Soya was slightly taken aback, truly startled.
If your Destruction Energy were to hit me, I would be utterly obliterated.
"Pop!"
Sidra waved his hand grandly, and numerous small square boards along with black and white pieces materialized on the ground, arranged neatly.
Soya was all too familiar with this board.
Isn't this the board for Go?
Switching from the well jumping game to Go is quite a leap, isn't it? Aren't you afraid of straining something?
Rumshii, however, was a bit confused, scratching his head with his hand, his eyes filled with perplexity, as if he had never seen this kind of game before.
"See this game?" Sidra chuckled, a confident expression on his face, "The rules are simple. One side takes black pieces, the other white. Start placing them on the board. Whoever gets five pieces in a row first wins, whether horizontally, vertically, or diagonally."
Speaking, Sidra, afraid Soya wouldn't understand, specifically picked up a piece and demonstrated it for Soya on the board, his movements meticulous.
Soya: "..."
Soya covered his face, feeling utterly speechless inside.
I thought it was Go.
Turns out it's Gomoku!
Well, progressing from checkers to Go is indeed a big leap.
Progressing to Gomoku makes more sense.
"How about it? Dare to compete with me?" Sidra smiled as he looked at Soya, his eyes full of provocation.
"Of course, no problem." Soya readily agreed, not showing the slightest trace of fear on his face.
"But we can't just play for nothing, right? Shouldn't there be something at stake?" Sidra revealed a strange smile, his eyes flashing with a calculating glint.
"What does Lord Sidra have in mind?" Soya asked, already guessing somewhat.
"I heard you have a kind of miraculous water there, called something like Battle God Water, which can double a Destroyer's power. Is that true?" Sidra grinned, wearing an expression of a scheme come to fruition.
Soya suddenly understood and shot a sidelong glance at Rumshii, seeing the anticipation in his eyes.
Sure enough, the corner of Rumshii's mouth also lifted into a faint curve, subtle, but it didn't escape Soya's eyes.
Soya suddenly saw the light.
I finally figured it out.
These two guys playing the well jumping game ultimately aimed to get me to jump into this well.
First, they intentionally set up a simple, almost too simple game to hook me.
Then, they plan to win my Battle God Water through Gomoku.
I knew a Destroyer's mind wouldn't be that simple.
But, was your well jumping game for real?
So the two Destroyers' well jumping game earlier was just an act, the goal being to lure me into playing chess.
"What do you say? I'm just asking if you dare or not." Sidra persuasively urged, his tone carrying temptation.
"And what if you lose?" Soya asked with a smile, calm and unhurried.
"I am a Destroyer, how could I possibly lose to you?" Sidra smiled confidently, his tone full of arrogance.
"If you lose, what can you offer me?" Soya asked with an expectant look, his eyes sparkling with desire.
"What do you want?" Sidra didn't care at all, then suddenly thought of something and replied, "I know. What your new universe lacks most now is Universe Essence, right? How about giving you Universe Essence?"
"Then it's happily decided." Soya readily agreed, adding, "If I lose, I'll give you two bottles of Battle God Water at once. If you lose, give me 100,000 points of Universe Essence. No problem, right?"
"What do you mean 'us'?" Sidra's mouth twitched, his expression changing slightly.
"This matter has nothing to do with me..." Rumshii waved his hands in flustered denial, his eyes evasive, looking somewhat guilty.
Soya: "..."
"None of that is important now. Since you don't object, it's happily decided." Soya grinned, his tone carrying an unquestionable certainty.
"Wait a moment... What do you mean happily decided?" Sidra's face darkened, "You think quite beautifully, don't you? Give you 100,000 points of Universe Essence if you win? Why don't you just go rob someone?"
"Well, the last time someone said that to me... I actually did rob them." Soya pondered, his tone flat, as if talking about an insignificant trivial matter.
Sidra: "..."
Quitela's face darkened.
"Negative emotional value from Quitela +1000!"
Who are you alluding to?
"If you win, I'll give you 20,000 points of Universe Essence." Sidra said to Soya, his tone firm, allowing no bargaining.
"Too little, boring, not playing." Soya stood up, making as if to leave, his feet already shifting slightly.
Sidra and Rumshii both grew anxious simultaneously, leaning forward slightly, their eyes holding a hint of panic.
After finally coaxing you into playing chess with us, it's just not appropriate for you to leave like this.
Rarely do you come here on your own initiative.
Especially Rumshii, who directly stepped forward and grabbed Soya's arm, afraid he might really run off, his grip so strong it almost broke Soya's arm.
If you run off, only Champa and Heles would have Battle God Water. Wouldn't we be bullied to death by them?
"Sidra, be sincere. 20,000 points of Universe Essence, isn't that like giving scraps to a beggar?" Rumshii kept winking at Sidra, his eyes full of urgency.
"Rumshii, it's not nice to say that! Is 20,000 Universe Essence like giving scraps to a beggar?" Sidra snorted不服气ly, his cheeks puffing slightly, his eyes holding a trace of displeasure.
He paused.
"Considering Rumshii's face, let's add a bit more then!" Sidra immediately added, his tone carrying a hint of reluctance, "30,000 points, how about that?"
"30,000 points is not a small amount." Rumshii hurriedly pulled Soya's arm to persuade him, his elephant trunk swaying slightly with the motion, his eyes full of eagerness.
"Alright then, 30,000 points it is. If I lose, I'll only give one bottle of Battle God Water." Soya proposed, a calm smile on his face, as if indifferent to this outcome.
"Deal!" Sidra promptly agreed, afraid Soya might change his mind, slapping his thigh with a loud sound.
"No problem, I'll be the middleman! Happily decided." Rumshii nodded along.
However, after finishing, the two of them felt something wasn't quite right, their eyebrows slightly furrowed, their eyes carrying a hint of confusion.
It seems we might be at a slight disadvantage.
But, they carefully calculated again, fingers unconsciously gesturing in the air, and felt it was acceptable.
If they really lost, the Universe Essence would be split half and half.
Rumshii and Sidra would each bear part.
Although losing 30,000 points of Universe Essence at once, each universe only needed to contribute a bit of Universe Essence.
So after thinking it over, the confusion on their faces gradually faded. It was entirely within acceptable limits.
Even if they won, getting only one bottle of Battle God Water seemed a bit little.
But that's not a big deal.
Won't we win more if we play a few more rounds? The two exchanged a glance, seeing the same thought in each other's eyes.
"The rules are all understood, right?" Sidra smiled as he looked at Soya, his eyes holding a trace of barely noticeable smugness, as if victory was already assured.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━