Level Up: Voidwalker

Chapter 108: Death Serpent

Atlas woke up when he felt something chewing at his armor, which was growing annoying, 'What is this feeling, and why am I so cold?' he groggily pondered while shivering.

When he snapped back to reality, Atlas looked up to find a nightmarish fish, straight out of a horror film, sinking its teeth into his leg, causing pain to shoot through his body. Reacting quickly, he raised his hand and unleashed a Void Arrow at the creature's head, obliterating it in a burst of mana.

Once the fish was dead, Atlas shook his head and glanced around, only to realize he was underwater as the cold water brushed against his skin, which caused him to panic. 'How did I end up here?' he thought.

That's when he remembered falling into the chasm after being attacked by the Blood Bats while crossing the bridge, causing him to mutter, ''I find myself in another nightmare, but why does a dungeon have an underwater world?''

Atlas looked around and saw the underwater world he was in, which was covered in boulders and thick seaweed. He got to his feet before spotting a light above and decided to swim toward it, ensuring no monsters were nearby.

Thanks to the Night Eyes Rune, he could see in the darkness, allowing him to see the school of dog-sized fish swimming nearby. An eel was hunting crab-like monsters littering the seafloor by snapping them with sharp teeth.

After ten minutes of struggling due to the cold and aching body, Atlas finally broke through the surface and gasped as fresh air filled his lungs. He found himself in a vast cavern, its expanse dominated by a massive underground lake.

Atlas spotted a stretch of dry land ahead as he took in his surroundings. He started making his way toward it by slowly swimming across the surface, but that's when a feeling of dread washed over him like a predator had locked onto him.

This caused Atlas to turn around, and something glided toward him; it was hidden within the shadows, so he could only see small parts of it. Seeing this unknown monster, he gulped while scanning it using Void Sight.

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[Death Serpent]

[Rank: A - 1000 Exp]

'Oh fuck! This monster is coming straight for me!' Atlas internally panicked.

He quickly swam toward the ledge as the predator was heading for him. His heartbeat sped up as he felt the monster's aura bearing down; Atlas climbed out before taking off his helmet and letting out a breath of relief just as a splash was heard.

Atlas turned around only to spot a giant serpent slithering through the water. It had black scales and glowing red eyes, and it glanced at him before diving back under the surface, causing him to shiver.

'This world is full of all kinds of horrifying monsters; I should be getting used to it,' he panicked internally.

He put his helmet back on while standing up and soon realized the Nightblade was missing. Atlas started panicking, but as soon as he thought about it, only the weapon appeared in his hand, causing him to grow confused.

'It bonded to me; maybe that's why it returned to me,' he pondered.

Following that, Atlas glanced around and saw dozens of monster bones littering the ground, 'Is this a creature nest? Maybe,' he thought.

Reaching that conclusion, he walked toward the only visible tunnel. As Atlas neared the entrance, a chilling howl echoed from behind him. He spun around just in time to see Blood Bats descending upon him from the shadows.

Atlas started casting Void Blasts at the flying monsters, who couldn't dodge the spells that exploded upon contact. They let out pain-filled screeches, but he didn't stop casting magic at the creatures.

The Void Blasts killed four bats, and three fell into the water, only to be eaten by the Death Serpent. When Atlas saw this, he chuckled before approaching the flying monster's corpse, cutting the green Monster Core, and storing it away.

He entered the passageway, using Void Sight to ensure nothing would ambush him. But the route was free from any more monsters, so he started walking. All he could hear was the sound of his footsteps as he traveled down the tunnel, only to reach a spiral staircase that went up.

''Found my way back to the upper levels, it seems,'' he muttered.

Atlas stepped onto the first stone stairs and waited for a trap or something to happen, but nothing happened. He continued to climb while keeping his blades at the ready, and when he reached the top, he realized he had made it to a chamber.

It was a massive ledge that overlooked the chasm, with a small path leading back to the bridge he had been on before. Atlas stepped onto it and heard the Blood Bats screeching; thanks to Night Eyes, he could see them.

