Chapter 97

A day before the chess tournament.

First-grade class 0’s classroom.

The classmates of First-grade class 0 came to school earlier than usual, because of class president Yuri Kim’s request.

All except Vice-president Ui-shin Cho.

“Then we’ll start the meeting for Ui-shin’s Stalemate chess tournament for tomorrow!”

In front of the electronic blackboard, Yuri Kim wrote the title of the meeting in a cute and round handwriting.

“Vice prez is going to a chess tournament?”

“He didn’t tell me, so I didn’t know!”

Even Hyo-don Maeng and Se-eum Sawol, who were on the same floor as Ui-shin in the dormitory, had not heard of his’s participation.

“Jiho, have you heard anything about it?”

“No.”

Jiho Hwang answered Lenna Lee’s question with a twinkle in his eye.

Lenna, seeing that face, thought, ‘I think Jiho knew somehow,’ but decided to stay still.

“Did you hear from him directly?”

Han-yi asked, but Yuri shook her head.

“No. It was a coincidence. When Ui-shin participated in the first quarter student representative meeting, um…… I saw him scrap the chess tournament schedule. I checked Stalemate’s website just in case, and he was on the tournament list!”

“Come to think of it, the filter he set for himself was a chess piece.”

Green Min activated a hologram.

“I think he was a famous chess player.”

“Huh? Wow, this is for real!”

Yuri checked Green’s hologram and projected the screen onto the electronic blackboard.

The hologram was full of Ui-shin Cho’s history of winning domestic and international chess competitions.

“Wow…… He got these awards before he entered high school.

“Sick, dude. How come he never goes to competitions after high school?”

“Probably because he needs to be a fully registered player. Professional players are limited in participating in sports competitions.”

“Chess is a sport?”

“I heard that chess and Bridge were recognized as a sport by the IOC. Chess, Xiangqi, and Go are also the official games of the Asian Games.”

“That’s some weird sport. So do they have footage of the competitions?”

“Yes! I wish we could see Ui-shin’s video.”

Se-eum developed a hologram and showed it to Hyodon, and even chattered about checkers and the International Mind Sports Association(IMSA).

When the two suddenly turned up the heat with sports talk, Lenna spoke out to change the topic.

“Do you want to set a cheer slogan?”

“The Stalemate’s adviser will isolate the audience seat and the field with spatial skills. The sound will be blocked.”

“Spatial skills? Oh, Mr. Yong Je-gun was the adviser of the chess activity group. When you think about it, making a loud noise will interfere with playing chess.”

Lenna seemed a little bummed out at Jiho’s reply.

There were various opinions about cheering for Ui-shin, but in the end, they agreed on ‘going secretly and cheer quietly to surprise him.’

“Then let’s decide where and when to meet, and decide on a cheering slogan to put up on a hologram.”

“I can’t go, there are too many people…… I also have an appointment in the afternoon. Sorry. I’ll draw a painting instead.”

“Then let’s put Green’s drawing on the cheering hologram. What are you gonna draw?”

“I’m going to draw a chess piece and a portrait of him.”

“Then I’ll display the hologram to the size of a placard, and put the Green’s picture in the right corner.”

Yuri Kim posted a draft on the electronic blackboard.

Soon, students in the first-grade class 0 presented a candidate for a cheer slogan, and after voting, they decided on the contents of the slogan, its font size, and color.

By the end of the meeting, it was close to Ui-shin’s usual time to come to school.

“Right, I forgot the most important thing! Jiho!”

“You can’t tell Ui-shin!”

“Hahahaha, yeah okay.”

Yuri Kim and Lenna Lee gave a warning to the most unpredictable element of this project, Jiho Hwang, who was currently considered the craziest person in first-grade class 0.

However, Han-yi saw Jiho following Ui-shin around at lunch, saying, “There’s something I’m not telling you. Wanna know what?”

“Jiho Hwang.”

Ui-shin went back to the classroom first, and Han-yi glared at Jiho with a horrified face.

