Too Many Talents 087

……I don’t want to concede.

The studio fell into a brief silence.

Zihao’s eyebrows twitched, and the referee looked at me with disbelief.

But I was sincere.

I didn’t want to win this game by the rules.

I wanted to win solely with my moves, with my skill.

‘Because I have confidence.’

After a short silence, I approached the referee and the supervisor.

After a short silence, the referee and the supervisor discussed with serious expressions.

And soon, nodding heads.

A short while later, the referee returned to his seat and said.

“I understand. Only a warning will be imposed, and no penalty points will be deducted. The game can resume.”

One warning.

It remains in the official record, but the element that could affect the outcome is gone.

I nodded.

The referee personally lifted the game board that had been covering the go board.

Even at that moment, 9-dan Zihao was still standing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠motionless.

His lips tightly clenched, his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right hand clenched with force.

An expression of incomprehension.

Eyes that couldn’t accept it at all.

And an expression of anger growing more intense.

‘He got properly scratched.’

9-dan Zihao is a proud competitor.

He probably took my goodwill as an insult.

And that was exactly what I intended.

A measure to prevent anyone from saying I lost by making an excuse of the rules.

A surefire stimulus to make him sit in front of the go board again.

My expectation was spot on.

The 9-dan Zihao who had been standing quietly turned his body coldly.

A blank face.

But the emotions boiling inside were too obvious.

He sat in the chair without saying a word.

He held a black stone and stared fixedly at the go board.

Thud.

A sharp sound.

A move laden with emotion.

A move that felt like it could reverse the losing situation and had a strong will to beat me.

But I could see it.

The thin crack hidden in that strong move.

I quietly lifted a stone.

Taking a small breath, I placed a move on the battlefield that had just restarted.

Thud.

With the sound of the stone landing, the paused game began to flow again.

‘……Let’s widen the gap a bit.’

Today it’s not a half-point game, it’s not a one-point victory.

I plan to press until he resigns when I judge that reversal is impossible.

So necessarily.

‘Resignation.’

This go will make 9-dan Zihao throw down his stones.

‘X bang.’

From inside 9-dan Zihao, a stream of curses that wouldn’t stop welled up.

Beyond the face that seemed to be holding back, his heart was boiling to an unbearable degree.

This wasn’t just a game.

This was a matter of pride.

No matter who looked, he was confident he had won.

So he had ignored himself by acting like pity, like goodwill.

‘Looking at me with that kind of eyes?’

He was standing, and I was sitting in front of the go board.

Yet the eye level that looked down on me was unbearably displeasing.

‘……I win. I will definitely win.’

The obsession had turned into obsession, filling his mind.

I must win.

Otherwise, all this situation would become ‘a humiliating disgrace’.

But the situation wasn’t good.

A whopping 6 points or more.

At expected win rate, it might be around 30%.

‘Reverse the board.’

9-dan Zihao gritted his teeth.

He poured his emotions into the stones.

One move after another, slicing, stabbing, digging.

He gambled the battle with the anger and obsession of his whole body.

“Wait a minute, what’s this?”

Park Ji-man’s voice stopped for a moment.

His eyes moved quickly along the screen.

Zihao 9-dan’s distorted expression.

The referee was looking at In-ha with disbelief.

After a short discussion, the interpreter was called.

Park Ji-man quickly checked the situation on the monitor and continued with a panicked expression.

“……What? Now In-ha is saying he requested cancellation of the penalty? Ah, what is this. He said he directly said it. Just keep playing.”

On the screen, 9-dan Zihao sat back in the chair.

In-ha’s expression was calm, and 9-dan Zihao had his jaw tightly clenched.

“Haa…… In-ha, you’re really something.”

Park Ji-man grabbed the remaining hair with one hand.

“Why do you have to take the long way when you don’t have to? You want to see the Korean go fans’ hearts melt?”

The tradition and symbolism of the revived national go tournament.

The expectation that a Korean player should win.

Especially the feeling that he didn’t want to lose it to 9-dan Zihao.

Yet.

Kim In-ha still didn’t choose the easy path.

“But again, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that’s our In-ha. Even in the cheating case, right? The player who creates disadvantage and proves by winning. After saying it, it’s really cool.”

A pleased smile spread across Park Ji-man’s eyes.

The scene returned to tension.

With the referee’s signal to resume, the two players faced each other.

Thud.

Zihao 9-dan’s move.

Emotion was in the fingertips placing the stone.

An aggressive move without looking back.

“Whoa, this is fierce. The mental state might shake here…… placing such a move. Zihao plays well.”

Black was determined to push.

A strong move to shake the board somehow.

Attacking and countering.

Skipping exchanges and immediately knocking to shake the board.

Then, In-ha’s following move.

