Beginning Beyond The Horizon

The morning market is crowded with vendors and shoppers, all haggling over prices. The bustling market is irresistible, and you can't help but get caught up in the excitement of the shoppers. The sounds in the market were like the mixed excitement of people watching an opera singer take to the stage. Colorful costumes dazzle the eyes of people walking on the streets, and vendors sell a variety of fruits and vegetables, displaying their harvests and traditional crafts.

"After sleeping on the ground for a month, tonight, my old back can finally rest in bed," U-ri said, staring at the crafts on the stall. He turned around and found Yul talking to the stall owner at another stall, so he turned around and stared at the handicrafts on the stall table.

After Yul finished talking to the stall owner, he found U-ri and walked towards U-ri.​

U-ri approached Yul and asked, "So, what did you find?"

Yul said, "The library is that way, but... the library is not free and open to the public. We need permission to enter the library."

U-ri asked, "Who can grant us permission?"

Yul said, "The head of the librarian." He turned and looked at U-ri, and the two began to walk towards the meeting place. "According to the hawker, every three months, the library director will hold a chess game competition. The chess competition will last for seven consecutive days. After the seventh day, the winner will have the opportunity to enter the library for three months until the new winners enters the library."

U-ri frowned and said, "What are the rules?"

Yul said, "The rule is, only those who attend are allowed in. Let's meet with the others and we can discuss this further."

When Yul and U-ri arrived at the city gate, Abrafo, Michio, Bong and Fufu had already arrived. Michio stood up and waved to Yul and U-ri. 

Bong said, "I found us a place to stay, but it's a bit far from here."

Abrafo said disappointedly, "I asked around and no one knew of any known family with the surname Bai."

Michio said, "I got the direction information to the gatekeeper temple outside the city. According to the locals, Kinigan Island is a myth, just like what we encountered in the past."

Fufu said, "I found that there are only three promising libraries in Zans City, namely the Ocean Library, the Treasure Library and the Eternal Library." She scratched her head and looked at the four Tanzanies and Bong. "But the Eternal Library is difficult to access. People here told me that none of the local libraries have stories about Kinigan Island, but that these stories are made up from different writers' perspectives. Since we don't have permission to Eternal Library, let's start with the other two libraries we have access to."

Abrafo asked, "Are you sure what you found is true?"

Yul said, "This must be true, because the hawker I spoke to say the same thing. According to the hawker, Eternal Library is very difficult to get into. Those who are allowed to enter must be talented people, so every three months, the library director will hold a fighting competition on an open chessboard. Only those selected can participate in the competition. The winners can study in the library for three months until new winners are admitted."

Bong asked, "So there is more than one winner?"

Yul said, "A team of six people. And only those who participate in the competition can enter the library." He turned and looked at U-ri. "U-ri, I don't think you should participate in this competition."

Abrafo stood up and said, "Nonsenses, U-ri is the smartest one among the five of us. Chess is a game of strategy rather than strength. Without U-ri, our chance of winning is almost zero."

Yu sighed and said, "This chess game is different from other chess games."

U-ri asked, "Is there any difference?"

Yul said, "In this chess game, the players are the chess pieces."

Abrafo was stunned after hearing what Yul said. "If that's the case, it means U-ri can't get in, but we're still at a disadvantage anyway," Abrafo frowned.

Bong asked, "How?"

"There are only five of us and without U-ri we would not be able to participate anyway," Abrafo said.

U-ri said, "Let's just say that now I'm part of the team because we don't know what the rules of this chess game are yet. When we know what the rules are, let's revisit this conversation."

Michio said, "That's a good idea." He saw a number of eight people walking past them, all wearing the same colors and patterns. "Why are these people wearing the same colors and patterns?"

Fufu looked at the people walking over and said, "Generally speaking, participants will wear the same clothes in groups to let everyone know that they are on the same team."

U-ri quickly stopped the group of eight people, four men and four women. He smiled and said, "Dear fellow travelers, may I ask if any of you are participating in this chess fighting competition?"

A young man said, "Yes, we are. We just got back from registering our names before the deadline."

U-ri turned around and asked, "There is a deadline for registration?"

