Level Up: Voidwalker

Atlas was ushered into the car by his mother, and as the dream continued, his anxiety soared. Her boyfriend Darren started driving away from their home, and Atlas, paralyzed by fear, tried to speak but found no words came out.

Each mile felt like a stab to his heart as he thought, 'This is the day she left me at the orphanage.'

The car turned onto the motorway, and Darren's voice cut through Atlas's mounting dread, boasting about the holidays they would be taking. The conversation seemed foreign, a jarring discord in his memories. 'I thought we were going on holiday. How naïve I was. If I had asked her why, things wouldn't have been so bad.'

Finally, Atlas croaked out, "Why are you abandoning me, Mom? Don't you love me anymore?" His voice trembled with the weight of his fear and confusion.

His mother's face stiffened at his question, but Darren's frustrated voice answered, "We're not leaving you, boy. Your mother and I are attending a business meeting in another country. The place you're staying in is meant to care for children."

Hours later, they arrived at a town outside London where the orphanage was situated. The car stopped, and his mother, with tears streaming down her face, pulled out his suitcase. She whispered, "I'm sorry, honey, but this needs to be done; he told me it's the only way to ensure you're safe."

Atlas was bewildered by her words and the sight of her tears. She approached two women, Pamela and Sarah, who respectfully welcomed him. His mother gave him one last bittersweet smile and said, "Atlas, my love. I will come back for you. I can't explain now, but this is the only way."

The next eight years unfolded in a blurred haze of sadness and abandonment. The pain of being left behind by the one person he loved most buried itself deep within him, resurfacing with each painful memory of his lonely days at the orphanage.

The scene slowly faded, and Atlas drifted into a deeper sleep, only to be jolted awake by a sudden, piercing scream. He rushed out of the tent and saw explosions all over the grassland, which confused him.

Atlas couldn't see what was happening but soon noticed bandits fighting the knights protecting the students. He summoned his armor and weapons before dashing into the fray while slashing at the enemy's legs as the smell of smoke and blood hit his nose.

His attacks brought them to the ground, allowing Atlas to plunge into the bandit's skulls before moving on and slashing out as he sped past. Soon enough, the enemies were put down thanks to the combined efforts of the knights, but that's when he realized it was still nighttime.

The knights retreated to their camp as Marcus screamed for him to move, but it was too late. A Dark One lunged at Atlas, who yelped before quickly using Void Step to avoid the creature's claws an inch away from his face.

Atlas cast Void Blast at the monster, causing it to be sent flying into the forest as more of them appeared. They swarmed toward him, and he started sprinting toward his camp but was tackled as he crossed the Runes by a sneaky creature that appeared out of nowhere.

He went to defend himself, but the Dark One was burning until it turned into ash, allowing it to flop to the ground. As more monsters circled his camp, Atlas ignored them and started cooking more of the boar meat.

While sitting there, he pulled out the Lover's Band and instantly received a message, [Are you alright, my Amore? When you receive this, please send me a message as soon as possible]

'Amethyst,' Atlas thought when seeing the writing pop into his vision before he replied, knowing he had one message.

[Amethyst, I'm on the Zarandar Continent and will travel toward the Wildheart Kingdom, where the war has stalled. The Nightowls are chasing me, but I've managed to lose them for now]

Atlas smiled, knowing he could keep in contact with the girls. Once done, he started eating the meat he cooked but soon noticed the female knight approaching. She entered his camp and handed over something, ''Here's some Hearthfire Allspice to make your meat taste better.''

He looked at the older woman before taking the offering with a smile while thanking her, ''Thank you, but why are you giving me this?''

''A small gift for helping us; not many adventurers would risk themselves to fight bandits when they're not in danger,'' she explained before holding her hand out. ''I'm Marcia Valemont, Captain of the Everlasting Shields.''

''Azhar'Zul,'' he took her hand as he asked, ''Whats the Everlasting Shields?''

Marcia smiled, ''May I sit with you, Azhar'Zul?''

