Too Stubborn to Die

There was no portal this time when the floor’s timer ticked down to zero. One moment, they were standing in the cloudy room on the giant chessboard, surrounded by the spectators from their sector, and the next, they were somewhere else entirely.

It was a dark, gloomy arena, made more intimidating by the fact that the two “players” appeared as giant figures above them.

Aaron looked around. He and the rest of the chess pieces had been shrunken down in comparison to Lord Draxas.

They must be loving this. Finally get to feel what it’s like to be a real dragon.

He looked across the massive chessboard at the other team and noticed that they were bound by giant, celestial chains that hummed with power, and then realized that the same was true for his team.

Aaron tried his feet and was able to budge them a little bit, but the moment the chain stretched taut, he was fastened still. There was no chance of fighting against it.

“So, I guess this thing is to keep us on our tiles…”

“WHAT IS THIS DEVIOUS CONTRAPTION! I’M STUCK, AND CANNOT MOVE!” Mo’han roared at his side, pulling on the chains.

It was no doubt a somewhat novel feeling to be helpless for the powerful asura. But Aaron’s attention was drawn elsewhere. The board in particular. It seemed far larger than a chessboard should be, even though he couldn’t remember exactly how many tiles they were supposed to have.

However, if he had to guess, he’d say that the length between the two teams was at least twice what it was supposed to be, and there was an extra row on either side of their positions.

Not only that, but there were other pieces dotted around the board. He spotted monsters, swirling whirlpools, sand dunes, castles, and several other pieces.

“Ah, I don’t think this is chess,” he murmured to himself, and had his gaze quickly diverted upward as he heard a growl.

It was Lord Draxas, and they thudded their scaled fists beside the board, sending a vibration through it.

“What is this foul game?” Lord Draxas gasped. “The rules are all wrong! This is not the game I grew up with!”

“What’s wrong?” Aaron called out as he looked up, but the giant kobold didn’t take any notice. A second later, a few others tried calling out to them, and still nothing.

Wait, we can’t talk to Lord Draxas, either?

Aaron groaned. He really hoped the kobold would quickly figure out the rules.

“What do you mean, a king only moves one tile? And pawns don’t behave like this at all! Where’s the leap feature? These are not the correct rules! I mastered this game! I think I would know!”

“This game is different. But I have no idea what you’re talking about. Your rules sound like nonsense!” Said the huge human that was playing for the opposing side.

“I really hope we’re not going to have to listen to these two argue the entire time.”

Mo’han wasn’t paying too much attention, still struggling against his bindings.

“Y’know, I don’t think you can break them, pal,” Voidrin said.

“I CAN BREAK ANYTHING!” Mo’han raged to no effect.

“Sure, you can, pal. Sure, you can.”

Aaron looked across at their competition. Even if Lord Draxas had no idea what was going on, he was fairly confident in their group. Of course, the mixture of humans, some kind of giant race, harpies, and satyrs looking across at them seemed dangerous enough. They had some strong auras, and he spotted some rare and valuable looking gear. But nothing that made him particularly worried.

An alarm sounded, and the match began. Lord Draxas was still thumping their fists and complaining about the rules, but when the opposing player started, they quieted down.

Although the game wasn’t exactly the chess that anyone recognized, there were similarities. For example, movement worked the same as in regular chess. Each piece could be moved by Lord Draxas based upon what kind of piece it was, much to the frustration of Mo’han.

“I can only move one tile per turn! THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS! And furthermore, only one of us may move per turn?! What fool came up with these ridiculous rules?!”

However, that was where the similarities ended for the most part. Instead of “taking” your opponent’s pieces as one might during normal chess, moving onto the same tile as an opponent started a challenge quest. The challenge quests varied greatly. Attacking the other team on otherwise empty tiles allowed the defending piece to select from a preset series of challenges. But there were also the tiles with other pieces on them, which had special challenges that provided additional points.

