"Say, what?!" Sheva widened his eyes after he received the sudden information from Master Susanto. "I am going to play?!" He pointed his finger at himself, trying to see if it was his ears that were trying to deceive him.

"Yeah, you said that you feel great, right?" Master Susanto asked, while the other players were also staring at him. Seeing Sheva's nod, the man continued, "Well, if that is the case, then what are you hesitating about? Just go!"

It was the morning before the first round of the Olympiad began, and before they all went to the venue, the players gathered in the boys' room to discuss who would play in this round. At first, Sheva thought he wouldn't be able to play, especially since the boy didn't look very well yesterday. However, after he answered the seemingly casual question from Master Susanto about his situation, the boy didn't expect that the leader of the team would immediately point him to play.

"Not that I am hesitating, of course, but can you give me a reason first?" He asked, still with confusion in his tone. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love to play, but this seems to be a bit sudden, right? I mean, I am just a reserve member here."

"That is because you are the reserve member that you have to play in this round." This time, it was Novendra who answered his question. "You might not notice it because we are still in the hotel, but the atmosphere inside the venue will be far different than in this place. The competitive aura would shake your spirit if you are not prepared, and once you have a bad result, it would affect your whole performance. Rather than letting that happen, it would be better to allow you to adjust your state against a lower-rated opponent first while also getting ready if we need you against a stronger one."

Well… That was a valid reasoning. Even though Sheva felt like he wouldn't feel any stage fright, like how Novendra mentioned, this was indeed something that could possibly happen.

"So, Ia will also be playing in this round too?" He asked, turning to Irene, who stood near the door while also leaning her body back against the wall.

"Indeed, and not just you two, but Bagas, Anna, and Laysa will also be the same." The leader of the women's team answered. "You all will need this adjustment since you are new to such a high-level tournament like this, trust me." She said with the seriousness that was quite rare to be seen from her.

The opponent that the Indonesian team would face in this round was indeed pretty weak. For the men's team, they would be playing against the Hong Kong team, where the highest-rated player there only had an ELO rating of 2028. Not trying to be cocky or a dickhead, but even if Sheva played all four boards alone simultaneously, the boy was still sure that he could get a perfect result against them all.

As for the women's team, they would play against Honduras in this round. It was the 112th-ranked country in this section, with its best player having an ELO rating of 1633. Facing this huge difference, trying to adjust their mental state in this round was indeed the best choice.

"What? You don't like that I am going to play?" Claudia shot another sarcastic remark with a sneer at Sheva.

"Ia! Don't be rude!" Anna hissed sharply before turning around at Sheva and sending the boy a silent apology.

Sheva himself just shrugged nonchalantly, knowing that the girl was still salty at the comeback he threw yesterday. He also felt guilty for snapping at her, even though he had a valid reason to do that. However, with his mind being calmer, the boy felt the necessity to be a better adult here, so he ignored the girl's snide comment and turned around to the others to continue the topic.

"So, you kids are done with your bickering?" Medina had her hands crossed in front of her chest while also staring at them flatly, enough to send a shiver down everyone's spine. "Okay, since you are calm enough, let me tell you something here. Even though Sister Irene and Master Susanto are not going to play, that doesn't mean we can underestimate our opponent. Hell, if anything, anyone who dares to do that and fails to win will have to sit on the bench the first time we are playing against a contender nation, am I making myself clear?!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" All the youngsters answered simultaneously with their backs straightened as if they were a group of soldiers facing someone with a higher rank than them.

Even though Medina didn't really have any power to decide that, it seemed that all the veteran members of the group had already decided this matter, and they just used her as their spokesperson since… Well, everyone listened to her better. She was the big sister of the group, so it was a no-brainer to let her do the dirty work here.

After the decision stood, everyone started to prepare for their game today. Even though their opponent was far below them in terms of rating, no one dared to underestimate this game, especially considering the high stakes that they were playing here. No one wanted to be left out in a crucial game, so the only way to stay was to win the game.

Sheva himself would play against Kwong Wing Ki, a young man who was two years older than him with an ELO rating of 1824. Since the rating difference between them was greater than 400, a win would only give Sheva 0.8 points. However, it would also be the best start possible for him, especially since the boy was determined to get the individual medal for the reserve board.

With his eyes still locked in his phone, Sheva muttered inwardly, "Sorry, Kwong Wing Ki, no offense to you, but I will use you as my stepping stone. Stay still and let me kill you, okay?"

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