Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

This grand purge of the [Wisdom] system only involved the High-ranking Powerhouses within it. It didn't really have much to do with most people, and Lloyd was clearly no exception.

Knight Commander Wald had ordered him to stay in his dorm to rest and recuperate. He wasn't allowed to run around and was not involved in the subsequent cleanup.

Considering the man was a ruthless character who wouldn't hesitate to strike down his own men, Lloyd was still a bit intimidated by him. So naturally, he couldn't take Jelas's place to execute the Demon, let alone go looking for tasty wild mushrooms in the woods.

He had no choice but to work out in his room. During his break, he took out `Lloyd's Notes` to record the day's events.

This was actually a learning method the Chief Judge had taught him. Whenever he acquired new knowledge, witnessed an extraordinary scene, or had a significant realization, he should write it down so he wouldn't forget. Reviewing it later might even lead to new insights.

'It's probably about gaining new knowledge by reviewing the old, right? It just so happens to coincide with the philosophy of a certain famous educator from Earth.'

And so, Lloyd began writing in his notes:

"This was my first time encountering the rare Taboo System, [Forgetfulness]. While I managed to resolve the situation, I have to admit that this system is truly bizarre and dangerous. The fact that it can affect a completely private area like 'memory' is bone-chilling!"

"What's more, my Intuition and inspiration didn't even sound an alarm. Do they treat [Forgetfulness] as some sort of natural human phenomenon? Is that why they only warned me that something was 'a little special,' rather than 'extremely dangerous'?"

"But even so, the effects of [Forgetfulness] on thought and memory are still limited to 'modification' and 'deletion.' It still can't directly read the thoughts and memories of others, which I suppose is barely good news."

"The better news is that even the battle-hardened Mr. Randolph never mentioned this system in his notes. This suggests that very few people can delve into it. Does that mean it's an extremely dangerous and difficult system?"

"Also, it seems the power of this system requires a certain amount of time? A gradual process is needed before it can endanger a person's life? But I'm not sure if that gradual process is still necessary when facing a lawbreaker of the [Forgetfulness] system up close."

"For now, I don't know of any methods to counter [Forgetfulness]. I only heard Knight Commander Wald mention that the [Wisdom] system seems to be good at dealing with them. Perhaps there are also some unique Holy Artifacts that can counter this strange power?"

After writing this far, Lloyd glanced at the `Book of Truth` in his mind. It had once again become dim and ancient, like an unearthed relic.

He really owed it to this thing this time. Just thinking back on it was still terrifying...

But he didn't regret his choice. If it happened again, he would definitely charge forward without a second thought.

It was a major crisis involving thousands of lives. He couldn't run, and he couldn't back down!

For an ambitious young man with a sense of duty and responsibility, perhaps running away required even more courage...

After summarizing the horrors of the [Forgetfulness] system, Lloyd mentally reviewed his own [Twist] system.

It was still as strong as ever. Even against a High-ranking Powerhouse, it offered some room to maneuver.

But in the end, it couldn't make up for the absolute gap in strength. Even though the effect of Twisting the opponent's ability still worked, it was just too slow...

Forget the High-ranking Powerhouse behind the Greatly Disrespectful Saint Statue; even Twisting Wald's [Veto Declaration] had been a huge strain.

Lloyd now had a profound understanding of the true meaning behind the phrase found in almost every skill description: 'effects vary depending on the target.'

In the face of such a huge disparity in strength, the advantage of one's system alone was not enough.

Additionally, Lloyd noticed that the passive effect of his [Twisted Realm]—deflecting attacks—hadn't worked properly.

This might be because the strength gap was too vast, and the passive Twist effect couldn't be boosted by injecting Spiritual Power, so it couldn't quite Twist things effectively...

Or perhaps it was because his inspiration and Intuition hadn't given any warning, so the passive effect couldn't activate?

'So, in the end, I have to get stronger! Stronger! And get stronger at a faster rate!'

After this mental summary, he picked up his pen again and added some thoughts on [Veto].

"This was my first taste of being Vetoed by someone else. Knight Commander Wald's [Veto Declaration] was truly formidable. I was completely immobilized and couldn't break free. That feeling was absolutely awful!"

"I think I finally understand why Mr. Randolph described the [Veto] system as 'unreasonable'..."

"It's no wonder the Holy Judgment Court is able to use its current execution system, safely transporting dangerous Demons to the rear."

"However... I was only able to break free from the Knight Commander's restraint thanks to the Saint Statue's help. Was that help from the Saint himself? I'm not sure, and I dare not speculate..."

