CHAPTER 39: SACRIFICE

It was already afternoon, and the arena was packed. Students, mages, and professors filled the thousands of seats, buzzing with excitement.

At the center stood a beautiful professor with long blue hair, clipped with a red flower hairpin. She wore a flowing red robe, and her voice echoed across the arena, amplified by mana so everyone could hear.

Her name is Professor Reya.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she announced. "Today, we’ll witness a match no one expected—it’s a chess battle!"

She continued, "On the right side, we have one of the Kingdom’s Top Ten Strongest. A mage who won a Nobel prize for his work on quantum mechanics and quantum magic. A hero who once defeated a demon general."

She paused, building suspense. "Introducing the undefeated chess grandmaster and Vice President of Robert’s Magic Tower... Professor Odel Hann!"

A man stepped out from the entrance. He smiled shyly and waved to the crowd as he walked to the center of the arena.

"Whooooaaa! Clap clap clap!"

The crowd erupted in cheers, their voices echoing through the dome.

Then the professor turned to the left side. "And now, the challenger! An exiled prince from Redstin County, believed to have died fourteen years ago. A freshman who placed third in the Academy’s Trial. From the Elite Class..."

She raised her voice, "Introducing the unrated chess underdog... Prince Gabby Magus!"

"Wooooo! Clap clap clap!"

The crowd hesitated for a moment but then cheered, especially after hearing that Gabby was a prince.

Gabby ignored the loud cheers as he calmly walked toward the center of the arena. He thought to himself, "Why are there so many people? There’s only one possible reason. Yin Farrock must’ve promoted this match and pulled in a crowd."

Just as the match was about to begin, someone shouted from the audience, "I bet ten thousand coins that Professor Odel won’t win against Gabby!"

The voice came from none other than Jin Claye. The top-ranking student from the Academy’s trial.

Gabby smirked inwardly. "He still has energy after the beating I gave him yesterday. At least he managed to reach the fourth-core magic circle."

Nobody expected someone to place a bet on Gabby, an unrated chess player. The crowd stirred.

A senior student stood up and declared, "I’ll take that deal. I’ll pay twenty thousand gold coins if Professor Odel wins!"

The senior is named Kurt Ballard. A hero and one of the Top ten strongest at the Robert’s Magic Academy.

Gambling was allowed in special events like this, so no one objected. What annoyed most students was that the senior had jumped in quickly hogging the bet before others could take advantage of Jin’s reckless optimism.

If Jin’s father saw this. He’d probably faint on the spot... and then scold him later for betting big on such uncertain and impossible odds.

A large crystal orb floated above the arena, wired with magic so everyone in the arena could see each move projected in real time.

The host announced, "Gabby will be given a bonus time of fifteen minutes, while Professor Odel gets ten. If a player runs out of time, they lose. The rules are simple—checkmate the king."

Gabby and Professor Odel walked to the center of the arena and shook hands.

As the game began, Gabby—holding the white pieces—had to make the first move. The clock ticked:

14:59...

Gabby stared at the board.

14:50...

He reached out, but his clumsy hand knocked over a few pieces. Embarrassed, he quickly rearranged them.

14:13... He finally pushed his pawn to e4.

On Professor Odel’s clock—9:59—he responded with c5.

Professor Reya, seated among the commentators, remarked, "Ah yes, the famous c5. A move that contests the d4 square."

The crowd erupted in cheers at just the first move. It was clear—Professor Odel wasn’t going easy on Gabby.

Gabby developed his knight to f3.

Odel replied with another pawn push—d6.

"That opens the path for his light-squared bishop," Reya explained.

Without hesitation, Gabby struck the center with d4.

"Will Professor Odel take it?" Reya wondered aloud.

He did—capturing with cxd4.

Gabby recaptured instantly with Nxd4.

"Gabby now controls the center," Reya said. "But the position remains balanced."

Professor Odel calmly developed his knight, aiming straight at Gabby’s undefended e4 pawn.

Gabby paused for ten seconds, thinking carefully, then placed his other knight at Nc3, defending the pawn.

Professor Odel immediately played a6.

Professor Reya commented, "A quiet move that prepares for a queenside pawn storm. It also stops Gabby’s light-squared bishop or knight from advancing to b5."

Gabby then developed his dark-squared bishop to Bg5.

Reya continued, "Gabby is threatening the knight on f6."

The crowd fell silent, hanging on every move. Thanks to Professor Reya’s analysis, even the students new to chess could follow the tension building on the board.

Professor Odel thought to himself, "We’re only on move six, but this kid hasn’t made a single blunder yet. Impressive."

Then, Odel calmly pushed e6.

Reya chimed in, "He’s ignoring the threat to the knight and instead controls the key squares d5 and f5. He’s also preparing to develop his dark-squared bishop to e7."

Gabby took his time—thirty long seconds—before pushing f4.

"Gabby’s expanding in the center," Reya said. "He’s now controlling the e5 square."

Odel, aiming for queenside play, pushed b5.

Gabby reacted by playing e5, striking at the pinned f6 knight and putting pressure on d6.

Odel, already anticipating it, captured with dxe5, attacking both the knight and d4 pawn.

Gabby responded instantly with fxe5, keeping pressure on the pinned knight.

To break the pin, Odel developed his queen to Qc7.

Gabby paused and thought, "If I capture his knight with the pawn, I’ll lose central control. Exchanging my bishop for his knight now would be a positional mistake."

Instead of taking the knight, Gabby developed his queen to Qe2.

The crowd murmured, wondering why Gabby didn’t take the free knight. Professor Odel let out a faint smile.

"He calculated four or five moves ahead and made his decision quickly," Odel thought. "Interesting."

Odel then retreated his knight to Nfd7.

Gabby castled queenside, solidifying his position.

Odel activated his dark-squared bishop to Bb7.

Reya noted, "Professor Odel’s bishop is now staring down the long diagonal. This game’s heating up."

Suddenly, with twelve minutes on his clock, Gabby sacrificed his knight with Nxe6.

To a chess grandmaster being down a pawn in a middle game meant defeat but being down a knight for a pawn meant blunder.

That’s why the crowd laughed in disbelief as Odel calmly captured the knight with his pawn.

Gabby stayed unfazed. "Odel’s king is still stuck in the center. If I want to start an attack, I need to take sacrifice."

He developed his queen to Qg4, aiming at a swift checkmate.

Odel instantly responded with Nc5, stopping the threat and defending his weak spots.

Gabby sacrificed another piece—this time, his light-squared bishop with Bxb5+.

He extended his hand across the table, offering a draw.

"Rd7+ was also an option," Gabby thought to himself, "but I just want a draw."

Professor Odel glanced at the clock. 9:59 remaining—proof that every move he made so far was part of his preparation.

Silently, he began calculating seven moves ahead:

axb5

15. Nxb5, Qb6

16. Nd6+, Bxd6

17. Rxd6, Nd3+

18. cxd3, Qc7+

19. Kb1, O-O

20. Qxe7+, Qf7

21. Qxf7+, Rxf7

"The final position’s balanced," he analyzed. "I will have will have a knight advantage, but Gabby will hold four extra pawns. Material’s uneven, but neither side can win in this kind of end game If I’m not careful, I may lose."

With a faint nod, Professor Odel accepted the handshake, agreeing to a draw.

The entire arena erupted in surprised murmurs. No one expected a draw in fourteen moves, not from an unrated student who simply sacrificed two piece.