[Congratulations! You have obtained a Talent!]
[International Master Potential Tier -> National Master Talent!]
International Master Potential? Seriously, I don't know anything about this world… what kind of rankings exist here? What does Talent and flaw even mean? I really have no idea.
I squinted at the dark purple text.
[The Grandmaster's Hand: The user is the embodiment of a Chess Grandmaster's hand descending onto the board. They do not merely play the pieces. They are both the player and the piece. This aspect grants the power to directly manipulate the battlefield and enemies, while simultaneously enhancing their own combat abilities to an extraordinary level.]
I slightly raised my eyebrows, isn't this description a bit OP? Manipulating the battlefield and enhancing combat ability… it feels like I'm a hybrid between a leader and a fighter.
I tapped again on the Talent name that kept flickering.
[The Grandmaster's Hand Abilities]
[Grandmaster's Glance: The user views the battlefield as a 3D chessboard. They passively understand the flow of battle, identify pressure points, and can "see" the aggressive or defensive intent of enemies as faint auras.]
[Forced Gambit: The user can trigger impulses of aggression or greed in a single target, forcing them to launch a reckless attack or movement that leaves gaps in their formation or personal defense.]
[Pawn Instinct: The user's body adapts to a fast and acrobatic fighting style. Their reflexes, balance, and hand-eye coordination drastically improve. They instinctively master bladed weapons (such as longswords or spears)]
My eyes widened, aren't these abilities pretty good? I gained a combat ability that might make me not even need training to fight because of [Pawn Instinct]. And the other two are also quite useful, though I don't really understand how I'd use the second one [Forced Gambit].
Ding!
I was startled again for the umpteenth time, is there another reward from God?
I looked toward the status window, and what I saw made me uncomfortable.
[Flaw of the Talent The Grandmaster's Hand]
Flaw… I felt uneasy seeing the black text, but in the end, I pressed the flickering button.
[ZugZwang: The user can never be the one to initiate a confrontation. They must always allow the enemy to make the first move. Be it a physical attack, a declaration of hostility, or even a direct threat. Only after the enemy has clearly initiated conflict may the user employ their offensive abilities to retaliate and control the battle.]
I gaped, what the hell is this? Is this the drawback of my Talent? So basically I can't attack first, the opponent has to strike me first before I can fight back. Wait… I have [Forced Gambit!] I can use that to make the enemy attack me first!
I then lay back down on the hospital bed with its side rails. I'll learn more about this world tomorrow, either through the internet or by asking Clara who's beside me.
My eyes felt heavy and I began to drift off… but suddenly—
Ding!
My eyes shot open wide again, just how many gifts is God going to hand out?
I looked at a yellow box and quickly tapped it, because honestly, I just wanted to rest now.
[Congratulations! You have obtained 10 Exp!]
10 Exp? Wait a second… earlier the requirement to level up was 10 Exp… which means!
[Congratulations! You have leveled up! 1 -> 2]
Ha, just as I thought.
I quickly checked my status.
[Status]
[Name: Ezra Scarlet | The Grandmaster's Hand]
[Level: 2 -> Requires 10 Exp to level up]
[Hp: 50/50]
[Mp: 50/50]
[Gambit: Pawn -> Requires 290 Exp to become a Knight]
[Talent: The Grandmaster's Hand (Detail) | None]
[Unique Traits: En Passant (Detail) | None | None]
[Skills: None | 5 slots (upgradeable)]
[Flaw: ZugZwang (Detail) | None]
> 3 stat points unallocated
> Strength: 1 [+]
>Agility: 2 [+]
>Endurance: 1 [+]
>Intelligence: 1 [+]
>Luck: 2 [+]
>Charm: 4 [+]
> Gambit Points: 0 -> 100
I rubbed my chin, 3 stat points and 100 Gambit Points were given to me. Where should I put the 3 stat points? For Intelligence, probably not, because maybe it only increases my Mp.
My Charm is already higher than the rest so cross that out, Luck out too, which leaves me with strength, agility, or endurance.
How about this… I tapped the button repeatedly.
[Status]
[Name: Ezra Scarlet | The Grandmaster's Hand]
[Level: 2 -> Requires 10 Exp to level up]
[Hp: 50/50]
[Mp: 50/50]
[Gambit: Pawn -> Requires 300 Exp to become a Knight]
[Talent: The Grandmaster's Hand (Detail) | None]
[Unique Traits: En Passant (Detail) | None | None]
[Skills: None | 5 slots (upgradeable)]
[Flaw: ZugZwang (Detail) | None]
> Strength: 4
>Agility: 2
>Endurance: 1
>Intelligence: 1
>Luck: 2
>Charm: 4
> Gambit Points: 0 -> 100
Why did I raise strength? Because for agility, I already have two abilities that boost my movement: [En Passant] and [Pawn Instinct].
And why not endurance? Because I can already evade attacks using my unique trait [En Passant].
I need strength to strike enemies when teleporting behind them, hoping to finish them in a single blow.
I then waited again for a while, anticipating that loud Ding! After some time, it seemed there were no more of those slightly annoying sounds.
I checked the clock. It showed 00:50 AM. Looking around again, the room I was placed in looked quite luxurious… did my mom put me in a VVIP room? Probably.
I glanced at Clara, she was still asleep, but then her forehead furrowed and she let out sleep-talk.
"Ezra…" Clara murmured in her sleep.
I could only smile with knitted brows, does she feel guilty about me? Or maybe I'm haunting her dreams?
Clara's forehead kept tensing up, making me worried when I saw her looking like she was in pain. For some reason, my hand reached out and stroked Clara's white hair. I didn't know why I did this, maybe because I don't like seeing someone suffer because of me.
After stroking Clara's head for a bit, she seemed to calm down, her expression softening into normal sleep, with her mouth slightly open and drool dripping from her lips. Why is she sleeping on the desk like that?
I then lay back down, enough for today. Please no more Ding sounds or anything. I just want to sleep, I'm tired, I just want a bit of rest.
My eyes grew heavy, and before I knew it, my vision was swallowed by darkness. My eyelids closed, and I finally drifted to sleep.
The clock showed 00:57 AM, and minutes later, it turned to 01:00 AM.
A status window appeared above Ezra's sleeping head. The window flickered, displaying white text.
[Announcement to all new Gambits who have reached the age of 18! In one minute, you will all be transferred to the Tutorial area to test your worthy!]
Ezra remained asleep since there was no loud Ding sound to wake him.
[60]
[30]
[10]
[5]
[4]
[3]
[2]
Thousands of white lights appeared in the sky, illuminating the entire city where Ezra was.
[1]
[Good luck, Host!]
A white light descended from the sky, piercing through the hospital roof and engulfing Ezra's entire body.