Level Up: Voidwalker

Atlas woke up the following day to find the little Scalebreaker cuddled up to him, letting out adorable snores that made him smile. He shook his head before climbing out of the tent, only to run into Cera, eating in a nearby bush.

Her head poked up as she spoke, 'Did the little one join you, Master?'

'Yes, it appeared in the middle of the night and took me by surprise,' Atlas replied while freshening himself up in the nearby lake.

While doing that, he spotted Medusa swimming at the bottom while digging around. Atlas didn't linger long. He said his goodbyes to Cera before leaving the Realm. Seconds later, he was standing on the karst.

Atlas gazed out to the calm landscape and summoned Theo, who appeared with an excited chirp as he spoke, 'We can get far today, master. The weather is good.'

He nodded before climbing on the monster's back before it took off and started soaring across Aridonia. Atlas had to find the shortest place to cross the dangerous monster-infested sea.

Days passed as they followed the coast, looking for a crossing, but the duo had no luck. Theo looked back at him and warned, ''Hold on tight. The storm will force us to go lower.''

The wind roared as Theo soared above the crashing waves, his powerful wings slicing through the salty air. Atlas tightened his grip on the monster's fur, feeling the immense strength of the beast beneath him.

Below, the sea churned like a boiling cauldron, its dark waters teeming with shadowy shapes that surfaced before vanishing beneath the foam. Theo let out a screech as he dove lower, skimming just above the water's surface.

'Too close! I hate storms and the sea,' he thought while panicking.

Massive tentacles thrashed, and serpentine figures coiled through the depths. Sea monsters, some larger than ships, lurked just beneath the waves, their eyes glowing with malevolent hunger as they sensed the two intruders above their domain.

Atlas gulped when sensing some of the monsters, but as something jumped out of the water, Theo ascended sharply and dodged the sudden attack. The Blood Bat King dodged the giant fish monster leaping out of the water.

'Master! The storm is clearing up, but we need to wait a few more minutes,' Theo said in a concerned tone.

'No problem, just don't let the sea creatures catch us,' he replied, looking over the edge.

A massive shark was fighting with an even more enormous whale, which amazed Atlas as he mused excitedly, 'Titans of the sea, one day I will fight them when I'm strong enough.'

'Zaranadar!' he internally cheered.

Following that, Theo quickly headed toward the nearby beach and crashed down, as the monster was tired and needed to rest. Atlas fell to the soft sand with a smile, and the warm sand caused him to sigh.

'Dryland,' he mused with a relieved smile.

While lying there, a splash was heard, causing him to look up. Only to see a sizeable mosasaur-looking monster lunge out of the water and grab Theo. Atlas quickly dismissed the Dungeon Creature as the beast crashed on the beach.

He quickly cast Void Lance at the side of the monster's head and watched it burrow through, but it didn't kill it. Atlas soon realized it was much stronger than anything he'd encountered, making him wary.

Without wasting more time, he cast Void Step to escape the monster that went for him again. Atlas started walking until spotting a fortress in the distance. ' At least I can level up again, but I'll be more careful heading north,' he thought before activating his disguise.

Following that, he made his way to the fortress, and when spotting the guard, he approached with a fake smile before asking, ''Excuse me, can you point me to the nearest train station, please?''

The soldier looked down at him with narrowed eyes as he pointed west, ''Three days walk that way young man. Be careful, though; sea monsters have been reported in the local area.''

Atlas nodded before continuing west while keeping an eye out on his surroundings. The road was about a mile from the chaotic shore where waves crashed against the sand. While walking, he noticed a carriage not far ahead.

'I wonder who these people are?' he thought as his curiosity was piqued.

As Atlas approached the bridge up ahead, a swarm of monsters suddenly surged from the sea, attacking before the carriage could cross. Three guards rushed to fend them off, but the sheer number of creatures overwhelmed their defenses.

