Level Up: Voidwalker

When Atlas heard Amethyst's answer, he grew curious and asked, "What's Red Stars?"

Everyone laughed at his innocence, but the man soon explained, "The last recorded incident happened thousands of years ago, in a world very different from today. It's said that thousands of stars that were red streaking across the sky signaled the beginning of the turmoil Valoria endured during those times."

''How do people know what happened so long ago?'' Atlas commented once hearing the man's explanation.

''Mana Stones or preserved books found in the lost cities that adventurers come across while exploring Valoria's unchartered lands,'' the older man answered.

Following that, their boat sped along the coast as the explosions faded. They traveled for twenty minutes until they reached a bay where a large metal trireme-looking warship was anchored.

Atlas admired the massive vessel, noting how it dwarfed their small boat. However, its lack of oars or sails caught his attention most. Instead, he noticed hatches along the ship's sides, presumably where the cannons would emerge.

As they approached, the man expertly maneuvered their boat alongside the warship. Two metal ropes extended from the larger ship, connecting to their boat and lifting it onto the deck.

A dozen soldiers awaited them there, snapping to attention and saluting as soon as they saw the couple. When everyone saw Estelle, they knelt in respect, causing the blonde knight to sigh in frustration as she mumbled, ''Must they do this everywhere.''

The woman started laughing, ''Can't blame the men, princess. You rescued most of them from slavery during the Emberfall War.''

Atlas wondered what they were discussing and asked, ''What is the Emberfall War? I've never heard of it.''

When the couple heard this, they turned to him like he was an idiot before Estelle answered, ''I'll explain later, Le Messie Élu, but let me introduce our hosts.''

She motioned toward the man, ''This is Uncle Pierre and Aunty Juliette. They are my mother's brother and sister-in-law.''

Atlas and the girls looked at Estelle, who giggled, but he questioned, ''Why did you tell us they were your relatives? And why are they charging you coin for passage?''

''We still got a business to run and sailors to pay, boy. Even if Stella is my niece, she still has to pay,'' Pierra responded defensively.

Estelle shook her head before introducing the girls, ''The orc is Grishna Brokentooth, the brunette is Artemis, and the last one is Amethyst. They are a part of my party, and we all met under special circumstances.''

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The older couple greeted the group with a smile, and Juliette commented, ''Did you call this young man Le Messie Élu? How do you know it's truly him?''

Pierre's gaze landed on Atlas, who nodded in response before speaking, ''I use void magic, which Estelle said proves that I'm this messiah she speaks of.''

''Prove it,'' the woman demanded as her brown eyes never left Atlas.

He rolled his eyes and extended his hand towards the sea, conjuring a Void Bullet. The azure projectile streaked across the sky and detonated over the open ocean, creating a beautiful light show that surprised Estelle's relatives and the sailors.

The girls cheered with delight. Amethyst hurried over and embraced him, planting a kiss on his cheek. Meanwhile, Lilith's curious head peeked out from his shirt, her yellow eyes scanning the surroundings before retreating inside.

Following that, Pierre and Juliette looked at him with wide eyes and jaws hanging up. The older man shook his head, ''You're the Le Messie Élu; the L'Église du Messie priests and bishops must hear about this when we reach Volantis.''

While Pierre spoke, Juliette prayed, which caught Atlas's attention, ''Celui qui montre le chemin nous mènera au paradis.''

''What does that mean?'' he asked the older woman.

The older blonde smiled, ''The one who points the way will lead us to paradise, Little one,'' she said in a friendly tone.

Then Pierra rushed them on board as a Ravenian warship approached, ''Julietta will show you your rooms. I must deal with the mercenaries, which shouldn't take long.''

The group was led down a set of stairs and along a walkway as the woman spoke, ''We have an Imperial Pass from the Achaemenid High Command that allows us to operate during their invasion. It's one of the reasons we can take you to Volantis.''

''How did you get the pass so fast? They've just launched their invasion,'' Artemis commented.

Juliette nodded, ''Well, the negotiations went well, and the king and his council agreed to most commitments but wanted to take Moonshare and Everglade Kingdoms for themselves, which the Achaemenidian diplomats accepted if they paid slightly more taxes and even offered aid in their conquest,'' she explained as they arrived at a dead end.

