In the game of chess, the knight is considered the most unpredictable piece of all.
It isn't as powerful as the queen or the rook, but it controls the game in its own unique way.
The queen can be anything, but it cannot do what the knight can.
Without that small, quirky piece, chess might feel truly boring.
'BAM!'
Victoria leaped, barely dodging the swinging limbs of the spiders, slipping downward at the last moment to evade their reach.
Keeping her distance, Victoria unleashed three wind arrows in quick succession.
"Now!"
Dohwun's gaze followed the arrows as they streaked toward the monster.
In the Mid-flight, the wind arrows began to crystallize, transforming into sharp shards of ice.
The icy projectiles struck the monster's gem dead-on, shattering it into tiny pieces.
"SKRIEEKK!"
Slowly the nightmares began disappearing into the mist, leaving two exhausted students panting erratically as if half dreaming.
"I-its... done?"
The scene left every instructor in awe as they watched the duo's seamless teamwork.
How could students who barely knew how to fight, remain so focused and composed in their first battle?
"This is the rise of the youngsters... Perhaps the new Three Blades will soon emerge," one instructor murmured.
Of course, the only one who wasn't impressed was Elijah, his expression remained half-satisfied.
Although this Academy; Rubeus Academy has been raising students to fight against the nightmares.
It was only 2% of the graduates actually ended up as part of the military.
In the original plot, the protagonist dominates everything, leaving the other supporting characters either just a decoration or sacrificial lambs.
Readers like it better when the story is all about the protagonist.
Thus, In the end, most stories neglect the actual growth of the other characters. For fear, it will overshadow the main character.
Seeing this somehow satisfied Elijah for a bit.
'It's a nice change of pace.'
But...
Frankly, he regretted not increasing the difficulty.
If he had known they would handle it so easily, he might have thrown in a more challenging scenario.
He would definitely rewrite this if only he could.
Alas, regret comes late.
It was a bit disappointing—but at least he had received something intriguing.
Like a Bucking Bronco Mate in chess:
The queen locks the enemy's escape, paving the way for the knight to deliver a decisive checkmate.
Elijah formed finger frames, locking onto the figure of Dohwun and Victoria in his sight.
Dohwun's cheeks were flushed in pink, and although his face was drenched in sweat, he didn't seem to be exhausted at all.
His face barely contained the calmness, as a flush of smile was seen.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
'Dren... I... I'm one step closer to avenging you'.
The same goes for Victoria, who was gripping in her bow, trembling for a bit. She was like a fool unable to stop from smiling.
'I... I did it! I killed one! a real nightmare!!'
'Good good, enjoy while you still can my children'. Elijah thought grinning mischievously, laughing silently. 'You still have a lot way to go to be molded perfectly in my story.'
"Hehehe...hehehehe...kehehe"
After a few minutes, the system interface appeared once more.
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[System Notification]
Chapter 1: Bucking Bronco Mate
Completed.
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___________
'Hoh?...'
That was completely different from what he expected.
Frankly, Elijah was already ready to receive another hate comment. But to his surprise, the new chapter seems loved by two people at least.
'Ah~ Stay with me, dear readers.'
What is a good author will do?
Obviously, to reply back.
___________
Author E: Thank you for reading.
___________
*****
"Phew... I'm so nervous!!"
Victoria fidgeted playing with her fingers in a nervous energy.
"Can you stop that?" Elijah's eyebrow twitched, clearly annoyed by the constant movement.
"I-it's my first time getting rewarded in public, you know!"
Normally, after a ceremony, students would head straight to their dormitories.
But thanks to recent events, everyone had been summoned back to the stadium for an announcement—and, as Victoria kept reminding him, an awards after ceremony.
The announcement began with updates about safety protocols, designed to prevent another Nightmare invasion.
The speeches dragged on, and Elijah found himself tuning out, almost dozing off once again.
And then, at long last, everyone waited for the part to arrive.
Victoria slaps Elijah awakes, clearly wanting him to watch her.
To remind himself, Elijah kept his notes.
'This girl is abusive, not tsundere'.
The mic crackled as the announcer spoke.
"We are here to thank the brave students who participated in fighting against the Nightmares. Please come forward as your names are called."
Victoria straightened up so fast Elijah thought she might dislocate something.
"Victoria Elizabeth De Fleur"
"Dohwun Winterhold"
"And lastly..."
"Calliope Shion Ve'olseyes."
Elijah blinked.
'Who?'
The three names echoed through the stadium.
Elijah wasn't surprised he wasn't included.
Why would he be? He'd done absolutely nothing. Frankly, he preferred it that way. Staying out of the spotlight was his specialty.
However... the existence of the last person is clearly out of his expectation.
Something, no- someone, a name that he could not recall.
Victoria was the first to reach the stage, her golden hair tied in braid swishing with every stiff step. She received her certificate and trophy with an awkward bow that screamed rookie awardee.
Next was Dohwun, as stoic as ever. If not for the faint pink creeping up his ears, no one would have guessed he had emotions at all.
And then... the unknown variable.
A woman ascended the stage, her presence was enough to silence the clapping noise and light chatters.
Her long black hair nearly brushed the ground as she walked, her crimson eyes were framed by eyebags. Pale skin, and with the bangs covering half of her face, almost everyone mistaken her as a ghost.
Elijah squinted.
He would definitely have remembered a character like this if he'd written her.
But he hadn't.
'Who are you?'
He didn't say it aloud, but his gaze locked on her, trying to piece together her existence.
"Is that her? The one who took out a whole horde of Nightmares by herself?" Elijah overheard someone's whisper.
"She... really looks... unapproachable."
As the three so-called heroes received their respective trophies, everyone made their way to another set of claps.
For that brief moment,
The eyes of Elijah and the black-haired lady; Calliope, met.
*****
Dawn settled, painting the sky in hues of orange and yellow.
Victoria couldn't stop grinning, clutching tightly on her trophy, as if it was the most precious treasure in the world.
Elijah glanced sideway, first in her face, down to her trophy.
"You know... if you keep squeezing that thing, it's going to snap in two."
"Hehehe," Victoria giggled, ignoring his remark. "You know, if you'd actually helped us, maybe you'd have earned the S-class privilege too!"
"Pfft, Don't worry, I'll get to the S class without the free privilege."
(He has to go to S class, otherwise, he will miss a lot of watching his main pieces grow)
"You sure talk big. But... maybe you'll surprise me. After all, your nonsense ramblings somehow ended up being true."
"Damn right," Elijah replied to Victoria's words with a grin.
In this world, the privilege of being in S-class wasn't just about prestige—it meant being treated like royalty.
Top-tier meals, better training facilities, and access to the best mentors.
In the original novel Elijah wrote, there were only ten S-class students, eleven if you counted the protagonist.
Dohwun, of course, was an S-class shoe-in. Victoria, however, had been assigned to C-class. And that woman 'Calliope' was never mentioned.
Every student was evaluated based on their potential:
01: Unique Blessings: S class definitely
02: Rare Blessing: A class.
03: Inherited Blessing: B class.
04: Basic Blessing: C class
05: Common Blessing: E class
And lastly.
06: No potential: F class.
Of course, it's the typical ranking system like most novels! After all, it's easier to navigate that way, readers don't have to use your brain to understand it.
Elijah was confident in getting the S-class privilege.
After all, he had a unique skill 'Author'—surely he'd be placed in S-class. Right?
Or so, that's what he thought.
But...
"Elijah Noe... Room 10890... Dormitory F"
"Class F."