Chapter 105: Samuel Boden


    In a white open space, a man sat on a single chair in front of a small table. The space around him stretched infinitely in every direction. Neither an end nor a blemish in the tapestry could be seen. His eyes were half closed while he muttered to himself. asionally he''d smile slightly before his face returned to a neutral expression. He had a scraggly beard and unkempt hair as a testament to his istion in this white space.


    He suddenly opened his eyes as if sensing something. A ck line appeared not too far from him and began to create the outline of a door. Then, the emptiness of the white space disappeared. A door stood like a foreign object. It opened with a swish, and another man walked in. They were strangers in many ways, but their paths had crossed, and their fates were irrecoverably intertwined. Another chair appeared in front of the table and the well-dressed well-groomed man sat down and stared at the man in white.


    They sat in silence for a long time, as if testing each other''s mettle. The door behind the neer had long since disappeared and time seemed to suspend in this empty void. Neither party knew how long it had been, but neither gave up this silent war. Eventually, the man in white couldn''t hold it in anymore and smiled. The smile grew bigger and bigger until he startedughing maniacally.


    "I knew you''de find me one day. We are the same. No one else can understand you like I do." The man said, there were a few mistakes in his speech due to his prolonged istion.


    "Cut the crap Wird, you know exactly why I am here." Matt said with an unimpressed expression on his face. Wird''s merry mood instantly turned sour. He flipped the table directly toward Matt, but it seemed to hit an invisible wall. The wall pulsated before bing imperceivable again, and the table''s position reset to where it was previously. After his conniption ended, he waved his hand and a chess board appeared on the table.


    "You fancy a game?"


    Matt narrowed his eyes but didn''t immediately refuse. He had a decent understanding of Wird before, but after theirst meeting and his long time in istion, he feared that the man had changed. The previous Wird would have begun gloating already. The fact that he can sit down and suggest a game of chess means he has leveled up as a boss.


    Wird chooses white, and smirks at Matt. It was very symbolic, Matt recognized it immediately. He wore his ck windbreaker and ck pants, coupled with his dark hair, he represented ck. Additionally, Wird has the advantage in the game. Making the first move sets the tempo of the match. This was also the case in Matt''s current predicament. He is only responding to his opponents move. Although Wird was a good schemer before, he was never like this.


    Wird picks up his knight and looks at it for a while. He shakes his head andments. "Ah, the valiant knight. He charges forward on the battlefield despite knowing that he will ultimately be a sacrifice for the king."


    He then ces it back down and moves a pawn forward.


    Pawn to E4.


    Matt looks down and recognizes this y. It was the mostmon and most aggressive y for the white yer. It was called King''s Pawn opening and it immediately takes control of the center. Although Matthew was a dunce in chess, Matt did y quite a bit in his college days Thinking of that, he suddenly remembered his recent discover and shuddered. Regardless, he had the knowledge.


    Matt countered with a pawn move of his own.


    Pawn to D5.


    Wird looks up at Matt and smiles at his small victory. He immediately takes Matt''s pawn and begins talking. "It must be unfortunate to be caught in this position. You perceive that you are in control, but in reality, you are just ying to someone else''s tune."


    Pawn takes D5.


    Matt doesn''t bother exining himself and continues ying. Although Wird had changed, it seemed his arrogant personality was still there.


    Queen to D5.


    Matt hadn''t even looked down to see the board. He simply stared at Wird the whole time. Due to his crimes and his abilities, Wird was ced in a very unique istion room. The room was actually a holodeck designed for high levelbat training. The technology in this room was a step above the standard holodecks. Although it seemed they were right next to each other, Matt was in another room seeing a holographic simtion of Wird. Meanwhile, Wird was seeing a holographic simtion of Matt.


    Due to this, he was unable to exert any of his abilities onto Wird. He had attempted to approach with his astral body and invade his dreams, but Wird''s mental strength had been steadily increasing ever since Matt used Sunder on him. Matt was very curious how Wird aplished this, and unconsciously licked his lips thinking of Sundering him again.


