Level Up: Voidwalker

Following Springbloom was Solaris, the summer season, which included Solstaria, Sunfire, Goldray, and Suncrest. He found the names captivating, each evoking the essence of the season.

Finally, he recalled the last season, Goldenfall, which had four months: Harvestfall, Glimmerfall, Emberfall, and Harvestmoon. Atlas then went over it again just to be sure, \'Winterfrost, Springbloom, Solaris then Goldenfall. Easy enough to remember.\'

Atlas shook his head and decided to read Alisha\'s journal when he wasn\'t at the bottom of the sea while looking after the Gaint Gruper eggs. After that, he stood up and went to the last place to check.

\'This must be the bridge,\' Atlas thought while stepping up the stairs and opening the door, blinded by darkness.

He cast Light that illuminated the large bridge that had everything needed for sailing the ship, but Atlas noticed the dead bodies littered the place. They had holes burrowed through their rusted helmets.

\'What did this?\' Atlas thought while getting closer to the nearest body, and when doing that, he got the same feeling from them that the eggs gave off. \'Was chaos involved in their deaths?\'

Atlas didn\'t know what to think but looked around and found nothing; the maps were rotten and eaten by the many tiny insects. After that, he left the place behind and returned to the water.

He quickly activated Aqua Lung before jumping in and was face to face with a baby Giant Grouper, who nudged his body in a friendly gesture. To the mother\'s excitement, Atlas followed behind and continued to heal the eggs.

\'This shouldn\'t take too long now,\' he thought while burning through his mana.

Dozens of babies were swimming around the ship\'s hold, which caught Atlas\'s attention, but something gave him a bad feeling. Atlas rushed toward the entrance, which caught Mother Grouper\'s attention.

When Atlas arrived, another Trench eel slammed into his body while biting down, but its teeth couldn\'t penetrate the armor. He raised the Nightblade and thrust it into the monster\'s head as it thrashed around the hold.

He stabbed it before sending a Void Blast through its body, causing it to slow down and allowing the Giant Grouper Mother to attack it from the rear. The fish took minutes to kill it, but the monster\'s jaws opened once it was over.

Atlas swam out but was headbutted by the mother, who thanked him. As she did that, a chest caught his attention. \'Let\'s loot this thing.\'

After the fish finished thanking him, Atlas swam over to the chest, used his blade to break the lock, and opened the lid only to be hit with a wave of mana. Even the Groupers sensed it and bunched up for protection.

He went through it and found a weird sheet of paper that started shaking as it approached him. Atlas cast Void Guard to defend himself against it, but it flew right through it and hit his chest.

[Subject is perfect for The ******* ******** Skill]

That\'s when Atlas\'s world went black, and he appeared in a black room, which confused him, \'Where am I now? What did that paper do?\'

While looking around, he heard a woman\'s voice, \'\'So the Voidwalker stumbles into my domain, interesting.\'\'

The scene changed, and he was sitting in a chair with a figure sitting opposite him, but Atlas couldn\'t make them out apart from the outline, \'\'Who are you? You\'re not Luxia or Nyx.\'\'

A laugh reached his ears before the stranger answered, \'\'You could say I\'m a caretaker of the universe. I brought you here because you\'re what I\'ve been searching for and only recently appeared, making it even better for me.\'\'

\'\'Another chosen one?\'\' Atlas said in a strained voice as he rolled his eyes.

The woman giggled before answering, \'\'In a way, yes, but all it requires you do is something you already had planned, which is perfect because the family who used to wield such power has been gone for many years.\'\'

Atlas was confused and questioned, \'\'How can I use the skill if this family was the ones who used it?\'\'

\'\'Your past is clouded in a strange fog; it seems a powerful god is watching over you. So I can\'t answer that,\'\' the stranger commented.

\'\'Huh? Isn\'t that Luxia and Nyx?\'\' Atlas asked.

The figure shook its head, \'\'There\'s more than just the Valoria gods, boy. The universe is a big place.\'\'

\'\'So what does this skill do?\'\' Atlas changed the subject because he didn\'t want to get a headache.

