Level Up: Voidwalker

Atlas dashed back into the forest, readying his weapons as the foilage around him grew thicker. Soon, a Drop Bear tried to fall on him from above, and it let out a growl, which made him jump.

It was sudden, but he sidestepped the creature and slashed across its body before casting Void Blast at it. The explosion rocked the monster, sending it skidding across the ground as it bellowed in pain.

He dashed forward and cast a Void Arrow into the Drop Bear's skull, causing it to explode into blood and bone, 'Now to loot the core,' Atlas mused with a smile as his loot goblin activated.

After that, he collected the Monster Core before hunting for creatures around the cave where the scouts were recovering. Soon, Atlas encountered more Yara-ma-yha-who's, who tried to ambush him from the surrounding foilage as he entered a dark valley.

'I'm starting to hate these creepy frog monsters,' he complained.

The creatures assailed him using the trees and bushes, but Atlas dodged the surprise attack before using Void Wave to destroy the foilage and force the monsters into the open. He deflected numerous slashes, though a few grazed his chest, leaving stinging cuts between the armor's gap.

'Ahh, that hurts,' Atlas thought, gritting his teeth in pain. 'These little devils are annoying.'

He retaliated by casting a barrage of Void Bullets, each striking true and sending half a dozen creatures reeling. As Atlas grew more adept at fighting them, he darted around with the agility of a rabbit while slashing at his foes with swift strikes.

His blade tore through the Yara-ma-yha-who's flesh, and his spells caused explosions to light up the forest around them. The battle lasted twenty minutes, and then all the creatures died to his blade.

Atlas breathed heavily as he leaned against a tree. He dismissed his helmet while taking out a canteen and downed a mouthful of water, which made him feel better. He pulled out the Blood Knife and cut out six green Monster Cores before throwing them into storage.

Afterward, Atlas returned to the cave once he couldn't find any more creatures to deal with. Another Drop Bear attacked him when he approached, but thanks to Void Guard, he deflected the claws.

This time, he could get a full view of the monster, which looked like an evil koala bear with razor-sharp teeth and claws. Its eyes were blood-red, and its fur was dark brown with black patches around its face.

The bear hissed at him before launching at his face. Atlas chuckled and unleashed Void Wave, sending the creature sprawling into the distance. He then walked toward the cave, where the four survivors prepared to depart.

Stepping forward, he spoke while sheathing his blades after cleaning the blood off them, "Are you all ready to go? I've taken out a few monsters and will have some of my monsters guarding us."

Hearing this, Atlas activated Call of the Void, summoning Group Two. An azure portal opened, and a Void Raptor Warrior, accompanied by six other raptors. He turned to the scouts and commanded, "Mount their backs; they'll get us to the entrance."

Following that, the raptors growled at the four survivors, who quickly complied and jumped on the backs of the monsters before they started sprinting through the underground forest until reaching the tunnel.

While running, Atlas continued to cast multiple spells at the Yowies that appeared around them. He heard their footsteps rushing through the underbrush while letting out screams and howls that scared the scouts.

Atlas noticed that whenever the Void Raptors killed any of the monsters, he would gain experience. The group hit the tunnel just in time as the Void Creatures faded, causing the scouts to drop to the ground with a thud.

Arnold looked up with anger and was going to say something, but Atlas pointed his blade at him, ''Don't look at me like that human; without me, you would be dead,'' he warned with an eery smile.

The scout's leader, Arash, quickly stepped in and calmed the situation down, ''We're grateful for your help, Atlas. We lost six members of our party and were about to be killed by those creepy frog creatures, but thanks to you, we made it back to the tunnel to the surface.''

Atlas looked at the dark-skinned man and nodded but stopped moving as he spotted something behind Arash's wife, Homa. He cast Void Step and reappeared in front of the woman before raising his Nightblade to block a Drop Bear's claw swipe, causing sparks to fly.

Due to the impact, he grunted but cast Void Wave to kill the bear and send its corpse crashing into the other monsters. Atlas noticed more monsters charging at them and quickly activated Call Of The Void to summon the Void Raptors again, who joined the battle with teeth and claws.

