The atmosphere in the Graveyard of Ashes is extremely oppressive, and there is nothing but desolation everywhere.

Countless coffins are scattered across the line, and countless tombstones are layered on both sides of the road, and huge branches and trees are wrapped around them.

This time it was not as easy as the last time, and the same section of the road only took ten or twenty minutes to walk carefully, and this time it took the man a full hour to finally get out of the cemetery.

First, because last time they were a team, there were a lot of people, and no matter how carefully they explored, the speed was faster than that of him alone.

The second reason is that there was nothing last time, and the ash graveyard only had a set, no enemies, not to mention living corpses everywhere like now.

Men are now alone, and it is naturally impossible for them to be so easy and pleasant to cross such a map.

As it turned out, his caution was correct, and even if the speed of pushing the image was slow, at least it was better to be safe...... Besides, even if he was so cautious, he almost died.

Just one inattention, attracting three living corpses-

The two who rushed over to split their heads and cover the face came up with a set of chaotic wind splitting knife techniques, and the other used a flaming crossbow arrow to contain it from a distance.

Just a moment, the man felt like he was dead......

At that time, he almost only had a trace of blood skin left, and he was crazy about adrenaline, and he instantly exerted extraordinary, narrowly killing the last living corpse with crossbow arrows...... If he delays for a second and lets the other person shoot another crossbow arrow, his people will be gone.

Afterwards, more than ten minutes passed, and after pouring the potion to restore the lost health, he was still trembling, his brain was blank, and he sat in place and gasped for a long time.

People who have not experienced it can't imagine the horror of that moment-

He even felt that he had smelled a foul smell of death at that time.

And he has checked the body that is suspected to be his teammate, and it is indeed his teammate, but he doesn't know why he appeared here before him, and he was hacked to death with a knife...... Maybe it's because the other person fell asleep earlier than you?

But even if you die, you shouldn't leave a corpse, and the essence of SAO is still a game after all. Although the result of the player's death is cruel, there will be no corpse left behind, and it will only be gone.

Could it be because of the special nature of this "hidden map", after all, even teleportation items are limited in use......

No, it's not! When pigs fly! It must be because all this is my own dream! Otherwise, there is no way to explain such a thing!

This captain can only force himself to believe in this way at present, because only in this way can he bear it, and he will not be distraught by the tragic death of his teammates and the pressure of the current situation-

If that's the case, I'm afraid he won't even have the courage to go on.

The man actually wanted to escape, but this time he didn't know how he got into this "hidden map".

It probably won't say that you can go back to the second floor of Ayn Grant through the white mist as it is...... And this time, he didn't even see the white mist.

Could it be that you came here in your sleep, and if you fall asleep here, you will go back to the original place?

What are you kidding, isn't it completely clear which side is the dream?

What's more, although the technical level represented by NERvGear is quite high, it is indeed a considerable degree of black technology to be able to achieve the requirement of "complete stealth". However, the degree of blackness is still understandable, and it has not reached the level where it can completely manipulate and exploit the mechanism of human consciousness.

At least everyone's dreams are free, and dreams within dreams are absolutely uncontrollable, and there is no reason why they could somehow become part of the game mechanics of Ayn Grant.

So the captain didn't think about such a possibility at all.

He just thought that if he went in the opposite direction, he should be able to leave the Ashes Graveyard as well.

But it was also an unfamiliar place for him, and he didn't know where he would go or what he would encounter, so it was better to follow the direction that he had explored before!

The ash graveyard covers a large area, but a large number of living corpses roam around irregularly, so that the captain does not dare to explore deeply alone...... If you see two or more living corpses together on a road, if you have the choice, you will take a detour.

The previous time he provoked three living corpses, and the lesson that was almost planted like this made him cowardly.

And the resources he carried, whether it was food or medicine, made him understand that he had to make a choice.

Speaking of which, SAO does cure the obsessive-compulsive disorder that many RPG players have.

For example, if there are unexplored areas on the map, they will never give up, and no room or chest can escape their search.

Everywhere I went, I turned over the boxes and cabinets, and everywhere I went, there was no grass.

But in this game of death, this obsessive-compulsive disorder must be cured. After all, at present, players have only attacked the second layer, and they are attacking the third layer, and there is a danger of death at any time.

