The 7 secret chess maestros [Season 1 End]

Himitsudono began applauding as the chess board lowered back into the counter. “Well done, Grandmaster Inoue. You have bested me and thus gain the following spoils of war. First,

you earn a badge for besting me. Second, a bounty of 1000 points and lastly, the right to rematch me for just a single point, though that is only possible within a secret puzzle cafe.”

“So I can play you again. That’s amazing. I’m glad there’s something like that, though if you don’t mind me asking, are there other SPCMs to challenge?” Mimoko asked.

“Why yes there are, and they each have their own secret puzzle cafe, though they will not be as easy to beat as me. Though if you want a challenge, seek out the other 6 SPCMs and best them. I assure you that it is worth it even for a player of your skill. And speaking of a skilled player, here comes one now."

Mimoko and Okisato turned to see Peter entering. He immediately sat down and nodded as a tablet appeared before him. Within seconds, he had solved all 10 puzzles at the highest difficulty perfectly.

"Now, would you like to purchase something with your wealth of points, Grandmaster Morphy?" Himitsudono asked.

"Yes, I want a lead on where one of the three Maestros I have left to find is."

"'Maestros'?" Mimoko asked.

"Seems we meet again, Mimoko Inoue. Unfortunately, it seems your timetable will prevent us from having another match today, but I will be at the blitz tournament next week."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"My, seems Grandmaster Inoue truly is getting the lion's share of information for free. As for Grandmaster Morphy, the information you requested has been sent to your WWCF card. We thank you for your transaction."

"A word of thumb, Mimoko Inoue. You can purchase an app that lets you play the puzzles anywhere once a day, however, you'll get bonus points for solving the puzzles at a secret puzzle cafe. Hmm, so China is indeed where one of the maestros is. I was hoping for one of the more obscure ones, but I guess I'll know all their locations soon. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must take my leave to track down the maestro and best them before next week’s tournament."

As Peter left, Himitsudono chuckled. "Seems the biggest secret is now out in the open. The secret maestros are the seven super grandmasters that can only be challenged by beating all the SPCMs in their domains. As for the maestros themselves, they are truly the best of the best, and have ratings over 3000."

"Wait, but I thought the highest rating achieved was 2899!" Mimoko gasped.

"That's why it's a secret. So, think you can beat ALL the secret maestros?"

A smile began to form on Mimoko's face. "You bet! It sounds like fun."

"Then you should probably save up your points so you can buy the app. Students like us can't come here at midnight every night," Okisato nodded.

"How much is the app?"

"Well, for that, the price varies. Normally, it's 9,999,999 points, but there are ways to get it at a discount. For example, beating a maestro will lower the price considerably. Another way is to solve puzzles at the max difficulty and get a perfect score on them within your first three visits to a puzzle cafe and/or best a SPCM on your first attempt within your first three visits. And you, Grandmaster Inoue, have done just that. Thus, for today only, the app for you will cost only 1000 points."

"DEAL!"

Once the points were exchanged, a new icon appeared on Mimoko’s WWCF card.

"Ah yes, I should also mention that the app allows you to see the leaderboard. You may also order items you’d normally only be able to order from within a secret puzzle cafe and even challenge SPCMs you’ve bested to chess matches, if they are available. As for a final word of thumb, as long as you are within a puzzle cafe, you may challenge any SPCM or maestro that you've met anywhere in the world from any cafe,” Himitsudono stated.

"Say, does the app allow you to teleport to any cafe you've visited?" Okisato asked.

"My, I wonder if it does?"

"How many points?"

"A non-discountable 10,000,000,000, though I hear the price can be halved if you best half the maestros like Peter has done. And perhaps, there is a secret way to unlock a more affordable price for it.

"Are there other ways to earn points besides the daily puzzles?" Mimoko asked.

"Why yes indeed. Winning a free-for-all 4-way chess tournament here at a secret cafe, though there is an entrance fee of 40 points, but the winner walks away with 40,000,000 points and that's just for the standard. The international variant will net you 4 billion points, but only if you win the whole thing, and let me tell you, even someone like Grandmaster Morphy struggles to win those."

"Why's that?"

"Because in 4-way chess, there's four players. You also win by capturing pieces and getting points. Three players could also mutually agree to take out the biggest threat before attacking each other," Okisato stated.

