Chapter 13: Velvet’s data panel

​After Smith opened the interface, he saw that the word "Dormant" had been replaced by "Novice." This was clearly his current rank. Just below the Novice rank, there was a section labeled "Queens." Smith selected it, and a single name popped up: Velvet.

​Upon clicking Velvet’s name, her details appeared:

​Name: Velvet

​Title: The Blade Saint (Legendary)

​Rank: Novice

​Battle Art: Blood Arts

​The layout was simple, but he immediately noticed the "Legendary" suffix after her title. If he remembered correctly, there were only Bronze, Silver, and Gold titles. How could a Legendary title exist? He clicked on the title to inspect it further:

​Title: The Blade Saint

​Title Effect: Boosts Attack and Speed by 200%

​At first, Smith was thrilled just thinking he had obtained a Gold titled Queen, assuming "Legendary" was simply another term for "Gold." His buoyant mood even affected Velvet. Although she didn’t understand why Smith was so happy, seeing him pleased made her happy, too.

​Once his excitement settled, however, he remembered something crucial. Jack had explicitly stated that a title boosts only a single aspect which is either Attack, Speed, or Defense and that Gold titles were the peak. When the realization sank in that he had secured a Queen with a title far surpassing the known Gold tier, he began to analyze its true implications.

​Even though Jack hadn’t mentioned the inherent weaknesses of each title, it was obvious that every single aspect title had a direct counter:

​An Attack focused Queen could easily be outmaneuvered by a Speed focused Queen where by no matter how high your damage is, you have to hit the target first for it to matter.

​A Speed focused Queen fighting a Defense focused Queen would likely exhaust herself before breaking through the opponent’s guard.

​A Defense focused Queen against an Attack focused Queen was like a fish on a chopping board; no matter how strong her defense, taking passive hits continuously would eventually exceed her limit.

​Every conventional title had a flaw. But judging by Velvet’s Legendary title, her ability as the Blade Saint meant she could easily overpower both Defense and Attack Queens simultaneously. Even if she faced a Speed focused Queen of the same rank where their baseline defense would be relatively equal so she could win by trading of blows with minimal effort because her speed matched theirs while her attack far exceeded them.

​Realizing this left Smith completely speechless. He stared at her intently for a few minutes until she broke the silence, asking him a question: "Did the other girls receive the same treatment as you in the trial?"

​Smith paused. "In reality, we didn’t receive the exact same treatment because we trained in different Battle Arts and were given different equipment. But in every other aspect, we were the same. I didn’t sense any real difference."

​Velvet spoke casually, as if they had all simply been given ice cream where only the flavors differed, not the value. When she turned back to look at Smith, she caught him staring directly into her face. She blushed; this was the first time she as had looked at so intently even when she had first emerged from the portal, he hadn’t looked at her like this.

​While Velvet was lost in her shy thoughts, a single realization echoed in Smith’s mind: He had raised monsters.

​If every single girl was like Velvet, it meant there were six more Legendary titled Queens back in that dimension. For now, his knowledge was limited, and he didn’t know if he could ever return to Velvet’s home world without implicating his current plans. He decided to push that thought to the back of his mind and continue reviewing Velvet’s data panel.

​Below her Novice rank was a progress bar labeled Aura Level. It was currently empty, with the number 10 written at the far end. Based on what Jack had explained, this meant Velvet was at the very beginning of the Novice rank.

​Skipping past that, he examined her Battle Art: Blood Arts. Velvet currently possessed only two skills:

​Blood Replenishment (Stage 1): Allows her to consume blood to heal her wounds and replenish energy. While it sounded simple, it was exceptionally practical—she could sustain herself after every battle using the enemy’s blood. Since it was only at Stage 1, it clearly had room to evolve.

​Blood Control (Stage 1): Allows her to manipulate the blood flow within her own body. Though it initially sounded useless, Smith pondered it for a moment and realized its immense potential. If Velvet suffered a fatal wound, she could instantly restrict blood flow to that area to prevent blood loss and weakness. She could also isolate toxins, rendering standard poisons ineffective by simply compartmentalizing contaminated blood and expelling it.

​Satisfied with her skills, Smith navigated directly to his inventory. To his surprise, three items were stored inside: one from his second evaluation reward, and two from his third evaluation reward. He deduced that the first evaluation simply granted the baseline reward of successfully awakening as a Chess Player.

​He pulled out the item from the second evaluation first: a Queen’s Chess Piece. It was as white as snow, with a surface texture resembling glass, yet it appeared somewhat brittle. Upon holding it, however, he found it surprisingly heavy and extremely durable.

​Focusing on the item brought up an interface prompt:

​Item: Extra Queen

​Effect: Allows the user to bind with an additional Queen.

​Smith immediately understood its purpose. Normally, he had reached his current limit of supporting only a single Queen. Attempting to add another would be impossible, but this item bypassed that constraint, giving him the chance to form a second bond once the proper conditions were met.

​Next, he examined the rewards from the third evaluation. The first was a completely transparent crystal. Upon removing it from the inventory, it floated on its own above the training ground, radiating a heavy, oppressive aura.

​Item: Dimensional Binding Stone

​Effect: Binds two dimensions together.

​That was the entirety of its description. Uncertain of how to utilize it for the time being, Smith moved on to the final reward.

​This item was not a physical object, but rather a virtual key that couldn’t be withdrawn from the inventory. He selected it to view its details:

​Item: Gratitude of a Fallen Kingdom

​Effect: Grants access to the dimension of the First Awakening Trial.

​These few words changed everything. If this had been an ordinary Awakening Trial set in a mundane timeline, the key might have been useless. But for Smith, this was a complete game-changer. He could freely return to the kingdom Velvet came from.

​With the Extra Queen item in hand and the knowledge that six other Legendary-titled Queens remained in that realm, he could return and choose his second Queen whenever he was ready. Even better, Smith realized these rewards likely wouldn’t be his last. If he could acquire more Extra Queen items in the future, he could eventually bind with all seven of them.

​He had no grand ambition to rule a city or establish a shadowy underground syndicate, but possessing seven Legendary Queens would give him absolute power to protect himself and those he cared about.

​With a clear path forward, his next priority was to quickly understand how the world of Chess Players operated so he could plan his future moves. For now, though, he needed to go home and explain everything to his aunt. He had been riding a roller coaster of intense excitement all day, and the sheer exhaustion of it was finally catching up to him.

​Putting his thoughts on hold, Smith turned to Velvet, tapped her shoulder gently, and said, "Okay, let’s go home."