Level Up: Voidwalker

Atlas watched as his left arm returned to normal after the blonde healer finished her spell. The woman crouched and spoke concernedly, ''What are you doing down here, boy?''

''Isn't it obvious? I'm here to complete the dungeon,'' he answered, rubbing his head. 'I'm guessing you're here to do the same thing?''

She nodded before holding her hand while introducing herself, ''I'm Sheva Mooncrest, the Healer of the Rank C Sundawn Adventurers Party.''

'So they're not weak, especially if they made it to the twentieth floor,' he pondered, the pain lingering but not as bad as before.

Atlas shook his head before taking her hand as she lifted him to his feet. He replied cheerfully, ''I'm Azhar'Zul, an E Rank Adventurer, and I'm currently going solo because my girls are up north.''

Sheva smiled warmly as the other three members of her party joined her. Atlas observed them: a green-haired elf woman, an elf man, and a human man. She gestured to the human man first, registering his brown hair, yellow eyes, and gleaming knight armor.

''This is Reed Mooncrest, our defender and my husband,'' Sheva introduced. She then indicated the elven couple, ''And these are Elion and Nymeria Brightwood—Elion is our scout, and Nymeria is our mage.''

Following that, Atlas nodded at them, but Reed spoke in a concerned voice, ''Sheva, you shouldn't go rushing off like that. The Deathclaw King may be lurking around.''

''It's dead; I defeated before falling unconscious because of all the damage I received during the fight,'' he revealed with a smile while flexing his new arm.

''That makes strange sense as the Sub-Boss doesn't spawn if someone's in the chamber, but normally the dungeon kicks them out,'' Nymeria commented with a suspicious voice.

He shrugged while answering, ''I don't know; all I know is that I nearly died before Sheva healed me.''

''Are you continuing diving?'' Reed asked with a curious glint in his yellow eyes.

Atlas had to look up at the man before replying, ''Yes. I feel better now and will drink a stamina potion to boost me during my travels through the next floors.''

Sheva looked concerned as she spoke up, ''Why don't we let him join us?''

''That's a bad idea. I work better solo in dungeons,'' Atlas retorted.

The elf couple laughed before Reed spoke, ''It's our responsibility to look after our fellow adventurers,'' he said to the group before glancing at him, ''Join us for now. We plan to fight the next Sub-Boss and could use your help.''

''Are you stupid, husband? He's a young boy in a Level Three Dungeon. We should escort him to the entrance,'' Sheva said while Nymeria and Elion nodded in agreement.

Atlas looked offended as he declared while looking at the blonde woman, ''Who are you to tell me where I can go? I got to here alone without any help until you appeared.''

The healer stepped forward and retorted, ''Do you want to die Azhar'Zul? I can see you're a battle junkie, but there will come a day when that won't save you.''

''I won't let fear stop me from completing this place,'' Atlas declared with determination.

Following that, he checked on his gear and realized his blades were missing, causing him to summon them with a thought before he sheathed them. Sheva looked torn, but Reed rallied the group to continue.

While stepping onto the twenty-second floor, a bad feeling hit him as he felt the Chaos mana lingering. This time, it was a sparse woodland stretching in all directions with an eerie fog settling over the landscape, causing him to raise his hand and warn the four adults, ''I would go back, or there's a chance that you will die on one of the lower floors.''

''What do you mean! Explain?'' the brown-haired Reed demanded.

''An outside force infects the dungeon and makes the monsters inside stronger than their regular selves,'' Atlas answered as he sensed some enemies nearby.

Following that, he spotted several spells flying in their direction before cutting them down while casting Void Infusion on his blades, which sliced through the magic. Atlas retaliated by casting Void Barrage at the monsters.

Explosions rang out as some Bugbears rushed in, but the Sundawn Party jumped into the fray. Reed used a giant shield to block a monster swing as their scout and mage started to attack while Sheva kept an eye on the battle.

Atlas quickly killed many Bugbears while deflecting their attacks before blasting them with his void magic that wiped the creatures out in a wave of azure flames. The older adventurers were shocked at his speed and skill.