“Eh, eh? What’s this. It looks like retreating but…… also sneakily aiming at the back.”

In-ha dodged.

He didn’t choose a straight response.

He lured the opponent’s group and lightly leaned on the black stone.

“Whoa…… really nasty play.”

Park Ji-man laughed with a grin and turned on DeepStone commentary and explained.

“In-ha just pokes lightly. Doesn’t go for the kill, just threatens to stab if you keep going. From Zihao’s perspective, blood is shooting backwards. Not only is it disadvantageous, but where the knife will come from is unknown.”

9-dan Zihao’s jaw hardened.

His eyes scanning the go board trembled finely.

Black’s moves continued to be subtly off.

No matter how he tried to fight, he avoided it, and even when he tried to strike the weakness, it slipped away.

“Wow, really playing like a demon. Our In-ha.”

The chat window reacted hotly.

Black tried a forced stab again.

In-ha responded lightly as if he had expected it.

But that response was a disaster for black.

9-dan Zihao bit his lip and responded with a move, but In-ha’s move precisely stabbed like a dagger.

Thud.

The stone landed lightly like a butterfly.

But for black, it was the referee, not the stone.

“This move……”

Park Ji-man clapped quietly.

Sincere admiration.

“Whoa. Unmercifully crushing the mental state. Everyone, it’s over. No matter where black places, it’s a forced move.”

It wasn’t the miraculous move like ‘Jin Shin Du’ of the first country, but it was decisive enough.

A move that made further resistance, rebellion, or even desperate struggle meaningless.

It was enough to break 9-dan Zihao’s heart.

Park Ji-man smiled happily.

“In-ha, no, from now on Kim National Go Master. Congratulations on the championship, Kim National Go Master!”

It was a bit early for the victory cup, but no one objected.

DeepStone expected win rate 98%.

In-ha’s victory was already a fait accompli.

No more moves left.

Any more moves would be just passing.

Now, there was no room left to create a reversal.

‘……Even with the komi, it’s 7.5 points difference.’

The win or loss was already decided.

At this gap, even the counting was meaningless.

Playing more was just prolonging the humiliation.

Probably 9-dan Zihao didn’t know that either.

Knowing it, he couldn’t throw down the stones.

Because the defeat was too humiliating.

Moreover, I even removed the penalty points from the rules that were disadvantageous to him.

Without leaving even a half-point gap.

So, this defeat would feel even more cruel.

A go perfectly lost by skill.

A game where pride was shattered.

And the following brief silence.

Crack!

9-dan Zihao grabbed the stones on the lid and threw them into the go container in a nervous manner.

The stones didn’t fly out, but the black and white stones were jumbled inside the go container.

Clearly bad manners.

And a sign that he no longer had the will to play go.

Even I frowned.

9-dan Zihao jumped up from his seat in a nervous fit.

Without making eye contact with me, he immediately turned his body and tried to leave the studio.

“……Not only is he bad at playing go, but he has no manners.”

The words I threw out casually.

But the volume was enough to be clearly heard.

Before the words ended, 9-dan Zihao’s steps stopped.

He slowly turned his head.

His gaze pierced my face sharply.

“……What did you say?”

9-dan Zihao growled lowly.

Anger that seemed about to burst was contained.

I didn’t avoid that gaze.

Rather, while staring straight on, I added one more word.

“You are a loser who lost at go, lost at manners, and lost at everything.”

At that moment, 9-dan Zihao’s jaw trembled.

Shame.

Anger.

Humiliation.

All those tangled emotions rose to the point of exploding with one word.

“……X bang.”

In Korean.

Pronunciation with no accent disrupted.

He could no longer hold back and turned his head sharply.

He strode towards the exit.

He didn’t stop even when called, and no one could stop him.

I stood quietly, looking at the empty door, and took a breath.

- Ring!

The familiar system notification sound rang.

The expected phrase was added to the ‘Career’ item.

[You have won the 60th DN Car National Go Tournament.]

[Congratulations. You have been promoted to the 13th National Go Master.]

‘You have defeated the Madness’s Entry into the World.’

‘You have won all the national go tournament games by resignation.’

‘Congratulations, bonus points are awarded for the first achievement.’

‘The system confirms the evolution potential of your talent ‘Go’.’

‘Congratulations. The ‘Realm of Enlightenment’ deepens.’

‘Congratulations. The ‘Realm of Enlightenment’ expands partially.’

‘The talent of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the mind game ‘Chess’ sprouts.’

‘Your talent ‘Chess’ is C+ grade.’

‘This talent is not related to ‘Main Job’ and ‘Talent Maintenance Conditions’.’

‘Wait a minute. Is this…… really possible?’

The roulette that had been turning only in the predetermined slots until now.

The system that I thought was just luck.

Now, I could directly touch it.