Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

After that, the client, Hoyland, was locked up in a separate tent and never came out again. Whether he was still alive had become a Schrödinger’s cat situation.

Jenkins, however, sensed a heavy power emanating from the tent—the power of the Veto system. It told him there was another Veto powerhouse in the camp. It seemed his client had absolutely no hope of escape.

Afterward, Jenkins explained his purpose to everyone, but he was rather evasive, brushing off the critical details by blaming "the ambiguity of prophecy."

The leader, Chief Judge Tirtus, expressed his gratitude, thanking him for helping deliver a major wanted fugitive. He arranged for Jenkins to stay the night in the camp and return to Eternal City the next day.

The two then spoke further. Jenkins described Hoyland’s [Destiny] in great detail and offered a cautious reminder:

"He was willing to become a prisoner just to escape his terrifying Mentor. That must mean his Mentor is an extremely formidable powerhouse, wouldn’t you say? Please, Your Excellency, you must be careful."

Then, a gentle and refined voice echoed in Jenkins’s mind:

"Please, don’t you worry about that. His Mentor... I’m afraid he doesn’t have the time to deal with him at the moment."

’Oh? It seems His Excellency Tirtus is quite familiar with the situation. That makes sense. They’re both from Radiant City...’

As Jenkins was lost in thought, the voice returned:

"Compared to his Mentor, I’m more interested in what you mentioned earlier—the fact that you can’t see any forks in his [Destiny]. Could you elaborate on that for me?"

He then gave a self-deprecating laugh and added,

"Although I’m not well-versed in [prophecy], I know a situation like this is highly unusual. Could it be related to the important mission our [Wisdom] system is undertaking on this journey?"

The cover story Jenkins had used was that he couldn’t see the forks in Hoyland’s destiny. He claimed that he only received some vague guidance with the help of an Ancient Relic he couldn’t disclose, which led him to bring the man here to turn himself in.

This explanation naturally had its flaws, especially to someone who understood prophecy. Jenkins had no other choice. He couldn’t reveal the existence of the Supreme One, so he could only emphasize how special Hoyland was and brush aside the matter of the "Ancient Relic."

Fortunately, the Chief Judge didn’t press the issue further and changed the subject.

"Thank you very much for your help... I have a premonition that the wanted man you brought us today may prove to be of crucial assistance."

Their conversation ended there. Jenkins felt he had just scraped by and couldn’t help but become wary of Chief Judge Tirtus. ’This is not someone to mess with, definitely not,’ he thought.

But he hadn’t had much time to relax before he received a letter from Balderes, which led to their recent exchange of correspondence.

So, to prove his worth to the Supreme One’s Beloved, and to demonstrate his own sense of responsibility as a Prophet, Jenkins steeled himself and approached the inscrutable His Excellency Tirtus for a brief discussion.

Of course, he omitted the necessary details.

And just as expected of someone so knowledgeable, the Chief Judge quickly picked up on a detail from the scant information provided:

"I’ve never been married, so I don’t understand much about family matters, but I do know this: locking a consciousness inside a body is an exceptionally cruel act. It’s also not that easy to accomplish. After all, the human mind is always free and difficult to restrain...

Therefore, it requires specific Orbits or a Holy Artifact to assist, and it’s difficult to maintain for long... On the other hand, very few people can last long in an environment that’s akin to an endless, dark prison. If this family dispute isn’t resolved soon, your friend’s consciousness might be completely eroded."

"As expected of a powerhouse from the [Wisdom] system. You’ve uncovered a problem I couldn’t see, as sharp and sudden as a needle piercing the skin... From the sound of it, my friend’s situation is dire. Is there some way I can forcibly pull her consciousness out?"

"I’m not sure what methods you have at your disposal, but it’s best not to attempt something like that without absolute certainty. You could cause irreparable harm to your friend... It would be like trying to yank a prisoner out of a cage without first breaking it open."

"I understand. That would just tear the person inside to pieces... So we have to find a way to open the cage first."

Their exchange ended there. Without having seen the situation firsthand, even the knowledgeable Chief Judge couldn’t offer any more detailed advice.

Jenkins then returned to his tent and began writing furiously. In the end, he had written two letters.

One was addressed to Elolo, just to see if it would reach her.

But the letter couldn’t be sent at all...

To be precise, he couldn’t even open a spatial rift.

