A little spoiler about this part of the story

Spoiler :

This world of fog will become an important place in a much later arc because it serves as where the fragmented ruins of various worlds meet. The people who survive this process become the third group in the factions that are fighting. We have Overseers, who choose a policy of noninterference, Guides, who choose to interfere for their own gains, and the last group is one that believes that the Guides must be stopped at any cost. However, this group has been fighting the Guides for a long time and have lost most of their forces. The ones that remain are the ones who are still searching for ways and training people to fight back. The first group of which is located in the Ancient Graveyard.

The moment Garnet appeared on the other side of the silver portal, there was a quest update.

Quest Update: Land of the Dead (II)

Find a Spirit God

Reward: Experience, New Skills, New Equipment, New Spirit

The Ancient Graveyard and Akiza's Immortal Realm were one and the same. However, there was an extremely thick layer of fog that made it very difficult to see. Her vision abilities only worked on light and darkness, but this was something else. She could only see about ten feet in front of her at best. She could feel traces of mana in some directions. "If I find fog I'm in the wrong place? Everything here looks like fog to me!" she thought to herself.

Somewhere in this world were Spirit Gods or powerful objects. "Call: Cerberus!"

The spell did not work. Garnet could not call her Cerberuses. "Call: Revenant!"

That spell did not work either. "Call: Nuria!"

It did not work. None of her summoning magic was working.

"Air Bullet!" FWOOSH. That spell worked. "Water Wall!" So did that one. "Lightning Bolt!" That one worked too.

"Flight!" Garnet sprouted wings from her back. She was glad that it was not all her magic that was limited. It was just her summoning. Without a spirit to help guide her towards another spirit, Garnet was basically lost. She had nothing to help her through the fog.

There was nowhere to go but straight forward. She could at least use her enhanced senses to detect when there were indeed creatures around. They were very scattered. For now, she just had to look around and explore. Working alone was dangerous though. If you were surrounded, it would mean certain death. Without knowing the strength of the enemies, it was best to be cautious for now.

As Garnet made her way forward, she stumbled her way into trees. It was almost like a forest around here. The thick fog made it difficult to see already and now the thick foliage and trees further limited her view. She would have to rely mostly on her senses.

HOWL. The sound of a wolf could be heard off in the distance. There was certainly different kinds of life around her, but the problem was that she could not see. All she could do is move forward.

As she made it out of the forest, she carefully made her way forward, eventually stumbling upon the face of a cliff. As she looked up, all she could see was the thick white fog. It was probably best not to try to fly upwards without knowing what type of creatures filled the sky. She decided to follow the side of the cliff and use it as a reference.

Eventually, there was a cave opening in the ground. The fog did not reach this point, instead the fog remained at ground level. At least inside the cave, she could see. There were no sources of light as Garnet made her way through the cave. There were no visible creatures as well. It was empty.

Garnet opened up the Map Menu. It was here that she discovered something strange. The Map only showed the places that she had been to. It showed where she arrived, and where she was now. The rest of the map was blank. For now, she moved one of the stones Akiza gave her to her Inventory so that even if she lost the ring, it would not be a problem.

For now, the best thing to do was just keep going forward in one direction. If she got lost, the Map would be at least able to guide her, even if she could not see.

Continuing on her way, the ground changed. This time, the mountainous terrain transformed into a desert. She was now stepping on sand. At least the sand cushioned her footsteps so that she did not make as much noise.

Garnet suddenly felt something approaching her. She could not see or hear it. It was approaching very slowly. "Flight!" With her feet off the ground, she would not make any noise as she slowly moved ahead.

HISS. The sound of a snake could be heard. Garnet looked around. If it was this close, then it was surely close enough to see. She quickly turned her head around and saw nothing.

ROAR. An enormous snake leapt out of the sand towards Garnet, screaming at the top of its lungs. It was mostly black with bright red colors and very long.