“I didn’t tell him. “I was just trying to make him curious as hell then never tell him what it is……. but he isn’t interested at all.”

“You do realize that’s a terrible idea, right?”

“That’s a bitter attack. Hahahaha!”

Han-yi had no idea why Jiho was laughing like a maniac again, but anyhow, it only made him more horrified.

*    *    *

It was the day of the chess tournament.

Club activities had ended.

Jiho, who appeared in front of the first-grade class 0 students, looked very frustrated.

“He didn’t even pretend to be curious till the end.”

“You son of a big mouth was trying to tell him till the end?”

“I’m glad that Ui-shin didn’t buy it.”

Hyo-don and Se-eum scolded him with an appalled face.

Yuri took the lead, looking relieved.

“Let’s head out!”

The 3rd gym of the General Club Hall grounds.

After Je-gun Yong’s opening show, the first round of the chess tournament began.

First-grade class 0’s students took up one box seat and all sat together and displayed the hologram.

“Other tables have started. What’s Ui-shin doing?”

“Senior Jin-seung Ma pressed the clock a bit late so they started late… but why isn’t he doing anything.”

Joi-shin, who had been hesitating for a long time, put his pawn forward.

“Oh, there he goes.”

After a few turns, Ui-shin laughed for the first time.

The kids who saw that became worried.

“His laugh isn’t weird and suspicious as usual.”

“Yeah, he seems off.”

“Yeah. Not in the best condition, maybe?”

“Hahaha, hahahaha!”

As Jiho Hwang began to laugh his ass off, Ui-shin and Jin-seung stood up and shook hands.

“What, it’s over? They’re shaking hands!”

“Ui-shin won! That was only 4 moves. How did he do that?”

“Oh, Stalemate gave a commentary! They say it’s scholar’s mate.”

On the Stalemate web page, the results of the match were coming up in real-time.

Ui-shin Cho spent quite a lot of time on the first turn, but he checked in four moves and became the first player to win.

While everyone was admiring his victory, Lenna pointed out something important.

“Wait, what if Ui-shin doesn’t see us until the end?”

“Didn’t think of that.”

“But I wanted to see Ui-shin being surprised!”

The kids agreed to make the slogan more visible and increased the size and brightness of the hologram.

And the second round began.

Ui-shin Cho vs. Garam Yeon.

Ui-shin’s speed was faster than the first round.

However, the more he played, the slower his hands and chess pieces became, and finally, it all came to a stop.

“Why isn’t he playing.”

“Maybe he’s thinking about his next move.”

“But he’s thinking too long.”

Above the hologram for the audience seat.

The numbers next to Ui-shin’s name were slowly ticking away.

“When the number hits zero, he’ll lose due to time over.”

At Han-yi’s words, some kids got up and began to cheer.

“Come on, Ui-shin!”

“Fighting, Ui-shin!”

“The hell, vice prez! Come on!”

However, the sound from the audience seat, blocked by Je-gun Yong’s spacial powers, did not reach Ui-shin.

But then.

“······!”

Jiho bolted from his seat and looked ahead.

“Jiho Hwang?”

Han-yi, who was sitting next to Jiho, called him, but he did not respond.

Then Yuri exclaimed in a bright voice.

“He saw us!”

“Oooh! He seems surprised!”

“Ui-shin, there’s no time! Make a move!”

“He can’t hear us, let’s wave to him!”

“Vice prez, hurry up!”

*    *    *

Yuri Kim smiling and waving her hands.

Lenna and Hyo-don shouting something.

Se-eum moving his arms while floating halfway up as if his flying skills have been activated.

Han-yi holding up his hand a little.

Jiho giving a meaningful grin when he made eye contact with me.

And the slogans and holograms that filled the entire box seat.

[It’s okay to be suspicious!]

[First-grade class 0 roots for Ui-shin, our vice prez with the suspicious smile ^▽^♡]

On the hologram was a chess piece and my portrait drawn by Green Min.

