Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 31 Tom and Jerry

Zhang Yuan, who had moved to a different spot and was hiding behind the door, was holding a pink cloak that had just been bought but was now torn and stained, with little Shirley perched on his shoulder.

Upon hearing the heavy footsteps coming from the stairs, they held their breath, waiting for the person in question to arrive.

A slightly tipsy Eguinone strutted around with an air of dominance, the pink cloak behind him resembling a scarf tied around his neck. "What a waste of talent," someone behind the door thought with regret.

Aijinon walked straight toward the large bed in the bedroom without noticing Zhang Yuan behind the door. He collapsed onto the bed without even taking off his shoes.

At this moment, Sherry, having received her master's signal, quickly and silently approached the large bed, then leaped onto it. With her agile and nimble movements, she only needed to swing her claws twice to peel the cloak off the original owner's neck.

Unaware of anything, Eganon let out two muffled murmurs, and then began to snore. Zhang Yuan, who had quickly put away the magic cloak, had Sherry carry the cloak he had bought to Eganon's bedside to wait for him, and then carefully left the room.

After confirming that he could escape safely at any time, Zhang Yuan pointed at Eganon, and Shirley jumped onto the bed, grabbed the back of Eganon's clothes and pulled hard.

Eijinon, who had just fallen asleep, was quickly awakened by this rough method. Not knowing what had happened, he only felt that his head was extremely heavy.

"Who? Who's playing a prank on me? Could it be some damned thief eyeing Echinon's gold coins?"

He looked around but found nothing, until a small, snow-white animal carrying a pink cloak hopped out from beside his feet.

"Damn it, that's my cloak!" Eganon was both anxious and angry as he touched the back of his neck but found nothing. He moved his massive body around the room chasing after the fleeing ferret thief.

Although he was just a merchant and knew nothing about magic and arcane arts, as the owner of the cloak, he could still glean some of the value of his item from certain details—of course, only a portion of its value.

When he was down on his luck, he asked his "friends" for help, but those guys who used to call him brothers looked at him like they were looking at a beggar or a stray dog ​​on the street, with nothing but indifference and disgust.

One day, when he was desperate and had nowhere else to turn, he didn't even care about his appearance. He rashly stopped two members of the Chamber of Commerce who had never met him before, pleaded with them, and sold them his plan to make a comeback. Unexpectedly, it went smoothly. They agreed to cooperate without much criticism or doubt. And the cloak he wore that day was the one he had acquired by chance and kept at the bottom of his trunk.

Such things did not happen often afterward, and rejection and ridicule still befell Eguidnon, but in any case, he still believed that the cloak had brought him good luck, and privately gave it a name, "The Lucky Cloak."

Now, enraged by the theft of the Cloak of Fortune from Eganon, he recklessly chased after him, disregarding whether he could keep up with the speed of his opponent.

Sherry, clutching the cloak, darted around frantically, leaving its little paw prints under the bed, in the bathtub, and on the table. It flung the cloak in its mouth like a rag, making Eganon's heart ache.

Perhaps it was tired of playing, or perhaps it had lost interest in what it was eating; in any case, the ferret tossed its head, tossed its cloak aside, and slipped out of the room.

Ignoring the trouble he was causing the ferret, Eganon, worried about his precious pet, hurriedly picked up the cloak and unfolded it.

A bolt from the blue! The cloak before me was almost unrecognizable, riddled with holes and rips, stained with water, dirt, and claw marks, its original color barely discernible.

The blow caused Eganon's legs to buckle, and his massive body collapsed to his knees. The middle-aged man buried his face in the floor and wept.

Zhang Yuan, hiding outside the door, was secretly delighted with the treasure he had obtained and the success of his scheme. However, upon hearing the owner's cries of anguish, he felt a pang of unease, and his initial joy faded considerably. He didn't regret his actions. Such a magical item, in the hands of the oblivious Ejin, would have been nothing more than an ornament or a lucky charm, its potential never being realized. But in his hands, it was an undeniably powerful magical creation, capable of producing effects the original owner could never have imagined.

However, no matter what excuses are made, the cloak still belongs to Eguinon, and his actions are still theft without permission.

If he hadn't witnessed this scene, he might have been able to comfort himself with various excuses and use the stolen cloak with a clear conscience, since he had done it more than once in the game anyway.

However, having actually witnessed such a scene and seen the owner's sorrow and tears, one cannot ultimately "have a clear conscience."

Seeing them alive, one cannot bear to see them die; hearing their cries, one cannot bear to eat their flesh. This is not hypocrisy, but rather a compassionate feeling arising from the instinctive empathy of humankind.

Zhang Yuan wouldn't be so naive as to jump out and exchange cloaks to satisfy his sympathy, but that doesn't stop him from acknowledging the sympathy he felt. This emotion wasn't shameful; it was just that his urgent need for power forced him to suppress it temporarily.

"One day, I will return your cloak with interest. Sorry, but for now, please lend it to me." Zhang Yuan could only make this promise in his heart.

Clutching his cloak, he adjusted his expression and emotions, then turned and went down the stairs.

"Smile," he told himself.

The person, pretending nothing had happened, went down the stairs and returned to his companions. Just as he was about to explain why he had been away for so long, he saw Lawrence and Duncan looking at him with pity.

"Young people should take care of their health too~" the two of them said in unison, drawing out the last syllable in a sarcastic tone.

Zhang Yuan, still puzzled, didn't ask any more questions. He sat for a while longer before dispersing and returning to his room at the Happy Performers Hotel to rest.

Just as he was about to go to sleep, he realized what the "old pervert" and "young pervert" meant back then! "Damn it!" he shouted in his mind.

Upon waking up in the morning, Zhang Yuan sensed the spell model of the summoning technique within his sea of ​​consciousness and couldn't help but feel a little eager to try it out. It took him a lot of effort to suppress it. After washing up, getting dressed, rejoining the team, and preparing to set off, he...

Suddenly remembering that his pieces had been refreshed that day, he hurriedly called on the system DLTCEP. He saw that the panel in front of him had turned into a void chessboard, with all three pieces he had purchased on it. Sure enough, the chess piece shop above had refreshed with new units.

"Tiny, Goblin Tinker, Drow Ranger, Tusk, Enchantress"

This time, Zhang Yuan finally got his favorite goblin piece, but he didn't have enough energy to buy so many pieces, so he simply bought Tiny. Perfect, three Tiny can be combined into a two-star.

Unexpectedly, the system notification hit me like a bullet: Confirm whether to upgrade the piece. Note: After a level 1 piece is upgraded to two stars, it will become a level 3 piece and requires a summoning spell of the corresponding level.

Tier 3 Summoning Spell? Does that mean I can't summon anymore after leveling up? Does spending money make me weaker?
I might as well leave the system and ignore it for now. Orange cards, three-star pieces—they're all fake, just fooling me.

(End of this chapter)