Level Up: Voidwalker

Atek paused mid-bite and glanced up at him, letting out a tiny growl. The attempt at being fierce only made him laugh harder. Atlas finished eating and gave the rest to the Frostfang, still sitting on his lap and covered in sauce.

While doing that, Nulia's teasing voice reached his ears, ''Are you trying to steal my companion, Chosen One?''

He glanced back and saw the brown-haired young woman poking her head out of the tent, causing him to smile. Atlas shook his head, ''No, he just wanted something to eat and decided that my dinner would be the right choice.''

Nulia beamed at him before disappearing into the tent, leaving Atlas puzzled. He shrugged off the confusion and looked down at Atek, who had already finished eating and was sitting contentedly on his lap.

'Let's relax while we wait,' Atlas thought, getting comfortable and staring into the mist while stroking the fluffy cat.

He remained seated for a while but eventually retreated as the weather took a turn for the worse. Once inside the tent, the cat hopped down from his lap and curled up at the base of their feet, eliciting a smile from Nulia.

She glanced at Atlas before speaking softly, ''Come here, Chosen One.''

The young woman quickly wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. ''The cold has come,'' she said, her voice soft. ''We need to keep warm.''

Atlas didn't fight Nulia and got comfortable as the tent started shaking due to the wind outside. But despite that, the warmth caused him to drift off to sleep as the storm caused chaos outside.

The following morning, Atlas awoke to the fragrant scent of flowers, only to realize that Nulia was still hugging him. He shook his head and carefully crawled out of her embrace before sitting up, 'That was a comfortable sleep,' he mused.

Once fully awake, he exited the tent, greeted by a thick mist in the air, evidence that the storm had passed. Standing there, he saw footprints scattered all over the ledge where they had been resting, leaving him baffled.

'What kind of creature climbed up here?' Atlas thought while glancing around.

As he stood there, a gut instinct warned him not to turn around—but he ignored it. Instantly, Atlas cast Void Guard as a monster lunged at him from above. The impact sent him hurtling off the ledge, plummeting toward the ground below.

'Not this shit again!' he internally raged.

Without wasting a moment, he began to grapple with the creature mid-fall. It was a strange, twisted Dark One, gnashing its teeth as it tried to bite him. Reacting swiftly, Atlas unleashed Void Punch, delivering a powerful uppercut.

A resounding boom echoed as both crashed into the ground. Atlas had the wind knocked out of him, but he managed to scramble to his feet as more monsters attacked him from the jungle.

Stay tuned with empire

'Oh god, there's more of them!'

He quickly used Void Infusion on Nightblade before carving through the creature's skinny torsos while casting Void Bullets at another group. Atlas had to battle as more of them joined the fray.

It was overwhelming, but a sudden roar echoed throughout the jungle as Nulia crashed down in her bear form while Atek followed. The duo slaughtered the Dark Ones before the younger woman grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and retreated to the ledge.

The Frostfrong Tiger made sure no creatures could get to Atlas, which made him smile as he was carried up the side of the mountain like a bad child. When Nulia reached the top, she let him go as she returned to her humanoid form.

After that, the young woman checked on him and sighed in relief before speaking worriedly, ''What happened? How did you get down there?''

Atlas chuckled as he explained that a Dark One had ambushed him from behind, shocking Nulia, but she quickly said, ''Set up more Runes, and we should be able to look for an escape from this place.''

He nodded in agreement as the large cat returned and pounced on him. With a playful swipe, the big feline pinned him down, its tail swaying from side to side. Atlas struggled to free himself, but it was no use.

Atek began licking him relentlessly, leaving him both amused and helpless. Nulia watched this with a big smile before speaking, ''Come on boys, get in the tent. It's going to get cold soon.''

The big cat licked Atlas several times as he shrank and joined Nulia in the tent. He stood up while wiping himself before walking inside and getting comfortable. While lying on a blanket pile, he tried to reach the Golem King.

'I need to clear this level, it's repetitive now,' he mused while closing his eyes.

Atlas activated the Void Realm and appeared on the plateau. Seconds later, he had to jump to the side as a boulder flew at him. He quickly countered by casting Void Lance as the Golem Commander.

When the azure projectile tore through the stone monster, it hit a dozen more that were behind it. This pleased Atlas as he continued casting spells into the horde of never-ending Golems.

'I should continue using my magic until I run out of mana.'

An hour passed, and he was breathing heavily due to the repeated use of magic, but that didn't stop him from checking the monster total to see how many he had killed.

[Void Golem – 000/1000000]

[Void Warrior Golem – 81002/500000]

[Void Golem Commander – 852721/100000]

[Void Golem King – 1/1]

'Slowly going down but not fast enough,' Atlas thought before bursting forward and carving through the monsters.

He brought down hundreds at a time while blasting them with most of his spells. Atlas watched as the Golem flew into the water below. This continued for hours until he ran out of mana and had to return to the real world.

Atlas opened his eyes, realizing just how exhausted he was. He rolled over and quickly drifted back to sleep without a second thought. After what felt like only moments, he was shaken awake by Nulia's voice.

"Wake up," she said softly, "we can move on."

He sat up while stretching and letting out a loud yawn before replying, ''Thank you. Let's have some breakfast before we head out.''

Atlas pulled out some Orc Meat Boxes and handed one to Nulia, who smiled while eating the hot food. The duo started to eat as she gave Atek some meat, which the little cat enjoyed and began to harass him.

'I swear to god, this things hates me!' he internally complained as the cat climbed into his lap.

Before the monster could snatch Atlas's food, he quickly pulled out some Forest Chicken Wraps and offered them to the Frostfang. Atek sniffed the wraps, then accepted the gift, eagerly munching on it while making adorable growling noises of delight.

The trio continued eating until they were satisfied, and Nulia gestured to the north, where a range of mountains loomed. ''We should head that way. Once we climb higher, we'll get a better view of our surroundings.''

Afterward, Atlas stored away the tent and prepared to move. They jumped down, and as Nulia and Atek transformed, he summoned Theo. The Blood Bat King surprised them by dropping him to the ground below before soaring into the sky to follow.

''Where did that monster come from?'' Nulia questioned as she appeared beside him.

Atlas chuckled before answering as he climbed onto her back, ''I can summon creatures to help me during a battle or for travel.''

The bear woman nodded, but he continued, ''What are you?''

Nulia giggled, which was strange in her bear form. She shook her head while answering, ''I'm a Frostbear. There are tribes of us living in the western part of the Northern Wastes.''

Atlas nodded as the trio traveled through the jungle just as the Darklings and Werewolves returned. When he spotted them, he learned there was a way out in the far south, causing him to think, 'What's going on? There's an exit, but it will take ages to get there.'

They continued traveling through the jungle while fighting off Chaos Wolves that tried to ambush them. Atlas was ready to cast Void Barrage on any groups of monsters that came too close.

Nulia and Atek were perfect deterrents for the hordes of creatures that lurked in the shadows surrounding them. It took them hours to reach the base of the hill, causing him to comment, ''This place is giving me a bad feeling.''

The other two agreed with a nod as Nulia responded, ''We can deal with them, just be on watch.''

''Okay, let's go,'' Atlas said while glancing around and readying his magic. ''Can you smell any monsters?''

''No, I haven't smelt anything since those monkeys ambushed us a few hours ago,'' Nulia replied as they climbed the hill.

As the trio reached the summit, they saw a dense, vibrant jungle stretching out in all directions. At that moment, the Werewolves and Darklings emerged from the shadows behind them.

With a wave, Atlas dismissed them, sending the creatures back to the Otherworld, where they could rest.

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