Seberus Augindore. The Tranquil Blazing King of Fire. He was a Mystic Master that had lived a humble life.

Instead of living overseas to further his magical studies and disappear off the face of the Earth for years at a time, like most Mystic Masters, Seberus instead spent his time as a humble Tower Master in an obscure Magic Tower somewhere in the Royal Continent.

And a Tower Master’s job often required a lot of administrative work. Something that Theresa and the Goldstone Conglomerate could easily alleviate. They had plenty of territories they could give to Seberus in exchange for his services.

That was why Theresa was confident that Seberus would be on her side.

But then, something unexpected happened. Instead of heading straight for the Goldstone Camp, Seberus and the Pumpkin Carriages instead veered off towards a completely different direction. One that was far away from both the Vanderbilts and the Oscorpes’ side.

Seberus went towards the third unofficial camp in the Chasm. Towards the Rebornian side.

"Why is he going there?!"

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Michael didn’t expect to see a familiar face approaching him from a distance. He would recognize that man no matter how far away he was. His long white beard that almost grazed the ground could probably be seen from a satellite in space!

"Michael boy!" Seberus called out. The Tower Master stood in front of the gates of their camp. Behind him were the pumpkin carriages of the Guild’s caravan.

"Seberus? What are you doing here?!"

"Aren’t you going to open the door for me, you brat?"

Shadow Orcs commanded their gates to slide open, allowing Seberus to finally enter. A few wizards of high-caliber followed the old Mystic Master, seemingly there to guard him. Their expressions were wary, compared to Seberus’ lighthearted face.

"By the heavens, you’ve grown."

The last time Seberus saw Michael, he was but a simple boy. But now, he was fifteen years old. Just old enough to finally be called a man.

The two were now standing face to face. Michael’s growth spurt had allowed him to finally be at the same height as his old friend.

"What are you doing here?"

The old man smiled. "You’re not going to be finding answers from me that easily, boy!"

It took a second for Michael to understand what he was trying to say. Once he did, he laughed and invited Seberus to enter the camp.

Once they were in his private quarters, Michael immediately conjured up a chess board for him to play with Seberus.

"You don’t want to know how long I’ve been training to finally beat you," Seberus said with a hint of madness.

"I’d like to see that."

They began their moves without any more waiting. The chess pieces slid with quick and decisive manner.

Michael and Seberus played enough chess against each other that they were already quite used to their moves.

And even though it had been years since they had played against each other, Michael felt as if he was transported back to the Kings region.

It felt like things were simple again. And that there were no complex political and militaristic problems that were plaguing his mind. All he had to worry about back then was selling enough soap in order to jump start the Reborn company.

Now, although they were selling automobiles and phones at a commensurate rate, earning them hundreds of millions of Sand Dollars in a single month, the problems that he had to face had been also growing at the same level.

It was nice to just focus on one single thing. All he had to do was pick up the chess pieces and play.

He didn’t know he needed this break.

Soon after, their game entered into the end game. Their pieces were tied, and their positions were both locked down.

And a few moves later, Michael held out his hand.

Seberus laughed and shook hands with Michael.

"Draw," they both said.

It seemed that the Tower Master hadn’t been doing nothing these last few years. His skills had sharpened tremendously. He would probably be granted the title of a Grandmaster of chess back in his old world.

"Hahaha, I thought I’d beat you after all that training and practice. But... a draw is still better than anything."

Before, he could only lose pathetically to a small boy. But now, he was able to draw against a man who had gained the attention of the Conglomerates. Oh how times had changed, indeed.

"Now that that’s done, can we talk about why you’re here?" Michael asked.

If Theresa was planning something with the Guild of Arcana, he’d like to know.

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"I’m here as a favor to the Goldstones," Seberus revealed. "I owed them my Magic Tower back in Kingsbrdge."

As it turned out, the Goldstones provided Magic Towers too, not just real estate. That was good to know.

"I thought this was a burden. But imagine my surprise when I saw your banners flying in the distance. I immediately had my carriage take a detour to visit you."

Michael took a sip of water. "What does Theresa want from you?"

This earned him a nod of respect from Seberus. "So you already know Theresa."

"I’ve heard about her."

"Just so. From what I see, you don’t have any intention of playing friends with her. And if you want to compete with an opponent of her caliber, then you would need to know everything about them."

"Which is why I’m asking you now," Michael replied.

Seberus couldn’t help but inwardly smile. It truly seemed as if Michael had matured greatly.

"Theresa wants something from Lazarus Cadaver. He’s the other Mystic Master with me."

Michael did notice that the other source of bright twinkling power in the caravan was still in his large pumpkin carriage. He didn’t seem to have any intention of getting out and talking to Michael.

Wait, Lazarus Cadaver? Where have I heard that name before?

[Retrieving information about Lazarus Cadaver...]

A few seconds later, a wave of information washed over Michael’s head, making him reel back.