Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: This Principle Isn’t Hard to Understand, Right?

’Seriously, you guys... You came all this way and you’re not even going to try it? You’re just going to be backseat gamers?’

Lloyd grumbled inwardly, then went back to listening to their conversation.

Fortunately, even though they weren’t playing themselves, they were very serious spectators and had figured out the basic rules of the four game modes.

On the whole, they were similar to the two game modes Lloyd had played himself. They all looked like simple, easy mini-games on the surface, but in reality, they were contests of Extraordinary Abilities.

And on the third floor, where Jenkins was, the level of conflict and risk wasn’t lower at all. In fact, it was even more intense and direct...

He had personally witnessed two Tier Five Powerhouses wager their points and choose what looked like a safe card-drawing game.

Both sides had ten cards face down in front of them. They took turns flipping them over. Each time a card was flipped, the image drawn on it would come to life, turning into a ’toy Soldier’ that would attack the opponent. The winner was the one who defeated all the toy Soldiers summoned by the other player.

It seemed safe enough, but after careful observation, Jenkins discovered that the bullets the toy Soldiers fired and the attacks they launched were all manifestations of the two players’ abilities.

Even the damage the toy Soldiers took had to be borne and defended against by the players themselves.

So it was just a direct confrontation between the two players, only with a new gimmick.

Of course, there were probably other details that Jenkins couldn’t see.

In any case, the final result was that the two players exhausted all their cards before a winner was decided. The loser was severely injured, their fate unknown, while the victor was also drained and on the verge of collapse.

After hearing Jenkins’s description, Balderes asked in confusion:

"Whoa? You Tier Five Powerhouses actually do life-or-death stuff like that? I thought once you reached Tier Five and had your lifespan extended, everyone would be very protective of their lives."

Jenkins explained with a wry smile:

"Not everyone is like me, with little desire for more power... In reality, it’s only from Tier Five onward that you truly experience the hardships of the Path of the Extraordinary. Madness and danger become your constant companions. If you don’t fight with everything you have, you can be consumed by it at any moment..."

Elolo, who was listening on the side, sighed with emotion.

"That’s so scary... Anyway, if I ever manage to reach Tier Five, I’m never taking another step forward. I’ll stop messing with mystery and the extraordinary altogether. I’ll just keep my youthful appearance, relax, and enjoy life. There are still so many places I haven’t been and so many things I haven’t tried!"

But Balderes deliberately played devil’s advocate.

"What if you only reach Tier Five after you’re old and your looks have faded?"

"I’ll never let that happen! I’ll work hard at my training, too!"

"Heh heh..."

Even Goldrinn started giving her a hard time:

"Compared to the lifespan you gain by reaching Tier Five, this world is far too small. So small that you’ll probably have explored every corner of it very quickly. What will you do then?"

Elolo had clearly never thought that far ahead and was at a loss for words.

"Uh... well..."

In the end, it was Jenkins who stepped in to smooth things over.

"Alright, alright, stop teasing the poor girl. All of this is still a long way off for her.

However, what Black War Chariot said is something to take seriously. After advancing to Tier Five, even if you stop pursuing more power, you must maintain contact with mystery and the extraordinary. Just do it in a relatively safer way, like I do.

This is extremely important. When your life loses its purpose and meaning, madness will follow...

That’s why people often say there’s no turning back on the Path of the Extraordinary. Once you set foot on it, you can never leave."

His words left Lloyd deep in thought.

’He’d heard the saying ’there’s no turning back on the Path of the Extraordinary’ long ago.’

’He just never expected it to manifest this way, with no option to ’retire to the countryside’ or just ’slack off and do nothing.’’

’And in the long life that follows, watching your loved ones and familiar things gradually grow old and disappear... that was something he didn’t dare to imagine...’

’As for the dangers and difficulties one would face after reaching a High Position, those were even harder to predict...’

’This truly was a difficult path, not quite like the xianxia novels he had read back on Earth.’

Lloyd’s thoughts then shifted. ’It would be great if there was a safe and stable Extraordinary System that allowed people to gain power and extend their lifespans without so much danger.’

’Wouldn’t that be a brand new future for humanity?’

Just as these thoughts stirred in Lloyd and he was considering whether to post a comment to join the discussion, he heard Jenkins continue speaking.

"And on our current Path of the Extraordinary, no matter how far you advance, a Tier Nine Saint is the final destination.

