Level Up: Voidwalker

Chapter 87: It Left Me Behind

Atlas watched as a barrage of powerful spells struck the water and seafloor where he hid, erupting into a blinding cloud of dust and debris. The explosive force blurred his vision as he struggled to escape.

'The Nightowls are casting spells non-stop.' While shielding his eyes from the searing light and chaos, he thought, 'They must have seen me to be spamming so much magic in my direction.'

While watching the explosions, the Giant Grouper grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away from the scene until he could finally see again, and the stinging stopped. As the monster did this, Atlas's sight returned, allowing him to see a beautiful world below the Dragon's Deep Strait.

The same underwater trees littered the seafloor while other creatures went about living their lives as the swishing of the current filtered by. After swimming for a few minutes, the Grouper let go of him beside a cave entrance, which caused him to swim into it to get out of the open.

'Hopefully, nothing is inside. I need to sit down and rest for a little while. Maybe I can eat again; I feel empty,' Atlas mused as he approached the opening.

When Atlas entered the dark hole, he found an air pocket, which allowed him to relax for a moment. The inside was peaceful and looked like any other cave he used to see in documentaries back on Earth.

It was a welcome relief from the oppressive water outside with all kinds of monsters lurking around, but that's when he realized the unsettling feeling lingered. Just as Atlas began to relax, his new friend, the Giant Grouper, surfaced momentarily to check up on him.

Before he could fully process this, the water exploded as an unseen foe attacked the fish. Atlas watched as the battle calmed down, and only blood was left behind. He saw nothing, and Void Sight couldn't spot anything.

While looking, he saw a leathery tail swimming away from the cave's entrance. 'Oh no, don't tell me there are crocodiles wandering around outside.'

Atlas shook his head before glancing around the air pocket and noticing it was warm in some parts while cold in others. He started to feel sweaty, so he dismissed the Nightfall Armor, revealing a dirty shirt and pants, which caused him to grimace at the smell.

He took them off before throwing the filthy clothing across the cave, removing fresh ones from his storage, and putting them aside. Once Atlas had done that, he pulled out the camping gear he had bought from the general store.

That's when Atlas realized he had stored the wood he had collected from the forest. He pulled it out before piling it up. He used the lighter-like contraption to start a fire to get warm as it was slowly getting cold.

All he needed to do was channel mana into the metal square, igniting a fire Atlas found quite handy. Once the fire was going, he set up the tent and sleeping bag. Afterward, he checked the clothes he had put on earlier and was pleased to find they were nice and warm.

Atlas put them on as the fire heated the small air pocket. While sitting there, he pulled out a Griffon Meat Box and started eating while he decided to check his gains from killing the Achaemenidian leader.

[Experience: 480/2000]

[Experience Gained: 300]

[Mana: 1700?1708]

[Strength: 462?464]

[Stamina: 466?472]

[Intelligence: 388?390]

[Core Points: 26400?26550]

[Core Points Gained: 150]

Happy with the gains, Atlas continued eating and enjoyed the spicy meat while watching the water that Grouper vanished into. 'I wonder what I have to deal with once I leave this place,' he pondered while finishing the meal.

Following that, he grew tired and climbed into the tent before getting into the sleeping bag, and instantly fell asleep due to the comfort. Atlas slept for hours, and the outside world was chaotic as a storm started.

Atlas woke up the following day feeling refreshed, but something caught his attention: the water was going crazy. 'Is there a storm going on?' he thought.

He ignored that while putting the camping stuff back into his Dimensional Storage before turning to the rough waters and muttered, ''I do need to go back out there, but damn, I don't want to face any crazy monsters.''

'I need to be cautious as I travel along the bottom,' Atlas thought. He equipped his armor and blades before leaping into the water with a splash. Sinking to the cave's floor, he activated Aqua Lung and walked toward the entrance.

Atlas was worried about the monsters lurking outside, but he saw nothing apart from a storm above that was churning the water due to the storm above. Without wasting any more time, he started walking south.

While traveling, Atlas used the underwater trees and foliage to hide from monsters. When he felt something approaching him, he readied his magic, but that's when the Giant Group appeared.

