The Conquerors Path

Chapter 818: Chapter 816-Heated Match.

'A bubble of insecurities hidden under a layer of confidence, running away from the past, one might say...'

I mused as I floated above the sky, looking down at Ella. For all her bravado and confidence, there lay a very fragile ego within her, one born from all the past things that happened to her, which started to push Ella towards the edge-always to be perfect, to be that one ideal self that cannot have a single layer of problem or issue others can see or use against her.

And in that run from those hidden layers, Ella has forgotten that by running away from our problems, they will surely catch up to you. Now, it catches up, twisting her tastes and filling her with that fragile ego, which will burst if pushed in the specific way I know.

Of course, in the game, it's our duty as the players to handle Ella well. She does go down that dark road of control and self-inflicted pleasure, taking the player away from Carmel. But in a sense, in the game, we must guide Ella well, be by her side, investigate her past, and together, finally help Ella get over the problems and truly shine as a beautiful woman.

One that is truly intelligent and beautiful. And it also comes with dealing with a lot of baggage, which Ella comes along with. Ella is more among the clingy and love-needing targets. Unlike many, she always needs to be assured of her self-worth when she is with the player. She always needs some time for the player-a lot of maintenance goes into dealing with Ella.

In the game, if we spend some time away from her, her emotions start to spiral out of control. She starts to think the player is cheating on her, maybe the fact that he's tired of her, maybe the fact that because she is too clingy, the player has lost interest in her. Or perhaps the player has found someone better than her.

All those negative thoughts would always hover over her. The first part of conquering Ella begins with creating that atmosphere where Carmel likes the player. After that, that taboo- like pleasure of taking away and sparkling better would keep Ella in check, always seeking out the player for a sense of validation to boost her ego-that she is better than the so-called downtrodden princess.

The fact, after that, is that Ella will slowly fall for the player's true charm. It's here that this level of behaviour and jealousy will start to sprout out. In the game scenario, there are parts where Ella will even ask the player to get into a relationship with Carmel and just string her along, while Ella will be the one 'truly' enjoying the player behind Carmel's back.

After this would come the scene of the player trying to get the girls and not spending enough time with Ella, which will push her to take drastic measures to keep the love. Taking extreme steps would lead to a bad ending, and this is where, when courting Ella, the player has to be careful. The player also has to quickly deal with the fragile ego of Ella-that means a journey into her past and learning of the present.

However, even after that, the main problem of her clinginess and wanting to spend a lot of time together won't be taken away easily. Instead, it would only reinforce Ella's behaviour very well, and she would even start to think of ways to manipulate Carmel with the player, trying to make Carmel into the puppet ruler while truly ruling the Empire as the true couple rulers.

'Of course, that only happens if you push your choices for it.'

A swirling thought filled my mind as I saw Ella finish biting her lips and talking to Lompak. In the game, there are a lot of ways in which, while trying to help Ella with her past, we can approach it. Among that comes the ways or paths Ella will fall into—that crazy lover-sharer who wants to control the Empire is just one among them.

Ella could also turn completely dependent on the player, living to please and be with him. Or she might turn into something even worse-filled with insecurity that would drive pleasure from 'loaning' her lover to Carmel, after which Ella will get supreme pleasure from being the one giving the player more joy than Carmel.

'A lot of twisted paths that can lead to a bad end.'

The 'game,' in a sense, had a lot of freedom in that regard when it comes to the much lower- level capture targets. And as always, I had thought the intense emotional problems were merely from the game specs. But now that I know the truth of the corruption in them, it's easier to see how the corruption influences them to be very emotional.

It also goes to show why all these girls, if not many, have such bad or sad backstories, even though they would be from higher positions of power. The bad childhood or past is combined with the intense emotions of renewal, and then the birth of love with corruption gives it more of a boost when the gate has to open to Rehte.

All that power yet being blessed with a bad past. I have to say these capture targets only sound more pitiful the more you get to know about them. Though I can't say, this doesn't come with its own fate's boost of having large or extreme amounts of talents not normally seen-a trade-over by fate for making their karma come out to be so worse.

'Looks like it's starting.'

I smirked as I watched the chess match that was about to renew in front of me. Lompak was now no longer able to read the electric thoughts, and Ella was a bit disgruntled from it all as her eyes shined with powerful light. The ones around, who used to handle everything, moved within the crowd as I heard Ella say:

"Let's continue, shall we?"

Everyone held their breath as Ella's words hung in the air. The chessboard between her and Lompak glowed faintly with the magic running through the pieces, each player's mana coursing through them like tethers of invisible strings. Ella was poised and calculating, her whole being radiating an almost imperious calm. By contrast, Lompak's brow furrowed as he reined in his thoughts, ready to engage in what had by now become a purely intellectual battle.

With a flick of her finger, Ella's mana surged, dragging a pawn two squares forward to e4. "Pawn to e4," she said with clipped precision, her voice light but full of authority. Lompak smiled, concealing the tension now gathering in his brain. "Pawn to e5," he responded, moving his own piece out to match her opening move. His voice was even, but instantly, his concentration turned as sharp as a razor. He couldn't count on reading Ella's brain waves anymore-a trick that had helped him so far in anticipating her next move. It was now just skill pitted against skill, intellect against intellect.

Ella leaned to one side, narrowing her eyes as if on a battlefield. She cast her mana and slid a knight to f3. "Knight to f3," her voice was smooth, almost playful.

Lompak replied quickly. "Knight to c6." He put a bit of his mana into the knight as he moved it, giving it a slight shine. He needed to keep her on her toes and make her slip up.

The pieces clicked and clattered in a rhythmic dance as the game wore on. Subtle yet deliberate, both players were deep in it now, their moves calculated and exact. Ella moved her bishop to c4, creating an early pressure point in Lompak's position.

"Bishop to c5," was Lompak's response, the knight and bishop now cooperating in the defense of the king's side. He was not going to give Ella an easy opening.

Ella smirked. "Aggressive, are we?" she said, an edge of amusement lacing into her tone. She adjusted her mana flow and brought out her other knight to c3. As layer upon layer of intricate strategies unfolded, tensions in the gathering thickened.

The match heated up as they jockeyed into the middle game, Ella moving her queen forward to d3, with her mana charging the piece with a nearly silent hum. The place was alive with silent anticipation, the people around them hardly daring to breathe.

Lompak scowled, eyes narrowing as he stared at the board with intense focus. He could feel the trap she was setting-neat, too, to entice him into overcommitting his defences. He edged a pawn forward to h6, hoping to gain some room on the king's side.

The eyes of Ella sparkled with approbation. "Clever, but not clever enough," she muttered to herself, moving her rook to e1, firming up her central control.

For a second or two, Lompak wavered, the weight of her implacable onslaught bearing down on him. But he hardened himself. He moved his bishop to g5, where it pinned her knight to the queen. "Ah, let's see how you handle this."

Ella leaned forward, her mana flaring as she cast a glance at the piece. Her knight leapt to d5, a daring counterattack that sent ripples of admiration through the crowd.

And it was a little disappointment to the heart of Lompak. She outmanoeuvred him, and he was not ready to give up yet. He sacrificed a pawn to d5, which she had to recapture. The board blazed with possibilities, every move feeling like a thrust of the dagger or a raised shield.