Orion and his friends emerged from the narrow exit, greeted by a cold breeze carrying a strange odor. As soon as the last of them stepped out, the exit collapsed behind them as if it had never existed. However, the trio paid no attention to its disappearance—their gazes were fixed on the breathtaking scene before them.
They stood atop what seemed to be a high hill, granting them a clear panoramic view of the surrounding area. The sky was a pale gray, stretching overhead like a leaden sheet. The ground was blanketed with grass, plants, and trees, all equally dull gray, as though color had been stripped from this world. Even the air was shrouded in a thin gray mist, evoking a sense of melancholy and mystery.
Yet what truly caught their attention lay within sight below: a city encircled by a towering, massive black wall, resembling a thick belt. The city appeared to be a fortified sanctuary within this gray world.
The trio exchanged silent glances, attempting to process what they were seeing. Finally, Kai broke the silence: "Well, with so many participants, there must be millions of cities like this—if not more."
Liana nodded in agreement. "True. But what struck me is that this is the 'Second Floor.' Does that mean there are many other floors?"
Orion replied calmly, his eyes still fixed on the city: "We won't find answers by standing here. Let's start by exploring this city."
Kai and Liana nodded again, and the trio began moving slowly toward the distant city below. After half an hour of trekking across gray hills, they finally arrived before the city's massive gate. Strangely, they encountered no corrupted beasts along the way.
Upon entering the open gate, they faced a group of guards clad in simple armor and carrying spears, who were lazily guarding the entrance. One stepped forward and asked sternly, "Identify yourselves, your city of origin, and your purpose here."
Orion responded with calm confidence: "I am Orion Terra, and these are Kai Nova and Liana Weaver. We arrived in this strange world days ago and descended a staircase until we reached here."
Hearing this, the guard captain immediately dropped his wariness and replied dismissively, "Oh, newcomers. Head to the reception office—it's two buildings ahead." He pointed toward a plain stone structure inside the city.
Orion's eyes narrowed briefly at the bureaucratic tone but he nodded calmly and led the way. As they entered the city, they saw paved streets and buildings of varied geometric shapes—some gray stone, others constructed from stranger materials. People of diverse races and ages went about their daily lives: children playing, merchants hawking goods, elders strolling slowly. The scene resembled an ordinary medieval city, albeit washed in gray.
Reaching the reception office—marked by a sign reading "Reception"—they approached a woman behind an old wooden desk reviewing papers.
"Hello. The gate guard told us to come here," Orion said politely.
The woman looked up with a faint smile. "Ah, newcomers. Welcome to Khanka City. Please scan the crystal with your smart chips. It will register you and upload a file with all necessary information." She gestured to a small white crystal on the desk.
The trio scanned the crystal. Instantly, a file titled **[The Forgotten's graveyard]** appeared on their chips. They exchanged surprised glances at the ominous name but silently agreed to read it later. After thanking the woman, they exited and settled onto a stone bench in the square.
"Did you notice?" Orion asked quietly, his eyes scanning passersby.
"Notice what?" Kai replied curiously.
"First, many here aren't sixteen—there are elders, even infants. This place doesn't follow Pandemon Planet's rules. Second, we encountered no corrupted beasts on our way here."
A discussion ensued, filled with questions and theories about this world's nature. Was it a hidden realm? Why were there no corrupted beasts on the Second Floor? What was this place's purpose?
Then a conversation ensued between the trio, full of questions and hypotheses about the nature of this world. Was this world a secret world? Why haven't there been any corrupted beasts since they descended to the second floor? What is the purpose of this place?
Finally, they decided that the best way to get answers was to explore the file that had been downloaded to their smart chips: [The Forgotten's Graveyard].
"Alright, we can't keep speculating forever. Let's read this file and see if it provides us with any useful information," Orion said calmly, opening the file on his chip.
Kai and Liana nodded in agreement, and they began reading the information that appeared on their small screens. The file was long and complex, filled with history, geography, and information related to this world. But the more they read, the more confused they became. It seemed that over time, the world had developed a complex social system, with its own laws and traditions, and it didn't seem to be related in any way to the world of Pandemonium they knew.
"This is really strange," Liana said, rereading a paragraph describing the history of the Graveyard of the Forgotten. "It seems this world has existed for centuries, and it has its own history. [The Forgotten's Graveyard] is a really fitting name." Orion and Kai nodded in agreement.
[The Forgotten's Graveyard] is a strange world that people entered many centuries ago, the duration of which is unknown, by touching a giant tree, a pyramid, a large lake, etc. The forms of the gates varied, as Orion initially stated, but that wasn't the important thing. The important thing was what was inside the Graveyard of the Forgotten, which consisted of nearly a hundred floors, each floor filled with many powerful and diverse treasures. But with the rewards came difficulties, as each floor was nothing more than a nest of corrupted beasts. Fortunately, there are no corrupted beasts above the River Rank, and unfortunately, people here cannot break through to the Flood Rank. In this world, there is no farming in the usual way because the mana in the Graveyard of the Forgotten is corrupted; if you farm with it, it will turn into a corrupted beast. Therefore, it seems there is a system in the Graveyard of the Forgotten that makes you increase your cultivation automatically whenever you kill corrupted beasts, exactly as happened with the trio when they killed waves of corrupted beasts, and a wave of mana attacked them, gathering in their mana cores. However, when people reach the late stage of the River Rank, they no longer receive any mana waves when they kill corrupted beasts, so no one has reached the Flood Rank. Currently, the inhabitants of the Graveyard of the Forgotten have reached the 69th floor, where every ten floors there is a challenge that a certain number of people must clear. On the 10th floor, the number was 9, on the 20th floor, the number was 9, on the 30th floor, the number was 8, and so on. The number continued to decrease until it reached 3 on the 70th floor, which was almost impossible. Unfortunately, all the people who tried never returned.
Orion read and analyzed all the information in the file. He learned the names of all the strongest forces, factions, and alliances in the Graveyard of the Forgotten. Despite the fact that all the people want to leave this place, this didn't prevent conflicts and wars between the people themselves. There were even racist factions against certain races or against any race that wasn't their own.
After the trio read the file, they looked at each other and began discussing their next Move."
After absorbing the information, the trio debated their next steps. Orion concluded, "We need to grow stronger. Let's clear floors, gather resources, and uncover escape routes. But first, rest. Tomorrow, we face the Third Floor."
Kai grinned. "Finally, some action!"
Liana added gravely, "Stay vigilant. This world's rules are unpredictable."
The trio decided to camp together outside the city and sleap because of course they will be safe when an army of shadows protecting them all the night.
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As night fell, Orion gazed at the gray sky, pondering the file's final line: *"The graveyard buries not the dead, but also the alives."*
Author's Note "Hello again ,Excuse me for no chapters during the week but don't worry a strong comeback is coming🔥.