At first, Silas felt like he was banging his head against a brick wall. By the third cycle, something shifted. He wasn't "calculating" anymore; he was recognizing . Patterns that used to be hidden—back-rank weaknesses, "smothered" potential, overloaded defenders—now screamed at him from the screen. He was becoming a woodpecker, drumming the same trunk until he hit the prize.

He didn't think. He reacted. Sacrifice. Check. Deflection. Mate.

Immediately start over. Solve the same 1,000 puzzles again, but faster.