Reincarnated As A Dragon With Cheats-Chapter 22: Fear

Chapter 22: Fear

Pebbles breathed steadily as he stood on the ground of the Fourth Floor.

If anything, he was more than a bit flabbergasted at the sight before him.

Greenery spread wide and vast.

It was as if he had spawned inside a forest out of nowhere, except there were red circles with stars drawn on the bark of the trees.

That was one of the eerie parts.

And then came the messages from the system.

Ding!

[You have entered the Fourth Floor: Dying Marrow]

Ding!

[Your presence has been detected by the Boss of the Fourth Floor, Grave Shaman Lv.25]

[Due to the immense gap in levels, the system advises the host to run!]

[Advice: Run!]

Pebbles had just entered the Fourth Floor and he was already being told to leave.

Except, when he looked up, the hole was far above in the makeshift sky.

The ceiling of the Fourth Floor was bright. There were clouds, a sun, and a blue sky that seemingly stretched endlessly.

But all of it was fake.

The hole clearly stood out, breaking the illusion and making the falseness obvious.

Through the opening, Pebbles could see Nightstone’s large bubbly head.

She was staring down intently, her wide eyes fixed on him.

Before Pebbles could say much, she jumped down.

Pebbles quickly turned, trying to grab her and protect her from getting squashed on impact, but she was too heavy.

Also, Pebbles’ hands were tiny. Even when he raised his entire upper limbs, his head was still taller than his reach.

And so, when he lifted his hands in an attempt to catch Nightstone, he simply failed.

Both their heads clashed against each other.

"Ouieee!" Nightstone let out a loud scream, but Pebbles could barely open his mouth.

It was shut tightly due to Nightstone’s weight, which had forced him flat against the ground while she sat squarely on his head.

"You’re heavy," Pebbles blurted out as Nightstone moved aside and began apologizing.

The moment she heard that, her face turned red.

"Forgive me, Master. I will reduce my weight."

As she spoke with her gaze lowered, Pebbles suddenly recalled a certain conversation.

"Waaaa. Pebbles, I messed up!!!"

He remembered the crying voice of an adult who acted like a child.

"I messed up! I called my crush heavy!!! Waaaa! How can I call a girl heavy?! Waaaa!"

"..."

Pebbles felt a strange urge to correct himself.

But instead, he simply feigned ignorance and turned away.

He then looked around at the surroundings, deliberately trying to divert Nightstone’s attention.

"Have you ever been to the Fourth Floor?"

"No, Master. But I have heard about it from my grandmother. This place is exactly as beautiful as she described. But she also said that this is the territory of a terrifying monster."

Is she perhaps referring to the Boss of this floor?

Amidst his thoughts, a notification rang out that made him shudder.

Ding!

[Immense amount of killing intent detected.]

Pebbles felt chills run down his spine.

Nightstone had already been paralyzed by fear, and Pebbles was almost there himself.

Ding!

[The skill Indomitable Spirit Lv.??? has resisted.]

Pebbles’ vision had begun to fade, but now he was completely fine.

Indomitable Spirit was one of the skills he had obtained after acquiring the Ruler Job.

He had two passive skills and one active skill after becoming a Ruler.

[Passive Skills:

1. Indomitable Spirit Lv.1

Effects: The host cannot be put into fear, confusion, mental fatigue, or sleep by any spells, skills, or items that are Grade D and below.

2. Absolute Ruler Lv.1

Effects: Even the slightest action you perform will cause an absurd amount of impact in the eyes of others.]

[Active Skill:

1. Rage Of The Ruler Lv.1

Effects: All stats are doubled for one minute. Damage taken from any physical attack will be reduced to -1 HP.

Cool down: 1 hour]

Pebbles had just regained his composure when an attack was launched at him.

A large red circle, glowing faintly, formed beneath his feet. Strange inscriptions in an unknown language were carved within it.

Pebbles instinctively leaped away, grabbing Nightstone with him since she too stood inside it.

The moment they cleared the circle, a pillar of red lightning burst upward from the ground and shot toward the false sky.

Was this meant to imitate lightning striking from above?

Pebbles narrowed his eyes.

The so called Boss of this floor was trying very hard to make the illusion believable.

That suspicion became certainty when another circle appeared exactly where he had just landed.

Ding!

[You have used the skill Run Lv.2]

The instant the circle formed, Pebbles vanished from it.

When he glanced back, red droplets erupted from the ground and rose upward toward the ceiling.

Again.

It was a poor imitation of rain.

Except this rain was blood.

Blood rain?

Pebbles scanned the forest, trying to locate the attacker. But within this vast greenery, it felt impossible.

His vision was already faint due to the debuffs of prematurity. His thoughts were slower than they should have been.

And he was getting irritated.

It also putting some strain to his neck and extraocular muscles.

Then another circle formed under them.

"Cheap tricks," Pebbles muttered as he activated his skill again.

He dashed away. He thought the attacker was a foolish idiot who was repeating the same shit again and again and was expecting for it to work.

But he was dead wrong.

This time, the circle did not remain fixed.

It moved. It glided and followed Pebbles like a shadow.

Heck, it moved just slightly faster than its target.

Pebbles’ eyes widened.

Before he could stabilize himself, the circle was beneath him again.

He ran.

The circle followed.

He changed direction and ran further.

It adjusted and followed him yet again.

He ran again.

But it was still beneath him.

Especially while carrying Nightstone, whose body remained paralyzed in fear, his speed had dropped. His breathing grew heavier. Fatigue crept into his limbs.

And he could feel his buttocks and thighs hurt...

His chest burned.

His legs trembled.

At some point, he could no longer tell whether he was outrunning the circle or merely delaying the inevitable.

Then he slowed.

And that was just enough.

The circle stopped moving.

From within it, something rose.

A terrifying monster lept out.

No, terrifying was not the right word.

Dreadful.

A skeletal figure draped in a black robe emerged. Its bones were darker than the fabric it wore. In its grasp rested a massive black scythe.

Pebbles had jumped right above the circle so the being was directly in front snd below him.

But since the circle was moving, the being was a bit too close.

The scythe moved.

There was no wasted motion. No sound.

The blade ascended toward him.

Ding!

[You have activated the skill Rage of the Ruler Lv.1]

[-1HP]

The damage was negligible.

But the force was not. Nor the fear.

Pebbles was launched upward, straight through the very hole he had used to enter.

The illusionary sky shattered from his view.

He was back on the Second Floor.

He crashed to a few of the graves and was covered in dirty mud, with dead and decaying matter all over him.

And when he pulled himself up, gasping for breath, he realized...

Nightstone was not with him.

She had slipped from his grasp.

She had fallen back to the Fourth Floor’s ground with a massive thud.

Pebbles lay there for a second.

Just a second.

The fear that entered his mind was unlike anything before.

Not fear of death.

Fear of returning.

The Gravers watched especially carefully.

Especially the one with the hat.

Pebbles stood up and gave just a fleeting glance at him.

Then he lowered his head as he withdrew his eyes.

And he ran with the tail between his legs.

He squeezed himself through the hole leading upward and scrambled to the First Floor.

He kept running.

He did not look back.

He hid inside the remains of broken shells, pulling fragments over himself as if that thin cover could shield him from what he had seen.

His body trembled.

His claws dug into the ground.

He had forgotten to save Nightstone.

No.

He had not forgotten.

He had given up.

"I will die."

"I will..."

His breathing shook.

"I am sorry..."

"...Nightstone..."

Ding!

[The skill Indomitable Spirit is ineffective.]

Pebbles pressed his eyes shut.

"I am sorry..."