November 3, 2022
Day 14
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Rahul was out of the game, and it was White's turn again.
[https://i.imgur.com/evpigli.png]
Maya was thinking.
I want to bring Ivan into the fold, but it'll take at least 3 turns to get him into position. What's more, this goes contrary to the rule of thumb I learned years ago.
Develop your pieces in ascending order of strength. Knights and bishops first, rooks and queen later.
Even though this is far from a traditional game of chess, trying to bring Ivan out will prove costly. Kelly will have three turns to do as she pleases, and if she gets to have her way, I will be left scrambling to defend against her attacks for the entire game. I can't afford that.
With that thought, Maya realized that while using the strength of the individuals that made up her pieces was important, she still couldn't go down the rabbit hole of focusing too much on her human aspect and forgetting that she was playing chess.
As she thought about it, Maya spotted an opportunity.
A simple yet excellent move was in front of me this entire time!
Pawn to E5.
[https://i.imgur.com/Y0T6nVh.png]
Her pawn was threatening the knight, and the d6 pawn was helpless because Maya's queen, Daniel, was gunning for the king piece.
Kelly had anticipated this move long before Maya had made up her mind, and instantly moved her knight to e8.
[https://i.imgur.com/mf8aKzO.png]
This was the move that Maya didn't want Kelly to make, so it did not come as any surprise to her when Kelly did just that.
I could have gained an advantage by moving my bishop to f4, but maybe this is for the best. At least I can see the rationale behind her move, to strengthen the d6 pawn.
Now, Maya wondered how to react.
She could either continue to double down on what she was planning and move the bishop.
Or, she could try to advance her pawn and get more control of the board.
Or, she could simply trade the pawns.
The third option is the least tactically sound, but I'm sure Kelly can see the long game much better than me, so it might be better here.
Finally, realizing that the option to capture the pawn will remain available to her even on the next turn, Maya decided to bring her second knight into the picture.
The professor from Jafrabad Bastion moved to c3.
[https://i.imgur.com/ur1XsFe.png]
Almost seeming to mirror her move, Kelly advanced her own knight to c6.
[https://i.imgur.com/TKVfAeN.png]
Maya once again could not see the long game, but dealing with the imminent threat was easy enough. She had another decision to make.
Trade the pawns or keep doubling down?
Feeling quite secure in her position, she decided to do the latter.
[https://i.imgur.com/liSdy7J.png]
And it finally happened. The move that Maya was trying to force.
Ostensibly weary of her locked-down pawn, Kelly made what was likely her first mistake, and moved her bishop to D7.
[https://i.imgur.com/ZKQbxp9.png]
Maya assumed this was a slip based on a simple fact.
This move is something Kelly had been trying to avoid but was finally forced to play. I don't see how it helps me yet, but validates that I'm putting some pressure on.
Happy as she was, Maya was out of ideas. Deciding that the potential line of attack was exhausted by the arrival of the bishop, Maya moved to capture the pawn.
The moment she made her move, Maya noticed a subtle smirk appear on Kelly's otherwise calm expression.
Wait...
Did she move her bishop just to bait me into attacking?
[https://i.imgur.com/9wiixpw.png]
The battle between the two pawns ended as expected, in Maya's favor. And as Maya saw the board, with her singular pawn sitting in the middle of nowhere, as opposed to a chain of pawns that could have been extended by moving to g3, she had a sinking feeling.
She read me like a book.
Maya thought with a sigh.
Kelly's knight moved to capture the pawn, and this battle too went as expected.
[https://i.imgur.com/DNomBFS.png]
As Maya looked at the board again, she could see that Kelly's position had visibly improved.
I need to resist getting pulled into imitating my opponent's speed and rushing my moves. I can take my time, this is not blitz.
With that, Maya started being more careful with her moves, and the next fifteen minutes passed uneventfully, with both sides patiently and painstakingly moving their pieces into position, without suffering losses or losing ground.
Maya admittedly had an easier time with this, as she could castle her rook and king.
