Michael was so flustered with hearing Seberus’ taunts that he completely forgot that he wasn’t supposed to have magic.

He had naturally used his magic to levitate the pieces on the board. He couldn’t even hide the magic circle that appeared above his palms. This was complete evidence to the fact that he seemed to be the only person with magic.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Michael sighed. He had let down his guard simply because he had trusted Seberus. So, he also trusted Seberus to keep his secret. This man was a genuine true friend of his.

"I’m honestly not sure myself," he said to Seberus. "But I guess I’m just too talented for the Nascent Influence to work on me. I was somehow able to override the power, allowing me to keep control over the mana in the air."

Seberus’s eyes widened, before it started to shimmer with thoughts. As a Mystic Master, he was knowledgeable in lots of intricate and esoteric things about mana.

Theories popped up in Seberus’ mind, flashing through his mouth as muttering unintelligible words.

And in the end, he was able to reach a satisfying conclusion. "It’s because of your Supreme Talent," Seberus realized. "Your command over mana is completely different from ordinary people like me."

In front of a genius such as Michael, even a Mystic Master could be considered as an ordinary person. That was just how powerful a Supreme Talent was. It was tyrannical in how they completely dominated a single piece of nature. And for Michael, that was magic itself.

"This... this... hahahaha, this proves that we’re right!" Seberus exclaimed. "It’s a tremendous weight off our shoulders, if I’m going to be honest with you."

Seberus then explained to Michael about how the majority of people had come to believe that magic and mana had disappeared permanently.

However, the Guild of Arcana was of the opinion that mana was just invisible to them now. The Nascent Influence had created an invisible barrier that prevented people from accessing that layer of reality with mana. But that didn’t mean that they had destroyed or made mana disappear.

But now, Michael was the definite evidence to their theories! Magic still existed!

"Hahahaha! My boy!" Seberus hugged Michael with intensity. There was a proud look on his face that made Michael warm on the inside.

"I didn’t want to reveal that I had magic. It could cause undue stress to my company. I don’t think the Ersatz would let someone like me alive if they knew I still wielded magic."

This made Seberus sober up. Initially, he had been thinking about sharing this news to the Guild of Arcana. But now that Michael pointed out the obvious flaw to that plan, he immediately scrapped it out.

"You’re right, you’re right," Seberus acceded. "Ersatz won’t assassinate you if they find out. However, they will be interested in why you are able to still wield magic. Which will be either good or bad for you, depending on how you interpret that.

Still, it is good precaution to keep this a secret. As much as I wanted to brag to my peers about the genius that is my student, it seems that I have to keep my mouth shut with this one."

Michael nodded, agreeing with Seberus.

"How does it feel? Magic?" Seberus asked.

The Mystic Master had adjusted well with the disappearance of magic. However, the wistful tone in his voice betrayed his true emotions. Deep inside, he was missing that power in his core, that mystical swirl of power that had become nature to his body.

He hoped that he could live vicariously through Michael.

"Relax," Michael said to Seberus. "Take a drink first."

Seberus took the cup of water in Michael’s hands and shook his head. "Sorry. Got a little bit excited there."

Seeing this scene, Michael couldn’t help but feel sad for his old friend. Were the age lines on his face this deep?

"It’s not a permanent solution. But..."

Michael raised his hand, using the power inside his Maugnetic core. Immediately, a wave of sonorous sensation emanated from him and directly affected Seberus.

The Mystic Master’s eyes widened when he realized that Michael was using his Nascent Influence on him.

And before he could be surprised about the fact that Michael was now a Nascent Spirit cultivator, Seberus was suddenly inundated with a warm feeling in his core.

"PFTTT!" Seberus spat out the water he was drinking. Michael smiled. It seemed that things didn’t really change.

Seberus’ eyes widened with utter and complete shock. His cores. They were being filled with magic! Mana was surging towards his body at a commensurate rate!

The mana that he thought he wouldn’t be able to see for so long. It’s back! It’s here!

He immediately turned towards Michael for an explanation.

"I realize that if I use my Nascent Influence, I can temporarily allow someone to use magic. But it’s not going to last long. After a few hours, that magic will dissipate again—"

But before Michael could explain further, Seberus gave him another big hug. This time, tears streaked off the old man’s cheeks.

Who was cutting onions? Michael ought to find out, because he too was tearing up a little bit.

"It doesn’t matter," Seberus said. "Just the fact that I can feel magic again is enough of a gift. Even if it’s just temporary."

Michael smiled. Finding and defeating the Ersatz was worth it just to have his old friend regain his magic back.

After a while, Seberus settled down. And using his mana, he used a simple magic circle to manufacture a special chess board commemorating this special moment.

Michael could tell that this brought great joy to the Mystic Master. Much more than using some grand 9-star magic spell.

The two of them spent the rest of the day catching up to each other while playing chess.

As it turned out, Seberus had been in the Guild of Arcana this entire time. And the reason seemed to be because of him.

"I was trying to convince my peers about your legitimacy as a Mystic Master."