Chapter 229 - 228: Long-Term Plan

Chapter 229: Chapter 228: Long-Term Plan

"...So, to summarize, although the experiment concerning 0-266 has yielded unexpected results and entered a completely uncontrollable state, given 0-266’s current condition, the overall trend is optimistic."

"I agree! After all, she didn’t abandon her mission and chose to return to the City of Joy. I’m quite relieved by that."

"But... compared to our own Saints, she’s still far too weak to fully assume the duties of a Saint, let alone be compared to other Saints."

"Yes, and because the experiment failed, we’ve completely lost control over her. We can only wait patiently for her to continue growing."

"Look on the bright side. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Why not just think of her as a talented young prodigy? Her future achievements might exceed our wildest imaginations."

"I think so too. To be honest, I was against those experiments from the start. They were far too short-sighted. Letting her grow naturally would have been the more prudent choice."

"Be that as it may, our city, our Saints, our Shelter—they’re all still too weak... Even with 0-266’s awakening and return, I still don’t believe we can take a leading role in the upcoming great exploration."

"Oh, come on, being a little weaker isn’t so bad. You have to look at the bright side. If some terrifyingly big monster really shows up, it’ll be the elites from the Radiant City charging into the fray, not us. Oftentimes, there’s a certain comfort in being weak."

"I partly agree with you. However, we initially had high hopes for 0-266. We even thought she could show all of humanity a brand-new path to the future, allowing humans to truly control the power of the Saints. That’s why we took such drastic measures before. But now..."

"It is indeed a pity. But no matter how you look at it, her return is better than her being completely out of control... Why don’t we show her a little more patience? If we guide and nurture her carefully, perhaps she’ll show an astonishing growth rate. Just like that ’Bright Star’ the elites are always talking about."

"Uh... you mean that young man in the Radiant Sect named... Rodel? Or was it Luoyede? I have heard his name a few times recently."

"His name is Lloyd... In any case, maybe our 0-266 can be just as exceptional and talented as him. After all, she isn’t a naturally born human, but a precious heritage from the last generation."

"Yes, I’m more optimistic about 0-266’s talent as well. That Lloyd you’re all talking about is still just a human, after all. But our Elolo can transcend humanity!"

"Well said! Let’s all wait and see. I believe that in just a few years, our Elolo will make that so-called ’Bright Star’ pale in comparison!"

"Uh... I’m not trying to be a pessimist, but from what I know, even that old scholar from the City of Serenity, Alfred, praises that young man Lloyd endlessly. He believes Lloyd shows the potential to become a Saint."

"Doesn’t that just prove our 0-266 is even more outstanding? She could already be a Saint right now. It’s just that our system and resources can’t compare to those Radiant elites, so we can’t provide her with the same environment for growth. But 0-266’s efficiency at absorbing knowledge far surpasses that of a human, and it’s very safe."

"Indeed. I’ve seen plenty of human geniuses over the years, but how many of them manage to last until the end? The more outstanding a person is, the more likely they are to attract strange things. Our 0-266 doesn’t have that problem."

"That might have been true in the past, but don’t you forget how 0-266 escaped in the first place."

"Ah..."

"Speaking of which... the preliminary investigation suggests she likely had help from some mysterious entity and used the Dream Theater to get to the Radiant City. We haven’t pushed the investigation further, so we still don’t know what kind of entity helped her. She refuses to say. Should we dig deeper?"

"Sure, you go. I’m not going, that’s for sure. I’m happy with my life, my family is harmonious and wonderful, and I have no desire to invite trouble."

"Why would you say that?"

"Am I wrong? If you want to dig into every little detail and get to the bottom of everything, why don’t you just go be one of the elites in the Radiant City?"

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Considering how weak we are, we shouldn’t recklessly pursue this investigation. If we provoke some powerful entity, I highly doubt those elites will come to our rescue."

"That’s right. If it weren’t for the Veto Saint’s help this time, we wouldn’t have even recovered 0-266. Let’s not consider any more dangerous moves. Don’t forget our Sect’s creed."

"Don’t think too much, Don’t Ask Too Much, enjoy the present, and live for pleasure."

As everyone present recited the creed in unison, the formal discussion portion of the meeting came to an end, bringing a relatively satisfactory conclusion to the incident.

The topic of conversation then shifted to trivial pleasantries like "Where should we go for drinks tonight?", "That popular new show is great," and "The new restaurant tastes amazing."