Name: Crimson Snake

Level: 50

Class: Beast

Sub-Class: None

Stats: High Agility

It was low enough level for Garnet to defeat, but she had to catch it first. She continued to move, carefully trying to sense where it was. She now knew that it was going to come from underneath at least.

In the distance, the snake continued to circle around her, waiting for her to lower her guard, and then strike. However, keeping her guard up meant that the snake remained cautious, so she lowered her guard instead. She started walking again at her normal pace.

Slowly, the snake approached. Garnet could feel it approaching from behind her. She just needed to wait for the right time.

HISS. The snake made the sound again. Garnet prepared her counter attack.

ROAR. The Crimson Snake made the same sound again as it attacked. "Water Wall!" Garnet erected the wall of water between her and the snake.

The snake got caught in the Water Wall. It tried to squirm free, but it was trapped within it. The snake itself was about ten feet long. Its fangs had a few drops of venom that leaked into the water that Garnet created. "Lightning Bolt!"

The Crimson Snake squirmed in the water before it finally stopped moving. "Essence Absorption!" The snake popped and the colored mist entered Garnet's body.

Stat Increase: Agility+2

That was it. No skills. No special abilities. Just two points into agility. It was better than nothing. For now though, she needed to remain cautious. That was just one of many different creatures that were out here.

As Garnet moved out of the sand, she was now standing on solid rock of some kind. Ahead of her were numerous broken boulders. There was no flat ground to walk on anymore. She checked her Map to confirm her position. She was still making a straight line from where she started. There was no time to check how long she had been here. Since she did not feel tired at all, she decided to keep going. The faster she found a Spirit God to help her, the faster she could leave this place.

Eventually, the fog became noticeably thinner in one section. As Garnet confirmed the map, it was one spot on the map where it was thinner. That was where she headed. As she approached, her vision cleared up, allowing her to see into the distance. She crossed numerous markings drawn on the ground. The fog was not as dense here because there was some type of formation protecting it.

As the fog cleared up, Garnet realized why it was called the Ancient Graveyard. There were numerous tombstones stretched across the area. They were lined up perfectly and were well maintained. Someone or something cleaned this place up nicely. Up above, the fog surrounded the area in the shape of a dome. At the center was a single pedestal with a crystal on top of it. It was likely the device that kept the fog away. Garnet looked around and saw no one. The man was not there.

On each tombstone was a name. There were no birthdays or death dates. Despite this, there were no spirits here. It was eerily quiet. Not a single sound could be heard. It was likely that the device kept the other creatures away. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!"

Garnet marked this place so that she could have a safe place to escape to if she ran into trouble later. As she left the protection of the graveyard area, she heard the sound of creatures fighting. She caught a look at the two.

Name: Shadow Wolf

Level: 67

Class: Beast / Spirit

Sub-Class: Berserker

Stats: High Strength, High Agility

Name: Black Beetle

Level: 65

Class: Insect

Sub-Class: Defender

Stats: High Strength, High Vitality

The wolf's entire body was covered by black fur and had some scars on its body. The beetle had numerous cracks in its shell. Both looked like they were battle worn. If the two killed each other, she would have the chance to claim their bodies.

As the fight dragged on, the Shadow Wolf continued to headbutt and claw at the Black Beetle's Shell, but neither were backing down despite their injuries. The Shadow Wolf's forehead was leaking blood and the Black Beetle was leaking blood from all over its body. From the looks of it, the Shadow Wolf was going to win.

HOWL. The Shadow Wolf howled and released a powerful burst of wind at the Black Beetle.

The Black Beetle dug its head into the ground and quickly lifted it. It flung rocks towards the Shadow Wolf. BANG. The rocks smashed against the howl. As they exploded in mid-air, the rocks fell fairly close to the impact point, showing just how even the two were.

The two continued to clash, repeatedly butting their heads. That was when Garnet started to sense other things approaching. Other creatures could probably smell their blood and they wanted in on the corpse. Strangely enough, none of them came anywhere near Garnet. It was like each of them claimed their own hiding spot and awaited the results of the fight. It seemed like there would be another fight after this to see who gets to claim the spoils. But, Garnet did not need to fight. The moment one died, she just needed to use Essence Absorption and then run.