He started casting Void Bullets and Void Blasts into the crowd of flying monsters while using Void Step to dodge their swoops. Atlas made it to the bridge after killing several bats, which caused them to go wild.

Atlas targeted them with Void Arrows that burrowed through their bodies; some monsters crashed into the bridge while others fell into the darkness below. He approached the three corpses and cut out the three green Monster Cores he threw into his storage before moving on.

After twenty minutes of walking, Atlas reached a massive chamber, where a dozen Death Jackals met him, and a swarm of Death Spiders crawled all over the walls. When he saw this, he cringed as the monsters looked at him.

'What is it with spiders!' he internally complained upon hearing the chittering of their legs.

When they saw him, the jackals started yipping in excitement before charging forward, causing Atlas to use Nightblade to block the closest monster's attack and counterattack with the Blood Knife through its eyes.

He cast Void Wave when he noticed the Death Jackals surrounding him. The azure wave crashed into their bodies, sending them flying all over the chamber. Then, they vanished back into the dungeon.

Green glows lit up the surroundings, allowing Atlas to see the Death Spiders launch their attack. Some of them fired a strand of wed at him, but he used Void Guard to block the sticky string before sending Void Bullets back to the monsters.

Explosions erupted among the spiders that tried to avoid the spells, but they were swept in the azure flames. Atlas dashed toward the biggest spider, four times the size of the normal creature.

As he got closer, he scanned it before launching his attack.

[Queen Death Spider]

[First Mini-Boss]

[Rank: C - 500 Exp]

'A mini-boss! I wonder how many floors this place has,' Atlas mused excitedly.

Atlas closed in on the queen, who reared up and thrust two of its legs at him. He jumped out of the way and sent a Void Blast into the spider's carapace, causing it to scuttle back, but Atlas chased it.

One of the legs shot out toward him, and Atlas didn't have time to dodge as the tip pierced through his armor and shoulder, causing him to let out a pain-filled scream before chopping off the limb, which freed himself.

He stumbled backward while he activated Call Of The Void and summoned Group Two. The Void Raptor Warrior lunged out of the azure portal, followed by six normal ones, and the dinosaurs ganged up on the giant spider.

Atlas jumped up and spammed Void Blasts at the queen spiders before charging in. The mini-boss swung a leg at him, but he raised Nightblade and sliced through the carapace, causing the monster to screech in agony.

The spider had already killed three Void Raptors, but the other four managed to tear off three more legs, causing the queen to slow down dramatically. This allowed Atlas to increase his attacks, which nearly brought it down.

While he was fighting, a hundred Death Spiders appeared from a tunnel, causing Atlas to cast a dozen Void Bullets into the swarm. He then ordered the remaining dinosaurs to deal with them while he killed the queen.

Atlas faced the half-dead mini-boss with a smile before using Void Step to vanish and strike at the monster's body. When the queen responded by spinning around, he disappeared once more and appeared behind it.

He cast Void Blast directly at the creature's rear, causing it to hiss in anger, but Atlas continued to strike the boss and finally broke its carapace by using Nightblade to pierce it and fire several Void Bullets into its inside.

The Queen Death Spider thrashed around in pain and crushed many of its kind, but soon, it collapsed lifelessly, causing the remaining two Void Raptors to jump at the shocked monsters before tearing them apart.

Atlas joined in and slaughtered the remaining spiders until the ground was littered with thirty green cores and a beautiful red one. When he saw all the loot, his inner goblin woke up, causing him to go around collecting everything.

Along with the Monster Cores, Atlas discovered 5 gold, 20 silver, 100 copper coins, and a peculiar rusty key. He carefully stored these items in his Dimensional Storage and retrieved a Mana potion.

As he walked, he reflected, "This place feels like a cross between an underground crypt and an old mine."

The dark tunnel Atlas was in now had holes in the wall where human skulls sat, giving the impression that they were staring, which gave him the creeps. As he saw three ways he could go, he thought, 'This place reminds me of the Catacombs of Paris.'

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