Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Eh???

The voice on the other end of the earring sounded extremely serious, tinged with obvious anger and hostility, as if the person were speaking with a knife in hand.

Sure enough, the voice on the other end of the earring began to threaten menacingly:

"Listen, I don't care who you are. If you dare get close to my daughter, you'll have to get past the sword in my hand first!"

A pang of guilt hit Lloyd, and he quickly cut off the connection.

He felt the same guilt as a wild boar caught trying to gobble up the tender cabbage in someone's garden.

'Weiya's dad... He seems like a tough guy to get along with...'

In truth, from observing Weiya's usual words and actions, Lloyd had sensed that she came from a privileged background with a very strict upbringing. He could imagine that she must have stern parents.

After all, Weiya always stood perfectly straight and sat with impeccable posture. He had never even seen her slack off; she constantly presented the best version of herself.

Her attire was always meticulous, with every little wrinkle smoothed out perfectly.

She spoke very formally, rarely joked, and seldom even smiled—even though her smile was so beautiful...

But he never expected her father to be so fierce, to the point of making direct personal threats.

Yet Lloyd couldn't really bring himself to complain...

'If Weiya and I had a beautiful, adorable daughter someday, and we went through all the hardships to raise her into a tender little cabbage just like Weiya, I'd definitely watch over her carefully, too. I'd never let some unknown pig come and gobble her up.'

'Sigh... I guess I'll just have to wait until we meet tomorrow to talk about it.'

Lloyd shook his head helplessly.

He had genuinely planned on going to bed early, but just as he closed his eyes, he suddenly felt the Tentacle Grass poking him.

He hurried back to the [Thought Realm] and saw that Old Zhan was holding another seminar.

Several chess pieces were appearing one after another on the black and white board, including, of course, the White Soldier piece that represented the Advisor.

Lloyd pulled the screen in front of him to see if they had also endured a week that felt like a prison sentence, just as he had.

Just like before, Old Zhan first bowed to the 'audience' to the side, then gave his unchanging opening remarks and declared the seminar open.

The White Knight, Balderes, also imitated his etiquette, bowing slightly to the 'audience' before eagerly speaking first:

"Something big has happened in the City of Serenity! A lot of High-ranking Powerhouses in the city have left. Rumor is they're going on an important 'expedition'?"

"Oh? That is big news. Could you elaborate?"

Black War Chariot Goldrinn chimed in after also bowing in respect.

"Actually, I don't know much either. I spend most of my time in my workshop, after all. I could only ask around through those hacks... oh, no, I mean, my ordinary friends..."

Balderes then described the big news in the city, but his understanding of the matter was actually less than what Lloyd knew from all the way in Radiant City. He hadn't even found out what these powerhouses were leaving to do.

It seemed he was quite a homebody, and his information channels weren't very good.

But for everyone else present, this was definitely headline-worthy news. A series of discussions immediately broke out, with Jenkins being the first to offer his analysis:

"Right now, the new great pioneering is in full swing. The cities of Radiant, Order, Joy, and Illusion have already dispatched hundreds of expedition teams of all sizes. Although the City of Serenity isn't a major force in the pioneering, the power of [Wisdom] is still indispensable...

"For such an unexpected situation to occur at such a crucial moment?"

Goldrinn followed up:

"Are you worried this will affect the progress of the great pioneering?"

"That depends on why these powerhouses have gone on an expedition. It wouldn't matter if it's for a short time. After all, the great pioneering is a long process, spanning ten, even dozens of years, so a small delay is fine. My main concern is the safety of these powerhouses..."

Jenkins said with some pessimism.

Balderes agreed with his view and said with a hint of resignation:

"Yeah, who asked our [Wisdom] system to be the worst at fighting?"

"Huh? Didn't you joke before that our City of Joy's [Shelter] is the weakest system?"

The White Bishop, Elolo, who was listening from the side, suddenly interjected, trying to get involved in the conversation.

"I said your Saint is the youngest and gives off the most unique impression. I never said the [Shelter] system was weak."

Balderes quickly explained himself.

"But as far as I know, the [Wisdom] system isn't weak. It's just not good at dealing with Demons. However, among the six major systems, it's the one that can truly interfere on a conscious level. In that respect, it's more direct and powerful than [Manifestation], much to the envy of us from the [Law] system."

"Black War Chariot is correct. It is precisely because the [Wisdom] system's strengths and weaknesses are both so pronounced that many High-ranking Powerhouses choose to delve into it. This has led to the [Veto] plus [Wisdom] combination, which is widely recognized as the strongest dual-system pairing. Among those powerhouses who left, there should be some with this dual system...