[https://i.imgur.com/ZILlo4q.png]
Just as things were getting rather boring, Kelly upped the ante with a bait.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
[https://i.imgur.com/GmjuJ8Q.png]
Maya, who had been playing brilliantly ever since her earlier mistake, thought for some time before biting. In the end, she decided that the trade was better for her, and attacked the pawn with her bishop, the Whip Tail Alpha.
The battle ended before it even started, and in one single move, the alpha reduced the distance between itself and its opponent, and with a strike of its tail, beheaded the spearman.
[https://i.imgur.com/JZNaUr2.png]
Kelly, of course, moved to take the bishop with her rook, visibly shaken by the savage attack she just saw.
As the battle began, Kelly received a prompt to choose which among the alpha's stats she wanted to boost. To aid her in that decision, the alpha's stats were shown to her.
Character Overview Name Unnamed Race Dungeon Spawns Class Whip Tail Alpha HP 50/50 Stamina 100/100 Strength 5 Dexterity 30 Vitality 5 Endurance 10
Maya was confused at first, but after giving it some thought, her lips curled into a smile. As she recalled the battle their team had against this alpha, she felt vindicated.
This is why the alpha almost killed both our groups. This is why, despite having the same level as Rahul, it felt decidedly stronger.
The alpha lacks the intelligence stat and focuses heavily on dexterity.
Maya couldn't help but ponder the implications of the lack of intelligence.
Did it mean the dungeon beasts all ran on instincts? Or is the intelligence stat not related to what we humans define as intelligence and is instead just responsible for one's mana pool? Regardless of what the case may be, the absence of that stat seems to be working well for the alpha so far.
Maya found the numbers rather insightful. They might not reflect the alpha's stats in the dungeon, but they certainly spoke to the ratio of stats, and Maya had a theory.
So, the system did not cheat by giving the alpha an outlandish amount of stats per level, at least not for the first ten levels where it must have been classless. Instead, it cheated by giving it a thick hide that protected its internal organs, and a metallic tail that was not only immune to damage, but also increased the damage output of its whips by an order of magnitude. So, its vitality and strength were effectively miles beyond what the stats would lead one to believe...
As Maya went further along that line of thought, something else clicked too.
Given its name, the tail whip attack was probably the alpha's primary skill, which meant the tail was moving even faster than what the dexterity stat could explain. That's probably why it did not rely much on its jaws and teeth for attacking, unlike the regular crocodiles who relied heavily on their powerful bites. It also explains why Ivan survived getting his thighs torn by the alpha after he had fainted.
As these thoughts were going through Maya's mind, she looked at the choices arrayed in front of her and decided to give the crocodile a Dexterity boost.
The alpha has a 125% boost, so it'll move even faster than it did in that last round against the pawn. But the opponent has an all-round 100% boost this time.
Let's see what happens.
As the force fields holding the bishop and the rook disappeared, Maya found herself biting her nails with anticipation and anxiety.
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Damien used to work as a bouncer in a bar in the bay area, a bar that Kelly frequented. She came every night at the same time, taking off her ring and putting it in her pocket just as she entered the bar.
Every night, she would take someone home, and given the frequency of her nightly escapades, Damien was all but certain that she would be caught soon.
But for years, this went on, Kelly's husband none the wiser.
Finally, Damien couldn't hold his curiosity any longer, and one night, he decided to talk to the lady.
The ruthlessness, cunning, and apathy that the woman displayed in that conversation had chilled even the gruff bouncer to the bone.
So when she approached him yesterday, asking him whether he would like to fill the last slot in 'Kelly's Sixteen', Damien unhesitatingly said yes. The woman's plan was perilous, unlikely, and ambitious, but if anyone could pull it off, it'd be her. Damien remembered her words when he asked her what was in it for him.
"Access to the dungeon, and part ownership of it. One percent equity."
Damien had been able to negotiate his way to two percent, and the two had shaken on it.
The potential of this dungeon was infinite, and as a gatekeeper to that resource, a ruthless woman with a capitalist mindset could make the sixteen of them very rich and powerful.
