Level Up: Voidwalker

Atlas pulled out the map and found he was a few miles away from Bugeta, a city on the coast of the Sirens Sea. He made his way toward it while scanning the landscape for monsters. All he saw were snow-covered hills and giant karsts that stretched into the sky and pierced the clouds.

Some of them had small forests decorating the stone, which confused him even more. 'Hopefully, I get some peace and no more attacks,' he thought with a smile.

While traveling, he found road merchants and people who used to travel to the city. Atlas followed it after dismissing his helmet and feeling the refreshing breeze against his face while sighing.

People looked at him like he was a rare creature, quickly causing him to realize that most of the people were dark-skinned. 'Seems like my pale self is the odd one in the Nubian Empire,' Atlas thought while glancing around.

''Look at the lost Mzungu; what brings a snow elf to Nubia?'' A deep, gruff voice sounded from behind him.

He spun around and saw two towering black men clad in barbarian-like armor. The one standing behind gripped a massive stone club, while the other, who had spoken, held a spear as large and imposing as a lamppost.

Atlas was confused but shook his head before answering, ''I must go to Carthage to find a Spirit Mage. A close friend of mine was injured protecting me, so I'm trying to help her.''

The man spoke with a big smile, ''An elf on a mission, I see. I'm Jabari Mwanza, and this is my husband, Tariq. We were heading to Bugeta to rearm after a mission went wrong.''

''Okay. I'm Azhar'Zul,'' Atlas returned the gesture.

He was about to walk off, but Jabari quickly warned, ''Young elf. You must be careful in Nubia. Most of the empire is Wildlands with hundreds of Wild Tribes who eat travelers or slavers that would love to capture you.''

Atlas faltered before turning to the mountain of a man with narrowed eyes while questioning, ''Why are you helping a random young boy?''

Jabari's expression softened, but Tariq spoke in an even deeper voice that reminded him of a particular villain from a space film back on Earth, ''We were traveling with a young human who came to experience Nubian culture. He was hot-headed and strong in his own right, but he would never listen.''

A frown appeared on his face, causing Atlas to relax as he continued, ''Little Dean always wanted to explore and see the world, but unfortunately, he wandered too far, and the Southern Valley Cannibals caught him.''

Atlas watched Jabari's anger flare, his voice finally breaking the silence. ''They tortured the poor boy, devouring him alive after... having their way with him. I can't bear to see something like that happen again.''

"Why is the empire not doing anything?'' he questioned the two men.

Tariq gestured for the three to keep moving and replied, "They've tried thousands of times, but the tribes retreat deep into the jungles, woods, and swamps of Aridonia. It doesn't help that the Achaemenidians send bandits to attack us—they've infested the entire Northeast of the empire."

''So it's a land full of dangerous monsters, tribes, and bandits?'' Atlas asked as his eyes gleamed with excitement.

The two men looked at him like he was crazy, but he smiled and continued, ''I have plenty of help in case anything goes wrong, and I'm sure you will start hearing about my mischief in the following weeks.''

They looked at him with horrified looks, but Atlas activated Dungeon Conquerer and summoned the Dreadmaw Lion Queen. When the giant lion monster appeared, she let out a roar as he jumped on her back.

'Your name shall be Nala from now on. Can you shrink down?' Atlas questioned while stroking the creature's dark fur. 'We need to make you look like a tame.'

'Yes, Master! I will make myself look like an elegant celestial beast to impress the travelers,' her voice echoed in his mind.

Nala nodded, and an azure glow enveloped her body. As the light shimmered around her, she gradually shrank, reducing in size until she was no larger than an ordinary lion. The two men watched this in shock as Jabari and Tariq stepped back.

Atlas chuckled before speaking, ''No need to worry. She is my tame and loyal companion.''

''Looks like you will be having some fun on Aridonia,'' Jabari said with a smile. ''Good luck on your journey, Mzungu. We will be listening for the stories.''

