Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 547: Before the First Round Begins

Even as Sheva walked away from the room and went to the hall where the tournament was about to start, his mind still went blank as Mister Wahyu’s words kept replaying over and over inside his head. It wasn’t like he resisted the idea. Hell, he himself even had a plan to create a chess club, but he still went with a small one with the three girls as the members.

Still... Now that Mister Wahyu offered a greater responsibility like this...

"I am not asking you anything here but the thing that you are familiar with already, which is teaching. I will also set up a budget so that you can promote students who you think have potential, just like how you went in your first tournament. You can ask for your requests, and as long as it is not too much, I will give them to you. My request is just one. By the time the Olympiad next year begins, I want to see a team that can compete against those top countries. Is that acceptable?’

Honestly, the request was difficult. To compete at a high level in the Olympiad, the country would need all the players to be solid GMs, with at least one of them becoming elite to hold against the opponent’s best player. That was not something that could be achieved so easily in 18 months, especially since the talent pool itself was not that deep.

However, Sheva really appreciated Mister Wahyu’s ambition here. It seemed that he really loved chess, even to the point that he was willing to pour so much money like a tap water. It was just...

"What? Still thinking of Mister Wahyu’s proposal?" Bagas asked, snapping him from his thought.

"Yeah, I am still overwhelmed by this." Sheva smiled wryly. "I mean, is this really how wealthy people operate? Just throw money carelessly without any supervision? Does he not feel any worry about me embezzling the money or what? Not that I would do that, of course, but still..."

Bagas just snorted amusedly. "Don’t overthink too much. He might not say it, but I am sure that Mister Wahyu has already done his research on you, and the fact that he still trusts you this much means you pass his test."

Sheva couldn’t help but let out a relieved sigh when he heard that. At least, it meant Mister Wahyu didn’t just give him money recklessly, which would be a huge burden for himself in the future.

"Anyway, don’t worry too much about it." Bagas waved his hand nonchalantly. "As for now, your only worry should be this tournament and how to win it." Said the fat boy.

For that, Sheva couldn’t help but smirk. "If it is anything else, like creating a club, managing money, or something like that, yes, you have to worry about me. But if it is chess, I am probably the least person you have to nag on, Gas. Don’t worry, just wait, and you will see another trophy set in my house."

-0-

After he arrived at the hall, Sheva could feel the atmosphere shift. If before, people still chatted casually, the moment he set foot on the floor, all the eyes turned to him, and he didn’t know if it was just a feeling or not, but the air reeked of hostility here.

It seemed everyone was eyeing him, wanting to use him as a stepping stone to fame in this tournament.

’Well, that is the downside of being famous, I guess.’ He couldn’t help but mutter.

"Brother Sheva!" Suddenly, someone greeted him with a familiar cheerful tone. When he turned around, Sheva could see Nayaka running at him excitedly.

"Nayaka! It is good to see you!" Sheva grinned, patting the boy’s shoulder fondly. "You are alone?" He asked.

"Yup! No Duta, no Devi, just me alone." Nayaka grinned smugly, as if he was gloating over their misfortune.

"Tch! Brother Nay, why are you being so smug? It is not like you are going to win something here." Another familiar voice popped up, this time full of sarcasm. Sheva didn’t even need to look to know that it was Claudia who just popped out of nowhere.

"Ahaha... Good to see you again, Ia!" Nayaka laughed nonchalantly, not even turning around to see who greeted him. "I am sure you yourself are ecstatic when you know that Devi is not playing here, right?" He smiled knowingly.

In return, Claudia clicked her tongue annoyedly. "Tch! Even if that bint is coming, I am sure I can handle her easily."

Sheva felt the corner of his lips twitching once again, still not used to Claudia’s vulgar nickname for Devi. ’Well, they have a deep rivalry against each other, so maybe, Devi also curses her behind her back, right?’

They chatted for a while to keep in touch with each other, and later, more acquaintances came and greeted Sheva. From Anna, Laysa, Master Susanto, Medina, even Taher and Arfan said hello. However, none of them stuck for too long, as they all seemed to be so tense, and with the burning determination in their eyes, Sheva could guess their feeling right now.

’It seems everyone treats me as a common enemy here.’ He smiled wryly. However, his eyes shining, thinking, ’At least, this is going to be interesting! Maybe I can use this tournament to screen who can join the club later. I am sure Mr. Wahyu doesn’t mind about that.’

His mind went back to the chess club that Mister Wahyu proposed, and somehow, even though he said that he would think about it later after the tournament was over, the boy had already planned how he would run it and who he could recruit as a member.

He kept daydreaming until the alarm rang, signalling that the first round was about to start. Hearing that, Sheva rushed toward table one quickly, not wanting to be seen as disrespecting his opponent by coming late.

However, the moment he sat on the chair, Sheva was dumbfounded, as he saw a familiar face grinning on the other side of the table. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Hey, Brother Sheva. This should be our first meeting, right? Please, have mercy on me, okay?"

-Author’s note-

Hey, everyone! Thank you for supporting my story! I have written a new one with the hope of getting a contract for that story as well, the title is ’The Rise of the Iron Wall!’. It is a football story, so if you like, please give your support by adding it to your collection and giving your power stone to that story! Thanks!