blurted out the truth.
"Well, I'm here to get my magic talent assessed."
"Oh! That's wonderful. You must have manifested some kind of talent in Earth magic, given your mother's talent in it."
Michael nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'm talented in Earth magic. At least, that's what they say. I haven't met anyone else to compare myself with."
The woman smiled. She thought nothing of his words and thought that it was just simple ramblings of a five-year-old child.
And as they walked closer to the Magic Tower, Michael felt the abundance of mana in the air.
It was dense. It was as if he was walking in a sea of mana particles, with lights of all colors swarming his vision.
"Woah," Michael uttered. "There's a lot of mana here. But why is it imbalanced? There's more fire element than the rest, and there's not a lot of water element."
The woman nodded. "Yes, that's because—wait…how can you sense the other mana in the air? I thought you were talented in Earth magic?"
Michael shrugged his shoulders. "I'm talented in all of them."
The woman stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Michael with wide eyes.
Meanwhile, Michael went ahead and walked closer to the portal inside the Magic Tower.
And as he did, he sensed something unfamiliar.
[Detecting the presence of new mana…]
[Analyzing…]
[Complete. You have now gained the ability to gather four new types of mana: Light, Dark, Lightning, and Poison.]