So, when Damien found himself standing in front of the crocodile, he didn't see a reptile, but an obstacle on his way to immeasurable wealth.
Then, the force field holding the two disappeared, and Damien didn't see anything at all.
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Maya watched as the tank finally succumbed to its wounds. It was a long-drawn battle between an alpha that was too fast for the human to catch and a human that was too tanky for the alpha to seriously injure. Unfortunately for the tank, the injuries, shallow as they were at first, kept accumulating, as he could do nothing but attempt to block the blows.
It was a testament to the fortitude of the Rook that it never once fell from the blows that landed on him and was still standing upright when his HP hit zero and he began to dissipate.
[https://i.imgur.com/vdJhg0h.png]
That admirable display had dulled the joy of victory in Maya's heart, but when she saw her opponent's face, the happiness returned tenfold.
For the first time since the game began, perhaps since Kelly entered the island, her true expressions surfaced over the calm collected facade she wore.
Doubt, hesitation, and uncontrolled rage.
That rook was perhaps the strongest fighter on her team, and she's come to the same realization as me. That alpha is going to dominate the whole game from this point on.
It was game over.
With that thought, Maya moved her bishop to g4, fully expecting Kelly to throw everything she had against the alpha.
[https://i.imgur.com/LuKTlOw.png]
But Kelly seemed content to sacrifice the bishop, instead moving her rook out of harm's way.
[https://i.imgur.com/CqyVqry.png]
A bit surprised, Maya captured the bishop, expecting some kind of a trap. However, the battle ended without any surprises, with the enemy rushing to concede before the alpha could separate his head from his torso.
[https://i.imgur.com/uF8Sl9z.png]
Looking at the board, Maya wondered what Kelly was up to.
[https://i.imgur.com/IPQpf5V.png]
Kelly reacted to the presence of the bishop, once more on the defensive, moving her knight to B4.
But as Maya considered her next move, her expression turned into a frown. Then she realized what Kelly had been doing.
She's moved all her pieces to the darker squares. The alpha can only capture a single pawn at this point. Something I'm sure she'll rectify soon.
Maya moved her bishop to C6, more to block the rook than anything else.
[https://i.imgur.com/yM7lIOA.png]
As expected, Kelly moved her pawn to B6.
[https://i.imgur.com/l9Vr7Ys.png]
With that, the threat of the invincible alpha was dealt with.
At least for now. The bishop is still imposing, and Kelly has to be on guard from now on, making sure to pay close attention to any piece she pulls to a dark square.
Pushed on by the high of a considerable lead and sensing an opportunity to get the big guns out, Maya moved her queen to threaten the knight.
[https://i.imgur.com/YpZZjSN.png]
And saw her mistake right away.
Kelly's expression had turned calm again in the meantime, and her face betrayed nothing as she calmly moved her knight to capture the c2 pawn.
There were no surprises in this battle either, and the knight was now threatening a rook, a bishop, and the queen.
[https://i.imgur.com/518AAQ5.png]
Maya sighed as she moved her queen, making sure that the bishop was protected.
[https://i.imgur.com/iJaPKCG.png]
Kelly now had a choice between running back or trading her knight with a rook or a bishop.
For the first time since the game started, Maya's opponent spent time weighing the odds. One minute later, she moved to capture the rook.
Ivan.
The instant the battle started, Ivan disappeared, and before anyone even knew what had happened, the rogue that was Kelly's knight was dead, a sword sticking through its neck.
That horrifying display of power was the straw that finally broke the camel's back.
Kelly was beside herself and shouted at her opponents.
"Fuck this shit. You are all bloody monsters. I resign."
Maya found herself back on Laysan Bastion, quite surprised by the sudden turn of events and the anti-climatic end to the game.
Just when I was starting to enjoy it...
She thought, as she watched the unconscious form of Kelly fall to the ground in front of her.
At the same time, Ivan ran to Neha and spoke to her with great urgency.