novelraw Chapter 65 : Divine Move (10)
Chapter 65 : Divine Move (10)
Chapter 65: Divine Move (10)
“Thank you for your hard work.”
(It was you who worked hard, hlehle.)
I bowed my head to the translucent Elder before me. The old man also received my greeting and bowed his head in return.
(But how did you know I was here?)
“I didn’t specifically know and look for you. It’s just that I have a somewhat special ability that allowed me to meet you like this.”
With the power of the Divine Eye, I could see what I wished to see.
Until now, that had been limited to my own future. Because what I first saw and desired most in the flow of time had been exactly that.
But today, I came to realize the power of the Divine Eye once more.
The Divine Eye was not limited by the flow of time. It allowed me to see what I wished to see.
Even if that was a soul beyond time and space.
On days I considered cursed, I saw glimpses of the future even when I didn’t want to.
But the increasingly strong power of the Divine Eye now let me see the future when I desired, and in the end, crossed the boundaries of time and space.
What I first intended to see was the answer that Han Sewoon Kuksu sought outside the screen.
If that answer was found in the future because of me, I planned to reveal it in this match.
But where the world of the Divine Eye led me was to a small urn in a columbarium.
And in front of that urn, this person sat.
The date of passing written on the urn was from 20 years ago.
For those 20 years, he had waited here. So that when the one and only disciple also breathed his last, they could play the game of Baduk they hadn’t finished.
My final move contained the wish and duty of those 20 years.
A divine move that overturned a hopeless game in an instant.
Whether that move was the answer Han Sewoon Kuksu was looking for—I couldn’t be sure.
Strictly speaking, I was the one who faced and spoke to him. But I was certain that Han Sewoon Kuksu also met his master through me.
(Hlehle, I was going to play one last game of Baduk with my foolish disciple and leave without regret, but thanks to you, I saved time. Thank you. I’m shameless, but please continue to look after our foolish disciple.)
“I don’t know if he’ll need help, but I will.”
(Thank you… Truly, thank you…….)
Thus, the master’s soul left without lingering regrets.
And in my hand was a half-point black stone.
It was the result of a half-point game that I—or rather, Han Sewoon Kuksu’s master—had lost.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the familiar café.
“What was that just now?”
“I don’t know. It was my first time doing it, too.”
“The gate to the afterlife opened and closed!”
“Really?”
“This isn’t something to just say ‘really?’ about!”
“If you’re going to nag again, I’ll hear it after a nap. I’ve overdone it today.”
Whether the gate to the afterlife had opened or not—I didn’t know.
I just tried to see something a little vaguer than the last time I used the Divine Eye.
And today was a slightly more tiring day than usual. To the point I wanted to lie down on the bed right away.
I woke up late the next morning.
The clock already pointed to 3 PM. I had slept for over 20 hours straight.
The first thing that came to mind was Ria’s breakfast. I quickly washed my face and went down to the café.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Just waking up now?”
“How did you manage meals?”
“How else? I had that rascal Mahyeon deliver a lunchbox.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I was on the way anyway.”
The indifferent answer from Elder Gumiho was accompanied by the Director’s thoughtfulness.
The delivered lunchbox must have been all there was for last night’s dinner and this morning’s breakfast. And surely he had gone out again to buy lunch himself.
He had been running food deliveries nonstop since last night.
“What about the Immortals?”
“I didn’t find it very entertaining, so I didn’t check one by one, but they all told me to let you know they won two games in the morning round and left, just as you said.”
“They must’ve had an easy win.”
Until the semifinals, no separate ranking match was held.
Because the top four games were broadcast online, there wasn’t enough time.
But because I slept like a log, I didn’t get to see any of the tournament results.
I logged into the streaming site that was supposed to broadcast the match and played the broadcast.
There were over fifteen thousand viewers on the main screen’s stream.
On the broadcast screen, three commentators dressed in suits sat in a row.
One of them looked familiar.
He was the one who had rushed into the café for the ‘big event.’
(2025 Ongame Masters Baduk Tournament, the grand finals are about to begin. As expected, the final match will be between Han Sewoon Kuksu, recognized by all as the absolute best, and Jaypha AI, who has entered with an even more upgraded version. Joining us today for commentary is Park Gidong 9-dan. Please give a big round of applause.)
-Park Pildu 9-dan: Clap clap clap!
-wnd20: Eliminated in the first round of preliminaries, lololol.
-zopinhead: Whoa, so he dropped out early just to commentate\~ As expected of a pro, his moves are on another level.
-woozual: lolololol
-shillyookshillyookyi: lololololol
……
(Ahem, this tournament has seen quite a few upsets. In particular, the amateur from Dangsan-ri who fought a bloody battle with National Master Han Sewoon, losing by just half a point, is gaining incredible popularity.)
As the reaction in the chat window was more tepid than expected, the commentator quickly changed the subject.
Wait, were they talking about me?
(That’s right. Dangsan-ri, with a playing style that shakes the opponent through relentless offense from the very start, is a rare sight on today’s Go boards, where defense is the mainstream.)
There was no doubt they were talking about me. At first, I thought I had misheard, but they had definitely mentioned my ID.
Well, does it even matter?
I’d achieved my goals anyway. Both of them.
In the match bracket, all the IDs from fifth to seventh place belonged to the Immortals.
