Chapter 298 - 285: This Guy Must Be Crazy

Chapter 298: Chapter 285: This Guy Must Be Crazy

"Well then... thank you so much for your help, Your Excellencies. The suspect has confessed more than enough information. We will immediately launch a manhunt to exterminate the Following Madness Sect."

A Judge from the City of Illusion, holding a thick stack of records, was addressing the two Manifestation System powerhouses across from him.

One of them happened to be Olga, the Tier Seven powerhouse Lloyd had interacted with for a time.

The other was his son, Little Olga, who had just been promoted to Tier Five this year.

A father and son, both in High Positions—one on the [Story] path, the other on the [Manifestation] path. They were, after all, from the declining noble house of Iscariot, a family with a profound legacy and deep roots.

As for the Olgas, father and son, they had originally come to the Illusory Sect’s Judgment Court to attend a crucial security meeting. The topic, naturally, was the resurgence of the Following Madness Sect and the [Nirvana] System—

Radiant City had sent an urgent telegram just last night, informing the other Sects of this critical development. Instantly, all six of humanity’s cities and their respective Sects entered a state of high alert. They were all analyzing and discussing the situation. With a tacit understanding, they all issued warrants and prepared for the worst. No one dared to let their guard down for even a moment.

Clearly, the brutal atrocities committed by the Following Madness Sect sixty years ago had left humanity with lingering trauma to this day.

But unexpectedly, while the Olgas were in the middle of the meeting, a well-dressed fellow nonchalantly walked in. Then, right in front of everyone, he launched into a one-man show, rambling on and on and leaving the entire room stunned and bewildered.

It took everyone present quite some time to figure out what was happening. They probably never imagined it: ’A Cultist, showing up to a meeting on how to hunt them down, just to serve his own head on a platter?’

’Even I wouldn’t dare write such an absurd plot into one of my [Stories],’ Old Olga thought. ’It’s too illogical. The ’readers’ would see through it instantly.’

In short, it wasn’t until the madman had performed to his heart’s content that Little Olga spoke up. Only then, as if jolted from a dream, did the man try to resist and escape.

But with Old Olga present, the man was immediately placed into a [Story]. After some joint questioning, he confessed everything, providing a wealth of critical information.

Such as the whereabouts and contact methods of their High Priest, their organizational structure, sources of funding, and more.

If they used this information wisely, they should be able to uproot this criminal organization in a very short time.

But the most important piece of information was that the Sovereign they worshipped was currently asleep.

Although the specific reasons and details remained unclear, the bottom line was that these Cultists had lost their cherished power. Unable to wield the terrifying force of the [Nirvana] System, they were at their absolute weakest.

So, once the Illusory Sect relayed this information to the other Sects, humanity could certainly seize this opportunity and avoid repeating the painful disaster of sixty years ago.

However, what Old Olga still couldn’t understand was why this man, a core member of the Cult, would walk right into a trap.

Even the man himself couldn’t explain it, saying only that he felt as if some power had interfered with his thoughts and Cognition.

At first, Old Olga thought that a powerhouse from the [Wisdom] System had acted in secret, and he suspected the incident might be related to the [Wisdom] System’s great expedition.

However, a subsequent, detailed examination of the man revealed no specific source for such a power, thus ruling out that theory.

"So who in the world set him up? And so silently, so undetectably?" Old Olga couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.

His son, Little Olga, guessed,

"Maybe it was some kind of strange Curse or something? Or maybe because the being they worship fell unconscious, it affected their minds and drove this one completely insane?"

Old Olga nodded and replied,

"Hmm... That’s the only explanation I can think of, too. In any case, this is a very favorable situation for us. You won’t have to worry about it affecting your travel plans."

"Then I’ll stick to the original plan and set off for Radiant City tomorrow."

"Good. Then, in addition to your scheduled business, you can also investigate this matter a bit on the side."

"Yes, Father."

The father and son were both in high spirits, so they took the opportunity to chat about Little Olga’s upcoming trip to Radiant City.

He had a lot to do on this long trip away from home, such as visiting some elders and friends, scouting some investment projects, contacting some private organizations and factions, and spreading their family’s influence, among other things.

But all of that was secondary. His true, primary objective was to pay a visit to Lloyd.

Ever since their ’gamble,’ Old Olga hadn’t been able to get Lloyd out of his mind. But he had yet to receive a reply, and he couldn’t help but worry that Lloyd might reject his invitation.

He’d managed to find out that Inesha hadn’t received a reply from Lloyd either, but Old Olga was still uneasy. So, he resorted to a move outside the game board: sending his pride and joy, his son, to have a good chat, ’youngster’ to ’youngster’.

