The roar of the Central Plaza showed no signs of slowing down.
Pete Griffin stood at the heart of the storm, hoisted onto the shoulders of his
peers, clutching the golden trophy with a mixture of sheer ecstasy and terminal
exhaustion. He didn't know whether to laugh at his resurrection or weep for the
twenty years he'd spent in a bottle.
anwhile, at the edge of the grandstands, the seats reserved for the Seven
Generals were already vacant.
Beyond the frantic crowd, a blue blur was violently carving a path through the
legs of the citizenry.
"MAKE WAY! STAND ASIDE! DO YOU NOT RECOGNIZE THE MAJESTY OF THE GOMOKU KING?!"
Bochi had the massive golden chalice balanced precariously on his head, using
his montum to bounce through the crowd like a heavy-duty cannonball.
A hulking Orc was nudged by a passerby, stumbling right into Bochi's path. He
nearly crushed the sli under a massive boot.
"HEY! WATCH THE TROPHY, YOU DIM-WITTED PEST!"
Bochi perford a nimble, mid-air correction, dodging the boot and delivering a
sharp clack with the base of the trophy against the Orc's big toe for good
asure.
"GAH—!"
The Orc clutched his foot, performing a spontaneous and agonizing dance of pain
while tears pricked his eyes. Bochi didn't even look back, muttering to himself
in a high-pitched huff.
"Pathetic pests with zero spatial awareness. How dare they obstruct the royal
itinerary of a King?"
He didn't care for the commoners' celebrations. He had a much more vital
mission: locate the Master and engage in a session of high-tier boasting.
In a quiet street just outside the plaza, the air was significantly more
breathable.
Kaito and Skele-Greed were taking a asured, leisurely stroll.
"My Lord, the efficacy of this tournant has exceeded our most optimistic
projections," Greed said, flipping rapidly through a ledger.
"Total participants: 3,200. Spectator count: exceeding 50,000. The Sunflower
rchant Guild's snack revenue alone has breached the two-thousand gold mark."
"Furthermore, early polling indicates that at least thirty percent of the
audience intends to purchase ga sets and begin tactical studies imdiately
upon returning to their sectors."
Kaito nodded, his gait steady, the soulfire in his sockets burning with a calm,
analytical light. "The market for cultural entertainnt is deeper than I
anticipated."
"This is rely the foundation," Greed's voice carried a tremor of barely
suppressed comrcial fervor. "My Lord, we can build an entire ecosystem around
the 'King' titles! rchandise! Custom boards, specialized pieces, commorative
dals—perhaps even 'Signed Tactical Cards'!"
"We could also institutionalize a betting frawork to increase spectator
engagent. Tax revenue, my Lord! It would be a literal fountain of gold!"
Kaito stopped and turned toward his Secretary of State. "Greed."
"At your command, my Sovereign!"
"In your estimation, what is the feasibility of integrating Board Tactics into
the elective curriculum of the Evernight Academy?"
Greed paused, his ntal gears grinding to a halt before restarting at double
speed. "You intend to... foster professional strategists?"
"Exactly," Kaito said flatly. "Turn the ga into a profession. Allow tactical
proficiency to beco a viable livelihood for the citizenry."
Greed went silent for several seconds, tapping a bony finger against his ledger.
"Theoretically? Entirely viable. The Academy possesses the infrastructure and
the logistical capacity. And given the public response to the Championship, the
demand for instruction will be overwhelming."
"However," Greed added, "we have a structural bottleneck: Personnel."
"Explain."
"Rules are simple to morize," Greed said, closing his book. "But
professional-tier mastery requires decades of combat experience and theoretical
depth. Currently, the number of individuals in the Empire qualified to serve as
Instructors can be counted on one hand."
Kaito didn't answer imdiately. He looked up at the sky, where a pair of Dragon
Aviation units were circling the city.
"Then we recruit from the top tier of this tournant," Kaito decided. "Hire the
champions as the Academy's first Tactical ntors."
Greed's soulfire flared. "Understood, my Lord. I shall draft the contracts
imdiately."
