Road to be the Best Chess Player in the World!-Chapter 501: The Test (III)
"7-0..." Duta muttered with his eyes wandering blankly; his soul seemed to run away from his body. "How could it be... We don’t have any chance at all, right?" Then, a chuckle, full of bitterness, escaped from his mouth, laced with a hint of depression in it.
Something similar could also be seen in Nayaka and Devi. The former lost his energy, slumping on the table lifelessly. As for the latter, she left the room earlier, making an excuse of needing to go to the washroom. However, anyone could see that her shoulder was trembling, as the girl tried her best to hold back her tears. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
Seeing this, Sheva could only sigh helplessly, setting back the chessboard in silence. He didn’t say anything, just letting the three vent out their frustration first. Inwardly, though, he couldn’t help but feel worried.
’Am I going a little bit too far?’ He wondered. Then, he shook his head, denying that quickly. ’No, this is still quite normal. It seems that they haven’t received any beating for a while. That should be it, right?’ He muttered, trying to convince himself that this was what really happened.
Truth to be told, what Sheva did was nothing extensive. Even though 7-0 was a large and embarrassing score, facing a top player like him, it was understandable for three grassroots players like them to fail. However, there were two reasons why their reaction was so big.
First of all, in online chess, any player who got beaten five times in a row—hell, even three times was enough—would be in a foul mood, probably even trying to throw their phone away and storm out in rage. This time, those three suffered from seven, yeah, SEVEN! Consecutive defeats, and they didn’t dare to storm away like that since it was against their soon-to-be coach. That was why the defeat was a huge blow for them.
To add salt to the wound, the way they lost was also humiliating. In all seven games they played, Sheva would always handicap himself, from deliberately losing his bishop, his knight, and even his queen. Hell, in the last game, he even gave away one queen, one rook, and one knight freely, and yet, they still failed to force a draw, let alone beat him! That was so fucking outrageous!
It wasn’t just their pride that was harmed in the last hour, but also their confidence. Now, they even doubted themselves whether they were really suitable to be a good chess player or not, and Sheva could only blame himself for this mess.
Fortunately, soon, Bagas arrived at the scene, bringing a box of pizza that Sheva asked him to order. Even though it was a bit expensive, at least this was a way for Sheva to make up and cheer the teens up.
"What the hell, Shev! What kind of beating did you give them?" Bagas asked, amused.
"Just a normal one, I swear." Sheva sighed helplessly. He opened the box, and the fresh smell of the baked pizza hit everyone’s nostrils, enough to snap them out of their depression. "Okay, call Devi in first. Let’s have something to fill our stomachs before we go for the heavy topic."
Nayaka nodded silently, rising from the chair to call the girl. Soon, the two teenagers were back, with the girl still having her eyes red and a trace of tears visible on her cheek. Seeing this, Sheva couldn’t help but feel more guilty.
"Okay, let’s forget about the game and enjoy the pizza!" He clapped his hands, trying to lift up the mood. "Gas, you ask for extra cheese and pepperoni, right?"
"Of course, who do you think I am?!" Bagas snorted, taking a huge slice before starting to gobble the food messily. "Damn! I haven’t gotten any local pizza for a long time! Oh, how I miss this one!" The boy couldn’t help but sigh.
"Is it really that good compared to the other country’s pizza?" Nayaka asked. While his mood was still quite bad, his personality still forced him to satisfy his curiosity.
"Well, it is just a matter of perspective," Bagas answered after pondering for a moment. "Here, we have a lot of variations for topping, depending on the local custom. I quite enjoy the one with mushrooms and spicy chili, but you won’t find something like that outside. Also, here, we have a thicker, bread-like crust, which I don’t really love, but it’s still tolerable."
The conversation suddenly shifted to pizza, and Bagas started to show off his vast knowledge of food and beverage. Sheva, who listened to that, couldn’t help but sigh, feeling relieved. Honestly, he didn’t know what to do if his best friend wasn’t here.
’I am really not suitable for a job that requires getting closer to the clients, huh?’ He smiled wryly, especially when he saw that the three teenagers were captivated by Bagas’s explanation. ’Honestly, I don’t know if there is any person in the world whom he wouldn’t be able to befriend with. His social skills are off the chart.’
As the mood gradually moved back to the normal state, Sheva winked at Bagas, signalling that it was time for him to take over. His best friend understood the code immediately, so he shut his mouth and let Sheva take care of the rest of it.
"Okay, since we have already filled our stomachs, it is time to talk about the difficult topic, right?" Sheva asked, carefully forming his words. He didn’t want to face three depressed teenagers again, finding the situation to be troublesome. "I know that it is painful, but let’s have a quick review on what we all should try to improve in the next three weeks based on your performance today. Is that acceptable?"
Sheva winced inwardly when he saw the mood go down again. Fortunately, Devi once again showed the maturity beyond her age, becoming the first one who accepted her fate as she said, "Fine, let’s do this. Tell us, Brother Sheva, what is our score today?"
