Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: A Manifested Story

After personally taking care of the "sister" in front of him, Lloyd felt a wave of sudden realization wash over him, and the last vestiges of confusion in his mind vanished.

Without needing anyone to explain it to him, he quickly pieced together the cause and effect of the situation. He then closed his eyes again and tried to open the panel in his mind.

Unsurprisingly, the panel didn’t appear. This meant that while his mind had recovered, his body was still in a state akin to a coma or semi-consciousness. The panel couldn’t be opened in such a state.

Lloyd felt as if he were currently experiencing sleep paralysis—his mind was awake, but his body was still asleep.

He felt a sense of resignation, and spoke in a tone as calm as possible, neither servile nor overbearing:

"So this is the power of [Manifestation]? Thank you for the eye-opening experience, but... shouldn’t this be about enough?"

"Mr. Randolph..."

The moment he finished speaking, he sensed his vision blurring through his closed eyelids. When he opened them again, he found himself still sitting in the high-end black steam car. In the driver’s seat next to him was the ’mastermind’ behind the whole affair, the butler Randolph.

The back seat was empty. Neither his sister nor Desda were there.

Lloyd composed himself and called for the panel in his mind.

This time, it worked. The panel opened normally, displaying his Attributes and status, confirming for Lloyd that he was truly awake this time.

He turned his head to look at Randolph beside him. Though a thousand words swirled in his mind, he could only manage a helpless, bitter smile.

He took great offense to people "joking" about his sister.

Although the experience hadn’t caused him any real harm, and he hadn’t even gained a single point of [Madness Value], he was still incredibly pissed off.

If it weren’t for the fact that the man was old, Miss Desda’s butler, and a Tier Seven powerhouse, Lloyd would have taught him a lesson, one way or another.

Randolph, however, still wore that same calm expression. He closed the pocket watch in his hand and suggested,

"How about we get a drink?"

Lloyd glanced out the window. The steam car was parked in front of a tavern with a nice ambiance, not far from his own residence.

He hesitated for a second before nodding and accepting the invitation, though he snorted coldly in his mind:

’Hmph! For Miss Desda’s sake, I’ll let this slide. After all, I’m a virtuous young man who respects his elders and cares for the young.’

The two of them went to a private room on the second floor of the tavern and ordered two glasses of light fruit wine. The butler then spoke with great sincerity:

"First, please allow me to apologize. I hope you can forgive my earlier offense."

"Fine, I’m over it. But I want to know why."

Lloyd replied.

A Tier Seven powerhouse was being this humble; what else could he say?

"I wish to hire you as my assistant to help me complete a ritual. It will take place in about 60 days... As for what you experienced earlier, that was to confirm whether you could protect yourself during the process."

The butler stated his purpose directly, then opened his pocket watch again and commented,

"Your excellent performance earlier far exceeded my expectations. It was quite a pleasant surprise."

Lloyd quickly replied with false modesty,

"Er... you flatter me. I’ve always been good at surprising people."

The butler stared blankly for a moment. He seemed to want to say something but held his tongue for several seconds before changing the subject.

"I will provide you with a generous reward. Upon completion, your payment will be a core material for the fifth [Transcendence] of the [Veto] system, or something of equivalent value."

As he spoke, he placed a notebook on the table between them and added a brief introduction:

"This is a down payment. Inside are some of my humble summaries of experience."

’A big shot’s notes? This is the good stuff!’

Lloyd’s heart skipped a beat.

From the Chief Judge’s journal he had read before, he knew just how precious the experiences and insights of these High-ranking Powerhouses were. They could help a newcomer avoid many detours, dangers, and troubles.

To offer this as a down payment showed immense sincerity. As for the main reward to follow, it was even more significant.

Every [Transcendence] for an Extraordinary Being required the help of a specific Orbit, and the materials needed to set up the Orbit became increasingly expensive and troublesome to acquire. Often, one would run into situations where they couldn’t be bought even with money.

Moreover, Tier Five was a critical watershed between the lower and higher tiers, so the core material required would surely be priceless.

Randolph’s reward was indeed generous, but the more generous it was, the more hesitant Lloyd became.

’The favor a Tier Seven big shot needs help with is probably not that simple. But this reward is just too tempting...’

’Even if I can’t use it myself for now, exchanging it for something else of equal value would be fantastic.’

After some thought, Lloyd spoke up and asked,

"I’m certainly willing to help you, but... this ritual you mentioned..."

"Don’t worry. I’m not asking you to fight people or Demons, merely to act as my assistant... As for the specifics, you’ll find out when the time comes."

After saying this, the butler began to quietly sip his low-alcohol fruit wine, offering no further explanation and patiently waiting for Lloyd to consider.

But Lloyd only hesitated for two minutes before reaching out and picking up the notebook from the table.

’It’s not like he needs me to act tomorrow, anyway. I still have two months, right? If I work hard and get the panel to work hard with me, I might just be able to handle this job.’

’This is a perfect chance to turn pressure into motivation. If I don’t push myself, I’ll never know where the panel’s limits are.’

"Excellent!"

The butler nodded in satisfaction and added his praise,

"Just as the young miss said, you never disappoint."

Lloyd first secured the notebook close to his body, then took the opportunity to ask,

"What I just experienced... was it some kind of illusion? A dream?"

"No. That was a [Story] that I [Manifested]. But it’s not a specific, concrete [Story]. Rather, it’s a story that anyone who enters it will subconsciously believe..."

"For example, a diligent and hardworking young man would believe an inspirational story, while a desperate outlaw who lives on the edge would believe a story about life on the run."

The butler offered a simple explanation.

Lloyd nodded thoughtfully.

"I see. So that’s why it was like I was dreaming. I encountered so many abnormal and illogical things, yet I didn’t realize it at all... It was because I really like the adventure stories of those two reporters, and I wanted to believe it."

"You can understand it that way. It is indeed an excellent story. I’ve read it as well, and it left a deep impression on me."

The butler continued, commenting on Lloyd’s performance:

"What truly made me value you was your ability to realize you were inside a [Story] in such a short time and then attempt to break free. You even saw through the two young ladies I manifested. Your performance was completely unlike that of a Novice who has just completed their [Enlightenment]..."

"You should know, even many High-Position Extraordinary Beings get trapped in the [Stories] I personally manifest."

"No wonder His Excellency Tirtus holds you in such high regard. You truly possess an astonishing talent for the mystical and the extraordinary."

Lloyd scratched his head, looking a bit bashful, and replied with genuine modesty this time:

"Thank you, but you really are flattering me this time. It wasn’t easy for me back there."

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