[Starting the formation of new cores to accommodate the new mana particles…completed.]
[Automatic mana gathering has been enabled.]
Michael closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The new mana particles oozing out of the Magic Tower were abundant, and he used this opportunity to soak up as much as he could.
He felt the presence of four very minute crystals form surrounding his main elemental mana cores.
Gathering lightning mana felt like a prickling feeling in his skin, meanwhile, the poison mana felt like he was experiencing heartburn. However, he wasn't uncomfortable for very long. They quickly got absorbed through his skin and entered the budding new crystals, growing them by a tiny amount.
Meanwhile, the woman just finished processing what she heard after a minute of shock.
"You're talented in all the four main elements?! Dear gosh! That's why your assessment is handled by the Tower Master!"
She found it weird that the Tower Master personally took time out of his busy schedule to assess the magic of a five-year-old boy. She thought it was just because his last name was Vanderbilt, but it turned out it was because of his enormous talent in the mystic arts!
She'd never seen a quadruple mastery mage in her entire life and only heard about it in tales and legends of old. It was a sobering feeling after she looked at the unassuming normal boy like Michael and compared him to the heroes of the past.
"Uhh…why don't you make yourself comfortable in the Magic Tower? I'll have to hurry the Tower Master from his business and assess you immediately. This is too important."
The woman immediately took out a long broomstick from her magic ring and sat on it before it started to float away into the distance.
Did she really just leave a five-year-old boy alone?
Michael shrugged. He could take care of himself.
This was for the better as well. He wanted to take his time and observe every mage in the Magic Tower to learn all kinds of spells from their practice sessions.
He walked toward the portal-like entrance of the tower with excitement filling his face.
When he stepped foot on the other side, the first thing he noticed was that the inside was a lot bigger than what the Magic Tower looked like from the outside.
As he took to his new surroundings, awe filled his face.
All along the walls were oil paintings of human portraits that seemed to be moving like they were human. Some bowed towards him, while others ignored him and continued whatever they were doing in the painting.
He looked up and saw floating staircases leading to nowhere. He saw mages further up the ceiling walking upside down without their pointy hat falling to the floor! It felt like he was looking at an illusion.
Dancing candles lit up the room, chasing each other around the air like little kids playing in the fields.
Talking books, pillars, and doors were normal in this place. Some tempted Michael to open their door, some warned him not to, and others laughed at seeing him ignore the mystical objects in the chamber.
Michael must have spent about ten minutes marveling at everything he saw in the Magic Tower.
It was everything he thought it would be and more.
It made him wonder how the authors of his previous world got a lot of things right when they were creating magic towers in their stories.
He continued wandering through the chamber, peering through the different halls that led to different parts of the tower.
From what he heard about Castelle's brief visit to the Magic Tower, the first floor was available for the public to see and marvel at.
It was supposed to be a place where mages presented their magic to strike awe and amazement in the eyes of normal people.
But no matter where he looked, there seemed to be no such presentation of any kind.
There weren't even any mages there to welcome him at all!
Where's the conjurations? Where's the sorcery? Where. Are. The. Spells?
[I have sensed no use of mana in this vicinity. However, there is some evidence of human activity in that direction. I suggest you investigate the hallway further.]
Michael followed ChatJK1's directions and followed a winding hallway that led to a different chamber.
As he got closer to the next room, Michael heard the sounds of something banging on a table. And it wasn't just one sound, it was a collection of one.
He passed through the open door and saw the circular interior of the room, with shelves housing thousands of books lining the walls.
This looked like a library.
But, instead of silence and peace, there were a lot of people gathered around the railings and peering down to the center of the room.
"Hohoho…what a blunder."
"I expected more from him. How could he let his pawn get taken away."
"The top spot is still up for grabs. It's a tight competition."
Michael listened to the chatter of the spectators and couldn't help but feel as if he knew what was going on.
He squeezed through the crowd and looked through the wooden railings.
PAK! TIK! PAK!
The sounds of hundreds of chess pieces banging on wooden boards filled his ears.
On the lower floor of this library, there were about one hundred square tables containing one chess board each, with some pieces sprawled around the edges and some still standing proudly in their designated spots.
Imagine Michael's surprise when he learned the real reason why he couldn't see mages performing their magic spells.
They were too busy playing chess!
He didn't know what to feel: happy that Reborn chess was spreading fast, or sad that they were too obsessed with the game to show him spells to learn.
As usual, Michael was suffering from success.