Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

"Y-You... Hello?"

The last remaining newcomer waved at Lloyd’s car and continued speaking.

"Can we get to know each other? You must be a veteran of this game, right? I’m a rookie who only just got to the second floor yesterday. There’s a lot I don’t understand..."

Being cautious, Lloyd didn’t get out of the car. He simply rolled down a window and observed the person from his seat.

Although the mosaic effect obscured the person’s face, Lloyd could tell he was very young. His outfit looked quite exquisite, suggesting he came from a wealthy family.

His personality seemed a bit forward. He then pointed to the two piles of car wreckage near the starting line and said:

"Thanks for getting some payback for me. Those two scammers were truly despicable! I’d much rather lose my points to a strong player like you."

’He’s not dumb, either,’ Lloyd thought. ’He can read the situation and didn’t mistake me for a scammer. His personality also seems to lean toward Rationality; he didn’t fly into a rage and lose his composure just because he lost some points.’

Based on this assessment, Lloyd decided the guy was worth talking to and replied:

"Actually, this is my first time trying this new game mode. I haven’t even been to this Dream Theater very often."

"Is that so? Then you must be a powerful Tier Four expert in the real world, right?" the other party asked.

Lloyd chose not to comment, changing the subject directly. "How did you save up five points?"

The man didn’t seem to mind the abrupt change of topic. He scratched his head and answered:

"I saved them up on the first floor. It took me almost a month and cost my family a lot of money..."

"The first floor?"

Lloyd was puzzled. ’Didn’t that place just look like a casino? Just a bit more luxurious, with a few more people.’

The newcomer shrugged with a helpless expression and explained:

"Yeah, the first floor. Experts like you are probably invited directly to the second floor, right? But for ordinary people like us who have no foundation and haven’t completed our Enlightenment, we have to start slowly from the first floor..."

He went on to give Lloyd a rough outline of how the first floor worked. You use real-world luxury items like jewelry, famous paintings, and designer watches to exchange for casino chips. Then, you sit at various gambling tables and win chips from other players to earn points.

However, no matter how many chips you won, they couldn’t be exchanged for more points, money, or the luxury items back. They were purely "chips" that became worthless the moment you left the first floor, regardless of what you traded to get them.

As for the games at the tables, it wasn’t really gambling at all. It was basically open cheating. Whether you used Extraordinary Abilities, sleight of hand, or shills to run a scheme, all that mattered was being the final winner. Besides a ban on physical fights, there were no other restrictions.

Additionally, players on the first floor could only be First Tier at most. Once they reached Tier Two, they had to start from the second floor.

This matched Lloyd’s own experience. The first time he entered this place, his Twist system was already at Tier Two, so he had been brought directly to the second floor.

"I lost horribly on the first floor at the beginning. My watch, my horse, my family’s vases and paintings... I lost them all. Only then did I figure out how to win, so I asked a few friends for help," the newcomer continued.

His method for winning on the first floor was simple. He went outside and hired two professional cardsharps to play a four-person card game with him. The remaining random player naturally stood no chance against them. That’s how he easily saved up a batch of points and directly exchanged them for the Enlightenment ritual of the Veto system.

Hearing this, Lloyd was somewhat surprised. ’You can directly exchange for an Extraordinary Enlightenment?’

According to the newcomer, he was from the City of Illusion, the headquarters of the Manifestation system. However, he was a bit of a "maverick" and preferred the Veto system from Radiant City.

’Is the Dream Theater more magical than I imagined? Or does the Enlightenment for the Veto system not necessarily have to take place in Radiant City?’

Lloyd mulled it over as he listened to the newcomer explain that for the Extraordinary System, you could only exchange for the initial Enlightenment. After that, you had to rely on your own cultivation. The good thing was that you could also exchange for materials, books, and knowledge here—even a Veto Saint Statue was available. Because of this, he was confident he could continue all the way to Transcendence here.

But earning points by just hanging around the first floor was too slow, and the cardsharps he’d hired started jacking up their prices. So, he decided to take his remaining points and head to the second floor.

As a result, as soon as he arrived, an Attendant recommended he try some popular new game mode. He was then scammed and, now unable to return to the first floor, had no choice but to ask a veteran player like Lloyd for help.

"I only have two points left. If I lose again, I’m done for. So, I wanted to ask if there are any games here that don’t require points? Of course, I won’t take advantage of you. If you’re willing to give me a real-world address, I’m happy to offer you a reward."

His words reminded Lloyd of the various high-priced commissions back at the club. It was very likely that the people who posted those commissions were in the same predicament as this rookie. They were bad at the games, lost everything, and could only resort to paying real money to get ahead.

