Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

[Ding~ Madness Value +1000]

[Ding~ Madness Value +1000]

[Ding~ Skill Fragment +1]

[Ding~ Knowledge Fragment +1]

A series of notifications rang in Lloyd’s ears again as a huge wave of Spiritual Contamination washed over him. His Madness Value began to shoot up, and the alerts only stopped after it had risen by 7,000 points.

’Looks like I’ll be able to level up again soon...’

’Did the ’double EXP’ event become a permanent feature?’

As the Spiritual Contamination temporarily subsided, the activity within the flower bud also quieted down, ceasing to act like a living thing.

But to the touch, it still felt warm and smooth, like a girl’s delicate skin.

Lloyd couldn’t resist caressing it a couple more times. He then sent out his inspiration, wanting to see what was hidden inside the flower bud.

However, his inspiration was blocked by a gentle force, unable to enter. Even when he activated his Spiritual Vision, he couldn’t see anything—only a vast, mysterious expanse of white.

Lloyd resentfully withdrew his hand and sat down cross-legged, pondering what had just happened.

He surmised that the Veto Saint must have guided him to use the wood-colored wax marks and the Saint Statue as materials to create a Consciousness Projection Body.

’I should be able to control it, and I should be able to bring it into the physical world.’

But perhaps due to the influence of the Saint Statue, this Projection had established some kind of mysterious connection with the Veto Saint—one that he couldn’t currently comprehend.

The life and movement from within it earlier, along with the accompanying Spiritual Contamination, all proved the existence of this connection.

Moreover, judging by the intensity of the Spiritual Contamination, this could be considered a form of ’intimate contact’—at least, more intimate than an Audience with the Saint.

He had also obtained some Knowledge Fragments and skill fragments before, but they were all meaningless, useless fragments that the system panel had automatically sorted into the ’recycling bin’ area of his mind.

This situation was very similar to what happened with Elolo.

’So, to sum it up, touching that flower bud just now was equivalent to a ’Night Raid’ on Elolo?’

’The Veto Saint saw me taking on Elolo’s burden and couldn’t just stand by, so she decided she wanted to join this... party?’

’And this was the method she chose?’

Lloyd, of course, had no problem with this. ’My persona is that of a tenacious and rational young man. I can totally handle this level of Spiritual Contamination!’

’In fact, bring on some more!’

The only regrettable part was that all the fragments he obtained were useless...

’When I helped Weiya and Buster with their Spiritual Contamination, I learned skills directly from them. But when it comes to these two Saints, all I get is this stuff?’

’Is this the difference between a Saint and an ordinary Extraordinary Being?’

After some thought, Lloyd temporarily left the Thought Realm. He then recalled the knowledge of the Manifestation system in his mind. While continuously thinking of the giant flower bud, he began to mobilize his Spiritual Power and inspiration.

He wanted to try and control it, to see if he could project it into the real world.

But he actually failed?

The feedback from his inspiration was: ’The Consciousness Body is not yet fully prepared and cannot be projected.’

This result didn’t surprise Lloyd. After all, his current understanding of Manifestation was only superficial and basic. He hadn’t even completed his Enlightenment, so it was impossible for him to control such a complex Projection, especially one involving a Saint.

But judging from the feedback from his inspiration, he would be able to control it eventually. It just wasn’t quite ready yet?

’When will it be ready then?’

’What’s inside it?’

’Could it be a beautiful, cute girl?’

Lloyd couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild. Finally, he smiled, shook his head, and reviewed the knowledge of the Manifestation system in his mind once more.

Projection, as a primary path and method of the Manifestation system, was a profound field of study, characterized by being easy to learn but difficult to master.

In the beginning, one could usually only project simple stick-figure-like patterns or other easily understood things. They were just illusory images without physical substance, purely for amusement.

To make it truly practical, reliable, and functional required a great deal of long-term study, research, and practice, and it only became more difficult the further one progressed.

Theoretically, for a Manifestation-system Extraordinary Being following the path of Projection, there was no limit to the number of Projections they could have. As long as one could construct a Consciousness Body and had enough Spiritual Power and inspiration to command it, it was theoretically possible to achieve the spectacular feat of being a ’one-man army.’

However, even orthodox experts of the Manifestation system would only choose one or two Consciousness Bodies and devote all their energy to polishing, optimizing, and maintaining them, much like cultivating a Lifebound Magical Treasure in a xianxia novel.

Crudely made, ’paper-thin’ Projections were obviously no match for such powerful ones; no matter how many you summoned, they wouldn’t be enough.

But all this advanced content was still too far off for the current Lloyd.

