Time, Chess, and the Tower of Magic
(novel: 29-35)
(manhwa: 44-45)
I just reread the scene in the novel, and I'm kind of obsessed with it, but also am in awe of how well it established the dynamic between Desir and Zod, something that I feel like the manhwa didn't really do, so, I'm doing a bit of comparing under the cut.
Also, if you like these characters in the manhwa, then you should 100% read at least these few chapters, because, as I said before, they are amazing.
So the manhwa starts us off with how Zod is an "odd fellow", he's always been that, and how he lead civilization into a new era of magic, he's achievements are endless, and is Desir's irreplaceable friend.
Now, in the novel, Desir says that Zod accepted his request because he was intrigued by it. (True) He says that Zod single-handedly renewed interest in magic.
(Also, fun-fact: someone wrote a book about all of his accomplishments, and it's thicker than most encyclopedias.)
(Also also, in the manhwa he looks like 40, in the novel that's 30)
The next scene plays out almost the same, except that we learn, in the novel, that Zod has an 'archaic feeling to his words'.
While in the manhwa he's all nice, and smiley etc. novel!Desir points out that until the North Sea's rules are mentioned, Zod's so impatient to get on with the match that it can almost be heard in his tone, which for this old man is VERY impatient.
And then of course Desir drops the bomb, that yeah, he wants to play the Rule set that originates from Zod's homeland and n!Desir immediately points out how much more relaxed Zod gets from hearing that.
The chess match starts, and in both mediums Zod's like, this kid is pretty good, but he's still just a kid, and "[He's] too hasty with [his] moves"
Desir, when he's on the verge of losing, makes the bet. It goes in the novel as it goes in the manhwa, except that a) Zod's like, 'I know that everything you did so far was to make this wager, and I hope you see how suspicious you are.' and b) At this Desir's just like, 'Wow, you're very interested, huh? Then I won't tell you until I win.'
And then the whole 'you play like a whole different person' thing happens in the manhwa, 'oh, well, I played against him in the future so of course I know how he plays', 'I've been the same person this entire time' etc. etc.
So. That does not happen in the novel.
What happens instead is we get the explanation as to why is Desir losing:
He's been playing with Zod for 6 years, yes,
However, this Zod plays differently than other Zod
In the future, his play style is more aggressive
Now he focuses on counter-play and he's more reserved
And Desir deduced this in the first few steps in their game, and been sacrificing pieces since then to analyze Zod's play style.
And also, yes, Desir did figure the greatest mage of all time out in what? 20 minutes?
And Desir might be losing, but because of the time limit Zod's going to make some stupid moves, which Desir deducted will happen, then he makes even worse moves, and the next thing Zod knows is that he got ripped to shreds in 3 minutes.
In the novel, Desir mentions that in the last minutes of the match, Zod's straight up panicking over how bad the situation has gotten for him.
Then, when Desir mentions the trade, Zod tries to calmly explain to him why that's not possible "You're asking to exchange a bar of gold for a peanut"
Desir of course doesn't budge and after a bit of "bartering" it's clear just how fed up with this "boy"'s bs Zod is and reading this scene after the manhwa is kind of shocking
Zod expressed disdain at the boy's choice. "I expected you to choose more wisely. You've rejected my offer, and I can't accept your deal. With that, the negotiations are over." The man rose to get up from his seat.
(...)
"So you think this is a fair deal." The Tower Master was audibly upset by Desir's words.
And I'm very sad that this scene in this form didn't make it to the manhwa, because while we see Zod being dismissive and uninterested in Desir's idea before he sees it to himself, we don't see him being, well, like this.
Prideful, kind of cocky, and straight up offended that a mere student would even dare to suggest that his idea worth as much as support from the Tower of Magic, upset to the point that Desir has to actively put out 'fires' during the conversation so that it can progress.
Which is a beautiful way of showing us how, yes, Desir does know this guy, he knows why he's upset he knows what to say to get him to calm down enough to listen and also how to say it.
What in the manhwa is essentially just 'Well if I show you that my idea is worth it then it will be fine, right? Let me show you then.' in the novel is Desir going on first about how of course what he's saying is outrageous, and Zod is right to be upset, but shouldn't Zod know that impossible things are sometimes real? And then he starts explaining how 20 years old Zod Exarion becoming the Tower Master was an impossible feat, or maybe, perhaps, even more impossible, a student defeating him in chess! Which happened just now, and That is when Zod tells him to show him his idea.
This scene alone reaffirms to the reader, that Desir doesn't just know Zod as a tactician, but as a person, he knows how to talk to him, he knows how to talk sense into him, and that Desir did this enough in the past that this comes like second nature to him.
Zod being stone headed and stuck to his ways until Desir reminds him that he's been just like this boy in the past is also one of the most Old Person Thing TM Zod does in the entire novel, showing and not just telling us that the G is not just for show in that GILF he is actually old.
After that the "reveal" scene plays out pretty similarly except that Zod gets a bit more info out of Desir, one of them is that he didn't necessarily discover the technic but he "knows of it", and Desir lets the reader know that the person who discovered it was in fact Zod, just 3 years into the labyrinth, and as he starts explaining the theory Zod catches up extremely quickly, actually taking over Desir's explanation of how resonance is better than the enchant method.
When Desir mentions that he has more ideas like this, Zod tells his secretary to cancel every plan he has until he says otherwise, which is a very entertaining turn of events in my opinion.
So to wrap it up, while I love how the manhwa did this scene, (this is probably my favorite two chapters from it) I'm kind of sad that most of the little tidbits of building up the relationship between Zod and Desir, that would be important later got lost in adaptation.
