Level Up: Voidwalker

Following the battle with the Death Gorillas, Atlas continued through the jungle and was happy he wasn't attacked again. Thanks to Regeneration, his arm was fully healed, allowing him to summon the Blood Knife back to him.

Soon enough, he came across an arena in the middle of the jungle that resembled Aztec architecture, 'This place reminds me of the books of forgotten cities in the Amazon Jungle back on Earth,' he thought while glancing around.

The colosseum lit up as a gate opened, and a larger Death Gorilla confidently strode into the arena with a swagger. Atlas noticed the monster wore ominous black metal armor that covered most of its body except the knees.

That's when Atlas saw the monster was wielding a massive war hammer resembling an iron block that could destroy him in one hit, 'What the hell is this thing? It's a mafia-acting monster,' he thought while tightening his grip on the blades.

He scanned the mini-boss to find out its rank.

[Death Gorilla Champion]

[Third Sub-Boss]

[Rank: C - 500 Exp]

After Atlas saw the monster's rank, he got excited because the fight would be exhilarating and push him to go further. Without wasting another second, he burst forward so fast that he created a sonic boom behind him before aiming at the creature's exposed knee.

'That's where I will attack,' Atlas grinned. 'Maybe I can bring it down to get the advantage.'

The Champion jumped back before swinging its war hammer down forcefully. Atlas quickly stopped attacking and slid through the monster's legs to avoid the attack while casting a dozen Void Blasts and Void Bullets at its torse.

Explosions lit up the arena, causing the Champion to stumble back due to the sudden counterattack. Atlas pushed forward and put pressure on the Mini-Boss by repeatedly striking its knees with his blades.

As the monster felt this, it swung its weapon, causing Atlas to drop to the ground. He felt the metal on the tip of his nose. Following that attack, he soon realized the constant fights were taking their toll on his body.

'This is going to be harder than I thought,' Atlas thought.

When he again targeted the knees, his arm buckled due to exhaustion, causing the boss to react with a strike of its own. The Champion's powerful kick sent him flying across the arena, slamming into a wall with a bone-jarring impact.

Atlas crumpled to the ground, his entire body trembling with pain. A groan escaped his lips as he struggled to steady himself, feeling the sting of the impact reverberate through every bone.

He tried to stand, but his legs shook like a baby giraffe, causing him to think, 'I need to rest after this. I've fought too much and for too long. It's currently affecting me.'

After that thought, Atlas took out a stamina potion and downed the green liquid only to feel energized, but the tiredness lingered in the background. When he did this, he felt momentarily refreshed.

This allowed him to continue the fight with the Death Gorilla Champion. The monster was angry and rushed toward Atlas, who let the monster get closer before it was attacked by swinging the giant war hammer.

Atlas used Void Step to dodge the attack, and he reappeared behind the creature before thrusting Nightblade into the soft flesh and casting Void Bullets. When the azure projectiles appeared, they instantly exploded.

The magic blew the Champion's leg off, bringing the stronger monster to the ground. This allowed Atlas to Void Step onto its back and drive his blade through the monster's skull. The sound of bone shattering reached his ears and caused him to shiver.

He cast a Void Blast that destroyed the creature's brain, causing it to drop to the ground before vanishing into the dungeon. Altas quickly noticed the 10 gold coins, a necklace, and a similar key to the other two Mini-Bosses.

While storing his spoils in his Dimensional Storage, he scanned the necklace to see if it had any effect.

[Necklace of Stamina & Strength: increases both attributes by fifty - activate as long as the user wears it]

[Rank: Rare]

[Level: 3]

"Oh, this is amazing!" Atlas exclaimed while removing his helmet before putting on the necklace, instantly feeling the boost it gave him.

That's when he decided to scan the key to see if any information would pop up.

[Dungeon Sub-Boss Keys: 4/4 - Use these to challenge the boss and win its prizes]

'I have three so far and only need one,' Atlas mused. 'The Blood Bats will be the last monsters but they will also be a nightmare.'

Following that, he decided to find a Safe Zone, which took him half an hour to locate. Once inside, he dismissed his helmet and collapsed onto one of the beds, thinking, 'Why are these places down here? A question for another time,' he thought.

