Book 1 Chapter 719
719.
Percussion-
“Checkmate.”
Chloe’s knight aimed at the opponent’s king.
The opponent had no more moves.
Chloe’s victory.
“Whew.”
Chloe unconsciously let out a deep breath, the offense and defense having been more intense than she expected.
‘You’ve become incredibly strong, stronger than I could have imagined.’
She had approached the game light-heartedly and almost lost.
Chloe, who had never imagined her opponent would become this strong, checked the time.
‘First period must have started already.’
Since her enrollment, Chloe had never missed a class, let alone been late, except for special circumstances like mission training. This was an unusual situation for her.
Then.
Thump-!
The opponent, who had been staring at the chessboard, knocked over their own king.
It was a sign of conceding the game.
Chloe looked puzzled, unsure of what to do.
In the previous two nights, the opponent had immediately started the next game.
The first night, Chloe kept winning, so the opponent flipped the chessboard in anger, and the second night, Chloe intentionally lost, which made the opponent mad again, flipping the chessboard once more.
‘Should I proceed with the next game like this?’
But contrary to Chloe's expectation, the opponent neatly arranged the chess pieces, stood up, lightly lifted the hem of their skirt, and then slid away as if disappearing into the ground.
“Huh?”
Chloe looked flustered, watching the opponent retreat without resistance.
“Has the reward gone out the window this time too?”
‘Perhaps I should have a serious talk with Leo?’
The moment Chloe thought that.
Swoosh-
A black silhouette poked its face out from the floor.
Then it placed a small box on the floor.
Next to the box lay an old book made of black leather.
“Is this the reward?”
At Chloe’s question, the silhouette nodded and then disappeared back into the floor.
Chloe opened the box.
Inside was a golden card.
“Is this the reward Leo mentioned?”
She looked at the golden card with a puzzled expression, turning it over and over.
Then she looked at the old black book.
Seeing it, Chloe felt a little uneasy.
During her freshman year.
Chloe had once been enchanted after getting her hands on a magic tool during her first midterm exam.
Recalling that memory, Chloe naturally felt a bit wary of the suspicious book.
But then, Chloe examined the book closely and muttered in surprise.
“Dragon skin?”
The book’s cover was made of dragon skin.
Chloe carefully picked up the book and opened it.
Rustle-
The faded, slightly yellowed pages were blank.
“What on earth is this book?”
Rustle- Rustle-
At first glance, it seemed extraordinary, but there was nothing written in it.
Chloe was flustered but placed the book on her desk.
“First, let’s go to class.”
True to being an honor student, Chloe diligently intended to attend class, even if late.
***
That evening.
A small party was held in the Magic Department dormitory.
“Chloe! 100 points!”
“She’s ranked 1st MVP.”
“The Magic Department also overwhelmingly secured 1st place in departmental scores.”
With Chloe acquiring the golden card, the Magic Department began to pull ahead in the competition.
Curfew time.
Battle points earned outside the dormitory were 1 point for each person defeated.
And the scoring stamp given to outstanding students was 10 points.
Amidst the back-and-forth between departments, Chloe solving the first problem led the Magic Department to acquire an overwhelming score.
“Chloe! What wish are you going to ask Leo for?”
A female classmate from the Magic Department asked with sparkling eyes, and Chloe scratched her cheek with an awkward expression.
“Well, I haven’t really thought about it.”
“Ask him for a date! A date!”
“Oh, come on! You can do that anytime!”
It was when the third-year female students burst into laughter.
Thump-!
“Kyaaaah!?”
Ilesa’s head thumped-! onto the desk.
Rolling- Ilesa’s head rolled over, her eyes wide open from an inverted angle.
“Who is it? Who just said something about a date?”
“Hiiieeeek!”
The female students shrieked, unable to get used to the terrifying atmosphere.
Avad, watching from a distance, muttered.
“It’s always noisy wherever Senior Ilesa is.”
“Look at her visual, how could it not be noisy? Do you know how scared I was because of that Summoning Department senior?”
As Kal shook his head, Avad smiled.
“So? Where’s the problem?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Kal smiled slyly.
Seeing Kal, Avad smiled gently.
“Since one problem is worth 100 points, students will be even more eager to search.”
“That’s true.”
“Isn’t it better to cooperate with me than to cooperate with Eliza from the Summoning Department?”
“I said, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Hehehe.”
“You look a bit greasy when you laugh like that.”
“What?! Who are you calling greasy?!”
“Cough! Cough!”
Chelsea, who was listening to their conversation nearby, choked Kal.
“Hmm.”
At that moment, Elena rested her chin on her hand.
“100 points, huh.”
Elena, who had been watching Chloe, who began to overwhelmingly pull ahead in MVP scores, tilted her head slightly.
Kal, who was being choked by Chelsea, looked at her with an uneasy expression.
“Senior Elena.”
“Hmm.”
“You’re thinking dangerous thoughts right now, aren’t you?”
“Oh my? Anyone hearing that would think I’m a dangerous person.”
“Right? I was mistaken, wasn’t I?”
“Would it be better to raid the Knight Department or the Summoning Department?”
“It is a dangerous thought. And we can’t even fight just by raiding.”
As Kal said, exasperated, Elena smiled gently.
“The dormitory entrance. Couldn’t I just open it by force?”
Elena was more than capable of doing such a thing.
Kal shook his head in disbelief.
“Let’s all keep this momentum until the midterms are over! And if anyone doesn’t know anything, this senior will teach you!”
Ilesa, in a good mood after the Magic Department took a significant lead, encouraged the Magic Department students.
