Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Chapter 91: Chapter 91: This Material Isn’t Easy to Find

???

This unusual line of text made a series of question marks pop up in Lloyd’s mind.

’How can a fragment be erroneous?’

’Is that why this thing was so weak?’

Lloyd didn’t know how long this thing had been Out of Control. In any case, the information and rewards it provided were pitifully small. It seemed like it had been Out of Control for several months, hadn’t it?

He then glanced at the Memory Fragment he had just obtained. His vision blurred, and in an instant, he seemed to have arrived in another world.

This place was completely shrouded in a layer of grayish-white mist. Everything was hazy and indistinct; he couldn’t even see his own form clearly.

Not a sliver of sunlight could be seen in the dim sky, which hung so low it felt like it could come crashing down at any moment.

At some unknown distance, a human silhouette flickered in and out of sight within the mist.

It was pitch-black, its form towering like the clouds, as if the entire world could not contain it. If it were to just slightly lower its head, all of creation would be nothing but tiny ants before it.

Yet its torso and limbs were extremely slender, appearing as just a few thin lines under the veil of mist, like a fragile stick figure drawing.

It staggered forward, and with every step, its long limbs would twist into exaggerated arcs. It looked as if it were struggling for its life, yet also as if it were dancing with flailing arms.

The entire land trembled and vibrated with its steps. Following the vibrations, black, tentacle-like threads broke through the earth, writhing and waving toward the giant. They seemed to want to grab it, yet it looked even more like they wanted to worship it.

Lloyd watched this incredibly bizarre scene, but instead of feeling any danger, he watched with rapt attention. A smile, like one would have when admiring a work of art, touched the corners of his lips as he commented in a low voice:

"Cool!"

After about two or three seconds, the giant’s figure completely vanished into the mist. The memory ended, and Lloyd returned to reality, feeling that it had ended too soon.

He was stunned for a moment, then shook his head vigorously and hurriedly checked the panel’s notifications.

There were no notifications. He hadn’t received any Spiritual Contamination. The previous scene was just a simple memory, a fragment that this Out of Control individual hadn’t forgotten, even after becoming a Demon.

’This must have been a scene that was seared into its memory, right?’

’I wonder where it saw that?’

With that, Lloyd’s main duties for the day were complete. He had gained 1,900 Madness Value, bringing him closer to his next stat allocation.

After cleaning up the scene, he returned to his office, took off his white lab coat, and tossed it into the laundry basket by the door. Then, he locked the door and took out the gift Weiya had given him earlier.

Inside was a single amethyst earring. It was oval-shaped, adorned with delicate silver filigree, and emitted an alluring luster and a unique Spiritual Energy.

’If Weiya wore a pair of these, she would definitely look beautiful, right?’

Unfortunately, it wasn’t an accessory, but a communication device.

Inside the box was also a note left by Weiya. Written on it in elegant, beautiful handwriting were simple instructions: he just needed to infuse a little bit of Spiritual Power to activate it and speak with the holder of the other earring.

’It’s certainly convenient, but why design it to look like this?’

Lloyd wasn’t about to bother her for no reason, so he carefully put the earring away, saving it for emergency contact when necessary.

Then, a silly, inexplicable grin appeared on his face.

’Weiya accepted my gift, and I received a gift from her... Does that mean we can...?’

But he didn’t let himself think any further and shook his head forcefully.

’Now is not the time to be thinking about such things. I have too much to do; I shouldn’t waste time and energy on this.’

’Things are good enough as they are now.’

Lloyd adjusted his mindset and headed to the library to continue improving himself.

...

Three more routine days passed by quickly for Lloyd.

Every day, 4 to 6 Level -3 Demons and a few scattered Level -2 ones would appear. Combined with the "Three-Day Check-in," this allowed him to level up exactly three times. He continued with his previous balanced build, adding 5 points to[Rationality]and 10 points to[Cognition].

[User: Lloyd]

[Status: Normal]

[Madness Value: 150/3500, Limit: 8500]

[Rationality: 85]

[Spiritual Power: 80]

[inspiration: 40]

[Cognition: 80]

[System: Twist LV2, Veto LV1]

[Mastered Skills: High-Efficient Learning; Investigation; Divination LV4; Dizziness Resistance LV4; Precise Dissection LV4; Twisted Realm LV4; Swordsmanship LV4; Aggressive Speech LV2; Orbital Control LV1; Seed of Distortion LV1; Veto Declaration (Twist) LV1]

[Unparsed Fragment: Unknown Fragment (components unknown) x1, Current Analysis Progress: 8%]

Lloyd felt that his leveling speed had clearly increased, which was because Level -3 Demons had been appearing more frequently recently.

