When I called out his name, Ong Gil-dong jumped onto the stage with a showy performance, as if he had been waiting for it.

However, the show-off was quickly defeated with a brief cry.

He had been wearing an Aurora-colored doublet, custom-tailored to fit perfectly for today's duel, instead of his school uniform jacket. But as he collapsed to the floor, the costume became all too visible.

“Ugh! I wanted you to introduce me as Louis Perenna...!”

I thought this was some kind of stage performance, but from the perspective of an ordinary person, Ong Gil-dong’s antics, which were incomprehensible, led to his frustration.

For Ong Gil-dong, preserving the name Louis Perenna was more important than fighting with the class 0 students.

Jeongokshin looked at the fallen Ong Gil-dong with confusion, realizing it was his introduction that caused this and feeling sorry, though he still found it odd.

But there was no real need to apologize.

Ong Gil-dong still introduced himself as Louis Perenna, but those who knew about the attention-seeking antics already knew he was Ong Gil-dong.

The seniors of class 0 couldn’t hear because of the soundproof barrier, but they seemed displeased with Jeongokshin’s apology, expressing their discomfort with their whole bodies.

Had it been another teacher’s soundproof barrier, they might have broken it or acted up, but since it was Jeongokshin’s barrier, they couldn’t touch it, so they expressed their dissatisfaction in other ways.

From a distance, it looked like both Ong Gil-dong and the Gold Crown King’s team were performing some kind of art.

“Does that mean one of them will lose? I thought it was a tournament format.”

“Isn’t this class 0 discrimination, making us fight against our own?”

“After hearing Hyodon, I agree! Even though there’s a loser’s revival round, having one of our own drop out in the first round feels a bit off.”

Compared to the seniors, our [N O V E L I G H T] class was having a relatively polite discussion.

Ong Gil-dong aside, there was no need to be concerned about the white tiger, but it seemed like our class was concerned simply because it was our class.

Some seemed dissatisfied with the seeding arrangements, but the process was very fair.

The matchups were made based on the results of the qualifiers and last year's chess tournament.

As a former winner of the chess tournament, Cheon Dong-ha and I were exempt from the qualifiers and received seeding rights.

Seeding means placing strong competitors in such a way that they don’t face each other early on in a tournament.

The purpose of seeding is to avoid having strong players face off in the beginning, weakening each other, and to prevent weaker players from unexpectedly making it to the finals.

Without seeding, two strong contenders might meet in the first round, with one getting eliminated early, while a weaker opponent might make it to the finals by sheer luck.

‘Both are decent players, but they don’t have a track record in Eun-kwang High. Given the time it took to pass the qualifiers, they would have to face off early on.’

As Ong Gil-dong and the white tiger moved onto the stage, Kim Yoo-ri explained to the class that neither had seeding rights and that, based on the results of the qualifiers, they were placed in similar brackets.

The class understood but still seemed somewhat disappointed.

Of course, those who knew the white tiger’s identity were somewhat bewildered.

Dokgo Miro, who had been busy preparing for his upcoming single release, had barely found time to come, and seeing the tiger act this way toward the kids was just absurd.

“Did someone tell you to go out?”

“No, I went out voluntarily. I did too.”

“You didn’t say anything to Han, did you? Han learned chess at Eun-kwang High, after all.”

At Dokgo Miro’s comment, Cheongho looked awkward, but unlike the shameless white tiger, Cheongho had no problems.

In reality, Cheongho had spent a long time unaware, and he hadn’t always been into chess.

Cheongho had attended beginner chess lessons with Sa Wolseum at Steilmate, so he entered the tournament to gain experience.

Unfortunately, both of them were eliminated in the qualifiers, but considering how they had started out, their improvement was remarkable.

At that point, Hwang Ji-ho suddenly spoke up.

“Are you disappointed you didn’t make it to the finals? Even though I’m busy, I can always find time to play chess with friends, so don’t worry.”

“Looks like you have plenty of time, considering you’re here.”

I somewhat agreed with Dokgo Miro’s words. At least it was reassuring that Hwang Ji-ho had some free time, given he came to watch the chess tournament.

“Yi-shin, the staff of Steilmate are handing out drinks to the participants waiting in line. Should I bring one for you?”

At that moment, Eunho’s voice came from nearby.

I had been focusing on our class sitting a bit farther away, so I was a bit slow to assess the situation. I was sitting in the waiting area for staff and participants, not in the audience section.

The next contestants would be sitting closer to the waiting room or the competition hall. Those currently competing needed to enter the soundproof barrier on stage to focus on the game, and while they couldn’t hear the voices of the audience or the waiting participants, the waiting ones could somewhat sense the outside situation.

‘No, the white tiger is the exception.’

If Muji decided to raise his senses, he could hear beyond the barrier, and thanks to his guardian spirit, he could hear everything through me.

At that thought, the white tiger nodded once as if he had sensed my thinking.

Don’t make it obvious if you’re eavesdropping.

“Yi-shin, just ignore it. He’s just enjoying the reactions. Drink up.”

“Thanks.”

Eunho handed me a mandarin lemonade.

