Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: I Mean No Harm

’This thing... actually upgraded?’

Lloyd looked at the brand-new interface before him, feeling like he was watching a live stream back on Earth.

Besides the essential "Send Bullet Comment" button, several other buttons you’d never see on Earth had popped up on the side: "Mute," "Doxx," "Advertise," "Cyberbully," "Sell Videos," and all sorts of other junk.

’A little too down-to-earth. It’s so far down it’s almost in the Underworld...’

It seemed these features were all developed based on Lloyd’s stereotypes of online live streaming, leaving him unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"You really know how to hit user pain points. When I make it big someday, I’ll have to make you a product manager."

He wasn’t too surprised by this form of update. This was his [Thought Space], after all, so it wasn’t strange for things from Earth to appear.

’But are these features actually functional? And how do they even work?’

As Lloyd was pondering this, the black screen before him flickered a few times, and the Chessboard reappeared.

Then, the four chess pieces he had seen before appeared on the Chessboard as well.

The White Bishop arrived too, rushing to speak before anyone else could.

"Have you... noticed something’s wrong?"

"Shhh..."

The Black War Chariot whispered in response, gesturing for her to keep her voice down.

The White Knight then asked in a hushed tone,

"What’s going on? Why do I feel like someone is spying on us?"

The three chess pieces simultaneously looked toward the meeting’s host, the Black Soldier in the center.

After a few minutes of silence, the Black Soldier replied in the calmest, most composed voice he could manage.

"The [Chessboard] is no longer under my control. All of us are temporarily trapped here... For now, we haven’t been controlled or harmed, but we can’t leave, nor can we end this game..."

The moment the White Bishop heard this, she grew frantic and started hopping up and down on the Chessboard.

"I! I told you something bad would happen! I said I wanted to quit before, it’s all your fault for insisting on dragging me back!"

With that, she stubbornly began to roll across the Chessboard, from one end to the other, as if trying to escape that way.

It was, of course, utterly pointless...

"Waaah~ I’m going to die here so young, and I’ve never even had a boyfriend..."

Her voice was now laced with audible sobs.

"Sigh... Just try to calm down."

The Black Soldier could only advise her helplessly.

Surprisingly, the White Bishop obediently stopped crying and fussing, and no longer rolled around on the board.

’So that’s how the Mute button works? It can even restrict their actions.’

Lloyd lifted his finger from the [Mute] button and tapped the [Doxx] button below it.

A few random profiles materialized before him, showing the appearances of the four chess pieces along with some basic information.

The Black Soldier’s real name was Jenkins. He was in the Eternal City, a Tier Five Extraordinary Being of the [Redemption] system. His avatar was an old man in a long robe and a tall, pointed hat.

The White Knight’s name was Balderes. He was in the City of Serenity, a Tier Four of the [Wisdom] system. His avatar was a well-dressed social elite with gold-rimmed glasses.

The Black War Chariot’s name was Goldrinn. He was in the City of Order, a Tier Four of the [Law] system. His appearance was that of a lean, tough-looking middle-aged man.

The last one was the White Bishop, named Elolo. She was in the City of Joy, a Tier Two of the [Shelter] system. She turned out to be a beautiful and cute young woman, her round face retaining a trace of sly childishness. And her figure was even hotter than Weiya’s?

’That’s all the information I got. It’s pretty basic, so it still protects a lot of their privacy.’

’As for the other functions... as a civilized young man of fine character, I probably shouldn’t test them unless I have to...’

"A pleasure to meet you."

Lloyd said with a smile, sent the sentence out as a "bullet comment," and then unmuted the White Bishop, Elolo.

The sentence materialized on the retinas of the four chess pieces.

They each reacted differently:

"This..."

"Who are you?"

"Sigh..."

"Waaah, please don’t kill me! I’ll do anything you want."

’The other three reacted normally enough, but what’s with this last one?’

Lloyd suddenly felt like he didn’t want to include her in his game anymore...

He had initially decided to contact these people for his plan to make a fortune.

Later, his contact with the private club had made Lloyd realize he should expand his social circle and build a network. It would make it easier to gather information, find materials, or hire consultants in the future.

Just as that club manager had said, the Sect was certainly powerful, but it couldn’t possibly have everything, nor could it completely detach itself from the private sector.

Besides, there were High-ranking Powerhouses out there like Randolph the butler who didn’t belong to the Sect.

So Lloyd decided to get to know more people and stop living like an island. Rather than choosing a club with a motley crew and exorbitant fees, he figured it was better to connect with the people on the Chessboard.

