The work of the Go master

[Note: This is a cheap plastic Go board, utterly lacking in style. Will playing on such a board really improve your skills much? Why not try a kaya wood Go board instead?]

The explanation was as sarcastic and ambiguous as ever, and it even blatantly suggested that Ke Zhiguang buy a kaya wood Go board, making people wonder if this "golden finger" was secretly taking on some advertising gigs.

Torreya wood chessboards are the supreme king of chess sets, and have been used by nobles since ancient times. They have a refreshing fragrance and naturally formed patterns. After playing a game on them, you should apply a hot towel to keep the patterns in their most beautiful form.

In Japan, the Go boards used in competitions are mostly extra-thick, over 25cm thick, looking like bricks.

To carve such a chessboard, the wood needed must be complete, that is, a whole Torreya tree, at least 500 years old, and then dried for another 30 years. Under the blessing of several solemn religious ceremonies, a priceless chessboard is born.

If chessboards had genders, then chessboards made of kaya wood would undoubtedly be female, the pampered princess type, requiring careful and tender treatment.

If I remember correctly, there was an anime in my past life called "The Ryuo's Prison Meal"... no, it's "The Ryuo's Work is Never Done!" The male protagonist, a top shogi player in the industry, had to pay in installments to buy a shogi board like this.

So here's the question: this cheat code is clamoring to buy a kaya wood Go board. If you sell this cheat code, would it be enough to buy a kaya wood Go board?

Regardless of all that, let's begin the debriefing—

First, let's talk about today's game. Logically speaking, someone who has only recently started playing chess cannot perfectly replicate the game they just played, but Ke Zhiguang remembers it very clearly.

He attributed his victory in this game to luck. Hasegawa had countless opportunities to defeat him, but this guy just wouldn't, insisting on using some tricks that allowed Koichi Hikaru to annihilate him in one fell swoop, widening the gap to more than 30 points on the board.

Of course, this time it was luck, but next time it won't be luck; it will only be hard power.

The debriefing hadn't gone on for long when Ke Zhiguang stopped, suddenly realizing a problem he should have thought of first.

What exactly is his own symbolic spirit?

Based on his observations over the past few days, in this timeline, it seems that everyone who sits in front of a chessboard has their own symbolic spirit appear. Even people who don't play Go at all and have no interest in it will have a seed floating behind them.

He himself should also have a symbolic spirit.

He glanced back, but didn't notice anything unusual behind him.

That's right. I'm not actually playing a game right now; I'm just doing a simple review. There are no special effects on the board, so my symbols won't be showing either.

After thinking it over and over, he still didn't understand the specific function of this cheat. Although it was very cool and cheesy, it hadn't played a substantial role so far.

When he played against Takashi Hase, it wasn't that he saw special visual effects and realized that his opponent was using a trick; rather, he realized that there might be a trap first, and then the surrounding scene suddenly changed drastically.

Rather than serving as a prompt, it serves as an explanation, and from a competitive perspective, it is quite fair.

Unless you are watching someone else play chess, the visual effects will appear automatically without requiring their thought.

If he hadn't accidentally discovered his ability, he definitely wouldn't have considered using it for Go. He would probably have just copied songs or novels and used his advantage as a time traveler to pave his own path.

As he was pondering this, Ke Zhiguang's gaze suddenly fell on the full-length mirror in the room.

Does playing against yourself count?

Ke Zhiguang moved the chessboard in front of the mirror, intending to play a game against himself, also known as self-attack and self-defense... (cross out this sentence).

Move the pieces, star point, small eye, star point again, small eye again... and then go through the basic opening moves you just learned, going through each corner.

Remove the edges, then remove the edges again...

The sound of the pieces being placed was very loud in the quiet environment. Ke Zhiguang gradually immersed himself in the game, and the changing patterns in his mind spun like a kaleidoscope.

Concentrate.

To concentrate more.

Twenty moves, forty moves, sixty moves...

Finally, on the 120th move, he felt a sore neck from sitting cross-legged on the ground for so long, so he moved his neck around.

My gaze happened to catch a glimpse of my reflection behind me in the mirror, and sure enough—!!!

There really is nothing...

Ke Zhiguang yawned sleepily, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

He probably really doesn't have a symbolic spirit.

When it comes to symbolic spirits, it's easy to think of "Hikaru no Go". When the protagonist, Hikaru Shindo, is playing Go, Sai extends a fan from behind him to give him pointers. It's actually a similar concept.

Considering I'm a citizen of my motherland, if someone were to float behind me... how about Huang Longshi?

That said, who would have thought that Sai's voice actor is the same person as Kondo Isao from Gintama?

After the debriefing was completed, it was already midnight.

