Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Generally speaking, Lloyd very rarely encountered the Out of Control. In the two months he’d been here, he had only run into two of them.

After all, the Saint’s Grace Court was not to be trifled with...

But for three to show up at once today made him wonder, ’Did the Saint’s Grace Court pull some kind of major stunt?’

So he quickly went to Floor -3 and first had the three Out of Control contribute to the anti-Demon cause.

[Ding~ Madness Value +300]

[Ding~ Several Memory Fragments acquired. Assessing Cognition level...]

[Ding~ Assessment successful. Memory Fragments can be interpreted.]

[Ding~ Madness Value +300]

[Ding~ Assessment successful. Memory Fragments can be interpreted.]

...

All three of the Out of Control had contributed some Memory Fragments. Lloyd wasn’t in a hurry to look at them. He first took care of the other two Demon Ghosts, harvested their organs, and only then returned to his office to check the Memory Fragments.

Because a night had passed, there weren’t many Memory Fragments left—basically just the final moments of their lives.

The three of them belonged to an illegal association called the Dawn Hermit Association and were mid-level cadres within it. The Saint’s Grace Court was currently cracking down hard on them, and they had already suffered a heavy blow. The entire Association was basically on the brink of collapse—

At present, only one culprit remained—the Society Leader, who was on the run. The rest had been either captured or killed, and the Association could be completely wiped out at any moment.

As for these three Out of Control, they had been caught in a powerful encirclement by the Saint’s Grace Court yesterday. Seeing no way to escape, they decided to make a desperate last stand and began to whisper:

"Fall into... the Abyss..."

"Touch... the truth..."

They chanted this over and over, their voices growing louder and their emotions more fervent, as if they were singing a hymn.

Then they suddenly fell into a frenzy, and the memories Lloyd could see came to an abrupt end.

’But it doesn’t matter. I can guess what happened next without needing to see it. There must have been powerful people from the Saint’s Grace Court on the scene; three Out of Control couldn’t have stirred up much trouble.’

It was just that their loss of control had been too sudden, catching everyone off guard and preventing the Saint’s Grace Court from executing their planned tactics. Afterward, they could only follow standard procedure and dump the three Out of Control, who had completely transformed into Demons, into the Eighteenth District.

After briefly skimming through the Memory Fragments, Lloyd still noticed the same suspicious detail as before—

’Why are these people so weak? How could they only contribute 300 Madness Value? Did they even try?’

’An Out of Control starts at the level of Floor -3. Even an Executor who hasn’t completed their [Enlightenment] has this much Madness Value after losing control. And yet these three guys were Extraordinary Beings with some real power, who could even hold their own against the Saint’s Grace Court for a few rounds despite being outnumbered. So how could they be this weak after their fall?’

Lloyd couldn’t help but feel that something was off.

’But no matter what, the Saint’s Grace Court did a beautiful job this time. Every one of these criminals deserved to be put down!’

Lloyd gave the Saint’s Grace Court a mental thumbs-up, then looked more closely at the three men’s memories to see if he could find any clues about the Society Leader and bring about the swift downfall of this dark faction.

After looking for a while, he actually managed to capture a few frames from the flood of flashbacks that occurred right before their Rationality faded.

’This strange symbol looks a bit familiar... Could it be... the Free Style Association? It seems these two dark factions have some connection. The fugitive leader probably ran off to seek Shelter from the other one, huh?’

’I’ll make a note of this and put it in an anonymous letter later...’

’Huh? Wait! What’s this journal-like thing?’

Amidst the chaotic and fragmented images, Lloyd saw something that greatly interested him.

It was a tattered-looking leather book that seemed to have a long history. Its pages were yellowed and brittle, and it had to be kept in a glass box, like a protected artifact.

The book’s cover was extremely blurry, making the title and any designs completely illegible.

Lloyd really wanted this book. He wanted to open it and see what was written inside.

’There’s no reason for it; I just want it. An instinctual desire to possess it, like seeing a new ’waifu’ banner in a Krypton Gold Mobile Game.’

But aside from this one fragmented image, there was no other information. He had no idea how to find this book.

Fortunately, Extraordinary Beings didn’t need many clues to get things done, especially when one possessed a level 4 [Divination] skill.

Lloyd currently possessed three types of Divination: Simple Divination, Medium Divination, and Reverse Divination. All he needed for this was Simple Divination.

Although the technique was still called ’Simple Divination,’ its actual effect upgraded progressively as his [Divination] skill improved.

