Chapter 211: An Old Story (8)

Chapter 211: An Old Story (8)

Rumble!

The ground kept shaking endlessly. However, the chess pieces on the board remained stable and unmoving unless commanded by the player.

Playing chess while the dungeon was collapsing might seem difficult, but for a mage who was used to casting spells in the midst of battles, it was quite a familiar and natural task.

Of course, not for Baek Yu-Seol.

"Argh!"

He planted his sword into the ground, used the blessing of New Moon Bronze to freeze the ground and his feet, ultimately securing his body in place.

Then, he utilized the blessing of Yeonhong Chunsamweol to calm his heart as much as possible and took on the entire chess situation.

It was not hard. The calculations were done by the Sentient Spec anyway. All he needed to do was hold on and avoid being swept away by the collapsing dungeon.

*'Faster. Faster!'*

Baek Yu-Seol’s mental strength was draining rapidly. To use the AI function of the Sentient Spec, he needed to consume a large amount of mental energy.

Remembering how his head felt like it was going to explode just from facing a high school student before... How excruciating would it be to defeat Carmen Set?

Fortunately, the blessing of Yeonhong Chunsamweol was helping, but given the situation, his mental energy was split to maintain stability, causing a painful headache.

**[Calculating the optimal move.]**

Regardless, the Sentient Spec projected a holographic beam visible only to Baek Yu-Seol, indicating the next move. He made the move exactly as instructed without error.

*‘Argh, what's happening now? Am I winning? Carmen Set isn’t smarter than the AI, right? After all, even Lee Sedol defeated AlphaGo, so it’s not impossible!’*

{TN:- Lee Sedol is a professional Go player from South Korea, renowned for his exceptional skill in the ancient board game Go. He gained international fame in 2016 when he played a series of matches against AlphaGo, an artificial intelligence program developed by Google's DeepMind.}

In such an extreme situation, all sorts of thoughts crossed his mind.

But Baek Yu-Seol’s worries were unnecessary.

- Impressive.

"... What?"

- Despite the circumstances, you’ve managed to stay calm and think of the best moves. I may not have a physical body to be affected by the chaos, but if I were in your situation, I wouldn’t have been able to make these moves.

Startled by Carmen Set’s sudden words, Baek Yu-Seol hurriedly examined the board.

Having played quite a bit of Soul Chess in the past, it wasn't difficult for him to assess the situation even without the Sentient Spec’s help.

"This is..."

- Checkmate. I’ve lost.

Baek Yu-Seol had won. And it was a flawless victory. He had completely overpowered Carmen Set without allowing a single attack.

Rumble!

"Ugh!"

As Carmen Set’s king fell, the vibrations intensified, as if the entire foundation of the dungeon was being uprooted.

Yet, Carmen Set continued speaking without any hesitation.

- Make your wish.

Finally, the time had come.

He carefully chose his words and spoke.

"My wish is to restore the body of Chairman Melian, who gained immortality through a wish, and to permanently stop the activity of the malignant tumor 'Azkan’s Claw' devouring his heart."

"... That’s quite a long wish."

"You can do that much, right? After all, I beat you in chess."

Rumble!

Not only was the dungeon collapsing, but now small holes were starting to form in the space itself. It created a terrifying sight of landmarks disappearing into another dimension, causing sweat to run down Baek Yu-Seol’s face.

- Haha, you’re right.

He laughed heartily as if he had found something amusing.

- Ever since being cursed by New Moon Silver and trapped in this dungeon, I’ve played Soul Chess alone for hundreds of years. I’ve never refused a challenger and never chased after one who fled.

Baek Yu-Seol didn’t understand why Carmen Set’s words became so drawn out. However, he felt that there was a sincere emotion behind them.

- And today, this was the most enjoyable chess game I’ve ever had. If there’s another chance, I’d like to play chess with you again!

As Carmen Set exclaimed, his red eyes flashed, and then... He vanished somewhere. He must have moved to another timeline. The dungeon would also follow Carmen Set as it collapsed, and there was a high chance Baek Yu-Seol would perish if he got caught in it.

But he had one last desperate attempt left.

“... New Moon Silver!”

He shouted his name into the void.

“I know you’re watching this very moment!”

Once, he played poker with him and promised to meet again. For an ordinary person, reuniting isn’t difficult—just decide on a time and place. But for a time traveler, time is very fluid and unpredictable. As someone who equated reunions with miracles, New Moon Silver would be keeping a special watch on Baek Yu-Seol.

“Just once is enough!”

The sound of the collapsing dungeon was hollowed out. Only an unpleasant noise akin to a hidden smartphone vibrating under a blanket echoed in his ears.

Baek Yu-Seol’s body was also slowly being sucked into a tunnel of space and time.

As he felt himself disappearing, he cried out to New Moon Silver.

“Wheel of time...!”

Immediately after.

