Level Up: Voidwalker

[Grishna's POV]

Grishna walked south to complete the Raider Ants quest. It took her half an hour to reach the farming village and find the quest giver. Before getting the information, she had to show her Adventurer's Badge and the quest paper to a suspicious old woman.

'Damn humans! Always distrustful,' the Orc girl thought.

She guessed it was because this side of the Thalassia Empires hated Orcs, thanks to all the previous wars between the two realms, which ended in a peace treaty. After thinking, Grishna questioned the quest giver and discovered the monsters had a colony on a nearby hill.

Following that, she made her way there and took out her spear. Grishna then saw her first Raider Ant. It was the size of a large dog and looked mindless as it dragged a monster's corpse toward a large hole in the side of a hill.

'The Workers are Rank G while the Warriors are Ranked F, easy peasy,' she thought as her excitement grew.

Grishna grinned before quickly casting an Earth Bolt as the creature, a cone of solid stone, formed above her. She sent it flying toward the ant, who finally paid attention, but the monster was too late as the projectile annihilated it.

'Yes! Ma magics is growing stronger!' she internally celebrated.

The Raider Ant dropped to the ground, its body curling up in death, triggering a chorus of chittering and clicking mandibles from the nest. Grishna smiled before pulling out a marble-sized piece of metal.

She cast Silver Shriek on it just as the first Warrior Ant rushed out of the entrance, then threw the metal at it. The projectile flew through the air and struck the monster on its head, emitting a shrill noise that confused the ants.

Grishna giggled at their reaction before bursting into motion. She rushed toward the entrance, casting Razorwind Blades that soared through the air, slicing through any ant they touched and cutting them in half.

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Once she cleared the entrance, Grishna approached it, but several ants appeared on top of the hill and charged at her. She smiled before blocking several attacks and sidestepped another as she plunged her spear into the monster's head.

In the meantime, even more Warriors Ants appeared, causing her smile to widen as she used Iron Fist to punch one of the monsters who tried to sneak up on her. Due to the impact, the creature exploded into chunks of meat and splattered over the other enemies.

Afterward, Grishna invoked Body Enhancement, enveloping herself in a shimmering aura of brown and silver. With renewed vigor, she proceeded to methodically slaughter every Raider Ant that emerged from the nest, employing a combination of Iron Fists, Metal Bullets, and her spear.

Once the flow of Raider Ants stopped, Grishna approached the nest entrance while taking out more metal balls. Before entering the cave, she readied her spells, but nothing appeared, causing her eyebrows to raise.

Grishna slowly moved through the monster tunnels, ensuring she could defend herself when attacked. But all she found were empty chambers until she reached the last tunnel, which descended further into the colony.

By the time Grishna was halfway down the tunnel, the chittering of dozens of ants had echoed around her, causing her predatory smile to widen. 'Let's see how you critters deal with this,' she thought, retrieving more metal marbles from her pouch.

She cast Silver Shriek on them just as she reached the entrance to the queen's chamber. As she stepped over the threshold, she scattered the marbles across the room. Each marble struck a surface, emitting an ear-piercing shrill that left the Raider ants and their queen dizzy and disoriented.

'Let's go!'

Seizing the opportunity, Grishna unleashed a barrage of Razorwind Blades and Earth Bolts into the densely packed horde, creating chaos among the ants. She then charged forward, her spear and enhanced body moving in deadly harmony.

With swift, precise strikes, she tore apart the warrior ants, effortlessly dodging a bite from the queen with agile ease. She pointed her hand at the larger ant and struck Earth Bolt down.

The queen dropped to the ground with a crash, allowing Grishna to ready her spear and attack every ant she could see until the colony was empty. Following that, she went around collecting 30 Black Monster Cores and all the mandibles she could fit in her space bag.

Afterward, Grishna left the cave after securing her spear and eating some jerky as the sun hit her face. She covered her eyes as she spoke, ''Should I hit Goblin Nest? Would be a good exercise to kill some of the little fuckers.''

With her mind made up, she collected the Guild Coin from the quest giver before heading toward the level one dungeon. Grishna wanted to run it before heading for the train station to meet Throne and his harem.