He was well aware of his current situation. He hadn’t even gotten his foot in the door. This giant flower bud was only completed with a little help from the Saint.

’Just got to keep working hard!’

Just then, Lloyd suddenly heard a pained roar from the hallway outside. He quickly opened the door to take a look.

Using his Spiritual Vision, he saw the current state of his two competitors.

The scholar was lying on his bed, pale and drenched in sweat, seemingly unconscious.

The investigator was kneeling on the floor, clutching his head, enduring some kind of intense pain. He too was soaked in sweat.

However, it seemed both of them had broken free from the "Story," they just looked to be in a rather sorry state.

Lloyd took out his pocket watch to check the time. It was almost nine o’clock at night...

’Is cracking the ’Story’ that hard?’

’I’ve already gone and created my own Projection over here, and you guys are only just getting out now?’

’But I can’t blame you. After all, it’s a Tier Four versus a Tier Seven. Only someone sufficiently hardworking and truly talented could escape so easily.’

Lloyd grumbled inwardly, then pursed his lips and shook his head.

He didn’t bother them, though. He just felt hungry and went down to the first floor to find something to eat.

Downstairs, staff arranged by the butler had already delivered ordinary food like sandwiches, roasted meat, and vegetable salad. The portions were generous and nutritionally balanced.

Unfortunately, the cooking was subpar and lacked creativity, a far cry from Lloyd’s own inventive culinary skills. He couldn’t help but shake his head as he ate.

...

Meanwhile, on the third floor, the three big shots present had no appetite for dinner. They were busy confirming the results of the first day’s competition.

"So... adding up the times of the three readers to crack the ’Story’: Lloyd took 20 seconds, Sam took exactly 5 hours, and Odysseus took 6 hours and 38 minutes. Therefore, Olga, your final total time is 11 hours, 38 minutes, and 20 seconds. Any objections?"

The butler asked, looking at the pocket watch in his hand.

"No... wait, yes! Can you just get rid of those 20 seconds? Even for the sake of the hush money?"

The big shot Olga replied, dejected.

In this ’gamble,’ the winner was the one with the longest time, and with his current total, the big shot Olga clearly stood no chance...

However, he wasn’t particularly despondent. Through a series of painful negotiations, he and the other big shot had managed to pry open the butler’s mouth, getting him to accept a hefty sum of hush money to not reveal any information about their ’secret weapon,’ Lloyd.

Now, as long as he could persuade Lloyd to help him win a round, he could still complete his eighth Transcendence.

But he would likely only have one chance and would have to compete with the big shot Inesha for it, which would undoubtedly cost him a fortune.

The three of them had settled the follow-up matters earlier, which was why they now had the leisure to pay attention to the circumstances of the other two ’readers.’

As it turned out, they witnessed a scene of the big shot Olga being hoist by his own petard.

The helper he had found was an experienced investigator from the Law system named Odysseus.

In the ’plot’ Olga had designed for him, he had prepared all sorts of obvious hints right from the start, arranging many things familiar to an investigator. He believed that as long as Odysseus could regain his self-cognition, he would immediately realize this was Olga’s ’Story.’

Then, he would be able to adjust his pace with ease, handle the ’plot’ developments effortlessly, and control the timing to secure the maximum benefit for Olga.

But it was precisely because of these many familiar people and events that the investigator became deeply engrossed. He only regained his self-cognition very late, completely failing to leverage the Law system’s advantage in recovering self-cognition. As a result, he was the last one to escape the ’Story.’

Although the bet was about who could be slower, and the investigator did manage to stall for enough time for the big shot Olga, it also came at a great personal cost. He was exhausted and in a wretched state, which severely affected his condition. When he entered someone else’s story tomorrow, his performance would likely be abysmal.

This just went to show that arranging elements in the ’plot’ to reveal the ’author’s’ identity was a rather risky maneuver.

"Sigh... he’s my younger cousin’s son. He was a talented genius, and the family had high hopes for him. He was doted on, and we even specifically arranged for him to choose the Law system, hoping he could one day shoulder the family’s burdens alongside me..."

"I never expected him to end up in such a sorry state... Sigh. I can only hope he doesn’t lose all his spirit because of this."

After this lament, the big shot Olga could only swallow the bitter pill.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a little displeased with this nephew, whom he had previously valued and liked so much.

’Look at other people’s kids, and then look at you!’

’Why don’t I have a nephew like Lloyd?’

’Huh? Wait a minute... Maybe I could?’

’Doesn’t my good-for-nothing younger female cousin have a nine-year-old daughter? She’s not particularly cute, but she is currently unmarried. Perhaps I could arrange something?’

The big shot Olga’s train of thought drifted further and further off track, heading down a path of illegality and crime.