Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: This Is Some Good Stuff

The Black Soldier’s decision left the White Knight looking disappointed and dejected. His voice grew somber as he replied,

"Yeah... delayed. It’s always delayed. I really should’ve gotten used to it by now..."

The Black War Chariot offered a word of comfort:

"Don’t be so down. Forging a new future is a path fraught with thorns. You should have prepared yourself for this long ago, shouldn’t you?"

The Black Soldier chimed in as well:

"That’s right. The situation isn’t so dire. I’ll continue to find a way to search for the Black Knight’s successor and deal with the aftermath of that investigator. I won’t let it affect our overall strategy. Now... why don’t we talk about what you’ve all been up to? Anything worth sharing?"

The atmosphere on the chessboard gradually relaxed, and the three pieces began discussing their training and progress.

Lloyd listened for a bit, feeling both surprised and disappointed.

The surprise was that all three were quite powerful. According to their ’self-introductions,’ the Black Soldier had the highest Tier, having already reached Tier Five and crossed the threshold of a High-ranking Powerhouse. He was now preparing to break through to Tier Six.

The other two pieces were at Tier Four, steadily progressing toward the Tier Five threshold.

The disciplines they followed were three orthodox ones: [Redemption], [Law], and [Wisdom]. Their methods for advancement were also quite conventional: reading and studying, practicing their skills, and saving up to buy materials.

Their conversation was limited to normal topics, like ’How should this ability be used?’, ’Any recommended books for this subject?’, and ’What’s it like using this Orbit?’

This was all quite valuable information. Even if Lloyd couldn’t use it himself, it was always good to learn more, so he eavesdropped attentively.

The disappointing part was that, after listening for a long while, he couldn’t find any evidence of specific illicit activities...

Aside from their strange method of ’meeting as friends over chess’ and their shocking slogan—’Break free from the shackles of the Saints and forge a new future for humanity’—Lloyd really couldn’t find anything else wrong.

’In comparison, I seem more like the outlaw here...’

’No, no, no! I’m not an outlaw. The path I’ve chosen is just one that ordinary people find difficult to understand or accept.’

Lloyd quickly defended himself in his mind.

Then he paused.

’Why does that sound so familiar?’

Just then, the White Knight changed the subject and asked,

"By the way, that Orbit we discussed last time, [Intense Concentration]—the one all those commoners are crazy about? After some in-depth research and testing, I found a new component to replace that ridiculously expensive bell..."

"The effect is a little weaker, but the cost is a fraction of the original. Are you interested?"

"Hmm? I remember the White Bishop commissioned you to do this at our last gathering, didn’t she?"

the nearby Black War Chariot asked.

The White Knight replied petulantly,

"You’re right. That coward originally promised to trade a cumbersome set of engineering equipment plus a sum of cash for my research findings. But then she just... ran off?"

"Even if she comes back to me later, I don’t want to go through with the deal. So, does anyone want to take it off my hands? I can give you a better price."

The other two pieces fell silent for a moment before the Black Soldier spoke up:

"I’m interested. I have a talented student who needs this, but his financial situation won’t allow him to purchase that expensive bell... I’m willing to trade something related to Divination for your findings."

The White Knight considered this for a few seconds, then began to rock back and forth.

"Alright. Let’s go talk over there."

With that, the two pieces hopped over to the edge of the chessboard, leaving the Black War Chariot all alone in the middle, and began a private conversation.

The Black War Chariot couldn’t hear what they were discussing, but Lloyd could hear them perfectly. It was like they were conspiring at the top of their lungs right in front of him...

After some haggling, the Black Soldier produced a nautical Compass, supposedly a rather practical divination tool, and tossed it onto the board at his feet.

The White Knight, in turn, produced a glittering, semi-transparent crystalline chip and tossed it onto the board as well.

Lloyd immediately focused his attention on the semi-transparent chip.

Then, a notification from his panel sounded in his ear:

[DING! Knowledge related to Orbital Mechanics has been acquired. Ready for viewing.]

’It works like this, too?’

Lloyd was slightly taken aback.

But the two items on the board didn’t disappear. Instead, they swapped places in mid-air, then sank into the chessboard as if it were water.

Then, the White Knight was the first to offer his praise:

"Hah! This is good stuff. I feel bad for taking advantage of you again."

The Black Soldier responded as well:

"A brilliant concept and an exceptional conclusion. Your mastery of Orbital Mechanics is truly the greatest among us."

With the mutual praise, the transaction was complete, and the seminar drew to a close.

"And now, to conclude, allow me to reiterate: the great pioneering is at hand. New Saints and new disciplines are about to emerge. This will be a paradigm shift, and it will be our opportunity, our Space..."

