“A game?” I asked.

“Yes, it’s a simple game. It’s like chess, but it’s probably a bit more complicated… I’m sure you’ll understand it right away, though,” Jin Cheong answered.

‘Why does this crazy bastard want to play a game all of a sudden?’

I wanted to tell him that I didn’t care about any game and to just send us home, but I couldn’t say that. The only reason I was safe right now was thanks to this guy in front of me.

‘Am I safe for now?’

Since he didn’t want to cause trouble in neutral territory, he had to be the kind of person who disliked getting involved in complicated matters. The atmosphere wasn’t really uncomfortable, and this guy was controlling both Xiaolin and Valentin. However, I wasn’t sure if it were because he was stronger than those two or if there were a different reason, but the answer became obvious when the heavily breathing Russian Park Deok-Gu didn’t punch us.

‘It’s fine.’

When I turned my head and looked at Jung Ha-Yan, I saw that she still looked nervous. I tapped her shoulder lightly, and she seemed to have calmed down a bit. The fact that I almost died just now kept repeating in my mind, which made me lose my appetite. However, I had no choice but to do as he suggested.

“I’ll treat you to a meal. Ah, before anything else, I should explain the game. Have you ever heard of this kind of game?” Jin Cheong asked.

“No, it’s my first time seeing it…” I replied.

It was ridiculous, but one of his minions brought out a large board game. It was composed of dozens of chess pieces, and the map itself looked as if it were modeled from actual terrains. Forest, ocean, desert, plains, and city walls. The chess pieces were also very diverse. There were a king, knight, mage, priest, and subjects. Moreover, even though it was difficult to describe it, it seemed like it was a more complicated derivative of chess. Supplies had to be given to battle pieces and to move the troops grouped in each class, the necessary resources had to be fulfilled. The troops were also very subdivided, and there were many types of soldiers on this continent, such as archers, infantry, and cavalry.

‘Game, my ass…’

The board depicted a small-scale war. Since he advocated the game, it definitely had rules; however, if the basic rules were disregarded, then it would be very similar to an actual war.

‘What’s he up to?’

He could truly be doing this for entertainment, or he could be doing this to test me. Since he had high expectations, he had probably heard of me. Unfortunately, the majority of the description about me being a genius was fabricated.

‘I think I caused a misunderstanding…’

However, I was in a situation where I couldn’t refuse…

“The rules are simple. If the king dies, you lose. If all of your pieces die, you lose as well. If you have any questions, or if you need anything, please let me know,” Jin Cheong informed.

“Alright…” I replied.

“Additionally, I think it would be best if I gave you a handicap…” he added.

“I won’t refuse it. The more you can give me, the better,” I replied.

“I’m relieved that you’re not offended by my offer,” he said.

‘Why would I be offended?’

Did he really think I would refuse? I always enjoyed starting with an advantage from the start, but I only asked for this to buy some time…

‘This is my chance.’

When I signaled to Jung Ha-Yan with my eyes, she nodded as if she understood what I wanted.

Since Jin Cheong was part of the Republic’s military, I was sure he was knowledgeable in this type of simulation, and even though I wasn’t very familiar with chess, it wasn’t your usual chess, so I should be able to learn it quickly. At least, that was what I thought a few minutes ago.

‘You… you… bastard. You cheating bastard!’

Jin Cheong’s troops and supplies were superior from the start, and as the game progressed, the more I grew astonished by it. Even though this was my first time playing this game, he was really skilled at it, and it was ridiculous how he was killing my pieces one by one and driving me into a corner. I had more troops than him, so I wondered how I got cornered like this, and the more I moved the chess pieces, the worse the situation became. From the start, the formation of my troops was a mess, and I became more frustrated when I noticed that he was going easy on me. Jin Cheong looked excited when we had just started, but he started looking more and more annoyed as time went on.

“The empire, no, the genius of the democrats…”

It was amusing to see him mumble. Unfortunately, the description of my genius was just for marketing purposes. When they announced my status as one of the Eight Seats, they spread some ridiculous rumors, so I could understand why the Republic had that kind of information. However, I didn’t feel guilty that Jin Cheong had gotten the wrong information.

Whenever he glared at me from time to time, I could tell he was filled with contempt.

‘Maybe it’s not contempt…’

He didn’t look bored, and he wasn’t looking down on me. For some reason, he seemed to be in a really bad mood.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

When we were halfway through the game, I heard an unexpected voice.

“Are you holding back? You don’t have to worry about the others here. As I said, this is just a game, and regardless of the outcome, I have no intention of creating conflict,” Jin Cheong reminded.

‘What kind of bullshit is he talking about?’