"In fact, if I were a bit younger, I might have tried the [Redemption] and [Wisdom] combination myself."

"The [Veto] system sounds so strong. It's a shame I somehow ended up in [Shelter], the system you all look down on the most... Otherwise, I would've wanted to visit Radiant City. I hear it's the most prosperous city."

"I'd also love to try the legendary strongest combination, [Veto] plus [Wisdom]. It makes me miss the Black Knight. I was even planning to visit him in Radiant City, but then... Oh, right, Black Soldier, didn't you say before that you'd recruit another person from the [Veto] system to join us?"

"Well... things with the seminar have changed recently. Let's discuss this again later..."

Lloyd listened quietly, secretly summarizing the information from the conversation in his mind.

'So the Chief Judge's and Knight Commander's combination is a recognized powerful pairing. In contrast, my [Twist] plus [Veto] is so obscure that nobody's even heard of it...'

'And thinking back on the butler's evaluation of [Wisdom], he also considered it the most suitable system for teammates and partners.'

'But it seems not all systems are suitable for pairing with [Wisdom]. Goldrinn's [Law], for example, seems completely incompatible?'

'But he didn't explain why...'

'As for Elolo's [Shelter], even its Saint isn't well-regarded?'

Lloyd recalled his two brief encounters with that old Priest from the [Shelter] system. He had to admit, the guy seemed like a crackpot, and Lloyd certainly hadn't felt like he'd received any 'shelter'. It really did seem weak.

And in the butler's journal, there was no evaluation of [Shelter]. He had neither fought against it nor worked with it; he merely knew that such a system existed.

'Is it because the Sanctuary Saint is the youngest Saint, and the City of Joy is the youngest city, that the [Shelter] system isn't fully developed yet? Is it lacking in influence, number of powerhouses, and so on?'

Lloyd also noticed that they seemed to place great importance on abilities related to 'Thought Consciousness Interference'.

He himself had mastered the [Twisted Realm], which could interfere on a conscious level, very early on, so he lacked a direct perspective on it. It was only after listening to their discussion today that he realized abilities targeting the conscious mind were actually quite rare.

'Among the orthodox systems, only [Wisdom] has this effect. The [Story] of the [Manifestation] system should probably only count as half.'

'Among the Taboo Systems, the three most common ones—[Suffering], [Curse], and [Calamity]—don't have the ability to interfere with consciousness. [Forgetfulness], which I encountered recently, does have that kind of effect, but it was immediately targeted for annihilation by the [Wisdom] system.'

'Looking at it this way, my [Twist] is really amazing! Right from the start, I had a rare effect that others crave. As expected of the system I chose, it really is the strongest!'

Lloyd gloated inwardly, feeling even more satisfied with the [Twist] system.

After a moment of secret delight, he went back to listening to the seminar's conversation.

Since they didn't know much about the great expedition of the [Wisdom] practitioners, the group chatted about it for a bit before Old Zhan took the floor.

He first briefly mentioned the [prophecy] he was currently working on, then specifically brought up the help given by the Venerable. Now, they were discussing how to express their gratitude.

'Isn't it a bit inappropriate to discuss this right in front of the person himself?'

Lloyd couldn't help but grumble inwardly.

But Old Zhan didn't seem to mind and continued:

"Today, while my ex-wife was out, I snuck back home and found a few things that should be of some value. I'd like everyone to help me take a look."

As he spoke, three tattered and old items appeared in front of him.

Goldrinn hopped over for a closer look and let out a cry of surprise:

"They're all Ancient Relics?"

Balderes also took a careful look and added:

"But they all seem to be broken, don't they? There's no Spiritual Energy left in them."

Jenkins explained with a smile:

"I dug these up from some ruins when I was young. It's precisely because they have no Spiritual Energy left that I was able to keep them in my private collection. Even so, they still have considerable value. Many people have come to my door in the past offering high prices for them."

Lloyd also looked at the three items he was displaying.

They looked like some kind of ancient devices, but they were poorly maintained, covered in rust, and damaged to a certain extent. Their original shapes were unrecognizable, and he couldn't tell if they had any value.

But he now understood why Old Zhan was discussing this in front of him. He probably wanted Lloyd to identify them and pick one for himself.

But how would Lloyd know anything about this? He could only look deep into his memories, trying to see if the Book of Truth would react.

In the end, there was no reaction at all. He didn't know if it was because the items had no value or because he hadn't physically touched them.

Instead, it was Elolo who suddenly said:

"My dad has a huge collection of things like this. He loves artifacts from ancient civilizations. He loves them more than fishing."