"So, I implore you all to hold fast to your beliefs. The true future of humanity lies beneath our own feet, not in the cradle of the Saints."

The Black Soldier gave his concluding remarks, and the three chess pieces slowly vanished from the board. The surveillance image in front of Lloyd faded to black.

The blade of Tentacle Grass on the lawn also fell still, no longer moving on its own.

"Interesting..."

Lloyd first examined the new knowledge that had appeared in his mind—the results of the White Knight’s research.

It was a unique Spiritualization process for modifying a common toy—a music box—to turn it into a temporary component, replacing that absurdly expensive bell at a much lower cost.

It was kind of like being unable to afford a graphics card back on Earth and just building one yourself from scratch.

’Lloyd never would have thought that the White Knight, who sounded so impetuous, was actually a master of DIY.’

’Even though I could just borrow a bell from Meditis if I needed one,’ Lloyd thought, ’this Spiritualization process is fascinating in its own right. I might be able to use this technique in the future if I want to miniaturize or create portable versions of certain Orbits.’

"I was planning on writing an anonymous tip, but I guess I can put my pen down now. After all, I didn’t find any evidence of actual crimes. Just shouting a few slogans isn’t really a punishable offense..."

"Besides, their declaration and ideals aren’t so different from my own."

Lloyd sat cross-legged on the grass, rubbing his chin in thought. He then looked down at the blade of Tentacle Grass.

He didn’t know why he could eavesdrop on other people’s seminars, but it was most likely related to the Thought Demon. One of its signature abilities was prying into the subconscious of others.

’The ’legacy’ left behind by the Black Knight, Stilote, must have something to do with it, too, right?’

When Stilote sensed he wasn’t going to make it back, he had considered the matter of a successor. That was why he left those final words, hoping to introduce the Executioner who came to face him to the group. After all, anyone who could reach him couldn’t possibly be mediocre, and he might even save a life in the process.

"You lived up to your name as a ’Knight’ right to the very end."

Lloyd said with heartfelt sincerity.

’It’s just a shame that this ’successor’—me—is probably not quite what Stilote had in mind...’

"I can observe their discussions, even their private chats, and even mooch off the knowledge they trade. It’s making me feel a bit embarrassed..."

"I wonder if I could join in? Maybe post a few comments from the peanut gallery or something..."

Lloyd spoke as if to the blade of Tentacle Grass, even poking it with his finger.

The Tentacle Grass instantly came to life, coiling around his finger and nuzzling against it before quickly unwinding and falling still again.

’It’s kind of like a little kitten asking for affection, isn’t it?’

Lloyd quickly slapped the glass dome back over it.

’This thing is seriously creepy!’

......

"Oh? Yi, you seem to be in a good mood. Did you have a nice dream last night?"

Evelor asked suddenly while they were eating breakfast.

"Yeah. I had a really interesting dream, like something out of a fairy tale."

Lloyd replied.

"Mm, that’s good... Speaking of which, my own dreams have been a bit strange lately. I keep dreaming that I’m in all sorts of bizarre, fantastical places. It never used to be like this."

Evelor continued, then shook her head firmly and offered her own diagnosis:

"I’ve probably just been reading too many stories lately, right?"

Hearing his sister’s theory, Lloyd quickly activated [Inspect] to check her status.

[Target: Evelor]

[Status: Normal]

[Rationality: 15]

[Spiritual Power: 3]

[Inspiration: 4]

[Cognition: 12]

’Just as I thought. Her Attributes have increased again, aside from her Spiritual Power...’

He checked his sister’s status every morning now. He’d noticed that ever since she decided to become the editor-in-chief of the folklore magazine and started working toward that goal, her Attributes—aside from Spiritual Power—would increase by a point or two every two to three days.

Her [Rationality] and [Cognition] had seen the most growth.

The increases weren’t large, but they were frequent. Her rate of progress was even faster than the Executors in the Eighteenth District. Judging by her Attributes alone, she was already on par with an ordinary Priest.

Generally speaking, aside from ’cheaters’ like Lloyd, the main ways for humans to increase these four Extraordinary Attributes were to delve deeper into a discipline, hone their skills through combat, acquire knowledge, achieve Transcendence, and so on.

These could basically be summarized as [Seeking Knowledge], [Exploration], and [Practice]—the three methods corresponding to the titles of Tier Two, Three, and Tier Four Extraordinary Beings.

Beyond that, one could only rely on external aids like potions, equipment, or Orbits.

’But the problem is, my sister has no contact with any of these things, does she?’

’So how are her Attributes rising so fast?’

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