Baek Yu-Seol lost consciousness.

---

"... Hmph!"

New Moon Silver, who had been playing Go alone, suddenly felt a sensation that made all his senses alert, and he quickly looked up.

In his silver eyes, he saw the figure of Baek Yu-Seol. A horrifying disaster was happening in real-time.

*'Damn it...!'*

He hadn’t been watching him constantly, so it was impossible to immediately understand how that bright boy got caught in a vortex of space and time. He only thought, *'A bizarre incident happened while I was distracted...!'*

What kind of human being would go through such a situation, which even New Moon Silver himself found difficult? That too with a seventeen year old body.

But that didn’t matter.

“Oh my. We were such good friends. Have you come to hate me already?”

“... Who are you really?” Eisel asked, and in response, Kayla smiled brightly.

“Well, I wonder. I’m curious about my identity too. I don’t have any memories of my childhood.”

“No memories?”

“Yeah. At some point, I just realized I had these abilities.”

She took out a damaged apple from her bosom and gently rubbed it with her hand. It turned into a fresh, red apple.

Crunch!

Kayla took a bite, closed her eyes, and shivered with delight.

“Mmm! So delicious!”

“What kind of magic is that?”

“Magic? No, this isn’t magic.”

Kayla quietly stared at the apple she had restored. The vacant look in her eyes made it impossible to read her thoughts, increasing the tension.

“Well, I don’t think it’s magic. Probably. Honestly, I don’t really know either.”

“I see...”

How much should they believe? How much should they accept?

“Anyway, why don’t you sit down? I bear no ill will towards you. Truly.”

Eisel and Edna exchanged glances. Since they had been brought here, there was no way to escape.

As the girls nodded reluctantly...

“Oh...!”

“Ugh...!”

In an instant, they were already seated.

“Now, shall we talk? Honestly, the phrase ‘shall we talk’ feels quite awkward. What should we even talk about? Does such a conversation have any meaning?”

“Judging by your expressions, I can see that you find this conversation boring. So, shall we change the topic? Let’s talk about why you came to find me.”

At those words, Eisel’s eyes widened.

“As you might have guessed, it’s highly likely that I’m the ‘artifact of New Moon Silver.’ After living for so long and reflecting on myself, this is the conclusion I’ve come to. What do you think?”

Eisel had no idea about her identity. No, to begin with... She was a artifact. Someone who lived among other people as an ordinary person.

Eisel wanted to deny the existence in front of her. It felt as though her entire understanding of reality was being tested.

But ultimately...

“I think what you’re saying is... correct.”

When a situation that goes beyond common sense turns into reality, she had no choice but to accept it.

It was a bitter and painful experience. For Eisel, who stubbornly believed only in her own wisdom, it was even more so.

“What reason could you have to find me? Honestly, I don’t know much about you. But... I felt a very familiar and friendly aura from you both, so I came to you myself.”

“What? Wait a minute...”

“What did you say?”

It wasn’t just Eisel who was surprised.

“Sis, did you just say ‘both’?”

“Yes.”

“Did you misspeak?”

“No. I felt a similar aura from you too. With my limited knowledge, I can’t exactly tell what it is, but... I approached you because I thought it was a good scent. Why? Is there something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. It’s just...”

It was just that such an aura should only be felt from 'protagonist Eisel.'

*‘What’s going on...?'*

Why was a similar aura being sensed from her? Edna couldn’t understand what Kayla meant.

“... Let’s leave these meaningless talks aside. I’ll get straight to the point.”

Eisel looked directly into Kayla’s eyes. Her eyes were bright and beautiful, and they resembled clear silver jade.

“Please show me the past from 10 years ago.”

There was a certain strength and determination in her resolute words. The will to uncover her father’s truth by any means necessary.

Kayla looked back at Eisel. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity.

“Okay. I can do that.”

She smiled brightly and replied.

“I can do that much. But... You can’t do anything when you get there.”

Kayla stretched as she stood up.

“Remember. Think of it as watching a ‘recorded video tape.’ Even I can’t perform grande acts like time travel.”

“Even the artifact of New Moon Silver can’t time travel?”

“Well. Sometimes the ability to time travel activates without my knowledge, but I don’t understand the principle behind it, and I don’t want to use such an imperfect ability on you.”

“I see...”

“Anyway, it’s impossible to interact with the people of that era or interfere with history. Really, you can only go and watch. You can’t do anything else.”

Kayla emphasized this point multiple times. *‘You can see the past, but you cannot do anything.’*

As if she knew exactly what part of the past Eisel wanted to see.

“Still. Do you really want to go?”

Regardless of what truth awaited there, she had already made up her mind to see it.

Eisel nodded firmly, and Kayla smiled bitterly.

“Alright. I’ll send you to the world of ten years ago. Go and see for yourself the truth you’ve always believed in.”

At that moment, the world blinked out of existence.",