He noticed they looked like humans mixed with fish, using weapons made from monster teeth. Atlas noticed they would throw themselves at the defenders and overwhelm them with numbers.

Without thinking, he summoned ten Savage Void Bears and their Queen before ordering them to destroy the fish people. While this happened, Atlas used Void Sight on the

[Aquarids]

[Rank: D - 500 Exp]

[Weak to explosive magic]

When Atlas saw this, he started casting Void Blasts into the swarm, which exploded on contact just as the Savage Bears crashed into them. He quickly jumped on the Void Bear Queen while thinking, 'They will be easy to deal with thanks to the Void Monsters.'

Following that thought, Atlas used his magic and the Void Bears to decimate the Aquarids, but the carriage's occupants were butchered. He avoided looking at the torn-up bodies of the family inside while carrying on after dismissing his monsters.

'Poor family but they should have more guards.'

After a few more hours, he arrived at the Morozov station. Atlas noticed it was quiet, which creeped him out. While walking toward the entrance, his instincts kicked in and told him to run, but it was too late.

An explosion ripped through the building and caused Atlas to cast Void Guard to try to block the shock, but it was sent crashing into a guard shack nearby. Seconds passed, and he was dazed as his head spun.

'What was that?' he thought while shaking his head.

People were screaming while Morozov soldiers rushed around talking about an attack, but the ringing in his ears was too much. Atlas stood up while summoning Nala, who scooped him up before running north.

Hours later, the lioness stopped at the top of a hill, allowing Atlas to climb off and sit down as the ringing stopped not long ago. While traveling here he saw hundreds of soldiers rushing all over.

'I wonder who attacked the station? It's normally neutral in conflicts between realms,' he thought while setting up his tent.

Atlas shrugged before getting out of the tent and sleeping bag. Nala said, 'Summon some of my kind, Master. We will protect you while sleeping.'

He nodded before bringing out more lions who circled his camp while the queen lay nearby. Atlas smiled when seeing this and climbed inside after eating and getting comfortable before activating the Void Realm.

When he appeared on the plateau, the Void Golems approached, but Atlas quickly wiped them out. Void Barrages and Bombs wiped out thousands of them. As the warriors appeared, he started using his speed against them.

Atlas darted across the battlefield like a rabbit, effortlessly dodging punches, and Earth Bullets hurled in his direction. Hours passed, and fatigue set in as his mana reserves dwindled, forcing him to rely on his trusted Nightblade.

Despite his weariness, a smile crept across his face when he noticed the Void Golems had stopped coming, 'Finally cleared those, now for the warriors and commanders,' he thought as his excitement skyrocketed.

He quickly pulled up the monster total to see how many he had left to deal with.

[Void Golem – 000/1000000]

[Void Warrior Golem – 216235/500000]

[Void Golem Commander – 89511/100000]

[Void Golem King – 1/1]

Without hesitation, Atlas rushed forward, carving through a dozen more Warrior Golems with swift strikes thanks to Void Infusion. Just as he gained ground, a commander delivered a powerful kick, sending him flying.

'Oh god, I was growing sloppy,' he thought while falling into the sea below.

The next moment, Atlas jolted awake in his tent, the sounds of growls echoing ominously around him in the real world. He shook his head before pulling out some chocolate and eating before sleeping.

The following day, Nala carried him further north and noticed all the destruction thanks to the ongoing war. Atlas saw refugees walking everywhere, looking scared; Achaemenids patrolled what was left.
Stay tuned to empire

Atlas continued his journey, facing constant threats along the way. Bandits, monsters, and even Nightowls who tracked him down attacked relentlessly. The sight of the Nightowls left him confused, but they dealt with the attacker's thanks to Nala and the other monsters by his side.

Thanks to the speed of the Dreadmaw Lion, Atlas managed to escape most of the ambushes along the way. A fierce battle was underway when they finally reached the Allied lines; spells and mana shells flew everywhere as explosions rang out.

'What is going on here?' Atlas thought with a smile. 'More experience.'

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