Level Up: Voidwalker

Grishna beamed, \'\'That\'s good. It means the armor will grow with you, and depending on what rank it is, sometimes it boosts the wearer\'s status,\'\' she revealed.

When hearing this, Atlas remembered he needed to check his status. He had slain numerous monsters and eleven criminals during the day, but he had been eager to equip the armor to see what boosts it provided.

[Level Up: 59→63]

[Experience: 1480/2000]

[Experience Gained: 8500]

[Health: 444 (50)]

[Mana: 1592→1600]

[Strength: 432→436]

[Stamina: 454→460 (100)]

[Charisma: 356→358]

[Intelligence: 368→374]

[Core Points: 12550→20600]

[Core Points Gained: 8050]

\'The armor gave me a boost to health and stamina alongside all the gains I received,\' Atlas thought just as the group arrived at the front of the queue as he finished checking his status and dismissed his armor.

That\'s when the queue grew smaller, and the trio reached the counter. Grishna and Artemis stepped in first while Atlas waited. He watched the girls hand over the guild coins they had earned from the non-guild quests.

Once the two girls finished with the receptionist and received their reward, Atlas stepped forward. A young man behind the counter greeted him, \'\'Young man, can I have your card, please? And are you here to take a quest or register a completed one?\'\' he questioned.

\'\'Register the three quests I just finished,\'\' Atlas replied while handing over the card. \'\'I\'ve got the proof for the kills.\'\'

Then he took out the Blood Rat Tails, Tidebreaker Claws, and bundles of Blue Seaweed. It shocked the young man and two girls behind him when it was all on the counter. When Grishna saw this, she had a bright smile on her pretty face before speaking, \'\'Ya never cease to amaze me.\'\'

He grinned before winking at the orc before turning back to the man, scanning his guild card, and handing it back with 15 silver coins as the reward, \'\'The three quests have been marked on your record. Congratulations on completing your first quests, Azhar\'Zul.\'\'

Then, Atlas and the two girls left the guild and headed toward the inn where they were staying. While walking, Artemis asked him, \'\' How were your first quests?

\'\'It was good, but I fought two Sea Hags that attacked me while I was collecting the seaweed, which made me jump,\'\' Atlas chuckled. \'\'They looked freaky while shuffling in my direction, but I killed them thanks to my magic and some quick thinking.\'\'

Grishna laughed while Artemis shook her head and explained, "You should have been more careful. Sea Hags are devious creatures. They may be weak, but if their claws touch you, they can poison you, regardless of your level or rank."

\'\'That\'s why it flexed them. It confused me,\'\' Atlas responded while thinking. \'\'They were creepy looking and appeared from nowhere.\'\'

The two girls nodded as Grishna commented, \'\'Were you near tidepools or a swampy beach?\'\'

\'\'There were tidepools there; I did notice the creature did crawl out of it,\'\' he said.

Grishna smiled, \'\'The Sea Hags live at the bottom of those and react when they sense someone in the area,\'\' she informed him.

Following that, the trio returned to the inn, where Estelle and Amethyst were sitting at a table when they entered. The phoenix girl jumped up and rushed toward Atlas before hugging him with a beautiful smile.

\'\'My Amore! You\'re finally back; where have you been?\'\' she questioned once, letting him go.

She dragged him toward the table where the two were sitting. He explained everything he had been up to and showed them the weapons and armor he had bought, which pleased Estelle. \'\'Very good buy, Azhar\'Zul. It must have cost quite a bit of coin,\'\' she commented.

Atlas nodded before replying, \'\'Yes. I used all my gold to buy it, but I think it was worth it because I kept getting injured and thought armor would be useful.\'\'

The blonde knight agreed with a smile before the inn owner brought over some food, \'\'Here you go, young ones, Beef Brother, for a cold day.\'\'

Once the group started eating, Atlas stopped before giving Amethyst the lover\'s band he had bought from the woman. The purple-haired girl beamed happily as she accepted the gift while he explained its functions.

Amethyst looked at him with a bright smile. \'\'Thank you, My Amore. It means a lot to me,\'\' she said while touching the bracelet.

That\'s when Estelle spoke up, \'\'Are you going to give them the gift? We didn\'t look around the market for an hour for nothing, Little Bird.\'\'

The Phoenix girl nodded before taking out a red orb and explaining, \'\'This is a Monster Vault; you can put Lilith in it so she can rest and grow stronger. As long as you\'re connected with it, she will earn some experience as you kill monsters.\'\'

Atlas got excited when he saw this and quickly hugged Amethyst in thanks, which caused her cheeks to go red. She quickly returned the hug. \'\'Thank you, Ame. It\'s the best,\'\' he said with a smile.

