"Magic towers, you say… tell me more."
"A magic tower is a tall spire where veteran mages and aspiring wizards gather. The upper floors are restricted, but they have their first floor open to the public for business."
"There, they sell books and scrolls, and one could even hire a mage through them."
Michael's curiosity piqued. He imagined the tower as something he had read about in fantasy books, with moving paintings, floating floors, and secret chambers brimming with arcane knowledge.
"Have you been there before?" he asked Castelle.
"Once. When I was young, I was fortunate enough to chance upon one of the mages demonstrating his magic spells to the public. It was breathtaking. If I had the aptitude, I would have wanted to become a mage myself," Castelle said wistfully.
Michael suddenly looked up at Castelle. "The mage showed off his spells? Is that a normal occurrence?"
Castelle nodded. "Not too often though, mostly on special occasions. The Guild of Arcana organizes these performances to assure the local people that they are safe under their banner."
"The Guild of Arcana?"
"Oh, the Guild of Arcana is a nationwide organization in charge of the Magic Tower…"
Castelle went on to talk more about the Magic Tower, but Michael was barely listening.
He was too enchanted by the fact that he could potentially witness a veteran mage perform one of his spells in person.
After all, his ChatJK1 could analyze the spell's theory and allow him to cast it himself!
The prospect was very promising, one that even tempted Michael to get out of the mansion for the first time and visit the magic tower. Kingsbridge town was only about two to three hours by carriage away from here, so it wasn't that far.
"Young master, are you listening?"
Michael trusted his ChatJK1 to listen to him. He didn't have to pay attention.
Can you summarize what she said?
[The Magic Tower is managed by the Guild of Arcana. They are a nationwide organization in charge of maintaining peace among mages and the public.]
He simply repeated ChatJK1's answer, impressing Castelle with his listening skills.
"Do you think I can go to the Magic Tower?"
Castelle was taken aback by his question and immediately shook her head. "I'm sorry, young master. For a person of your stature, it would cause far too much commotion. Your mother and father will be immediately notified once you leave the estate and will immediately return home and fire us all for allowing this to happen."
Michael sighed. He kept forgetting that he was the youngest son of the Vanderbilt name, the richest family in the entire world. Even in his past life, the children of celebrities would immediately be hounded by attention. This world didn't look any different.
"Fine. There's no rush," he finally gave up on the idea.
"That is the best course of action, young master. Besides, there's no doubt that your mother and father would ask you to visit the Magic tower once they find out about your magic aptitude."
Michael nodded to himself. That might actually work in his favor.
If he went to the Magic Tower with his parents, the mages would undoubtedly seek to curry favor with them. And in doing so, Michael could take advantage of them by making them perform spells in front of him.
They would see it as nothing more than a child getting curious about magic, but Michael could secretly learn their spells for himself.
_____
Another day passed, and Michael was starting to grow bored. Ever since Castelle mentioned the Magic Tower, he couldn't get his mind off it.
My mind is too active… is there something else I can do to keep me mentally occupied?
Just then, a thought struck him. In his previous life, before he died, he had been addicted to an online game he played on his computer.
That game had become quite popular during that time despite having existed for over a thousand years before the modern age.
It wasn't a role-playing game, nor was it multiplayer. In fact, it was much more simple than that.
It was online chess.
Since he used to spend all day in the confines of his own home, he never had the chance to play the physical version of chess.
But now, he had the chance to.
Michael didn't waste time and sprang from his bed and rushed past the maids who were busy washing dishes before giving them a curt greeting and then headed outside.
Then, he made his way into the forest to find a big tree with a thick stump.
Upon finding a suitable one, he used the 1-star spell [Splinter wood], to chop down the tree, hacking it down one slice at a time.
After a while, when the tree finally fell, Michael ran his fingers over the rough surface and envisioned a perfect 8x8 grid—the foundation for a chess board.
_____
A couple of hours later, Michael emerged from the forest carrying a polished, thin rectangle board and a small bag filled with a couple of wooden statue-like pieces.
By then, the clock bell had already rung, signalling the end of everyone's work and it was time for relaxation.
Most of the maids immediately rushed to the hot springs, but a few of the butlers, too tired to bathe in hot water every day, chose to spend their relaxation time by doing nothing but lounging on their chairs.
THUMP!
The butlers were jolted awake as Michael plopped down the chessboard onto the table.
"Young master, you're here," they greeted him, straightening up.
Michael sat opposite the board and looked at the butlers with a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
"Let's play a game," Michael said in a weird voice while he began arranging the chess pieces on the board.
The butlers exchanged glances. "What is that?" they asked in unison.
Michael smirked. "This is chess—an intellectual game for distinguished gentlemen. If any one of you can beat me, then I will give you 100 gold coins!"
The butlers perked up upon hearing the juicy sound of a bag of coins being put on the table.
"Is that real, young master?" one of the butlers asked.
Michael leaned back. "Only if you beat me, of course."
At that, a veteran butler with neatly combed white hair and a waxed mustache stepped forward, pushing the younger ones away and faced the young master.
"Hohoho… An intellectual and distinguished gentleman, you say? Then allow me, young master."
Michael's grin widened. "I knew you'd find this interesting, Sebastian. Good. This game is called chess and here are the rules…"
As Michael began explaining, the butlers listened intently, their faces slowly furrowing as they heard how simple the game looked.
Just capture the King? It was easy, they thought.