Chapter 105
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Human Chess (4)
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[03:00]
[Gerkken Team: White Pawn Attack Attempt]
[Elise Team: Black Pawn vs. White Pawn in Combat]
Sudden battle.
Human chess kicked off at 10 a.m., and here we were at 7 p.m. with the first clash.
What to do?
A whopping nine hours of unbroken peace had made me forget how to fight...
───!
The invading black golem scattered obsidian shards. I backflipped in a hurry, then scrambled up to high ground and claimed it.
Closing in on a golem was suicide. The damn thing was a weapon from head to toe, so distance was key.
────!
The black golem kept firing dagger-like obsidian chunks from its body. I ducked behind a tree.
Crack-crack-crunch─! Three razor-sharp stone fragments toppled the trunk.
"This thing's insane."
How the hell was that a pawn? My jaw dropped on its own.
Pew─! Pew─! Pew─! Pew─!
Aimed shots sliced through the air next. I rolled and dodged like mad, zigzagging as fast as I could.
Evasion basics for ranged fire. Movement like this was skin-tight natural.
[02:13]
Two minutes left. Weaving between cover like this? Draw would be a breeze. But after nine hours, the first real fight...
A draw wouldn't cut it.
I fished the slingshot from my pocket.
────!
Dodging those homing obsidian blades on the run, I amplified the steel marble and slingshot. Fired up the SZX-9500 too.
Shooting and spotting tools, both of 'em.
Swishhh───!
Right on cue, the black golem unleashed dozens of shards. No dodging that on solid ground.
"Hup!"
I kicked off the surface with footwork, launching airborne. Mid-jump, shifted stance. Max balance while hoisting the slingshot. Nocked the marble. Twang─ hauled back the band, sighted the black golem.
Target: the eye.
Release.
Thwang───!
The steel marble slashed space on a diagonal plunge. Dead-on golem hit.
Shatter─!
The lens-like orb exploded like plate glass. The thing screeched, spraying obsidian everywhere.
Pew─! Pew─! Pew─!
But no precision. Blinded, it was just a pitching machine now. Random chunk-spewing, sure, but I wasn't tanking blind shots.
One-sided hunt time.
I hammered its 'joints' with the slingshot. Stayed sharp, though—one stray obsidian tag meant critical damage.
Thwack───! Thwack───!
Rest of the time, I pummeled the sightless golem top to bottom. It just ate hits, leaking fragments like blood.
[00:00]
[Combat End]
Vrrr─
Smartwatch buzzed. Time-up blues.
[Gerkken Team: White Pawn Combat Failure]
[Elise Team: Black Pawn Defense Success]
[Pawn trait resets defense chance.]
"Hey, hey. What gives? Hurry up."
I stomped impatiently for the next round. The black golem slunk back to position, totaled for sure.
If Elise had her head on straight, she'd order a chase-down smash.
Vrrr─
[Advance and destroy.]
Yep, Elise called pursuit kill. Mana barrier parted again.
[Elise Team: Black Pawn Attack Attempt]
[Gerkken Team: White Pawn vs. Black Pawn in Combat]
Now I crossed to the golem's turf. Wrecked head to toe, self-repairing mid-collapse, but I wasn't waiting.
Nocked a marble in the slingshot.
Golem had burned through its obsidian armor plating; weak spots wide open. Neck 'core' glaring.
Bang─!
Fired.
Crunch! Core popped, and it crumbled like a sandcastle.
[Combat End]
[Elise Team: Combat Victory]
[Gerkken Team: White Pawn Destroyed]
"Phew."
I'd claimed the black golem's square. No clue what came next, but that was one solid point.
"......Already another?"
There—charging dead straight. Looked like a higher piece.
Suddenly slammed.
Vrrr─
[Gerkken Team: White Rook Attack Attempt]
[Elise Team: Black Pawn vs. White Rook in Combat]
Rook. Second strongest after queen.
Whooshhh───!
Blasted in fast, feet scraping sand needlessly. Kicked up a dust storm crossing into my square.
