Chapter 265 - 264: To Think I’d Run Into an Acquaintance Here?

Chapter 265: Chapter 264: To Think I’d Run Into an Acquaintance Here?

Lloyd hadn’t expected them to have so little faith in him. He waited patiently, fantasizing about what would happen after his promotion to Tier Three.

According to what the Chief Judge had said, once he reached Tier Three, he would be recommended to study at Mizkakotok University. The thought made him a little excited...

He didn’t know what kind of place it was. Information about it was scarce, and no one even knew its specific location, making it exceptionally mysterious. But the Chief Judge had said you could commute, which seemed very strange.

’Maybe it’s a place similar to the Dream Theater?’

’Then again, these magical places that exist in an Alternate Space are said to be products of ancient civilizations. Could there be more places like this? With people from those ancient civilizations still living inside?’

’Like that annoying clerk from the antique shop... he’s from the unheard-of [Ancient Mage] system. Is that related to ancient civilizations?’

’And if these ancients used Fighting Qi and Magic, I wonder if they could create a Qi Transformation Horse?’

Lloyd let his mind wander like this, lost in random thoughts, until the inspiration he had sent out suddenly reacted. He quickly reined in his Thoughts.

The time was 4:30 AM, just about the darkest hour before dawn. It was time for the Ghost Soul to appear.

[DING~ Madness Value +200]

[DING~ Madness Value +200]

[DING~ Madness Value +200]

Another series of panel notifications rang in Lloyd’s ears as he was hit by a sudden, intense wave of Spiritual Contamination.

Lloyd couldn’t help but frown slightly.

’Even for a Bizarre Derivative, a type of Demon known for its Spiritual Contamination, isn’t this a bit too strong?’

’Clearly, this thing’s danger level is definitely not just level 3...’

Lloyd executed Demons on Floor -3 every day and was practically immune to the Spiritual Contamination they could emit. Yet this thing before him now was making him feel the long-lost joy of ’grinding for EXP,’ which probably meant it would be quite a handful...

And that wasn’t the only tricky part—

’The Spiritual Contamination is invading along the inspiration I sent out, but my inspiration can’t lock onto the Ghost Soul’s specific source?’

He activated his Spiritual Vision and looked around, but he couldn’t see anything at all. There was nothing out of the ordinary nearby.

This was the first time Lloyd had encountered such a strange situation with an ’unknown source’.

’Isn’t the difficulty of this rare monster a little off the charts? Should I even continue?’

Lloyd hesitated.

’After all, I’m here to complete the [Transcendence] Orbit, not to slay demons. Fighting a Demon of this level without using my [Twist]-type abilities or any Holy Artifacts... isn’t that a bit reckless?’

’But as the saying goes, since I’m already here... It would be a real shame to just run away now...’

’As a righteous youth who despises evil, how can I flee before the battle even begins?’

’Besides, the Orbit I invested so much in is already prepared. If I don’t use it soon, the Spiritual Energy on it will gradually weaken over time. Wouldn’t that be like throwing two checks into a river?’

’I’ll just keep observing for now. It’s good to farm some more Madness Value anyway. This thing definitely doesn’t attack humans proactively. Otherwise, with this level of Spiritual Contamination, it could have silently slaughtered this entire Wasteland District.’

After some thought, Lloyd gradually calmed down. He continued to absorb the Spiritual Contamination while focusing his attention, waiting for the Demon to appear.

After waiting like this for a few minutes, Lloyd’s inspiration suddenly reacted. He had detected something.

He whipped his head around and, with the help of his Spiritual Vision, saw an unexpected old acquaintance—

A giant stick figure...

It was as tall and majestic as ever, standing tall upon the earth as if to hold up the sky.

Lloyd stared blankly up at It, feeling as insignificant as an ant.

’How is this possible...’

Lloyd never imagined he would see the giant stick figure in a place like this.

In that instant, the Spiritual Contamination he was suffering from began to intensify sharply.

[DING~ Madness Value +1000]

[DING~ Madness Value +1000]

’It’s clearly reached the level of contact with Forbidden Knowledge...’

’Maybe... I should just forget about it this time?’

’After all, It’s an old acquaintance I’m quite familiar with. It doesn’t seem right to use It for my promotion, does it?’

’Mmm... it’s not that I’m chickening out. It’s just that my persona has always been that of a kind, sentimental, and nostalgic young man. I can’t bring myself to attack an old friend.’

Lloyd was already starting to make excuses for himself.

But as he thought about it, he subconsciously shook his head.

’No, I can’t run! If I don’t find a way to stop this colossal creature, my sister and Weiya will be in danger!’

’But what should I do...’

’Huh? Wait, something seems off.’

Lloyd paused, having noticed something.

’If such a massive Demon really appeared, the one who should be in the biggest hurry wouldn’t be me, but my ’Childhood Sweetheart’.’

