Level Up: Voidwalker

Atlas was flying over Emberglade on the back of his Dungeon Monster Theo while the cold air brushed against his face after removing his helmet. That's when he spotted the Nightfall River.

It cut through the land and went further west, as cities and villages were on the other side of the rushing water, ''Fly low to the ground, and let's look for the Swamp Hags boy,'' he said with excitement while stroking the Blood Bat King's fur.

The monster released a soft chirp of acknowledgment as they soared through the sky, gliding effortlessly over rolling hills and vast stretches of grassland. Below, a group of strange, humanoid figures—women with an unnatural appearance—stumbled along the riverbank, catching his attention.

'They look like they're straight out of a horror novel,' he thought with a shiver.

When Atlas saw this, he aimed his Nightblade at the group and cast Void Bomb at them. The azure projectile sliced through the air and hit the monsters, causing an explosion that killed two, but one managed to survive, which baffled him.

Theo dived down load and landed before Atlas jumped off the monster's back. When seeing the Swamp Hag crawling along the shore, he uses Void Sight on the creature to determine its rank.

[Swamp Hag]

[Rank: C - 300 Exp]

[Be careful of their magic]

'Weak monsters, this shouldn't take too long,' Atlas thought with a big smile before diving his blade through the skull of the Swamp Hag.

The monster stopped moving, causing Atlas to grab three of their hands and green Monster Cores, which he stored in his Dimensional Storage, before looking at Theo, whose head tilted to the side while looking at him with a curious gaze.

'When we fight together, our bond grows, Master,' the giant bat's wise voice echoed in his mind. 'Use us to help you, and we will become stronger.'

Atlas nodded before responding, his voice determined, 'That's the plan; it's why I want to conquer more dungeons while making my way west.'

He eagerly climbed onto the monster's back, finding a secure spot. "First, we track down the Wild Orcs," Atlas said, his voice brimming with excitement. "Then, it's on to the Forest Trolls."

The giant bat took off, and the duo searched for the monsters needed to complete the quest. They had no luck until they started flying over the Ember Forest. Atlas watched the ground along with Theo, who chirped and sharply turned right, taking him by surprise.

After ten minutes of flight, Atlas spotted a ramshackle camp and orcs wandering around it doing business. When seeing this, he spoke, ''Should I test out the Savage Void Bears boy? They were annoying to fight.''

The Dungeon Monster nodded, causing Atlas to smile, ''Fly lower so I can drop the furballs on top of them.''

While Theo flew toward the Wild Orc Camp, he pulled up the mana costs of summoning a single Void Monster to aid him.

[Rank F: 150 Mana]

[Rank E: 300 Mana]

[Rank D: 600 Mana]

[Rank C: 1200 Mana]

[Rank B: 2400 Mana]

'Not too expensive,' he smiled before spamming summoning the Savage Void Bears that dropped into the monster camp.

When the angry bears hit the ground, they started tearing through the Wild Orcs easily while Atlas and Theo landed nearby. He jumped off the giant bat while a group of Wild Orcs charged at him while holding weapons.

'They are useful at dealing with crowds of monsters as they just don't care,' he mused with a smile while watching the Savage Void Bears quickly deal with the orcs.

Atlas braced himself for a fight, but two bears jumped on the creatures before ripping them into meat chunks, leaving behind half a dozen green cores. Afterward, he and Theo entered the fray and finished the remaining Wild Orcs.

Once all the monsters were dead, all the Savage Void Bears turned to him with gleaming red eyes before everyone charged in his direction. Atlas smiled as the monsters jumped over him and lathered his face with loving licks.

He started laughing while pushing one of the bears off his chest and sitting up before another wrapped its arms around his shoulder, causing Atlas to stroke each creature who loved his touch.

'They already love you, Master,' Theo said while approaching them. 'The old master never did this; he only used us as weapons.'

Atlas glanced at Theo, but a sudden instinct screamed at him to move. He barely had time to react before a Wild Orc crashed through the underbrush, its massive axe arcing toward his head.

His heart seemed to stop as the deadly blade closed in—but then a blur of dark fur streaked past him. A Savage Void Bear took the full force of the blow, blood spraying across Atlas' face as the creature was brutally cleaved in two, and for a moment, time seemed to freeze.