The giant fish nudged its head against his body, causing Atlas to smile, but that's when dread washed through him. He quickly used Void Sight and spotted the culprit.

[Deepfang Crocodile]

[Rank: D+ - 350 Exp]

'Oh shit,' Atlas thought before moving the Grouper out of the way while casting Void Blast at the incoming monster.

The giant fish realized what he was doing and reacted by quickly swimming away, leaving Atlas in shock, 'It left me behind!'

Following that, he concentrated on the incoming Deepfang Crocodile. Atlas readied his blade as the dark brown twelve-foot monster closed in on him with glowing red eyes. It opened its maw, but he used Void Step to dodge.

He reappeared nearby, cast it again while pointing the Nightblade at the creature's body, and dashed forward before thrusting it into the crocodile's thick hide. The attack caused it to roar in pain, but Atlas didn't stop as he dragged it down its side.

The attack only left a sallow wound, but the Deepfang thrashed around and lashed out with its tail. Atlas ducked the first thing and snapped its jaws; while fighting, he was hit by magic that sent him shooting through the water.

'What just happened? Who just cast a spell at me!' he thought while confusion overwhelmed him.

Atlas crashed into a nearby coral reef, causing the monsters inside to flee as his head rang. Thanks to his Regeneration, his body started to heal as he spotted the crocodile swimming toward him, trailed by blood.

It lunged forward when it got in attacking range, but Atlas used Void Step to appear behind the monster. He started casting Void Bullets that sliced through the water and peppered the creature's body, causing explosions to erupt.

While doing that, Atlas tried to escape, but the Deepfang was onto him, and as he had to stop using Void Step due to mana, he turned around only to see the monster get taken out by the Giant Grouper that slammed into its body and bit down.

Atlas watched the large fish fight the Deepfang Crocodile. Thanks to being a much higher rank and stronger, the ain't fish decimated the monster, causing a feeding frenzy once it was dead.

Once the fish was sure the monster was dead, it swam over to him and bumped into his body, 'What is it with this fish? Why is it so friendly?' Atlas thought as it signaled him to grab a hold of it.

Instead of swimming south, the fish traveled east to the open ocean, causing him to panic, 'What is this crazy thing doing?'

They continued traveling along the sea floor, but that's when Atlas saw hundreds of creatures pass them. He used Void Sight on everything to get an idea of how strong the monsters down here were.

[Blood Shark]

[Rank: E+ - 250 Exp]

Atlas spotted blood-red sharks that prowled above them, but they never approached the Giant Group and actively avoided the crazy fish.

Following that, he spotted a massive shell crawling along the bottom, and when he scanned it, his eyes widened in shock.

[Nautilit]

[Rank: S+ - 3000 Exp]

'So strong but slow,' he mused before spotting one last monster.

[Riptide Behemoth]

[Rank: SS - 9000 Exp]

The behemoth was a massive whale at least two hundred feet long and dark blue, which caused it to blend in. Atlas was amazed and only saw it because the Grouper had pointed it out.

Atlas then turned to his new friend and admired the beautiful blue scales and glowing yellow eyes. The giant fish was as big as a small family car and gave off an attitude of not caring about the monsters around them.

This made him think, 'When I get onto dry land or another air pocket, I'll check the monster book I have in my storage.'

In the meantime, Atlas noticed that Aqua Lung was running low, so he tapped the Grouper and signaled for it to surface. Its yellow eyes flicked toward him before it shot up so quickly that it caught him off guard.

However, it paused just long enough for him to catch his breath. After that, the monster dived, and soon enough, Atlas spotted a shipwreck in the distance, causing him to think, 'Treasure!'

The monster fish swam ahead and entered the massive metal ship just as Atlas cast a Light spell, illuminating their surroundings. Atlas saw a hold packed with barrels and chests while skeletons clad in rusted metal armor were scattered throughout the ship.

As Atlas scanned the surroundings, he noticed the giant fish observing him intently. The creature then pointed to a hole in the wall before swimming through it, leaving him puzzled and unsure of its intent.