When the older girls noticed this, they smiled warmly. Estelle then retrieved a necklace and gently laid it on the table. "This blessed necklace boosts your health stat by one hundred. They are commonly found in the Temples of Sol, our kingdom\'s goddess," she explained. I bought it for you. It will enhance your health while you wear it."

Atlas felt a wave of unfamiliarity and nervousness wash over him. He wasn\'t accustomed to receiving gifts, which made him uncertain how to react. Gathering his thoughts, he shook his head slightly and met Estelle\'s gaze with a sincere expression.

"Thank you," he said softly. "I\'ve never really received gifts before, so this means a lot to me."

Just as Atlas was about to eat, a smiling Artemis pushed three books toward him. As she spoke, \'\'Grishna and I went to get you something. It\'s a text of legends and myths from the five continents. I noticed you were intrigued whenever we spoke about the world, so we thought you\'d like this.\'\'

Atlas picked up one of the thick books, its size reminding him of an encyclopedia from Earth. He ran his fingers over the cover and read aloud the title, "Legends and Myths of Valoria."

He thought to himself, \'This looks interesting.

After that, Atlas looked at the brunette, who smiled as he thanked her. \'\'Thank you, Artemis, but you didn\'t have to buy me anything as I\'ve done nothing for you,\'\' he gratefully commented while storing away the books and putting on Estelle\'s necklace.

Artemis waved him away with red cheeks. \'\'Don\'t worry about it, Azhar\'Zul. It\'s thanks for welcoming me to the party,\'\' she said.

The group continued to eat and talk as Atlas questioned everyone, \'\'How do we start a party?\'\'

As he said that, the four girls turned to him with wide eyes, but Estelle took out her guild card along with the others, and Grishna spoke, \'\'Azhar\'Zul put your card on ours and decided on a name as your leader.

When Atlas heard the orc girl, a cheeky smile appeared on his face, which caused Artemis to protest, \'\'Don\'t make it a stupid name, boy. This will be with us for years.\'\'

Just as he was about to speak, Amethyst proclaimed, "The Voidwalker\'s Harem!"

The declaration shocked everyone, yet no one contested the name. Atlas was particularly surprised, noting a glow emanating from their guild cards. As it dimmed, he examined his black card, finding nothing visible until Grishna said, "Look at the back, handsome; everything\'s there."

Atlas turned over the card only to see a button, which he pressed, and a notification popped up.

[The Voidwalker\'s Harem]

[Members: 5]

[Party Leader: Azhar\'Zul]

[Mage: Amethyst Flameheart]

[Attacker: Grishna Brokentooth]

[Attacker: Artemis Olympaea]

[Defender: Estelle Argonia]

\'Oh, this is cool,\' Atlas thought as the girls put their cards away while he stored the Monster Vault.

Atlas was about to speak, but a city-wide alarm blared, causing everyone in the inn to look towards the door. Atlas glanced at Estelle, who looked nervous. "The city is being invaded! We need to see what\'s happening."

The group nodded, quickly jumping up and heading out the door. They saw the Argonian city guards rushing south as they spoke about a sudden Evergladian naval invasion. While outside, the streets were quiet, causing them to ready their weapons.

Atlas called forth his armor, drawing his blades swiftly. That\'s when the door to the inn flew open, and Lilith barralled out before jumping onto his back. Grishna\'s voice carried concern, "I think the Nightowls snuck in alongside the Evergladians."

"How do you know that?" Estelle demanded, her voice sharp with urgency.

The orc girl pointed towards a nearby roof, prompting Atlas to look up. He spotted figures dressed entirely in black, seamlessly blending into the shadows with featureless white masks.

Seeing this, the girls formed a protective circle around Atlas. Amethyst spoke urgently, "They\'re here for you, Azhar\'Zul. The Acheadmenids want to capture you."

Atlas gulped but was ready to fight, as were the others; when the Nightowls saw this, they jumped off the roof and initiated their attack. He rushed forward to defend against an assassin that was going for Amethyst.

Their blades connected, but Atlas battered them to the side and cast a Void Blast into the Nightowl\'s chest, sending the enemy backward. A battle erupted in the middle of the street as explosions rang all over the city.