Before them stood an enormous chessboard. The pieces in its squares were less chess pieces than massive stone pedestals. They stood in rows with their heads bowed solemnly, like silent soldiers, exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression.
Eliana swallowed hard. "Do we have to fight all these pieces? We can only get through if we win?"
That seemed rather difficult.
Her gaze fell on the stone chess pieces. After seriously weighing it for a while, she came to a sorrowful conclusion. "I can't blow up that many."
"Who designed this challenge? It's weirdly ceremonial. Did they make the guards like this to make getting beaten up more entertaining so we'd ignore the pain? How thoughtful."
"Eliana, did you leave your brain on the exam paper along with your ink?" Ron said, sounding both frightened and excited. "I think we're supposed to play chess. If we win, we can pass through, right?"
He looked at a black chess piece beside him, and it nodded.
Having confirmed his guess, Ron grew smug.
"Huh? It follows the rules that strictly?" Eliana was taken aback, then said indignantly, "This is a challenge guarding the Sorcerer's Stone. Shouldn't it be as difficult as possible? Why are we seriously playing chess? It makes it seem like a test."
"Uh, well..." Ron stammered. "Maybe beating the other side is already hard enough?"
Having never played Wizard chess, Eliana angrily withdrew from the conversation.
Harry, a terrible chess player, remained silent.
Hermione, who was equally unfamiliar with Wizard chess, also vanished into silence.
"Ha, they really did manage to stop us." Eliana grumbled. "Doesn't this count as stopping us?"
"I think I can give it a try." Ron said thoughtfully. "Let me see which pieces we need to replace. Harry, maybe you can take that..."
"Wait." Eliana raised