Weiya's answer plunged Lloyd into silence.
He had assumed Buster's Mild Madness manifested as being excessively direct, but he never expected this.
"So his mental state has been... like this from the start? You all knew about this?"
Lloyd asked in a low voice.
"We knew. It's a very common situation. In the realm of the mystical and the supernatural, we are always in the company of madness, walking alongside danger."
Weiya's reply sounded exceptionally cold.
"Will he be able to recover?"
"Perhaps. But he won't be coming back... Do you have any other questions?"
"No, that's all. Thank you."
Lloyd left Weiya's office, rubbed his face hard to compose himself, and then strode toward the bulletin board.
'If I can't change things like this, then I have to get stronger and gain the power to change the status quo.'
'That's what a responsible, upstanding young man ought to do.'
As he approached the bulletin board, he saw that the 'acquaintances' from yesterday were still there. They were gathered around it, each holding a key to Floor -1, leaving only the ones for Floors -2 and -3.
Someone nearby came closer and asked if they could observe the execution process.
"Sorry, I don't like people watching when I do this sort of thing."
"Same here. Why don't you ask the others."
When they saw Lloyd approaching, one of them stepped forward to greet him.
"You're Lloyd, right? I hear you're a gifted newcomer."
"Sorry, you have the wrong person. My name is Eisenhardt."
Lloyd replied casually, took a key for Floor -2 from the bulletin board, and quickly departed.
It wasn't that he disliked them, he just didn't want to get involved.
The people left behind exchanged awkward glances before someone finally said:
"Looks like he doesn't want to know us."
"Heh. Another arrogant one. Picking Floor -2 right from the start. A bit like that Buster fellow."
"Whatever. We'll just stay out of each other's way."
"Wait... Did he just take number '211'? That one's a real handful."
"Oh? In that case, we can only wish him good luck."
......
Holding the cell key, Lloyd first located the military supply office around the corner. He handed over his ID card and applied for his execution tools.
The Military Supply Priest managing the place checked his identification and asked in surprise:
"Haven't you only been here for a few days? And you're already going down?"
"Mhm, I'm impatient."
"Suit yourself. But how did a rookie like you manage to grab a key for Floor -1?"
"I got here early."
While they were talking, the Military Supply Priest took out a dagger-style Spiritual Blade. He ran his hand slowly over the hilt, and Lloyd's name was instantly engraved upon it.
He handed the Spiritual Blade to Lloyd, adding a reminder.
"From now on, whenever you use it, it will leave your name behind. So don't use it for any other purpose."
Saying this, he also took out a pair of earplugs and a small wooden stick to bite.
"Take these, too. Rookies can always use them."
"Thank you."
After taking the equipment, Lloyd took the elevator down to Floor -2 and arrived at cell 211.
Inside was a giant snail, as large as an actual bull. Its entire body was retracted into a heavy, dark shell, and it was held in place by chains. A disgusting mucus dripped from the opening of its shell from time to time.
Dark green lines were distributed across the surface of the dark shell, forming a pattern resembling a human face. If one stared at it, the face would seem to squirm and deform, gradually taking on the features of another person, making it look exceptionally grotesque.
This was the first time he had seen this type of Demon Ghost outside of a book.
'So this is the Human-Faced Snail? Although slow-moving, it's known for its sturdy defense and potent Spiritual Contamination. The acidic mucus it secretes is extremely corrosive. It requires a special Orbit to seal the mucus secretion, and it must be executed quickly, otherwise it can easily break the Orbit...'
'During the execution, you first need to use inspiration to see through it, lock onto its acid-secreting organs, and destroy or remove them as soon as possible. This is to prevent its blood from transmuting into a powerful acid that could destroy the Orbit and harm personnel...'
Recalling the knowledge from the library, Lloyd took out his Spiritual Blade and muttered to himself:
'This thing feels a bit tricky... Its shell is hard, so I'll need to inject a large amount of Spiritual Power into the weapon to break it. I also have to destroy the acid glands quickly, otherwise its blood will spray out and turn the tables on me.'
'Plus, I need to use inspiration, but with those bizarre patterns on its shell, doing so means I'll easily suffer excessive Spiritual Contamination...'
'It's certainly not easy to deal with. No wonder this thing is a Danger Level 2 Demon Ghost, yet the bounty for executing one is as high as 3,000 Universal Coins, on par with a Danger Level 3. I've never even seen Buster choose this one...'
'By my conservative estimate, the number of humans killed by this kind of Demon Ghost could probably circle Radiant City halfway, right?'
Since the opponent's defenses were so strong, Lloyd poured half of the Spiritual Power in his body into the Spiritual Blade in one go.
The entire Spiritual Blade instantly became as dazzling as an incandescent lightbulb and began to let out a low HUM.
The name engraved on the hilt also mysteriously vanished.
'This should be enough, right?'
Lloyd flicked the blade, walked up to the Human-Faced Snail, and activated his inspiration, granting his eyes the effect of Spiritual Vision as he gazed at the dark shell.
A series of prompts immediately sounded in his ear:
[Ding~ Madness Value +2]
[Ding~ Madness Value +2]
[Ding~ Madness Value +2]
'Comfortable!'
But the creature's internal structure was so disgusting he was afraid he'd lose his appetite if he looked any longer, so Lloyd opted to strike quickly.
His Spiritual Vision locked onto three eyeball-like organs within the snail's body. The incandescent blade in his hand thrust out decisively, piercing the hard shell—strong enough to withstand a cannonball—as effortlessly as a box cutter slicing through rubber.
Then, with practiced, clean strokes, he guided the blade along the edge of the eyeball-like organs. It took him only three seconds to sever all three special organs and toss them onto the nearby workbench.
Finally, the blade pivoted, its momentum carrying it straight toward the snail's heart, which looked somewhat like a human's. It traced an elegant arc, cleanly and neatly removing the entire heart intact.
The snail died instantly, losing all vitality. The internal tissues, which resembled human muscle fibers, stopped squirming and rapidly crystallized, taking on the texture of quartz.
The entire process took five seconds, even faster than Buster would have been.
'Your defenses were strong, I'll give you that. But how were you supposed to deal with my Precise Dissection?'