"How are you?"
It was the first question Keith asked after they took their seats, and Roy smiled a little at the gentleness in his voice.
"I am fine, Master."
"And how's your relationship progressing with Miss Olivia's cousin?"
It was a playful question, and it made Roy panic for no reason.
Keith laughed at the boy's flustered expression and then waved his hand to reset the chessboard.
"Did you think I and your mother won't be keeping an eye on you?" He asked, and Roy blushed as he lowered his head.
"Mammy knows about Lily?" He nervously asked.
"Yes, she does."
The boy kept his head lowered and then felt a little silly as he recalled the smile his mother gave him whenever Olivia brought up Lily in their conversations.
However, soon his mind was distracted as he watched the crystal chessboard on the table.
Roy frowned a little when he saw a chessboard that was 22×22, taking up all the space on the table, and the new pieces on the board piqued his interest a lot.
"What's this?" He subconsciously asked in his mind, and soon his System gave him an answer.
{It is the Empyrean Chess, Host.}
"This is the Chess of Heavens," Keith said as he pointed his finger at the piece with the biggest crown. "There is no King in this game, but an Emperor, and this is his Empress." He pointed at the Piece on the left of the Emperor, and then to the right of the Emperor and the left of the Empress. "And these are his Queens."
Roy looked at the four Royal Pieces and then frowned at the four more pieces that had crowns on their heads, both placed next to the Queens.
Their crowns were smaller and were of two unique designs.
"Right next to the Queens are Princesses and next to them are the Princes. Next to each Prince is a Royal Knight. Next to the Royal Knight is a Tyrant. Next to the Tyrant is a Maester. Then comes the General, followed by a Bishop. Next to the Bishop is a Knight. And finally, this is the Rook."
"How do they work?" He asked, looking at all the 22 Pieces that Keith introduced to him and then at the two rows of Pawns in front of them.
Both sides had 66 pieces each, 44 of which were Pawns, but they just did not seem enough for the vast battlefield of 352 empty squares that lay between the two sides.
"Of course, you have to occupy the right positions on the board before the battle commences." His Master chuckled. "The front row of Pawns can move four paces on their first move, and only one square at a time afterwards. The Pawns in the second row can move three paces on their first move. Look at the eight Pawns in the middle row that are in front of the Imperial Family. They are called the Coloured Pawns, and together they form the Empyreanguard. They are special."
"How?" Roy asked, noticing the difference in their design and finally showing hints of excitement about learning this Chess.
"They can take out any Piece that lands on the square right in front of them or either of the diagonal squares in front of them. However, they can not move right or left or backwards, just like the rest of the Pawns. Also, only the Pawns in the Empyreanguard can upgrade to Pieces such as the Royal Knights, Tyrants, Maesters, and Generals. The rest of the Pawns can only upgrade into Knights, Bishops, and Rooks. No Pawn can upgrade into any of the Imperial Pieces."
"I see," He nodded his head, already forming up some strategies.
Even though he did not know what other special pieces did, he could already guess the purpose of the game.
"The key is to protect the Imperial Family?"
It was clear that getting past the Empyreanguard was going to require a lot of brainstorming.
"Yes," Keith smiled at him. "The game ends when the enemy Emperor is captured. But it also ends when the enemy Emperor is killed. However, the Emperor can only be killed after his family has been killed, and the only piece that can kill it is the enemy Emperor. And if you want to win by capturing it, then someone from his Family needs to stay alive."
"Oh..."
Roy stared at the chessboard, now feeling chills running up his spine.
Little did he know that this was more than just a board game, and his System stayed quiet too, not telling him that it was much more cruel than he thought it was.
"How does the Emperor move?"
"It can move one or two paces to any of the squares next to him, but once the enemy's Family is killed or his own Family is killed, it gains the movement of the Empress as well. The Empress moves like a Knight, Bishop, and Rook combined. The Queen moves like a Bishop and Rook combined. The Princes move like a Rook and Knight combined, and the Princesses move like Bishops, but can also move to any square right next to them."
"What about the Royal Knight?"
"It moves like a Knight, but can also move to four additional Squares. The one in front, back, left, and right." Keith informed him. "Generals can only stay in their coloured squares and move diagonally like Bishops. But additionally, they can move by skipping one square in the front, back, right, or left."
Roy understandingly nodded his head, which had now started to feel a little dizzy.
The game was already too complex, and he still did not know what the Tyrants and Maesters did.
"The Maesters are a combination of Bishop and Knight."
"Oh," He sighed in his heart, already guessing how Tyrants worked. "And Tyrants are a combination of Knight and General?"
"Indeed." Keith smiled. "A Pawn is worth 1 Point. A Coloured Pawn is worth 2 Points. A Knight and a Bishop are worth 3 Points each. A General and a Royal Knight are worth 4 Points each. A Rook is worth 5 points. A Maester is worth 6 points. A Tyrant is worth 7 points. The Princesses and Princes are worth 8 points each. A Queen is worth 9 points. The Empress is worth 10 points."