If the attacking party was successful, beating the defender at the challenge they chose when landing on the opposing team’s tile, they would knock that piece out of the game. However, if they failed, nothing would happen. So even though each piece on the board had the ability to take its fate into its own hands, the strategy employed by the players was still important.

And finally, the major difference between this game and chess, and the true value of the chessboard, was the points around which the entire game was focused. This game wasn’t just about taking out the king. In fact, primarily, it was an opportunity to earn points.

Plastered against the wall was an empty leaderboard, with all the teams stacked below as none had earned points yet. By taking out opposing team members or the other pieces scattered through the middle of the board, one could earn points.

They did not yet know how important points were for the leaderboard, or whether or not one could fail the floor just because they didn’t get enough. But they didn’t need to. Because the points also doubled as auction points. And that was all the motivation they needed.

Of course, despite all of that. There was still a king. And at any time during the match, one could end it prematurely by taking out the opposing king. From Aaron’s perspective, this seemed like a desperate measure that only a losing team would attempt. After all, why leave points behind on the table if you’re winning?

It took Lord Draxas a bit to figure things out. But finally, they started moving pieces. Stuck in the back row, Aaron and Mo’han had to wait a while to see any action, but soon enough the pawns had been moved forward, and they could see their enemies before them.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from NovelFire. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

It seemed obvious that the opposing team’s player understood chess better than Lord Draxas, and it didn’t take long for them to snatch up a pawn that was out of position.

An enemy knight came down, challenging the pawn, causing Lord Draxas to curse. Moments later, the knight appeared from the challenge, and the pawn was gone.

Aaron was no chess expert, but it was only a pawn. And nothing to worry about just yet.

A few more pieces moved back and forth, and a pawn from both sides fought over one of the other pieces. The other side scored another victory, and things were starting to look worrying. That was until they moved their knight forward, right into position to be taken.

Lord Draxas cheered mockingly as Voidrin slid across the table and engaged the knight.

“My goodness, this is boring!” Mo’han complained.

Aaron couldn’t really blame him either. They had just been standing around so far.

But thankfully, things sped up after that. Voidrin won the challenge, knocking out the knight, and a few quick follow-up moves put the other team on the back foot.

“Why do they torture us?” Mo’han groaned. The two of them had remained behind as the board was cleared of enemy pieces one after another. “If I had known… Curses! Why did I have to be the king?”

They were winning. Their sector was clearly stronger, and one challenge after another landed in their favor. And quickly, the enemy’s side of the board was being cleared.

Mo’han was, of course, furious. They hadn’t done anything. Not until the enemy put into play their trump card. A fairly well-conceived plan to turn the tide of battle.

Although there was one major problem.

You see, there was a final aspect of this game that set it apart from chess. Each player had three special tokens to be used throughout the entire floor that allowed them to defy the normal rules.

And in their desperation, their opponent decided to use two of these tokens. Each token they used allowed them to activate the turn of a piece and move it however they liked. In other words, playing two tokens while already on your turn allowed you to move three pieces at once.

Lord Draxas hadn’t worried too much about Mo’han. One of the enemy rooks had a clear line of attack. But they didn’t look that strong. However, the two tokens allowed the opponent to defy the rules and activate pawns on his right and left flanks. And at once, all three figures converged upon Mo’han. The rook down the middle, and the pawns from the sides.

The three rankers descended upon Mo’han, but as the asura smiled with glee, and they felt his aura explode, their expressions twisted with fear.

“Don’t be reckless. Take a challenge that will favor you!” Ikran called out.

Mo’han just smiled and selected the strength challenge. In an instant, they were transported to a shadowy domain with two separate rooms and a glowing blue tether between them.

The game was simple. Tug of war with a magical rope. The three rankers from the opposing sector on one side, and Mo’han on the other. And if he lost, it was all over.

Mo’han grinned from ear to ear as he took the magical cord with six arms and pulled against their combined might. It was six hands against six hands, but only one body against three.

It was a challenge of pure strength, and no amount of combat skill could even the odds. What a dreadful position to be in. Aaron actually felt bad for them. It was clear their player had spent time and effort to set up this ambush, and he could see the smirking giant above them.