Writing up to this point, Lloyd paused his pen again. He opened the bag he'd brought with him, rummaged around, and pulled out a box of incense.

Incense, a mirror, and candles—the classic three-piece set for an Orbit. Along with Spiritual Ink, he basically kept these on hand at all times. In fact, any Extraordinary Being with even modest means would carry these, as they weren't expensive anyway.

After finding the incense, Lloyd slipped out to the construction site's scrap heap. He found a few unwanted pieces of wood, whittled them with his Short Sword, and made several thin wooden sticks.

Then he went to the site's cafeteria, ordered a four-person meal, ate three portions himself, and brought one portion back to his dorm.

Lloyd then took out the thin wooden sticks, wrapped the incense powder around them, and rolled them in his hands for a while, making a few crude joss sticks.

They didn't look very uniform, but he had to make do. Conditions were poor out here in the wilderness.

Once his preparations were complete, he lit two candles, placed the Saint Statue between them, put the incense box in front of the statue, and finally, laid out the takeout dinner from the cafeteria.

He then lit the homemade joss sticks and began to bow before the Saint Statue.

This was what he had promised: he would offer incense to the Saint after the matter was settled.

The other party was a Saint, after all. He didn't dare forget, and he didn't dare flake on his promise.

As for this "incense offering" ritual, while it was rare and not very popular in this world, it wasn't unheard of. Lloyd had once read a story about it in his sister's magazine, which described it as a devotional ritual to express respect.

It happened to coincide with traditions from Earth.

Lloyd hoped the Saint would feel his reverence and sincerity.

After just a few bows, he suddenly felt an invisible force surge from the Saint Statue.

"Huh? The Saint felt my sincerity and responded?"

Lloyd was instantly overjoyed and quite excited. He quickly tried to think of what to say to the Saint.

But before he could figure it out, the force coalesced, forming something like a small, fair-skinned hand clenched into a fist, which then knocked him on the forehead three times.

THUMP~ THUMP~ THUMP~

It was quite loud. A good, solid head.

"AAAAOOOOOOOHOOOOO!!!"

Lloyd immediately started caterwauling.

'It seems the Saint not only didn't feel my sincerity but was also a little angry?'

'I don't know if the process was wrong, or if my offering was looked down upon.'

'But thankfully, the Saint didn't seem *that* angry. It was probably just on the level of "a few light taps with a little fist," right?'

It's just that the Saint's fist... was a little painful...

"I was wrong, I was wrong! I won't do it again!"

Lloyd hurriedly begged for mercy.

He didn't know if the Saint heard him, but in any case, the force dissipated after the three knocks.

"You really can't trust things you read in magazines...!"

Lloyd said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, as he quickly cleaned up the scene.

Then he did another workout and went to bed early.

For the next two days, Lloyd was bored out of his mind. Aside from working out every day, all he could do was lament:

"I can't do anything..."

No execution missions, no library, no [Audience with the Saint], no being a Newbie in the Dream Theater, and he didn't really feel like convening the Human Future Conference—

Old Zhan was still over there muttering to himself, trying to divine the lawbreaker's Destiny. It seemed there were still no results, or at least the Tentacle Grass hadn't given any feedback, so Lloyd didn't want to bother him.

He did finally sneak out for a walk in the nearby woods, but he didn't find any delicious mushrooms, only some bitter, astringent wild fruits.

It wasn't surprising. Every day, "exploration teams" composed of Crusaders and Judges were dispatched from here. They were responsible for patiently and slowly clearing out the Demons in the surrounding area, then bringing back any with recovery value to be executed.

So, if there was anything good to eat nearby, it would have been scavenged long ago. What chance did he have?

But if he wanted to venture further out, going alone was clearly not an option.

The taciturn Knight Commander living in the dorm next to Lloyd's was in charge of the cleanup and exploration. He had to command and oversee multiple exploration teams, handle any crises that arose, and was always leaving early and returning late.

Lloyd had learned about this from Wald, so two nights ago, he specifically went to chat with his neighbor, asking if he could also join an exploration team.

The man didn't answer. Instead, a red "X" symbol appeared in a cartoon speech bubble above his head, expressing his firm rejection.

'I really don't know how he's supposed to command people in battle by talking with speech bubbles.'

Lloyd had no choice but to continue his boring workouts, resolving to bring more books with him the next time he was sent out on official business.

Finally, on the morning of his fourth day here, Wald came to find him, bringing bad news:

His patron, Chief Judge Tirtus, had run off to join some crusade against the [Wisdom] system?