"Ugh. My eyes."
Nuisance from jump flashed a slimy smile, showing just his right mug.
"Rook... arrival......"
And that was it.
Face-to-face, he locked up stiff. Full robot shutdown. Greasy grin and hero stance frozen.
I clocked his face late.
"......Huh?"
Surprisingly welcome mug.
"Hey."
I gave a friendly wave. He rolled his eyes away, body stock-still.
Kielli.
[Combat Start]
[03:00]
Kielli stared at him. At Sion Askal. Sion stared back.
"......"
Body locked solid. Rabbit before a lion. Fear bubbled from dantian depths first—before mana—churning cold sweat, choking breath.
Survival instinct fused with trauma: 'freeze' mode.
Momentary halt.
Psych barrier screaming: cross this line, you're dead.
Gulp─
Throat bobbed on reflex.
Sion Askal just stood there. Clutching a single club.
That stick looked laughably short and flimsy next to his spear. Stance even screamed 'wide open'.
Trap.
Sion Askal, bare-fisted monster-crusher.
Blind charge? My body shatters first.
[02:23]
[02:22]
Clock still ticking.
Sion cracked a smile.
"Long time no see?"
Kielli agonized.
Way too risky. Even survival savant Kielli had zero plays—
"No reply?"
Sion's face tightened a hair.
"......Long time no see."
Kielli grabbed his side, faked a grimy pallor.
"Urgh......"
"?"
Sion looked baffled. Best Kielli could muster, though.
No point grappling him.
Chess: three wins out of four boards. All my fights victories so far.
Top spot locked.
"Side wound... agh! Last fight's fallout too brutal. Urrgh......"
"......Yeah?"
Sion's face said 'jackpot'. Club up quick. Kielli raised a hand.
"Time-out. Third fight for me already......"
True story—lotsa scraps.
Major piece 'rook': twelve battles down. This the thirteenth.
Abuse central.
"Time-out where... Fine. Five seconds."
Sion tapped club on palm. No Mana Body glow.
Kielli clocked it suspicious.
Not just this class.
Secretly watched Sion every lesson. Never once lit Mana Body. Partial limb bursts? Hard pass.
Hiding power. Some reason.
That freak rigid-body gift, untouched.
"Uh...... y'know."
Kielli probed careful.
"Mana Body...... off?"
"Yeah. Can't."
Can't.
Brain branches crackled out.
Can't → mustn't → dire reason → contract/oath → issuer? → suspects galore → foreign spy? Edsil Central Intel ghost? Underworld mafia hound?
Anywhich, steer clear.
No pulp like that monster.
"......Gotcha."
"What. Scorn cuz can't?"
Sion eyed him. Kielli doofus-grinned.
"Nah."
[01:35]
"Five seconds. Here goes."
Sion whipped the club. Kielli barely evaded—or so—
"Whoa?!"
Whoosh─ Swing turned thrust mid-arc.
Sion's club combo.
Triangle sweep feint, ram 'thrust' into foe backing off.
Irregular, plain.
Sion dug 'variable swordplay'—shifts, tricks, breaks. Unlike dantian-draining absolutes, maxed body specs low strain.
Absolute: finisher. Variable: standard.
Thok─!
Club nailed Kielli's brow.
"......"
Kielli? Mana Body on—not kill-level sting.
Twinge, tops?
Warning shot: eat this, bail.
"......Oof! Yield! Yield!"
Kielli tapped out fast.
[Gerkken Team: White Rook Combat Failure]
[Elise Team: Black Pawn Defense Success]
[Pawn trait resets defense chance.]
"What? That bad?"
Sion blinked confused. Act to the end. College Board brass watching overhead?
"Yeah. Kinda...... injury's rough."
"Watch it. Hit the clinic."
"Yup. Catch ya. Later~ good hustle."
Kielli played along, retreating pre-fight square.
Five squares right of Sion Askal.
"Phew."
Distance bred calm. He swiped sweat from his brow.