Magic Tower

With such a vast city full of wealthy citizens, Michael would have expected that they would spend a lot of money in keeping their surroundings clean.

"Bhy ade dey nod cleading?" (Why are they not cleaning?)

"They do," Bart replied. "Every week, magicians come and purify the River Dames. From what I know, they just cleaned it yesterday."

"Yedterday?!?!?!"

Michael was stunned. They had cleaned the river only a day ago, yet it was already full of waste! 

He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't spend a day living in a place that smelled like feces. Yet, 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. Relying on the mages to purify the waste every week is like ignoring the root of the problem. This is just going to spread disease all over the City.

[Would you like me to explain how a sewage system could 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 bigwigs in Kingsbridge would allow him to construct such a large-scale renovation in their City.

_____

Soon enough, they arrived at their destination—the towering spire.

It was as tall as some skyscrapers from 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 previous life.

Interestingly enough, the entrance to the Magic Tower was a door-like portal that seemed to be made out of a swirling green liquid.

"We have reached the Magic Tower," Sebastian announced as he opened the carriage door. "The Tower Master has been informed of our arrival and will send someone to welcome the young master."

Michael immediately stepped out and stretched his body. He couldn't wait to get more useful spells!

A few seconds later, the green portal shimmered, and a figure emerged from the other side—a woman in her mid-twenties, clad in a green robe and a black pointed hat, which was the typical attire of mages in this world.

"Welcome, esteemed guests," she greeted.

"We're here to see the Tower Master. Is he here?" Lylia asked, getting straight to the point.

The woman didn't seem to mind her rudeness, and in fact, it 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 is currently tending to some other matter for the moment and will not be able to meet you right away. But he will be back in about an hour."

"Tsk. What's that old man up to now?" Lylia muttered, sounding annoyed.

From what Michael heard, it seemed as if his mother was acquainted with the Tower Master.

"Mom, do you know these people?"

Before Lylia could respond, 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 was once known as the Earthen Witch of the West. Had she not given up her hat, she might have become the next Tower Master herself."

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 chided his wife gently before turning to the woman. "Should we 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's eyes lit up when he heard that. Would he finally be able to see mages hurling one amazing spell after the other?

"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," the woman assured her. "We will take care of the little one." 

With that, she took Michael's hand and led him toward the entrance of the Magic Tower.

Michael bid farewell to his parents as if he were a kindergarten student getting dropped off at daycare.

They were quite busy with some Vanderbilt business and couldn't stay with Michael for the entire 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. But I haven't met anyone else to compare myself with."

The woman smiled. She thought nothing of his words and dismissed them as just a simple rambling of a five-year-old.

As they walked closer to the Magic Tower, Michael felt the overwhelming presence 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 murmured. "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 stared at Michael, her eyes wide open.

Meanwhile, unaware of her reaction, Michael continued walking ahead and reached closer to the portal inside the Magic Tower.

And as he did, he sensed something unfamiliar stir within him.

[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.]