The next few hours passed surprisingly quietly.
After the evaluation, Raphael was returned to his hospital room.
Apparently, despite surviving something that should have killed him, he still needed several days of observation. He wasn’t complaining. If anything, it gave him time to think.
Vanessa stood near the window with her arms crossed, staring outside, while Elena sat in a chair beside the door. She hadn’t said much since they returned. She was only watching him constantly, and to be honest, it was starting to get creepy.
Raphael finally turned toward her.
"Do you ever blink?"
He wasn’t entirely sure where he had gotten the confidence to ask that.
"Do you?" Elena asked back, raising an eyebrow.
"Fair point."
Raphael looked away while Vanessa let out a quiet laugh.
He sighed. This is going to be my life now, isn’t it?
He waited until Elena’s attention shifted toward her tablet before closing his eyes.
System.
Nothing happened. He tried again.
Open System.
A familiar translucent screen appeared before his eyes, causing his heart to skip.
[THRONE OF KNIGHTS SYSTEM]
Until now, Raphael had only seen individual notifications. He had never actually looked at his own information. As if reading his thoughts, a new panel expanded.
[SOVEREIGN STATUS]
[Host: Raphael Matthews]
[Race: Human → ???]
[Level: 1]
[Tier: Unknown]
[Class: None]
[Mana: ???]
[Strength: ???]
[Vitality: ???]
[Agility: ???]
[Intelligence: ???]
[Authority: 1]
[Knight Slots: 1/1]
[Available Knights: 1]
[Throne: Locked]
[Kingdom: Locked]
That’s it?
Raphael almost said it aloud before quickly coughing to hide his reaction. Elena would probably think he was having a bad dream. Yeah, a bad dream.
I’m so screwed.
Raphael looked at the question marks again. Everything important about him was hidden. Mana, Strength, Vitality, Agility, and even Intelligence.
He frowned.
Why can’t I see my own stats?
A notification appeared.
[The host currently lacks sufficient Authority to access complete Sovereign information.]
Authority? What authority? Isn’t it only for my knights?
[Authority represents the host’s control over the Throne of Knights.]
[Authority is required to unlock Sovereign functions.]
Another panel appeared.
[CURRENT AUTHORITY: 1]
[Required Authority for Basic Throne Access: 10]
So I’m basically locked out of my own system.
[Affirmative.]
Raphael rubbed his forehead.
"Wonderful."
The word slipped out loud, and two piercing gazes immediately turned toward him. They probably thought he was going mad by now.
My dignity...
Still, at least the system was honest.
Raphael looked back at the status screen. Something else was bothering him.
Race? Why was there a question mark after Human?
He had been human his entire life. At least, he thought he had. He knew he was human.
Deep breaths, Raphael. Deep breaths.
He focused on the strange classification.
[Race evolution unavailable.]
[Requirement not met.]
Raphael frowned.
What requirement?
There was no answer.
System?
Nothing.
"You’re really annoying sometimes."
Vanessa suddenly looked toward him. "Who are you speaking to?"
Raphael quickly opened his eyes- the little color that had returned to his face seemed to drain away again.
"No one."
"You’ve been staring at the ceiling for several minutes," Vanessa said, narrowing her violet eyes. There was a piercing quality to her gaze, as though she were trying to pry into his very existence.
"I was thinking."
"About?"
"Life."
Vanessa’s expression remained blank.
"How profound."
"Thanks."
"I wasn’t complimenting you."
"Yeah. I’m getting used to that."
She turned back toward the window while Raphael waited to see if she would say anything else, but she didn’t. He silently opened the system again.
There was one more section.
[KNIGHT ARCHIVE]
He selected it, and a new screen appeared.
[Registered Knights: 1]
[Vanessa Fencer]
[Race: High Human]
[Class: Saintess]
[Rank: A]
[Potential: SS]
[Level: 87]
[Loyalty: 1]
[Unique Ability: ???]
"Level eighty-seven..." Raphael muttered the words in shock. That was a pretty high level, as far as he understood. He glanced toward Vanessa. She was just standing there as though being Level 87 was completely ordinary.
Raphael looked back at the screen.
[Knight Slot: 1/1]
[Additional Knight Slots unavailable.]
So I can only summon one?
[Current Knight Capacity: 1.]
Can I increase it?
[Yes.]
How?
[Increase Sovereign Authority.]
Raphael smiled. Finally, something that made sense.
So Authority is basically the key to everything.
[Correct.]
A new notification appeared.
[Sovereign Authority can be increased through various methods.]
[Methods include:]
[- Increasing Knight Loyalty]
[- Completing Sovereign Quests]
[- Expanding the Throne’s influence]
[- Establishing Territory]
[- Defeating powerful enemies]
[- Unlocking hidden Sovereign functions]
Territory?
Raphael’s eyes widened.
[Yes.]
Does that mean...
His gaze shifted toward the locked options.
[Throne: Locked]
[Kingdom: Locked]
A slow smile spread across his face. So this wasn’t just a summoning system. It was a kingdom-building system. But before Raphael could get too excited, another notification appeared.
[Notice.]
[Host possesses insufficient Authority to access the Throne fully.]
The smile disappeared.
"Right."
He was still at Authority 1. He hadn’t even earned the right to sit on his own metaphorical throne. Whether the throne was actually metaphorical, he had no idea.
Raphael closed the system for the moment and looked around the hospital room. His gaze landed on Vanessa and Elena, two completely different women.
One was an incredibly powerful Saintess from another world. The other was an A-Tier Awakened assigned by the government to watch him.
And him?
He was apparently an Unknown Tier human with stats that couldn’t even be measured. He didn’t know what his ability was. He didn’t know why he’d been chosen. He didn’t know why his race was changing. He didn’t know why his stats were hidden.
And he certainly didn’t know what the hell the Throne of Knights really was.
But there was one thing he did know. He needed Authority, and if the system was telling the truth... There were plenty of ways to obtain it.
Raphael looked toward Vanessa, and she immediately noticed his gaze.
"What?"
"Nothing." He smiled.
"You’ve been making that expression frequently," she said, narrowing her eyes.
"What expression?"
"The expression of someone planning something foolish."
"Maybe." Raphael laughed.
"I fear I have chosen a troublesome Sovereign."
Vanessa sighed.
"Chosen?"
Raphael froze.
The word echoed in his mind. She looked at him. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Vanessa’s lips curved into the faintest smile.
"Perhaps."
Raphael’s system suddenly flashed before his eyes.
[Hidden Condition Detected.]
[First Knight has acknowledged the host as her Sovereign.]
[Loyalty increased.]
[Vanessa Fencer]
[Loyalty: 1 → 3]
Raphael’s eyes widened.
Three?!
Vanessa turned away before he could question her. But Raphael could have sworn... She was smiling.