Level Up: Voidwalker

They arrived in the chamber; she let Atlas down before returning to her humanoid form. Confusion washed over him, but the sound of more explosions echoed through the cave, causing it to tremble around them.

Nuliajuk quickly tapped a series of runes, and a hidden door swung open. Turning to him, she said urgently, \'\'Take Atek and go. I\'ll be right behind you; I must close the door before they enter.\'\'

Atlas nodded as the Frostfang limped into the shadows, and he followed closely behind. Nuliajuk pushed him through the door, quickly closing it just seconds before the mountain cracked.

\'Oh, fuck, not this again,\' he thought, annoyance flooding through him as he realized what was about to happen. \'I swear, Luxia, I will burn this damn world for this madness.\'

The ground beneath them began to crumble, prompting the young woman to leap forward and scoop up Atek just as the staircase vanished beneath their feet. The three of them plummeted into the darkness as the mountain collapsed.

Following that, the two of them passed through something and slammed into a lake, causing a massive explosion. Atlas was confused as his instincts told him to run, but he panicked when something clamped down on his torse.

\'\'Get off me!\'\' he raged before casting Void Wave and destroying the monster that had grabbed him, allowing him to Void Step out of the water only to see Nuliajuk fighting a massive crocodile covered in blood.

Atlas rushed toward her while casting Void Lances and Bullets at the monster. The azure projectiles peppered the beast\'s body, causing it to back off just before he scanned it to find out what they were.

[Dark Swamp Drakes]

[Rank: D - 300 Exp]

[Physical attacks are better than magic]

Without wasting a moment, Nuliajuk rushed toward Atek, and Atlas dashed toward the Swamp Drake. He sliced into its flank, feeling the resistance of its tough hide before swiftly running down the creature\'s side.

\'This should kill you! I\'ve had enough of fighting monsters now.\'

Then, Atlas cast Void Bomb into the monster\'s insides, the dark energy surging through its body. Turning his attention to the second creature, he noticed Nuliajuk charging across the swamp.

He could sense the young woman\'s fury as she barreled into the creature, sinking her teeth deep into its neck. A loud crack echoed through the swamp as she effortlessly snapped the monster\'s neck, her raw power on full display.

Atlas was taken aback, momentarily stunned, but quickly shook his head to regain focus. He scanned her, but something blocked his perception. Confusion washed over him as Nuliajuk approached, blood covering her head to toe.

\'Does she have an artifact that blocks Void Sight?\' he thought.

With a shimmer of energy, she transformed back into her humanoid form while speaking angrily, \'\'You shouldn\'t pry into people\'s secrets, but if you must know, I\'m Master Rank, and that\'s all you need to know.\'\'

Following that, she approached the struggling Atek. Atlas took out some health potions and handed them to the young woman, who accepted them. That\'s when he sensed a familiar feeling causing him to mutter, \'\'We\'re in the Chaos Realm, for fuck sake.\'\'

When Nuliajuk heard that, her blue eyes widened in shock, but she still gave Atek the health potion as she spoke, \'\'This is the Underworld; my people speak of entrances in the Lost Forest in the far west.\'\'

Atlas was confused but shook his head and summoned Nightblade before sheathing it. He replied in a tired voice, \'\'Let\'s find a place to rest for now; this place will be hectic once the Chaos monsters realize we\'re here.\'\'

Nuliajuk nodded while scooping up the injured cat as Atlas scanned their surroundings. They found themselves in a lush swamp bordering a jungle, causing him to sigh, \'\'Damn, I\'m starting to hate jungles and forests.\'\'

\'\'Let\'s just get going; we need to find a safe place,\'\' the young woman replied, unsheathing a machete and cutting through the underbrush.

They then traveled through the jungle until they found a ledge high on a mountain. Atlas pointed toward it before speaking, \'\'I can use Void Step to get us up there if you can\'t climb.\'\'

Nuliajuk glanced at him as she answered with a grin, \'\'I\'ll have no issues carrying Atek. Just watch Chosen One.\'\'

Atlas chuckled, stepping back as the young woman shifted into her polar bear form. With a burst of energy, she dashed toward the steep mountainside, using her powerful claws to climb the rocky surface.

