Level Up: Voidwalker

Chapter 123: Screaming Pass

Atlas and the Death Gorilla continued fighting until the ground started to rumble, causing him to glance around. As the dirt road widened, a troll marched up the path, ready to fight with a giant stone club.

He got nervous when he saw this monster, which caused him to scan it.

[Mountain Troll]

[Rank: B - 800 Exp]

[Brute attacker - Slower but very powerful - Avoid at all costs]

Atlas began casting Void Bullets, each streaking towards the troll and exploding on impact. The blasts rocked the monster, causing it to stumble backward, but despite the damage, it remained far from defeated.

He scanned for an escape route, but before he could act, the Death Gorilla surged to its feet, pounding its chest in a fierce display of aggression. With a roar, it charged at the troll, swinging its massive club recklessly.

Atlas watched in tense anticipation as the gorilla ducked beneath the troll's swing, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow. The dungeon monster grabbed the newcomer and dragged it into the chasm below.

Minutes later, Atlas felt experience pour into his body, causing him to think as the excitement boiled up, 'The gorilla killed the troll!'

Following that, he returned to the adventurer's camp, where he was met by the Roaring Harpies leader Afsaneh. The older woman's green eyes met his as she spoke in a firm tone, ''Where have you been, boy? You were only meant to scout ahead, but it's been hours,'' she said.

Atlas dismissed his helmet before explaining everything, minus summoning the monsters and falling into the chasm below. Once he was done talking, Afsaneh commented, ''How did you defeat a Rank B Mountain Troll?''

''I used spells to knock it into the chasm, then returned here once the rats were killed,'' Atlas answered.

The older woman nodded before letting him pass, and one of her party members approached with a smile. Her pink eyes glowed as she ruffled his hair. ''It's good to see you're okay, little one. It's dangerous in these mountains,'' she chirped.

Atlas smiled in return, but the woman introduced herself. ''I'm Rita Ghasemi. It's nice to meet you, Azhar'Zul,'' she said with a smile.

His eyebrow raised in surprise when Rita explained, ''Commander Davos told us your name while asking us to keep an eye on you.''

He nodded in agreement and set about making camp. Atlas pitched his tent and started a fire, which soon crackled warmly against the evening chill. As he finished, the two moons hung high in the sky, casting a silvery light over the rugged expanse of the Screaming Pass.

Atlas was sitting in front of the fire, cooking some orc meat, when he decided to check the gains he had earned by killing all the monsters alongside his creatures.

[Level Up: 88?93]

[Experience: 230/2000]

[Experience Gained: 9950]

[Health: 560?670]

[Mana: 3006?3460]

[Strength: 566?686]

[Stamina: 780?930]

[Charisma: 382?416]

[Intelligence: 448?560]

[Core Points: 24890?32090]

[Core Points Gained: 7200]

[Core Rank: Low?Mid]

[Void Blast: 2?3]

[Void Wave: 2?3]

[Maskweaving: 1?2]

'The Mountain Devils, Scorpion, Cannibal Rats, and Troll earned me a lot of experience and core points,' Atlas mused with a smile while dismissing his helmet so he could eat.

In the meantime, the orc meat was done, causing Atlas to start eating while watching the surrounding cliffs. While doing that, sudden screams started echoing around them, making him jump.

As he did that a man's voice reached his ears, ''That's the people who died here, many explorer groups tried find a way through the Titan Fists Mountain but now they linger here years after their deaths.''

He turned around to see a blonde man standing there, ''What about the Night Demons?''

The adventurer stepped forward and held out his hand while introducing himself, ''I'm Carlos, scout for the Mountain Devils.''

Atlas took it before responding, ''Azhar'Zul.''

Carlos smiled, ''To answer your previous question, the mages set up Runes before you arrived, which had kept those horrible creatures away,'' he explained.

He nodded before Carlos concluded as he went to walk away, ''Don't listen to the voices; they are trying to lure you into the darkness. The Night Demons differ in the mountains as they rely on traps and ambushes.''

Then, Atlas continued eating while listening to the screams that bounced off the cliffside. He looked around but couldn't see anything, but that's when the whispers started, and they creeped him out.

''Come here little one,'' one eery voice said.