Atlas turned to the injured group of explorers and shouted, ''Travel up the tunnel; the Tajariyah city guards should be there.''

After that, Atlas fought fiercely with the Yowies and Drop Bears, who began assaulting the group. The Void Raptors summoned to guard them, held the line, and prevented the monsters from closing in or getting him from behind.

Atlas skillfully dodged several incoming attacks but couldn't evade all of them. He braced himself by crossing his blades to block the blow. When the Yowie's massive fist made contact, he felt a jolt of force reverberate through his arms.

'Come on! You can do this, Atlas! You need to become the strongest,' he hyped himself.

Even more monsters surged toward him; he unleashed a Void Wave, sending them sprawling through the air with a powerful surge of energy. Atlas pointed his blade at the monsters, casting Void Bullets and Void Blasts into the group.

An explosion rippled through the small clearing, sending the monster flying everywhere before crashing to the ground, but they were still alive. Without wasting the opportunity, he rushed forward while stabbing the creatures through the skull.

While doing this, dozens of Yowies and Drop Bears appeared ready to join the fray as Atlas slaughtered their kin.

***

[Arash's POV]

'He's a demon in human form,' Arash thought. 'How can a young boy fight so well without any techniques or formal training?'

''Husband, we should get to the entrance before they overrun the boy,'' Homa said in a scared voice.

Arash turned on her as his green eyes glowed in anger, ''He saved us, Homa! We would never see the twins again without him,'' he exclaimed.

He took out his sword and continued, ''Ready your magic; we're going to help.''

''I don't think the demon needs it,'' Arnold commented with disdain. ''There is something not right about him; a darkness lurks within him.''

Natasha agreed while gripping her staff; Arash saw this and was shocked, causing him to think, 'Cowards! All of them. This boy is a true warrior.'

After that, Arash refocused on the battlefield, observing Atlas as he darted around like a nimble jackrabbit, his blade slicing through the monster's flesh. When he saw this, he charged forward and swung in a wide arc, cleaving two Yowies in half with a single powerful blow.

Catching Atlas's approving smile and nod, Arash felt a surge of confidence. Together, they finished the remaining creatures, their combined efforts clearing the way. With the last of the monsters dispatched, they returned to the tunnel.

While walking, he looked at the boy, who looked menacing in his armor, which revealed his glowing green eyes. Arash raised his hand to fist bump Atlas, who responded by bumping his fist, and when he did, a shock ran through his body.

A vision appeared; he stood among thousands of the Blue Dune Desert Sand Devils. Arash looked around and noticed everyone staring at a boy with white hair and glowing blue eyes staring out at the warriors before shouting as he raised a blade in the air, ''Addaam reshii a-zaanta!''

stories

The people around returned to chant the same words in unison while raising the famous Azarakhsh Blade that glowed in the desert sun, ''Addaam reshii a-zaanta!''

'Azhar'Zul!' he thought in shock as the scene returned to the tunnel where he stood looking at Atlas.

Following that, he looked at the boy and thought, 'He doesn't have the glowing blue eyes like the Path says.'

***

[Back To Atlas]

Atlas looked at Arash, who was acting weird just as they bumped fists, but he shook his hands and spoke, ''Let's continue to the entrance before any more monsters appear.''

The group started to travel up the dark tunnel, but Natasha cast a light spell that lit up the tunnel. While they were walking, Arash kept asking him questions he had to dodge because it would have exposed his true identity, which he wanted to avoid.

A scream echoed as they closed in on the cave system entrance, causing Atlas to spin around and notice a Yara-ma-yha-who pinning Arnold to the ground. He burst forward and ran his blade across the monster's neck.

The Nightblade sliced right through its flesh like a hot knife through butter, which instantly killed the creature. Arash and Homa attacked the remaining creepy monsters, who fled back into the darkness after losing several of them.

Following that, Atlas led the group up to the large metal gate, which he banged on with the butt of his sword to signal the soldiers on the other side. A minute later, it opened, and a dozen Achaemenidians rushed in and covered the tunnel as they got ushered outside as the sun hit their eyes.