If he were to take an exam now and rely solely on this Simple Divination for the multiple-choice questions, as long as there was no time limit, he could easily score 70-80%. He might even score higher than someone who actually did the work.

However, what exam in this world has no time limit? At a rate of one divination every ten minutes, 100 questions would take him a week. If he really had to take a test, he’d still have to rely on his own abilities.

"I wonder if Simple Divination can help me find this book. I’ll give it a try."

As he spoke, Lloyd first followed the ’Three Steps of Safe Divination’ taught to him by the butler, making the necessary preparations. He then took the Saint Statue out of the filing cabinet, set it up properly, and pulled out his pocket watch. While winding it, he asked in a low voice:

"Where should I go? Where should I go? Where should I go?"

For safety’s sake, he chose a very vague question with no clear direction as his first probing step.

After all, this matter involved cruel and vicious dark forces. According to the butler’s description, they were adept at counter-divination and would even use others’ divinations to set traps, so he had to be extremely cautious.

After repeating the question, Lloyd opened his pocket watch and then froze for a moment.

The original three hands had somehow multiplied, then reassembled themselves in a way that defied the watch’s mechanical design. They formed a matchstick man—headless, with only a body and four limbs—that was performing a crooked, bizarre dance for him.

This was clearly an Omen, and a very special one at that.

Lloyd rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and tried to interpret this Omen:

’Dancing represents joy and happiness, which means the outcome is likely to be positive... Yes, that must be it!’

’At the same time, dancing itself is a form of direction. It means I should go to a place that’s lively, bustling, and cheerful—somewhere people are dancing, or a place that makes you want to dance uncontrollably...’

’There are too many places like that. I need to narrow down the scope of my question. Since the first question already showed a positive tendency, it should be fine to continue the Divination.’

Lloyd patiently waited ten minutes before beginning the second round of Divination.

"Which direction should I go? Which direction should I go? Which direction should I go?"

Then he opened the pocket watch.

Inside was still the matchstick man made of watch hands. It was still headless and still dancing, just in a different way.

It first twisted and turned for a bit, then suddenly contorted itself apart. Its limbs and body fell to the watch face, vaguely forming the shape of an arrow pointing northwest.

Lloyd quickly took a map from his desk, checked it, and drew a directional arrow on it with a pencil.

Then he waited another ten minutes and continued with his questions:

"Will I find what I’m looking for there? Will I find what I’m looking for there?"

For the sake of safety and accuracy, he changed the angle of his question, hoping to get a more effective final answer through multiple Divination results.

This was also a good way to increase the accuracy of a Divination.

Lloyd really, really wanted that book, so he summoned sufficient patience.

When he opened the pocket watch again, he found the matchstick man’s limbs writhing like tentacles, like those of an octopus.

’Hmm... this result... the tentacles aren’t writhing violently, they’re very relaxed. So the outcome leans positive!’

With two positive omens, Lloyd grew bolder. His subsequent questions became more and more specific, and he drew several arrows and circles on the map, narrowing the area step by step.

Finally, he asked the most critical question:

"Is the book I’m looking for here?"

While repeating the question, he pointed his pencil to a spot on the map at the center of all the arrows and circles, and then opened the pocket watch.

The once-white face of the watch had turned a blood red and was rippling slightly, like a sea of corpses and blood.

The hands, now tentacles, were writhing and twitching within it, looking incredibly sinister and alluring.

’Hmm... is this also an Omen? It looks a little ominous, doesn’t it? The watch must be broken again!’

Having offered his interpretation, Lloyd put away his pocket watch and map, and prepared to set out.

’I have enough information and the area is small enough. I don’t need this pocket watch that malfunctions at the drop of a hat.’

’I’ll go buy a box of matches later; that should be enough to find my final target.’

He then went to find Weiya to let her know he was going out to search for Transcendence materials.

"Do you need me to go with you?"

Weiya asked in a soft, quiet voice, her head lowered.

"No, no, I can handle it myself."

Lloyd said, full of confidence, and then beckoned to the little kitten.

The little kitten didn’t know what he was going out to do, but it obediently crawled into his pocket.

"Remember to bring the earring."

Weiya reminded him as a final word.

"Don’t worry, I always keep it on me."

Lloyd said casually and left Weiya’s office.

Weiya kept her head lowered, looking at the documents on her desk. The corners of her eyes and mouth drooped a little, and she suddenly seemed a bit unhappy.

But then she suddenly started smiling to herself, her mood brightening. Who knows what strange thoughts were running through her head?