Level Up: Voidwalker

Atlas watched the wind and rain batter everything around him, but his hideaway protected him from getting wet. He sat there and ate the Forest Boar meat as the storm uprooted trees and flew debris everywhere.

He spotted boulders crash against the mountainside, causing the ground to shake thanks to the multiple impacts, some coming perilously close to him due to the wind blowing them in his direction.

The debris caused him to activate the spell Void Guard to shield himself from the debris that flew through the air, 'This isn't getting any better,' he thought while glancing at the landscape around him. 'Maybe I could kill some Void Bears until the storm stops.'

Atlas shook his head, shivering as the cold air seeped into his bones. He decided to escape the cold and head into level two of the Void Realm. After making up his mind, he crawled into the tent he had set up in a small crevice that shielded him from the storm.

Once out of the storm, Atlas got comfortable by getting into his sleeping bag before activating the Void Realm skill. His consciousness was sucked out of his body and reappeared in the tunnel where the bears had killed him the previous time.

'This is going to get boring quick. Hopefully, the other levels offer different challenges,' Atlas mused.

He glanced around but saw nothing as he readied his blades and equipped his armor with a single thought, causing them to appear from his storage. Within minutes of starting the level, he heard two roars reverberating through the ground from a few meters down the tunnel.

'They're here,' Atlas thought with an excited smile. 'I want to kill a few hundred today to knock the total down so I can use the bears in battle.'

While listening, he prepared to fight as two angry-looking Void Cave Bears were charging in his direction; their large bodies made the ground tremble with every step, causing him to cast several Void Bullets at them to try to slow the angry creatures down.

The azure projectiles sliced through the air before slamming into the monsters, followed by explosions, which erupted and injured one of the bears, but the first one wasn't affected much.

'The spell got one of them,' he thought. 'I just have to dodge the bear's claws.'

That's when the second bear collapsed, its damaged paw buckling under its weight. Seeing this, Atlas dashed forward and evaded the uninjured bear's swipe by ducking just before he rammed the Nightblade into the injured one's skull, causing it to go still.

'Now for the last one, it should be on top of me by now,' he pondered as he pulled out his sword.

Its body turned to azure motes as the first Cave Bear rushed at him, enraged. Atlas dodged all the wild strikes while cutting the giant creature's body. He ducked under one swing and blasted it with a Void Blast, causing the monster to stumble back.

Then, Atlas lunged forward and used Void Step to appear above it. He fell toward the bear before impaling it through the head using his blades. Following that he jumped off as the monster turned into motes.

'This is getting easier,' he ponders while walking. But it's only the first two monsters. I wonder what the others are like.'

He continued his journey down the tunnel until the light got closer, which excited him because it meant getting out of the damp, dark underpass. However, he had to fight three more bears before reaching the outside world, as he checked the Void Bear totals.

[Cave Void Bears – 1990/2000]

'Only ten!' he thought as the light washed over his body.

Atlas was on a massive plateau covered in trees that created a small forest in the cloud; foliage littered the ground, and many Savage Bears probably hid there. Even with that, though, he still found the landscape beautiful.

'This place is something else; I've never seen anything like it,' he mused with a smile.

Odd-looking flowers decorated the bottom of the trees as vines hung between the branches, making them look ancient. Atlas stepped forward only to jump when ten Savage Bears charged out of the brush and headed straight for him.

'I called it!' he thought.

Atlas readied his blades as the first one swung at his torsos, but he deflected it with the short sword while stabbing the bear through its eye, causing the monster to shudder before collapsing dead.

He started fighting the other nine and slowly killed them while darting around the trees and using the bushes to tangle the monsters up. Atlas's tactics tripped some of them, allowing him to stab the bears through the skull until there were three left.

Experience new worlds on M-VL-em|p,yr

The remaining Savage Bears stood opposite Atlas, smiling before charging at them. When the monsters spotted this, the one in the middle lunged forward while swiping at him, but he deflected the creature's claws.

