GAMBIT

They continue their saunter to the Pawn's side of the field. As they walk, the young man's attention is gathered by what Sacchi's nature has to offer. From sceneries to creatures alike, Sacchi is bountiful with things the human eye hasn't seen yet.

As they arrive at the Pawn's side of the battlefield, Quartz is greeted with smiles of several types. There are men who greet him with a vicious scowl while there are also those who greet him with a pleasant and friendly smirk.

Above all these smiles is no other than Kingston Pearl, a man with eyes belonging to a malicious predator. On his left eye is a scar bearing the memory of the man who slashed his eye. He greeted Quartz with a feisty glare upon his arrival.

Quartz responds by swallowing his saliva gravely. As much as possible, he tries to keep eye contact with those who seem friendly.

Once every pawn is present, the princess then bangs the gong, gathering each and everyone's attention. As a response, the young man and the whole crowd tilt their head to the princess.

"Greetings to everyone, today's training session will commence shortly. I, Jupiter Braveheart, have some important announcements coming from my father.

Due to the previous defeat in Enkephalos town, the king has ordered the four pillars to enhance the training sessions of each category, primarily, the Knights, and Pawns.

Therefore, starting from this day onwards, everyone will be training for the whole day from seven in the morning to ten in the evening.

As we all know, the enemy has taken numerous territories, leaving us in a zugzwang position. If the enemy persists to claim the remaining territories or worse, our territories, then my father's orb may fall under their hands." Jupiter reads the king's letter and announces with sincerity and conviction. Quartz then tilts his head to the side only to see bewildered men. They start gossip, pertaining to the king's letter.

"Silence!" The princess yells to the crowd, zipping the mouths of every pawn.

"My father's words are clear. Since he is the king, it is our obligation to follow his commands. Now, let the training session begin." The princess scolds the crowd for their gossips. She stood for her father's commands and Quartz is left with an overwhelmed face because of the princess's sudden outrage.

As time continues to run, everyone proceeds to their normal routine. For Quartz, he just stares at his fellow pawns, observing their every movement. The pawn's training is somewhat similar to fencing wherein the objective is to touch the opponent with the sword.

From behind, someone taps his back and greets him with a pleasant smile. "Hello there, you're new here aren't you?" The man speaks with a somewhat British-like accent.

"May I know who you are?" Quartz faces the man and questions him.

"People call me Harold Heartstone, and you are?"

"My name is Quartz Vermillion."

"Oh, that's a rather unique name actually. Anyways Mr. Quartz, would you please be my opponent?" Harold queries and points his blunt sword to Quartz.

Harold Heartstone, a man with a mere age of twenty-five. His eyes are brown just like the color of wood and timbers. He also has a fair complexion and a rather unusual accent from the rest.

"Um, I don't have a sword."

"It's ok, I'll just give you my spare sword. It can be yours if you want." Harold responds and tosses his other sword to Quartz.

"R... Really?" Quartz stutters while looking at his reflection through the sword's lustrous glow.

"Of course mate, it's all yours! Anyways, let's get back to the topic." Harold replies. He then switches his posture to a fighting stance and taunts at the Quartz.

"Wait, wait! I don't know how to do this yet." Quartz complains and halts the match for a while.

"Oh, it's quite simple mate. All you have to do is to either disarm your opponent or by killing the opponent."

"Killing?! Don't you think that's too absurd?"

"I was just kidding. Anyways, either disarm me or let your sword touch my body." Harold giggles causing Quartz to sigh after hearing the truth. With everything set, Quartz officially accepts Harold's match.

The young man tries to base his stance according to how the great kings of the past do it. He came up with a stance that was somewhat similar to the knights of the crusades.

Without wasting another second, Harold dashes towards Quartz. The young man dodges Harold by running to his direction, causing both of them to switch positions. Quartz kept a keen eye, watching Harold's every movement.

"You're actually quite good at this aren't ya?" Harold compliments.

"Not quite actually. I am fond of reading history books, that's how I know the common tactics when it comes to warfare." Quartz responds as they circle one another.

In the background, Balthasar Bluemagic was there, carefully observing Quartz and Harold. He then smirks because of entertainment.

"Books? Ah, they say knowledge is the best weapon of all. Let's see if they are correct, come at me!" Harold taunts.

For almost an hour, the three of them fought against each other. Their swords and strengths clashed unto one another. From their training, a new friendship was forged between Harold and Quartz.

As time continues to roll, Kingston interrupts Harold and Quartz's match. His face seems eager to challenge the young man.

"What do you want Kingston?" Harold infuriates after being distracted.

"You, I challenge you to a battle." Kingston ignores Harold and points his sword at Quartz. He then walks to him in a subtle pace.

On the other hand, Quartz responds by swallowing his saliva gravely. He tries his best to face Kingston's challenge with courage.

"I accept your challenge," Quartz utters with confidence. He also responds by pointing his sword back to Kingston.

"I've gotta warn you, the power of knowledge is strong in this one." Harold teases and warns Kingston. However, Kingston did not flinch. He continued to walk closer to Quartz with a malicious scowl.

The challenge begins, and both of their swords start to clash unto each other. The irritating noise produced by the swords gathered everyone's attention. As Kingston and Quartz fought, the crowd starts to fill up and circle them.

Amongst the crowd is no other than the princess who seems very entertained by the ongoing match.

Moments have passed, and Quartz is doing quite well on his second match. Kingston was getting pinned at the corner, giving Quartz an opportunity to strike. The crowd then begins to root for his name.

Hope seems impossible for Kingston as his feet glides through the soil due to Quartz's sword. The cheer got louder, but in the end, Kingston reigns supreme.

Before being pinned, Kingston pinpoints Quartz's weakness then strikes from there. The young man was left with immediate shock after Kingston's sword points at his chest during the moment before victory.

"War is not learned from books, it is learned from experience." Even in victory, Kingston smiles back at Quartz and lifts his body up. The young man's perception of him suddenly changed. Even if he has the looks of an arrogant man, Kingston remains humble and shakes Quartz's hand.

Although, the crowd isn't fully satisfied by the match. They left with disappointment and returned to their agendas. As for the princess, she smiles back at Quartz, complimenting him even in defeat. "Not bad for a novice."