He watched her shuffle up the mountain, unable to contain his laughter at the sight. Atlas followed behind, casting Void Step to appear on the ledge as Nuliajuk reached before growling at him.

\'\'Now make sure Atek\'s comfortable, and I\'ll set up the tent,\'\' Atlas said with a smile as he got to work.

In less than ten minutes, Atlas had everything set up while Nuliajuk worked to start a fire using a piece of wood and metal. She struck them with a forceful smash, creating sparks that ignited a small flame.

A smile spread across her face as she exclaimed, \'\'There we go! The fire will keep the cold at bay.\'\'

Atlas approached and handed her a Horned Rabbit Kebab, which she happily accepted and eagerly started eating. He sat beside her while looking at the landscape below and noticing it was dark.

Without thinking, he jumped up and started drawing the Dark One\'s Runes, which surprised Nuliatuk, causing her to question, \'\'What are you doing? Are those creatures down here?\'\'

\'\'Yes. They are everywhere,\'\' he replied just before finishing the Runes. \'\'And the things keep finding me.\'\'

Afterward, Atlas sat back down and noticed a mountain range encircling their area. Trees stretched high into the dark clouds, but he ignored them while pulling out a handful of dumplings before eating.

Nuliajuk was checking on Atek, who was sleeping, but she woke him up, saying, \'\'Shrink boy, and I\'ll carry you.\'\'

Following that, Atlas watched as the Frostfang glowed before turning into the size of a kitten, which shocked him. Nuliajuk picked him up and stuffed him into her coat as she snuggled up to her while recovering.

\'\'You treat him so good; it reminds me of Lilith,\'\' Atlas revealed, causing him to frown as he took out the Monster Vault she was resting on.

He saw the Honey Badger sleeping, but he knew she was injured. Nuliajuk noticed this, which caused her to question, \'\'Whose Lilith? A lover?\'\'

Atlas chuckled before replying, \'\'She is an Arzuros. I met in a cave where she attacked me, but then we ended up bonding.\'\'

Nuliajuk giggled as she spoke, \'\'It makes sense that you\'d bond with that creature; they are solitary monsters that attack anything that comes near.\'\'

\'\'Yes, I\'ve experienced that, which was funny,\'\' Atlas said with a chuckle.

The two of them continued to speak until he grew tired and stood up before getting into the tent. He said, \'\'You\'re welcome to share the tent with me; I only have one that can fit us both.\'\'

The woman looked at him with narrowed eyes and warned him, \'\'You better not try anything, boy.\'\'

Atlas just looked at her with a deadpan expression before snapping, \'\'What do you think I am? Of course, I won\'t touch you.\'\'

After speaking, he crawled into his sleeping bag while activating the Void Realm and appeared on the plateau. He quickly pulled up the monster tally to see how many he had to deal with.

[Void Golem – 000/1000000]

[Void Warrior Golem – 161981/500000]

[Void Golem Commander – 87011/100000]

[Void Golem King – 1/1]

After that, he heard the Warrior Golems before casting Void Infusion on the blades as the monster made its first appearance. It dashed toward him and swung its massive fist. \'Too slow,\' he thought with a chuckle.

He leaned back to dodge the attack, casting Void Bomb into the creature\'s chest. An explosion erupted, sending a dozen Golems flying off the plateau. As a result, the monsters were thrown into chaos.

\'They can\'t keep up with me,\' he thought with an amused grin.

Atlas started bouncing around the battlefield, dodging most monster attacks, but he blocked them with Void Guard. The azure shield deflected the punches before he continued attacking using his blades.

Thanks to Void Infusion, Atlas carved through the stone bodies, causing them to crash to the ground around him. He continued casting dozens of spells that caused explosions to ring all over the plateau.

The battle went on for hours until Atlas was growing tired and sluggish. The Golems gave him some space as they regrouped, and while doing that, he pulled up the monster total to see how many he had killed.

[Void Golem – 000/1000000]

[Void Warrior Golem – 133529/500000]

[Void Golem Commander – 85659/100000]

[Void Golem King – 1/1]

\'Not so many left, this is going quicker then I expected,\' Atlas thought while catching his breath.

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