The young man said, "Yes, the deadline is tomorrow at noon." He looked at the four Tanzanies, Bong and Fufu. "If you want to have a chance to enter Eternal Library, you'd better register. If you are lucky enough, you can get a pass. With this pass, you don't have to wait for tomorrow's selection." He looked at the four Tanzanies, Bong, and Fufu. "Is this your team?"

Abrafo said, "Yes." He saw a strange expression on the young man's face. "What's wrong with our team?"

The young man smiled and said, "No problem, but you still need one more person."

Yul asked, "Aren't there six people in each team?"

The young man shook his head and said, "We thought so too, but this year, the director changed the rules to seven people per team. We were lucky enough that we brought more people." He pointed to the far left. "There are a lot of teams that bring only six people and now are recruiting people to join them."

Yul smiled at the man and said, "Thank you."

The young man smiled and said, "No problem." He quickly left with his teammates.

"Shit... Not only are we weak in strength, but we are also two men short," Abrafo shook his head in disappointment. "Where are we going to find the sixth and seventh men?"

Yul looked around and said, "It seems that there are many people interested in this event. Let's go see the venue where the event is held, learn about the rules of the competition, and then go back to the inn."

Walking on the lively streets, the four Tanzanies, Bong, and Fufu were getting closer and closer to the event site and found that there were already many people queuing up.

Michio said, "It seems that there are quite a few people participating."

Abrafo looked at Bong and said, "This is Phoenix Chamber all over again." He quickened his pace and walked towards the group of people. "Let's go see if there are any familiar faces." He grabbed Bong's hand and dragged Bong toward the larger crowd in front of them.

"Sir U-ri!" A high-pitched and soft female voice called U-ri's name. "Sir U-ri! Sir U-ri!"

Yul said, "U-ri, someone seems to be looking for you."

U-ri turned around to see who would call his name in the middle of a busy street. He saw a middle-aged man walking towards him with two young women. A young woman waved to U-ri with a warm smile.

Yul asked, "Do you know her?"

U-ri said, "I don't believe so..."

Michio said, "Then how does she know your name?"

The middle-aged man and two young women quickly maneuver the pedestrians in front and walked towards the three Tanzanies, and Fufu.

"Sir U-ri," one of the young women said. "Do you remember me?"

U-ri smiled sheepishly and said, "Sorry, my memory is not very good."

The young woman said, "The last time we met was in Stone Village."

U-ri thought for a while and said, "Oh... the two young ladies who participated in the event and gave Hajime a gratitude token... I remember it now."

The young woman looked around and asked, "Hey, where is Sir Hajime?"

U-ri said, "He... uh... he has other things to do, and he is not here today."

The young woman looked disappointed and asked, "Are you going to participate?"

U-ri said, "I hope so." He saw that the young woman's face had darkened. "What's wrong?"

The young woman said, "Sir U-ri, I suggest you not to participate. Even we dare not participate."

Fufu asked, "May I ask why?"

The middle-aged man said, "Many people will not participate in this game of chess, because the price may be your life."

Yul asked, "We are not familiar with the rules, please explain them."

The middle-aged man said, "Anyone can register their team to participate, but this does not mean that the head librarian will select your team. If your group catches the attention of the head librarian, you can get a pass to skip tomorrow's selection. Therefore, only the most skilled will enter this chess competition. Although it is said to be a chess game, it is actually not a chess game, but a fighting game. You see, there may be a lot of people here, but most people just come to watch, they are not here to participate. The participants were all people with high fighting skills."

Fufu asked, "So this is a human chess game?"

The middle-aged man and the two young women nodded. "Sorry, we have to say goodbye for now," the middle-aged man said. "We are supposed to meet our families on the other side of town. Sir U-ri, it's great to see you again. We will be cheering you and your team on."

The father and daughters hurriedly said goodbye and left.

Fufu who had witness countless southern human game before sighed heavily and said, "This is not good. In this case, Sir U-ri cannot participate."

Michio asked, "Why?"

"As long as there are people involved, people will die," Fufu said. "Fighting skills are not what Sir U-ri is good at. Yul said that we are the chess pieces, so in this chess game, the only way to win is to incapacitate our opponents."

U-ri looked at the people around him, and he smiled and said, "Don't worry about me. I promised you; I don't need your protection. All everyone needs to do is make sure you beat every team, and then we enter Eternal Library."