The work of the Go master

"Alright then, you can come to the club activities tomorrow. You'll start with the 13x13 board with the intermediate class students. Remember to attend on time, and you'll get all the credits," the vice president said, having gained an understanding of Ke Zhiguang's chess skills.

"I'd like to ask, what are the requirements for advancing to the advanced class?" Ke Zhiguang suddenly asked.

“We hold an internal promotion competition at the end of each month. If you want to advance to the advanced class, you'll have to wait until at least the end of this month,” the vice president replied.

It's early April now; by the end of the month, the daylilies will be frozen solid.

I don't have time to go through the formalities.

"What are the requirements for participating in the national high school team competition in three weeks?" Ke Zhiguang continued in a calm tone.

"Of course, our club needs to be the best in chess. We're sending five people to this team competition, and we just need to be able to get into the top five." The vice president didn't understand why the other party was asking this question, but he still answered truthfully.

"I see, Vice President. I have a very important question to ask you." Ke Zhiguang beckoned to the other party, then suddenly became mysterious and serious.

The vice president was also curious and leaned forward.

“Closer,” Ke Zhiguang continued to build up the mystery, as if he were telling the other party a sure-win lottery number.

"Can't you just say it outright?"

"That's a bit arrogant. It's best not to let others hear it, otherwise a lot of people will want to rush up and beat me up." Ke Zhiguang was not joking at all.

"You...you mean you're sure I won't want to hit you after hearing this?" The vice president was slightly embarrassed.

"That's true, but I think you're a very calm person, Vice President, so you should be able to control your urge to hit me... Besides, I brought pepper spray, so you shouldn't be able to beat me."

"This..." The vice president's shoulders trembled, and he was at a loss for words for a moment.

There are too many flaws!

Does that mean you think you can't beat me without pepper spray?

Wait, why would a guy like you carry pepper spray?!

"Alright, why don't we hear your arrogant question?" The vice president took another step forward. She was also very curious about the mysterious things Ke Zhiguang had done.

"I want to play in this competition. Can you let me participate?" Ke Zhiguang whispered, making this arrogant declaration without any inflection.

"what?"

"I want to participate in the team competition three weeks from now, and represent our club in this team competition." Ke Zhiguang expanded on the details to explain more clearly.

"You...you really dare to say that." The vice president took a deep breath, itching to hit someone, but then she realized something was off.

"You're not here to play dumb, are you?" The vice president took a few steps back, seemingly regarding Ke Zhiguang as an enemy who had come to challenge them.

Seriously, this is the Go club, not the Kendo club. Is she taking a few steps back to create distance and get a running start for a strike or something?

"Pretending to be weak to deceive others? Of course not, how could I do such a despicable thing?" Ke Zhiguang denied it righteously, scoffing at the idea of ​​pretending to be weak to deceive others.

"My idea is very simple: I just came here to learn chess."

"And then, twenty days later, you'll reach the level required to participate in a national team competition?"

“That’s right.” Ke Zhiguang nodded.

A cold breath slowly escaped from the vice president's chest, leaving him unable to utter a single word.

Ke Zhiguang smiled.

The vice president was clearly moved to tears by his sincerity; the Japanese really do fall for that.

The vice president suddenly stood in front of the podium and shouted to the students who hadn't finished walking down the stairs, "Hey, someone who can fight! There's someone here who's still half asleep, help him wake up!"

Ke Zhiguang was taken aback. How could it be so different from his expectations for the script?

I just wanted to learn chess seriously and compete seriously, but suddenly it turned into something like we were going to fight?

So they really have to follow the clichéd sports anime formula and have a club entry battle?

Perhaps this is just going through the motions.

Shortly after, a hearty and bold voice rang out from below: "You think you can fight? Okay, here I come!"

Soon, a rather sturdy and robust male student jumped onto the stage, causing the entire stage to tremble as if a celestial ear had fallen from the sky.

This.....

This person is the kind who can fight in the literal sense.

Those thick arms, those thick thighs.

Pepper spray was created for this moment!

Chapter Ten: Studying a Fixed Pattern - Calm Down

"Your name is Ke Zhiguang, right? I know some rumors about you, though not good ones. My name is Hase Kamiya, nice to meet you." Hase Kamiya slowly stood up, his height exuding an unusually imposing presence.

"Hello, Hase-senpai, how should we begin this fight?" Ke Zhiguang said calmly.

"Where else in the Go club would they fight besides on the Go board?" Hasegami Takashi shrugged, but quickly realized something was wrong. "Wait, what are you holding?"

Hasegawa Takashi took two steps back in panic because he saw Koji Hikaru pull out a small bottle that looked like a spray from his pocket.

"Oh, it's just a minor detail, nothing to worry about. I took it out by accident, I'll put it back now." Ke Zhiguang put the spray back without changing his expression.

"No, no, no, that's clearly a spray meant for use on people!"

"Of course not... Anyway, Hase-senpai, do you mean you want to have a go at it with me on the Go board?" Koji asked, cleverly changing the subject.

“That’s right, come on!” Hase Kamiya sat down on the opposite side of the chessboard, exuding an aura of aggression.

