Level Up: Voidwalker

Grishna jumped up and continued as her passion soared, ''Then there's us. We randomly met in a jungle when you appeared out of nowhere and helped with the boar. It was fate that had me join the Slayers and travel here.''

"It's just a coincidence," Atlas responded as their conversation continued, but Artemis chimed in, pointing at the phoenix girl, who was chatting with Estelle as the two were putting up the group's tents.

"How do you explain bonding with her? They are notoriously distrustful and avoid contact with anyone outside the Blue Dune Desert," the brunette remarked before continuing. "And then here comes Aetos, saving the Little Bird, who could be a descendant of Zenithra, a famous Cosmic Phoenix from history, and guess who she was married to?''

''The last Voidwalker?'' Atlas commented.

"Exactly," Artemis exclaimed with a smile. "Cosmic Phoenixes will do anything for their partner. It seems Amethyst has chosen you, just as Zenithra chose the last Voidwalker."

Atlas nodded before the group settled down. Estelle and Amethyst returned to the fire after setting up three tents. The phoenix girl sat beside him with a tired smile and complained, "It's so hard setting those things up. But at least we have our own."

Grishna then started cooking the Wild Orc meat before taking out some spices and dosing them on the food. This caught Atlas's attention as the delicious aroma hit his nose, causing his mouth to water.

It took another ten minutes until the food was done, and Atlas watched Grishna hand out the meat before everyone started eating. While enjoying his food, he spotted the other adventurers cooking their meals while others patrolled the perimeter.

While eating, Maria approached the group and said, ''I see you young ones are from Astoria. I come from the Wildheart Kingdom in the south.''

''Aren't they fighting the Achaemenidians? Rumors say the empire is moving north,'' Estelle questioned when finishing a mouthful of meat.

''It's the truth,'' Maria said with a frown. ''The kingdom has fared well, but the Dwarves refuse to fight while only the Thalassians and Aethyrians have sent aid, but they're being pushed back as we speak.''

''So the Achaemanidians will take Astoria in the end?'' Atlas questioned.

Everyone shook their heads, ''The Thalassians will be able to hold them back at the Emperor's pass that leads into their empire, but if the Acdaemanidians find a way through, then yes, they will finally conquer the continent.''

The group fell silent until the older woman stood up and said, "The Argonian conquest becomes meaningless if the armies of the Southmen sweep over the land."

Maria mentioned she could register Atlas and Amethyst when they arrived in Tavarovou. They thanked her before she returned to her group. Once she was gone, the group began to relax around the fire.

Atlas wanted to enter the Void Realm but was interrupted by a fight erupting in a nearby bush. Everyone jumped up as Lilith rolled out while fighting a Giant Tree Snake. When he saw this, he rushed forward, but she growled at him before continuing the fight as the two monsters rolled around.

The honey badger took a few bites from the snake's fangs, but she slashed it using her claws. Blood splattered everywhere as Lilith tore the monster apart before it went still, and she dropped to the ground and started spasming.

Amethyst went to jump up, but Atlas grabbed her arm, ''Wait and see what happens,'' he said, causing the others to turn to the unconscious Lilith.

That's when she suddenly jumped up and shook her body before grabbing the snake and making her way towards them like nothing happened. The four girls turned to him with questioning expressions, causing him to chuckle.

Atlas smiled. ''She's an Arzuros, and they're tough monsters. Most creatures find it hard to deal with them as they can withstand most poisons and toxins that would kill anything else. It happened once before while traveling through Darkheart Jungle,'' he said.

They all nodded as Lilith plopped down by the fire, noisily eating the snake. Estelle turned to the little monster and said, "Can you stop making so much noise, Lily?"

Lilith growled at Estelle, causing everyone to laugh before continuing with their meal. After finishing, Atlas and the girls retired to their tents. Amethyst joined him and asked with a smile, "Are you going to try out the Void Realm?"

He nodded, ''Yes, do you still want to join me? I don't know what to expect, but could I try it first, and then we can go in tomorrow?''

''I want to come with you, Amore,'' Amethyst declared. ''We can do this together and grow stronger.''

