Reincarnated As A Dragon With Cheats-Chapter 20: Graveyard Of Memories(3)

Chapter 20: Graveyard of Memories (3)

Pebbles did not care much about the human. To him, it was just another race to be devoured.

But he did question the brutality of the scene.

The girl who had been screaming for help had fallen silent. Only the bubbling of the murky liquid could be heard now.

Pebbles sat down with his legs crossed.

"I will be the first to taste."

The fat Graver stared at Pebbles with empty eyes.

"No. Me first!"

"It is me."

"No! Me!"

The two argued back and forth, unable to reach a conclusion.

The Graver with the hat floated forward.

"Why do you not compete?" he suggested calmly.

One of Pebbles’ eyes widened.

"What are we competing on?"

The question itself hinted that he had accepted the challenge.

"Simple. You will both race to that door and return to this spot."

The hat Graver reached down and pulled out a long white bone from the soil beneath him. It slid out too easily.

It was not a branch.

It was quite smooth and polished.

It was a femur.

Holding it casually, he drew a straight line on the ground.

"This is the starting line."

Pebbles and the Fatty positioned themselves behind it.

Pebbles did not know whether he was faster than the Fatty, but he could run.

So he agreed.

"Alright. Let us do it."

The Graver with the hat floated in front of them.

"The moment my hat touches the ground, the race begins."

He removed his hat and held it delicately with his fingerless limb.

Then he flipped it upside down.

And let go.

The hat started to float for a bit or two but then soon touched the ground.

And the moment it did...

They vanished.

Ding!

[You have used the skill Run Lv.2]

Pebbles burst forward as his claws dug into the soil.

In floor 1, the terrain was rather smooth with the exception of quite some rocks and elevated surface.

But here, at every step, the terrain felt different. It was too uneven. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Pebbles thought internally that this uneven surface was not randomly uneven.

Even two steps would be fine but the third would be raised a bit.

Pebbles wanted to give props to the architect who had designed this floor... except, he thought it could have also been naturally formed over a long time.

Regardless, he now focused on running. And...

As he ran, something cracked beneath his foot.

He glanced down briefly and then he noticed...

A skull.

There was a skull half buried in the soil.

Its eye sockets filled with gray dust.

Interesting he thought but he didn’t stop. But with another step...

A ribcage.

Flattened into the ground like fossilized remains.

The earth was not soil.

It was layered bone fragments.

It was only then he had realized that, especially when he could see many more bones.

Fragments of jaw.

Finger bones.

Shattered vertebrae.

Some still had thin strips of dried sinew clinging to them.

The smell intensified as he moved.

Rot.

Burnt marrow.

Pebbles had somewhat pinpointed the source of the pungent smell.

Old blood long absorbed into ash colored dirt along with many dead tissues that seemed to decay in the vast soil was the source.

Pebbles covered his nostrils with his claws, or at least he tried to...

But in the process, he lost a tiny bit of focus.

Pebbles almost slipped when his claws struck something round.

A skull rolled slightly before settling back into place.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed tombstones trembling faintly as he passed the bones.

He was much more confused now. He had turned his head back, just a bit... but then he tripped and fell.

As he raised his head frkm the soil, he noticed the Fatty touching the door.

Its bubbly body glided effortlessly over the terrain, as if the ground did not resist it.

Pebbles pushed harder. He instantly pulled himself up and begun his run again.

He was breathing deep.

Then short.

His claws scraped skulls...

He almost fell twice when a sunken grave collapsed slightly beneath his weight.

The ground here was hollow.

By the time Pebbles reached the stone door and touched it...

The Fatty was already crossing the starting line.

He had won.

The other Gravers bobbed excitedly.

Nightstone watched silently.

There was a faint hint of disappointment in her eyes.

But it was fine.

A feast was a feast.

What did it matter who went first?

"..."

It mattered.

Pebbles slowed down.

Huffing.

Puffing.

He walked back across the uneven terrain.

But this time, he had noticed something.

He couldn’t believe his eyes... especially thr scene that he was seeing.

He raised his gaze and looked towards the starting line and there, the Gravers were celebrating.

Some of them were tossing the fatty to the air who was purposely coming back down only to be tossed back up.

His gaze met Nightstone who supposedly made a thumbsup pose with her legs.

Pebbles didn’t react.

He was breaking a sweat at the moment!

He retracted his eyes and finally looked at him...

The Graver with Hat who had a dead serious look on his face.

And he gave a simple nod...

It was just a bob of his head but Pebbles could understand rhat it was a nod.

He gulped a large chunk of saliva and nodded back as he lowered his gaze again to look at the notification displayed by the screen.

[You have discovered the hidden entrance to the fourth floor.]

[Notice: Mission has been triggered.]

[Dungeon specific Mission]

[-> Kill the fourth floor Boss.]

[Description: The fourth floor Boss is responsible for the ritual that has turned living beings into Ghost Puppets. The act is heinous and the dungeon is upset! As the Child Of Endings, its your responsibility to end the sufferings of the Gravers.]

[Reward: +5 levels; +10 stat points; +1 Health Potion(C)]

Somehow and somewhere, Pebbles had realized that maybe the Hat Graver had wanted him to stumble upon this area.

Pebbles bent slowly and dug a bit of soil with his claws, only to find four skulls placed equidistant from each other in a circular manner.

In between, there was a small metallic lid which seemed movable.

Pebbles put a little force and was about to push it.

The moment a little gap formed, Pebbles gasped due to the enormous pungent odour thay escaped.

It almost burnt his nostrils!

Pebbles covered his nose and then jumped into the hole.

Ding!

[You have entered the Fourth Floor.]

Ding!

[The fourth floor Boss, Grave Shaman Lv.25, has detected your presence.]

[Advice: Run]

"..."