Naruto: Our Goal Is To Dig Every Corner of Konoha

"What a strange creature, it looks like a mummy!"

After looking around for a while, the group realized that something was off about this place.

"Maybe we should go back. This place feels weird. Let's inform the others first!"

Lefiya, startled by the appearance of the mummy, wanted to retreat, after all, she is very timid in nature.

But just as they were about to withdraw, a white light suddenly flew out of the entity and landed in Tiona's hand.

"What is this? It feels so strange!"

Looking at the white ball of light in Tiona's hands, Tiona and the others were puzzled.

"This creature was killed by you, Tiona. The body didn't disappear, and no magic stone appeared, but instead, this thing showed up. How peculiar!"

Riveria observed the scene, understanding that the object appeared in Tiona's hand due to her actions, though they didn't know what it was.

"Wait, I think I hear fighting sounds over there-!"

Just as they were about to leave, Ais suddenly pointed forward.

"Let's go check it out. It could be an adventurer who accidentally wandered here. There's a strange aura everywhere, and helping out other Familia members is always good!"

Riveria noted that the enemies here didn't seem particularly strong, so she decided to assist. After all, this was the kind of thing the Loki Familia would do, like in the original story, where Bell, the male protagonist, was saved by the Loki Familia multiple times, or he would have been wiped out by them.

Soon, the four of them quickly reached the location where the sounds of battle were coming from. They saw a man in a tattered knight's armor fighting some corpses similar to those they had encountered earlier. Judging by his current situation, it didn't take him much effort to deal with all the corpses.

Immediately afterwards, as before, white orbs emerged from the bodies, and the knight collected them all into a pouch at his waist.

"This is... He doesn't look like an adventurer who just stumbled in here!"

Upon witnessing this, Riveria thought the person might not be an adventurer. It was just a guess, though, as the man's skill in collecting the white orbs was exceptionally adept.

"Let's go ask him about the purpose of those white orbs. They might be very useful!"

Tiona suggested, and the others nodded in agreement. Unfamiliar with everything around them, they were eager to figure out what was going on.

"The one over there, please wait a moment!"

Seeing that the knight was about to leave, Tiona called out. The knight immediately raised his weapon upon hearing the call, aiming it cautiously at Tiona. However, upon seeing Tiona and the others, he lowered his weapon.

"It seems that he is also a person who has experienced many battles, always on alert for the slightest movements!"

Observing his highly trained reflexes, Riveria formed her own judgment but also concluded that he didn't seem hostile towards them, or he wouldn't have lowered his weapon so easily.

Soon, the group approached the knight.

"Hello, I'm Tiona. Could you please tell us where we are? And what were those white orbs you were collecting?"

Tiona asked in a friendly tone.

"You… don't know what those things are?"

The knight in armor with doubts.

"Yeah, is there a problem with that?"

Tiona was surprised that he would ask such a question.

"No, it's just surprising to meet someone who doesn't know what souls are. Judging by your appearance, you're not Ashen Ones linked to the fire, are you? Why are you here on the Path of the Lords?"

The armored figure was nothing more than an Unkindled Ash. The tolling of the bell signified that the flame was nearing its end, and with the Lords absent from their thrones, the slumbering Unkindled would awaken to seek out the Lords and bring them back to their thrones.

It was almost a never-ending cycle.

"What exactly are the Unkindled Ash? And what is this Path of the Lords?"

Tiona fired off a series of questions, which caused the Ashen One to fall silent. Eventually, though, he explained the story of the Lords of Cinder to them.

Only then did they realize they might have entered an extraordinary place.

"Since you are not Ashen, you shouldn't be here. Just ahead lies the land of trials; you should leave as soon as possible!"

The Ashen One said before walking forward.

"Let's see what this land of trials is all about!"

Diona suggested, and this time Riveria didn't object, as she also wanted to understand what was going on.

Besides, this place didn't seem particularly dangerous—it was, after all, a trial ground. No matter how dangerous a trial ground might be, it shouldn't pose too many threats.

So, the group followed the Ashen One to the trial ground, where they saw a burly man clad in armor kneeling on one knee, with a coiled sword piercing his chest.

"You shouldn't be here!"

The Ashen One spoke again, looking at the group.

"Don't worry about us; we can take care of ourselves!"

...

Riveria responded to the Ashen One's concern. Hearing this, the Ashen One stopped insisting. Since they were that confident, what else could he say?

And Asahi, who had been watching the scene unfold, couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic, although he doesn't know how many years ago since that time.

But in his current state, it is impossible for memories to fade away. Before his transmigration, he had played this game.

It was his first experience with this type of game, and it taught him a harsh lesson. It took Gundyr forty minutes to tutor him before he finally defeated him.

The game was a pitfall, with its energy bar system indicating that it wasn't a hack-and-slash game, but a hardcore one.

Back then, Asahi didn't know how to use blocks and was unaccustomed to rolling, so he was soundly taught a lesson.

And this Gundyr, for novices, is indeed quite unfriendly. Of course, he is much better than the Dancer later on. After all, the Dancer's fight without NPC help was true despair.

However, given the group's current strength, though, they should have no problem facing Iudex Gundyr.

This Gundyr was merely the Iudex Gundyr, possessing only a fraction of the real Gundyr's power.

The later version of Gundyr in the game was an absolute nightmare, and given that this was no longer just a game but reality, some powerful beings held terrifying strength.

Therefore, this current Gundyr posed no threat to Diona and the others, but the formidable entities of the past were an entirely different matter.