Level Up: Voidwalker

Atlas looked at the couple and nodded. ''It's true. I discovered it while searching for some scouts who went missing,'' he said.

Babak's eyes widened, but soon, a big smile appeared on his weathered face as he held out a hand and spoke, ''Wonderful! You may be like a desert mouse, but there's something about you, boy, and I like it.''

He laughed at the older man's words, but Babak continued in a cheerful tone, ''It's a shame we don't have a daughter; I would offer her hand in marriage to secure such a son.''

Atlas went blank and didn't know how to respond, but Mitra told him off, ''Shut up, you silly old man!

Everyone laughed, but she turned to him angrily, ''You stupid child, why would you wander into a dangerous dungeon? You could have been killed!'' she exclaimed in frustration.

'Why does she care about a random child?' Atlas thought before replying, ''I'm fine, and I had no choice but enough of that; when can I get lunch? I'm starving.''

Mitra looked about to continue, but Babak interrupted, ''Go to your room, and I'll bring it up. I will double the portion for you.''

Atlas nodded before approaching the stairs and making his way to the room. When he entered, he collapsed onto the soft mattress. Half an hour later, he was woke disturbed by a bang on the door,

Babak entered with a broad grin, carrying a hearty meal. "Here you go, lad—some savory meat, steaming dumplings, and fresh bread for dipping," he announced, setting the delicious spread on the table.

Atlas smiled in appreciation, "Thank you," he said as he moved to the table. Taking a seat, he eagerly began to enjoy the meal, savoring each bite.

While eating, he thought about the two dungeons in the city and decided to try one before sleeping. 'If I continue like this, then I will level up faster and grow strong enough to get rid of this disguise,' he mused with a grin.

After that, he pulled out Void Barrage and Bomb so he could start learning them. It was his journey into the dungeons. An hour later, he knew both, causing two notifications to pop up.

[Level 3: Void Barrage Learned]

[Level 3: Void Bomb Learned]

'Yes!' he internally cheered before jumping up. 'Now to test them in the dungeons.'

After dropping the dishes at the counter, Atlas felt refreshed and headed out of the inn. Once outside, he asked a guard for directions to the Silverpeak Dungeon, which was under the mountain part of the city.

He followed them, and after walking through the city for twenty minutes, he saw a small fortress built at the end of a cobblestoned street. Atlas headed toward it but was stopped by the guards stationed at the entrance, ''Take off your helmet so we can see your face, adventurer!' the man shouted sternly.

'Paranoid much?' Atlas thought before removing the helmet.

When the guards saw his tousled black hair and emerald green eyes, they visibly relaxed, and the commander motioned for him to approach. Atlas slowly walked toward the wooden gate that guarded the dungeon's entrance.

''Do you want to enter the Silverpeak Swamp, boy? If so, show your guild card and pay the one-silver entrance fee,'' the commander said.

Atlas retrieved his coin and guild card and handed them to the commander for inspection. Moments later, the commander returned the card and warned, "You may enter, but be cautious. The monsters here are perilous."

Atlas nodded in acknowledgment, storing his card securely before stepping through the gate. Inside, he quickly spotted a cave entrance with stairs leading up to a shimmering portal.

Without hesitation, he ascended the stairs and walked through the translucent portal. Atlas appeared on a beach that bordered a nasty-looking swamp, which confused him, but he soon got his bearings and put his helmet back on while readying his weapons.

'Let's try the first few floors and see how it goes,' Atlas mused while approaching the nearby jungle.

Atlas started walking down a monster trail he spotted while holding his blades at the ready. He soon noticed the jungle was open and not as thick as others. Water came up to his ankles, which concerned him.

'I wonder what kind of nightmarish monsters will appear,' he pondered while jumping over a fallen tree.

A small wave lapped at his thighs as he emerged from the portal and splashed into the water. 'Something's coming,' he thought, instinctively preparing to defend himself.

He readied Void Barrage and scanned the surroundings. When he finally spotted the approaching creature, he was taken aback. The creature was large and formidable, its presence intimidating.

Atlas wasted no time and used Void Sight to understand the new threat better.

