Meanwhile, in the Upper Echelon society, Reborn was still the current talk of the town.

Gourdon Zentmeister, Patriarch of an Upper Echelon company ranked in the upper top 20, immediately heard word of a new invention amongst the Rebornian.

"This... phone... are you sure?" he asked one of his spies.

A fully black-clothed man kneeled in front of him. "Yes, Master. We have spies on the other Upper Echelon companies. And some of them are showing signs of movement. After some digging, we found out it’s because they were able to smuggle... this phone from the Reborn company."

Gourdon went silent. Reborn was now their ally. And after knowing that other Upper Echelon companies found out about the phone, this left him quite perplexed.

After all, he didn’t want their enemies to get their hands on the phone. So, he wasn’t sure if he should act or not.

But on the other hand, this may be an intentional ploy by the Rebornians. Michael was quite a smart kid. He would know that people would want and covet the new technology that he’d been putting out.

"There’s no other choice. Get my automobile. We’re travelling to Reborn."

...

...

...

"This is an outrage," said a large man. His stature was like that of a bear, with a beard as voluminous as a lion’s mane.

He was the Patriarch of the Lionheart family. The very family renowned for their lineage that left them very talented in the art of the Sword.

The previous Heavenly Swordmaster was one of theirs. He was the Lionheart Patriarch’s grandfather. And he wasn’t the only one. There were, at record, three Heavenly Swordmasters coming from their family out of the ten people who held the title in all of history.

So, it was definitely a shock to learn that his grandson didn’t become the current student of the Heavenly Swordmistress.

"I’ll talk to Eldea. She must have some kind of grudge against me, or else she would have chosen my grandson."

They were absolutely flabbergasted to learn that a demi-human became her student instead.

Of course, they wanted to complain. But after they learned of the demi-human’s accomplishment, they knew better than to say something.

They were honorable people, after all. If the Heavenly Swordmistress chose someone, then they absolutely had no right to change that.

And so, the Lionheart family decided to keep their mouths shut. The Patriarch knew that if his grandson continued to grow in the future, he’d be able to show everyone his potential, and by then the Heavenly Swordmaster name will be placed upon him.

However, something happened.

The student that Eldea chose, the demi-human from Reborn, had rejected her offer!

This was unprecedented! When the Order of the Heavenly Knights sent a letter trying to summon this demi-human to their estate in the Royal Continent, he refused to even deign a response!

And then, the Knights sent their own messenger. Perhaps, the letter was just lost.

However, when they reached the Kings region, the demi-human refused to show up! He always had an excuse!

Of course, the Order of the Heavenly Knights had their own pride. They couldn’t lower themselves any further if a student didn’t want to join their order.

In fact, this had happened before. The Heavenly Rapier had found herself a talented individual. However, that girl had turned out to be from the Montgomery family. And not just anyone from their lineage, but one that was said to be Xere’s own granddaughter, one poised to become her replacement.

So, being rejected by them didn’t cost them much honor.

However, this demi-human was from a Lower Echelon company! Having the Order of the Heavenly Knights knock on your door should be an honor they accepted whole-heartedly!

Instead, they didn’t even deign to give a response!

So, it was absolutely expected for Eldea to stop her offer and choose someone else.

And so, the Lionheart family found another chance. After all, during the Swordmaster tournament in New Sparta, their grandson won it all. He absolutely deserved to have been the studnet of Eldea.

So, they put forth his name once again.

However, the unexpected happened again. Eldea refused! She said that she was adamant in having the demi-human become her student!

And it had come at the point that Eldea was willing to even visit the Lower Kings Region in order to talk to her student herself!

This was an absolute travesty! The Heavenly Swordmistress title shouldn’t be taken so lightly! They were being above everyone! They should be the one visited!

However, Eldea insisted.

The Lionheart family couldn’t help but take this as an insult. Was their grandson so lacking that the Heavenly Swordmistress had to lower herself in order to get another student?

And so, the Lionheart family decided. They were going to visit the Reborn company.

"We will see for ourselves," said the patriarch.

...

...

...

Michael found himself in the Shadows of Reborn headquarters.

Here, the Orc Chieftains gave reports about what they saw in their territories.

"BU TO TO! Our allies have finally been connected to the electrical grid."

"RAH TA TA! We gave them the basic electrical appliances. Lights, air conditioning, refrigerators, anything essential."

Michael nodded his head, appreciating their reports.

"How about our enemies? The Oscorpe?"

"They have retreated for now, boss. They seemed to be focusing their forces inwards. It seems that Earl is now trying to fight one of his brothers in the north."

"They are using our phones as their weapons. But this is good. All their information is being transmitted right here in our headquarters. And since Earl had some of his soldiers retreating back into his army, we were also able to sneak in some spies without their Nascent Spirit spymaster knowing about it."

As of now, Michael was going to let Earl destroy himself. Meanwhile, the Orcs would help by sowing chaos and doubt in their soldiers.

Not only that, but he was learning a lot of information about the other Oscorpe branches.

"Sir, we have detected movement in our border! We seem to have a flurry of visitors coming into our territory."