Chapter 1447 (2/2)
One of the spiders at the table clambered up onto the top and extended a foreleg toward Hydie. “Ahem. We are simply some of Kharon’s teachers. And I must say, madam, I find your sinister aura to be quite invigorating. If you were a spider, I would gladly allow you to devour my body and regurgitate it to feed our offspring.”
Everyone except the other spiders blinked. For several seconds, Hydie legitimately didn’t know what to say.
The spider began to rub its forelegs together. “Ah… apologies. I have not yet mastered the human art of humor. I mean no offense.”
“No… that was actually quite sweet. Thank you.” Hydie responded seriously. Then she looked at the surrounding people. Now that she thought about it, she did hear from the Kharon police that the Ghosthound had produced a bunch of strange teachers from somewhere for the Dungeon training. “So you are teachers? It’s quite reassuring to have Kharon’s youth educated by you. Are you going to watch the first match?”
“Yes,” This time, the tall ogre woman spoke in a surprisingly soft voice. “I am very excited to watch the fight. Say… you are members of the Order Ducis, right? If you had been able to enter the tournament… would you have made it to this round? How powerful are these people?”
“If I remember correctly, Mr. Moss is very strong,” Gertrude offered, flashing Derek a shy smile.
Hydie was barely able to suppress her urge to nudge him with her elbow and wink at him. Derek cleared his throat and did his best to adopt a serious expression. “Well… I think Hydie and I would have at least a 50% chance of getting to this round of 16. But beyond that… no one here is weak. And everyone is rapidly developing their images.”
“Don’t they have to?” Another spider scuttled up on to the table and began rubbing its forelegs together next to its companion. “The humans Hank Howard and Alana Donal are truly sublime. Aside from Mister Randidly Ghosthound and Lady Helen, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen more intimidating humans.”
The tall ogre lowered her head, her eyes still trained on Derek. “This first match between the Kir-Nan and Hoowan, two powerful ogre warriors and Glendel and Donny of Donnyton… who do you think will win?”
Gertrude leaned across the table and punched the ogre lightly in the arm. Then she turned to Derek and Hydie. “Illya here has something of a gambling problem. Please don’t bother to answer; it will just mean that she runs off to the gambling houses to place one last bet before the match. It isn’t worth it.”
The ogre snorted and crossed her arms. Then Gertrude stood up and smiled at Derek. “By the way… would you like to watch the fight with us?”
*****
“Grandfather, are you ready to go to the match?” Huang Li asked as he knocked on his partner’s door.
Huang Shou ignored his question but did at least give an answer from within his chambers. “Please come in.”
With a small sigh, Huang Li opened the door. They didn’t necessarily need to be as early to the match as leaving now would allow them to be, but Huang Li wanted a bit of time to adjust his state of mind before the match. After creating a new Skill last night… he was quite excited to try it out, but those emotions would make him hasty. He would need to remain steady to have a chance of victory against Richter.
To his surprise, he found Huang Shou sitting in front of a Go board with a small book in his hand. The board was partially covered in the black and white stones. The two colors faced off boldly, marshaled like armies about to slaughter their foes. Huang Shou nodded when Li came in, but then he turned his attention right back to the board. As Huang Li watched, he would place a stone and then study the board for several seconds.
Eventually, he would be satisfied and glance back over at the book to restart the cycle.
“Replaying historic games?” Huang Li eventually guessed. As far as mental preparations went, it was likely an effective one.
Again, Huang Shou ignored the question he asked but still replied. “Do you know how to play Go?”
Shaking his head, Huang Li said. “I understand the rules. But… the intricacies of the game are beyond me.”
Huang Shou placed another stone onto the board. “This old man will teach you, then. You’ve worked hard to reach this point; it is time for others to assist you.”
Huang Li blinked. “Do you mean…?”
“It’s been quite a few years… but I haven’t forgotten my roots.” As he solemnly stood, Huang Shou’s face broke into a surprisingly childish smile. “The truth is… I too was adopted into the Huang Family. Heh. Now that we have come this far, it would be disrespectful to the Ghosthound if I were to remain idle any longer. This honor of naming the Earth… will belong to Zone 7.”