Reborn as the Genius Son of the Richest Family

Age identified?

He knew it was weird when Chief Lupan asked for his age. As it turned out, it was for this exact reason. As for why, he would soon find out.

In the tenebrous darkness surrounding him that would have obscured most, if not all, people from seeing the inner workings of the spell at work, Michael saw clearly what was happening.

Thanks to both his Drone Vision and his Supreme Talent, he saw how white threads of Aubility Power weaved themselves throughout the reality around him, bending them and sewing them into a completely different shape.

Soon, Michael saw the space in front of him curve downwards, creating an arc that formed a bifurcated tunnel leading to two different pathways.

He thought he would have had to choose between these two roads like a moral dilemma, but as it turned out, the Aubility Power chose for him.

The ground underneath his feet shifted forwards like a wave, with its crests pushing him towards the tunnel on the left. The propagation was meant to be imperceptible, but with Michael seeing through everything like an x-ray, he felt a little bit nauseous seeing everything blur by him without moving his feet a single inch.

I'm getting a headache… which means that whoever created this is a Nascent Spirit cultivator.

Only tangible Aubility Power like theirs could affect him at his current cultivation.

Thankfully, the transportation didn't last that long. Soon, the dark tunnel led him towards a bright light on the other side.

He lurched forwards as the warping space pushed him from behind, making him stumble for a few steps until he got his footing.

As he stabilized himself, he realized that there was only silence in the room, except for the echoing footfalls of his shoes.

He looked up, realizing that a group of men and women in lavish and gaudy ballroom attire were looking at him directly.

They looked to be in the middle of their conversation, before his ungainly entrance interrupted their quiet and serene moment.

Even though their trenchant eyes were covered under their animalistic masks, he could see some of them looking at him with quite an investigative look.

They didn't know who he was. Their eyes quickly glanced towards the metal plate pinned on the chest, their minds clearly trying to recognize his name.

No one knew who 'Keo' was.

He certainly should be someone of great renown. After all, this Soiree was meant only for the elites of the elites, the very key movers of New Sparta itself. There was no way that someone would just accidentally stumble into this place.

However, once they saw his gauche and almost uncouth entrance, stumbling forwards and almost losing his balance, most people quickly began to disregard his presence. He didn't seem like a person worthy of their attention.

In short, he wasn't the one that sycophants, bootlickers, and leechers were looking for.

After all, this Soiree wasn't just meant for people to have small-talk and converse about their menial day-to-day routines. They were here to create connections, specifically, connections that would help them have an edge over everyone else here in New Sparta!

However, there was one person whose eyes were still locked onto Michael long after most lost interest.

This person wearing a golden retriever dog mask stared at Michael, with their eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

Unlike others who attributed Michael's awkward entrance due to lack of decorum, this person seemed to be more interested in how and why.

…

…

…

Once Michael got his bearings, the Soiree resumed its cacophonous hum of people speaking over each other.

What is this place?

The first thing he noticed was that everyone here was quite young, with the youngest being in their teens while the oldest was only in their mid twenties.

They sorted everyone into age ranges, he realized.

Then, his eyes glanced around the room, which looked like the typical banquet hall, with ornate tables lined with overly expensive silk and cutlery, with candles and oil lamps hanging overhead like chandeliers, and of course, a menagerie of young bachelors and beautiful maidens all around.

Of course, since everyone was wearing an animalistic sundry of masks, no one really knew what each other looked like.

But that didn't matter. The name on their chests was enough to make them attractive to anyone's eyes, regardless of their physical appearance.

Names such as Alaric, Aerith, and Bobby, for example were the people who attracted the most attention in the Soiree. Their prestige as the esteemed Legacies grew far and wide, including the people of New Sparta.

Michael noticed them, of course, but didn't make any attempt at catching their attention. He was Keo, as far as anyone was concerned. His only goal was to get through the end of the night, and eventually meet up with Lady Farren, Katarina, and Romeo to finally obtain that second Antique.

The fact that no one here paid attention to him was good. He could simply let the time pass, while simultaneously browsing through the Emporium for things to buy.

Hehehe, now let me see if there are any good deals—

"Um… hey."

His time to indulge in being a shopaholic was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a golden retriever blocking his view.

Michael frowned, attempting to signal his unavailability for a chat. And if he wasn't wearing his Prideful Lion mask, then it probably would have worked.

"I'll be sitting here," the dog-masked man said. "Hey, my name is Jot'un. You're… Keo, right?"

With a sigh, Michael closed the Emporium window. "Yeah. That's my name."

Jot'un looked around the room before whispering to Michael. "You know, I admire your indifference to this Soiree. Everyone's trying to boast about their names, but you're just sitting here alone, as if you don't care about any of that."

Michael shrugged. "I don't."

The golden-retrieved masked man fervently nodded his head. "Me too! I don't care that nobody cares about me. I don't care that I got rejected by Miss Aerith tonight. I really don't! We're two peas in a pod!"