Soon, the fight ended, and Atlas collected ten red cores and the loot while leaving the rest for the adults. While waiting for them to collect it, Sheva approached with an apologetic expression as she spoke, ''I'm sorry for doubting you. My father used to say don't just scroll by the outside but what's inside, and I failed.''

''Don't worry about it. I would react the same if I found a crazy boy on the twentieth floor of a Level Three Dungeon,'' Atlas said before noticing more monsters rushing toward them.

But this time, it was something new, and Atlas felt excitement. With a grin, he turned to his comrades. "Tell the others—we've got more company."

Without waiting for a response, Atlas sprinted toward the approaching horde as his swords gleamed due to the magic flying all over the sudden battlefield. As the shapes became more apparent, his pulse quickened while thinking with a big smile. 'Wild Orcs.'

His blade flashed, cleaving through the first, its body collapsing with a heavy thud as he pressed forward, eyes already locking on his next target.

With a flick of his wrist, Atlas hurled a Void Bomb into the thick of the orcs. It detonated in a burst of fiery energy, consuming the creatures in an inferno that scorched everything in its path.

'Look at them burn!' he internally celebrated.

The Sundawn party surged forward. Reed led the charge, his massive sword cleaving through the ranks of Wild Orcs with raw, unstoppable power. Beside him, Sheva unleashed radiant bursts of light magic, each spell searing the enemy with divine energy.

Nymeria, standing slightly behind, began weaving intricate incantations, her hands glowing with mana. From a distance, Elion moved with precision, losing arrows that found their marks with deadly accuracy, every shot killing an orc before they could get too close.

Then, Atlas spotted something that caused his jaw to drop as a massive lion appeared. When he saw this monster, he looked at the adventurers, who were unaware of the newcomer.

'Dammit, why do I always find myself in these situations,' he thought before summoning Kara and another Death Gorilla.

"Take the four adults to the dungeon entrance and return," he ordered, and the monsters obeyed without hesitation.

He watched as the two towering gorillas effortlessly scooped up the adventurers. Turning to them, Atlas reassured, "It's too dangerous for you now. These are my tames—they'll guide you to safety."

As Atlas stepped forward, his gaze locked on the approaching lion, the adventurers stared in disbelief. With a final glance at them, he added, "Tell the guards to seal the fortress. Chaos has arrived in the Dawnstar Empire."

''Don't be stupid, Azhar'Zul,'' Sheva struggled as Kara held her.

Without a word, Atlas surged forward, meeting the lunging lion head-on. He cast Void Guard, a shimmering barrier that forced the beast to crash into it with force. That's when the monster staggered, dazed by the impact.

Seizing the opportunity, Atlas drove Nightblade deep into the creature's skull, ending the fight in one swift, lethal strike. More lions pounced from the underbrush, and now he could get a good look at them.

They were double the size of ones on Earth and had black fur that hid them in the dark woodlands. Atlas locked eyes with one before it could strike and noticed the intelligence behind them.

'Are these monsters smart?' he thought before dodging a swipe but had to cast Void Blast to defend himself against another.

The monster crashed into the azure shield just as Atlas cast a Void Lance at its head, causing it to explode into bits. Following that, he quickly scanned one of the monsters circling him.

[Dreadmaw Lion]

[Rank: B - 800 Exp]

[Pack hunters! Take out the group leader, and the rest will flee]

After reading the advice, Atlas scanned his surroundings, searching for the lion that might be leading the pack. But there was no sign of it. Instead, what he did notice sent a chill down his spine—the two dozen massive monsters now encircling him.

The hair on the back of his neck bristled as he realized the gravity of the situation, causing him to think with a growing smile, 'This is going to be annoying.'

As the first lion lunged, Atlas sidestepped while casting Void Blast into its body. The explosion illuminated the woodlands like fireworks, signaling the eruption of chaos. Monsters swarmed him from all sides, their attacks relentless.

Atlas evaded the onslaught of strikes, but a towering beast's iron grip closed around him, threatening to crush him whole. Panic flared instantly, and he steeled himself before driving his blade deep into the creature's eye.

He quickly cast Void Step, vanishing in a blur of darkness just before the monstrous corpse thudded to the ground.

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