Chapter 266 - 265: The Stats Have Inflated Again

Chapter 266: Chapter 265: The Stats Have Inflated Again

[Ding! [Transcendence] complete. Twisted System level increased, LV3→LV4. All Attributes +20]

[Current Transcendences for this system: 4]

[Delve deeper into the system to perform more Transcendences.]

[Ding! [Transcendence] complete. Veto System level increased, LV2→LV3. All Attributes +10]

[Current Transcendences for this system: 3]

[Delve deeper into the system to perform more Transcendences.]

[Ding! Skill level increased...]

[Ding! Skill level increased...]

[Ding! Reading progress increased...]

With that, Lloyd’s third [Transcendence] was successfully concluded.

And once again, he achieved the miraculous effect of ’feeding one experience book to two wives at the same time,’ leveling up two systems at once.

Although there was a minor deviation during the process, it wasn’t a major issue. Everything was still completed smoothly and in one fell swoop.

This was far smoother than Weiya’s by-the-book, step-by-step rituals.

As for his gains, there were quite a few. Lloyd didn’t rush to take stock. Instead, he first returned to the small cabin where he’d been staying to pick up the little kitten, then headed back to the tavern.

But before he even got close, he could hear a discussion coming from inside:

"It’s been so long, and there hasn’t been a peep from over there. Maybe... I should go check?"

"Are you crazy? You want to die?"

"I’m just anxious to go home..."

"Who isn’t? But that young Judge can’t possibly be stronger than the investigation team from outside, can he? Even those professionals couldn’t handle it. He’s not a specialist in this stuff, so why would you pin your hopes on him?"

"But the investigation team from outside won’t come over, and the Extraordinary Beings in the Underground City won’t make a move on this anymore... Damn it, I think they just want to take this opportunity to snatch our people and territory!"

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Regardless of what happened to that Judge, we can’t go over there now. We have to wait until dawn at least."

"Sigh... I’m just worried that if something really happened to this Judge, it would bring retaliation from the Sect. Even though the guy insisted on showing off, those people from the Sect won’t listen to reason."

"What’s there to worry about? You think the Sect is going to kill us all? The worst that can happen is we go back to mining. No different from before."

Hearing their discussion, Lloyd was taken aback.

’Why does it seem like they think I’m dead?’

’I’ve always cultivated the persona of a humble, reserved, and low-key young man, but they don’t have to imagine me as being *that* weak, do they?’

After a round of internal complaints, Lloyd decisively pushed the door open and walked into the bar.

The bartender and patrons who had stayed behind jumped to their feet, shouting:

"Whaaaat??????"

"Whoa! A ghost!"

"How are you still alive?"

Lloyd couldn’t be bothered to explain. He simply stated his request:

"I need to rest. Get me a clean room."

The bartender, being the leader of the group, didn’t act so jumpy. He nodded immediately, stood up from behind the bar, and personally led Lloyd to a small cabin next to the tavern.

He didn’t say a single word during the process, neither asking curiously what had happened nor inquiring if the matter was resolved, as if he already knew the answer.

The room he arranged for Lloyd was simple, with basically no furniture or facilities, but it did meet the standard of being clean and tidy. There was only a single, very low wooden bed.

Then, the bartender left without another word.

His subordinates, who had been peeking from the side, saw him return to the bar and immediately swarmed him, chattering with questions:

"Boss, that kid... did he really take care of that monster? But isn’t that something even the investigation team from outside didn’t dare to touch?"

"And he looks completely fine? Even though you can’t see his face behind the mask, his steps are steady—as steady as me when I’m sober."

"What on earth happened? Didn’t he tell you?"

Looking at his overly curious subordinates, the bartender felt a headache coming on. He quickly lowered his voice and explained simply:

"Since he’s back, the problem must be solved. You can go check now."

The subordinate who had been so eager earlier immediately ran out.

The bartender continued to instruct the others:

"Don’t initiate conversation with him, and don’t ask any questions. If he makes any demands, do your best to meet them."

"But..."

"Don’t question my decision. This is for your own good."

As he spoke, the bartender glanced at the small cabin next door and explained in a low voice:

"Since you all know that even the investigation team from outside wouldn’t dare take this on, and that a Tier Four expert from the Fire Sand Gang died because of it, yet this Judge solved it with ease, it means he’s someone we can’t afford to provoke...

So, no small talk, no questions, just obedience. That way, we won’t get on his bad side. This is the experience I’ve gained from my past dealings with Extraordinary Beings. The way they think is already different from ours. You must never treat them as human."

***

Lloyd, for his part, naturally didn’t care what the ordinary people outside were saying about him, nor did he need anyone’s gratitude.