He nodded as Nala launched forward like a bullet, tearing across the endless landscape with relentless speed toward Bugeta. The wind roared in Atlas's ears, his hair whipping wildly as they charged toward the coastal city.

They plunged into the woodlands, where arrows suddenly rained down on them. Instantly, Atlas cast Void Guard, effortlessly deflecting the incoming barrage. With lightning speed, he launched himself at the ambushing bandits, his blade flashing as he sliced them apart with just a few slashes.

Nala pounced on a group of bandits, shredding them into chunks of flesh. Together, they butchered every foe in their path, leaving the forest floor drenched in blood. Once Atlas was done, he jumped back on her back as they approached Bugeta.

Upon reaching the city, Atlas dismissed Nala and paid twenty coppers for entry. As he stepped through the gate, he was greeted by a sprawling view of wooden buildings stretching endlessly in every direction with the occasional stone structure.

Atlas started looking for the guild to see if he could take any quests while heading southwest. It took him about half an hour to find his destination, which was already busy as it was still early morning.

Walking inside was like any other guild, with a counter, bar, and standard room where other people relaxed while waiting to go on quests. Atlas approached the board and looked for anything he could take.

He picked out twenty random surrounding Bugeta and walked over to the counter when a young man was waiting to serve someone. The receptionist looked up with a professional smile as he spoke, ''I am Jackson. How can I help you today?''

Atlas gave the man all the quests, which shocked him as he flicked through before speaking with a raised eyebrow, ''Are you sure you can deal with so many young men? Also, can I please see your guild card?''

'Why is he acting weird?' he thought while staring at the receptionist.

He shrugged before taking out the white card and handing it over, which shocked Jackson; the young man muttered, ''You're a Rank E at your age?''

Atlas watched him put the card in a machine before typing away and looked at him while speaking, ''I've registered the quests to your account; if you need any more, be happy to take them off the board.''

''Oh, thank you,'' he said while retrieving his card.

Jackson smiled before informing him, ''After those quests, you must complete another two hundred eighty to take your next Rank Up Test.''

Atlas nodded and thanked the man as he left the guild while reading the first three quests to see where he had to go.

[Deal with the bandits hassling a small fishing village to the north - Reward: 7 Gold - Proof: Any identification of the bandits]

[Kill the Ironhold Lord in Bandit Cove to the south - Reward: 12 Gold - Proof: Ironhold's metal eye]

[Deal with the Slavers plaguing the southern villages - Reward: 6 Gold - Proof: Any Identification of the Slavers]

'These seem fun and will earn me a lot of gold and experience,' Atlas chuckled. 'Hopefully, I can rank up with these three.'

Following that, he walked toward the northern gate, where he showed the guards he had a quest. They all wished him luck, and when stepping outside, he summoned Nala, who appeared and started nudging against his body.

'Let's head north to kill the bandits lurking there, girl,' Atlas said while stroking the giant lion, shocking the guards watching the scene.

He jumped up on her back before dashing across the snowy landscape as he informed the Dreadmaw Lion, 'Try to smell any odd human tracks, Nala. We need to find these bandits.'

'Yes, Master! My nose can smell a Horned Rabbits fart from several miles away,' Nala boasted.

Atlas looked at the silly lion and bonked her on the head, 'Why the hell are you sniffing that stuff for?'

Nala acted offended before she tried to defend herself, 'I did not! It was just a funny example, Master.'

He chuckled as the lion returned to running while searching for bandit camps. Shortly afterward, Atlas spotted the village that the outlaws were terrorizing. Nala suddenly stopped as she told him excitedly, 'I can smell dirty humans! Can I eat some, please?'

'Of course, girl,' Atlas responded while stroking her ear, causing the monster to tremble. 'Let's sneak up on them before launching a surprise attack.'

The lion agreed as she ran in the scent's direction until the duo came across a small lake with a mid-sized bandit camp hidden by the surrounding hills. When Atlas saw this, his smile grew as he said, ''I'm going to earn so much for these quests.''

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