It took her several hours of running to reach the dungeon west of Suncrest City, situated alongside the banks of the Aurora River and nestled next to a mountain. A Thalassian stronghold fortified the area.

Inside the fort was an Adventurers Guild that functioned almost like a small town in its own right.

***

[Estelle Argonia's POV]

Estelle watched the landscape fly back as the train sped through the Thalassia Empire. Along the route, she saw dozens of towns and villages, which intrigued her because the Argonia Kingdom wasn't this big.

Thinking of home, Estelle grimaced, thinking of her fate if she were to stay back in her homeland, 'No way I'm marrying a soft noble,' she thought.

While sitting there, she heard her five guards praying and looked toward them in their private room. They were kneeling and mumbling words.

''Messiah of Heaven, hear our prayers, Guide us through the shadows of life. Carry us to the blessed land, Where peace and harmony reign.''

Estella watched Marie continue her prayers before saying something she'd become used to hearing with these women, ''The one who points the way.''

She didn't believe in their The Chosen Messiah. It was foretold that they would lead the knight kingdom to victory against the conquerors. 'Why did father assign me a group of hardcore fanatics,' she thought.

All she knew was that the Battle Sisters were from the Church of the Messiah. They were responsible for finding Le Messie Élu and becoming his shield in dark times. She respected their dedication as they swore off all vices and lived the life of a Lame Choisie.

Estelle shook her head and returned to looking out the window as Maria joined her. ''My Lady, I know you hate me talking about this, but you must take the prophecy seriously. It foretold that the Messiah would need a guardian, and ever since your birth, all the signs point to you.''

''I'm not his wife, Maria! I will only marry a man stronger than me, and by the time he comes along, I will be the strongest knight in Argonia.''

The older woman shook her head before explaining, ''You cannot run from fate, Estelle. You were meant to be The Chosen One's shield against the fire trying to cleanse the world; you will be beside him when the Great War starts with the Desert Warriors of the South.''

Estelle narrowed her eyes and retorted, ''Prove it, show me this great warrior!''

''Pray to our Lady Luxia; she will show you how,'' Maria and the other guards bowed.

She shook her head and started praying to the head goddess, and that's when the world around her turned black. Estelle wasn't worried when she heard a majestic voice, ''Little knight princess. Watch what my champion will become if the future comes true.''

That's when the scene changed again, and she was now standing on a rock surrounded by a group of women she couldn't make out because they were vague. She shook her head and looked at the form standing above them.

Estelle noticed he was clad in distinctive blue armor that covered most of his body and came with a scarf to protect himself from the brutal sun. He stood tall, his snow-white hair contrasting with glowing azure eyes.

She quickly noticed his elf-like ears and whiter-than-usual skin, which caught her interest. After that, she gazed across the sea of warriors; she couldn't help but gulp. 'Saharaelian Warriors! Rumors claim they're the strongest fighters in Valoria, surviving the death trap known as the Blue Dune Desert.'

While thinking, she was brought back as the boy raised a glowing Azarakhsh Blade and passionately shouted, ''Long live the warriors!''

The Saharaelians responded in kind, and Estelle felt the warriors' fanaticism. She shook her head as the scene changed to a massive battle on the edge of the desert, where the Desert Warriors were battling with the Achaemenidian Imperial Army.

She heard chanting, ''Azhar'Zul! Azhar'Zul!''

Estelle turned around to see a million-strong army charging toward the Achaemenidians. Soon, she was pulled back into the darkness as a woman's voice was heard, ''See, little knight, that is one of many futures the boy can take if the right people, including yourself, surround him.''

She nodded, ''This gives a lot to think about, Goddess Luxia; thank you for hearing my prayer.''

''You're welcome Estelle,'' the goddess replied before concluding. ''Now enjoy your rest, Estelle Argonia, Azhar'Zul's shield against Chaos.''

Following Luxia's words, she was sent back to the train, where she woke up as the moons were high in the sky. She quickly noticed they were traveling through a forest and didn't know where they were.