A God's Chess Piece

CHAPTER 17

“There are six ribbons tied on both your wrists, one red and five blue. The red ribbon contains your name, while the blue ribbon contains the name of your classmates. There will be no rules. Do everything you can to take as many ribbons as you can. The red one, your own, is worth 5 points while the rest is worth 1 point. All of you start with 10 points and the highest you can get is 60 points. The one who gets the most points will be exempted on the midterm exams. Easy right? Good luck” Professor Layla announced and casually sat back on a beach chair that was conveniently settled behind her.

We were now outside the school's main building. Specifically, we were in the open field and looking at each other with confused expressions, positioned in a big circle.

Were we really supposed to introduce each other through this game?

Remia glanced at each and every one of us and yawned. Putting a hand over her mouth and the other to scratch the back of her head, she sat down on the grassy field and closed her eyes.

Wait, don’t tell me she intends to sleep? The prize was an exemption for the midterms and frankly, I was quite interested!

I heard the pink-haired girl chuckle and calmly walked away from the rest of us.

“I’m not dumb enough to get my ribbons stolen from you in such a reachable distance. Feel free to look for me”, she announced with a huge smirk.

After muttering under her breath, she disappeared.

Woah.

I wonder what kind of magic she has… I momentarily peeked at the names listed on the blue ribbons I had tied on my wrist.

Selene Dionera
Diane  Froan
Remia  Galiante 
Leon  Brickell
Leanne  Brickell

So no middle names, huh?
I guess that's fair. Professor Layla did say to 'do everything you can' so magic could be involved.

“Selene, what do you-”

My sentence ended mid-realizing that Selene was nowhere near me. In fact she was busy chasing after Leon in her water-armor while Leon was evading her attacks with sheer combat ability.

The only people unmoving from their original positions were me, Diane, and Remia who was snoozing on the damp grassy floor.

My eyes hovered over Diane. She was merely staring at the tag battle between Selene and Leon, a few meters away from us. Her eyes had this absent look to it that I felt like I could grab the ribbons tied around her wrist without her noticing.

But of course, it wasn’t that easy.

“Umm… if you don't mind, can I call you Diane?” I asked.

Turning her head sideways towards my direction, I was finally able to clearly see her physical appearance.

She had dark black eyes that we’re almost the same color as her irises and a tall nose which complemented her sharp features. But what was most outstanding about her appearance was her long black hair and pale white skin.

Among all the people I've met in this world, she was the most similar to the people on Earth in terms of appearance.

Maybe that’s why I was so interested in her.

“Why?” she asked. Her voice sounded very feminine yet low at the same time.

Stunned at her reply, I racked my brain for an answer that would satisfy her.

But now that I think about it, why would she ask me ‘why?’ That was quite a weird response to my question.

“Because I want to get to know you better?”

My answer sounded more like I was very unsure of myself.
She eyed me from the very top of my head to the tip of my toes, then she went back to eye contact and produced a smile on her face. Was it sincere? I have no clue.

“Then I'll call you by your name as well but only if -”

“If?”

“If you manage to take my red ribbon from my wrist,” she said and lifted her right hand. “If you manage to take this ribbon from me, I’ll allow you to call me by name. After all, this game is about knowing each other right?”

I nodded, smiling at the challenge she laid out in front of me.

“Come at me.”

“Shadow World.”

Diane slowly disappeared into the shadows.

Thankfully, I know a little trick to counter her spell ever since I saw it at the entrance exams.

After heaving a deep sigh to mentally prepare myself, I laid out both of my hands in front of me and chanted.

“Summon: Flashbang”

A small cylinder appeared in my hand. Smiling to myself, I glanced around my surroundings for a hint on where she was hiding.

“Found you.”

Throwing the flashbang near a the shade of a tree just right beside the beach chair Professor Layla was sitting on, I then quickly covered my ears and closed my eyes.

BANG!

A huge sound like thunder together with a sudden burst of light envelopes the premise.

After a few seconds, I slowly opened my eyes to see the result of my little hypothesis.

Remia was now sitting up and glaring at me with a 'you disturbed my precious nap time' -look. The professor who was just beside the shade where I threw the flashbang was still seated on her beach chair, unfazed by the noise and blinding light. She even had the nerve to flash a smile and thumbs up sign at me as if she was sincerely impressed with my little firework display.

After returning her smile (much to my discomfort), I scanned the area where I threw my handy-dandy grenade.

Diane was sprawled on the now-dark patches of grass with her hands covering both her eyes. Her mouth was curled downward in annoyance.

“Are you okay?”

Slowly, she retracted the hands that were covering her face. The glare that she was hiding earlier was now clearly visible and I smiled apologetically.

I reach out my left hand towards her, a sign to help her stand up. After a few moments of staring at my opened palm like it was some sort of foreign object, she reached out with her right hand and-

Swoosh!

I quickly took off the red ribbon that was tied on her wrist leaving her with a dumbfounded expression.

“Now I can call you Diane right?” I asked, waving the red ribbon I was holding in my hand.

She momentarily stared at me with her mouth agape before bursting into a fit of laughter.

I smiled.

That means I just made a friend right?