’She even used an edict to organize a siege against the Advisor, a mere Eighth Tier lawbreaker, when he was causing trouble in the city. So why not for a behemoth this majestic?’

’But she hasn’t reacted at all...’

’She hasn’t even held my hand since I started preparing for this promotion. She probably didn’t want to interfere with the Orbit’s effect.’

’And since she’s not in a hurry now, does that mean there’s a problem with this old acquaintance?’

’Besides, I’m staring directly at such a mysterious existence, but I’m only suffering from Spiritual Contamination? My thoughts and mind haven’t been disturbed? Not even a headache or ringing in my ears?’

As Lloyd mulled it over, he figured out the key point. He also began to feel an itching sensation in his mind, as if a book were slowly turning its pages.

’The *Book of Truth* is reacting?’

He quickly deactivated his Spiritual Vision and switched to his normal eyesight.

The giant stick figure that had seemed to touch the heavens instantly began to shrink. In a flash, it was only the size of a paper cutout. Its color faded from black to a paper-like white, and it was now floating above a crooked tree, drifting slowly.

Along with this change, the intensity of the Spiritual Contamination fell back to the +200 level.

The speed at which that persona collapsed was the fastest Lloyd had ever seen...

He tried activating his Spiritual Vision again.

The previous giant stick figure did not reappear, and the Spiritual Contamination did not increase.

’So that’s it. I think I understand now. I almost fell for its empty bluff.’

With this discovery, Lloyd finally had a plan. He wasn’t scared anymore. He continued to monitor the creature’s movements with his inspiration, picking up some Madness Value on the side.

He quickly prepared the two required sets of Orbits, ready to begin his third [Transcendence] at any moment.

The creature’s movement patterns and trajectory were just as the bartender and patrons had described. It wandered aimlessly within a roughly triangular area, not proactively attacking humans, but not fearing them either.

It really did seem to be looking for something...

’Probably its own death?’

So Lloyd didn’t delay any longer. He didn’t get greedy for that little bit of Madness Value. To prevent any new problems from arising, he immediately activated the Orbit.

As the Orbit’s effect began to spread, the ’Ghost Soul’ floating in the sky reacted instantly. It started to wobble its way over to Lloyd, like a piece of paper caught in the wind.

Lloyd quickly readied his [Veto Declaration], also known as [Blessing Distortion]. After temporarily deactivating the [Twist] system, this Fusion Skill was left with only its original, intended effect.

Then, Lloyd extended his right hand, pointed at the paper cutout, and concentrated all his inspiration to lock firmly onto it.

"In the name of the Veto!"

As his Spiritual Power surged, a force materialized above the paper Ghost Soul’s head. It condensed and came smashing down like an iron hammer.

The next second, the paper Ghost Soul vanished into thin air, killed instantly.

A huge wave of sound suddenly washed over Lloyd’s ears. All sorts of messy panel notifications flooded his vision, interspersed with a slew of low-pitched murmurs and a ’buzzing’ sound of tinnitus.

His vision began to blur. Familiar hallucinations started to appear, and he saw a series of images like murals.

On them was his true old acquaintance...

But this time, the giant stick figure was definitely the real deal, not some random thing impersonating it.

The story about It finally connected with what came before. It was now deep within a scarlet ocean, seemingly in a state of slumber.

Around Its body were still those frantically twisting tentacles, chanting strange hymns together and ceaselessly worshipping It.

Beneath the surface of the blood-red sea, even more tentacles were frantically gnawing at the giant stick figure’s flesh, leaving its lower body as nothing but miserable white bones.

But as if that wasn’t enough, the tentacles wanted to continue devouring Its upper body...

So the tentacles on the outside began to chant more shrilly, to worship more frenziedly.

But for some reason, Lloyd couldn’t understand what they were chanting at all anymore. He was sure he’d been able to understand some of it before.

In the vision, the tentacles were still climbing up the giant stick figure’s body. But perhaps they were too hasty. The giant stick figure, which had been sleeping, stirred slightly and slowly began to awaken.

At this, both the chanting tentacles on the surface and the gnawing ones below were terrified, and everything descended into chaos.

Some continued to chant, twist, and worship; some scurried about in every direction; and some, not knowing what was good for them, actually continued to cling to the stick figure’s body.

The giant stick figure then slowly began to move. It stretched out a hand and reached for the tentacles.

At this point, the vision suddenly cut off. It was gone, like a novel ending on a cliffhanger...

Leaving Lloyd choked with frustration...

Just then, the itching sensation returned to his mind. *The Book of Truth* turned its pages again, recording the scenes he had just witnessed. They were still in that same primitive, mural-like style.

The hallucination before Lloyd’s eyes vanished, and only then did he open his panel to check the long string of notifications.