Precision Dissection
The overall style here was similar to that of the small chapel on Old Oak Street—both were minimalist and low-key, except that this one lacked a confessional, and the walls were plastered with various doctrines, or rather, chicken soup for the soul.
Right in the center of the innermost part also stood a two-meter-tall statue, depicting a young girl with a slender, graceful figure, a sacred and mysterious temperament, and a face that was only roughly outlined.
She was posed with her head slightly lowered and her hands crossed over her chest, forming an "X" shape. It looked so vivid and lifelike that she might leap up in the next second to unleash some kind of beam or ray.
This was the Veto Saint who ruled over and provided Sanctuary to the City of Brilliance, with an entire massive Order of followers.
In fact, very few people in the entire world had the privilege of glimpsing the true appearance of this Saint; they only knew she was likely female. Therefore, the image portrayed by this statue was merely a "secondary creation" based on other people's imagination and interpretation, and it might differ slightly from her true appearance.
In short, even Order members did not need to kneel and pray to this statue, let alone develop any religious devotion toward it; they only needed to maintain respect in their hearts.
As for the ordinary people outside, they even used it as a hollow tree, frequently pouring out their various grievances about life to the statue.
Just like right now, several Enforcers were gathered in front of the Saint's statue, whispering among themselves, and their words were heard loud and clear by Lloyd's Inspiration.
"Buster must be out of the game. Anyone who has been sent into the Saint Covenant Psychiatric Hospital will never come back here."
"Heh, he is indeed a capable hand, but not smart enough. Why bother challenging Level -3? That place is simply not prepared for Enforcers like us."
"Didn't I say that long ago? That guy has always looked down on everyone and held us in contempt; something was bound to happen sooner or later, I just didn't expect it to be verified so quickly."
"However, the newbie who's been hanging around him these past few days, seems his name is Lloyd? He appears to be a newcomer with immense potential, likely from a wealthy family. Should we take this opportunity to go say hello to him?"
Hearing this, Lloyd hurriedly turned and walked away, giving them not the slightest chance.
It wasn't that he was shy—these people were practically semi-acquaintances whom he ran into every day by the notice board, watching them snatch up the safe keys for Level -1.
Nor was it social anxiety; it was just that not a single one of these people had ever stepped forward to lend a hand or offered to help, nor had anyone proactively asked; they had simply stood by and watched coldly the entire time.
What difference did it make whether he knew them or not?
……………………
Lloyd returned to the library and read for quite a while before he suddenly remembered that he had seemingly ignored a somewhat unusual panel notification earlier.
At that time, he was dragging Buster's two-hundred-pound stalwart body, exhausted and out of breath, with no spare energy to care about anything else.
Now that he thought of it, he hurriedly retraced the alert logs.
"Ding~ Madness Value +200, unlocked skill—Precision Dissection, LV3."
Eh? It wasn't a low-level one pieced together from fragments, nor was it a level-less one gifted by the panel, but directly Level 3?
Lloyd hurriedly checked the detailed description of the new skill—
[Precision Dissection (LV3)—Enables precise, complete, efficient, and truly artistic dissection of Monsters. Accumulated from the long-term execution of Monsters, it requires sufficient understanding of the target to be successfully performed. The greater the understanding, the higher the success rate. Continue using the skill to increase its level.]
Below was another line of small text providing supplementary explanation:
"This is not killing; it is an art, or it could also be called the art of killing."
Aside from this skill of unknown origin, he had also gained a stat-allocation opportunity through his previous observation, which he casually applied.
5 points to Sanity, let's go!
"Ding~ Stat allocation complete."
[User: Lloyd]
[Status: Normal]
[Madness Value: 6/1000, Upper Limit: 2500]
[Sanity: 25]
[Spirit Power: 20]
[Inspiration: 20]
[Cognition: 20]
[System: Incomplete Enlightenment]
[Mastered Skills: Efficient Learning; Divination LV1; Vertigo Resistance LV2; Precision Dissection LV3]
Lloyd wasn't planning to abandon his "well-rounded development" approach; the aesthetic of balanced stats still needed to be maintained. He just decided to add 5 points at a time from now on, starting with Sanity and saving Inspiration for last.
This was an approach he had learned from people like Viya.
Having allocated the stats and closed the panel, Lloyd felt his head itching intensely as new brains grew in.
His memory now contained a fair amount of insight into how to dissect Monsters.
Not that it was anything overwhelming—just minor experiences and subtle details. But that wasn't the main point; the key was that he felt a kind of muscle memory taking root in his hands.
When he tried stretching out his hand and gesturing, it actually carried quite a bit of the posture Buster used when wielding a blade!
"Could it be that he really passed his final ripples on to me? Is his recovery related to this?"
Lloyd made a conjecture, though he didn't dare draw a definitive conclusion.
He would just have to wait for the next time a similar opportunity arose to verify it.
"As expected of a Level 3 skill, its practicality is maxed out right from the start, and it happens to be exactly what I need most right now. With this new skill, I should be able to handle executing Monsters, except that..."
Muttering to himself, Lloyd clenched his fist tightly and felt the power within.
Objectively speaking, it didn't feel very satisfying...
"It seems Spirit Power cannot enhance my baseline physical fitness, otherwise I wouldn't have been so dizzy and exhausted just now."
"This won't do. As an advanced youth striving for well-rounded development, my physical fitness definitely cannot fall behind. I'll carve out some time every day to work out, and set a temporary small goal: being able to carry a two-hundred-pound powerhouse."
Adjusting his path to becoming stronger once more, Lloyd suddenly realized that executing Monsters every day, studying knowledge, working out, and going home to keep his older sister company...
Time suddenly felt like Primogems, never quite enough no matter how he tried.
Perhaps he should give up some less important items?
Then how about...
Reading a little less books every day?
With that settled, Lloyd seized the time to continue cramming knowledge on Monsterology, striving to raise the success rate for his newly acquired skill.
By 6:00 PM, he put down his books right on schedule, headed to the gym on the fifth floor, and casually picked up a dumbbell to start pumping iron.
This was his first time visiting the gym here. It wasn't very large, and the equipment was sparse—just the most basic kinds, but everything was very new and clean.
No other people were in sight either; did everyone care so little about physical training?
That suited him fine. Being able to monopolize the entire gym all by himself meant he could train whatever muscle group he wanted.
Lloyd worked out aimlessly by himself until 8:00 PM, then left on schedule and took the "advanced subway" home.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
"Ding~ Madness Value +50, Skill Fragment +1."
This time, however, he wasn't awkwardly "pitted out" by the big black wardrobe; instead, he made a small hop, landed steadily, and straightened his collar, appearing exceptionally graceful and confident.
This was the poise and self-assurance brought to him by Level 2 Vertigo Resistance.