《Domineering Knowledge》 Prologue : You are my grandchild! "Frey, you must remember that this is a world where how smart you are dictatehow your future will look like. Knowledge and wits are everything." said a middle-aged man with shining silver hair and a beard extending down to his chest. "Yes, grandfather!" replied the boy. ¡°Hahaha! Good! Come, let grandpa teach you how to play Virtuoso.¡± Frey, with his sparkling amber colored eyes, slowly stood up and sat on his grandfather¡¯s lap and got comfortable. An autumn breeze gently blew inside the window, making his crimson hair messy. His grandfather carefully fixed his hair and started to talk. ¡°Let us begin then? First of all, Virtuoso is a game where two people compete on who can outsmart the other. Do you understand, kiddo?¡± On the words of his grandfather, his smiling face turned dim and looked at him while pouting ¡°But¡­ I¡¯m not smart.¡± ¡°Nonsense! You¡¯re just four years old. How would you know that? Ehem, moving on. Virtuoso has three rounds. You already know that.¡± ¡°Round 1, as I told you before, is general knowledge. Players are given the chance to ask 20 questions on an agreed subject to the opponent, and whoever gets the most correct answers win the round. Which is the reason why I always teach you at least 6 hours a day and ask you to read.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Round 2 is a game of deception. Here, the two people tell 5 statements backed up with information to confuse the other; 2 truths, 2 lies, and one decoy statement. The opponent must decipher whether the statement is true or false. A wrong assumption by an opponent gives a point to whoever said the statement.¡± ¡°Grandfather, what does assumption mean?¡± asked the boy. ¡°Bah, let me sum it up for you. it¡¯s a roundof the game where you both lie and find out if your opponent¡¯s lying.¡± answered the old man with a harrumph. ¡°Mother always said that lying is bad. Will I be bad if I play Virtuoso?¡± ¡°Ah, the purity of a child. How I wish you would stay like this forever.¡± the old man murmured as he gave a doting look to his only grandchild. ¡°Proceeding to Round 3, A gauge of wisdom. In this last round, a person not acquainted with any of the players will be randomly selected from a crowd and asked to stand in front of them. The players are given 5 minutes to determine the person''s livelihood, personality, and economic status. The person who guesses more accurately will be the winner of the round.¡± ¡°Grandfa-¡° BANG! A loud thud sounded as the door opened behind the two. ¡°Father! You¡¯re doing it again, aren¡¯t you?¡± said a man that had crimson hair that looked like he was in his early thirties. ¡°Would you please stop teaching Frey to play the game? He¡¯s still a child.¡± ¡°You stupid son of mine! Frey will be my successor in your stead. What you couldn¡¯t do, he will. That¡¯s what you get for running away from home at such a young age.¡± Rebutted the old man while sticking his tongue out playfully. ¡°Isn¡¯t your grandfather just the best, little Frey?¡± Nodding his head vigorously, Frey puffed up his chest and proudly declared ¡°Grandfather! When I grow up I will be the best just like you!¡± ¡°HAHAHA! Of course, you will be the best, because you¡­¡± ¡°¡­You are my grandchild!¡± Chapter 1: Taking back the pendant ¡°¡­He is my grandson!¡± A ray of sunlight peeked through the window and shone in Frey¡¯s face, making his hair bright crimson. ¡°That dream again¡­ I wonder who those people were. My family, perhaps?¡± *SLAM!* ¡°This little idiot¡¯s still in bed? Hmph!¡± said a blonde haired youth with green eyes and a pointed face. ¡°I-I¡­I just woke up, Herbert. I was up all night doing the chores sister Clementine told you to do. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Enough of the chit-chat. Sister Clementine asked me to fetch you, it¡¯s time to eat.¡± Herbert grabbed Frey¡¯s hair and pulled him out of bed, forcefully dragging him to the cafeteria. Just about as thy were about to reach the dining area, he let go and punched Frey on the shoulder. ¡°Sister! I called him for you.¡± In the middle of the cafeteria, a young lady around her late twenties stood gracefully with clasped hands leaning on her chest. She was really pretty with long lush black hair, big brown eyes and porcelain skin. ¡°Oh? Why thank you, Herbert.¡± Clementine replied with a beaming smile. ¡°Now that we¡¯re all here, sit down and we can start eating breakfast.¡± she continued. All the children sat down in front of a long table which was about twenty feet long, and started to eat their meal, which consisted of two pieces of bread and potato soup. ¡°Oi, Frey. Why do you let Herbert do all those stuff? You do all his chores and follow his every command, you even let yourself get beat up by him without fighting back!¡± whispered a child to Frey, while stuffing his mouth with bread. ¡°I can¡¯t help it. I lost to him in a game of virtuoso, and these were the conditions of the bet.