Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Chapter 120: Chapter 120: Right on Target

Just as Lloyd arrived in the small garden, the Attendant appeared out of thin air and greeted him.

"Oh, welcome, welcome! You’ve arrived a little later than I anticipated."

"Hm? Are you saying I don’t come here often enough?"

Lloyd asked casually.

"Compared to most of the players here, yes. Generally speaking, players who have been here just once find it very difficult to resist this place’s charm... especially those like you, who were victorious in their very first game."

The Attendant said with considerable pride, then gestured for Lloyd to follow him and continued speaking.

"So, I’ve realized you probably didn’t enjoy the last game’s format. This time, please allow me to introduce you to one of the second floor’s most popular games. I’m certain you will be captivated by it."

As he spoke, a black wooden door materialized out of thin air in front of him. He then stepped to the side, motioning for Lloyd to enter.

"This is it. As per your request last time, this is a game where no lives will be lost."

Lloyd nodded. Just as he was about to push the door open, the Attendant added another reminder.

"You might consider choosing a codename for yourself, something like ’Lucky Star’ or ’East Sea Emperor.’ It would make it easier for other players to recognize you, and for me to address you."

’I’m not a horse, why would I pick a name like that?’

Lloyd grumbled to himself but made a mental note of it. He pushed open the door in front of him and walked in.

’This place... is it some kind of arena?’

The style was reminiscent of a bowling alley. Underfoot was a waxed, faintly gleaming wooden floor. In the distance were two lanes where over a hundred people were gathered, creating a noisy, chaotic scene.

Everyone’s face was blurry, as if pixelated, indicating they were all players from the second floor.

From time to time, bursts of cheers and applause would erupt:

"Whoa? Yes! A hit! I hit it!"

"Wow! You even hit that? You’re really lucky!"

"Pah! What luck? This master here is just incredibly skilled!"

Or bouts of frustrated sighs:

"How is that possible? I saw it clearly, why didn’t I hit it?"

"Ha! Unlucky bastard. Go see an eye doctor before you come back."

"Exactly. Even though this is the arena with the lowest barrier to entry, it’s not for a rookie like you. Your Attendant must have tricked you, huh?"

Lloyd, growing curious, moved closer to observe how the game was played.

The game was called "Right on Target." The rules were simple, too: just hit the target on the other side with the ball in your hand.

But the special part was that this "ball" could be a tennis ball, a shot put, a bowling ball, a shuttlecock, or even a dart or a pistol. It seemed anything that could "hit a target" was allowed.

And the target on the other side could also be anything: a normal concentric-circle target, bowling pins, even a golf hole, small live animals, or even... a living person...

The player currently standing on the lane was holding a longbow, nocking an arrow and aiming at a large crowd of people on the other side.

Then he released the arrow. It left a golden streak of light as it flew, tracing an S-shaped curve through the air that defied the laws of physics. It swerved around a motionless old man and a simple-looking middle-aged man, striking a young girl hiding behind them.

BANG~

The young girl instantly exploded into a large pile of gold coins, which represented points, and vanished.

The "people" around her who had been moving about, as well as the surrounding scenery of farmland and barns, all disappeared along with her, leaving only a bare lane.

’So they were just special targets, not real people being killed.’

The onlookers at the side immediately burst into excited cheers.

"Amazing, amazing! Even difficulty 5 couldn’t stop you! You truly live up to your name as the renowned ’Magic Bullet Hunter’!"

"The great Magic Bullet Hunter is too incredible! That’s 50 points in one go. It’s enough to make anyone green with envy."

"With your skill level, you could probably move up to the third floor, right? When are you planning on giving the players up there a little shock?"

The player, surrounded by the crowd, was dressed in a common hunter’s outfit and wore a feathered tricorn hat, which bore some resemblance to the attire from the Saint’s Grace Court.

He dealt with the flattery from those around him and replied humbly:

"With my current strength, I’m not yet ready to challenge the third floor. In this ’Dream Theater,’ there are plenty of mediocre talents like myself."

Lloyd watched from behind, frowning slightly.

He had already realized through observation that these "balls" and "targets" were chosen by the players themselves. ’What kind of person would choose a target like that?’

He also noticed that this game had difficulty levels. The higher the difficulty, the farther away the target, the more interference there was, and correspondingly, the higher the reward.

For example, a player on another lane had chosen a scene like indoor golf, where he needed to hit a small ball into a hole marked with a golden flagstick.

But as he took a swing, the hole actually moved on its own, neatly avoiding the ball’s landing spot.

