Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

In short, the reality of the Great Expansion was a far cry from the newspaper propaganda proclaiming it was "full of passion," "a land of opportunity," and "a grand stage for trailblazers—if you’ve got the grit, we’ve got the gig."

This was destined to be a long, arduous, dangerous, and costly undertaking of immense scale.

The newspapers only got one thing right: it was destined to be a necessary and magnificent journey.

As Lloyd boarded the airship and stood by a porthole, gazing at the receding Radiant City, he was struck by a strange feeling. The city suddenly seemed so small, like a greenhouse.

Even if there were five more such greenhouses, they could not bear the weight of a civilization, nor provide the nourishment needed for it to survive.

If human civilization wanted to endure, to prosper, to reclaim its past glory, its current territory was far from enough.

During the rest of the journey, Lloyd returned to the cabin and looked at the other Executioners traveling with him.

The airship they were on was a military transport model, so the conditions weren’t great. There were no private cabins or soft beds; they even had to make do, squeezed in with a large pile of supplies and cargo.

Fortunately, the journey wasn’t long. They would land by nightfall, so it was bearable.

As a result, the atmosphere in the cabin—or rather, the cargo hold—was decent, and fairly relaxed overall.

Most of them were young, each radiating an air of confidence. Their talents were clearly exceptional; they were likely all ’Qualified,’ and they seemed to get along well with one another.

Lloyd found a random spot to sit and listened to their conversations.

This group came from the Sixth District, Zone Nine, and the Twenty-Third District—all of which were also responsible for executing Demons. Surprisingly, he was the only one from the Eighteenth District.

They would also be staying there longer, anywhere from half a month to a full month, before being rotated out for a break.

In comparison, Lloyd only had to stay for a week, which made him look like he had connections.

Just then, he heard an Executioner from the Sixth District complaining beside him:

"This is going to be a tough job. We’ll probably each have to execute four to six Demons a day, ranging from Danger Level 2 to 5. Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl."

Another person quickly chimed in:

"Yeah, at that intensity, I don’t know if I can take it... Oh well, I’ll just have to risk my life for the cause of humanity."

"Ha, you’re from the Twenty-Third District, right? You guys are used to taking it easy over there. Now that they’re ramping up the intensity, you’d better be careful. Don’t try to be a hero."

"I know. Speaking of which, how many do you guys in the Sixth District handle a day?"

"We get quite a few sent over, but we have enough people, so handling one or two a day is about average. They’re all from Floor -2, but if we’re unlucky, we have to go to Floor -3. The pressure is no joke, sigh... It’s all because the trainees in our district don’t work hard enough."

"You guys have it pretty tough, then. I usually only handle one every two days."

Lloyd listened for a while. When he looked at the two of them, it was like seeing a pair of slackers.

’Is that a workload, or are you guys in retirement?’

The two slacker "brothers" didn’t notice Lloyd’s gaze and continued chatting as if no one else was around.

"Say, how come no one from the Eighteenth District is here?"

"Not surprising. That place... it’s not like ours."

"Oh? How so?"

"I’ve never been, just heard some rumors. They say the Eighteenth District gets the most Demons assigned to them each day, and the strongest ones, too. The ones from Floor -3 are sent there first, and they even stuff Danger Level 6 and 7 Demons there. I can’t even imagine what kind of terrifying hell that place must be..."

"Huh? It can’t be that bad, can it? With that level of intensity, wouldn’t the place be a mental asylum?"

"That’s what I think too, but I heard their Chief Judge is incredibly powerful, on a completely different level from the other Chief Judges and Knight Commanders. I guess it’s a case of the more capable you are, the more work you do, huh?"

"But there’s no way the Chief Judge would personally execute Demons."

"Exactly. So I have no idea how they manage. I just feel sorry for the Executioners there."

Listening from the side, Lloyd didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He hadn’t even started feeling sorry for these two slackers, and here they were, pitying him?

Still, this was the first time he’d learned that the districts responsible for executing Demons had such different workloads.

’Good thing I was assigned to the Eighteenth District. If I were a slacker like them, how the hell would I farm points?’

After complaining internally, Lloyd silently moved to another seat and continued listening to what others were talking about. At the same time, he activated [Probe] and began examining them one by one.

Their Attributes weren’t bad. The three stats besides [Inspiration] were generally between 25 and 30. The strongest one among them had three Attributes all over 35.

Their [Inspiration] was more modest, mostly around ten.

And their mental states were all healthy. Surprisingly, not a single one was even a little bit crazy.

All in all, you couldn’t say they were pampered or wasting their talent. They were worthy of the ’Qualified’ title.