After the small party, which lasted until the dormitory curfew, ended.
Chloe returned to her room.
And her eyes widened as she saw a black silhouette sitting at the table.
The silhouette, with a chessboard laid out, was waiting for Chloe.
“Uh… Weren’t all the problems solved?”
At her words, the silhouette tapped- the chessboard with its finger.
It was as if it wanted to play more chess.
At that reaction, Chloe smiled gently and sat at the table.
“Do you enjoy playing with me?”
At her words, the silhouette nodded.
Indeed, Chloe had also enjoyed the game that morning.
Even if the opponent had grown stronger, Chloe’s skill was still overwhelmingly superior.
Nonetheless, the opponent was also a formidable player.
“Alright.”
Chloe, deciding to enjoy it since things were this way, looked at her opponent.
The opponent moved a chess piece.
Their game began.
***
“Senior John!”
“You’ll give us swordsmanship guidance today too, right?!”
“Of course.”
“Kyaaaah~”
“So cool!”
After school.
Female students from the Knight Department asked John for swordsmanship guidance.
A week had already passed since the spirits of former student council presidents began to roam the dormitory.
Accordingly, students had grown accustomed to the presence of the student council president spirits.
And within a week.
They, who initially resembled evil spirits, had completely regained their appearance from when they were alive.
In John’s case, whose physical body didn’t exist, he was now in perfect form.
Redin also no longer had his lower body separated, and Ilesa no longer had her head rolling around.
In response to the enthusiastic reactions of the female students, John took off his helmet.
Then he leaned his head back and pointed a finger between his eyes.
Niel, who was watching him, asked.
“Are you crying?”
“Kuh-heuk… To think a day would come when I’d be this popular with female students. It was good that I lived.”
“…You’re already dead, though.”
Niel looked at John, who was enjoying his popularity, with a slightly pitiful expression.
In this era, a student council president would naturally be popular, so school life in his era must have been quite bleak.
Celia came into Niel’s sight as she cast a sympathetic gaze at her distant senior.
“Lady Celia? You seem to be in a bad mood.”
At that, John reacted fiercely.
“What is it?! Junior! Did those malicious Magic and Summoning Department scoundrels bother you?!”
“Lady Celia is more likely to bother others than to be bothered.”
“Niel unnie, I don’t think that’s something to be proud of.”
“Is something wrong?”
Niel, realizing that Celia’s expression and even her voice were not good, asked worriedly.
Having attended Celia since she was young, Niel was good at discerning changes in Celia’s mood.
At Niel’s question, Celia sighed.
“No. Chloe hasn’t been seen since yesterday evening. She skipped all her classes today.”
“Chloe? Is she sick?”
Niel looked surprised.
Chloe was rumored to be the best honor student across all departments and grades.
For her to skip class was unthinkable.
“I’ve already told Leo about it.”
Celia sighed.
With the inter-departmental war currently ongoing, Leo was the only one she could talk to about Chloe, who was from another department.
Watching Celia worry about her friend, Niel said.
“Don’t worry too much, what could possibly happen?”
“Right?”
***
Clack-
Chloe was moving chess pieces in her room.
At some point, Chloe was playing with the white pieces.
In chess, white, which moves first, has an advantage.
Therefore, when there was a skill gap, the less skilled player took white.
And Chloe had been playing with white pieces since two days ago.
The opponent’s skill had become incredibly powerful, beyond imagination.
Even after Chloe began to lose consecutively, the opponent’s skill grew even stronger.
‘Amazing.’
Chloe, who never imagined someone could possess such powerful skill, could only express admiration.
At some point, Chloe began to enjoy the chess match with her opponent.
And naturally, she started to chat.
Two days ago.
It was because she suddenly felt that the opponent somehow listened to her words.
Of course, there was no reply.
But seeing the silhouette seemingly nod at her words, she unconsciously began to speak her mind.
Clack-
Chloe moved a piece and said.
“So, Leo and I got trapped in a blizzard.”
At Chloe’s words, the silhouette nodded.
“So we looked for a place to escape the blizzard… Fortunately, we found a cave. There was a hot spring there…”
Clack-
Chloe moved a piece.
The opponent picked up their king.
“I really must have been crazy… That… when I suggested we go into the hot spring together, you know.”
Thump-
“Huh?”
The black silhouette suddenly dropped its king without realizing it.
The king lay miserably on the floor.
Seeing that, Chloe looked at her opponent with a flustered expression.
And suddenly, she realized something strange.
‘Now that I think about it… it seems to have become clearer than when I first saw it?’
She hadn’t noticed because she saw it every day, but the black silhouette was definitely clearer than when they first met.
It was as Chloe made a flustered expression upon seeing that.
“Hmm?”
“Huh?”
“Mixed bathing, huh? What a good life. That damned bastard.”
Chloe’s mouth dropped open as she watched the black silhouette mutter, as if spitting out words.
“You… can talk…?!”
“Chloe.”
The black silhouette rested its chin on its hand and gave a captivating smile.
Chloe felt a certain way.
“Will you grant me one request?”
Swoosh-
The pitch black that covered its entire body slowly disappeared.
Along with it, the figure, which she had felt was beautiful even as a silhouette, became clearly visible to Chloe’s eyes.
It was someone Chloe knew well.
She couldn’t not know.
One of the five most famous people in the world.
Among them, the one praised as the most noble and virtuous being.
The one who led the world to salvation.
“Lysi…nas-nim?”
As Chloe muttered blankly, Lysinas smiled gently.
“Hey. Will you lend me your body?”