'Damn monster caught me off guard,' he thought.

Atlas lunged at the orc, slashing its legs from under it. The creature roared as it collapsed, but he was already on top before he drove his Nightblade into its toso before casting Void Bullet.

The Wild Orc's body exploded into tiny pieces that covered him in blood and guts, which made Atlas gag. Once the monster was dead, he glanced at the fallen monsters before dismissing all but Theo back to the Void Realm.

After that, he collected the green Monster Cores and most orc tusks. Before storing them in his storage, The giant bat approached, and Atlas mounted its back, ready to continue their quest.

With a determined smile, he signaled Theo to take flight again, heading toward Sunset Village in search of the Forest Trolls to complete his quests. The two flew across the hills about Emberglade only to find nothing due to the sun setting.

The land turned dark, and Theo suggested when his voice echoed in Atlas's mind, 'Maybe we should rest and continue the search tomorrow, Master?''

He looked around but reluctantly agreed, ''Yes. Find the tallest hill, and we will camp there.''

Ten minutes later, they landed on a hill close to the town but stood over everything for miles around. Rolling hills and scattered forests lay everywhere with Emberglade and the small Sunset Village.

He got to work and set up the Dark One Runes around his campsite while Theo watched in fascination. Atlas started setting up the tent and campfire that roared to life, causing him to look at the Blood Bat King resting next to the fire.

Atlas pulled out some monster meat from his Dimensional Storage and started cooking it while adding spices, causing a delicious aroma to hit his nose. It took a few more minutes to be done before he started eating.

'This is delicious; maybe I should start collecting monster meat from now on?' he pondered while taking a bite of the spicy food.

After finishing his meal, Atlas realized he was still hungry. Sighing, he pulled out a box of Griffin meat, savoring each bite. The rich, savory flavor filled him with satisfaction, but a wave of discomfort hit as he devoured the last piece.

Overeating had left him bloated and queasy. Groaning, he rubbed his stomach, trying to ease the fullness. "Guess that was a bit much," he muttered to himself.

He gave Theo a gentle stroke, the Blood Bat King chirping softly as if offering comfort. With heavy eyes, Atlas crawled into his tent, exhaustion quickly overtaking him as he fell asleep inside his comfortable sleeping bag and blankets.

The sky above was clear until morning when a rainstorm lashed the hilltop, causing Theo to cover the tent with his giant wings. Atlas woke up the following morning with a yawn but instantly heard the rain and wind lashing against the tent.

'What is it with this horrible weather,' he internally complained before looking outside and seeing Theo soaking wet.

''Thank you for covering the tent; you can return to the Dungeon Realm as we can't fly in this,'' Atlas commented as the monster vanished.

Following that, he activated the Weather Runes that came with the tent, which blocked the wind and rain. While sitting there, he looked out the window and couldn't see more than a few feet before sighing.

'Looks like I'm trapped here for a while,' he thought. 'But I can clear more of the Void Golems.'

With that decided, Atlas activated the Void Realm Skill that sucked his consciousness onto the plateau where he had been fighting before. He readied his blade while checking the monster's total. Read latest stories on mvl

[Void Golem – 995403/1000000]

[Void Warrior Golem – 499813/500000]

[Void Golem Commander – 99999/100000]

[Void Golem King – 1/1]

Following that, Atlas heard the swarm marching toward him. He beamed before casting Void Barrage at the closest ones, causing explosions as the force sent the Golems flying into the ocean below.

While he was focused, a group ambushed him, causing Atlas to yelp in surprise. Reacting quickly, he unleashed Void Wave, shattering the stone construct. The battle raged on as he darted across the plateau, fending off waves of Void Golems.

A few Warrior Golems also emerged, but his magic weakened them. Atlas swiftly carved the monsters into chunks of stone, empowering his blades with Void Infusion, causing the enemies to stumble backward.

Atlas blocked a warrior's punch with Void Guard before retaliating with a Void Blast that sent it falling off the plateau. Once he got some breathing room, he downed a mana potion and a healthy one because he took some punches.

[Drop some powerstones, comments, and gifts to help the novel grow; I appreciate all the support you can give]

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.Com