Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

"Art? Heh, that's some confidence you've got. Just make sure you don't disappoint me."

The deep-pocketed old man spoke as he opened the silver briefcase, revealing a gelatinous blob that looked like Jell-O. It was light blue, completely transparent, and appeared viscous and soft, with some strange impurities visible inside.

"This is the spinal cord of a Karmic Demon. I need you to excise these extraneous parts, and the loss cannot exceed one-third."

The old man stated his stringent requirement.

The other two men present were stunned by this request.

Then, Knight Commander Korall hurriedly spoke up for his next-door roommate.

"Master Alfred, isn't your request a bit too much? This is the spinal cord of a Karmic Demon. Normally, we can only preserve..."

He couldn't finish his sentence. His voice suddenly cut out, and a cartoon speech bubble showing a string of ellipses appeared above his head.

'Looks like the old man 'muted' him...'

"This is my standard. Can you accept it?" the old man continued to ask.

Lloyd, too, was shocked and bewildered by such a 'stringent' condition, and he didn't respond right away.

'Loss cannot exceed one-third?'

'What kind of requirement is that?'

'A loss of more than one-tenth is a shameful waste. I wouldn't even be able to forgive myself!'

An exasperated expression appeared on his face. He put on his gloves, picked up a scalpel, and prepared to answer the man's request with his actions.

The old codger opposite him released some kind of ability. A moment later, Lloyd saw small circles appear within the light blue Jell-O, marking the impurities that needed to be removed.

Following the marked locations, Lloyd released his inspiration, locking onto each one.

The panel's notification promptly sounded in his ear:

[Ding! Madness Value +1]

[Ding! Madness Value +1]

'I knew it. The Wisdom system just loves to be nosy...'

Lloyd complained internally, then looked up at the old man and said,

"I don't like to be disturbed when I'm dissecting."

"Oh?"

The old man smiled, and the small circles inside the Jell-O vanished.

But his Madness Value was still increasing by +1.

Lloyd had no choice but to add,

"Any kind of disturbance."

The old codger looked astonished and asked,

"You... intend to bear the Spiritual Contamination from the Karmic Demon alone?"

"Yes. I'm used to it. In fact, I'm not comfortable without it. My hands will shake."

"This is your own choice!"

The old man warned him sternly, then withdrew some kind of ability.

The notifications in Lloyd's ear instantly became much more pleasant.

[Ding! Madness Value +5]

[Ding! Madness Value +5]

'Now that's more like it...'

With a satisfied smile, he made the first cut.

The texture of the light blue Jell-O was bizarre. It felt soft to the touch, as if it could be easily poked through with a finger. But when the scalpel cut into it, it felt like slicing into hard bone, occasionally letting out faint, scraping sounds.

If not for the Spiritual Power coating the blade, he probably wouldn't be able to cut it at all.

Besides being difficult to cut, Lloyd also noticed his Spiritual Power consumption was slightly higher than usual, as if it were being siphoned away by something.

The difficulty of this dissection was clearly higher than the previous two.

'Karmic Demons really are a strange piece of work...'

'Not only does their texture change at any moment, but the Spiritual Contamination emitted by each Karmic Demon is also different. Even if you adapt to one, you have to endure a new kind of Spiritual Contamination when you move to the next...'

'While this is a good thing for me, it must be extremely troublesome for ordinary people.'

'It seems that dissecting a Karmic Demon requires not only exquisite technique and rich experience, but also sufficiently tough Rationality to resist the Spiritual Contamination. And it seems you also have to be a young person of a Low Tier?'

'There's even a certain requirement for Spiritual Power, otherwise you might not be able to keep up with the consumption of the Spiritual Blade.'

'There can't be many people who meet all these conditions, can there?'

'No wonder Shandu and this old fellow were both so generous.'

Lloyd summarized everything in his head as he continued the dissection.

Though he didn't think he was the only person in the world who could dissect a Karmic Demon, he was likely the one who could do it with the most ease.

'I hope more 'clients' like this come my way in the future!'

At this thought, he smoothly excised the first impurity from the blue Jell-O.

It was... a gear...

'It felt like an ordinary metal gear, but why would it appear inside a 'spinal cord'?'

Lloyd was a little puzzled, but his hands didn't stop. He continued to make each cut with flawless precision, unconsciously picking up his pace.

He could feel his Spiritual Power consumption gradually accelerating, and he didn't dare to take his time. It would be embarrassing if he ran out of Spiritual Power before finishing the dissection.

To counter the increasingly obvious resistance against the blade, he even used his [Extraordinary Swordsmanship]. The sharpness of the scalpel instantly increased by several levels, making the cutting smoother and more fluid.

Of course... his Spiritual Power consumption also became faster...

So, Lloyd gradually pushed aside the random thoughts in his mind. Ignoring the Madness Value and everything else, he focused intently on the dissection.

Naturally, he didn't notice the changing expressions of the two men watching him.

"This is truly... astonishing... It's actually a form of art! It's simply... exquisite!"

The old man's expression remained stern, but his tone of voice now carried a clear note of enjoyment.

He was communicating with the Knight Commander telepathically, not letting Lloyd hear so as not to disturb him.

"I'd heard he was exceptional, but I never expected him to earn such high praise from you, Master Alfred."

Knight Commander Korall said, also in surprise.

Because he was always leaving early and coming home late, he wasn't very familiar with his next-door roommate, Lloyd. His limited knowledge came only from what his colleague, Wald, had told him; he had no firsthand impression.

Today, he finally understood why Wald was so optimistic about this young man.

The old man, however, snorted dismissively and continued,

"Hmph. I am merely strict with my requirements. I am never stingy, and that includes with my praise and admiration."

After saying that, he changed the subject and reminded him,

"Stop locking onto him with your inspiration. You'll interfere with his performance. His Rationality is more than enough to support him in completing this task perfectly."

"Uh... alright..."

Korall silently retracted the inspiration that had been drifting around Lloyd.

'This actually goes against standard procedure.'

'When performing such a high-risk operation, someone is supposed to be standing by, ready to prevent any accidents or a worsening of the situation.'

But with an expert from the Wisdom system present, Korall figured he didn't need to trouble himself.