Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Chapter 164: Chapter 164: Divination Requires a Quiet Environment

Lloyd was just about to leave this ’processing’ area when a Scholar of Saint Favor in a white coat suddenly darted out from the side. He blocked Lloyd’s path and, without a word, pulled out a flashlight to shine in his eyes.

Lloyd quickly covered his eyes and questioned him:

"Hey, why do you guys always do this? If you want to know if I’ve gone mad, couldn’t you just use inspiration?"

"What if you *have* gone mad? What if you’re carrying something that made you go mad?"

The other man retorted matter-of-factly.

’Uh... He has a good point. I can’t argue with that...’

Lloyd could only stand there obediently, letting the man pry open his eyelids and shine the light until his vision blurred.

The scholar finally let Lloyd go and nodded.

"Hm? Your condition is surprisingly not bad. Did you drink the medicine I gave you?"

"Not yet. Should I give it back?"

"That won’t be necessary. Keep it for an emergency. Just don’t sell it for money. The side effects are pretty severe... Alright, the chapel is over there. Go get some rest."

The scholar pointed to a temporary chapel in the distance, enclosed by corrugated iron sheets, then ran off to tend to his own business.

’He’s actually a pretty nice guy...’

Lloyd walked toward the chapel, rubbing his eyes.

Compared to the conditions of the prison cells, the construction here was much simpler. There was no floor, no roof, not even a door. A few sheets of snakeskin-patterned tarp had been casually pulled across as a covering, serving as the chapel. It was the very picture of making do with local resources.

In the middle stood a Saint Statue—the most common and traditional version, depicting a young girl with a blurred face, her hands crossed in an ’X’.

Over twenty Executioners were gathered inside. Some were chatting in small groups, some were resting with their eyes closed, some were reading, and others were just staring into space.

Lloyd listened in on their conversations for a moment and found that the Demons they had executed were all Danger Level 3. The strongest among them, Jelas, had even executed a Danger Level 4.

But right now, they all looked to be in good shape. They must have recovered from the Spiritual Contamination they suffered during the executions and were ready to go again at any moment.

If these were ordinary people, like the common Executors from the Eighteenth District, they’d need a day or two in a hospital bed after executing something from level -1 or -2. If they suffered Spiritual Contamination from a Danger Level 3 or 4 like these guys, there’s no telling how long they’d be laid up.

Lloyd nodded to himself, his estimation of these people rising.

They were indeed genuine ’Qualified’ individuals, displaying impressive resistance and recovery against Spiritual Contamination. Their four Attributes weren’t weak either. They just couldn’t compare to a stats monster like Meditis, but they were in no way inferior to the Priests or even the Knights on the outside.

It’s just that their usual workload was too low, making the place feel like a retirement home. They were too well-protected by the Sect.

As Lloyd pondered this, his imagination suddenly ran wild. He guessed that the Sect’s upper echelons had gathered these people here and drastically increased their workload with a specific purpose in mind. ’Was this a case of "you never know how good they are until you push them"?’

’And could the reason they were being pushed so hard now be related to the Advisor’s temporary fall? After all, that deranged lunatic loved to go after young geniuses...’

’It seems that getting rid of this arch-fiend will have a positive impact on all fronts. That’s great!’

’In that case, I definitely can’t let this fiend be revived. I’ve got to milk this for all it’s worth!’

As Lloyd was musing to himself, he heard Jelas, the man he was ’keeping a close eye on’, ask a question:

"Did any of you notice the cell right in the center?"

"Huh? The layout of these cells is so chaotic. Where’s the center?"

"Have you... never studied Orbital Mechanics?"

"I’d love to, but where would I find the time? I’m already swamped just practicing dissections... Sigh. I don’t mind if you laugh, but my retrieval success rate is worse than the Executioner trainees. They often mock me behind my back, saying I’m better suited to serving food in the cafeteria."

"How does that have anything to do with the cafeteria?"

"Because my hands shake easily..."

"PFFT—HAHA! That’s actually pretty fitting. But it’s normal for your hands to shake. It took me many years of practice to barely keep them steady. Before that, my retrieval success rate was awful too. A cut too deep here, too shallow there... it made me wonder if I was cut out for this line of work at all."

"I’m a bit better off than you guys. My family runs a butcher shop, so I grew up around it and picked it up pretty quickly. My retrieval rate is close to sixty percent now."

"Impressive! Impressive! I’m only at about forty percent, and I’m not very consistent... By the way, Jelas, what about you? What’s your retrieval rate?"

"Around sixty percent, too. It depends on my condition and the difficulty."

"Wow! As expected of the Sect’s rising star, watched over by the Saint. We mortals can only look up in awe."

Listening from the side, Lloyd found it rather amusing.

The guy he suspected of being an internal mole had clearly asked if anyone had been to Cell No. 1, but the topic had somehow drifted to dissection and retrieval rates.

’But are their retrieval rates really that low? Just forty, sixty percent... How many Demon organs must they be wasting? How much bounty money?’

’And here I am with a nearly one-hundred-percent retrieval rate, even packing up the scraps to avoid waste...’

’It really makes me want to make crab claws with my hands and tell them to "get good." An ant’s pincer is an ant’s pincer, and a crab’s claw is a crab’s claw.’

’Guess I never would have known how good I was if I didn’t come on this trip, huh?’

Lloyd let himself get a little carried away in his head, but then he immediately remembered the duel between the High-ranking Powerhouses, and he came crashing back down to earth.

’My current abilities are still far from enough. I must always remember my persona as a humble, reserved, and low-key young man. Can’t get blindly arrogant. I have to keep working hard.’

After reminding himself of this, he turned his attention back to Jelas, the suspected mole.

The man tried hard to steer the conversation back to Cell No. 1, but after asking around, it turned out no one had paid attention to such a minor detail. Many didn’t even know where Cell No. 1 was.

Jelas was left speechless, until someone beside him suddenly suggested:

"Jelas, if you’re that concerned, why not try using Divination? With your attainments in Mysticism, you should be able to get an answer for a small matter like this easily, right?"

Jelas looked down in thought, figured that made sense, and pulled a rather antique-looking nautical Compass from his coat. He then walked over to the Saint Statue, intending to show off his Divination skills.

The crowd around them immediately started to cheer and jeer, eagerly waiting for him to show them his real skills.

"Alright, everyone, please be quiet. Divination requires a quiet environment."

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