The level is not enough to crush the monsters, the attributes are not enough to run amok, the equipment is not enough to swords and fires, and even the slots in the inventory are mostly empty......

It can be said that the vast majority of talents have just reached the level of self-sufficiency, and the resources obtained can support the cost of food, clothing, housing and transportation, and it is very difficult to squeeze out the resources to improve their own capabilities and strengthen equipment from them.

Not to mention that you can be so extravagant that the inventory is completely insufficient, and there are many things to consider and throw away some props and the like.

The man didn't have many bottles with him for the low-level healing potions, and he wasn't sure he could finish all the maps, so he was only able to make his goals clear from the start.

That's right – go straight through the Graveyard of Ashes and keep walking to see if you can find a real way out.

Through the gap between the two peaks of the canyon, the man was once again outside the ash graveyard.

On the other side of the road ahead, there is a cliff shrouded in clouds and mist, as if there is an abyss below.

In the distance, there are mountains covered with snow, which look white and holy in the sun, and on the nearest peak, you can see the magnificent gables, towers, and palaces built on the mountain, like a majestic old castle.

Some have collapsed, and some are still intact.

But those wonders still retain their grandeur after decay, and both in breadth and height are inexplicable.

“……”

“……”

Standing on the edge of the cliff and staring for a long time, the man let out a long sigh, gritted his teeth and continued along the side of the mountain road.

They'd been here before, and they had no trouble navigating the way, and they hadn't seen any monsters.

But because everyone's state was really bad at that time, and after another day of brushing the monster, the supplies on the body were basically consumed, and I always felt that this "hidden map" was very depressing, which made people uneasy......

In the end, all the staff decided to go back the same way and prepare to come back later, but it was delayed until now.

From here, he doesn't know the road after that, and he doesn't know what he will encounter, but there is no way at present, so he can only go on hard.

He also thought that if the other team members would also come into this place after falling asleep, maybe it would be better to wait for them...... But this is only a possibility, besides, he has just brushed away with death, and then rested for more than ten minutes, and he has not seen any familiar teammates appear.

From beginning to end, he only saw a familiar person, but unfortunately it was a corpse.

Although he has always insisted on hypnotizing himself, saying that this is just a dream, and all he sees are false visions, but it is the hardest thing to deceive himself, and the man has already sensed the extreme ominous.

And he waited until he didn't see his other teammates, so he had to face two possibilities, the first was that not everyone who fell asleep would appear here, and the second was ...... He was the last to fall asleep.

Before he entered, his teammates had already entered this "hidden map" one after another, or it was possible that the corpse he saw was the penultimate person......

So, I can only rely on myself.

……

……

The mountain roads are rugged and winding, and in many places the terrain is very steep.

Under normal circumstances, walking over will make people feel their scalp tingle, for fear that they will accidentally fall into the cloudy abyss...... The only thing to be thankful for is that there are no hidden malicious enemies along the way.

Occasionally, there are corpses of enemies, and they are all cleaned up...... This discovery made the captain's heart sink uncontrollably.

"The Dying Soul...... What the hell is this thing for? ”

Fighting monsters along the way, it's not that there is no loot, but those tattered weapons and equipment have no value at all, at least the one on his body is not top-notch, but it is definitely better than the living corpses.

The only thing worth noting is the point of light that appears on their bodies after they are killed, which seems to be a kind of prop - "dying souls"

But he didn't know what it was for, and after choosing to use two, he also found that there was no effect, and the thing seemed to dissipate all at once, turning into a puff of light smoke and evaporating.

Of course, the man also felt as if he had absorbed it himself, but after checking it, he found that his state had not changed significantly.

A large stretch of man-made buildings finally appeared in front of them-

Looking through the open door, you can see that there is a large circular square inside, and in it you can see a large man kneeling quietly.

“…… This is? ”

Swallowing a little saliva, the man slowed down, and with a heavy heart, slowly walked into the gate of the Colosseum that was not so much a square as a colosseum, and looked inside cautiously—

In the next moment, his pupils contracted suddenly, his lips trembled a few times, and his face turned pale instantly.

Around the half-kneeling giant-like warrior lay the corpses of several people he knew well.