Chapter 1152: Checkmate

At Cadet Parker’s words, Asher turned to him and asked, "Am I playing against you?"

Cadet Parker shook his head as he spoke with a weak smile. "I only receive the most basic wage here. I don’t have money to bet or play around with, as I send my money back home to my parents and siblings, who weren’t as fortunate as me to awaken," he stated in the tone of a man who supported his entire family by himself without complaining.

"Although I could bet and win more money to support them, at the end of the day, I don’t have the brains for poker, chess, and other games. I would end up losing money to these cunning Cadets," he stated in finality.

Asher remained silent for a moment, his Emotion Perception ability picking up on the slight fluctuations in Cadet Parker’s emotional state, but he made no comments.

"How do you send your money back home?" he couldn’t help but ask. "It doesn’t look like the Frontier allows people to go home that often."

Cadet Parker’s eyes fell on a game board where people were playing Whot as he replied, "The Frontier allows us to send our money to our families or anyone else through them, free of charge, no matter the location or destination. And as for vacations and off days, we actually do take them, but in an entire year, each person is only allowed a total of thirty days of breaks." He paused for a moment before continuing.

"Although it’s harsh, at the end of the day, nobody pays ten gold coins per month as the minimum and barest wage, and nobody is being forced to be here. If you don’t like it, quit and go home, then become an Adventurer or Mercenary who makes barely enough gold coins. And when they do, they spend it on armor, weapons, and other necessities," he stated in finality with a shrug of indifference.

Asher nodded his head as he understood where Cadet Parker was coming from. Although having only a month’s break out of an entire year seemed too short and insufficient, what Damian Wargrave paid soldiers every month was an amount of money they would find nowhere else.

And just as Cadet Parker had said, even after receiving this income, they didn’t have to pay for anything. No taxes, no house rent, no expenditure on food, clothing, or anything of the sort. They didn’t have to worry about weapons or armor either.

This meant that the wages everyone received could be put to full use on whatever they wanted, rather than being spent solely on trying to survive.

This was the reason most Cadets here remained, even if they might never reach the Corporal Rank, and most of them found peace in it.

"Can I borrow a gold coin?" Asher asked with a flat expression.

He didn’t need the gold coin from Cadet Parker, as he already had over ten million platinum coins hidden in his system inventory. Personally, he didn’t plan to hide the fact that he had money or anything of the sort.

Cadet Parker stared at Asher for a moment and understood that Asher wanted to use his money to place a bet. He wanted to decline, as out of his entire wage, he sent nine gold coins home and kept one for himself as savings. After a moment, he sighed and raised a hand, causing a gold coin to appear in his palm before passing it to Asher.

"Thank you." Asher took the coin and turned toward the area where various games of chess were being played.

Finding an empty chair and a free player who was smoking, Asher pulled out the seat and sat opposite the man confidently. Although he hardly played chess, with his ridiculous intelligence and ability to think ahead, it shouldn’t be too difficult.

The man arched an eyebrow in surprise, as though he hadn’t expected Asher to be there. He smiled as he spoke in a calm tone.

"I hope Cadet Asher understands that any money he stakes here has to be cash on hand, and money can’t be taken back after a loss, regardless of whether one is a Noble or a god," he stated as he exhaled smoke, appearing almost uncaring about Asher’s status as the Tenth Sun and a member of the Wargrave family.

This was somewhat understandable, given that their Commander and Overlord was a Great Elder from the Wargrave family, who was famous for being impartial and fair.

Asher leaned back in his seat as he spoke. "I know, and I understand. I’m a Wargrave and a Noble. Money is something I never have to worry about in life." He smiled as though he were boasting.

The Cadet smiled, his black eyes shifting toward the gold coin in Asher’s hand before moving to Cadet Parker, who was known to be among the weakest of the weak among the Cadets. He instantly understood that Cadet Parker had given the Tenth Sun the gold coin because the Tenth Sun shouldn’t have any money, considering he had only joined the Frontier that day.

"Since you are so rich, how about we start with one gold coin instead of betting silvers?" he asked with a smile.

Within the entertainment area, silver coins were the lowest denomination players could bet. Copper coins weren’t allowed.

"Sure," Asher stated as he placed the gold coin on the table.

The Cadet placed his own gold coin on the table with a smile, signaling the start of the game. He then began by moving a white pawn forward.

Asher moved his black pawn, and with that, both of them exchanged various moves. Three minutes passed, and the Cadet wore a frown on his face. He made one more move, as though trying to escape the situation.

But it was useless.

"Checkmate," Asher stated as he moved his knight.

As he spoke, he took his gold coin and the Cadet’s without a change in expression, finishing the game in three minutes.

"Another game," the Cadet stated, as though unwilling to swallow the loss. To him, it was only a gold coin that he could win back.

Asher stared at him flatly before replying, "Sure, but we are betting two gold coins this time. For each subsequent rematch, the stake will scale," he demanded.

"No problem," the Cadet agreed without thinking too much about it.

Another game began as they both placed two gold coins each on the table.

Two minutes later.

"Checkmate." Asher’s voice rang out again, his tone flat.

The man frowned and stared at Asher, signaling for another game to begin. Asher nodded, and this time, they both placed four gold coins on the table.

"Checkmate." Asher’s voice rang out again, after the same two minutes.

The man remained silent for a moment as he watched Asher pick up the eight gold coins. He had lost seven gold coins by now, which was almost an entire month’s pay, but it didn’t bother him. Not everyone had families to support like Cadet Parker, so some of them could afford to waste their money on bets.

They kept playing, with each game ending in his loss. None of the games lasted longer than two minutes, regardless of what opening move he made. After losing a total of sixty-four gold coins, he gave up. He simply stood, giving Asher one last lingering gaze before turning and walking away, moving through the crowd that had gathered to watch the Tenth Sun place a bet.

What could he have done? Beat up Asher and take back his money? He wasn’t foolish enough to attempt that, as he knew that even though he and Asher were both Cadets, the power Asher had displayed almost a year ago wasn’t something any Cadet here possessed.