The Inheritor of the God of Wealth felt his head hurting more and more as he tried to form strategies, and in just a few minutes, he felt mentally exhausted.
"It is beyond your current limits." Keith smiled. "Do you still want to play?"
"Yes," He determinedly nodded his head, and as soon as his words fell, Keith made his first move, moving a Pawn four squares forward.
As the game progressed, Roy learned more rules of the game, which were not too complex.
A key rule was how the Queen could upgrade into an Empress by taking out the enemy Empress. How the Princess could evolve into a Queen by taking out the enemy Queen. Princes could not upgrade, but they could switch places with the Emperor to sacrifice themselves to save him or replace him, depending on the perspective.
Also, at any one time, you could only have one Empress.
There was no Castling in the Empyrean Chess, but the Empress could switch places with the Emperor at any time as long as the square the Empress was giving to her Emperor was not in Check and there were no friendly or enemy pieces in her path to her Emperor.
All of this made the Empress piece extremely precious.
At the beginning of the game, Roy was still a little hopeful, but he had already failed by the time the forces met each other.
His layout was soon in shambles, and minutes later, the game was over.
"Supero," Keith said as he captured the enemy Emperor.
"It's a cruel game." Roy nervously smiled, looking very pale.
"Indeed. Which is why you are not ready to leave Gaia yet."
The words made him frown, and a sense of loss soon washed over his heart.
"Don't rush things, and don't leave this world too soon. I have made arrangements for you, and you will meet your team of lawyers tonight. They will help you finalise the transfer of some properties and businesses under your name."
"Master... I.."
"They are of no use to me." Keith smiled and then raised his hand, bringing out a book out of nowhere. "Here, take this."
"What's this?" He frowned.
"See for yourself."
Roy curiously grabbed the book that was hovering in the air, and as soon as he read the name, his heart thumped hard against his chest.
"Nine-Fold Heart Pulse?!" His breath became heavy, realising how precious this Recovery Art was.
The System had informed him that the One-Fold Heart Pulse and the Two-Fold Heart Pulse were part of a very precious Recovery Art, and there were a total of nine Techniques in it.
Even though almost everyone in the Heavens and the Lower Heaven knew the first three, the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Techniques were considered treasures. Not to mention the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Techniques, which even the Immortals yearned for.
According to the Knowledge that he had received upon his awakening, and from what the System had told him, he had learned that this Recovery Art was created by Hecate of the Fourth Order, the Chaos Greek Pantheon. And the Ninth Technique was mainly in the hands of those who were affiliated with the Fourth Order.
"There are only Eight Techniques in this Book. I will give you the Ninth Technique when we meet again."
Roy tried his best to hold back the tears that threatened to spill out. He felt immensely grateful and indebted to his Master right now.
The Master whom he considered his Father in his heart.
"You can only share the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Technique with your family. No one else. Understood?"
"Yes, Master," He promisingly nodded his head, holding the book tightly in his hands. "Thank you."
"Don't let me down." Keith lightly said as he stood up and then turned around to walk out of the study. "Why do you still have it in your hand? Put it away in your System's Inventory, and take the chessboard. It is yours."
Roy subconsciously nodded his head and stored away the book in the System Inventory, but then he froze as he realised something.
He raised his head in panic but found out that his Master was no longer in the room.
"System..."
{The System does not know why Lord Keith is aware of its existence.}
A wave of shame washed over his heart and he felt depressed for hiding things from the man whom he considered his Father.
Keith did not seem to blame him for it, but he still could not help but feel ashamed.
It was as if he had been caught lying, and the feeling was very unpleasant.
Sighing at his thoughts, Roy stood up and stored away the chessboard and its pieces.
He soon heard the door open again, and in walked Fiona, who smiled at him before curiously looking around.
"Master?"
"He left just now." He smiled at her.
"Come. I will show you your room." She said, and he followed her out of the room, sneaking curious glances at her. "What?"
"Does Master care for you?" He did not know why he asked the question but regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.
Fiona stopped in her steps and stared right into his eyes, and seeing her son apologetically lowering his head, she sighed.
"I know you are worried about me, Roy. And I promise you that I am very happy. Master deeply cares for me, and I deeply love him," She told him, and he understandingly nodded his head.
"You won't forget me, right?"
"Can a mother forget her child?" She rolled her eyes before she tapped his head, making him wince. "Don't speak such nonsense again. Also, I will not be happy with you if you embarrass Master by failing to live up to his expectations. He speaks highly of you, so, you must never let him down."
"I understand, Mother." He subconsciously smiled, feeling much more at ease and also very warm in his heart.