Unfortunately, due to bad luck with the draw, it looked like they had to fight each other early in the main tournament.
Still, winning three brand-new tablets was more than enough. I’d have to buy one separately, but still.
(Especially since their playing style strongly resembles that of Han Sewoon before his pro debut, the recent match has garnered even more attention. However, they unfortunately failed to qualify for the finals. That’s because National Master Han Sewoon, who is undeniably the most spotlighted participant of this tournament, secured victory in round five.)
(National Master Han Sewoon has been steamrolling his opponents and is now headed for the much-anticipated final! 9-dan Park Gidong, can you predict how this final match will unfold?)
(The opponent is Jaypha, who dealt a painful defeat to him previously. Since then, no other pros have challenged him, so there's no data, but with this momentum, we might see a different result.)
(Yes, the unpredictable finals will kick off in just 10 minutes!)
-Beep.
I had to hurriedly turn off the broadcast and close my laptop.
-Ding.
A familiar face opened the café door and stepped inside.
“Welcome.”
“One coffee, please. Oh, and do you have Wi-Fi?”
It was National Master Han Sewoon.
Why he came to our café to play his most important match, I had no idea, but thanks to that, I’d be watching the finals live in person.
Just yesterday, I’d naively thought, ‘Since he met his mentor, he probably won’t come back.’
---
At the same time, at a memorial park near Seoul that National Master Han Sewoon had recently visited.
A group of people in black suits had gathered in an open area.
There were about twenty of them. It looked like there might be a funeral, but none of their faces showed sorrow. Instead, they looked more like tired office workers.
“Ugh, seriously, if I hadn’t let that guy slip away ten years ago, I’d be comfortably working at the crematorium right now.”
“Senior, that story again?”
“What, getting tired of hearing about your sky-like senior’s downfall?”
“You just tell it too often. Still, this is my first assignment…”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry. Let’s just get to work. Pop the trunk.”
The middle-aged man, addressed as "senior", stubbed out his cigarette and walked over to the trunk of the black sedan they arrived in.
-Beep beep.
The trunk opened, and the two of them quickly and skillfully took out and set up their gear.
A blue folding table and chairs, and a parasol were set up right in the center of the memorial park in the blink of an eye. A brightly colored stand sign was also placed nearby.
【Samdo River Tour – Comfortably Escorting You to the Afterlife】
『Fully-equipped limousines! We even reveal two digits of lottery numbers in dreams before departure! Bonus benefits for family group registrations!』
“Senior, do we really have to put this sign up like this? No matter how I look at it, we seem more like scammers than Grim Reapers.”
“What choice do we have? All these spirits hanging around here have no idea when they’ll move on. If we don’t do this, we won’t even meet our quotas.”
“Still…”
“Tsk! And fix your promo sash properly!”
“Yes, sir…”
【We’ll serve you with kindness and dedication. Grim Reaper Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik】
【We’ll serve you with kindness and dedication. Grim Reaper Employee Shin Ji-hye】
Wearing sashes in formal script over their shoulders, the two headed into the memorial hall where the urns were kept.
Wearing sales-pitch smiles that could tear their faces apart.
“Oh dear! Mother, have you been well? Your son came by on Parents’ Day, didn’t he?”
“I’m not going!”
“No one said you had to go! I just came to say hello.”
“I’m not going!”
“Oh come on, Mother. So stubborn. It’s already been years, hasn’t it? Look, if you want to get even a fake ancestral meal later, you’ve got to move on soon. Look here, Shin, the mirror.”
“Y-Yes!”
The Grim Reaper called Shin hurriedly took out a prepared mirror.
“Look at those sunken cheeks, Mother. If you appear in your kids’ dreams like this, they’ll be so upset.”
“Do I look really gaunt?”
“What funeral makeup place did this? Was it Happy Funeral again? Ugh, those people charge a fortune and are total scammers. Here’s the deal—if you go to the afterlife now, we’ll throw in two fake ancestral meals for free. It’ll make you look better after eating.”
“Really?”
“No, make that three! Our dear mother will go off looking plump and fresh like a drowning victim. This is out of our own pockets, so don’t go blabbing, okay?”
“But I want to see my grandchild before I go…”
“Grandchild? Who? That second son in America? Oh honey, you dream big. He just left last year—it’ll be ages before he’s settled. You’d be better off reincarnating and going to see him yourself.”
The friendly tone and exaggerated gestures were a stark contrast to the senior who had been stubbing out his cigarette just moments ago, leaving the new Grim Reaper, Shin, dumbfounded as she watched.
Thanks to that tireless effort, one more name was added to the Registry.
“Phew, who’s next?”
“The special hall over there.”
“Oh, the Go-playing old man? Wonder if he’s really going to the afterlife this time.”
“Why not?”
“It’s been nearly 20 years. At this point, he’s practically an Earthbound Spirit.”
But a job was still a job.
Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik put on his business smile once again and opened the door to the special hall.
“Elder! I’ve come to play Go with you, Elder!”
“Doesn’t look like he’s here.”
“That… can’t be. Shin, check the Registry.”
“He’s not in it either.”
“Give me that!”
-Thud.
Upon checking the Registry, Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik slumped down in defeat.
“We’re screwed.”
A name disappearing from the Registry meant they had attained Nirvana.
Someone had sent a customer up without passing through the hands of a Grim Reaper.
And it was a troublesome customer of twenty years, no less.