¡± ¡°Though you¡¯ve been my best friend ever since I got here, you really are an idiot. What were your conditions if you won then? asked the child in bewilderment. ¡°If I won, I asked him to return my pendant. I lost my memories you see, and it¡¯s my only clue on finding out who I really am. He took it from me the day I arrived here.¡± ¡°Eh? Then why haven¡¯t you told this to sister Clementine? Heh, speaking of sister, isn¡¯t she really hot? I wanna marry her someday. Ehehe.¡± replied the boy. ¡°Hale, stop. Sisters don¡¯t get married anyways, so why pursue her? It¡¯s pointless.¡± ¡°Anyway, the reason I haven¡¯t told her is because Herbert threatened to break it if I rat him out.¡± Frey explained.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. An expression of anger rose in Hale¡¯s face. ¡°That bastard! Don¡¯t you worry, Frey. I¡¯ll win back your pendant for you, just wait. I¡¯m pretty smart, you know?¡± he confidently reassured. Seeing the look of sadness on Frey¡¯s face, Hale stood up and went to where Herbert and his lackeys were sitting. ¡°Herbert! I challenge you to a game of virtuoso!¡± Hearing this, Herbert scoffed. ¡°Heh. Another idiot rushes into a game with me, eh? Fine. What are the conditions?¡± ¡°If I win, you give back Frey¡¯s pendant and apologize to him!¡± ¡°And if you lose?¡± a voice from Herbert¡¯s group echoed. ¡°If I lose, I give you this!¡± Hale removed one of the two rings fitted into his finger and slammed it into the table. ¡°H-Hale, no! Don¡¯t bet your magic artifact!¡± objected Frey. Hale put his hand on Frey¡¯s shoulder to comfort him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, partner. I¡¯m gonna win.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s begin, Herbert.¡± A strange glint flashed through Hale¡¯s eyes that no one but Frey noticed. ¡°In a hurry to lose, I see? The arbitrator would be Frey, take it as a handicap. Hahaha!¡± pointed Herbert to Frey. He nodded his head and stepped forward with small nervous strides. ¡°A-As you wish¡­t-the Virtuoso match between Herbert and Hale will now begin. Round one would be a battle of knowledge. What topic will you both agree on?¡± ¡°How about this kingdom that we live in, the Iron Fissure Kingdom?¡± proposed Hale. ¡°All of Frey¡¯s friends are idiots, so you¡¯ll lose in any topic anyway. Heh. I agree! You can also go first if you want.¡± A scheming smile appeared on Herbert¡¯s face. ¡°Many thanks.¡± Hale bowed. ¡°Okay, my first question. Why is this kingdom called Iron Fissure Kingdom?¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy! Iron Fissure got it¡¯s name 3092 years ago, when a wandering Iron element S-class Virtuoso made the ground quake and split in the village he was cultivating in when he broke through to SS-class. As a compensation, he made Iron fortresses and villages inside the fissure and trained the elder of the village at that time into an Intermediate B-class Virtuoso; The descendants of that B-class are now the royal family, the Schnellfeurs.¡± replied Herbert with a mocking look. ¡°C-correct! One point for Herbert!¡± ¡°As expected of the smartest kid in the shelter! He knows his stuff.¡± ¡°I wish I could be as smart as him¡­¡± The children watching the game clamored and talked amongst themselves. ¡°My turn to ask, eh? I¡¯ll throw you something easy. Our King, his royal highness Faust Schnellfeur. What is his rank, cultivation, and specialty?¡± ¡°King Schnellfeur is in the second sky of the cleansing meridian realm. He¡¯s currently an intermediate E-rank Virtuoso and he specializes in the usage of bows with the strength to shoot a moving target up to 27 kilometers away. In a Virtuoso game, he specializes in the second round, defeating enemies with his strategic wordplay which renders his opponents dazed.¡± ¡°Correct! One point for Hale!¡± Frey energetically shouted out. ¡­ ¡°Correct! With this, we have 4 points for each player! ¡°Hale¡¯s holding up pretty well. I was never aware that he knew a lot.¡± ¡°I know. He might even end round 1 with a draw with Herbert as his opponent.¡± ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m gonna win this round!¡± Screamed Herbert as he wiped off the sweat on his forehead and mumbled to himself ¡°No! I refuse to tie with this idiot. How does he know so much? I made sure to keep most of the books from Frey and his buddies! I need to come up with a question that he doesn¡¯t know¡­AH! How about that?¡± ¡°My last question, Hale! Prepare to lose.¡± Herbert harrumphed. ¡°12 years ago, the king had an affair. She wasn¡¯t even a concubine. WHAT. WAS. HER. NAME?¡± A sinister look appeared on Herbert¡¯s face. ¡°That¡¯s your question? HAHAHAHAHA!¡± Roared Hale with laughter. ¡°I already knew that you¡¯d ask me that at some point.¡± ¡°W-What? You¡¯re bluffing!¡± Herbert suddenly became anxious when he heard Hale¡¯s words. ¡°Even I don¡¯t know that answer to that!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t believe me?¡± He smiled. ¡°Her name¡­is Clementine.¡± Hale looked toward a corner of the room slowly, and pointed his finger towards her. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right¡­sister?¡± ¡°W-W-W-What?!?!¡±