Yun Wei leaned weakly against the broken cross beside him.
He and Isaac gazed at each other from afar, and in that instant when their eyes met, even the ever-changing space and time seemed to freeze.
Yun Wei suddenly laughed.
He knew he looked incredibly disheveled and awful at that moment, his clothes disheveled and his face covered in dust.
But he was no longer as hesitant as before.
When his chest was overflowing with the joy of seeing each other again, he would show it with a carefree smile; when his mind was filled with the pleasure of victory, he would show it with unrestrained joy.
The emotions that had been suppressed to the extreme were now completely released, like a seed that had finally broken through the shackles of its hard shell in the darkness of slumber, sprouting tender green shoots.
Meanwhile, the knight commander, who had been at a loss because of Yun Wei's weak appearance, finally felt relieved when he saw the bright smile on Yun Wei's face.
His piece was slightly shorter than Yun Wei's.
Isaac raised his head and gazed silently at his master, unable to look away.
At this moment, Yun Wei is so vividly alive.
The other party was leaning against a sea woven from thorns and bones, clearly the ruler of the undead kingdom, yet under the white light of the dome, he appeared somewhat holy.
As the trial ended, the entire space began to tremble and disintegrate.
The black and white chessboard below transforms into an intertwined vortex, and the last remaining 'King' and 'Queen' are slowly sinking into the vortex.
The two continued to gaze at each other until they were both swallowed up by the teleportation array in space.
...
They lay sprawled out again in the flowerbed in front of the clock tower.
All five people were present, all intact, and no one was injured.
"That's great, Claude! You really did it." Vivian was also very weak at the moment, but she still gave Yun Wei a thumbs up. Even though she looked disheveled, she still sat upright with her knees drawn up, confident and generous, showing excellent manners.
Under the girl's sincere gaze, Yun Wei's nose tingled again, and he quickly said, "No, actually I did terribly. I couldn't even stand up straight and almost ruined everything."
He used all his strength just to maintain his balance amidst the swaying, and when he stood on the cross, tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.
He felt incredibly conflicted at that moment. He had done his best, but compared to his teammates fighting valiantly below, what he had accomplished was truly insignificant.
Richard, standing to the side, chuckled. The usually impeccably groomed Silver Dragon, whose hair was now a mess, studded with a few stalks of eagletail, chimed in:
“Little guy, you’ve done very well. Isn’t that how four-player strategy games work? Don’t worry about the gains or losses of a single piece or move, but focus on the outcome of checkmate. Everything we do is for the ultimate victory.”
It turns out that this flamboyant dragon living on Dragon Island is actually a "master" who loves playing chess.
His silver eyes flickered, and he sighed, "It's a pity I was the first to be eliminated, and I didn't get to see how you all performed later. But what's wrong with this trial? I'm clearly a dragon, and they gave me something like an 'elephant'—that's so stupid!"
"Fortunately, the way the 'horse' moves is similar to how it's played in Bicheng Chess." Xie Mulang continued, his handsome face beaming, seemingly still quite interested.
He was the first of the five to stand up. He glanced at the clock face on the clock tower; it was still one in the morning, the same time as after the last trial. "Alright, it's too late now. Let's go back first, and find a place in the city to talk this afternoon."
Everyone nodded in agreement; tonight's trial was truly exhausting.
Although everyone's magic and fighting spirit returned to normal after they came out of the space, they still needed to rest and recuperate due to the fatigue in their bodies and minds.
Similarly, there are still many gains and questions that need to be answered, but these cannot be explained in a short time under the current circumstances.
Xie Mulang glanced at the four people still on the ground.
Mr. Long was resting his head on his hand, admiring the night sky; it seemed there was no major problem.
Yun Wei and Vivian, the two mages, were at their weakest at this moment.
Xie Mulang glanced at Isaac, whose gaze had barely left Yun Wei, and thought of the "truth" he had discerned under Mr. Long's subtle guidance. He couldn't help but get goosebumps all over his body.
He turned to Vivian and politely suggested, "Miss Vivian, let me take you home first."
"Ah," Vivian, who was kowtowing enthusiastically to the side and blushing, looked up in surprise upon hearing this and thanked him, "Then you've gone to so much trouble. Just call me Vivian, thank you, Mr. Xie."
Xie Mulang: "..." This is probably a nested doll-shaped competition of polite and modest language.
Bili City has a strict rule against men and women touching hands, but Xie Mulang is a dual cultivator of ice element magic and martial arts, so he silently cast a level one ice-type shaping spell called "Ice Sculpture" to create an exquisite staff.
While waiting, Vivian glanced somewhat reluctantly in the direction of Yun Wei and Isaac.
A slender and handsome Eastern man sat cross-legged amidst a profusion of flowers, his left arm supporting his chin as he closed his eyes to rest. A few strands of hair fell naturally, obscuring the gentle moonlight, yet adding a touch of mystery.