As for the workload they mentioned, it was similar to what the two slackers had said. To Lloyd, it sounded like a retirement home.

’So I’m not someone with connections, I just don’t fit in with them...’

But perhaps it was precisely because of the low-intensity work that they had more time to improve themselves, which was why their Attributes didn’t look too bad.

But compared to the four Executioners of the Eighteenth District, they were a bit lackluster...

Even putting Lloyd aside, there was Meditis, a monster of stats with [Rationality: 58], [Spiritual Power: 60], [Inspiration: 32], and [Cognition: 45].

And she was a chugging fiend who drank herself into a stupor every day...

The other two Executioners, whom he had only worked with once and didn’t know well, also had Attributes that would put them head and shoulders above this crowd.

If there was one problem with the Eighteenth District, it was the small number of people. There were only four of them, while the other three districts easily had a dozen, or even twenty, Executioners.

The other problem was that, aside from Lloyd, pretty much everyone was a little bit crazy...

So the two slackers weren’t entirely wrong. The Eighteenth District really was a bit like a mental asylum...

’A retirement home on one side, a madhouse on the other. I guess that evens things out?’

This was also Lloyd’s first time interacting with people from other organizations within the Holy Judgment Court. He never expected the differences between them to be so vast.

He felt that the other three districts were the ones truly cultivating talent.

As for his own Eighteenth District...

’It must be the place for cultivating geniuses, right?’

Just then, he heard the young Executioner with the highest average stats speaking amidst the crowd.

He seemed quite famous. A lot of people were gathered around him, and the moment he spoke, he captured the attention of the entire cargo hold:

"Does anyone here know Lloyd from the Eighteenth District?"

Hearing this, Lloyd’s expression changed slightly, and he quickly retreated behind the crowd.

"You mean ’Lloyd, the one who loathes evil’? I’ve heard that title."

Someone next to him responded.

The strongest Executioner nodded and said:

"Yes. I hear he’s an exceptionally formidable guy, so amazing that he defies the common perception of a ’genius.’ He’s especially popular among the Executor trainees, to the point where many are trying to find ways to get into the Eighteenth District."

The two slackers from before quickly replied:

"I’ve heard about that too, but I find it hard to understand. In my mind, the Eighteenth District has always received the strongest Demons, right? I heard it’s some kind of tiered system, where they separate the powerful Demons from the weak ones?"

"Wouldn’t that make it incredibly hard for trainees who get in? They’d probably be transferred to a mental asylum in a couple of days, right?"

But the strongest one shook his head and explained:

"Not at all. It seems it’s precisely because of ’Lloyd, the one who loathes evil,’ that the Eighteenth District, which originally had the lowest trainee pass rate, has jumped to become the district with the highest. Although, since they have the fewest people, the pass rate might not be that telling. Still, I’m very curious about it. Does that Lloyd have some kind of unique Magic Power?"

Someone nearby immediately refuted this:

"I don’t think that’s it. An Executioner, as young as you and I, how much of an impact could he have on something like the trainee pass rate? I think it must be thanks to the Chief Judge. You’ve all heard that the Eighteenth District has a very powerful Chief Judge, right?"

The strongest one didn’t mind the counterargument. He nodded and replied:

"Mm, you have a good point."

"An Executioner, no matter how strong, how strong can he be? Could he be more amazing than you, Jelas? You’re a super-genius who has received a Saint’s gaze. You won’t be outshone by anyone."

"That’s right. Of all the people in our [Veto] system, you, Jelas, are the only one I’ve ever seen receive a Saint’s gaze. That’s a unique honor! It means you have the Saint’s approval."

"Er... please don’t say that. The Saint merely glanced at me. It doesn’t prove anything. It can only serve as my motivation to keep striving forward."

"Oh? Is it starting? I haven’t heard the story about you being gazed upon by a Saint for a whole day now. I was starting to get withdrawals."

And just like that, the topic of conversation was derailed to the ’Saint’s Gaze,’ and no one mentioned ’Lloyd, the one who loathes evil,’ anymore.

This, in turn, made Lloyd breathe a sigh of relief.

’Being a role model and idol in the Eighteenth District is already stressful enough. I don’t want to be on everyone else’s radar, living a life where my every word and deed is watched by countless eyes, with who knows how many people waiting for me to slip up and make a fool of myself...’

He continued to listen as the strongest Executioner, the one named Jelas, told his story of being gazed upon by the Saint.

"It was, as far as I could comprehend, the most sacred, most sublime, most mysterious, and most majestic gaze in the world, filled with supreme knowledge and power...

She only gazed at me for a single second, and it left me so terrified and awestruck that I wished my breathing and heartbeat would stop. Then I passed out right then and there."