"Wow, I'll have to study up on it."

"Oh, and you can also earn some points based on your performances at normal tournaments and regular 4-way chess tournaments hosted by the WWCF, now that you’ve found a secret puzzle cafe and completed a daily challenge"

"Wow, I really hit the jackpot. Thanks Himitsudono."

"My pleasure. I look forward to your return, and eventually rematches."

...

"UGH! Those puzzles are hard! I only got 4 right!" Iori fumed as she headed to the bus with the others.

“What difficulty were you on?” Okisato asked.

“Duh, Max difficulty! I’m hardcore!”

As for the others, Utami managed to get 7 right at novice difficulty while Yuzuha got 5 right at beginner difficulty. Rodeo had only gotten 2 right, but largely due to attempting the advanced difficulty ones. Maida meanwhile managed to get an impressive 9 right at the advanced difficulty. Numakawa however…

"The puzzles are far easier than the game, I got all 10 right," Numakwa boasted.

"Bet it was at beginner difficulty though, right?" Okisato jibed.

"Geh, I will gradually increase the difficulty."

Yuusuke meanwhile struggled just to get 6 right at the advanced difficulty, though his mood only soured when he heard Mimoko and Okisato got the secret puzzle cafe app. "Ugh, you got the app? I'm never gonna get that thing. It's not fair.”

"Hey, do you have any idea how many years it took to save up for this? Not to mention all the times I was frustrated by spending points to challenge a SPCM," Okisato groaned.

"Have you beaten a maestro, Tanabe-kun?" Mimoko asked.

"Maestro!? Wait, you mean like Himitsudono-"

"No, I still need to find all the cafes and SPCMs first in addition to the ones I've found but still haven’t beaten, but now that I have the app, I won't need to worry too much about getting the points to do that. As for you, Shousen-san, did your mother not tell you about the maestros?"

"No, I have no idea what you're talking about, man."

"By the way, what happened to Zanni?"

"Oh I beat him and made it so that he'd destroy the DESPER and never hurt anyone again. Then the WWCF president had his guys drag him away."

"Seems you really decided to make him suffer. Well he deserves it."

"Unlike you, I'm a hero."

"Yeah, sure.”

…

The next day, Mimoko woke up early as her mother pounced on her bed. “Ugh, Okaa-chan, stop…”

“Up n’ at em, girl! I heard ya got interviews to do on the mornin’ news!” Mimoko's mother smiled as she rummaged through Mimoko’s closet, looking for a nice outfit.

“So this was what Tanabe-kun warned about. Well, guess I’ll accept the challenge,” Mimoko shrugged as she got out of bed.

…

At the highschool, news of the chess club's feats swept through the school. Nearly everyone congratulated the senior club members on their achievements. Mimoko however was still swept up with interviews, even as the lunch hour approached.

"Poor Inoue-senpai, she looks like she's using all her strength not to succumb to exhaustion," Okisato said as he watched Mimoko’s latest interview.

"Nah, Inoue looks like she's doing fine," Yuusuke snarled.

"You dare not to put honorifics after her name!?" Utami glared.

"GAH! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!"

"Lol, kick his ass, Utami," Iori snickered as she whipped out her phone.

"Do not make a scene in the cafeteria," Maida glared as she walked by.

"She's right, let's go sit down with the others and wait for Inoue-senpai," Okisato nodded.

The group headed to a table occupied by Rodeo, Yuzuha, Numakawa, and two other students.

"Quite the large group, I feel like I'm standing out even though I'm so generic," Yuzuha laughed.

"We could easily fix your image if you're worried about that. How bout a mohawk?" Iori grinned.

"Um... no."

Just then, Mimoko entered the cafeteria. She was trying her best to hide her fatigue from all the interviews, however she soon became faced with a new problem as she was swarmed by everyone wishing to congratulate her.

"Hey, let her through," Rodeo said as he walked through the crowd and gave Mimoko a lift to the table.

"So the next prodigy of the chess world is before us. This truly is an intriguing experience, never have I met a famous person before they became famous. I should document this experience for science," Numakawa stated as Mimoko sat down.

"Welcome back, so what will we do now, Inoue-senpai?" Okisato asked.

"Well, I guess we should discuss our tournament experience. We can go over the games after school," Mimoko smiled.

[Season 1 End]