Looking at this situation, Ke Zhiguang vaguely understood something new.

It turns out that this worldview is actually quite similar to Yu-Gi-Oh!

In Yu-Gi-Oh!, playing cards can solve everything. Does that mean that in this world, playing chess can solve everything?

"Fine, I don't object to this setting either." Ke Zhiguang released the pepper spray from his pocket and was about to sit down.

“But how about we raise the stakes before we start?” Hasegawa Takashi suddenly said.

"The bet?" Ke Zhiguang stared at the other party in surprise.

Oh, I see, Gurus, he specializes in hunting rare cards.

So this worldview really is based on Yu-Gi-Oh!!

But the vice president slashed Hase Takashi's neck with a knife: "I told you to come up here and beat people up, not to gamble and corrupt the morals!"

Until now, it has been the typical after-school routine of ordinary high school students, but with the addition of the bet, things have immediately changed, which is what the vice president is worried about.

“It’s alright, my terms are very simple. If I win, all my club duties for this month will be done by Ke Zhiguang. How about that? That’s a reasonable offer, isn’t it?” Hase Kamiya said.

The so-called club duty is basically equipment maintenance. In the tennis club, it's cleaning rackets and arranging equipment. In the Go club, it's wiping the Go board and pieces and putting everything back in its place. Although it's easy, it's quite tedious, and most people would be too lazy to do it.

"Then there's no problem." The vice president agreed.

"And what about you, Ke Zhiguang? You should at least offer some token terms," ​​Hasegawa Takashi urged.

“A wager equal to a month’s worth of duty, let me think…” Ke Zhiguang began to ponder.

"It doesn't have to be equal, just ask for whatever you want, haha."

"Then buy me a month's subscription to Jump."

"Jump?" Takashi Hase was taken aback, feeling as if the art style had suddenly plummeted.

In this day and age, Jump has been published for more than 20 years, serializing famous works such as "Kid King", "Kinnikuman" and "Dr. Slump", and is one of the giants in the industry. Of course, no one is unaware of it.

Hearing that Koji Mitsuaki would bet the purchase of "Jump" magazine, Takashi Hase was deeply moved, even feeling a sense of camaraderie among heroes.

"Hey, which series currently serialized in Jump do you like the most? City Hunter? Captain Tsubasa? Speaking of which, Saint Seiya, which just started serialization, seems pretty good too." Takashi Haseguchi put on an enthusiastic tone, as if he could talk about Jump for three days and three nights, which eased the hostile confrontation considerably.

"JoJo's Bizarre Adventure".

"this?!"

Hase Kamiya choked up again.

"What's so great about that stuff?! I skip right over 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure' when I'm on the page!"

Kojima understood the other person's doubts. After all, "JOJO" had only been serialized for a year and was still using the Ripple ki fusion setting. Araki's design aesthetics were not as perfect as they would later become, so it was normal that it wasn't very appealing.

"Could you give me 15 minutes before the game begins?" Ke Zhiguang said.

“No problem, but what are you going to do with these 15 minutes?” Hase Kamiya asked.

"Learn the formula."

“Learn the formula? Of course not—” Takashi Hase was about to agree without question, but suddenly felt that something was wrong.

"Wait! You only remembered to learn the opening moves right before your turn?!"

"Well, I suddenly remembered that I don't seem to know any set patterns."

The so-called standard opening moves, as the name suggests, are fixed patterns on the chessboard that have been thoroughly studied and represent the optimal solutions played by both sides in a local area. If you don't follow the standard opening moves, you will at least suffer losses in that local area.

These are the basic elements that constitute a game of chess, and mastering some basic opening moves is essential.

He comes right out of the box saying he doesn't know the set routine and needs to learn it on the spot. What's he trying to do?

If cramming before an exam is called last-minute preparation, then what is this kind of pre-exam study called? It's just plain bad luck!

"Well... alright, as long as you're willing to accept the loss and keep your promise." Hase Kamiya rubbed his forehead.

He began to regret having done all that.

Maybe they just came here to make fun of their entire Go club.

They might not have any intention of keeping any promises at all, and if they lose, they're just going to walk away with a grin on their face.

It wouldn't be easy for our side to take action then, since our side is just the Go club, not the karate club, and we don't have much of a desire to fight.

"Water City, can you do me a favor? I need some opening moves." Ke Zhiguang got up and walked to a chessboard at the very edge, his actions quite decisive.

After a moment of confusion, Mizuki Yuzuki followed after them.

After reaching the chessboard in the corner, Mizuki Yuuki couldn't help but ask, bewildered, "Can I ask what's going on now?"

"Isn't the situation obvious? They've already started fighting." Ke Zhiguang nudged Hasegawa Takashi in the distance with his thumb.

Mizuki Yuzuki rubbed her forehead wearily, unable to speak. After hesitating for a long time, she finally picked up a Go stone and began to move it on the board, diligently teaching the instructor some simple opening corner patterns.

"This is the corner-hanging small fly split two fixed pattern. Memorize this first and you'll be fine. It requires the fewest moves."