Frustrated, the man instantly snapped the golf club in his hands, then picked up a new one as a new ball appeared at his feet.

Lloyd took a closer look and saw the number ’2’ written on the ball.

And above the player’s head hung a wooden sign with a ’3’ on it.

This indicated that he had chosen difficulty level 3, and each ball below was worth 2 points.

If he missed, the 2 points would be gone...

But if he hit it, he would get back the 2 points he spent on the ball and receive an additional 2 * 3 = 6 points as a reward.

’So that’s pretty much how this game works. It’s not difficult, no one dies, and winning or losing is just about in-game points. It’s much better than the last one.’

However, Lloyd didn’t rush to play. He only had two points left, enough for maybe one attempt. He figured it was better to watch how others played a bit more.

Just then, a player rushed in, stood on the unused third lane, and placed his hand on a Crystal Ball in front of him.

The lane immediately lit up, and a spotlight from some unknown source shone down, focusing on the player and instantly making him the center of attention.

Then, a sign descended above his head with a ’6’ on it, meaning he was about to challenge difficulty level 6.

Below it, in a line of smaller text, was the person’s codename: ’Sharpshooter’.

At the far end of the lane, human-shaped targets rose up and began to move from side to side. One of them was clearly a few sizes smaller and was faintly glowing with a golden light, indicating that it was the real target.

A display stand materialized in front of the player, and on it rested a Flintlock Gun.

"I’m loading my last two points into the chamber!"

He muttered, picked up the gun, calibrated it for a moment, and then loaded a projectile into it.

Other players immediately gathered around him and started cheering him on.

"Whoa? The first difficulty 6 of the day? Go for it! I’ve got faith in you!"

"Too bad the second floor doesn’t allow real-world money transactions, or I’d set up betting odds for you."

"Not many people attempt difficulty 6, right? I heard it’s not just that the target gets harder, but you also face a lot of interference... Anyway, good luck, great Sharpshooter!"

For a sport like shooting, the louder the noise, the worse it is. It made one wonder if these onlookers were cheering him on or trying to distract him.

Lloyd also visually estimated the distance to the target. ’Jeez, I can’t even see the largest distractions clearly. The entire target is just a tiny dot, let alone the even smaller golden one.’

The distance had to be several thousand meters, yet the entire arena only looked to be a few hundred meters wide.

’Has the Space been altered?’

Lloyd speculated to himself.

Then, he felt a burst of Spiritual Power erupt from the ’Sharpshooter,’ followed by a wisp of inspiration that reached out toward the target.

This was quite normal. A distance like that was far beyond the range of an old-fashioned firearm like a Flintlock Gun, and it would be impossible to aim with the naked eye.

’It seems this game still relies on Extraordinary Abilities to succeed.’

And this ’Sharpshooter’ seemed to have some skill. He was completely unfazed by the surrounding noise, calmly raising the gun and beginning to aim. His hands were steady, his breathing was even—it was clear he had the fundamentals of marksmanship down.

But after aiming for half a minute, not only did he not fire, but his whole body began to tremble slightly.

It grew more and more intense until his entire body was convulsing as if electrocuted. He collapsed to the ground with a THUD, then pressed his hands hard against his temples and started screaming incessantly.

"AHH!!! Ugh... Stay away! Stay away!"

Then, as he convulsed, wriggling fleshy growths began to sprout from his skin.

This was a sign of losing control...

Just as his entire body began to mutate into a Demon, he was ’kicked’ from the game. His figure vanished on the spot, leaving only a single gold card that slowly sank into the waxed wooden floor.

Lloyd shook his head to himself.

’He remembered the Attendant saying that this game wouldn’t cost anyone their life...’

The onlookers showed no sympathy. Instead, they made a couple of sarcastic remarks and went back to watching the other lanes.

"Heh. And here I thought he was some kind of expert. Turns out he was just a clueless rookie. Who did he think he was, choosing difficulty 6?"

"So the rumors about the higher difficulties are true. Starting from difficulty 6, not only is the target hard to hit, but you also suffer from continuous Spiritual Contamination."

"Isn’t that something everyone already knows? It’s hardly a secret, is it? Only an idiot like him wouldn’t know."

As they were speaking, they suddenly heard a DING DING, and another spotlight lit up behind them.

When they turned back around, a new player they’d never seen before was standing in the spotlight, a wooden sign hanging above his head.

On it was written the number ’7’.

Then, another line of smaller text showed his codename:

’Newbie’

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