[Marshlord]

[Rank: C - 500 Exp]

The creature before Atlas was a monstrous hippo, far larger than any he'd seen on Earth. Its dark green hide was mottled with a hellish aura, and its glowing yellow eyes and menacing tusks added to its terrifying appearance.

With a loud bellow, the beast charged at Atlas, closing the distance rapidly. He grinned before casting Void Barrage, and what he saw amazed him as twelve azure missiles appeared above him.

Atlas aimed his hand at the Marshlord, and the Void Barrage projectiles sliced through the air, striking the monster's torso. Explosions erupted on impact, causing the massive creature to stagger sideways.

Seeing his opportunity, Atlas charged forward, but the Marshlord responded with a mighty stomp, sending a crushing wave of force straight at him. As the wave neared, Atlas used Void Step to teleport to a branch overhead.

Without hesitation, he used Void Step again to reposition directly above the beast, then plunged his Nightblade deep into its skull and cast Void Bullet that blew its skull apart before it collapsed to the swampy ground.

Atlas jumped off as the body evaporated into the dungeon, leaving ten silver coins and a green Monster Core behind.

Following that fight, he continued through the swamp as the air started getting more humid, causing him to get annoyed, 'Damn heat!'

He didn't know where to go and wandered about, looking for the other monsters. Atlas soon found another. As he passed by a lake, something exploded out of the way while he was lunging for him.

Atlas yelped when he saw this before diving forward and missing the massive jaws. In response to the sudden attack, he instantly raised his hand and cast Void Bomb. Seconds later, a giant azure orb appeared above him.

When Atlas saw this, he pointed at the new monster, which sent the spell slicing through the air before it slammed into the creature's body and caused a massive explosion that sent him soaring with a concussion.

He flew across the dungeon before crashing into the banks of a river, and his world went black. Minutes later, Atlas woke up when a pain shot through his body, causing him to look up and see a massive fish trying to pull him into the water.

It was a massive piranha with silver scales, glowing yellow eyes, and was the size of a large dog that scared the shit out of Atlas, 'What the fuck!' he thought before pointing his hand at the creature and casting Void Arrow.

The azure blue projectile pierced its skull, forcing the monster to let go. He scrambled onto dry land as the water erupted into chaos. As more fish took the corpse, he was able to scan them.

[Silverback Piranha]

[Rank: C - 500 Exp]

'Damn monster fish now!' he thought while his leg started to heal from the teeth of the monster.

Atlas sat there for a while before remembering the Sub-Bosses from the Deathly Hollows Dungeon, 'Please, Luxia, don't make me fight these underwater demons,' he thought.

After that, Atlas got to his feet once the injuries healed, and he started searching the first floor. He came across even more Marshlords, who charged him with rage-filled roars. The three monsters closed the distance quicker than he anticipated.

He dodged their slow attacks and peppered them with Void Barrage and Bullets, which sent the hippo monsters scattering. This allowed Atlas to target them separately by using Void Step to appear on one of the creatures' backs.

Atlas stabbed the Marshlord through the skull before casting a Void Arrow that burrowed a hole through its head. This caused the monster to crash to the ground with a crash and attack another's front leg with several Void Blasts.

The battle continued until the three Marshlords lay dead, which left three glowing red Monster Cores that he stored in the Dimensional Storage before coming across the last creature that would appear on Floor One of the dungeon.

Atlas rested on a branch as a Marshlord wandered near a massive waterhole before diving inside. Seconds later, the water erupted, and he spotted a crocodile's tail coming out of the water as the two monsters fought.

'A royal rumble in the dungeon between two monsters,' he mused while eating chocolate.

The waterhole soon turned red as the Marshlord's body breached the surface, getting torn apart by a massive crocodile, which Atlas instantly scanned.

[Swamp Drake]

[Rank C+ - 550 Exp]

'This will be the Sub-Boss, I guess. It's clear it's much stronger than the hippo,' Atlas mused while watching the Swamp Drake eat the Marshlord. Experience new stories with m v|l-e'm,pyr

As he sat there, explosions started getting closer, attracting the crocodile. The crocodile spun around in the sound's direction, causing Atlas to jump up and got his blades ready.

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