“I’d appreciate it if you could be somewhat sincere,” he requested.

‘Okay, so what in the world are you talking about?’

I was already giving my everything into this game, and if I were playing it to entertain him, then I would have chosen to lose when we arrived at a stalemate. That was what you could consider as lobbying, and it was also a way to get close to someone.

‘I’m doing my best, you bastard.’

If I were at least knowledgeable in this game, he couldn’t have cornered me this badly. There was usually a way to cheat in games with rules, and if I were a knowledgeable tactician, then I would have struggled, at the very least. Unfortunately, Lee Ji-Hye was more knowledgeable than me in that field since she had chosen the Leader job. Still, I made sure to know the basics to the point that I was satisfied with my own knowledge.

‘He’s on a different level.’

I was no match for him. About ten more turns passed after his reminder, and I realized that the mood around the crazy bastard had slightly changed.

“I thought I was finally going to have some fun, and I believe that I have been very considerate of you. But you seem like you don't want to compete with me, Father Lee Ki-Young,” Jin Cheong said.

‘What do you mean compete, you crazy bastard…’

“Maybe you’ll be more excited if we make a bet…” he suggested.

“What kind of bet?” I asked.

“If I win within the next hundred turns, I win, and if I don’t, you win. What should we bet? Ah, let’s bet our fingers. All ten of them. I don’t know how it works, but if it’s a simple bet, the templars of the Vatican may accept it,” Jin Cheong answered.

Obviously, I was about to curse at him because this dirty bastard wasn’t really planning on being considerate to a newbie like me. I lifted my head and looked at him, hoping he was joking, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was completely focused on the game, and I knew he wanted to bring my true intentions out.

‘He’s serious.’

Based on his nature, he wasn’t the type of person who enjoyed gambling, and I was sure he was thinking that he had already won. I thought maybe he was just being greedy so that he could bring my true intentions out. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could bring out of me. If I had something, I would have shown it to him already.

‘You’re crazy!’

“Y-You can beat him! Oppa! Don’t go easy on him!” Jung Ha-Yan cheered.

‘I’m not going easy on him.’

Jung Ha-Yan clenched her fists and cheered for me as if I could win. As a result, the crazy guy in front of me became kind of nervous.

‘Shit, I hope someone brings Lee Ji-Hye here.’

No matter how much I thought about it, I thought this kind of place wasn’t suitable for someone like me. The crazy bastard who confidently made the remark that he would end the game within a hundred turns continued playing the game. Resistance was impossible, and there was no way I could catch up to this scum with my stupid brain.

‘I have to endure...’

I could win as long as I didn’t lose. I would lose if the king died, and the same was true if all the chess pieces were annihilated.

Jin Cheong frowned. He saw through what I was about to do and spoke, “Are you implying that you won’t fight me until the end?”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” I said.

“I believe I showed you enough kindness, but it feels like you keep looking down on me, Father Lee Ki-Young,” he replied.

“I think there has been a misunderstanding. Really,” I said.

“...”

The guy I previously thought was normal wore an even deeper frown, and even though I had no idea what happened, it seemed that I had awakened his wrath. If I lost without much effort, then I could lose my life in addition to my fingers. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do to turn the tables in a game I had been losing since halfway through the match.

This was a turn-based game. The space was limited, but when he moved one space forward, I moved one space back. If I just focused on enduring and lasting as long as possible, then I should be able to endure a hundred turns.

‘Saving the king is my priority…’

I didn’t think about anything else. I sent one knight to the vast plains where it was relatively easy to move, and the archers and assassins retreated to the forest. I would use the mages to distract the enemy and the subjects…

‘They will be abandoned…’

After gathering as many supplies as the subjects provided each turn, I would use them to either buy time or stop the enemy. Killing the subjects charging toward the main force would make him use a turn. If this happened in real life rather than in a game, I would end up being the scummiest bastard in the world…

‘But it’s a game, so it doesn’t matter.’

To be honest, if a situation like this really happened, there was no guarantee that something like abandoning the subjects wouldn’t happen.

I didn’t know if he were satisfied, but if that dirty bastard’s goal was to know more about Lee Ki-Young, then he had achieved part of his goal.

‘I’m sorry for being such a shitty human being.’

While my excellent subjects were blocking his main force, I started moving the king to the back. If the ordinary soldiers ended up being useless after using them until the very end, then I would let them join the subjects. However, the way Jin Cheong was moving his army one step at a time was suffocating me.

‘Are you Zhuge Liang[1] or something?’

I could imagine his soldier capturing my king within the next twenty turns.

1. Zhuge Liang was a Chinese statesman and military strategist ☜