Dec 19, 2025
Author's Commentary #14:
Time to talk about Chapter 14: Double trouble Muzio.
We're picking up right where we left off with Okisato showcasing his Danish. Skaberghast actually is Danish, though has dual American citizenship due to his teaching gig at Stanford. He also owns a private island in the Pacific Ocean.
Thanks to the effects of the DESPER, he can warp from it to the lab and back with ease. The DESPER also granted him an unlimited smoothie glass which can refill by magic whenever he wishes it to. He's used the DESPER to get many other perks as well, but despite being one of it's inventors, he still does not know every secret there is about it which is why he's frequently carrying out experiments with it. Skaberghast was actually one of the oldest characters I created however, he didn't get put in any of my stories until EPGM.
The game featured showcases one of my favorite sets of gambits, the Muzio Gambit and the Double Muzio Gambit. The big question I had when deciding I'd have a Double Muzio Gambit game was who would play it. In the end, I decided to have Skaberghast be the one to play it.
There main reason for that was because I wanted to show off his chess skills to show that he is an imposing threat. While Skaberghast won't be the main antagonist of this volume, he'll certainly be a long-term antagonist in the series going forward, thus I needed to showcase that he is a very large threat both on and off the chessboard.
Part of his swift victory was due to Yuusuke's incompetence though. Poor Yuusuke really is starting to become the sandbag of the series right after Numakawa. He'll get his chance to shine eventually though.
One thing I will clarify is that Maida is not currently present with the chess club. Everyone's meeting on their own time, and thus Maida is not obligated to supervise the club unless it competes at a tournament as a team. That being said, Daria and Hagemi are present where as in the original, they were not.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