THUD. The Black Beetle collapsed onto the ground. Garnet watched as the other creatures all began to run towards the Shadow Wolf. They were going to finish off the weakened wolf and then try to claim the corpse. "Essence Absorption!"

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Stat Increase: Vitality+1

Garnet quickly took the corpse and ran. Again, no new skills. She would need to find an exceptionally strong or a unique enemy to get new skills. The most important thing though was to find a Spirit God. Everything else was just a bonus.

In the distance, a few of the creatures remained to fight while most of them fled. Without the corpse, many of them had no reason to stay anymore.

Garnet suddenly felt one of the spots with mana nearby. It was strange since it was different from normal life forms. As she approached, she saw a faint light that shone through the dense fog. It was a flower that gave off a faint blue light.

Name: Moonlight Flower

Quality: Low

Effects: None

The flower itself had no effects, which was strange since it gave off the feeling of mana. It was likely that the flower needed to be processed before it could be used. Nonetheless, it was something that could be of value. Garnet picked it up and placed it within her ring.

The flower was a very weak compared to objects imbued with mana already, but it was still something. Garnet still needed to find a spirit, but there was no way to sense them without the help of another spirit. The spirits around here were all wild beasts, not ones that she could communicate with. There was nothing she could do but keep wandering until she found her way. After all, there was at least a safe spot that she could return to if she did encounter trouble.

"Teleportation!" Garnet returned back to the graveyard area to rest and plan her next path. Going around randomly was not going to help. She needed to find a way around. She opened the map again and while it was being filled out, there just was not enough information to find out where she needed to go. Serph could be anywhere. A spirit could be hiding in any corner. There was no pattern that she could figure out. She passed by forests, deserts, and mountains.

"Where's the water?" Garnet thought. All of these locations did not have water. If someone was living here, they would definitely need water. That was going to be the key. She needed to find water. Following the water in theory should lead her to someone if they were living here. The problem was that if they used underground water, there was not going to be a river or a body of water to follow. It was going to be a slim chance, but it was her only chance at the moment.

Looking at the map, Garnet decided to head north, using the map to guide herself. She came from the west, explored a bit of the south and the east, but there was nothing there. If there was nothing else there, she would probably have to start moving around in a circle or something until she found something.

There were numerous different creatures in every direction. Some were spirits, some were not. They all took different forms of various animals. Animals like birds and wolves were rare. It was mostly large plant eating animals that gathered around the forested areas. The more trees there were around, the more creatures there were around.

THUMP. "Ow!" Garnet cried as she hit her head. There was nothing around. She reached her hand out and felt a wall, but there was nothing there. She could not see what was there, but there was definitely something there. The fog was extra thick and she could not even see past the wall in front of her. It was as if all the fog was concentrated there.

As Garnet felt around, it was definitely something solid, like a wall, but it was invisible. As she looked down on the ground, she saw the faint lines of a magic circle that still had mana flowing through it. With her hand against the wall, she began to circle around. Somewhere around here should be an opening to get through.

Garnet circled the whole area. On the ground level, there was no opening. "Flight" She began to circle it and try to feel around for an opening at higher levels. There was still nothing. It was a perfectly sealed half sphere from top to bottom. "Only one way left."

"Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. The spell exploded right in front of her as it came in contact with the invisible wall. There was not a single scratch. She tried to aim it downwards at the ground where the magic circle was. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. The dirt outside of the magic circle was blown away, but the magic circle itself and everything underneath it was still fine.

There was no way to force your way through. For now, Garnet just marked it on the Map and continued onwards. Staying here any longer would just be a waste of time.

Further north was a swamp like area. The water reached up to Garnet's waist if she stood up in it. There were grasses and trees growing out of the water, but there was no way to see what was actually in the water. "Flight!" Garnet carefully floated above the water, keep an eye out for anything. She did not want to be surprised by something like the snake again.

