## Chapter 1308 – ##14_Sicilian Defense
##57
1.
Position Board.
A witch’s folk game that uses the basic principles of magic to compete in strategy and wisdom.
A witch’s love for the Position Board rivals a noblewoman’s affection for black tea.
Collections of famous players’ game records and textbooks organizing various openings, mid-games, and end-game formulas are always among the top 10 bestsellers, and there are even clubs that gather solely for the Position Board, like a Go academy.
A five-story Georgian-style brick mansion overgrown with ivy.
The ‘Mikhail Club’ in Lenormand Town, with its interior decorated in blue velvet and navy tones, was the highest-level club where the most skilled users gathered.
It was essentially a server for high-level players with a rating of 1,800 or higher, where they honed their skills.
In line with the club’s purpose, witches were enjoying the Position Board throughout the building, from the second to the fourth floors.
“…Hmm, that’s not how you do it…”
“I lost. Ugh, this is so frustrating…”
“Come to think of it, it’s already winter. I should probably clean the chimney soon.”
“Our research results need to be good so we can get a good budget allocation…”
Though they made it sound grand, it was ultimately a club for enjoying leisure.
The conversations that flowed gently amidst the elegance created by the Gehenna witches and the antique building were mostly lighthearted.
Some witches would casually peek and offer unsolicited advice, while others would stew over their bitter defeats.
Some would share idle chatter or worries.
This was because Gehenna’s salon or club culture itself was also a social activity.
Many, tired of the bloody atmosphere of Gehenna’s most popular salon, ‘Red Roof Mansion,’ came to the somewhat more relaxed Mikhail Club.
However, if you passed the languid witches and climbed the stairs to the top floor of the mansion, the very flow of the air changed.
Unlike the lower floors, which were decorated so lavishly that it was hard to tell if it was a Position Board club, the fifth floor had only tables and chairs arranged at regular intervals, with no sofas to lounge on.
Only the ‘click-clack’ of pieces being moved back and forth echoed through the air.
“…Tsk, huff…”
“Haa… haa… haa…”
The expressions of the witches in the middle of their matches were not those of gamers enjoying a casual game.
The bloodshot eyes, the lips chewed until they turned white, and the disheveled hair from their struggles indicated that they were ‘competitors.’
That’s right.
From here on, it was the territory of the ‘real’ players with a rating of 2200 or higher.
These demons, who only focused on the Position Board while other witches went hunting, riding, shooting, traveling, or sailing, had only one goal: victory. And to show off their superiority through victory.
There were professional players who made a considerable amount of money from Position Board bets with a gold coin or two, bounty hunters who earned pocket money from various tournament prizes, and professionals with enough expertise to write books.
Therefore, the members of the Mikhail Club respectfully called this fifth floor the ‘Grandmaster Hall.’
And recently, signs of upheaval had been appearing in that Grandmaster Hall.
“I lost.”
“Yes, I learned a lot.”
At one table, where there were an unusually large number of spectators, the outcome of a match was decided after 2 hours and 27 minutes.
Agnize, a celebrity known for writing several Position Board opening books, conceded defeat with a bitter smile.
It was such a clean loss that she didn’t even feel resentful, and a small gasp of admiration erupted from the spectators.
“Wow, even Mrs. Agnize couldn’t do it…?”
“Do you remember the 172nd move? Why did she move like that there?”
“How many wins in a row is that now?”
“I haven’t seen her lose once this past week.”
Various praises were directed at Agnize’s opponent.
For reference, Agnize was a Position Board master with a rating of 2,600.
It might be hard to grasp how skilled that is.
To give an easy example, the average rating in this Grandmaster Hall was 2200.
For reference, the expected win rate based on the difference in rating is as follows:
When the score difference is 0 points, it’s 50%,
If the rating is 100 points higher, it’s 64%,
If the rating is 200 points higher, it’s 76%,
If the rating is 300 points higher, it’s 85%.
If the rating is 400 points higher, it’s 91%.
In other words, if Agnize, with a rating of 2,600, were to face an average player in the Grandmaster Hall with a rating of 2,200, her expected win rate would be a whopping 91%.
Of course, even Mrs. Agnize sometimes loses.
For witches who live for hundreds of years, the ‘old guard’ have different levels of experience.
The reason why her defeat was particularly eye-catching this time was different.
“Are the prestigious families different even from the apprentice witches?”
“No matter how much the Position Board doesn’t follow hierarchy, experience must be essential…”
“I was playing in the Young Ladies Club at that age…”
The person who defeated Agnize and had been defeating the top players in the Grandmaster Hall one by one for the past few days.
“Who wants to challenge me next?”
The identity of that person was a young woman with neatly styled ash-gray hair and eyes that sparkled like topaz.
It was Diana Yesod, the young lady of the prestigious Gehenna family, the Yesod Count’s family.
2.
These days, there are at least some interesting things happening, but Gehenna is basically a boring place.
