Chapter 338 – #74_The Lazy Witch (3)
#336
1.
What does a witch do in her free time?
This question isn’t much different from asking, “What are your hobbies?”
The choices vary depending on one’s tastes and preferences, and each person will have a different answer.
Some might read books, some might ride horses across the hills, some might watch plays, and some might take a half-bath in a tub.
But the question becomes a bit different if it’s, “What do two witches do together in their free time?”
In Gehenna, where there aren’t many things to do, there’s one folk game that’s by far the most popular among bored witches, and it’s called the Witch Board.
The most basic form is a semi-transparent dodecahedron hologram floating above a crystal ball that stores magical power.
Inside this large dodecahedron, there are many smaller dodecahedrons packed tightly.
This hologram is the board where the game takes place, like a chessboard.
The rules are as follows:
1) On the given board, each edge represents a ‘path,’ and at each vertex, ‘runes’ essential for drawing magic formulas are randomly placed using a random number algorithm within the crystal ball.
2) Paths and runes alone cannot complete a spell.
Therefore, each player is given three ‘mana sources,’ which they place in desired locations to start the game.
3) Once the game begins, players take turns making moves, like in Go, using the runes at the vertices and the paths along the edges to create spells.
4) The created spells are used to attack the opponent’s mana sources or defend against their attacks.
5) The player who first captures all three of the opponent’s mana sources or forces their surrender wins.
Diana finished her explanation as quickly and concisely as possible.
“It looks a bit difficult…”
Diana had expressed her desire to play Witch Board with Siwoo.
Since Witch Board was a popular game, they could have just brought a few from the third-floor cafe, but…
It was kind of messy.
Siwoo expressed his honest feelings after hearing the explanation.
“You’ll understand once you try it. I’ll go easy on you since it’s your first time.”
So, in short, connect the lines inside, place the runes appropriately, and create a spell.
Use that to break the opponent’s power source and defend against attacks.
It seemed like a kind of simulation game, like chess or Go…
He tried connecting a few lines and creating a spell by eye.
It wasn’t that difficult.
Given the rigid board and randomly scattered runes, the spells that could be implemented were limited.
“It’s a fair game. Unlike actual magic battles, you can only make one move per turn.”
“That’s true.”
That’s why this game is so popular.
Actual magic battles involve many innate factors.
No matter how outstanding one’s magical thinking ability is, if there’s a difference in rank and amount of mana, a battle cannot be established.
On the other hand, in this Witch Board, both apprentice witches and great witches can only take one turn at a time.
Moreover, high-level spells beyond a certain level are restricted.
To implement complex magnetic magic, one would have to use hundreds of turns, and the opponent wouldn’t just wait around, would they?
In other words, it’s a good game for judging pure magical thinking ability and flexibility.
“Is this your first time?”
“Yes, it’s my first time actually playing.”
“I’ll give you nine turns. Feel free to do as you please.”
For reference, Diana was very confident in this game.
Witch Board was one of Diana’s few hobbies.
With her shining talent, Diana even had close matches with Count Yesod.
On this game board where all conditions were equal, she was confident she could face any witch.
“Can I just start?”
“First, you have to decide where to place your mana sources. You can place three on the vertices of the large dodecahedron.”
“Hmm, I see.”
As the first player, Siwoo took the black pieces.
Without much hesitation, he quickly marked three spots.
Seeing this, Diana tilted her head.
This was because the vertices he chose for his power sources were all clustered together.
This was not only far from the standard, but it was also an inefficient play from a magical point of view.
The mana sources at the vertices should meet as many edges as possible to use the board more widely.
If they’re clustered together in the same pentagon like that, the space for utilization becomes narrow, and the types of spells are limited.
It seemed her expectations were too high.
“Nine turns, finished.”
“……”
Diana’s thoughts became firm after seeing Siwoo complete his nine given turns.
If the nine initially given turns were used efficiently, it was possible to put one of Diana’s mana sources in a critical state and start the game.
Naturally, the difference in the amount of mana that could be used would widen the gap.
Even if it was his first time, if he had any magical talent, he should have seen that angle.
Not even being able to do that.
It was clear that the rumors were just rumors, and there was too much hype.
“Now it’s my turn.”
After that, they took turns playing.
Diana’s moves were almost textbook.
In the end, what was needed to utilize various spells were the runes randomly placed here and there.
She effectively occupied these runes, read the opponent’s intentions for the spells they were trying to use, controlled the essential runes, and led the game to her advantage.
By creating various builds with the many runes she possessed, she constantly presented the opponent with a dilemma, gaining advantages.
Even if they made the same move, the side with more runes could use higher-efficiency attack spells.
The same was true for defense.
This was the last move.
Siwoo, who had been swayed from the beginning, naturally lost in the power struggle.
In the end, all of his attack spells were defended, and all of his defense spells were sunk by Diana’s attacks, losing all three mana sources.
It was a crushing defeat that didn’t even take 10 minutes from start to finish.
“Easy.”
Diana triumphantly declared her victory.
In fact, the victory itself was expected.
There was bound to be a gap between a beginner and an expert that nine turns couldn’t bridge.
What was important was the process.
She had perfectly blocked his attempts to struggle from the middle and seized victory, which, in chess terms, was like winning without losing even four pieces.
Siwoo quietly stared at the board after the game ended.
