In the end, Bagas stared at his phone and the notification that the white pieces won the game, then turned to Sheva with a complicated expression, his eyes were dim. It wasn't like he was being a sore loser here. No, after all, he was also a teenage boy who liked playing games, and losing was definitely not something he was bothered by the most.
No, if anything, it was the fact that he didn't know his best friend was this capable in chess.
Yeah, although Bagas himself had already been expecting that he would lose in this game – well, Sheva was way smarter than he was, after all – the boy didn't expect that he would lose this badly. Not only did it only take six moves for Sheva to win, but the way to win itself was pretty much embarrassing. His king was frozen in the original spot, not being able to move. The only way to escape from the white knight's check was to eat it with the pawn at e7. However, the pawn itself couldn't move, having to stay still to protect the king from Sheva's queen, who was staring from afar.
This kind of checkmate, where the king was blocked by his own pieces, was called the smothered checkmate, and it was pretty rare to happen in a game. Yet somehow, Sheva, whom Bagas knew had never been exposed to the game of chess, was able to pull this trick in the game against him. This was like slapping Bagas in the face, making the chubby boy feel unwilling about this defeat.
"No, this is still a warming up! Once more, Sheva!" Bagas demanded.
"No way!" Unexpectedly, Sheva refused the request immediately. "The sky is almost dark already! My mom should've been worried if I didn't go back in time. Let's just save the game for tomorrow!" The boy made an excuse.
In fact, this was just a poor excuse that Sheva thought of spontaneously. If anything, his mother would let him stay outside for a little bit longer, afraid that he would be a loner in society. Sheva just wanted to go back to learn more about the system that fell from the sky, not having any time to study it yet. Fortunately, Bagas was fooled by this excuse as the boy nodded.
"Oh, well, just wait! You are not allowed to run away! Tomorrow, I will return the humiliation tenfold!" The chubby boy declared boldly.
"Yeah, yeah…" Sheva just rolled his eyes in exasperation, having been used to his best friend's antics.
Right after that, those two boys closed the stall together, and Sheva also rushed to go back home immediately. Bagas didn't really doubt his motivation. After all, the boy knew that Sheva's mother was a worrywart, and if Sheva dared to come back late even just for one hour, she would've called the police station already.
Sheva's home itself was located in one of the narrow alleys in Tambora, one of the most crowded districts in Jakarta. There was no big home here, as everyone lived in a humble arrangement where each building was only separated by a thin wall, and almost all the people here knew each other. The sound of children laughing and playing football in this narrow alley could also be heard, mixing with the humming of the motorcycle that wanted to navigate itself in such a maze.
Sheva was pretty much unfazed by such a harsh condition. After all, this was how he had grown up for his entire life. The boy navigated his way through the alley after alley, greeting the uncles and aunties who were also there. It took him about ten minutes to finally reach his home, a small and old building on the edge of the road.
"I am home…" He greeted lowly, opening the door gently.
"Oh, you are back!" A sound suddenly greeted him. Sheva didn't even have to look to see that his mother should've been in the kitchen already. "Go wash your hands and feet first." She instructed calmly.
Sheva did so, going to the bathroom to refresh himself first before sitting on a small couch in the corner of the living room. Well, a living room was a bit of a stretch, as the home itself was just a medium-sized room that covered almost all of the functions that any ordinary house should have. In one corner, there was a small bed where his mother usually slept, straight next to the 'kitchen section' where a small stove and a small refrigerator stood still. Then, right in front of the bed was the small couch where Sheva was currently sitting. It was the place where they would greet their guest, and when the night came, it became the bed where Sheva slept.
Everything was so tight and suffocating that even for something small that required privacy, like changing clothes or something like that, he or his mother had to take turns to go to the bathroom first. This was the poverty condition that they had been living in.
Well, not that it mattered too much, for now. After throwing his body on the couch, Sheva started accessing the magical interface that he was 'blessed' earlier. This was the time for him to learn what kind of system he had, and what kind of future he should take a path to.
'Oh, so, this is a daily sign-in system, huh?' He muttered to himself. 'Every day, I will have a chance to sign in, with all of the knowledge and ability I receive, which would be anything related to chess. The lowest prize should be the silver level, where it is equivalent to the knowledge of any player with the title FIDE Master outside of there. Then, there is the gold level, equivalent to the International Master, and the diamond level, which is the same as that of Grandmasters outside.
"However, there is still one level above them all, which is the platinum level. It should be filled with the knowledge and experience that is equivalent to that of those super grandmasters who are always competing at the highest level. Even though the probability is the smallest, every 30 days, the sign-in will give me a lottery with a 50-50 prize of either something from the diamond level or something from the platinum level. Does that mean that even if it was just in one aspect, in the next month, I will have the ability to compete with the best in the world? Then, what would happen next year? Or even two years later?"
Sheva felt like he was on cloud nine as the boy fantasized himself standing at the pinnacle of the chess world, winning the world championship, and basking in so much money that he himself had never dared to imagine. However, this enthusiasm deflated immediately like a balloon when he opened his phone and started searching for the situation of the current chess world.
'What the heck….' He mumbled to himself. 'Being a chess player is so fucking miserable…'
What Sheva meant by that was, of course, the fact that being a chess player in this country was not a profession that could earn a lot of money. There were too few tournaments here, and the prize itself was not a lot, not enough to make a living off it. The same could be said for the tournament abroad. Even though the prize was slightly higher, the travel and accommodation costs itself was also pretty high, nullifying any prize the winner would get. That was in case the player won. If they lost, it would be hard to maintain a stable financial situation within their family.
It was for a reason that chess was not a popular sport in Indonesia.
As Sheva read through the entire information for more than an hour, he also felt dejected, somehow cursing his best friend for his bad fate. 'If only Bagas talked about football or basketball, maybe the system would be able to help me become a pro player! At least, the money I earned wouldn't be this pitiful!' He cursed inwardly.
Whatever spirit he had inside him earlier after getting the system also wavered a little bit, and Sheva started to forget about its existence. After all, chess wouldn't be able to help him and his mother out of the slump, so it was better to forget it rather than get attached to the game for nothing.
The next couple of days ran pretty slowly, with nothing extraordinary happening in his life. Sheva also still received the reward from his system, yet he himself didn't really care about it. After all, in his mind, being a chess player was too unreliable, and he had no time to think too much about it.
However, his thought was challenged a few days later, when out of nowhere, Bagas suddenly barged into his house with his breath ragged, sweat drenching his shirt as the boy put his hands on his knees to support his posture.
"Bagas? What the hell are you doing this early?" Sheva asked, surprised.
"There… There is no time…" The fat boy panted heavily. "Come with me, quick! The international Master Irfan Aditya is in the park, challenging everyone to a game! Whoever lasts for more than thirty moves will earn 1,000,000 Rupiah (about 70 dollars)! This is your chance, Sheva!"