Yuna Montgory greeted Bart and Seberus with an elegant bow, showcasing her respectful manners.
"Hello, Tower Master," she said.
"Hohoho, it's been a while Yuna. You've grown so fast! Has it only been five years?" Seberus said, laughing as he reminisced about seeing the little Yuna being so mischievous back in the Queens region.
"Yes, Tower Master. My grandmother sends her regards," she replied.
Seberus got up from his seat and approached Yuna. "How have you been? Did the spells I taught you do any good?"
Yuna nodded. "Yes, Tower Master. It has improved the mana efficiency in my moves."
About five years ago, Seberus was invited into the Montgory residence to ascertain the talents of a certain brilliant young girl. Usually, he wouldn't want to travel all the way there, but he owed quite a big favor to Yuna's grandmother, so he was forced to go there by himself.
"What are you doing here in the Kings region?" he asked her. "You've just turned ten years old right? Have you had your talent awakening? Did you get sothing good?"
From what he knew, she just had her birthday less than a month ago. Seberus thought she would have stayed in the Queens region to celebrate or hone her newfound skills with her grandmother, which was why he wasn't expecting to see her here in the Kings region.
"I haven't had my talent awakening, Tower Master. But that is partially why I am here. Once I am done with my business here, I will visit a church and awaken my talent," she said with a composed face.
Seberus scratched his beard. Usually, children would be giddy and impatient to awaken their talent. So would even stay up for two days before their birthday due to their anticipation.
Yet, Yuna looked like she wasn't in any hurry.
"I guess that's the perks of being a talented brat, huh? You don't need a talent awakening to show your skills, hahaha," Seberus chuckled. "You remind of soone I know."
Yuna humbly smiled and took the complint.
"So, if that's not your main goal, then why are you here?" Seberus asked curiously.
Yuna cleared her throat. "I have a big favor to ask, Tower Master. Would you please teach my friends so of the spells here in the Magic Tower?"
Seberus stroked his beard as he contemplated Yuna's request. "I have already repaid my favor from your grandmother," he said with a stern look on his face. "There's no reason for to help you this ti around."
Seberus knew that Yuna's friends were demi-humans of all varieties. Although so had the talent to cast magic, most of them did not. It would take them a lot of ti and effort to teach them even a single 1-star spell.
As the Tower Master, he couldn't simply waste his wizards' ti teaching Yuna's demi-human escorts. Although he favored Yuna, it wasn't enough to fulfill this hard request of hers.
Yuna pursed her lips and didn't say anything else. She was downcast, with her hands on her back, sulking.
Seeing this, Seberus started to feel a little bit guilty for making it hard on a ten-year-old girl.
"Fine, I'll tell you what. If you can beat in a ga of chess, then I'll teach your friends so spells," he said arbitrarily. "You know chess, right?"
Yuna looked past the Tower Master and saw Bart sitting next to a table filled with chess pieces.
"I've seen so wizards play it in their spare ti," Yuna said, with an imperceptible glint in her eyes.
"To make it fair, I'll give you three chances to beat . If you can force a draw, it's also your win," he kindly said to her.
Bart got up from his seat and let Yuna take his place. The little girl looked at the chess board with open curiosity, looking at the intricately carved pieces on the board.
With a wave of his hand, Seberus magically arranged the pieces into their proper place on the board.
"You're on the white side, which ans that you'll—"
But before he could even finish his words, Yuna suddenly took his hand and shook it, solidifying their agreent.
"We shook hands. It's official. No takebacks," she said ominously.
Seberus was speechless as Yuna leaned on the table and made the first move as the white pieces. She did it with speed and precision, as if this wasn't the first ti she had played chess.
A cold sweat began to form on Seberus' forehead. He had a bad feeling about this.
…
…
…
A couple of minutes later, Seberus frowned as he looked at the chess pieces on the board. Even Bart, who was behind him, couldn't help but cover his mouth as he began to realize the fact that Seberus was about to lose.
"What if you move your queen here?" Bart leaned in and whispered.
"....no, then she would take my rook. How about I move my pawn here?" Seberus whispered back.
Yuna smiled at them. "No coaching," she said with a teasing tone. She knew it didn't matter. She was going to win.
"Shut up, brat! You said that you didn't know how to play chess!" Seberus blurted out in a panic.
"I never said that," she said to them innocently. "I only said that I saw the other mages play chess. I never said I didn't play with them."
Everything was normal for the first few moves. Seberus was surprised that she was quite skilled at chess, especially with her placent of pieces. But, he thought nothing more of it.
But as the ga went on, he soon realized that Yuna was like a camouflaged snake, waiting at the opportune ti before she struck!
And the mont she did, Seberus could do nothing else as lost more and more pieces as the ti passed by.
It didn't matter if Bart and Seberus tried to work together. They lost the mont they underestimated the little Montgory girl.
"Checkmate," she said, playfully toppling her opponent's King piece.
Seberus sighed and slumped back in his chair.
If he had a gold coin for every ti that a ten-year-old child rcilessly checkmated him in chess, then he would have two gold coins, which wasn't a lot, but it was weird that it happened twice.
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