"Nah, I'd win…said young Jojo before losing the most spectacular battle of his life and being consumed by eternal regret after his defeat."

Daru took a deep breath, satisfied after ending yet another Ashen Cleaner, despite the rather useless information he obtained in the [Wretched Soulslip].

Rarely was there useful information in them, anyway.

He had been carefully advancing after the previous, strange encounter with three Soulcatchers, a small part of his mind occupied by the thought of what the elites were doing back there.

Aside from this, the location of Nando's grave turned out to be ridiculously far.

It seemed that the cemetery was way vaster than what the journals obtained from the Burdened Gravediggers suggested, or the discrepancy between his expectations and the reality could also be brought about by the fact that he simply had not gathered enough to form an accurate mental map.

In any case, it wouldn't be a mere one-day trip. Not with his current cautious pace.

'Ah…maybe I need to look for and prepare more resting spots?' Daru mused as he resumed his advance.

Throughout the day, he simply continued hunting Ashen Cleaners and Twisted Custodians.

The cemetery staff was far from being as numerous as the Lost Damnedlings, and even less when compared to regular Swordspawns roaming the Crystal Hollows.

This was why the total number of his kills was far fewer in the monochrome world compared to those in Valmaris.

However, the experience points he gained were at least triple, sometimes quadruple of what he would earn in six hours in the Crystal Hollows.

The quality of the battles here was also far higher.

If there was a downside, it was that his opponents looked repulsive and unsettling, though Daru didn't mind their appearance much, believing that getting used to standing face to face with such horrors would only further improve his combat skills.

He was actually pretty content with his situation, perverse in its own way as his feelings were.

It was just that he was worried about a few things in Neo-Earth, first and foremost of which were his classes.

He didn't know if he would be exempted from the assignments and assessments because of his situation. There was also a chance he would be marked as failed due to absences.

He would still graduate, though, just with failed marks, which meant that renowned guilds would be less willing to take him.

'Ah...but does it even matter?'

Daru doesn't plan on joining a guild, at least not in the near future.

In fact, he was more inclined to become a mercenary for the world government right now, and since they seemed more than willing to accept him should he decide to commit full-time…

Daru shrugged, dismissing his worries.

Renting property was extremely expensive compared to food, for some reason he was yet to learn, but it didn't seem like he would go homeless or starve for the first few months after graduating.

That was enough.

'I'd better save money while my lodging is still free…' he mused, crossing the ashen expanse of dead trees and gravestones.

Then he sighed.

Daru was finding the thought of purchasing a hoverboard more and more attractive lately, as it would save him a lot of time traveling and give him more time to train or do more important things.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he would be able to purchase one anytime soon…

'Oh, a custodian…'

***

A few more hours later, Daru began to feel exhausted and sleepy.

It was probably already nighttime in Neo-Earth. He needed to find a suitable spot where he could rest.

There were a lot of trees around, so it wasn't too difficult for him to find a trunk hollow, this one wonderfully elevated.

The entrance was narrow, and the inside was a bit cramped.

However, it was the best resting spot he had found in the monochrome world.

Daru hopped in and entered.

He was truly a bit tired, and so, drifting aslumber wasn't too much of a problem. But before oblivion could embrace him, he heard strange noises.

Daru carefully peered out of the hollow, easily noticing the squadron of Accursed Soulcatchers looking around.

They marched towards the direction he came from, seemingly talking in unholy tongues.

He couldn't understand what they were saying.

Soon, they were gone, swallowed by the eerie mist. Daru laid back down and fell asleep not long after.

He was someone who very rarely dreamed, though he also remembered every single one of them in extreme detail.

It was as though he were always there in person.

The temperature, the smell, the entire sequence of events, he remembered all of them vividly.

His last one had been around two months ago, before the Sword Awakening Ceremony, about a golden-haired hero and a silver princess battling hordes of dark-purple abominations.

The two were mighty, and their figures had been added to the list of those he admired.

He wanted to be as valiant as the contrasting duo.

Tonight, Daru dreamed again, this time about an earthquake. He was resting peacefully when, suddenly, the world began shaking.

It was quite gentle at first, until the quaking increased in intensity.

Slowly but consistently, it grew stronger, and stronger…and stronger still.

Until the ground parted, and he slid into a massive fissure and fell.

Then Daru woke up.

Dreams were supposed to be just that — dreams. But this one was unusually realistic, and the sensation of falling continued

…because he was falling, or rather, the tree he was in was falling to the side.

*BANG!*

Ashen powder thickened the mist as the dead tree Daru was resting in fell, making his world shake even more violently, a red damage value floating above him after hitting his head on the hollow's dead walls.

"Aihh…" he groaned in slight dizziness, peering out of the hollow in utter displeasure — brows furrowed deeply and all.

He still hadn't made sense of the situation.

But then, the moment he realized what was going on, he froze, scanning his eyes over the four Soulcatchers staring at him, seemingly just as dumbfounded despite lacking facial features.

"Oh…it wasn't a dream?"

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