This meant that Elolo’s location was under a strict spatial lockdown, with even the tiniest cracks sealed shut.

This was something that had never happened before, and it indirectly confirmed the Beloved’s judgment: Elolo was indeed being held under excessively strict confinement.

Jenkins had no choice but to send the other letter to Balderes, in which he detailed the Chief Judge’s insights.

’I hope the Beloved can get her out of there safely.’

......

Meanwhile, after Lloyd finished reading Jenkins’s latest letter and saw the name "Tirtus" mentioned, he couldn’t help but think with admiration:

’The Chief Judge is so reliable! He really hit the nail on the head. As expected of a master of two systems; he’s incredibly knowledgeable!’

’Then again, the Chief Judge is all the way out in Eternal City, yet Old Zhan still managed to run into him and pass his advice along to me. What a coincidence.’

’Fate works in mysterious ways...’

Balderes also read the letter carefully. Then, speaking as a fellow Extraordinary Being of the [Wisdom] system, he said:

"Since Chief Judge Tirtus is a powerhouse of the [Wisdom] system, his understanding of human consciousness is certainly deeper than mine. His judgment must be sound. The White Bishop... she’s in real danger this time."

Lloyd nodded and replied:

"Looks like we can’t afford to treat this as ’someone else’s family problem’ anymore. We have to figure out how to get her out... Since you’re also a powerhouse of the [Wisdom] system, can you think of any way to break this [Consciousness Lock]?"

"I wouldn’t call myself a powerhouse yet, and I haven’t mastered [Consciousness Lock]. That’s an ability one only encounters at Tier Five. However, I have done some research on it in advance and have a few... unrefined thoughts."

Balderes waved his hand humbly before giving Lloyd a brief explanation of how [Consciousness Lock] works.

It’s an ability from the [Wisdom] system, and a trump card at that. It can trap an enemy’s consciousness in a terrifying mental black prison from which it is very difficult to escape.

In PvP, it can place powerful restrictions on an opponent’s thoughts. In PvE, it can protect an ally’s consciousness from all sorts of bizarre damage. It’s an extremely flexible ability.

However, this useful ability doesn’t last very long and has a high cost. Even when cast by a High-ranking Powerhouse, it can only be maintained for about half an hour.

It also depends on the target. If the target is also a High-ranking Powerhouse with sufficiently high Rationality and a stable mental state, the duration will be even shorter—perhaps only for an instant.

Therefore, Elolo’s situation must be influenced by Orbits and Holy Artifacts.

And since Orbits are involved, this was Balderes’s specialty.

"When you went to ’visit’ her, did you notice any Orbits?"

Balderes asked.

"Yes, and they were powerful."

Lloyd described the situation in Elolo’s room. Relying on his excellent memory, he sketched the patterns of the Orbits on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Though some details were missing, it was enough for Balderes to make a judgment.

"What, does she have some kind of blood feud with her father? Even our Holy Judgment Court doesn’t use Orbits this ruthless."

Lloyd shrugged helplessly, showing that he was thinking the same thing.

"Hmm... The Orbits in the room are part of a larger Orbital Array. They can link together to form a powerful and flexible whole. The person who set up this array is a formidable character..."

Balderes explained, pointing to several patterns on the sketch, then tapped one particular pattern for emphasis.

"Look here. If you wanted to add the [Consciousness Lock] effect, you would just need to add a supplementary Orbit outside the room and connect it to this junction."

"So what if we just destroy this connection?"

Lloyd asked quickly.

His knowledge of Orbits was focused mainly on portability and miniaturization; he didn’t know much about large-scale arrays like this.

Balderes had gathered as much from their previous conversations, so he patiently explained:

"Hard to say... Besides this one, there are two other potential connection hubs. The [Consciousness Lock] function might not even be connected here. It could be linked to some kind of anti-tampering counter-Orbit. If you accidentally trigger that, it would be extremely dangerous!

Unless we can see the layout of the entire array, it’s impossible to be sure. Hmm... let me think..."

With that, Balderes clasped his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair as he fell into deep thought.

’No wonder his hair seems a bit thinner than that of other young men,’ Lloyd thought.

After a while, he finally looked up and asked:

"Right, do you remember anything else in her room that seemed... off? Or just clearly out of place? Like a mirror hanging from the ceiling, or a candlestick under the bed?"

Lloyd thought back carefully, then said tentatively:

"There were no mirrors?"