‘This is what Jiho Hwang had been talking about.’

Come to think of it, my classmates came to school earlier than me yesterday and today.

They were secretly preparing to come cheer for me.

‘”It’s okay to be suspicious,” I must really look that way.’

As I thought that,

I realized that the colors were back in my once monotone world.

The cheer slogans on the hologram changed colors by the second.

When I turned my gaze back and looked down at the chessboard, I saw 64 squares and chess pieces fully.

Finally, the next move dawned on me.

Beep.

I made my move and pressed the chess clock button.

The remaining time is 1 minute.

Soon the Chess version of countdown, the Fischer rule, will be applied.

I still had my severe headache, but I didn’t feel like I would lose.

“Check.”

I declared a checkmate eight turns after the Power of Destiny was triggered.

Garam Yeon scowled a little for the first time and knocked down her king, then asked for a handshake.

The second round also ended with my victory.

*    *    *

“That was so intense!”

“Yeah!”

“Ya did that on purpose? The first round went too fast and tried to end the second one slowly?”

“I was worried because you didn’t laugh suspiciously!”

“Great job, Ui-shin!”

“Yeah! “Great job, Ui-shin!”

After the two rounds, I went to my classmates.

Half of the things they said were about how worried they were, and the other half how great I did.

As they listened to them, my headache disappeared, and the warmth returned to my hands.

“Thank you.”

My classmates stayed to cheer for me till this late hour.

I was grateful, and I was sorry.

“Let’s go for dinner, my treat.”

They refused at first, but I insisted and we all decided to eat somewhere near school.

I wanted to go to the Korean BBQ house, but this was opposed by Yuri Kim.

Let’s go there when Ui-shin wins the tournament!”

“Okay. If you win, buy us BBQ with the prize money.”

“Yes, let’s eat something else today!”

The majority decision was a fast food store in Eun Kwang-gu.

Many wanted to eat the limited-season set menu.

The kids laughed and chatted as they stacked the oozy cheese French potatoes that were on their set menu in the middle of the table and shared them.

I made up my mind to win in order to buy my classmates beef BBQ.

*    *    *

We chatted until the fast-food store closed.

Before the dorm members headed to school.

Jiho grabbed me and asked something.

“Ui-shin Cho, when you saw the audience seat during the match, didn’t you feel anything?”

When I saw my classmates……

That was when Power of Destiny was activated.

‘Jiho Hwang felt it too?’

There were 3 times when the Power of Destiny was activated in front of Jiho Hwang.

The first was when I encountered the interpreted version of the ancient book with remains of a superior being, which was found in the basement of the Central Library.

The second was when Sang-hee Yoo borrowed the power of Acea to heal Red Tiger.

And today.

In the previous two cases, powerful forces had worked at the same time, but today there was nothing.

So he might have detected it.

“I don’t know.”

I wasn’t lying.

I still don’t know about the Power of Destiny.

Jiho, although with an uncertain expression, did not pry further.

“Okay. You did well today. Get some rest.”

This world’s Ui-shin Cho’s history was set similar to my actual history, perhaps due to information manipulation by the paranormal universe.

Jiho Hwang, who investigated me, may have guessed my trauma about chess.

“Thank you for your support. Jiho Hwang.”

At these words, Jiho gave a subtle expression and turned away.

This time, it was not in the wrong direction, but towards Myung-ho Hwang’s Mansion.

*    *    *

The 3rd gym of the General Club Hall grounds.

Between the chess piece-shaped space blocks.

Je-gun Yong stood alone on the 1st floor.

‘It was somewhere here.’

Je-gun looked up at the box seat where the first-grade class 0 students were.

‘What was that trace?’

In this space filled with only Je-gun’s powers, a different type of power got in.

It was very faint, but Je-gun saw a flash of light.

‘The young avatar of Golden Tiger seemed to sense it too.’

Je-gun looked at the empty chess table.

‘And the Anonymous Supernova.’