There were signs of life in the water and in the trees around her, but they were not aggressive. Garnet simply floated on by and they ignored her. It was strange that there were so many different environments so close to one another. Usually, these differences would be at least hundreds of kilometers apart.

There was suddenly an usual feeling. There was a spot that felt like it was devoid of anything and was trying to pull her in. If it was a source of mana, she could feel the energy being released by it. Here, it was like something was trying to drain her energy. Slowly and carefully, Garnet followed it. The wildlife of the area reduced in the number the closer she got to it. When she arrived, there was almost no life at all. It was dead silence. At the center, was a small stone building with a stone door. There was a single stone bridge connecting it to somewhere outside of the swamp.

"Teleportation Summoning Circle!" Garnet laid down a teleportation spot before she approached the building.

The door was inscribed with a message:

During the darkest of days,

The great tyrant will return.

The colored sky will fall down,

Then the brightest moon shall rise.

Beware of the false bearers,

For they only bring darkness.

Only those who can unite,

Can face the Tyrant of Night.

The message was too cryptic to understand. There was no context. "What's the point of leaving a message that no one can understand?" she thought.

As she pushed the door, it moved once she applied a bit of strength. There was no seal. It just seemed like the hinges of the door were stuck. There were skeletons in view already. Some were of people, others were of animals. The moment she entered, her mana was being drained. Her regeneration was more than enough to offset the loss, but something here was draining everything in the surrounding area and feeding it towards something.

There was only a single path forward, and it was stairs that led downwards. Some of the path was broken, but the parts that remained were still very solid. The building was not made up of any normal stone. The stones were filled with mana even though it had probably been neglected for years. The mana then acted as a shield, protecting them from damage. The mana from nearby was flowing into the stones and then the stones directed it elsewhere, acting as a conduit. As long as she followed the flow of mana, she should be able to find whatever is draining it.

Much to Garnet's surprise, there were no living creatures. She was certain that there would be some powerful guardian or something here. Instead, it was just a single long corridor. As Garnet stepped forward, the ground lit up. The faint blue light flowed from her footstep to the side of the wall and then down the corridor. Each step she took drained part of her mana, feeding it towards something.

When Garnet reached the end of the hallway, there was only a single room with a single crystal clear coffin in it. Inside the coffin was a skeleton dressed in a green and white robe. This was a tomb of some kind. She looked around and saw nothing. The skeleton was there in the coffin with a sword that was held by both hands. If this person had become a spirit, they were probably long gone as well. Even though nearby mana flowed through to feed the skeleton, that did not seem to be where all the mana was going.

Garnet started to look around. If something here was absorbing mana, then it should be very rich in power from all the time it spent accumulating mana. Garnet ran around a bit, watching the movement of the mana. It was not going to the base of the coffin, instead, it was going to something just behind the coffin. Slowly and carefully, she looked around the back of it, being careful not to move or touch the coffin just in case doing so would trigger some kind of trap.

There was a crystal embroidered with gold. All of the mana that was gathered from nearby was flowing into it.

Name: Crystal Core

Quality: Mythical

Effect: 938574/100000000 Mana

There was nearly a million points of mana on it and it could store a hundred million. Garnet carefully removed and placed it in her Inventory. With a million points of mana, she could do a lot, namely upgrade her summons further since her Ring of Mana was very slow to accumulate large amounts of mana.

Garnet removed the Crystal Core from its slot and put it in her Inventory. It was not a spirit or the person that she was looking for, but it was still something. As she headed out, she closed the door to the tomb. It would be bad if something got in and destroyed the body. As she did so, she looked at the message once more. It sounded like a warning of some kind, but she could not make sense of what it was referring to. It could have different meanings, but it was a warning of some kind for sure.

There was no quest for it either. Garnet was certain that there would have been a quest that would help her, but there was nothing. For now though, she had to continue to try to find a spirit that could guide her to other spirits. Without one, she was just wandering around lost in the fog.

Garnet continued her way north. Her ability to sense mana was the best guide that she had under this fog.

Spoiler :

No status change