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For the Agents AU, what if Gil was moved in different station for what he did? Or he would be working for a different boss temporarily (*whispering* a boss that is a rival of Thena on agent team or something and ON GILGAMESH, a boss that Thena would be jealous of🤫).
Gil visited her in the hospital and that's when he informed her that he was assigned to a new boss temporarily, but also assured her that he would be back on her team and will be always on her side. At first she was about to make a call to have him back on his agency (we all know she would never allow this) but Gil refused, he told her that he would be back to her in no time. She thanked him for protecting her and she wished him luck. And once he left her she was furious and I could imagine her throwing a tantrum of course having to know that he had been transferred to a supervisor who is a rival of hers, and he will be spending his time working for that boss.
Thank you!!! :3
Thena turned, sensing the presence in her doorway. "Hey."
"Hey," Gil smiled, although she could already feel something wasn't right. He seemed downtrodden, and he was hunched in on himself like a guilty kid. It was always an easy way to tell he had bad news.
"How did it go?" she asked as she sorted away the last of her things. She was finally cleared to come back to the office, although field work was another two weeks away. But at least she could find out how Gil's assessment hearing had gone.
"Well," he smiled and winced simultaneously, dragging himself inside her office with his go-bag slung over his shoulder. "I'm not fired."
"That's," she measured him with her eyes, tracking any indicator of what had him so uneasy, "good?"
"I'm not suspended either," he mumbled, "technically."
Thena set down the files she was trying to catch up on, pushing away anything that wasn't Gilgamesh. "Gil, what is it?"
"They're, uh," he looked down at his shoes, "transferring me."
"What?!"
"Temporarily," he was quick to amend, but it did nothing for the rapidly growing ache in her chest. "They're putting me in Minerva's unit for a month."
Minerva was a very competent, and bizarrely friendly, team leader who ran an aggressive extrication unit. They specialised in breaking in and retrieving, and every member needed to be nothing if not resilient.
"They're moving you to extrication?" Thena blinked as if he hadn't just told her that. She was still processing the 'Minerva' part.
He nodded, though, his mouth caught between a frown and a snarl. "I think they just want to know that I can behave if I'm on a tighter leash."
"And they think Minerva's leash will be tighter than mine," Thena assessed, to which Gil shrugged in reluctant agreement.
Gil shifted on his feet, no more comfortable with the position they were in than she. "Didn't you two come up in the ranks around the same time?"
Yes, she had worked with Minerva plenty before they became their own unit leads. Minerva was very warm in nature, very pleasant, but also exceedingly calm under duress. She had no temper to her, no buttons to push. In a lot of ways, she was a balance to Thena's own colder, more aggressive method of handling things.
The last time she spoke with Minerva they were both fighting to attain a certain Agent on their teams.
"It's just a month," Gil shrugged again, his voice going thin as a whisper. His throat was tight. "I'll be back before you know it."
Wrong; she was going to feel every second of his absence. Maybe it was a good thing she was being forced onto desk duty for two weeks. She would have more mind-numbing paperwork and less time to think about Gil working under Minerva.
"Hey," he moved around the side of her desk and closer to her. They had become closer naturally since their little rescue operation. And this was exactly why he was being transferred out from under her in the first place. He leaned his head down to hers, "one month."
"One month," she whispered back to him.
"Then I'll be right back here," he smiled, hoping to get one in return.
Thena made the effort--the attempt. It wasn't great, but he appreciated it all the same. "Right back here."
He leaned in, hand on her shoulder as he pressed his lips to her temple. "Where I belong."
"Where you belong," she repeated faintly as she felt him pull away. She held his eyes as he dragged himself back to the door. "One month--and not a second later."
He grinned at her, giving her a sharp nod (and a wink?). "Yes, Ma'am."
Thena waited until her office door was closed behind him. She counted to ten before picking up her thick stack of files and slapping them down on the desk and throwing herself into her chair. She breathed out a rough sigh, slapping the back of her head against her chair.
"This a bad time?"
"That door is closed for a reason."
Kingo walked in anyway, hands in his pockets. "So...Gil told you the news."
Thena toyed with her pen in her hand. "He should be grateful they didn't resign him to desk duty for a year."
"That doesn't mean extrication is the better answer though," Kingo raised his eyes to hers, "does it?"
She avoided looking at him. Kingo was a master of reading people, and she - somehow - was not exempt from that rule. She just didn't think Gil would like working in extrication. She didn't think it was a good fit for him, and it was never a smooth procedure to just insert a new team member into any specialty division.
Minerva had said she thought he'd be a great candidate. Thena had fought tooth and nail to have his application given to her instead.
"Well, I'm sure he'll like it in special ops," Minerva had smiled so blithely at her, not an ounce of malice in her petite little body. "I was looking forward to having such a handsome subordinate, though."
"Boss?"
"It doesn't matter what we think, Kingo," she muttered, finally. She tossed her pen onto her desk. "All that matters is that we all get through this next month."
Kingo pursed his lips, and she immediately knew he was about to say something borderline outrageous. "Are you worried about Gil working under Minerva? Or...are you worried about him being under-"
"Kingo!"
He snapped back physically, scrunching his shoulders and holding his hands up. "Don't mind me. Just...talking to myself."
She huffed; how was she supposed to endure Kingo without Gil to balance him out?
"Don't think like that, Boss," he grinned at her, as if he could read her disparaging thoughts right off of her. "I promise I'll be the perfect right hand. You won't even have time to miss the big guy!"
"Kingo-"
"You can count on me, Boss Lady!" he snapped his wrist in a crisp - and also mocking - salute before heading right out the door again.
Thena hung her head in her hands, groaning. She missed Gil already.
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