Just then, a blue blur erupted from a nearby alleyway.
"MASTER! MASTER!"
Bochi skidded to a halt before Kaito, his body heaving up and down from his
cross-district sprint. He brandished his trophy like a holy relic.
"LOOK! I HAVE TRIUMPHED! I AM THE KING!"
Kaito looked down at the glowing, vibrating little jelly. "Adequate. Do not let
the title breed stagnation. Continue your training, and perhaps next ti I
shall instruct you in the Twerk Formation."
He reached out and gave Bochi's head a gentle, approving pat. Bochi puffed up
instantly, his blue body radiating a frantic, happy light.
"YES! I SHALL MASTER THE TWERK!"
He turned to Greed, waving his tentacles with manic energy. "Uncle Greed! Did
you see from the V.I.P. block?! My final sequence—the Master's own Briefs
Formation! That slug-brained opponent mocked my opening! And then? He wept! He
wept like a baby dragon!"
Greed put on a mask of profound, academic wonder, nodding along. "I saw, little
King. Truly... an unfathomable depth of strategy."
Kaito offered a small, clicking chuckle and resud his walk. "Co. Let's
return."
Bochi bounced after them, trophy held high. "Where are we going, Master?"
"To the river," Kaito replied. "The fish have had enough peace."
"Guchi-guchi-yay!"
The three silhouettes slowly disappeared toward the city limits.
Three days later.
A riot was nearly breaking out in front of the Evernight Academy's central
notice board.
"Look! Look! A new departnt has been sanctioned!" "Tactical Theory? What kind
of spell is that? Is it edible?" "It's a board ga course, you moron! Chess and
Gomoku!" "NIGERUNDAYO! Are you serious? Since when is playing gas a 'Class'?
Can I apply for a Nap-Ti elective next?" "The Instructor for Gomoku... Bochi?!
Is that the blue sli from the Primary Grade?! The Sovereign's pet is our
teacher?!"
The students engaged in a frantic debate as they crowded around the fresh
parchnt.
[EVERNIGHT ACADEMY: TACTICAL ARTS ENROLLNT NOTICE]
To enrich the cultural Od of the student body and cultivate strategic
excellence, Evernight Academy—by decree of the Sovereign—shall open elective
courses in Tactical Arts this month.
- Curriculum: Foundational Chess, Advanced Chess Theory, Foundational Gomoku,
Advanced Gomoku Patterns.
- Instructors: Master Pete Griffin (Chess), King Bochi (Gomoku).
- Enrollnt Window: Effective imdiately until month's end.
- Location: Registrar's Office, Block B.
- Note: This curriculum is fully subsidized by the Imperial Treasury.
Enrollnt is free for all registered students.
After a brief, stunned silence, the student body went completely insane.
"FREE?! DID THAT SAY FREE?!" "OUT OF MY WAY! I MUST MASTER THE INVINCIBLE BRIEFS
FORMATION!" "THE REGISTRAR! MOVE! IF WE DELAY, THE SLOTS WILL BE FILLED!"
"CHAAAAARGE!"
A massive tide of students—a literal flood of human and demi-human youths—surged
toward the Registrar's Office.
The doors to the office were swamped within minutes. The staff mber in charge
of registration, a newly turned Vampire from the State Army, looked at the
oncoming mob of teenagers and felt a phantom migraine throbbing in his skull.
"ONE AT A TI! FORM AN ORDERLY LINE! IF ONE MORE PERSON SHOVES, I WILL
PERSONALLY ENCHANT YOUR COLLAR AND HANG YOU OUT THE SECOND-STORY WINDOW!"
He scread at the top of his lungs while his hands beca a blur, processing
forms at a frantic pace.
"NA! GRADE! DEPARTNT! NEXT!"
The students were beyond the reach of reason. They elbowed, crawled, and
squeezed their way forward, terrified of missing their chance at the crown. The
queue snaked out of the office, down the corridor, circled the central fountain
twice, and eventually terminated at the Academy's main gates.
It was a logistical nightmare. And to Greed, watching from a distance, it was
beautiful.
☆☆☆
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