My Level Zero System-Chapter 234: Chessboard

That's why, despite demonstrating certain deductive and analytical abilities, Pegasus agreed to Tolimus's plan, which contained a hidden trap.

Was she foolish? Or was she shallow? No.

She simply needed an excuse.

In truth, she didn't care at all about attacking first or second. Because she fundamentally had no desire to participate in an attack.

Even her hesitant expression when she saw Tolimus take the first attack, and her understanding expression when Tolimus explained the benefits of her attacking second, were nothing but playacting.

She genuinely wanted Tolimus to be the one to attack first, but to avoid his suspicion, she intentionally raised questions, leading him to jump into that position himself.

Tolimus believed he was the one controlling the situation with a clever deceptive strategy. He truly didn't know that the female student named Pegasus, whom he regarded as a pawn he was manipulating, was actually manipulating him, watching him like a clown gloating over his perfect plan. He was unaware that every one of his actions was being pulled by a higher hand.

Returning to the initial condition, if Pegasus were to immediately move to the victory flag's hidden location, the likelihood of her being targeted by the map holder would be quite high.

Therefore, this plan was devised from the very moment she proactively approached Tolimus. Besides seeing through Kain's and Faith's plans, she had vaguely guessed that Tolimus was the one holding the map that could reveal other teams' positions.

So, she simply wanted to know when Tolimus would be unable to divert his attention. That would be her moment to lead her team to victory!

Because at that time, Tolimus would be caught in a battle. Even if he had the map and knew where her team was going, he wouldn't be able to do anything then, let alone being unable to be distracted while fighting?

And even if the rare case occurred where Tolimus didn't have that map, then the battle between the two teams would tie them both down. Only one team would remain, and the probability of that team coincidentally being the map holder would be infinitesimally small.

This was Pegasus's complete plan: it freed her from being constrained while simultaneously constraining her opponents.

So, is that all?

If Tolimus's and Pegasus's plans had been set, what about Kain and Faith?

What role did they play in this, after their strategies had been discovered and turned into a chessboard for the secret struggle between Tolimus and Pegasus?

Actually, the answer lay within the question itself.

Faith sat silently in his room, a chaotic chessboard before him. Although no one sat opposite him at this moment, the opposing side was empty. Yet, in his perception, a vague figure leaned back, rubbing his chin in that spot. The figure's face was indistinct, his entire body a hazy silver like mist, only his golden pupils glancing at the chessboard, also glancing at Faith.

Although Faith had defeated and checkmated Kain during their meeting in the garden that day, in Faith's perception, this chess game had never ended.

It had only stretched longer, the chessboard had grown larger, and the moves had become more profound.

Truth be told, even though he had anticipated this scenario, when it truly happened, he still couldn't control the excitement surging within him.

It was the thrill of meeting a worthy opponent, someone who could delve into his mind and truly understand the art he prided himself on most.

"Kain, you know..."

Faith murmured to himself, picking up a chess piece from the board and examining it, his eyes filled with contemplation.

"The number of variations these pieces create in a game is immense, countless."

"Even for me..."

"But no matter how diverse the board's permutations become, these pieces are still framed within a single order: that is how they can move."

"Like this piece, no matter what, its limit is only the diagonal black squares; it can only move that way."

Thus, it became clear: this was how Kain and Faith manipulated the entire chessboard.

This chess game was originally set up by the tournament's mastermind.

Four teams, four distinct and opposing advantages, made the situation more unpredictable than ever. Just as Kain had previously admitted, when four different factions collide, the outcome is either incredibly stable or the number of possible variables is terrifyingly vast. ƒreewebɳovel.com

This was a chaotic chessboard with no player, so the pieces within—Faith, Kain, Tolimus, and Pegasus—had to strive to win until the very end.

But Kain and Faith didn't want that. They simply wanted to control this chaotic situation in the palm of their hands, and they did what they did best:

They created a second chessboard, a game within a game.

On that board, only Tolimus and Pegasus were the pieces, while Kain and Faith had transformed into the players.

Because they directly intervened, the number of variables was restricted to a degree where they could grasp and control the situation of the game.

Their precise prediction of every single event was based on information and a logical thought process, not future-telling.

For instance, Tolimus's and Pegasus's strategies were entirely built upon Faith's and Kain's plans to trap each other; the unpredictable elements had become fixed. So, their strategies, in the eyes of Faith and Kain, became a transparent ledger.

Although neither of them knew what kind of advantages Tolimus and Pegasus possessed, they could accurately guess that the piece holding the map would try to use the location-revealing trick they had previously released as a disguise for its own possession of the map. Meanwhile, the piece holding the victory flag's location would pretend to agree, while in reality, it would be waiting for an opportunity to betray and win outright.

Tolimus and Pegasus, originally unstable factors, were restrained but also embodied many possible choices. However, in this game, they had been forced by Kain and Faith to become mere pieces. Their advantages transformed into the only way they could move, as dictated by the game's order.

Tolimus would seek out those relying on the map, and Pegasus would seek the victory flag. That was the order.

As Faith said, no matter how many variables a chessboard might have, a piece cannot escape the rules of the game.