He held the White Knight, Balderes, in quite high regard. The Black Soldier, Jenkins, was a Tier Five Powerhouse at the very least. The Black War Chariot, Goldrinn, seemed calm and reserved, so he probably wasn’t an ordinary man either.

Only this White Bishop... left him at a loss for words.

’I’ll see. To have been chosen and recruited by Jenkins, she can’t be someone who only knows how to run and beg for her life.’

After a moment of thought, Lloyd saw how nervous his new friends were and sent another "bullet comment."

"Don’t be nervous. I mean you no harm; I’m simply curious about you."

Elolo was the first to respond.

"Waaah~ Please let me go... sob..."

Before she could finish, Lloyd muted her again.

As the group’s backbone, Jenkins had no choice but to bite the bullet and reply with a calm and measured tone.

"It is an honor to meet you, mysterious being. How should I address you?"

Then, he saw a line of text materialize on his retina:

"You can call me ’Audience’."

Jenkins only glanced at it for a moment before quickly trying to avert his gaze, not daring to look any longer.

Whenever the words appeared on his retina, he would hear a series of faint whispers. A slight, stinging pain would prick at his brain and eardrums, and his inspiration would scream warnings at him not to look.

But the words were projected directly onto his retinas; even closing his eyes was useless. All he could do was try to look away until the line of text drifted to the far left of his vision and disappeared.

This "minor detail" was enough for Jenkins to be certain that he had encountered a terrifyingly high-ranking being.

Not a ’powerhouse,’ but a ’being’...

He couldn’t even be sure if the other party was human...

This Chessboard, which he used to host the "Human Future Conference" he’d founded, was built upon a very mysterious Ancient Relic.

It was codenamed [Chessboard], and he had discovered it during an archaeological expedition over ten years ago.

After several more years of careful exploration and research, Jenkins gradually mastered the use of the [Chessboard] and subsequently founded the "Human Future Conference."

His conference wasn’t an illegal Association in terms of its philosophy or methods. The only illegal aspect was its lack of official registration, and the fact that its ideals were a tad... radical.

But in the unchanging Eternal City, being radical was the one thing that would never be accepted...

Fortunately, the [Chessboard] was powerful and mysterious enough that Jenkins was never discovered, allowing him to continue secretly promoting his world-shocking ideals.

He never expected that his greatest secret would be so easily breached by a mysterious being, one that now toyed with his entire conference as if it were a mere plaything.

Jenkins didn’t dare imagine just how powerful this mysterious being calling itself ’Audience’ truly was.

All he knew was that not even the Redemption Saint could crack his [Chessboard]...

If he had a choice, he would abandon the [Chessboard] in a heartbeat, if only it meant the members of his Association could escape unharmed.

But the mysterious being seemed more interested in the four of them. Seeing Jenkins’s brief silence, it wrote another sentence on his retina:

"Why so quiet? Did you fall asleep?"

A buzzing immediately rang in Jenkins’s ears, and the stinging pain in his eardrums intensified.

But he could only force himself to reply:

"May I ask... what is it you want?"

"Nothing much. I just wanted to get to know you."

’You’re fucking killing me, and you say you just want to get to know me?’

Jenkins’s head throbbed with increasing intensity. He cursed with impotent rage in his heart, but his spoken words remained utterly respectful.

"My name is Jenkins, from..."

But before he could finish, another line of text appeared on his retina.

"No need to introduce yourself. I know you."

’Then why did you ask?’

Forcing himself to endure the headache, Jenkins began to wonder if this entity might be the legendary Sanctuary Saint.

According to rumors, that particular Saint was fond of this kind of twisted prank.

Before he could sort out his thoughts, he heard the White Knight beside him cut in.

"You... *huff*... *huff*... Since you want... to know us... why don’t you... show yourself..."

He sounded out of breath, as if under immense pressure, and his words were no longer entirely rational.

"Don’t!"

Black War Chariot Goldrinn shouted hastily.

His assessment of the mysterious being was similar to Jenkins’s; he had already experienced its danger and strangeness firsthand.

If it actually revealed itself, the consequences would be unimaginable...

It would likely be a form that they couldn’t even bear to look at.

Then, Goldrinn added in a low, urgent voice,

"Don’t respond to It. Don’t look at the words. It’s interfering with our Rationality and our minds... Find a way to knock yourselves unconscious, quickly."

It was the only solution he could think of on such short notice.

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