Chapter 272 - 269: The Strong Pigeon

Chapter 272: Chapter 269: The Strong Pigeon

This was the first time Lloyd had ever seen Weiya angry. He felt so guilty and ashamed that he was completely speechless.

’After all, she’s only angry because she really cares about me...’

Lloyd quickly tried to coax and persuade her. It took a great deal of effort before Weiya finally calmed down a little.

But she didn’t smile, nor did she let Lloyd put his arm around her. The most she allowed was for him to hold her hand...

"Lloyd, I know you’re exceptional. You have a talent that many can only dream of, and you’re ambitious and want to prove yourself quickly. I love that about you. But that’s exactly why I don’t want you to do something so reckless. If something happened to you..."

"I don’t know what I would do..."

"I don’t have such grand ambitions. I just want to be with you, quietly and peacefully. Then, once my father agrees to our relationship, I want to marry you and spend a safe and peaceful life together."

Weiya’s heartfelt words moved Lloyd, filling him with both warmth and relief.

He quickly pulled Weiya into his arms and whispered softly,

"Okay, I understand. I won’t do anything so risky again."

Weiya’s delicate body struggled for a moment, but she soon relaxed, pressing her forehead against his chest and murmuring,

"Good... I’m just so afraid something will happen to you. I’ve heard too many stories of incredibly gifted Extraordinary Beings who died young..."

"Don’t worry, Weiya. It won’t happen again. I’ll be careful from now on."

Lloyd replied in earnest.

The small conflict between them was thus temporarily resolved. However, Lloyd didn’t dare continue talking to Weiya about the Wasteland District, even though he had originally wanted to discuss its various strange phenomena with her.

Weiya, on the other hand, took the initiative and suggested,

"You rushed your advancement to Tier Three, so you haven’t consolidated it yet, have you? I can help you contact a few scholars and ask them to help you stabilize the effects of your Transcendence, especially since... you used such a shortcut."

Lloyd had intended to refuse. With the help of his panel, it would be easy for him to assimilate everything.

But since Weiya had put it that way, it was hard to say no, so he nodded in agreement.

’In any case, it’ll be somewhat beneficial for me, especially considering I completed my Transcendence using a shortcut.’

So, Weiya returned to her office and eagerly began writing letters.

Before they parted ways, Lloyd specifically used [Enhanced Investigation] to check on Weiya’s current status.

[Target: Weiya]

[Status: Mild Madness]

[System: Veto]

[Rationality: 92]

[Spiritual Power: 67]

[inspiration: 33]

[Cognition: 58]

Considering that the two Tier Four individuals he’d seen before had an average of just over 80 points across their four Attributes, and Weiya had only just reached Tier Three, her stats were already quite strong. She was showing signs of being a "stat monster."

’Of course, compared to me...’

However, what Lloyd was more interested in was Weiya’s ’Threat Level’ toward him.

The last time he had investigated Weiya, the ’Threat Level’ line displayed a huge, faintly beating heart, giving off a "heart-fluttering" vibe.

Looking again today, it was still the same, but the beating frequency had slightly increased. ’Does this mean she likes me even more?’

’But she was just angry a moment ago, wasn’t she?’

Lloyd couldn’t quite figure out Weiya’s thoughts and could only resign himself to the ’Don’t Ask Too Much, don’t think too much’ philosophy.

He returned to his routine, first going to Floor -3 to complete his daily duties, then finding Meditis to borrow the bell and begin his [Audience with the Saint].

Just before lunchtime, he finished the audience and awoke from his state of Self-forgetfulness, scratching his head.

His learning efficiency seemed to have slowed down considerably. His progress toward the next Transcendence had only increased by 3%.

At this rate, it would probably take over a month to perform the fourth Transcendence for the Veto system...

But the amount of new knowledge that had grown in his mind wasn’t small. It seemed it wasn’t that his learning efficiency had decreased, but that the amount of knowledge required had increased.

Lloyd thought for a moment, then opened the Chief Judge’s journal again and reread the section on the fourth Transcendence.

Reading through it, he felt that the text emphasized two main ideas—

’build a solid foundation’ and ’work hard to save money.’

While still at Tier Three, one needed to start laying the groundwork and preparing for the most crucial fifth Transcendence.

The more solid one’s foundation was at Tier Three and Tier Four, the relatively easier the advancement to Tier Five would be.

Following the Chief Judge’s line of thinking, an Extraordinary Being with ordinary talent would probably need several years to complete the necessary preparations.

Even for a genius with astounding talent, unless their family was rich enough to be strung up from a lamppost, it would still take a long time to save up the money.

After making this comparison, Lloyd no longer felt his progress was that slow.

However, compared to learning efficiency, the financial pressure was much greater...

