Level Up: Voidwalker

Atlas gathered twenty green Monster Cores after the Dreadfiends ceased their assault and stored them in his storage before exhaling deeply; he flicked the blood from his blades, then cautiously continued down the street, remaining alert for any lingering threats.

While walking down the creepy street, the buildings were dark, and curtains sat still in the windless town. Atlas checked his status as he reached the town square, where the remains of old stalls lay abandoned.

[Level Up: 80→83]

[Experience: 1630/2000]

[Experience Gained: 6000]

[Mana: 2940→2960]

[Strength: 546→552]

[Stamina: 744→750]

[Core Points: 15000→19000]

[Core Points Gained: 4000]

Happy with his gains, Atlas was only seventeen levels away from ranking up again. After that, he glanced around the square and spotted many rundown stores with homes behind them, which gave him a bad feeling. Read further on m_vl em,pyr

Something told him to go to the mayor's mansion in the distance, which he started doing, 'Is the dungeon guiding me there?' he mused while walking toward the mansion.

Atlas continued through the town as it grew darker, allowing the Deathfiends to ambush him from the shadows. He sidestepped many attacks while striking back; after putting down a few creatures, he took out an Inferno Bomb and threw it into the center of the creatures.

A firestorm erupted when it connected with a monster's chest, devouring many Deathfiends and causing them to howl in agony. Atlas was shocked but decided not to use them against smaller targets anymore, as he could feel the flames on his skin.

Following that, he slaughtered the surviving creatures before collecting the ten cores. It took another twenty minutes to reach the mayor's mansion, and then he felt an ominous feeling wash over him as howls rang out from the courtyard outside.

Steeling himself, Atlas walked through the iron gates and saw a ten-foot being standing there holding a greatsword. It looked like a Dreadknight but was more vicious-looking, and its aura was stronger, affecting him.

'Another mini-boss? I'll use Void Sight,' he thought.

[Dreadfiend King]

[Second Sub-Boss]

[Rank: C - 500 Exp]

'Spider Queen and now a Dreadfiend King,' he mused. 'I'm feeling a pattern coming along. If I remember correctly, there were Death Gorillas and Blood Bats in this dungeon.'

Atlas readied his blades, but even then, he looked like a bug compared to the boss before him. The creature's black armor gave off an ominous feeling that seeped into his body, but he shook his head as a gong rang across the courtyard.

He looked at the new enemy and guessed it could wipe out dozens of soldiers with one swing of that deadly weapon resting on its shoulder. The Dreadfiend King dashed forward and swung the tree-sized sword at him.

When Atlas saw this, he yelped before using Void Sight to avoid the attack; once he reappeared, he cast several Void Blasts at the foe. The azure blue blasts connected with the creature's chest, causing it to stumble back.

After that, he lunged forward and slashed through the metal armor, trying to bring it down, but it wasn't good enough as the king swung its sword at him. Atlas crossed his blades and cast Void Guard just in time to defend himself, but the force of the strike sent him skidding across the courtyard.

Atlas collapsed to his knees, blood spilling from his mouth as he struggled to catch his breath as the pain radiated throughout his body. But that's when Regeneration quickly kicked in and started mending the internal injuries.

He reached into his pouch and pulled a health potion before downing it. Following that, Atlas got to his feet as pain shot through his body, causing him to yelp. He noticed the Dreadfiend King wasn't moving. 'Is it waiting for my next move?' he thought.

That's when an idea came to him. Atlas took out a Gravity and Thunderclap Bomb before dashing toward the enemy. When the creature saw this, it swung its sword in several arcs, but he was too quick and dodged several attacks.

'It's stronger than me but I'm faster,' he thought while closing in on the Dreadfiend King.

Once Atlas was close, he launched the Gravity Bomb at the boss's chest. When it connected, something strange happened: the air around the enemy started to warp, bringing him to his knees.

'Got you now,' he internally celebrated as he charged forward and threw the Thunderclap Bomb.

The bomb struck the Dreadfiend King squarely in the face, erupting in a thunderous explosion that sent the towering boss crashing onto its back. Seizing the moment, Atlas charged forward, his heart pounding with adrenaline.

