Versatile Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The chessboard was now set up, but Mo Fan suddenly had a question.

If it was a game of chess, who was the Lord of Darkness going to play it with?

Was he going to play with himself? Play with (ahem!) his clone?

A dark figure soon appeared behind the enemy pieces. He had a cloak the size of a mountain draped over his shoulders. His half-transparent body was drifting in the wind.

Mo Fan could not see his face, but his glowing blue eyes were looking at the chessboard with excitement.

Is that the Lord of Darkness?

The chess pieces were in place. It was time for the players to take their seats.

Mo Fan did not feel any pressure from the figure. It was more like a phantom. Although he felt spooked, as if the figure could see right through him, he did not sense any hostility from it.

It felt like he was only here to play the game of chess, nothing else.

“That should be one of the Lord of Darkness’ clones,” Asha’ruiya remarked.

“Does anyone ever see his actual self?” Mo Fan asked her.

Asha’ruiya shook her head.

The Lord of Darkness had plenty of clones, and some of them could even visit the living world. He had always behaved strangely. He was not greedy, invasive, or ambitious, yet all Dark Magic was related to him.

He would occasionally grant people that were pleasing to his eyes some powerful Forbidden magic. He would also accept the offerings of Dark Mages. Sometimes he would cause some disasters, plagues, and wars in smaller countries.

He was totally unpredictable. People both respected and feared him.

The Lord of Darkness’ clone stood behind the enemy forces. He was a serious and focused player.

His eyes were fixed on the pieces, as if he was analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of his pieces, trying to figure out how he was going to play the game.

“The Lord of Darkness is on our side. What a relief!” The Skycloud Mages were overjoyed.

If the Lord of Darkness was controlling them, it meant he would do anything to win the match.

“Lucky, we are blessed by the Lord of Darkness!” The others smiled, too.

“But who is his opponent? Let’s hope he’s an idiot so we can all make it out alive.”

—

Mo Fan was keeping a close eye on the player on his side.

The chess pieces mattered because of their strength, but the player would play the most important role, as he would be controlling the pieces. If the player happened to be retarded and sent their king to the enemy, it would not matter if their king was the Black Dragon Emperor.

Mo Fan turned around, waiting for the player to show up.

Finally, dark blue light dots gathered behind the chessboard. It was another enormous half-transparent figure. Judging from its outline, it was most likely a human.

Mo Fan could only tell that the Chaos Element was involved, making the figure look quite massive. It was like he was projected to be the opposite of the Lord of Darkness.

However, Mo Fan almost dropped his jaw when he took a closer look at the player’s face.

How is he the player? Why would he be playing a game of chess with the Lord of Darkness? What’s going on?

Mo Fan was dumbfounded. His eyes were fixed on the player for a long time.

The player seemed to notice Mo Fan’s gaze. He waved his hand at Mo Fan with a wry smile and said, “I tried my best to group you all on the same side, but it’s up to us now whether we will all live.”

—

The Magic City…

A little garden close to the apartment that was allocated for the South Wing Platoon.

A path covered in pebbles led to a little kiosk. A man with a pale face was seated on a stone stool, staring at the stone table in front of him.

The stone table was oddly smooth, like the surface of a mirror. However, he was not looking at his own reflection, but a chessboard. The chessboard was crowded with people and Darkness Creatures that had shrunk down to a tithe of their size.

It was like a board game with humans, monsters, and demons, but the pieces were alive instead of some models. They had all shrunk to the size of little pieces.

The man coughed. He seemed a little feeble.

“Mu Bai, what are you doing? Shouldn’t you be resting so you can recover from your injuries?” a member of the South Wing Platoon who happened to pass by the garden asked him.

“Nothing, I’m just playing chess!” Mu Bai waved his hand and sent the man away.

A half-transparent shadow was sitting opposite Mu Bai. He looked like an old man in his sixties who was obsessed with chess, staring at the chessboard sternly.

“You have picked your pieces, so I’ll be taking the first move. Are you fine with that?” the half-transparent figure asked.

Mu Bai agreed with a gesture.

—

The Dark Plane…

Mo Fan’s head was spinning.

The person playing a game of chess with the lord of Darkness was Mu Bai!

What is going on? Why would Mu Bai have ties with the Lord of Darkness?

“You should explain yourself before the game starts,” Mo Fan said.

“Didn’t I already die once? The Lord of Darkness took my soul. He asked me to play chess with him. If he wins, he will keep my soul, but if I win, he will release my soul,” Mu Bai replied.

“Hang on! Didn’t we trade your soul with the Night Amethyst?” Mo Fan protested.

“I lost,” Mu Bai said. He added after a brief pause, “The Lord of Darkness didn’t want to release me, since I lost the match. However, he was happy when you gave him the Night Amethyst, so I told him we didn’t set the rules clearly before we played the game, whether it was a best of one or a best of three. We Chinese prefer it to be best of three, in case the players lose their edge because they are nervous.”

“I won the last two matches. That’s why I came back to life,” Mu Bai explained.

Mo Fan opened his mouth. He never knew Mu Bai’s soul had been through something so thrilling while his body was lying in a coffin.

“What’s happening now, then?” Mo Fan asked.

“Obviously, he has found a bargaining chip to challenge me again. He wants to take some revenge after losing to me last time!” Mu Bai declared.

“What bargaining chip?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

However, he soon realized what the answer was.

What bargaining chip? It was his life!

He had ended up in the Dark Plane. The Lord of Darkness was all-knowing. He had obviously told Mu Bai what had happened and asked if Mu Bai was willing to have a rematch with him.

The Lord of Darkness did not like to bargain. He preferred exchanging his chips for the things he wanted. It had always been his standard of conduct!

“Hehehe, I’m delighted by your friendship. However, if you lose the game, all your souls will be mine!” the Lord of Darkness proclaimed.. His voice sounded strange, like a synthesizer.