Atlas soon drifted into a deep sleep, his body working tirelessly to mend the internal injuries sustained from the relentless battles with the bosses. Hours later, he awoke to the rumbling of his stomach, a clear signal that he needed sustenance.

He reached for a Dragons Meat Feast from his supplies and began devouring the tender, sizzling meat. The rich, savory flavors were irresistible, and each bite brought a wave of comfort.

As Atlas finished his meal, renewed energy rushed through his body, causing him to fight the Blood Bats down the last tunnel. He then drank some water to clear his dry mouth from waking up before continuing through the dungeon.

While getting closer to the area of the upcoming monster, they started attacking him as he stepped into a massive chamber. Atlas spotted a bridge that spanned the dark chasm below and gulped.

'Not this again,' he thought while preparing his spells and weapons.

As Atlas took one step forward, a screech rang out, and a Blood Bat swooped down on him, who stepped back. He continued slowly making his way across the dangerous bridge; while doing this, he realized there was a pattern to their attack.

This sparked an idea in Atlas's mind. He turned around and continued his trek but halted abruptly as a group of monsters swooped toward him. With precision, he raised Nightblade and sliced through the creatures with ease.

The Blood Bats were cut mid-air, their forms dissipating into nothingness. As the last one vanished, a green core fell to the ground, shimmering with a faint, eerie light. Atlas picked it up while checking his status.

[Level Up: 83→84]

[Experience: 520/2000]

[Experience Gained: 4900]

[Health: 550>556]

[Mana: 2960>2970]

[Strength: 552→560]

[Stamina: 750→762]

[Intelligence: 438→442]

[Core Points: 19000→21850]

[Core Points Gained: 2850]

[Void Wave: 1→2]

[Void Guard: 2→3]

'Not long until I rank up again,' he thought excitedly.

Following that, Atlas killed a dozen more Blood Bats by tricking them into swooping as he ran his blades across their furry bodies, which earned him more Monster Cores that he stored away before continuing to travel through the cavern.

It resembled a tundra with large stone pillars jutting from the ground; he did spot-looking mountains in the distance. Atlas felt hundreds of Blood Bats lurking in the darkness, and thanks to the Night Eyes Rune on his helmet, he could see the closest monsters.

The monsters weren't attacking him except for a small group that occasionally swooped at him, forcing Atlas to kill every monster that came close. This went on for a while as he approached his objective.

By the time he reached the mountain base, he had killed so many Blood Bats that the monsters had to retreat. Atlas took every group out while earning even more experience that would help him level up.

***

[The Red Band Party]

Sable was pacing at the entrance worriedly as her husband Roderic approached, ''Darling. We have the chance to leave this horrific dungeon. We lost four people here, and I don't want to lose anyone else.''

The blonde mage turned to him, ''What about the boy? He wandered into a level two dungeon and will die, especially if the monsters are related to death,'' she retorted.

Roderic shrugged before answering, ''It was his choice to enter alone; who are we to stop him? We already have children, Sable, and we need no more to strain our coins.''

After that, the four reached the quarry entrance, which the Achaemenditians guarded. When the soldiers saw this condition, their eyes widened in shock as the commander spoke in a relieved tone, ''Red Band is alive! The Guild Master will be happy.''

''Did you run into the little warrior?'' another soldier commented. Original content from M-VL-em|p,yr

When the group heard this, Roderic stepped forward and responded with a frown, ''He went to explore the dungeon we found in the quarry. It's a Level 2 Death Dungeon commander; the monsters were strong.''

The Acahaemenidian commander, ''We will send in a group of guards and inform the Adventurers Guild about the discovery,'' he said in a firm tone.

Following that, the Red Band left the quarry entrance and walked toward the inn they had hired before entering the hellhole they had found themselves in. Sable looked worried, which caused Roderic to calm her down.

While walking through Tajariyah's street, Marcus spoke in a curious voice, ''Do you think the boys alive down there? When Alina and I went to scout, there was a battle on the bridge, but it looked like the culprits fell off it.

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