’It’s very likely that I’ll be ready for Transcendence but won’t have the money to buy the materials...’

Lloyd couldn’t help but touch the pouch at his waist. The thought of his recently emptied funds, with only a hundred thousand or so left in savings, instantly gave him the kind of anxiety one feels when a credit card bill is due tomorrow.

’Where am I supposed to find money?’

’Should I just sell myself to my sugar mama Weiya?’

’I’d be willing, but her ’Hu the Butcher’ of a father would never agree...’

’What about relying on Balderes?’

’But that guy seems to be cooking up some other crazy scheme...’

’Or should I just grind for points like crazy in the Dream Theater?’

’That doesn’t seem right either. I have a feeling that if I go to that godforsaken place too often, I’ll get addicted. I might end up like that clerk from the antique shop, becoming one of their gatekeepers...’

As Lloyd’s mind was racing with these thoughts, he suddenly heard a whistling sound from outside the window, like a cannonball heading straight for his office.

Before he could react, the window was violently shattered, sending shards of glass flying everywhere.

’An attack?’

Lloyd shot to his feet, drew the Short Sword from his waist, and with a nimble flip, vaulted over the desk in front of him, putting distance between himself and the window. Then he turned to look.

He saw a muscular pigeon squatting by the window.

And it was muscular in the literal sense. Although its appearance and coloring were that of a normal pigeon, its physique was extraordinarily brawny—taller and bigger than his own sister, Evelor.

’It could probably just snatch my sister away in its beak, right?’

’Against a natural enemy on the food chain like a kitten, it could probably swallow one whole, couldn’t it?’

Lloyd couldn’t wrap his head around it. ’How is this pigeon so huge?’

The pigeon noticed Lloyd staring at it and immediately puffed out its chest proudly. It even struck a pose that defied pigeon anatomy, raising one wing upward as if showing off its bicep to Lloyd.

Then, it tilted its head slightly, giving Lloyd a cold, hard stare, as if warning him to watch himself and not make any sudden moves.

It then lowered its head, pecked at its chest feathers, and pulled out an envelope as if by Magic. With a suave flick of its head,

the letter landed squarely in the middle of Lloyd’s desk.

After delivering the letter, the pigeon gave Lloyd one last cold glance, then spread its wings and shot into the sky, letting out a sharp screech as it tore through the air and vanished over the horizon.

Lloyd was left completely stunned, unable to process what had just happened.

’Damn it, how is that pigeon so huge?’

he asked himself again. He looked at the shattered window and the glass all over the floor, and for some reason, he started to feel angry.

’This is the Eighteenth District of the Holy Judgment Court, a place specifically for executing Demons, and some pigeon can just come and go as it pleases?’

’Come back here again if you have the guts, and see if I don’t stew you!’

Cursing under his breath, Lloyd put away his Short Sword and picked up the letter from his desk.

Inside was something that looked like a ball invitation. It was exquisitely made, with a high-quality matte finish and an understated dark gold color scheme.

Lloyd opened the invitation suspiciously and took a look.

"Dear Mr. Lloyd:

Congratulations. On the recommendation of the three honorary professors Tirtus, Demani, and Alfred, you have been granted admission to Mizkakotok University.

We hereby sincerely invite you to join Mizkatoke, this pure paradise of academia.

If you are ready to enroll, please wear the enclosed brooch and, under its guidance, come to this supreme institution of learning for the entire world."

’This is an acceptance letter from Mizkakotok University?’

*Hiss...*

Lloyd couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.

’I just completed my Transcendence in the early hours of this morning, and by noon, an abnormally muscular pigeon delivers an acceptance letter to me?’

’But besides Weiya, no third person knows I’ve completed my Transcendence, right?’

’Besides, the Chief Judge isn’t around, is he?’

’And judging by the wording, I only got in because of a joint recommendation from three Eighth Tier powerhouses, not because they actually value me.’

Lloyd felt the mystique of this place was suddenly off the charts.

He then picked up the envelope and tipped out a coin-sized brooch.

It was emanating a unique Spiritual Energy, tempting Lloyd to touch it with his inspiration.

Lloyd sent out his inspiration to test it and immediately felt a slight itch in his brain as new knowledge grew within it.

However, it didn’t bring any Spiritual Contamination, just ordinary, safe knowledge, mainly teaching him how to use the brooch to travel to Mizkakotok University.

He needed to first inject a small amount of Spiritual Power into the brooch, and it had to be done intermittently at a specific frequency, almost like tapping out a password with Spiritual Power.

As long as the correct ’password’ was entered, the brooch’s function would activate, and something like a Space-travel portal would appear before Lloyd.

Passing through this door would lead him to Mizkakotok University.

If the wrong ’password’ was entered, a door would still open.

But there was no telling what godforsaken place would be on the other side...