The appearance of a rookie who single-handedly defeated masters with a Position Board under her arm stirred up Gehenna.
The rumors soon reached the ears of the Great Daughters.
“Did you hear? The apprentice witch from the Yesod Count’s family is on a quest to conquer the Mikhail Club.”
“The Mikhail Club…? Oh, the Position Board?”
“They say she started with a rating of 1800 and beat everyone up to 2600 without losing a single match. All the top players got their heads smashed, apparently?”
Prau, the eldest daughter, asked Nairi, who was pretending not to listen but had her ears perked up.
“Nairi, don’t you play the Position Board a bit too?”
“I’m not bad.”
Nairi, the ‘Thousand Shadows Witch’ who first made contact with Siwoo in the past, casually tucked her light blue hair behind her ear.
Although they were former achievements of the Solidus Merchant Group, the Position Board was a popular game among the achievements.
Nairi was a standout player among the Great Daughters.
“What was your rating?”
“My highest was 2731. But since there’s no exchange with Gehenna, it’s not a reliable sample.”
“Oh! 2731? You’d easily be in the top 10 in the city, wouldn’t you?”
Nairi’s lips curled up slightly as the people around her made a fuss.
Since the topic of the Position Board came up among the former achievements, there was naturally one person who was brought up.
“Then… have you ever played against Rosie Alu?”
“Of course. I met her at the after-party of the auction house and played five games all night.”
“That woman was incredibly strong. She was a bit crazy, but her skills were recognized.”
“She’s probably dead, right?”
“She was beaten to death by the Godfather.”
“Don’t change the subject. Nairi, so? Did you win?”
Breaking the sudden focus and expectant silence, Nairi replied calmly.
“I won two out of five games.”
Although she was thoroughly defeated in the first three games, she won the last two games when Rosie was drunk and dozing off like a sick chicken at dawn…
She didn’t bother to add that.
Didn’t the old saying go that eloquence is silver, but silence is gold?
Besides, Rosie was dead and couldn’t explain herself.
“Oooooo!!!!”
“Two games against that Position Board maniac?”
“That’s Nairi for you!”
“There’s a reason why I couldn’t even put up a fight and had to forfeit before!”
“Our Great Daughter’s hero!”
“Nairi! Nairi! Nairi! Nairi!”
“Ahem.”
The Great Daughters’ cheers poured out.
Nairi cleared her throat contentedly and acted embarrassed.
Nairi, who always looked so cool, was the type to get shy when praised.
“Alright! Then let’s go to the Mikhail Club with this momentum!”
“Huh? Why is it turning out like that?”
“We need to show the Gehenna scholars what real Position Board is!”
“But we’re Gehenna scholars too.”
That’s true.
There was no way they would have bad feelings towards Gehenna, which was led by the Godfather, and the Position Board was just a game after all, wasn’t it?
“Let’s go!”
“Show us your skills!”
They were just pushing it because they were bored and it seemed like something fun was about to happen.
They were also curious to see how far Nairi, who was already known for her skills among the Great Daughters, could go in Gehenna.
“The Gehenna traditional masters falling like autumn leaves at the appearance of a new prodigy.”
“What if Nairi, the mysterious master of Werphanus, appears and easily defeats the rookie?”
“Can’t you already hear it? The cheers of the Gehenna scholars who admire you?”
“This glory will even reach the Godfather!”
“I… is that so?”
And Nairi was easily swayed.
Her heart was already pounding and she was getting excited.
-What? You conquered the Mikhail Club with the Position Board?
-Good job, Nairi.
-Come here.
-I’ll pat your head.
In her mind, she was already imagining resting her head on the kind Godfather’s lap and getting a pat on the head.
“Okay! I’ll do it! I’ll dedicate this glory to the Godfather!”
“That’s the spirit, Nairi!”
“That’s what a member of Werphanus should be like!”
“Nairi! Nairi! Nairi Derbana!”
Carried in a flower palanquin by the Great Daughters, Nairi arrived at the Mikhail Club and faced the rumored apprentice witch at a table.
“That’s great. I wanted to compete with a skilled player from another region. I’m too used to Gehenna’s style.”
“I was hoping for the same. Let’s get started!”
Unlike the excited Nairi, the apprentice witch had a nonchalant reaction.
She silently set up the board with a poker face covered in languor.
However, Diana’s petite chest was burning with a fierce competitive spirit.
A strong player from Hexennacht. Her highest rating was a whopping 2731.
“Let’s begin.”
“Best of three. Shall we decide who goes first with a coin toss?”
“Sure.”
Originally, the style of play varied depending on the regional and historical background.
Even online games with active exchanges had different metas for each server.
She was already used to Gehenna’s traditional and calm style.
She had heard that the style of the present world was wild and aggressive.
Using this new experience as nourishment, Diana would leap to even greater heights.
To that end, Diana had been commuting to the Mikhail Club for the past few weeks, overcoming her innate laziness.
Because Diana had an opponent she absolutely had to defeat.
Shin Siwoo.
That man.