As he reached the fallen giant, Atlas thrust his blade deep into its skull, the steel penetrating with a sickening crunch. He then unleashed a barrage of Void Bullets, each shot tearing through the creature's head and causing it to disintegrate into a horrible mixture of blood and bone.

Covered in the blood and gore, Atlas staggered back, overwhelmed by the brutal scene. He ripped off his helmet, his stomach churning, but it soon settled down as the body vanished into the dungeon, leaving beyond a red core and another key.

Atlas retrieved the silver item and carefully stowed it away, along with eight gold coins, into his storage. Exhausted, he slumped against a nearby tree, allowing himself a moment of rest as he caught his breath.

His mind wandered as he considered the path ahead. 'Two more directions left,' he mused, 'which means two more mini-bosses to face.'

After that, he continued to find the tunnel entrance, going up until he saw the other pathways. Atlas took the opposite one and ended up in a jungle, 'Death Gorillas, this is going to be annoying.'

Atlas was standing at the mouth of the entrance when he started hearing the hollering of the monsters in the distance. He noticed the trees moving, so he hid behind a nearby tree and watched several angry-looking monsters rush out of the bushes.

They slammed into the ground below as Atlas grinned, an idea for an ambush forming in his mind. He pulled out a Gravity Bomb and hurled it at the group. When it exploded, the Death Gorillas were forcefully slammed to the ground.

When that happened, he rushed in and started plunging his blades into the monster skulls, putting them down in minutes. Atlas took minutes to finish them all, but the roars never ceased as he collected the four red Monster Cores.

Following that, he was ambushed by more Death Gorillas, causing him to dodge their massive fists while getting a good look at the monsters. They stood five feet tall, had black hair, and raging red eyes with solid muscles rippled under their skin.

Thanks to their size, Atlas managed to dodge most attacks, and the ones he couldn't, he used Void Guard to block the stroke. His Void Arrows were effective against the muscular monsters who moved quicker than their size allowed.

Atlas kept up with them thanks to his speed. Nightblade bit into their flesh while he cast Void Blast, which blew one of the gorillas' arms clean off as he stabbed another in the eye. While fighting them, the third monster grabbed him by the legs.

He was dangling in the air but aimed his hand at the Death Gorilla's face before casting Void Blast. Atlas cast Void Wave to knock the surviving three back as he fell before dashing forward and slashing deep into the monster's legs.

The gorilla dropped to the ground with a crash before he thrust his blade through the creature's skull and cast Void Blast, turning its head into a pile of blood and gore that soon vanished back into the dungeon.

After dispatching the remaining Death Gorillas, Atlas collected twelve additional green monster cores and absorbed a substantial amount of experience, which brought a satisfied smile to his face. He pressed on through the dense forest, soon confronted by a relentless wave of Death Gorillas.

Atlas enjoyed dodging many attacks before lashing out with his blades and magic, which lit up the forest. A few times, the gorillas managed to hit him. A lucky creature broke his left arm as he blocked a punch.

When the dinnerplate-sized fist connected with his arm, he felt it instantly snap, causing him to scream out in pain as he crashed into a tree with a hard thud and dropped to the ground while yelping.

He looked down only to see his forearm dangling, which made him feel sick, but he focused back on the fight. Two more Death Gorillas rushed toward him with rage in their blood-red eyes.

Atlas jumped up and gripped Nightblade just as the first one got in range to swing, and predictably, it did just that. He ducked under the fist and stabbed the creature in the armpit, quickly casting Void Bullet before using Void Step to avoid the second gorilla attack.

A fist impacted the spot where Atlas was standing, which sent the first monsters flying back due to the force. He took advantage of the moment and slid Nightblade into the gorilla's neck as it tried to get back up.

When he felt his blade slice through the flesh of the monster, causing it to vanish back into the dungeon as the second gorilla wildly swung its massive arms, Atlas boobed and weaved around them while lashing out with his magic.

Void Arrow managed to impale the gorilla through the air before it crashed to the ground; after the battle, Atlas spotted seven green cores, which made him happy with the experience he had earned.