He had only done a minor deed that required little effort, and he had even profited handsomely from it.

He sat down on the low bed, called up his panel, and allocated his points first.

The Madness Value he absorbed from that paper-thin Ghost Soul had directly raised his level by five and a half.

It was mainly because of the immense Spiritual Contamination he suffered when the giant matchstick man appeared. That, combined with what he had accumulated before, resulted in a satisfying burst of level-ups.

Combined with the 30 All Attributes gained from [Transcendence], his stats had inflated considerably.

[User: Lloyd]

[Status: Normal]

[Madness Value: 50/10000, Limit: 23000]

[Rationality: 230]

[Spiritual Power: 230]

[inspiration: 140]

[Cognition: 230]

[Systems: Twist LV4, Veto LV3]

These Attributes were not only full but also evenly distributed, a perfect definition of being well-rounded.

As for the [inspiration] Attribute...

’Of course, a barrel needs a short plank; otherwise, how would the water get out? Wouldn’t it just be a sealed drum then?’

’Such Attributes, such beauty! This is the harvest reaped from my diligence and effort! The joy watered with my blood and sweat!’

But Lloyd didn’t let this make him arrogant or complacent.

He still remembered that during the "story gamble" before, the two Tier Four Extraordinary Beings he had faced off against both had their four main Attributes at around 80.

’I’m not even three times stronger than them yet, so I have to keep working hard!’

After allocating his points, he checked his skill upgrades.

[Ding! Sufficient Knowledge Fragments acquired. Skill level increased, Divination LV5→LV6]

[Ding! Sufficient proficiency acquired. Skill level increased, Extraordinary Swordsmanship LV2→LV3]

[Ding! Sufficient Knowledge Fragments acquired. Skill level increased, Blessing Distortion LV6→LV7]

[Ding! Sufficient skill fragments acquired. Skill upgraded and enhanced, Orbital Control (Twist) LV4→LV5]

[Mastered Skills: Focused Learning; Enhanced Investigation; Divination LV6; Dizziness Resistance LV6; Extraordinary Swordsmanship LV3; Twisted Realm LV7; Aggressive Speech LV6; Blessing Distortion LV7; Orbital Control (Twist) LV5]

[Mastered Special Skills: The Supreme One Thus Spoke]

Lloyd was very satisfied with his skill upgrades. The three skills that improved happened to be the types that were harder to level up. Especially [Extraordinary Swordsmanship] and [Orbital Control], two very practical skills that are difficult to level up and require a lot of time to grind.

So, being able to upgrade them through [Transcendence] was incredibly satisfying for Lloyd.

As for the upgrade to [Blessing Distortion], that was to be expected, since this Fusion Skill contained a core skill from the [Veto] system, so it was bound to improve.

The only slight regret was that his strongest skill, [Twisted Realm], hadn’t leveled up...

’Perhaps it’s because the Forbidden Knowledge he obtained was too fragmented and couldn’t be interpreted?’

In addition to the increases in his Attributes and skill levels, the reading progress of the > also increased because it had recorded new content.

But what Lloyd found strange was that the analysis progress of that Unknown Fragment had also increased.

[Unparsed Fragment: Unknown Fragment of unknown composition*1, Current Analysis Progress 98%]

[Unread Books: >, Current Reading Progress 35%]

Setting aside the >’s reading progress for a moment—although it was called "reading progress," it actually advanced by recording new content...

Besides, it hadn’t increased by much and was still a long way from 100%.

This Unknown Fragment, on the other hand, was somehow almost completely analyzed.

And this final 2% left Lloyd with mixed feelings, unsure whether to be anxious or reluctant.

The anxiety was easy to understand; naturally, he wanted to know if there would be any surprises once it was fully analyzed.

As for the reluctance, it was because once the analysis was complete, his "Three-Day Check-in" would be gone, and he would lose a stable source of Madness Value for no good reason.

However, he was almost certain this fragment was related to the [Manifestation] system. It was clearly impossible to interpret it relying solely on [Cognition]; he would have to find a way to get more exposure to content from the [Manifestation] side.

Lloyd set these two things aside for now and took a closer look at the changes brought by his skill upgrades.

[Divination] and [Extraordinary Swordsmanship] hadn’t changed much, mostly just some numerical increases to "accuracy" and "lethality," without unlocking any new ways to use them.

The change in [Orbital Control], however, was quite significant. Not only had Lloyd learned new methods for setting up Orbits for "free," but it had also further refined the miniaturization and portability he cared about most, and was even beginning to touch upon large-scale and array-based content.

But...

’Why are all the new Orbits from the [Twist] system?’