"Say, what?! You are getting sponsored by the fucking BNI?!" Claudia slammed the table hard, widening her eyes in disbelief.

"Ia, no cursing, please." Anna frowned, not knowing where did her sister learn how to cuss. Well, she should know about this, as everyone entering their teenage phase would be exposed to this way of interacting with their peers. It was like a rite of passage, and Anna herself also experienced the same in the past. "Still… is that a legit offer?" The older girl also asked, voicing her doubt.

It was thirty minutes after the meeting with Dina was over, and both Sheva and Bagas called the Marisa Siblings over to share the good news. True to their expectation, Anna and Claudia had a similar reaction as they did a moment ago, making them glad that they were not being exaggerated or something like that earlier.

Anna's question was also a valid one here, as the condition of the sponsorship itself was too good to be true. Anyone else who didn't have any concern or suspicion would be too stupid to get involved with a lot of money like this.

"Don't worry, I have done my research before you arrive here," Sheva said, trying to reassure the girl. Then, he took out his phone and gave it to Anna before adding, "Here, see it for yourself. All the people we know, from Dina to Wahyu Satyawan, all of them are real people. They also hold the position they really said earlier, and the name card that Mrs. Dina gave is also a legit one."

On the phone, both Anna and Claudia could read the research that Sheva had done before they came, and indeed, everything seemed to be legit. Coupled with the reasoning that the woman gave, they couldn't find any fault with it. This was weird, but they heard a lot of stories about how rich people spent their money on something stupider than this, so it really wasn't that bad.

"Still… To think that you will catch the attention of such a high-profile person…" Anna couldn't help but shake her head, still couldn't believe this news. "You must spend the luck of your entire life just for this moment, huh?" She joked casually.

Sheva turned his face away a little bit, somehow feeling guilty about this. Even though he knew that this wasn't his fault, the boy couldn't help but think that the cheat he got, the system, really put him above his peers, and it was so unfair for the others. He realized that maybe, both Anna and Claudia would reach the same height as him, yet they lacked the opportunity to do that, which only made the boy feel more guilty.

As he thought about that, though, the system suddenly sent a notification.

[DING!]

[The system detects the host's feeling, and a new mission is available!]

[Mission 4: Help the Marisa Sisters to reach a new height and make their names resounding in the next Olympiad!]

[Requirement: Turn them into a player worthy of being the Olympiad Medalist for the individual category! Take them to the spotlight they deserve and elevate the chess level of your country one step higher!]

Olympiad medalist for the individual category…

This was the award given by the committee for the best players on each board, which should be pretty easy for Anna and Claudia to get, considering they were placed on the bottom board, the place where the low-rated opponents fought. Anna herself would probably be on board 3, while Claudia, just like the agreement with Irfan, would be put on the reserve spot.

However, even if they won the medal for being the best individual players on their board, this wouldn't leave a strong impression that could warrant them a new opportunity just like him right now. No, they should do something special there, something that was enough to make everyone remember that they just crushed the field. The only way to do that was…

'Hmm… Maybe, I need to practice with them more intently and guide them to fix their weakness.' Sheva muttered to himself. 'Speaking of weakness, though, I still haven't seen her stats, right? System, scan Anna's stats for me, please.' He asked, glancing sideways at Anna.

[DING! SCAN SUCCESFUL!]

[Name: Anna Marisa]

Attacking 78

Defense 74

Calculation 74

Strategy 70

Intuition 78

Time management 77

'A pretty balanced stat with no obvious weakness, huh?' Sheva muttered. 'All of her stats have already crossed 70, though, so that means her level is up to the IM one. Getting her title upgraded from WGM wouldn't be that hard if she had the same opportunity as me…'

While Sheva was pondering over Anna's stats, he didn't notice that the same girl was also paying attention to him. Anna's feelings were pretty complicated right now. After all, it was just three months ago that Sheva started to play chess, and yet, here the boy was, having already gotten very close to her back. It was scary how much the boy's improvement was, and with the sponsorship from a big company like BNI, the girl was afraid that Sheva would just fly higher, leaving her and Claudia to the dust.

She didn't know that this was exactly what Claudia felt when she was in Reykjavik with Sheva.

'No, no need to be jealous.' The girl shook her head quickly. 'Still… What if his skill is still at the same level as before the Reykjavik Open, but his achievement is just due to the opportunity that he has? Does that mean I could do the same too if the opportunity falls into my hands?' She couldn't help but have a doubt here.

Yeah, it was still hard for Anna to believe that Sheva could improve this fast, just in three months, only with his talent. In her mind, this was all due to the resources given to him, and if any talented player had the same opportunity, they would be able to do the same as him. It was cruel and unfair to Sheva, of course. That was why she didn't dare to voice that doubt out loud.

However, there was also a slight fear lingering inside her head.

'What if it wasn't just because of the resource, but also due to his talent?' She couldn't help but think. 'What if his talent has already passed mine and Claudia, putting him in the higher league with the other grandmasters outside?'

After pondering for a moment, Anna finally took a deep breath. This negative thought started to eat her alive, killing her from the inside. Fortunately, the girl knew how to fix this matter. Well, it was pretty easy, honestly. If she had a doubt about Sheva's ability, the only way to confirm her guess was, of course, throughout the game.

So….

"How about a game against me, Shev?"

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