It ranged from fake compliments to pleading for help, but Atlas listened to Carlos's advice and blocked the whispers out. Afterward, he crawled into his tent and got comfortable before attempting to kill more Void Bears.

He spent hours in the Void Realm and slaughters hundreds of Cave and Savage Bears while traveling to the second valley, where he has to fight another Brute Bear, which he is excited to do.

After walking for a few hours, Atlas stopped when he exited another tunnel under several mountains. He had fought non-stop as the Cave Bears gave him a good fight, but they all fell to his magic or blades.

[Savage Void Bear – 3709/5000]

[Cave Void Bears – 1584/2000]

[Brute Void Bears – 9/10]

[Void Bear Queen – 1/1]

'I killed a lot on this run but it will take a while longer before finishing off the first two groups of bears,' Atlas pondered while approaching an arena he spotted.

Once stepping inside, he was blocked from exiting as a gate on the opposite side opened, only to have a Void Brute Bear rush out and dart straight for him. Atlas was caught off guard and assumed this one would also talk to him, but he was wrong.

As the massive white bear lunged at him, its claws slashing viciously, Atlas used Void Step to vanish from its attack. Reappearing at a safer distance, he immediately unleashed a volley of Void Barrage at the beast.

The azure projectiles exploded on impact, causing the bear to stagger backward. Seizing the opportunity, Atlas closed the gap and drove his blade into its knee. He followed up by casting Void Bullet, a powerful explosion that shattered bone and brought the massive creature crashing to the ground.

As Atlas executed his attack, the bear spun with surprising speed, its claws raking across his chest. The force of the strike was so intense that it tore through his armor as if it were made of paper.

The sharp claws dug deep into his flesh, and the searing pain made him cry out in agony as he flew backward. Stunned by the injury, Atlas struggled to regain his composure as the pain overwhelmed him.

He looked up to see the Void Brute Bear crawling toward him with an enraged look in its eyes, but Atlas raised his hand and cast Void Arrow into the monster's head, causing it to turn into azure motes before sinking back into the realm.

Following that, Atlas had enough and quit the ream only to reappear in his tent; he opened his eyes to find it was still night. With a weary sigh, he rolled over and drifted back to sleep, the echoes of the screaming fading into the background.

The days after that were much the same, apart from a large group of Mountain Devils attacking the camp before a group of Wild Goblins tried to ambush the Roaring Harpies while they were on patrol.

While waiting around, Atlas left the camp several times, but something had happened by the time they got word that the bridge needed one more day to finish, which meant they could head back to Tajariyah.

Atlas guarded the road into the mountains alongside Carlos, who was telling him about the Nubian Empire and how the land was wild, full of monsters, and full of hordes of horse riders who captured anyone who traveled off the main road.

He grew curious and was about to ask something when a roar rang out, causing Carlos to jump up and ready his spear. Atlas joined him as a rumbling was felt in the ground below; he wondered what kind of monster would be doing this,

That's when Carlos revealed the culprit, ''It's a Mountain Titan Azhar'Zul. This doesn't make sense as they only roam deeper in.''

As the man spoke, a massive humanoid climbed out of the darkness below a mile down the path, giving it more room to walk. When Atlas saw it, He examined the new monster and thought, 'This is a giant!'

The Titan loomed nearly thirty feet tall, its form clad in skin that resembled jagged stone plates. Muscles rippled across its colossal frame like a bodybuilder's, and it draped itself in tattered monster hides as makeshift clothing.

Its presence was a vision of terror—twisted and warped into a grotesque parody of evil. A palpable, dark aura radiated from it, casting an ominous shadow that seemed to pulse with evil power.

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Atlas quickly scanned the Titan.

[Mountain Titan]

[Chaos Touched]

[Rank: Titan - 20000 Exp]

[Flee the area before it finds your scent; otherwise, you will not be able to hide]

When Atlas saw the warning, he grew nervous, and his hands rested on the hilts of his blades. As he did that, Carlos turned to him with an expression of fear as he spoke, ''Run Ahzar'Zul! We cannot fight this.''

The two of them started running down the path to the camp, only to run into the group preparing to leave. Atlas spotted Javad, who rushed over to them with a concerned expression and asked, ''What is that dreadful aura? What monster has appeared?''

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