Perhaps this was the general atmosphere of the City of Joy.

Because they were weak, they chose to live in the moment.

And after this incident, it would likely be a long time before they considered any more experiments or explorations that could potentially change the future of humanity.

As for the Nail Spike Shield hanging on the wall, even though the patterns on its surface looked uncannily like a human face, it made no sound. It remained quiet, head bowed, silently observing the increasingly joyous and relaxed atmosphere at the conference table.

............

Meanwhile, Lloyd spent his time admiring Elolo’s beautiful sleeping face, helping her bear the Spiritual Contamination, and mulling over his plans. After half an hour, his consciousness returned to his bedroom, and he groggily fell asleep.

The next morning, the first thing he did after getting up was allocate his points.

’Five points to Spiritual Power. Let’s do it.’

[DING~ Points allocated.]

[User: Lloyd]

[Status: Normal]

[Madness Value: 53/8500, Max: 17500]

[Rationality: 175]

[Spiritual Power: 175]

[Inspiration: 100]

[Cognition: 170]

[Systems: Twist LV3, Veto LV2]

With the "double experience" event over, he had only gained one level last night...

But looking on the bright side, gaining one level every night from now on was still pretty good.

Lloyd leaped out of bed and started his morning exercises with the little kitten. Then he went to comb his sister’s hair, gave her a hug goodbye, and rushed off to the Eighteenth District to make his own small contribution to the anti-Demon effort.

He was back to his quiet, routine life.

’Next up, I should go borrow that bell from Meditis...’

Lloyd pondered his next steps for advancement as he changed out of his white lab coat.

He had already figured it all out last night. His primary goal now was to complete his third—or rather, fourth—[Transcendence] and meet the requirements to go to Mizkakotok University as soon as possible.

Along the way, he also had to figure out how to get some money to prepare the materials for his [Transcendence].

The Tier Three of the [Veto] system required two core materials: ’Surging Spiritual Power’ and the ’Stone of Witness’.

The former was used to concoct potions and Spiritual Ink; the latter was the core for constructing the Orbit.

Lloyd hadn’t checked the market price for these two materials yet, but he was sure they would start in the millions. So even though he had just received a bounty of several million, he would probably spend it all in an instant, and it might not even be enough.

’If I exchange for them in the ’Dream Theater,’ it only costs 280 points. The price might go up a bit in the next couple of days, right? But with my current point-earning ability, it shouldn’t be too difficult.’

However, he planned to spend his points on more important things—items that couldn’t be obtained outside, like ’Forbidden Knowledge’ and materials for the [Twist] system.

This was especially true for Forbidden Knowledge. Although he had gained a lot during the "double experience" event, Lloyd still had a faint feeling that he was some distance away from the fourth [Transcendence] of the [Twist] system. His store of Forbidden Knowledge was still slightly insufficient.

’It’s better to acquire hot potatoes like that through the ’Dream Theater.’ As for things needed for the legitimate systems, it’s best to solve that with money on the up-and-up.’

Although with his current point-earning speed, he could just hole up in the ’Dream Theater’ and grind points to exchange for everything he needed, he always felt wary and fearful of that place, not daring to get too deeply engrossed.

’It’s wise to be extra cautious with shortcuts that seem free.’

As for the method for this fourth [Transcendence], he would, of course, use the more conservative and safer method: Twisting the [Transcendence] effect of the [Veto] system.

He could also use that bottle of ’Madness-Inducing Fine Wine’ he’d saved from last time. Otherwise, it might expire soon.

If he didn’t choose this method and went the orthodox route instead, he would need to find a living Karmic Demon, soak in its active brain matter for three days to absorb various substances with his body, and finally expel them using the power of [Twist].

Setting aside the risk and difficulty, the process alone was disgusting enough. It clearly wasn’t designed for humans.

And as for the procedure for the fifth [Transcendence]... that was even more ridiculous. It required concocting a Spirit Medicine of unknown composition and function from all sorts of bizarre ingredients, consuming it, and then using the power of [Twist] to fuse more than ten organs from high-risk Demons into his own body.

Furthermore, the danger level of these Demons could not be lower than 7.

If he could still survive that, he had no idea what kind of monster he would become. In any case, he certainly wouldn’t have much in common with humanity anymore...

So no matter how you looked at it, this so-called "orthodox route" was not meant for humans.