He seemed to be reviewing the game.
The atmosphere was quite serious.
“Hmm… a little disappointing.”
Could he really have tried to win with such absurd moves?
Diana was slightly dumbfounded.
He should be approaching it with a desire to learn, but he was saying it was disappointing.
Thinking that she had made a mistake in judging him, Diana pressed the button on the board that fixed the crystal ball to reset the game board.
“Shall we play again then?”
“Yes, I’d like to try again.”
It wasn’t the way of an expert to beat up a beginner, but strictly speaking, the opponent wasn’t a complete beginner.
He was someone who claimed to understand the laws of magic.
If he was going to use such a vulgar marketing tactic to attract customers by advertising himself as a ‘male witch,’ he should at least show some fight.
As Diana muttered this, she was able to further confirm the reason why she had been subconsciously uncomfortable with his existence.
He had said he was walking the path of magic, yet he had exploited it for commercial promotion.
Come to think of it, that was also something she didn’t like.
“This time too, you can go first with nine moves.”
“Yes, thank you. I’ll learn from you.”
Siwoo quickly marked three mana sources.
This time, it was exactly the same as before.
A self-defeating move that hindered expansion by clustering the mana sources in a confined space.
The nine moves that followed were no better.
“Hoo…”
Should she say something or not?
After hesitating, Diana opened her mouth.
“Hey, if you put your mana sources so close together, your subsequent plays will be limited. The paths overlap too much. I’ll give you a chance to do it again. You should grab the vertices of different pentagons and place them. It’ll definitely be easier if you start a little further apart.”
In fact, it wasn’t in Diana’s nature to give advice to an opponent or take back moves once the game had already started.
Nevertheless, the reason she was giving him another chance was because she didn’t want to win so meaninglessly like before.
However, the answer she received was completely unexpected.
“Ah, it’s okay. I’m going to try a slightly different approach this time. I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.”
A different approach?
Getting the hang of it?
Diana, who had her goodwill ignored, was even more dumbfounded.
A different approach or whatever, it was a play that was completely off the standard…
The standard didn’t exist for no reason.
The standard was a highly generalized principle after countless trials and errors.
In other words, it was a proven play.
“Fine. Do as you please.”
Moreover, his voice and eyes had become serious, not flattering and gentle like before.
It was even more annoying because it seemed like he was acting like a real witch.
Diana made a judgment.
This male witch was not worth seeing any more of.
He was a fool who was only flashy in rumors and appearance.
She should finish this quickly and go home.
After waiting for the nine moves, Diana and Siwoo took turns making moves.
This time was easy too.
Diana followed a slightly different standard than before, steadily laying the groundwork for victory.
It was going smoothly.
She had secured 15 paths for attack and occupied the optimal runes.
She also didn’t forget to take measures to ensure smooth defense even if a sudden surprise attack was launched.
She would show him what happens when you cluster your mana sources like that.
Diana was planning to create a spell that would fire a mana cannon and blow away the mana sources at once.
If she had just five more moves, victory would be hers.
“…Huh?”
Diana opened her mouth because she had belatedly noticed something she hadn’t seen at all because she had been focusing only on her own play.
“Ah, you noticed. I was trying to hide it, but…”
Among the complexly intertwined points, lines, and runes, there was a trap with its fangs bared.
A trap that would have been activated if Diana had made just one more move out of the five she had planned.
“……”
The spell Diana had created was a mana cannon that had been amplified repeatedly.
On the other hand, what Siwoo had created was a large tunnel ring that guided such a mana cannon in the opposite direction.
If she had launched an offensive in that state, the ultimate attack she had painstakingly created would have swept away Diana’s mana sources instead.
Why hadn’t she noticed?
Was it because of carelessness?
No, it wasn’t.
Siwoo’s secret plan was hidden very cleverly.
“Of course.”
Diana calmly lied and revised her strategy.
She first broke down the ring tunnel-shaped magic formula that Siwoo was constructing and spent about 20 more turns to force his surrender.
It was a bit of a shock.
The opponent’s play was, needless to say, off the standard.
It was a joker card-like strategy with no way back if it failed.
She had completely underestimated him as a rookie.
She had almost allowed a comeback with such a joker card.
“I can’t beat you after all, now that you’ve noticed this. Diana, you win. I lost.”
“……”
She had won, but it was an unsatisfying victory.
Diana quickly pressed the reset button on the Witch Board.
“Let’s play one more round. I’ll give you nine moves again this time.”
There was something more she wanted to confirm.
If that play was intentional.
And if he could do something similar next time, she would have to revise her assessment of him.
As Siwoo faced Diana, who was burning with motivation, he made a troubled expression and held up the hourglass.
“I’m sorry, but the promised time is up. It’s almost time for the witches who have made reservations to come in.”
As her concentration slightly wavered, she could hear the surrounding sounds, which had become bustling.
“I’ll pay more. Please extend the time.”
“Surely, Diana, you are an apprentice witch of the great Count Yesod’s family. I believe you understand the importance of promises.”
Diana, who was about to frown, managed her expression and nodded haughtily.
“Then I’ll come before opening tomorrow too. Be prepared.”
“Understood. I’ll escort you to the front, so please be careful.”
As Diana stepped out of the host bar, escorted by Siwoo, she made a decision.
She would definitely come back here tomorrow.