Atlas quickly stabbed the Savage Bear in the head while moving past it and casting Void Wave when the other two lunged at him. The azure mana wave shot out of his body and slammed into the monsters.

The spell cut one in half, sending the remaining one flying into the bushes before turning into motes. Atlas started traveling through the forest, moving around the trees and foilage as he checked the Void Bear totals.

[Savage Void Bear – 4967/5000]

[Cave Void Bears – 1990/2000]

'Is this even worth it? And where do I do?' Atlas thought just as a message popped up.

[You will grow in strength as you progress; check your status when back in the other world - Follow the signs, Little One; it will lead the way while killing the Void Bears]

He nodded before continuing through the forest, killing over one hundred Savage Void Bears. Atlas started getting used to fighting the bears by using speed and fast strikes to put the monsters down.

Afterward, he discovered a pathway winding down the side of a mountain, bathed in an unusual glow. While looking at it, he wondered, 'Could this be the sign the message mentioned?'

As he approached, a roar shook as he spotted a few Cave Void Bears seconds leading an army of smaller Savage Bears. They slid down the mountain face while letting out enraged roars and looking to kill him.

He started casting Void Bullets and Void Blasts into the swarm of monsters. Atlas watched as the explosions ripped the bears apart, but that didn't slow any of them down as the first Cave Bear reached him.

Atlas dodged the bear's bite and quickly cast a Void Arrow, which pierced through the creature's skull, slicing through flesh and bone before obliterating its brain. As the monster dissolved into motes, a new group of ten smaller bears emerged in its place.

When the monsters got close, Atlas started battling the Savage Bears by avoiding their attacks and striking with metal and magic. His attack caused the monsters to drop dead before turning into motes.

It took him at least ten minutes to fight, leaving him breathless while he checked the total while resting.

[Savage Void Bear – 4857/5000]

[Cave Void Bears – 1987/2000]

'Slowly going down,' he mused as he pressed up the pathway despite the relentless attacks from more Savage Bears.

He effortlessly evaded numerous claw swipes and bites, though a few strikes found their mark while ripping open his skin. Atlas's armor withstood some blows, but only their sharp claws could pierce and slice through his flesh.

Atlas gritted his teeth as pain surged through his body. With a final burst of strength, he unleashed a Void Wave to finish off the remaining bears before collapsing to his knees as his Regeneration kicked in and stitched the injuries closed.

[Savage Void Bear – 4805/5000]

Following that, he stood up and stretched out, causing his bones to click, which made him feel better. Atlas continued up the mountain until he came to a glacial valley, 'What is his crazy place?' he pondered.

He noticed a hill with an arena in the valley's center, causing him to start walking towards it, but he was attacked by even more Savage Void Bears that ambushed him from the underbrush and branches above.

Atlas managed to kill the monsters without taking much damage while using his weapons and Void Guard to defend himself. He took out over three dozen bears were taken out, and once he had done that, a loud and earth-shaking roar rang out from the valley center.

'What the hell was that? It sounds even more ferocious than the Cave Void Bears,' Atlas thought.

He continued across the open landscape until he came to a huge amphitheater with a massive bear that resembled a polar bear on steroids. The bear's glowing blue eyes and bright white fur glowed under the light, which appeared from nowhere.

Atlas gulped when seeing this beast and scanned it using Void Sight.

[Void Brute Bear]

[Rank: C]

'It's one whole rank above me,' Atlas thought.

He went to back off, but a woman's voice reached his ears, ''Come forth, Voidwalker. The queen sent me here to challenge you in the first valley.''

Atlas was confused and replied in a shakey tone, ''First valley? How many are there?''

''Eleven Little One with our queen at the end of the Valley Challenges,'' the Void Brute Bear replied. ''Now, let's battle and see how well you've grown since level one.''

When Atlas heard this, he readied his weapons before stepping into the amphitheater. A forcefield blocked them inside, and blue torches lit up the arena.