Looking at such a face, you can't wait to imagine what he'll look like when he opens his eyes. His face is clearly the aloof type that keeps strangers at bay, yet his overall temperament is so gentle. The two are not contradictory; on the contrary, they appear strangely harmonious on Claude.
Look, the knight behind him is very close, his eyes never leaving the young man in front of him, yet he seems afraid of disturbing him rashly, and hesitates to speak.
No, she should leave quickly and give those two some space. Vivian suddenly changed her mind and felt she should leave immediately.
But what's with that silver dragon standing there?
After thanking Xie Mulang, Vivian took the ice staff he offered, rose gracefully with an almost swift movement, and walked to the silver dragon who was still gazing at the starry sky. She spoke softly:
“Mr. Richard, I recall I have a set of four chess pieces crafted from mithril and gemstones that I treasure. If you don’t mind—”
The blonde girl spoke elegantly, catering to his tastes. Seeing the silver eyes looking over, she blinked her bright, watery eyes frantically, trying to convey a meaningful glance to Richard.
Lord Silver Dragon curled his lips into a smile, pondered for a few seconds, then gave a wicked laugh and said slowly, "Since it is Miss Vivian's kind offer, I would be ashamed to refuse." Although he enjoyed causing trouble, dragons could not resist the temptation of gems.
"Tsk, that kid really got off easy." Richard gave Isaac a deep look before averting his gaze.
Led by Vivian, the three of them hurried away. Judging by their speed and backs, it would be hard to believe that this was the same water mage who had been so weak she could barely stand.
Yun Wei, who had been dozing with his eyes lowered, opened them.
He watched the three figures hurrying away, lost in thought, and tentatively said to Isaac, "You seem to have missed a great opportunity."
Isaac seemed unusually quiet tonight. He didn't understand Yun Wei's meaning, and a puzzled expression appeared on his face.
Yun Wei: "..." Forget it, he'd better go back to sleep; he didn't want to torture himself.
But then he suddenly remembered Isaac's hesitant expression before he left, so he asked, "What did you want to ask me again? It was when we set off for the second trial."
Given his current condition, he'll most likely fall into a deep sleep when he gets back, and might forget about it by dawn. It's better to deal with it now.
Upon hearing this, Isaac did not answer immediately, but instead gave him a deep look that sent chills down his spine.
The other person's deep, smoky gray eyes, under the dim moonlight, appeared turbulent, no longer like clear lake water under the sunlight.
Yun Wei heard Isaac ask, "Did you often help your undead skeletons like that before?"
Yun Wei thought the other party wanted to ask him about his past life, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
He thought about it and realized that when he was frantically practicing necromancy in the past, he would often casually throw a "Poisonous Miasma" or "Concealing Mist" at Ah Dai, who was on guard nearby. After all, these two spells were beneficial to undead creatures and were perfect for tempering them.
He nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right, necromancers are required to maintain the skeletons they have contracts with regularly."
Upon hearing this, Isaac's gaze, fixed on Yun Wei's expression, suddenly deepened. If one were to observe closely, one could see the unfathomable emotions behind those grayish pupils.
He felt a strange mix of emotions—a bittersweet ache and unease—yet he dared not make a move that might alert the other person. He noticed that when the other person mentioned "skull," they used the singular form at the end.
He should have cheered himself up a bit, but then he thought of—
Does Yun only have one skeleton? Is that skeleton also like him, inseparable day and night?
But I felt even worse inside. The indescribable soreness was comparable to the lingering, stinging pain caused by the curse.
He suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and asked calmly, "Oh, is that so? So where did your previous skeleton go?" He tried his best to control his voice, making it seem like he was just acting casually, but he secretly tested the waters again with an odd number.
Yun Wei thought about Al, whom he had not heard from since their parting in Red Moon City, and shook his head.
The old pact was shattered and turned to dust by the soul box that had turned to ashes underground. Now, even if the two meet again, they will only be enemies with different stances.
After all, necromancers should never deal with the living.
But now, thinking back, even the face of that striking red-haired heartthrob that once caught his eye is now faintly remembered. Since meeting Isaac, he has barely thought of him.
"Tsk, your view on love is so shallow and cheap. You're just attracted to pretty faces." Yun Wei thought to himself with a self-deprecating smile.
So he replied expressionlessly, "I can't remember, maybe he's dead."
Isaac, however, keenly noticed Yun Wei's slight momentary pause.
He's lying.
Yun even lied to him because of the skeleton that had disappeared somewhere.
This clear understanding brought the knight's inner turmoil to an extreme breaking point, like a silent volcano suddenly erupting, or a sleeping beast awakening from the seabed.
Under the hazy moonlight, Isaac made a bold decision.
He leaned forward and embraced his master from behind.
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