Level Up: Voidwalker

Atlas cut down the last Nightowl as the man charged at him in rage after all his companions were killed and dragged off by the Void Ghouls. He sat down on a nearby log as the women joined him.

Nulia and Grishna slumped down while catching their breaths, which made him smile, ''Tired ladies? What happened to that boost in strength?''

The Orc woman replied with a giggle, ''Oh fuck off, pretty boy, I fought so many of those empire dogs that I beat the others.''

They laughed just as Amethyst descended from above, landing with a graceful thud that sent a small cloud of dust into the air. Moments later, Estelle and Artemis emerged from the shadows, their expressions calm and composed as they wiped the blood from their weapons.

Atlas was just about to speak when he noticed a Nightowl rushing toward and getting close to Amethyst while holding a blade. He realized he didn't have enough time or mana to cast a shield.

His eyes widened, but then quickly used Void Step and got between them. The enemy's weapon slammed into his gut, the impact knocking the wind out of him as blood splattered from his mouth.

Gripping the weapon, he grimaced in pain, but regained his composure. With a vicious growl, he drew his blade and slashed across the creature's throat in one fluid motion. The enemy's head fell to the ground with a sickening thud, severed cleanly from its body.

The women panicked but his Regeneration kicked in; the exhaustion took over and caused him to drop to one knee. Atlas quickly glanced around and noticed all the Demi-Humans were already in the Otherworld.

He opened a portal and Nulia and Grishna helped him through. They reappeared in the treehouse as Atlas collapsed onto a nearby sofa and got comfortable as the phoenix woman blew some purple flames into the fireplace.

Warm air chased out the cold within seconds, making the group let out a collective sigh as Estelle started making some tea. He soon fell asleep and, while relaxing, Artemis put a blanket over him before kissing his forehead.

The next morning, he woke with a long yawn, the icy air biting at his skin, a chilling reminder of the storm that had ravaged the Otherworld overnight. Atlas stirred awake beside him but quickly dove back under the covers, shivering violently as the cold nipped at his exposed skin.

Without wasting time, he cast Void Bullet into the fireplace, causing it to burst to life as a blue glow lit up the room. Following that, Atlas activated the Void Realm to clear out some monsters by using his speed to finish off dozens of monsters.

Explosions and roars rang out as he used his magic against the giant Tarrasque while deflecting the attacks of the smaller beasts. Sparks flew as the smaller ones sent him flying through the treetops.

Atlas quickly used Void Step to appear on the ground, while doing that a Giant Tarrasque appeared from a tree and tried to bite him. He quickly jumped to the side before casting a Void Lance at its head.

The creature vanished, causing him to vanish into the jungle, and quickly checked the monster total to see how many he had left to kill.

[Void Tarrasque - 439/1000]

[Void Shadow Tarrasque - 319/500]

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'Nearly half way there. Maybe I can just use my magic to thin out the hordes,' Atlas thought while hitting a group of Tarrasques.

An explosion engulfed them in a blue fire that turned them to ash. Following this, he continued fighting the void monsters. Hours passed by as Atlas continued until running low on mana.

'I need to get out of here, I'm getting tired,' he thought as his eyes grew heavy.

He jolted back to reality, waking on the sofa as shadows cloaked the living room in darkness. With a shake of his head, Atlas focused and conjured a Void Bullet launching it into the fireplace.

It erupted into life, its flickering flames casting a warm glow that chased the shadows away, but he still wrapped around the surrounding blanket while checking the total again, only to be surprised.

[Void Tarrasque -671/1000]

[Void Shadow Tarrasque - 500/500]

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'Oh, I killed all the annoying bastards,' he thought with a grin.

Rising from the sofa, still wrapped in the blankets that shielded him from the biting cold, Atlas made his way to the kitchen to prepare some tea. As the water heated, he paused, sensing the subtle presence of the others.

All but Amethyst were awake, and it wasn't long before he heard her footsteps approaching. Atlas smiled when the tired young woman appeared from the corridor with a big smile as she spoke. ''Morning, my love, what are you doing up so early?''

''I tried my luck at the Void Realm and cleared many of the monsters, which is good,'' he answered with a smile, casually pulling out another cup for the phoenix woman.

Amethyst giggled softly, her eyes sparkling. ''That's good. Those smaller Tarrasques are demons. Even in the sky, they tried to attack me, which is funny.''

He chuckled at her words, the image of her effortlessly dodging the creatures amusing him. With a relaxed smile, he joined her on the nearby sofa. Atlas handed her the tea he'd made, watching as she accepted it with a grateful nod.

The two sat there and got comfortable before sinking into soft comfort. Amethyst leaned her head on his shoulder with a sweet smile as she spoke. ''We can cause more trouble for the empire. There are many castles in the south.''

''Sounds good to me. We need to head to Thalassia to meet my adoptive family,'' Atlas replied while sipping some tea. ''It's been years since I've seen them.''

Amethyst nodded in understanding, her expression thoughtful before she asked, ''Do you plan to accept them?''n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Atlas shrugged. ''I don't know. I have no memories from that part of my life, but they will know I'm not their son as our status is different,'' he explained while finishing his tea.

''We'll cross that bridge when the time comes,'' the phoenix woman replied. ''We'll be here for you.''

While the couple sat there, Atlas asked, ''Do you want to help me clear the Void Realm? We can fight together again.''

Amethyst beamed before nodding. ''Yes. Everyone is asleep, which means it will be me and you.''

Following that, they put the cups down. Atlas quickly activated the skill, sending them to the jungle, where she immediately changed into her phoenix form and let out a screech before taking to the sky.

He watched her vanish as the roars echoed throughout the jungle, and the ground started shaking. That's when Atlas spotted a Tarrasque charging in his direction while letting out a fierce roar.

Without wasting time, Atlas flung several Void Lances at the body of the monster, causing the projectiles to burrow through its torso. He watched as the Tarrasque vanished back into the Void Realm.

More creatures emerged from the shadows as they charged toward the group. But before they could reach their target, powerful Cosmic Blasts bolted them; the spells tearing through the air and sending the giant monsters crashing to the ground.

Seizing the opportunity, Atlas moved with deadly speed. He darted forward, his blades gleaming as he drove them through the creatures' eyes, ending their reign of terror with a series of quick, decisive strikes.

As he stood there, an unsettling instinct urged him to defend himself. In the blink of an eye, something lunged at him with deadly speed. Void Guard blocked the strike just in time, but one massive foot pinned him to the ground, and a razor-sharp claw dug deep into his chest.

The shield shattered under the force, and the claw pierced through his armor, sinking into his flesh. Atlas gritted his teeth, the pain surging through him, but he cast Void Wave that sent the monster flying backward, crashing into the distance.

While getting some time to breathe, more of the monsters circled him while looking at him with an enraged expression. He shook his head and used Void Sight to find out the name of this creature.

[Void World-Eater]

[Rank A]

[Keep moving. These fuckers are running piranhas]

Atlas chuckled darkly at the struggling monster as he cast Void Bomb, sending a swirling sphere of energy hurtling toward the beast. The impact triggered a massive explosion, shaking the ground and filling the air with shockwaves.

The force of the blast sent Atlas flying through the air, but his reflexes were sharp. As he soared past a towering tree, he twisted his body mid-flight and drove his blades into the trunk.

The weapons bit deep, anchoring him in place as he skidded to a stop, hanging from the tree and surveying the destruction below with a smirk.

[Void Tarrasque -1000/1000]

[Void Shadow Tarrasque - 500/500]

[Void World-Eater - 2/250]

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'Not long before we complete this level,' Atlas thought while casting Void Barrage at the monsters.

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