A 3rd-year student from the Steilmate group had returned from the field trip to Jeju and brought snacks for the tournament, and it seemed the drink was made with mandarins from Jeju.

As I cooled my head with the cold drink, I couldn’t help but compare Eunho and the white tiger once again.

My siblings were all kind-hearted, so I imagined there must be many differences between them and me.

“When is it our turn, Yi-shin oppa? What time will we go?”

“It depends on how quickly the previous match ends. Since there are so many participants, it’s going to be played in blitz, so it could end in 5 minutes.”

“And if it’s late?”

“Maybe 15 minutes? 30 minutes?”

“We’ll have to wait that long?”

Over the murmurs of the audience, I heard Eunho and Euniho talking from afar.

It seemed like Eunho and the others were already looking forward to Eunho’s match, even though they had heard it from a distance.

Since they were such kind kids, I figured Eunho must also feel like they’re family, and I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad.

Eunho, who must have heard their voices as well, smiled gently and spoke to them.

“It’ll start soon. Let’s watch together.”

Suppressing my complicated feelings, I decided to watch as Eunho had suggested.

Eunho deployed a hologram for observation.

It was the type of hologram that commentators mostly used, allowing multiple chessboards to be displayed and various scenarios tested while watching.

If we did this, the white tiger would essentially hear our analysis in real-time while playing the game.

Though I doubted the white tiger would stoop so low as to use our heads to play, I decided to issue a warning.

Fight with your own strength.

‘You learned from me. You can fight on your own, right?’

The white tiger smiled faintly, closing his eyes and then opening them, as if he had understood my message.

“Please start the game.”

At that moment, Kim Shinrok announced the start of the game, and the white tiger reached for the chess clock button.

After tossing the coin with the Steilmate group’s logo on it, the white tiger played White, and Ong Gil-dong played Black.

The white tiger had the first move, and Ong Gil-dong took the second.

As per custom, Ong Gil-dong, as Black, pressed the clock to start the timer, and the white tiger made his first move quickly.

‘The white tiger moved the knight early.’

As Ong Gil-dong moved his pawn, the game unfolded with a King’s Knight Opening, which was soon followed by an Italian Game, fitting Ong Gil-dong’s chaotic concept.

The doublet he was wearing was famously worn in Spain, and as a self-proclaimed French rogue, Ong Gil-dong was now playing a match with the Italian Game opening, a classical opening analyzed by Italian chess masters.

Though Ong Gil-dong’s concept was messy, there were no borders in chess, and the Italian Game was a classic opening still widely used by modern masters.

The black pieces were already moving, with the bishop and knight engaged.

“White’s attacking Black’s bishop with a pawn. Evans Gambit, huh? Fits well.”

Eunho commented while observing the white tiger’s move.

The white tiger made an aggressive but well-known and solid move, countering Ong Gil-dong’s play.

Soon, Ong Gil-dong moved his bishop, accepting the Evans Gambit.

The game, which had started smoothly, gradually became more intense.

Although the qualifiers had been played with rapid chess, the finals were being played in blitz, requiring fast reflexes and intuition.

As the game progressed, their different playing styles became more apparent. Unlike the quiet game implied by the Zukertort Piano and Evans Gambit, they exchanged aggressive moves back and forth.

‘Ong Gil-dong is doing well. But the white tiger is too strong.’

As the moves continued, I began to feel dizzy from the analysis. I hadn’t fully shaken off the trauma from chess yet.

Still, every time I watched the white tiger play, memories from my time as a chess player resurfaced, and I felt a warmth in my chest instead of cold hands.

The chessboard had once occupied most of my world, and the moves I had made kept flooding my mind.

Eunho sighed softly, speaking in a quiet voice.

“...I can tell who taught you, just by watching Steilmatris.”

Eunho, who knew about Steilmatris and me, said.

By watching how White’s pieces moved, he understood the depth of chess knowledge, and recognizing the moves I had made reminded him of me.

It was both nostalgic and bittersweet, seeing how my past chess strategies were still so clear.

The white tiger pressed his attack on the black king, and the game was about to reach its conclusion.

“Check.”

The white knight had decimated the black pieces, reaching right in front of the king.

At the end, Ong Gil-dong, who hadn’t given up and had been making bold, flashy moves, swung his Aurora-colored sleeve and grabbed the black king, toppling it.

Clunk.

The black king fell.

With the king’s fall, Jeongokshin removed the soundproof barrier to allow the crowd's cheers and support to reach the competitors.

Wooaahhh!

The audience, who had witnessed the intense, flashy fight where many pieces had disappeared and the game had been fiercely played from the start, cheered without restraint.

Among the famous participants, Ong Gil-dong and the white tiger had lower name recognition.

Though Ong Gil-dong would probably be upset about it, their impressive game overshadowed the lack of recognition.

As the two shook hands, the white tiger’s name moved up the bracket.

Kim Shinrok briefly explained the match results and called the next competitors.

“The next match will feature 3rd-year class 1’s Yeom Jun-yeol and 3rd-year class 1’s Cheon Dong-ha!”