Lloyd was tempted to earn a little extra money for his household, but he had only tried three game modes here in total and couldn’t offer any great advice. He wasn’t about to scam the guy against his conscience, so he generously shared what he knew.

"There are ones that don’t cost points, but they might cost you your life."

"Huh? That’s..."

"There’s also a game called "Right on Target" that costs two points to play. If you’re good at things like shooting, archery, bowling, or golf, you could give it a try."

"That... well, I’m only good at equestrianism..." the man scratched his head.

What else could Lloyd say? He could only raise his hands, make them look like crab claws, and advise:

"If you’re bad, you just have to practice."

Then, he pushed the joystick and drove off, ending the game.

* * *

"Congratulations, you’ve won another 25 points."

Lloyd had just gotten out of the car and was about to admire his masterpiece from the outside when his vision blurred. He found himself back in the "ticket hall," with a grinning Attendant standing before him, looking like he’d just hit a major sales target.

"Has the car I actually wanted been salvaged yet?" Lloyd asked directly.

"It should be soon. So, why not play another round? We’re aggressively expanding the player base for this new game mode, allowing three wins per person per day. In a little while, that might drop to just two, so why not seize the opportunity?" the Attendant suggested.

’Looks like the rules for this game are similar to "Right on Target". They limit the number of daily wins, but you can lose as much as you want. That’s probably to get players to come back every day, isn’t it?’

Unfortunately, Lloyd’s mind wasn’t on that today. He shook his head and said:

"Never mind. I’ll go outside and wait for a bit. It’s too noisy in here... Do you have the exchange list with you? I’d like to take a look."

"Of course. This way, please."

The Attendant conjured a wooden door and led Lloyd back to the quiet little garden. With another snap of his fingers, a tea table and sofa materialized before them, looking very comfortable and VIP-esque.

Lloyd sat down on the sofa, took the exchange list from the Attendant, and began searching for the materials for the third Transcendence of the Veto system.

Jeez. The two materials cost a total of 280 points, and there was an upward-pointing arrow next to them, indicating that the price was still rising.

Lloyd froze for a moment, then asked:

"What are the materials for the third Transcendence of the Shelter system?"

The Attendant conjured a new sheet of paper from his hand and passed it to Lloyd.

Holy cow. Their three materials only added up to 150 points, and the price trend was even pointing downward...

’Are we in the Veto system just a bunch of suckers? Maybe we should just rename it the Fat Sheep system and be done with it?’ Lloyd couldn’t help but curse internally.

After a moment’s thought, he asked again:

"Well... do you have anything a bit more... stimulating?"

"Of course!"

The Attendant instantly put on a look that said, ’I know *exactly* what you mean,’ and handed Lloyd another list.

It was filled with a full page of book titles:

"The Noble Lady and Her Three Lovers"

"Veto Saint’s Great War Against the Tentacle Evil God"

"Supreme Jade Feet, Supreme Enjoyment"

"The Nun Who, While Spreading the Word, Accidentally Stumbled into a Demonic Mountain Lair"

Some were art books, others were novels, and all of them cost just one point.

Lloyd immediately sat up straight and proper, his face stern. "That’s not what I meant!" he said, annoyed.

"Oh, oh... my apologies. I misunderstood."

The Attendant chuckled sheepishly and quickly handed over a new list.

The items on this list were much more concise. They were all related to the three great Taboo Systems: Suffering, Calamity, and Curse.

There was also a line item titled "Unsolved Mysteries".

The prices ranged from a few points to tens of thousands, an absurdly wide span.

Lloyd glanced at it briefly, put the list down, and continued to ask:

"Do you have any ancient devices, Ancient Relics, and so on? For example, a Portable Shield Generator?"

"Of course."

The Attendant handed him yet another list.

At the very top of the list was the "Portable Shield Generator" Lloyd had mentioned. The price was...

80,000 points?

The price moved Lloyd so deeply that he couldn’t help but curse inwardly:

’He could have just robbed me blind, but he still listed an ancient device for me. How fucking considerate!’

But that wasn’t even the most outrageous part. Even more ridiculous were some items that cost over ten *precious* points.

The only remotely feasible items were some devices floating around a few hundred points, all with prefixes like "broken," "inoperative," "malfunctioning," or "out of control."

In summary, a casual player like Lloyd who only dropped by occasionally could never afford such high-value goods.

The Attendant on the other side observed his expression, guessed his thoughts, and tried to persuade him again.

"So... why not come every day?"