Atlas watched her hit the wall, and a door appeared, shocking the group, but she hurried them inside while speaking, ''Stay here until I return and try to be quiet; the Ravenians may want to search the ship.''

Everyone agreed before she hid in the doorway while everyone else sat down to get comfortable. As they settled in, Atlas asked the group, "What does 'Koshai' mean? The Ravenians call me that, just like the Evergladians call me 'Shaytan al-Kharab.''

"The Butcher," Estelle revealed. "Many kingdoms see you as a devil because of the stories."

Atlas nodded as the group continued to chat, allowing him to try to learn the new spells he had before trying the Void Realm again. He pulled out Void Blast and started reading while the world around him faded.

While reading, Atlas realized that magic requires imagination, which he had in abundance. This allowed him to quickly learn Void Blast, as he visualized Amethyst's spell but swapped the cosmic element for his void, and then the notification popped up.

[Void Blast Learned]

[Alert: Three spell slots left]

Following that, Atlas started on Void Wave, but before he could read, Amethyst sat next to him with a smile. "Learning some new spells? It takes a while, but you'll get the hang of it, Amore."

He smiled back. "I've learned Void Blast and now I'm moving on to the one I bought in Wildreach."

"An hour already? You've been engrossed for so long," she muttered.

Atlas chuckled at her surprise, then shared, "I use my imagination to visualize spells, which helps me learn them quickly. You should give it a try once we reach Volantis; I'll buy a spell for you to practice."

"You can't do that, spells are expensive," Amethyst protested.

"I have plenty of coins for now, and I'll always earn more," Atlas answered. "You're my girlfriend, Amethyst. It's the least I can do."

She beamed at his words, leaning her head on his shoulder as the ship rocked gently from side to side, and Atlas returned to his reading. Another notification popped up an hour later, letting him know about his new addition.

[Void Wave Learned]

[Alert: Two spell slots left]

After that, Atlas shook his head and noticed Amethyst and Artemis sleeping on the bed in the back of the room. He glanced around and heard Grishna being sick in the bathroom, which made him smile.

'She's seasick,' he mused.

That's when he spotted Estelle sitting at a table reading while Lilith was stretched out in front of a fireplace. Atlas wondered what this room was, but the blonde spoke, ''This is the government cabin. Usually, my uncle and aunt shuttle diplomats around, so this place would have been theirs.''

Atlas nodded, ''What happened to the Ravenians?''

''They searched the ship but found nothing, so the soldiers left once they realized the ship was Argonian,'' Estelle answered, looking up at him and giving him a beautiful smile.

''Okay,'' Atlas said, trying not to be charmed by the blonde.

He decided to try the Void Realm and got comfortable before activating the skill, which sucked his consciousness into the strange world. Atlas appeared in front of the forest where the Void Raptors lurked.

Atlas looked at the trees but jumped as an announcement popped into his vision.

[Voidwalker! You're back and want to give level 1 another go. I wish you well]

''Who are you?'' he asked out loud.

[Pass level 1, and I'll give you a clue, Little Voidwalker]

'Okay. Let's go,' Atlas hyped himself while walking into the forest.

As soon as he stepped foot inside, loud calls erupted from all around him. Atlas couldn't pinpoint anything, so he readied his dagger and magic as something exploded from the nearby bushes.

Atlas cast Void Guard before trying Void Blast, which erupted from his outstretched hand and slammed into the monster with such force that it sent it flying. He was shocked at the power but checked his mana after using it.

[Mana: 1540/1560]

'It used forty mana, not bad,' he mused.

Then, Atlas continued deeper into the forest, but the Void Raptor constantly ambushed him; he used Void Arrow and Blast to keep them away. But twenty minutes passed, and he was surrounded by a group of six.

They were growling, but this made Atlas smile before he cast Void Wave. This new spell sent out a wave of volatile azure mana that sent the monsters fleeing, but he chased after them while stabbing each one.

Atlas had slain countless Void Raptors, leaving his arms aching and his body screaming for rest. "If this isn't my body, why do I feel like this?" he mused aloud.

Shaking his head, he spotted a log that overlooked a river. Climbing atop it, he settled down and took a moment to rest, gazing at the flowing water below. While watching, something launched itself at him.

He quickly cast Void Blast at the creature only to realize it was a Void Raptor sneaking up on him from the water.