【 ᴄᴏɴǫᴜᴇʀɪɴɢ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀʟᴀɴᴅ || ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴍɪsᴇᴅ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀʟᴀɴᴅ ғғ】

ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ɪᴛ ᴀʟʟ ʙᴇɢᴀɴ - ᴘᴀʀᴛ 𝟹 || ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ғɪᴠᴇ

"HE CAUGHT ME AGAIN!" Emma made a small tantrum and flung her arms around like the child she was. "Why? It's frustrating!"

"Question. What does Norman have that you don't?"

"Hm..." Emma tilted her head to the side. "The ability to plan ahead? Calmness? Overwhelming intelligence?"

You chuckled. "You are correct, Emma, but what's all of those in one word?" Emma's brows furrowed as she pondered on it.

"Strategy." Ray answered as he closed his book. "If it's about simply physical ability, you definitely have the upper hand."

"But Norman is strong right here." He pointed at his head. "Like no other."

"You're playing tag. It's a game where you compete with strategy."

Emma narrowed her eyes at Ray. "A simple game of tag?"

You shrugged. "Well, at least, that's how we see it."

"It's like chess, but using your entire body."

Well, you agreed on that. To be fair, if you wanted to train a leader, you could actually use those two games in training. Chess will teach them how to make countermeasures for each attack and make every offensive strategy flexible and adaptable to many situations.

Tag can help them use that knowledge in the real world. War in chess is too unrealistic. You would be able to know the enemy's moves right away, although the motive behind each move may remain hidden, but in tag, one would learn to read that unknown motive.

Do they want to weaken your forces? Are they simplemindedly charging to take everything? Do they plan to set up a trap?

It would also help to judge one's character and use that judgement to your advantage, for example, if one makes quick judgements and is impulsive like Don, set up traps like what Norman did.

"—Isn't that right, Norman?" At this, you snapped away from your thoughts, now wondering how so many things ran through your mind although barely even a second had passed.

<Notice. It is because of one of the many extra skills that comes with the Unique Skill, [The Great Sage]. Specifically, [Thought Acceleration].>

Wait, what?! You pondered on it for a while. Wasn't that the thing that's supposed to make your thoughts run a million times faster? Or was it a hundred million times faster?

<No, the [Thought Acceleration] speed of a million times was during my [Lord of Wisdom] evolution, and the speed of a hundred million times is my ability as [Manas:Ciel]. As [The Great Sage], it is only 1,000 times faster. >

Only? That's still really fast, you know.

Damn. I really am lucky.

"Yeah. But you're a better tactician than me, Ray."

"You overestimate me."

"Reading the enemy's moves, huh?"

Norman looked away. "But we're not even close when comes to Mom."

"That's true. We've never beaten her at chess." Emma added. "Except Y/n."

"That's right." Norman commented. "Y/n's the only one who can actually beat Mom."

"Huh?" You looked at her weirdly. "That was a fluke, Emma."

"But you were still able to do it, though."

"Oh please. It was one time." You unknowingly leaned to Ray, while basking deep into your thoughts.

It was supposed to be a secret. Norman's supposed to be the genius.