He was particularly exhausted today. The exertion of playing a whole game of chess, plus carrying the chess set all the way, left him feeling weak and wanting nothing more than to collapse and sleep.

After tidying up the chessboard, he drew the curtains. These curtains were perfect for blocking out light, just like some hotel curtains, specifically designed for sleeping during the day. It seems that the original owner of this body, like the current owner, understood the importance of sleeping in complete darkness.

The chessboard was placed on the desk, completely occupying the space.

"Good night."

—After Ke Zhiguang fell into a deep sleep, a faint voice drifted out from somewhere.

......

The next day, the sun shone brightly outside the window.

Ke Zhiguang woke up to the chirping of birds outside the window.

On the first day he arrived here, Ke Zhiguang searched for a long time but couldn't find an alarm clock. Later, he discovered that the sparrows that chirped on time every morning were more useful than chickens. Presumably, this was the reason why the original owner saved on the cost of an alarm clock.

He yawned, got up, went to his desk, and drew back the curtains, letting in sunlight.

Today is another peaceful day.

But when he glanced down casually, he realized something was wrong.

There are some more things on the chessboard.

A book that isn't too thick.

The title is "Analysis of Scam Tactics (Part 1)"

[Special Item: Chess Book]

[Note: The loot obtained from the tanuki demon, though obtained through crooked means, might as well learn from it.]

Ke Zhiguang was stunned in front of the chessboard.

What do you mean?

Does this mean that playing Go in this world allows you to defeat monsters and obtain equipment?

Chapter Fourteen: When in doubt, quantum mechanics (Please vote and add to your favorites!)

Bizarre, mysterious, and indescribable.

A complex mystery suddenly appeared on the chessboard.

Who put this book on the chessboard last night?

Or rather, what force placed this book on the chessboard?

Ke Zhiguang picked up the book "Analysis of Scams (Part 1)" and started flipping through it casually.

This is a rather unofficial book; it has no author, publisher, or anything like that, just a dry title, as if it were randomly printed at a print shop.

The paper quality was also very poor, and the font was often distorted, like the pirated books that were popular in the streets and alleys of China in the 1990s.

However, the content above is quite detailed, explaining common deceptive moves in some standard opening sequences in Go, including the first 3-3 point deceptive move that Ke Zhiguang cracked yesterday.

This is the item that dropped from Takashi Hase after defeating him.

It's like fighting monsters and getting loot.

Halfway through the book, a piece of paper that looked like a coupon suddenly fell out from between the pages.

[Consumer Goods: Coupons for pork chop rice at the school cafeteria]

[Note: Pork chop rice is the school's signature dish!]

[Note: This can be retrieved repeatedly]

The phrase "can be retrieved repeatedly" hits the nail on the head regarding Kezhiguang's weaknesses.

Does this mean you can grab and hammer the monsters that Hase Kamiya spawns every minute, and then farm pork cutlet rice coupons from them like crazy?

this.....

It sounds so immoral, but it's so exciting!

According to this script, even without pursuing a professional Go career, one can make a living from this!

Just when Ke Zhiguang thought that only two items had been obtained, he turned to the last page of the book and the third item fell out.

A small piece of paper with an address written on it.

[Special prop: Yunjing High School Library, 2nd floor, Section B, bookshelf number 47, fifth shelf, 15th book from the left, page 28]

That's it, nothing more.

They only gave the charlatan's address, without revealing anything about what was at that address.

Ke Zhiguang pondered over the three props. Under the influence of this mysterious atmosphere, even the sunlight seemed eerily alluring.

He placed his hand on the chessboard and stroked and wiped it repeatedly, but it never responded.

How did these things end up on this chessboard?

It's as if everything can only be explained through mysticism.

So-called mysticism is the kind of thing that only tells you the result, but doesn't give any explanation, emphasizing that the truth is mysterious and unknowable.

Using movies as an example, it's like how the audience still doesn't know how the girls in "Picnic at the Cliff" disappeared on the cliff.

In the local parlance, it means that we still don't know what the ultimate thing inside the bronze gate at the foot of Changbai Mountain looks like.

Of course, when it comes to anything involving mysticism, a single sentence about quantum mechanics can disprove it all.

"Brother, come out for breakfast. There's still no pumpkin, papaya, or soy milk today." Xun's voice rang out from outside the door, interrupting Ke Zhiguang's thoughts.

"Here it comes." Putting aside his curiosity about the chessboard, Ke Zhiguang left the chessboard.

More than the unverifiable mysticism, he was curious about what exactly existed at the address designated as a "special item."

Classes in the morning proceeded as usual.

Actually, after the relaxed education started, the courses were quite simple. If he really studied hard, I think it would be no problem for him to improve his grades to a very respectable level within a month.