Michael and his family went back to the Vanderbilt residence soon after the business with the Magic Tower was over.

Lylia didn't want Michael to spend another second in that place, fearing that he would fall unconscious yet again. But thankfully, Seberus certified his talent in magic, officially recording him as a quadruple talent mage.

Michael looked at the tattered book in his hands. This was the magic technique given to him by the Tower Master to improve his physical well-being.

According to him, this magic had the potential to become a 9-star spell. This made Michael wonder why it wasn't very popular with mages now. It seemed like such a good spell.

ChatJK2, can you read the contents of this book?

[Certainly.] ChatJK2 replied.

Michael flipped through the pages, taking careful caution not to rip the paper out of the book.

It didn't take more than ten minutes for ChatJK2 to completely absorb the technique into its memory.

[Magic theory obtained.]

[Progress to next update: 0.01%]

[Internal Earth Defense]

— ★+

— Earth Element

— This is a passive spell that is always activated and needs no intervention from the user.

— Earth mana must be integrated into the user's skin and internal organs, creating an internal defense with the same hardness and resilience as Earth minerals.

— This skill proves to be an unbreakable defense against Air-element attacks, as long as the attacking spell is not higher than the star rating of this skill.

— The user must continue to cultivate the skill to improve its star rating.

Michael looked at the description of the skill and realized why it had fallen out of fashion with most mages.

To improve the defense, Michael had to gather Earth mana and imbue it onto his entire body. The problem was that he had to take precious time away from improving his mana core to continue cultivating this one spell.

Most mages would rather not waste time building an Earth-type defense and continue to improve their mana cores.

Although this type of defense was good against Air magic because of the inherent advantage of Earth over Air, it wasn't that good of a defense against other elements.

It would be better to learn defense spells of different elements to keep themselves safe.

I like the idea of a passive defense, but it's only good against Air magic. ChatJK2, can you create this kind of spell, but in different elements so that I can have a defense against every element magic spell?

[Creating defense spells is possible. However, it is inadvisable for you to cultivate multiple of them at the same time as it would waste too much time and resources. Would you like me to synthesize a new skill instead?]

You can do that?... Wait, what's the difference between a Skill and a Spell?

Michael received the Supreme Skill, but didn't want to think too much about it because it was too powerful. However, now was the perfect time for him to know the distinction between the two.

[According to the records in the Magic Tower, a spell is something that mages cast using the mana in their cores. Anyone can learn a magic spell as long as they know the magic theory, and anyone can cast them as long as they have the right mana in their cores.]

[A skill is different because they are spells that cannot be learned through normal means. It is a talent that manifests naturally, and cannot be taught to other beings.]

[Would you like me to create a new skill with your specifications?]

Michael nodded his head enthusiastically. Skills looked to be a much more special type of spell, one that was unique to each individual. Why wouldn't Michael want one for himself?

[Synthesizing new skill…]

[Complete.]

[Skill]

[Absolute Unity Defense]

— ★+

— Unity Element

— This Skill creates a passive defense against any and all types of magic.

— This defense is impervious to any magic spells or skills that are below or the same star rating as this skill.

— Cultivating this skill does not interfere with the growth of the mana cores.

Michael stared in wonder at the new skill given to him by ChatJK2. This was the type of defense that he desired for all this time.

If he cultivated this skill to the 2-star rating, then he wouldn't be hurt or affected by all kinds of 2-star spells. It was much better than the original technique since that one only protected him against Air spells.

Since this skill used all types of mana, or what ChatJK2 liked to call Unity, there was virtually no weakness that other mages could exploit. It didn't matter if they threw blazing magma, raging lightning bolts, or freezing icicles. None of them would break his defense.

The best part was that this skill could continue to grow up to a 9-star rating, meaning that in the future, he would be practically invincible!

[Michael Von Vanderbilt]

[Magic Talent: SSS+ class]

[Element Mastery: N/A]

[Magic Purity: 99.99%]

[Mana Quantity: N/A]

[Realm: 2-star Novice Magician]

[Progress to next update: 0.01%]

[Supreme Skill: Unity Gathering]

[Skills:]

— Absolute Unity Defense

[Learned Spells:]

— 1-star

—— Water Ball

—— Ember

—— Rock Throw

—— …

Judging from the way ChatJK2 presented his skills, it looked like he could get more of them in the future.

As for his Supreme Skill, Michael treated it like a trump card or an ultimate power. He doubted that he could get something that powerful again.

…

…

…

Michael continued his daily life in the mansion, with his mother preventing him from leaving the mansion for the time being.

She was even more traumatized than him after his 'episode' at the Magic Tower. She didn't allow him to leave the estate for as long as she was sure that he would never fall unconscious ever again.

And to achieve that, she continued to teach and tutor Michael on improving his physical well-being.

She helped him practice the Internal Earth Defense spell that Seberus gave him. Secretly though, he improved his Absolute Unity Defense skill instead.

He did 100 push-ups every day, ran a 2-kilometer circumference around the estate, and did 100 crunches all while gathering mana in his body, strengthening it from the inside and out.

Time passed until it was…

Five Years Later.