Villain Extra: Rogue Reader

Belva and Samantha were both stunned on the spot.

What did he even mean by checkmate?

It was the first move of the chess game for heaven’s sake!

No, his Queen piece shouldn’t even be allowed to move in the first place when it was blocked by its own pawn.

As if that wasn’t enough, Ray even tried to take away Samantha’s queen and called it checkmate when the king could have just recaptured.

There were so many mistakes in this one move that they were too flabbergasted.

But what really caught them off guard was George’s word.

”It’s a legal move.” George mused and explained. ”If the move was illegal, Raymond’s chess piece would have been rebounded and suffered the consequences of his action.”

”Um, are you okay in the head?” Samantha tilted her head and asked curiously. She had thought the latter was a clever senior, but what he just said made her reconsider the evaluation she had of him.

How was this kind of ridiculous move even legal in the first place?

”I can see the distrustful eyes from you.” George chuckled softly. ”You can try to recapture Raymond’s Queen piece with the King piece and see if it works.”

”Hah, how ridiculous!” Samantha was exasperated, but still decided to play along. George was ultimately a second-year student and a senior in accordance with the Crestellan Academy.

A little bit of respect must be given to her seniors, even if they were sick in the head.

Without hesitation, Samantha picked up the King piece. She thought it was just a simple recapture, but the horror soon descended.

SWOOSH!

Samantha’s hand trembled heavily, and she quickly lost grip on the King piece.

However, that wasn’t enough.

Nearly all her mana had been depleted from that one action, which resulted in her crashing to the ground.

”Haa Haa Haa!” She was nearly out of breath and had to take in multiple mouthfuls of air to breathe.

”W-What is going on?” Belva was astonished by the scene and turned to George.

But soon, she shifted her attention back to Ray, who was calmly using his fork to stab a piece of meat before eating.

”Mhmm, this meat is so tender and juicy.” He praised the food without batting an eyelid at the fallen Samantha.

”You should also take a bite, Belva.” He then stabbed another piece of meat with the same fork and extended it to Belva. Needless to say, he could sense her gaze right away, but he was too lazy to explain the situation to her. He got a human definition engine right next to him: George.

Belva opened her mouth and ate the meat. In the meantime, George began to explain the reason behind Samantha’s collapse.

”I reckoned this friend of yours hadn’t been eating well lately. Their mana reserves are too low to even pick up a piece stronger than a pawn.” George then picked up the King piece that dropped to the ground and unveiled the mana residual.

Swoosh!

The black King piece was instantly covered in a bright blue color, signifying the mana concentration level.

Belva’s eyes widened in surprise.

”Could this be the new chessboard invented by the top researcher that trains a mage’s brain power and mana concentration?” She finally recognized the unique aspect of this chessboard.

’Wait a second... did Ray already figure out the crux in the chessboard?’ She glanced at him and was astonished.

”Indeed, this is called Magic Chessboard. It’s not the typical chess where you simply pick up the pieces and move them around. It requires a strong mentality and mana concentration to even properly play one game if it’s your first time.” George smiled and glanced at Ray mysteriously.

”You couldn’t have told me that earlier?” Samantha grumbled as she struggled to get back up.

”That was an easy win.” Ray snickered and shook his head at her pitiful state.

”You were so confident earlier, but look at you now. Did you become a mop and wish to clean the cafeteria floor? There are professionals to do that, Broke Sam.”

”S-Shut up!” Embarrassed, Samantha somehow found the strength to get up from the floor and demanded a rematch.

”That round didn’t count at all! My mana reserve had been low from the start, so how was I supposed to know about this weird magic chessboard?”

”Oh, boohoo. Gonna cry? You want a tissue?” Ray made a crying face with his two fists and asked in concern.

Of course, the concern was more akin to a teasing gesture.

Samantha’s face quickly darkened, and she wanted to get some food to replenish her mana.

”Just you wait!” She snorted coldly, headed toward the counter to purchase some food.

But in the blink of an eye, she returned empty-handed, her face pale and lifeless.

Since the semester hadn’t officially started, she didn’t get the academy card that would cover the expense.

Moreover, this cafeteria didn’t offer free food as opposed to the other cafeteria, which was overcrowded with students.

”C-Can I borrow some money?” She pursed her lips and asked Ray for some money. It can’t be helped... her stomach was starving badly.

That abnormal chess piece also drained all the mana she had. It wouldn’t be surprising if she were to faint right now due to low mana capacity.

”Wow, you’re really shameless.” Ray was impressed. ”You still owe me money, and now you want to borrow more. You really are unbelievable.”

[+5 Villain Points]

’Wow, this shameless heroine. She was in the wrong, and now she perceived me as a villain. She’s the real villain, alright.’ He thought to himself.

But then, this was just good.

A person who owed him money was destined to be used dry by him.

Hehehe, this was called repaying one’s debt.

If you owed and borrowed more money, then you were just asking to be exploited without any freedom left.

”So what? Are you lending me or not?” Samantha clicked her tongue. ”Keep in mind that if I starved to death, I wouldn’t even need to repay you the money I owed.”