Chapter 331 - 307: This Place Is Highly Malleable

Chapter 331: Chapter 307: This Place Is Highly Malleable

Although Lloyd was a bit confused, he still replied truthfully to Professor Hazled:

"Yeah, I was studying pretty hard yesterday, and I lost track of time. It ended up being over eight hours."

There was a two or three-second silence on the other end before he replied:

"I knew I shouldn’t have handed you over to that old scoundrel Lawrence. He can’t even get basic safety precautions right. You should just focus on studying with me instead of wasting your youth following him."

Seeing that the two of them were about to start fighting again, Lloyd quickly tried to play peacemaker:

"No, no, no, Professor Lawrence did warn me. He even lent me a very useful piece of equipment. I just got too absorbed in my studies. Um... I’m always like that, so it’s really not Professor Lawrence’s fault."

"Fine... It’s inconvenient to talk like this. Come over to my place today. We’ll run some tests and a check-up."

Professor Hazled replied with one last message.

’So I’m supposed to study with each professor on alternate days?’

Lloyd scratched his head, quickly made something to eat, and then said to the little kitten:

"The place I’m going today is a little weird, so you shouldn’t come along. Be a good girl and watch the house. If you get bored, you can go out for a walk... Oh, and I’ve set out some food for you. If I’m not back by noon, just go ahead and eat."

"Meow!"

The little kitten meowed in response, then turned its head to look at the lunch Lloyd had set aside for it.

’It was the eggplant from yesterday that it couldn’t even gnaw on...’

"Meeeoow?"

The little kitten wanted to grab Lloyd and demand an explanation, but he was already long gone.

.........

Lloyd followed the same procedure as last time, first teleporting to the Extraordinary System’s school district, then walking to the farthest corner where he found the exceptionally dilapidated tower.

’There were still spiderwebs hanging in front of the door. No one ever cleans them...’

’Compared to the dreamlike environment of the Space System, the conditions here were a little...’

In the end, Lloyd took it upon himself to clear away the spiderwebs before walking into the tower.

Once inside, the general style seemed more normal. The layout was similar to any other Magic Tower, with a comparable footprint and rooms of various sizes, but there wasn’t a single soul in sight...

’Plus, everything was filthy and chaotic, and the light was exceptionally dim. It didn’t look like anyone was around at all. Maybe it’s been completely abandoned?’

Lloyd couldn’t help but wonder, ’Could it be that the entire Twisted System consists of just me and Professor Hazled?’

’Well... that might be a good thing. It’s quiet, malleable... you can pretty much do whatever you want...’

Lloyd could only try to look on the bright side.

Just then, he heard Professor Hazled’s voice in his ear again:

"You’re here? Take a look around and get familiar with the place, then come on up. Hmm... I’m not sure if the elevator is still working. You could give it a try."

Lloyd felt a headache coming on...

’What’s there to get familiar with in this place?’

However, as a young man with a background in civil engineering, he at least knew what to do. He started searching on the first floor and eventually spotted the words "Power Distribution Room" on a rusty door.

He pushed the door open, enduring a face full of spiderwebs and a cloud of dust, and inspected the distribution panel. Then, he tried flipping the main breaker.

As a result, he immediately heard the sound of an exhaust fan starting up, accompanied by a series of CRACKLES and POPS from the hallway outside. A few lights flickered on, while several others just blinked erratically, making the already dim corridor even eerier...

’Why doesn’t Professor Hazled ever get anyone to fix this place?’

Lloyd grumbled to himself before making his way to the elevator shaft and trying to operate it.

With the GRINDING and CREAKING of gears, the elevator got stuck on the fifth floor...

Lloyd could only purse his lips in resignation and head for the nearby stairs.

At first, he was patient enough to look around on each floor, treating it as a chance to get familiar with his surroundings.

After climbing two or three floors, however, he found that the rooms were either empty or just filthy, chaotic, and abandoned.

Even more bizarrely, a few rooms had large, grayish-black stains and piles of unnamable remains, making him wonder if some terrible tragedy had once happened here.

’They’re not going to make me clean this up myself, are they?’

A shiver ran down Lloyd’s spine. He lost all patience for exploring and just climbed the rest of the way in one go, all the way to the top—the thirteenth floor, where he had met Professor Hazled last time.

The environment here was exactly the same as the scene he’d witnessed last time: an empty balcony overlooking a dead, desolate, apocalyptic landscape in the distance, with a hazy gray sky and a crimson blood moon above.

Last time, however, Lloyd hadn’t actually been here. That was just a sensory illusion Professor Hazled had created for him using the power of [Twist].

But since the real view was the same, it meant Professor Hazled had been relatively ’honest’ and hadn’t tried to pretty up the place.

Of course, this also made Lloyd realize that Professor Hazled’s mastery of [Twist] must be far, far greater than his own...

’In any case, I still can’t perform such a precise [Twist]. My ability to interfere with others’ perceptions is still just a vague influence; I can’t [Twist] a real scene and project it into someone’s mind like this.’

Just then, Lloyd heard the professor’s voice in his ear again:

"You’ve arrived? Do you need me to reveal myself? I can take on a form you find more... acceptable."

"Huh? No, that’s not necessary. This is fine."

Lloyd replied hurriedly.

’Ever since their last meeting, he’d suspected the professor’s true form wasn’t human. The illusion he conjured kept flickering under the influence of the *Book of Truth*, which was incredibly creepy to watch...’

’It’s better if he just doesn’t appear. That way, it feels a bit like having one of those ’wise old mentors in a ring,’ which is more my speed.’

"Hmm, find a place to sit. Er... it seems there aren’t any tables or chairs up here. Hold on a second."

Professor Hazled said, sounding a bit embarrassed.

But just two or three minutes later, Lloyd heard a commotion from the stairwell behind him. He then saw a pile of tables, chairs, and benches come hopping and skipping onto the rooftop, as if they had come to life.

"This... is this also the power of [Twist]?"

Lloyd’s eyes widened in astonishment.

"No, this is the power of [Manifestation]. My own dabbling in [Twist] isn’t actually that deep. Otherwise, that traitor Eske Mir wouldn’t have escaped so easily."