This action actually violated their previous agreement, but in order to advance to the Eighth Tier, Old Olga couldn’t be bothered with such chivalrous ethics.

...

Meanwhile, Lloyd had enjoyed a comfortable night’s sleep, unaware of all the drama that had unfolded last night, or that so many people had him on their minds.

His biological clock woke him at the usual time, and he habitually reached out to grab the little kitten, only to remember it had stayed at Weiya’s place last night.

Rather disappointed, he could only return to his [Thought Realm] and find the giant flower bud to complete his ’daily check-in’.

[Ding! Madness Value +1000]

[Ding! Madness Value +1000]

After another ten thousand Madness Value was banked, he leveled up again. Adding in the Madness Value he absorbed for the giant flower bud and Elolo last night, he had suddenly jumped up six levels in total.

The two of them had truly helped Lloyd bear a great deal of Spiritual Contamination at the critical moment, helping him get through the most dangerous part of the ordeal. Looking back on it now, he felt a mix of gratitude and lingering fear.

points to [Rationality], 10 points to [Spiritual Power], 10 to [Cognition]. Sweet!

[Ding! Stat allocation complete.]

[User: Lloyd]

[Status: Normal]

[Madness Value: 256/10,000, Limit: 27,000]

[Rationality: 270]

[Spiritual Power: 270]

[Inspiration: 150]

[Cognition: 270]

[Systems: Twist LV4, Veto LV3, Manifestation System Enlightenment available]

’Not gonna lie, facing off against that hexahedron was dangerous, but the rewards were insane.’

’Leveling this fast is like using a cheat engine.’

’If only it had dropped some Knowledge Fragments or skill fragments, it would’ve been perfect.’

’Of course, if I had to do it all over again... yeah, no thanks...’

’Besides, as a diligent and ambitious young man, how could I always rely on such methods to level up? There’s no sense of struggle, no joy in the harvest.’

’Yup. It’s definitely not because I’m scared. It’s just an Evil God’s Offspring, what’s so scary about that?’

But through this satisfying wave of level-ups, Lloyd also discovered that the Madness Value required for each level seemed to have stopped increasing, fixed at 10,000 points.

’That’s pretty nice.’

As for the [Manifestation System Enlightenment] at the end, Lloyd thought about it but didn’t rush to hit ’confirm’.

’I’ll wait. Let me build up the sense of ceremony, find the right opportunity, and Twist the effect of this [Enlightenment] to give the [Twist] System a nice boost.’

’But the materials for the fifth [Transcendence] of the [Twist] System are a real pain. I doubt I can find them in the Dream Theater.’

’If I don’t get any leads on the materials for a while, I’ll just go ahead with the [Manifestation] Enlightenment to have another trick up my sleeve, and then figure out the rest as I go.’

’But for now, the most important thing is, of course, to find the ’school gate’ of Mizkakotok University as soon as possible and hurry up and enroll.’

’Otherwise, as an ’honors student’ jointly recommended by three big shots, if I can’t even get through the school gate, wouldn’t that be a huge embarrassment?’

’My classmates would probably laugh at me...’

Lloyd briefly planned his next steps and prepared to leave the [Thought Realm].

But then he heard the sound of something tapping against glass.

Turning around, he saw the Tentacle Grass clinging to the glass, twisting and turning towards him, looking very happy.

Then it began to imitate a human kowtowing in worship, prostrating on the ground and repeatedly bowing up and down.

’Is it being even more respectful to me now?’

’Is it because I faced off against the hexahedron and came back alive? Have I awed it with my power yet again?’

Lloyd didn’t think much of it. The thing was always like this, anyway, like a total simp.

He just offered a word of encouragement:

"You work hard too. Try to become a project manager someday."

With that, Lloyd left the [Thought Realm]. He then lifted his hand, which had been injured last night, and unwrapped the gauze to take a look.

The wound Kading had given him had already scabbed over. It was healing quite well, it was just a little itchy.

Last night, the Knight Commander had noticed his ’gushing’ wound and quickly gave him a bottle of a grass-green potion. It tasted like black pepper, chili oil, and strawberries mixed with mint. The flavor and texture were actually not bad.

Then came a simple disinfection and bandaging, which hurt so much that Lloyd had stomped his feet.

He hadn’t expected it to have scabbed over by the next day. The recovery speed was really fast.

’I don’t know if the potion was just that potent, or if my constitution as an athlete is just that solid.’

However, while getting dressed, Lloyd still dug out a pair of white gloves and put them on, hiding the scar.

He mainly didn’t want Evelor and Weiya to see it and worry about him.

He managed to fool Evelor quite easily.

But the moment he saw Weiya, she noticed it immediately.

"Lloyd, what happened to your hand?"