In a monochrome, misty cemetery of dead trees and the damned, a gravestone positioned right beside a dead tree moved to the side.

Daru, after opening his "door", exited the root hollow and stretched for a while.

The winds were as chilly and forlorn as ever, but they gave him a strange sense of serenity.

"Ahh…that was a good rest…" he muttered with a faint smile, looking around in the next moment.

He noticed that there was an approaching Ashen Cleaner to his left.

A strong, pallid, unholy wraith determined to "clean" the area of unwanted elements like Daru, approaching him just a few dozen moments after waking up.

'What a wonderful start to the day…' he mused, proceeding to summon his tachi.

Daru then engaged the Ashen Cleaner in a fierce battle, defeating it after less than three minutes of a high-intensity series of exchanges.

"Poor little Georgie shouldn't have extended his little arm…"

Those were the contents of the Wretched Soulslip he obtained this time.

Since the strange, random bits of information mysteriously didn't take up any space in his memory yet would remain there firmly, there was no harm in using all of the slips.

His plan remained the same: wander the cemetery, grind for levels, see what he could find, and learn random bits of information from Wretched Soulslips.

At least this would be his strategy for the next few days, or maybe even weeks, until he obtained a hint about what to do next or grew strong enough to forcefully seek one for himself.

In any case, time wasn't a cause for concern.

He could take as much time as he needed.

After all, he was somehow not bound by the six-hour restriction here, plus no one was waiting for or needed him on the other side.

At least that's what he believed in his subconscious.

So, after looking around, Daru went deeper into the cemetery to wander while grinding levels.

He was curious about a lot of things.

What was the armored wraith planning to do with the Lost Damnedling?

What sort of otherworldly items can he obtain in this location, what Swordspawns dwelled here, and many more.

Unfortunately, in his first hour, all he encountered were Ashen Cleaners patrolling the cemetery.

Nothing but dead trees and gravestones aside from them.

Daru continued walking, marking the ground with huge X marks — the same way he did in Cryzhar's Labyrinth — so he could return to the safety of his hollow whenever needed.

He didn't trust his internal compass one bit and could only rely on this method.

In the next dozen minutes, he encountered and defeated another Ashen Cleaner, filling his experience bar to a little over half.

Only a few more minutes after that did he hear something other than the sifting of his own footsteps, the distant howl of the river, and the occasional sound of broomsticks scraping across ash.

'Digging?'

Daru's brows curved in interest, and he quickly approached the source.

He was in a cemetery, after all, so such noises weren't out of place.

The digging sound grew louder and louder as the distance closed, and soon, peering from behind a dead tree some distance away, Daru's eyes narrowed.

Before him was a hulking monstrosity whose head was hidden by a massive sack, locked and tied around its neck.

Its muscles bursting out of its dull black skin looked almost similar to that of Rocante's if not for the abomination's slightly shorter stature.

With its massive shovel, it dug, and dug, and dug even more. Deeper and deeper into the ashen ground, seemingly not caring about doing anything else.

==

Burdened Gravedigger Lv. 50

HP: 30,000 / 30,000

==

'What a tough spawn…' Daru smiled in appreciation, watching as the Burdened Gravedigger continued digging.

A minute later, he heard another sound, but since it was coming from the other side of the digging abomination, he didn't have to change hiding spots.

All Daru did was wait and watch.

Then it emerged from the eerie mist — first in the form of a silhouette, then in its entirety: the familiar scene of an elite, Accursed Soulcatcher, cackling in defiled glee as it gripped a fiercely struggling Lost Damnedling by the neck.

The armored wraith then approached the Burdened Gravedigger, or rather, the grave it was digging, seemingly waiting.

So, Daru waited, too.

He already had an idea what would happen to the Lost Damnedling, but he wanted to see it with his own eyes.

The idle wait turned out to be unbelievably long — almost an hour — before the Condemned Soulcatcher hurled the hunching abomination into the grave.

Then, right before his eyes, the Burdened Gravedigger stepped on the Lost Damnedling, pinning the smaller abomination firmly beneath its foot.

The digger then began scooping up the condensed ash, masterfully burying the poor Damnedling.

The latter's struggles became weaker and weaker.

A few more minutes later, only the sounds of backfilling echoed in the mist.

The Accursed Soulcatcher, seemingly watching in satisfaction, left another dozen seconds later, perhaps to catch more Lost Damnedlings.

Meanwhile, the Burdened Gravedigger stared at its work — at least that's what it seemed to be doing, since no one can say for sure where it was looking beneath the unsettling sack tied over its head.

The hulking digger then retrieved an empty gravestone, embedded it in the appropriate location, and waited.

Soon, to Daru's astonishment, a name written in eerie font with something black that resembled dried blood slowly manifested on the slab of finality: William Von Wilson.

'Well, that…is not good, is it?'

Hateful as the Lost Damnedlings were, he didn't like that they were being buried alive against their will, though a strangely satisfying scene played and fleeted in his mind: the specific abomination that prevented him from leaving suffering the same fate.

Daru shook his head with a shadow of a smile he couldn't suppress.

Only then did he shift his attention to the Burdened Gravedigger, noticing that its digging tool was actually a strange, wide greatsword and not exactly a shovel.

In any case, he was curious as to what he could obtain from the abomination.

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