The First Crab to Be Eaten

As the game progressed, the smile gradually faded from Sakayanagi Arisu's face.

Her high spirits could not make up for the gap in their skill.

By the time they reached move 47, she could clearly feel herself struggling.

Even saying she was struggling was putting it too kindly. The game had reached the point where her defeat was all but certain.

Without even realizing it, she had let Makoto Nishikado break through the defenses in the center of her area of strength.

Sakayanagi Arisu had not even noticed when Makoto Nishikado launched his attack.

Looking back over the game from the beginning, she felt that Makoto Nishikado had turned the tables with a single knight's move on move 14.

That knight's move, combined with the opening move at the 3-3 point, had managed to reverse Makoto Nishikado's disadvantage at the start, leaving her feeling as if a fish bone were stuck in her throat.

Naturally, Sakayanagi Arisu had no idea that in the world line of Makoto Nishikado's previous life, AlphaGo had burst onto the scene and overturned many traditional beliefs in the Go world.

Traditional players considered an opening move at the 3-3 point far too conservative. In theory, Go was about claiming more territory.

But AlphaGo defied that conventional wisdom.

After AlphaGo dominated the entire Go world, the 3-3 point gradually became a common opening move in professional matches.

There had even been professional games where all four corners were taken at the 3-3 point.

Studying AI and memorizing its games had become part of professional Go players' daily routines in his previous life.

Some had even simulated AI's logic by memorizing its games, becoming the strongest human players of their time.

That was why some people said professional Go had become boring.

After the nine-time champion had held out for 120 moves, there were no professional players left who could beat AI—or even draw against it without a handicap.

Makoto Nishikado had no prejudice against AI opening theory. He had studied it seriously before.

In his view, only by first understanding the meaning behind AI's opening theory could one hope to surpass AlphaGo!

As for this world, AlphaGo had yet to appear.

But Makoto Nishikado had heard that someone was researching how to use AI to play Go.

In other words, Makoto Nishikado had not underestimated Sakayanagi Arisu, nor had he been setting a trap.

He had simply used a strategy he had learned in his previous life.

But to Sakayanagi Arisu, that strategy was revolutionary.

She had the honor of becoming the first crab to be eaten.

Sakayanagi Arisu had not realized the significance of that opening, and she had no idea how to respond.

By the time she caught on, the only choices left to her were a moderate loss, a heavy loss, or a devastating loss.

On move 47, Sakayanagi Arisu thought for a full fifteen minutes, trying to find a way to lose only a little.

Makoto Nishikado waited patiently, occasionally glancing at the system notifications.

[Triggered Sakayanagi Arisu's emotions, gained 2,782 emotion points.]

[Triggered Sakayanagi Arisu's emotions, gained 3,164 emotion points.]

"Can your body handle this?"

Seeing how many emotion points he had gained, and noticing Sakayanagi Arisu's poor complexion, Makoto Nishikado finally spoke again.

Playing Go seriously was actually quite mentally taxing.

"I'm fine. My illness just can't be cured; it doesn't affect me much day to day."

"You should know, I even drink coffee."

Sakayanagi Arisu raised her head and answered Makoto Nishikado's concern with a smile.

Neither her body nor her state of mind was as fragile as she appeared.

She even often used her frail constitution to gain other people's sympathy and put herself at an advantage.

But this was a fair competition. He absolutely shouldn't go easy on her just because she was a delicate flower!

"Since you say so, let's keep going. Just tell me right away if you start feeling unwell."

"Little Princess, try not to push yourself so hard from now on."

Makoto Nishikado was still looking at the system screen.

After spending two weeks at Advanced Nurturing, he was guaranteed to earn at least five million emotion points each week.

If he could keep that pace up, he would accumulate about 800 million emotion points in three years.

A skill at the ten-million level was already rare, on a par with Koenji Rokusuke.

What if he raised a skill to one hundred million?

Considering that no one in the world might have a skill at that level, Makoto Nishikado could only upgrade it himself.

Raising one skill to the one-hundred-million level would cost two hundred million.

In other words, three full years of savings would only be enough to raise four skills to the one-hundred-million level.

If he raised his medical skills to that level, could he cure Sakayanagi Arisu's illness?

The sound of a stone being placed on the board interrupted Makoto Nishikado's thoughts.

His expression unchanged, Makoto Nishikado turned his attention back to the board.

"I resign."

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't place her stone on the board. She returned it to the pile of black stones instead.

She chose to resign, her expression dark.

Sakayanagi Arisu hadn't spent all that much time on Go, so losing to another genius like Makoto Nishikado wasn't surprising.

But knowing that rationally didn't mean she could accept it.

Especially since this time, she had lost terribly.

The game had only just entered the middle stage, and she was already backed into a corner.

She could keep playing, but it would be too ugly.

To have played so poorly from the opening meant she was at least two levels below Makoto Nishikado.

"Makoto, that 3-3 move of yours, combined with the knight's move on move 14, was practically a Hand of God. Can you tell me how you saw it?"

Sakayanagi Arisu put away the stones and restored the board to the position it had been in after the first 14 moves, relying on her memory.

Her memory was so good that she remembered all 46 moves without a single mistake.

"I can explain it, but in Go, that move is a little better than an ordinary move or a vulgar move. It can only be considered a brilliant move. A Hand of God is a level that's not so easy to reach."

Makoto Nishikado corrected her.

Even the greatest figures in Go history had pursued the Hand of God.

An opening move at the 3-3 point wasn't at that level.

Makoto Nishikado had the Hand of God skill, but it was still dormant.

And he didn't know how to awaken it.

"Can we play another game?"

After Makoto Nishikado had given her an initial explanation of the significance of the 3-3 point, Sakayanagi Arisu looked at him intently.

There was one advantage to losing quickly: she could start another game sooner.

"Can I refuse? Your Go skills are a little weak."

Makoto Nishikado's usual smile returned.

As a professional-level Go player, it wouldn't be right to keep picking on someone weaker than him.

"You really have some nerve!"

Sakayanagi Arisu looked angry, and in truth, she was even angrier than she appeared.

Calling a genius "weak" was terribly rude.

But Makoto Nishikado was the winner, and he had thoroughly beaten her on the board.

So when faced with his blunt assessment, Sakayanagi Arisu could only take it.

She wasn't someone who had just made the top sixteen at a world championship and still dared to call herself the best in the world.

"Makoto, then how about a game of international chess?"

Sakayanagi Arisu brought out the chess set she had prepared in advance. She wasn't going to let Makoto Nishikado run wild.

Sakayanagi Arisu knew she wouldn't be able to beat Makoto Nishikado at Go anytime soon, unless he gave her two stones.

But if he gave her two stones and she won, it would still feel like a loss.

Outside of Go, she had another skill that could prove she was a genius!

"Since you insist, I'll play with you to your heart's content, Little Princess."

Makoto Nishikado smiled and agreed.

The Little Princess was in a bad mood after he had teased her, so cheering her up was naturally his responsibility too.

To prove he wasn't throwing the game, Makoto Nishikado deliberately raised his international chess skill to the 990,000 level.

[Hand of God awakening condition: Raise three chess skills above 10 million, or raise one chess skill above 50 million.]

Seeing the system notification pop up out of nowhere, Makoto Nishikado instantly switched into battle mode and immediately exchanged for Sakayanagi Arisu's international chess ability.

Combined with the 990,000 chess skill he had just gained, Makoto Nishikado was now a stronger chess player than Sakayanagi Arisu!

Looking at Sakayanagi Arisu's serious, confident gaze, Makoto Nishikado defended himself in his heart.

Little Princess, I didn't do this to you. That damned system did!