Atlas smiled before activating the skill as she clung to him. Their consciousness started to fade when Lilith appeared and jumped on them. The next thing they knew, they woke up in a forest surrounded by a sea of trees.

When Atlas regained consciousness, he saw a grey sky above him, prompting him to sit up and survey his surroundings. Bushes and foliage obstructed his view, but he noticed the world around him was devoid of life, washed in shades of grey.

As he looked around, Amethyst and Lilith came too. The honey badger rushed over to him and made adorable noises that put a smile on his face. Atlas picked her up as the Phoenix girl stood up.

She looked around and said, ''I can't see anything; mana is coming from the surrounding nature but no other life.''

Atlas was about to speak, but notifications popped up.

[Welcome, Voidwalker. If you're reading this, it means you've become an apprentice, granting you access to the first level of the Void Realm. Here, you will encounter the Void Raptors, vicious creatures with an insatiable appetite for violence and blood]

He was confused, but another notification appeared.

[Defeat the Void Raptor King to conquer the creatures and progress to the second level. Good luck in your first trial; we anticipate great things from you, Little One]

'Okay, so we have to locate some monsters and defeat their leader to gain control over them,' Atlas mused.

Afterward, he informed Amethyst and Lilith, who listened intently. The phoenix girl declared they would hunt down the monsters and eliminate them, which made Atlas smile at their enthusiasm.

Atlas led them through the forest until roars echoed through the trees, prompting the duo to halt. Amethyst prepared to cast a spell while Atlas scanned their surroundings to locate the source and found them dashing toward them.

He scanned them using Void Sight.

[Void Raptor]

[Rank: E]

As he did, the purple-haired girl informed him, "Three monsters rushing toward us from the west, Amore."

Spinning around, he readied his Void Bullet just as the creatures emerged. He was shocked to see they resembled Velociraptors from Earth's past, albeit slightly smaller. Excitement surged through Atlas as he cast the spell at one of them.

Amethyst joined in and started casting Cosmic Blasts toward the three monsters that were taken by surprise as the spells slammed into them, but what happened next shocked the couple.

The corpse broke down into azure motes before floating into the air. That's when Lilith jumped off his shoulder and started crawling through the underbrush while Atlas and Amethyst trekked through the forest.

Atlas checked his status and realized he wasn't earning experience from the kills, which confused him, but a notification cleared it up.

[The Void creates copies of the monsters for you to fight. If you pass this level, then you have access to all the Void Raptors, who you can call upon at the cost of 400 mana per portal that summons a pack of six monsters led by a warrior to aid you, but it will cost even more mana to keep them in the world]

Once Atlas saw this, he thought, 'Hopefully, this will be easy.'

As the trip got deeper into the forest, more Void Raptors charged at them, but they managed to deal with the monsters until there were too many to count that appeared from behind trees.

Even when Atlas used Void Step, they would catch him off guard and strike with their long tails before clawing at them. The first to be taken out was Lilith, who charged at a group of three.

Lilith pounced on one, but the others managed to deal with her. Then, Amethyst was taken out by an ambush when they crossed a small stream, leaving him alone as he used Void Guard to block most attacks.

An hour passed, and Atlas reached a clearing with a path on the opposite side. As he walked towards it, dozens of Void Raptors suddenly pounced on him, tearing him apart and causing him to wake up abruptly.

Atlas looked around to see Lilith sleeping while curled up in Amethyst's lap. The Phoenix girl smiled, ''That was tough, but I know we can do it, Amore; together, we can do anything.''

He nodded with a smile before leaning forward and kissing her without any warning, but she quickly returned it. After a minute, they separated before lying together and cuddling up as the two moons shone down on the world.

Atlas drifted off; he heard the howls of the Dark Ones rising from the bottom of the hill, causing some adventurers to panic. Despite the commotion, he ignored it and let himself succumb to sleep.

As the young couple slept peacefully, chaos erupted outside. The Dark Ones targeted the adventurer group but left theirs alone, deterred by the protective Runes encircling their tents and firepit.

The next day dawned with an eerie silence settling over the hill. The lingering scent of blood hung in the air, yet it wasn't enough to rouse the group from their slumber until Atlas finally crawled out of the tent.