    Wird didn''t notice the slight action as he studied the board. He picked up the knight he had grabbed before and ces it down.


    Knight to C3.


    Matt nces at the board for a moment. Wird made another aggressive move, challenging his Queen with the knight he had just called a sacrificial piece before the game began. He narrowed his eyes at the implications. The Queen was an easy guess, but who represented the knight? Matt decided to momentarily retreat.


    Queen to A5.


    Wird no longer went into monologue or contemted; he just began ying the board. Because of this, the game quickly progressed. Matt could tell after a few moves that Wird was setting up a Boden''s Mate pattern. He realizes this is his chance and perfectly ys into it. After castling his king queenside, Wird suddenly smirks unconsciously.


    The game ends soon after, and Wird stands up in victory.


    "Haha, you yed well but do you know what your mistake was? You were too focused on your queen and ignored your pawns. Don''t you realize that the pawns, although weak, protect you? Yes, your queen is powerful, but if you are separated, then it is pointless!"


    "I see." Matt says while leaning back, tilting the chair slightly. Wird calms down at Matt''s calm reply and then looks over at his nonchnt attitude. He then looks down at the board and reys it in his mind. After a moment, he sits down and begins chuckling.


    "So, you already knew my n. Are you saying that victory or defeat, they are both things you control? Does your arrogance know no bounds?!" Wird shouts.


    Matt shakes his head slightly. "It''s just a game."


    Wird nearly copses as heughs at himself. "Just a game Just a game"


    "Alright, I''ve indulged you this long. Tell me what you did, and how to remove it, or I''ll put in a suggestion that you have too much freedom and they''ll switch you to some more ''secure'' clothing and a dimmer room."


    Although Matt shrugged off Wird''sments, he actually thought hard about them. Wird knew a lot about the ship''s underside than Matt. He also had insider knowledge from Earth, had ess to the whole database, and freakishly smart. Based on his personality, he wasn''t talking about the chess game previously, but pointing out the ws in his situation. Alexis was his Queen, and although she was strong, she was alone. Although Alexandria has been added in, she wouldn''t be considered a pawn. What Matt desperately needed were disposable allies to cover him.


    "Didn''t I already tell you that night? You inspired me to create this little ability. I never considered seizing other people''s strength directly, it''s very insidious!"


    The ability that Wird used was based on Matt''s Sundering Strike. This was a perfect example of Wird''s intelligence. Although only experiencing it once, he was able to create an ability on his own based on it. Although not as destructive and instant, based on Matt''s initial probing, it would do something simr to Sundering Strike. It was more like a farmer patiently waiting for his crop to ripen before harvesting it.


    "Don''t bother trying to remove it. The moment you disrupt the energy flow, it will detonate. At best, you have a splitting headache and lose a lot of memories. At worst, you go into aa. It has already dug in too deep. I call it Energy Parasite, aren''t I clever? Haha"


    Matt''s eye flinched at the mention of parasite. ''You dare to name something parasite in front of me?''


    [Analyzing New Information Complete. Automatically Deducting Evolution Points]


    [Psionics Lv. 3 has Mutated!]


    [Psionics Lv. 3+: Your mastery in mental energies has unleashed the full potential of your grade. Due to your mutation towards the Eldritch Horror pathway, you are the pioneer for future powers. You have pushed the limits of this skill in your current grade.


    ]Ability: Telepathy


    ]Ability: Mind st


    ]Ability: Phantom Voices


    ]Ability: Sundering Strike


    ]Ability: Energy Parasite]


    [Energy Parasite: By altering the properties of Sundering Strike, you are able to ce a portion of your soul that has retained your consciousness inside a cocoon of mental energy and prate the target''s mind. It will slowly feed on the target until sated. Once harvested, it will return without leaving a trace.


    Activation: Thought


    Duration: Indefinite


    Active Limitation: 2]