Atlas nodded while moving over to make room for her. Marcia sat beside him, giving him a good view of the mature woman. He found her beautiful. She had wavy brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes that glowed when the fire hit them.

He noticed she was a curvy woman with a well-endowed chest and fat in all the right places, which caused him to question, 'Older women are something else internally.'

''The Everlasting Shields is a group of warriors who came together to defend the common people that the nobles forget about, especially in the Achaemenid Empire where we protect towns, villages, and cities across Zarandar and Aridonia.''

Atlas was fascinated and offered Marcia some meat, which she happily accepted as he asked, ''So you're a hero to the commoners?''

Marcia giggled, which he found adorable before she answered while shaking her head, ''I'm no more than a soldier and no less. I'm fighting to show the small folk that there are people who will protect them from the world's evils.''

''A noble goal,'' Atlas replied with a smile.

She nodded before the two of them started eating while watching the stars as the Dark Ones screaming could be heard in the distance. Marcia looked at him with narrowed eyes, ''Are you the Dahaka? The Achaemenidian Devil?''

Atlas was taken aback when he heard Marcia's question and momentarily at a loss for words, but she pressed on. "Personally, I don't believe you're the Bringer of Chaos, but who can say for sure?"

He looked around for a way to escape, which caused the mature woman to laugh as she continued, ''So you're him! You're the one who points the way to paradise.''

When Atlas heard this, he got nervous, which showed, causing Marcia to put her hand on her chest while reciting something, ''On this world mana and may the Goddess Sol be my witness, I will never reveal your true identity to anyone, Azhar'Zul.''

A slight glow was seen as he was confused, but something inside him said he could trust this woman. Without thinking, Atlas spoke, ''Do you want to fight? I've got an itch that needs to be scratched.''

Marcia's blue eyes gleamed with excitement as she replied with a grin, ''Trying to win a woman's heart, Dahaka?''

After speaking, she stood up and readied her sword while extending the protective Runes so they would have enough room to fight. The brunette approached the center, with Atlas following behind.

He took out his blades and prepared to fight, and when Marcus saw them, he panicked, ''What are you two doing? It's dark and not time for a fight!''

''Don't worry, Marcus, the Night Demons have vanished and won't reappear,'' Marcia replied just before they started.

Atlas dashed forward but used Void Step to vanish. The brunette was ready and spun around while raising her blade to block his slash, causing his arm to vibrate. Marcia grinned as she went to kick him.

He raised his weapon to intercept her kick, but the force behind it hurled him backward, slamming him into the ground with a resounding thud. Atlas gasped for breath, quickly regaining his footing.

As Atlas leaped up, he unleashed a Void Blast in her direction to distract the older woman and scanned her to check her rank.

[Marcia Valemont]

[Level: 303]

[Rank: Expert]

'Damn, she's strong,' he thought, still catching his breath as he prepared for the next move.

Atlas smiled before rushing at Marcia again, who prepared for his strike. He swung again, but as it got close, he vanished again, only reappearing behind her. The mature woman giggled while using her bracer as she counter-attacked.

He was shocked by her sudden move, but Marcia spoke, ''I see you use speed, which makes sense for your age.''

She battered him away while continuing, ''You need to focus on precision, Azhar'Zul. You're small and delicate, so quickly strike at the weak points before getting away from the opponent before they can retaliate.''

Atlas nodded and tried again when she was ready to fight. He exploded forward but didn't use Void Step this time. His blades clashed against Marcia's sword, and they started trading attacks while dodging others.

Her holding back annoyed him, but it made sense, 'Marcia would demolish me.'

While thinking that, the brunette struck out and swiped his feet from under him as she spoke, ''You got distracted, boy! This isn't good.''

Atlas looked up to see her staring down at him with a smile, ''If you would be willing to travel with me, I could train you, boy.''

He saw up her dress and noticed she was wearing pink panties, but Atls cleared that lewd thought before answering, ''That would be good, I do need to learn more to get stronger. But Is there a soul or spirit mage on the route?''