In the middle of a musty pub was a crowd of old men surrounding two players. With their beer glasses locked in their hands and eyes widened with anticipation, they watched as the players made their moves. Each flick of the fingers was not to be missed.

One of the participants was a regular at the pub, a man named Joe. With his large pot-belly and balding head, he was crowned the king of the game Battle Check: a board game involving several pieces identified as the player’s army. It was a game that could only be won using strategic intelligence. There was no other person in the village who could face head-to-head against Joe.

Not until now.

With his teeth gnashed together, Joe moved his pawn a step forward. Then he watched as his new opponent: a young, white-haired boy casually make his move. There was not an ounce of worry on his face. The complete opposite of Joe.

This can’t be possible, Joe thought. How is this boy not stressing out like I am? Is he faking it or is there more than what meets the eye?

The white-haired teenager looked up and let out a mocking smirk. “You’re turn.”

The crowd murmured in excitement. On this late night, they would’ve never expected to be at such a thrilling scene! Who was this kid? He had come out of nowhere, demanding an opponent worthy of his skills. His arrogant entrance had attracted the crowd at first, but his skills compelled them to stay. They all were mesmerized by his talent and attitude.

Joe narrowed his eyes. Cocky lil bitch. He could not lose to this child. His pride and dignity was on the line. As a renowned battle check players in the area, he could not simply let a youngling beat him. After all, in this pub, he was always the winner. No exceptions. And this mysterious boy was the last person he’d want to break his winning streak.

With years of experience backing his decision, Joe decided to move his precious knight up to beat the boy’s pawn. At the moment, both individuals held a fare amount of pieces. Joe’s goal was to corner the boy through a strategy known as the execution, where he took his opponent’s pieces slowly but surely, until little was left. The goal was to have two-thirds more pieces, making the board uneven in scale.

A smile crept up the boy’s face. Not even with five-seconds of thinking, he moved a piece to the side, ignoring Joe’s play.

“What are you up to,” Joe muttered under his breath. With glowered eyes, he watched the boy carefully. From what he could see, his opponent’s plays were simple and easy to defeat. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, the game would not finish. There was always a hidden variable stopping the win. From what he could tell, his young opponent wasn’t dumb enough to let this move slide. He purposely didn’t respond to his action. There was something off.

White-hair chuckled. “I know my face is good-looking but if you stare at it too much, you’re going to lose focus on the game.”

“Keep the talk to a minimum pretty boy. Only losers cover their fears with words.”

“Do I look like I’m scared?”

Infuriated, Joe moved his knight back. To others, it may look like he backed out from a large scale move but he tried justified himself saying that he was going to refrain from risk. For now, he was going to observe his opponent to find his weaknesses. There was no place in his heart for losing. He was going to use all his strength to wipe that boy's smirk once he won. Therefore, a safe strategy was the way to go.

The boy glanced at the board, a glint sparkling in his eye, before moving his knight up diagonally and taking the spot of his opponent’s pawn. He copied the same moves that Joe had previously made. With a mischievous smile, he taunted Joe, not caring about the repercussions of his actions.

How dare he? Disbelief morphed into his face. Acting as if the knight didn’t faze him yet he does the same thing as me.

Joe took a swing of his beer. His adams apple bobbed vigorously as the liquid slid down his throat til none was left in the glass cup. He slammed the cup down against the table, some of the board pieces shaking, before wiping his mouth with his sleeve. “My turn.”

His opponent was completely unreadable. What would he do next? The factor of the unknown scared Joe the most, especially since all his comrades were watching. A large weight was placed on his shoulders - his title as the undefeated king. He couldn’t lose it this easily.

Unfortunately for Joe, the young boy had an elaborate plan up his sleeve. Everything was going exactly as predicted.

After fifteen minutes, the outcome of the game was clear. With one last movement of his fingers, the young boy was victorious.

Joe couldn’t believe it. As the crowd roared, he placed his sweat-covered palms over his face. W-who is this monster? How did he beat me? Joe had been playing Battle Check for over twenty years, longer than this boy had lived on earth. Yet, the youngling beat Joe so easily with no struggle.

In front of him was a true genius.

“What’s your name?” Joe asked firmly.

The crowd quickly silenced.

The teenager stood up and placed his hands in his pockets. A smile etched across his face as he winked. The ladies at the bar couldn’t help but swoon.

“My name is King. It was a pleasure to have played against you.”

King, Joe thought with widened eyes. An interesting name and the most important player in ‘Battle Check’. But… What kind of parent names their child this King? There’s still royalty in our day and age, so if the court finds out, he would get in trouble… Is he stupid?

Whatever. That is not important Now, for my next question… Joe’s eyes sparkled, he wanted to know where King learned his skills.

But before Joe could ask his next question, King bowed before abruptly making his way to the exit, leaving the men in total curiosity. One moment he was in the center of attention and the next, he had vanished.

As if he never existed in the first place.