The contest only lasted a couple of seconds. Mo’han spent the first couple of seconds holding the rope.

“Show me your strength!” He challenged.

Their auras and energy went wild as they poured power into themselves, attempting to push themselves to new limits.

And then, Mo’han pulled back.

The three of them flew forward, landing in a heap as Mo’han chuckled. And just like that, three pieces lost their turn and had to wait around helplessly.

It was mopping-up time, and even Aaron was a little disappointed, despite the fact that he really just wanted to win. He wasn’t even used, and a few turns later, after they had taken out almost all of their other pieces, Mandor effortlessly took out the king.

That said, despite the fact that he stood there the entire time not doing much, they had scored quite a few objectives from the board and were rewarded for it.

An additional bonus rewarded for objectives completed, and opposing team pieces taken!

63 additional auction points rewarded!

“Sixty-three points? Damn!”

Aaron hadn’t known what to expect, but he had assumed that higher levels of the dungeon would provide more auction points. But this was far more than he could have imagined.

A whopping 63 points from a single match. He wasn’t sure how many matches they would need to complete, but If things kept up like this, they quickly earn more points from this floor than every other combined. And there was still another floor to go.

It was becoming clear that the forerunners of the universe would easily be able to outspend the others who dropped out on earlier floors at the auction, even if they didn’t particularly try to gain extra points.

“THAT WAS TOO EASY!” Mo’han roared as they returned to the cloudy room. “I hope our next opponent is not so weak!”

“I actually agree with the big guy,” Voidrin said. “That lot was pathetic.”

“Look,” Ikran said, pointing to the basalak—Sloorzlax—and the elven warrior—Elador Mistwood. They were the two pawns that had been defeated during the match, and notably, they were no longer standing on the chessboard. They were now amongst the crowd.

“We see,” Lord Draxas said. “So it seems that the pieces we lose are lost for the entire tournament. Interesting. We shall take this into consideration when formulating our next strategy.”

Aaron kind of wanted to give Lord Draxas shit for not knowing the rules. But he had a feeling no one did. The board was different, the game was different, and how much did previous experience really matter?

Instead, his thoughts went elsewhere. Their first opponent had been rather disappointing. But he doubted all of the other sectors would go down so easily.

What other powerhouses might there be out there? He wondered.

Your second match of the 6th floor is set to begin in 15 minutes.

Prepare yourselves, participants!

Mala

Most of the board had already been cleared. The objectives had been taken out, and their enemy was on the run.

Mala, who had been made her team’s queen, stomped down with her massive hooves, sending shivers through her opponents as she waited for her team’s player to make the next move.

It appeared to be all over. The opponent’s king was right there for the picking. But it was their turn, and as their player activated all three tokens, she became suddenly aware that she was, in fact, surrounded by pawns. Pawns who could suddenly move in all directions as far as they wanted.

The pawns came all at once, descending upon Mala. But she was on the defensive, and it was she who got to decide what challenge to defend her

Mala, the giant mammoth, entered the challenge of power against her four opponents, and they appeared before a giant target with a digital display above it.

Her opponents acted first. All four of them attacked at once with their most powerful Skills, landing against the target with devastating effect.

2048 flashed on the display, and Mala grinned.

She took her time marching up to the target and positioning herself. Then, she launched her attack. It struck with such power that the rippling aura of the attack actually managed to push the other four in the separated room to their knees.

And then the digital display flickered.

4289

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

Winner winner!

Her four opponents fell to their knees, completely dejected. It had been their final chance to turn the match around, and they had completely failed.

“Oh, don’t look so sad. You never stood a chance,” she said.

With their tokens gone, and Mala free to rampage, the match was as good as over, and several turns later, they had wiped the other team out.

“Too easy,” she said as she appeared back in the cloudy room alongside her sector’s greatest warriors.

Your second match of the 6th floor is set to begin in 15 minutes.

Prepare yourselves, participants!