Perhaps the other towers had heard of "Lloyd, the Demon-Hater" and were offloading their Demons onto him?

In that case, Lloyd hoped his reputation would grow even more famous. More Demons meant more Madness Value and more bounties.

’Don’t hold back, just send them all my way! I can take it.’

However, the more Demons he executed, the more curious Lloyd became about the Spiritual Contamination they released upon death.

No matter how many Demons he killed, this Spiritual Contamination never weakened in the slightest. It was like taking the "subway"—it seemed to always give a stable +50.

Moreover, this Spiritual Contamination couldn’t be dodged or[Vetoed]. It felt to him as if it didn’t even originate from the Demons themselves.

But whenever he pondered this question, a nerve in his brain would twitch and throb. It was his inspiration giving him a warning, telling him not to think about it any further.

Lloyd could only ever dip his toes in before stopping. He would shake his head hard and cast the thought to the back of his mind.

But what was even faster than his leveling speed was his learning speed.

With[Intense Concentration]+[High-Efficient Learning]+ 80 points in[Cognition], he felt like a human photocopier. He could devour a book as thick as a brick in just two or three days.

Relying on this terrifying learning speed, Lloyd was not far from the next[Transcendence]for his[Veto]System.

Barring any surprises, he would be able to meet the conditions for his second[Transcendence]by the end of this month, before he received next month’s salary.

So, Lloyd began to prepare in advance, starting to collect the necessary materials.

He currently needed four main materials—

"Gushing Blood Spring," "High-Risk Demon’s Nerve Endings," "a crystal block shaped like a brain," and "an aged fine wine that induces madness."

The first of these was the core Orbit material needed for the[Veto]System.

The name sounded terrifying, but it was actually a rare natural gemstone. After being soaked in clear water for a while, it would dye the entire glass of water bright red, which was how it got its peculiar name.

Lloyd tried applying for this material over at Tower Two, but was told to come back in half a year just to get in line.

Just to get in line, not even to receive it...

Who could afford to wait that long? Lloyd could only figure something out himself.

So, he adjusted his daily schedule, cutting down his time for reading and practicing Swordsmanship. He started leaving work an hour and a half early every day to head to the "Don’t Ask Too Much" club.

Afterward, in his newly rented basement, he would practice his Orbits with some cheap materials to collect skill fragments for[Orbital Control]. He would then use the remaining half hour to browse the trading hall and try to buy a "Gushing Blood Spring."

The item was available, but the price was outrageous, and his wallet was quite empty. He could only wait until he got paid next month to buy it.

After leaving the club, Lloyd would always rush home before 8 PM to have dinner with his sister, chat, listen to music, and look at the interesting folktales she was working on, using this time to relax and rest.

The time he spent with his sister was the one thing he would not compromise on.

In short, Lloyd had already found a source for the first material he needed. The other three, which sounded even more unsettling, were for the[Twist]System.

Although Lloyd was preparing for the[Transcendence]of his[Veto]System, he was also considering his[Twist]side. He wanted to see if he could use Twist to distort the[Transcendence]effect itself, thereby leveling up the[Twist]System as well.

This method was very inefficient, but the other, more efficient way required him to Twist out a sliver of Rationality while on the verge of[Severe Madness], which could be a little dangerous...

But then again, of the latter three materials, the only one Lloyd had been fortunate enough to see—or rather, cut—was "High-Risk Demon’s Nerve Endings."

That traced back to the time he encountered the giant cicada.

But this item wasn’t on the reclamation list he was given. Perhaps its value was unknown, or maybe the Holy Judgment Court didn’t accept such contraband.

In any case, the next time Lloyd encountered a High-Risk Demon, he could just casually grab some scraps to fulfill this requirement.

As for the remaining two, however, he was completely in the dark.

He couldn’t even find these two terms in the trading hall. If he wanted to acquire them, he might need a stroke of luck.

But Lloyd didn’t want to end up in the awkward situation of waiting for materials. He had already decided that even if he couldn’t find the latter three, he would still complete his second[Transcendence].

[Veto]wasn’t that much weaker than[Twist]anyway. Taking the legitimate path to get stronger first, then coming back to nurture the Taboo System, was another valid strategy—and a much safer one at that.

That night, as Lloyd was following his usual routine and preparing for bed, he suddenly felt something gently poke him in his mind.

He quickly infiltrated his[Thought Realm]and arrived in that dead, silent world.

Nothing here had changed, except for the writhing Tentacle Grass.

When Lloyd lifted the glass cover that suppressed it, it instantly grew more excited, writhing more joyfully. Then, it projected a completely new screen of light in front of him.

The original sci-fi feel was gone, as were the meaningless charts. They were replaced by several clearly defined buttons and a more down-to-earth interface.

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