You may not have had contact with a Saint, but I was fortunate enough to have seen the Redemption Saint once. Although we didn’t interact, I could feel a profound...

Pain and madness...

In that moment, I almost thought I was being watched by a dangerous Demon."

As soon as he said this, the Chessboard fell silent, as if everyone was processing this new, dense piece of information.

Even Lloyd, outside the screen, was a little surprised.

He had also had contact with the Veto Saint, although it was limited to eye contact.

But that Saint’s gaze had been gentle and calm, with no hint of pain or madness.

’Is the Redemption Saint’s life harder? Is their mental state that bad?’

’Or is it some kind of difference between the two systems?’

After a moment of thought, he heard Goldrinn speak.

"This... a Saint’s pain and madness? You’re actually telling us about this... Didn’t you say before that you’d wait until we reached Tier Five?"

Balderes also chimed in:

"So is this the reason you keep stressing the need to ’break free from the shackles of the Saints’?"

Jenkins didn’t answer immediately. He first turned to glance at the ’spectator’ beside them and waited for a moment, as if to see if they would speak up and correct his views.

When no response came, it was like a tacit approval. Only then did he open his mouth to answer.

"It’s not entirely because of that. There are many other reasons you only encounter after Tier Five. I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t want you to overthink things..."

With that, he turned back to the ’spectator’ and continued:

"But regardless, all my previous speculations have been answered. The [prophecy] I paid a great price to glimpse has also come true...

A power that transcends the Saints truly does exist in this world!

So... please, Venerable, forgive my rudeness and recklessness, but I truly want to know how to access such a power, and what price must be paid?

I beg you, grant me some answers."

’You’re asking me... but I don’t know either!’

’Want to try the [Twist] system? That is, if you’re not afraid of dying or going insane.’

Lloyd didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he grumbled inwardly. He refrained from posting that as a comment, though.

But it wouldn’t be right to stay silent at a time like this. To maintain his image and dignity, he had to say something cryptic to keep up his persona as a ’master of riddles’.

So, after a moment of thought, he posted a comment:

"The more unknown, the more powerful."

This was something like a principle he had learned from the Book of Truth, but it was rather vague, lacking any more detailed or specific theories to explain it.

’It’s quite suitable as a riddle, though...’

There were three such principles in total. He used one of them, saving the others for the next time an occasion like this arose.

But after the comment was posted, the four on the Chessboard fell silent and still.

This made Lloyd a little anxious. ’Did I manage to bluff my way through?’

The silence lasted for two minutes. Then, Elolo’s White Bishop piece was the first to break the stillness.

It swayed back and forth on the spot, then toppled over and slowly vanished.

This was the sign that she had fallen unconscious and left the [Chessboard].

Next, the pieces belonging to Balderes and Goldrinn also began to sway, then they too passed out.

Only Jenkins was left, struggling to hold on.

He felt as though he was letting out a shrill, agonizing scream, his voice growing hoarse from the effort.

But no one could hear it. He appeared perfectly quiet.

At the same time, he felt his brain boiling and burning, and he could even smell a nauseating, scorched odor.

Amidst this torment, he struggled to endure for five minutes, barely managing to stay upright and conscious.

When the pain finally subsided a little, he whispered in a weak, breathless voice:

"Thank... you... for your... Blessing..."

At that moment, Jenkins’s heart was filled with nothing but endless regret...

’I’m never asking that kind of life-threatening question again!’

The key was, he felt he had suffered for nothing—

He hadn’t even been able to clearly see what the line of text in front of him said. As he was still trying to make it out, excruciating pain washed over him, blinding him to everything.

’As expected, I’ve given up on advancing for too long. So long that I’ve lost the instinct and vigilance I should have. Otherwise, how could I have asked such a foolish question?’

’I hope... they’re okay...’

With this final thought, Jenkins could no longer hold on and fainted.

And just like that, this study session came to an inexplicable end.

Leaving a slightly awkward Lloyd outside the screen.

"Uh... what just happened?"

He swiped the screen aside and questioned the Tentacle Grass in front of him.

The Tentacle Grass twisted itself into a ’?’ shape, indicating that it didn’t know.

"Was it because of my comment?"

Lloyd asked himself, mulling it over.

’That can’t be right. I just told them a very simple, unsupported principle, didn’t I?’

’And that principle shouldn’t be hard to understand, right?’

’So why did this happen?’

Lloyd felt helpless. He could only shake his head, put the Tentacle Grass back under its glass cover, and leave the [Thought Realm].

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!