\'\'It\'s a boost to your little Void Realm; those monsters alone won\'t be enough when the World Eaters appear,\'\' the stranger said while standing up. \'\'All you need to do is conquer a dungeon to unlock the skill, and all will be shown to you.\'\'

Atlas looked confused yet again, but this caused him to reply, \'\'Is it another tower?\'\'

The figure shook its head. "No, that\'s not it. Simply complete a dungeon and place your hand on the core. Once you do, you\'ll be guided. They\'re aware you\'re awake now and want you to accept their help."

\'\'Dungeons are living beings?\'\' Atlas commented.

\'\'In a way, yes, but not in the way you\'re alive. Now return to the real world and check your chest when you wake up *********,\'\' the stranger said before he was sent back.

Atlas felt a pulling sensation and woke up in front of his chest, with the Giant Grouper babies swarming him. He sat up, rubbed his head, and said, \'\'I\'m fine, but I need some air to finish your eggs, girl.\'\'

The giant fish looked at him with appreciation as he swam to the air pocket before reactivating the skill just as he felt it level up.

[Aqua Lung: 0→1]

\'Oh nice, hopefully, it keeps increasing,\' Atlas thought.

He finished tending to the last egg with a sigh of relief. He searched the hold as the Giant Grouper Mother cared for the newborns. However, he found little of interest aside from some decaying cargo.

Then, Atlas swam back up to the air pocket to set up his tent to rest and eat a Dragon Meat Feast before eating and recovering from the tiredness that washed over his body. Once he finished eating, he remembered the stranger\'s words and checked his chest to see a small star tattoo that gave off a little glow.

Afterward, he settled down to get some rest before heading south. Atlas dozed off as soon as his head hit the soft pillow, but he didn\'t notice the chaos outside that was happening, causing waves to sweep away everything in its path.

Luckily, the ship was well dug into the seafloor, which routed it in place. The following day, Atlas woke up and climbed out of the tent only to realize the light had gone out, causing him to cast Light to illuminate his surroundings.

Atlas packed the camping stuff before using Aqua Lung and jumped into the water. The hold was empty when diving below, causing him to think, \'Where did the Giant Groupers go?\'

He shrugged before swimming out of the shipwreck to see nothing; no monsters were lurking around. Atlas was baffled but ignored it before traveling south while being careful; it took him a few hours to see the ground slowly rising, which meant the shore was close.

"Not long now until I\'m back on dry land," Atlas mused, but a sudden instinct made him turn around.

To his surprise, he saw a fierce battle between a Trench eel and a Deepfang Crocodile. Shaking his head in frustration, Atlas hurried toward the shore. When he finally touched the shoreline, he let out a deep sigh of relief.

That\'s when Atlas spotted a sea of trees in front of him, but that wasn\'t all. Several older people led a group of young men and women. They were staring at him with wide eyes and opened jaws.

\'Who the hell are these people?\'

Atlas shook his head before speaking, \'\'Where is the nearest city? I was in a shipwreck miles from here and need somewhere to rest.\'\'

After speaking, he watched one of the older men step forward and say, "To the east is Tel Habair, a bustling trade city. Alternatively, you could join us on our journey to Tajariyah, the mountain city to the west, which is where we\'re headed now. Would you like to come with us?"

He nodded in return before the younger group members looked skeptical. Still, the man held his hand and introduced himself, \'\'I\'m Marcus Steelway, Professor of Potions and Herbology at the Zarathian Academy of Magic in Tajariyah City.\'\'

Atlas took his hand while responding, \'\'I\'m Atlas, adventurer, and explorer.\'\'

Marcus nodded, and the two walked away from the group. The older man continued, "Atlas, my boy, you must be careful in the Achaemenid Empire. You stand out significantly on the Zarander Continent, and slavers will likely be enthusiastic to capture you."

"Thank you for the warning," Atlas replied, then asked about Tajariyah.

Marcus delved into details, explaining that the city was constructed on the mountainside and within its caverns, allowing for impressive expansion. Atlas was intrigued and eager to see it, but the man informed him it would take a couple of days to reach.

Following that, the older man probed into Atlas\'s origins but dodged most questions, only fabricating a story about fleeing the Moonhare Kingdom when the Argonians invaded weeks back.