Level Up: Voidwalker

The Wild Orc was burned from the inside out, causing it to bellow in agony, but it dropped dead. Atlas jumped off the monster's corpse and looked for Lilith, who suddenly appeared covered in blood while carrying an orange Monster Core in her maw.

Atlas chuckled at the sight, causing her to drop the orange orb at his feet. He bent down to grab it just as Lilith moved to get the other two cores from the other two bodies. Her claws made quick work of the orc hides.

Soon, the honey badger brought two more to Atlas, who stored them away. After that, he got an idea and told Lilith, ''We can cut off some of the orc meat. I bet it tastes nice.''

The tiny creature nodded, and Atlas began slicing meat from the carcass, storing it in his Dimensional Storage. Afterward, they returned to camp, with Lilith lazily perching on his shoulders.

Atlas smiled, shaking his head at her blood-stained state. It took only five minutes for the delicious aroma of cooking meat to reach them, prompting him to quicken his pace. When the four girls saw them, their eyes widened.

Grishna leaped up. "Why are both of you covered in fresh blood?"

Atlas glanced at his clothes and realized only then that some of the orc's blood had splattered on him. His gulp caught her attention as he looked from Grishna to the stains and didn't know how she'd react.

Approaching with narrowed eyes, the orc girl questioned, "What did you kill? I left you twenty minutes ago, Atlas."

"Um, Lilith was fighting some Wild Orcs, and we took care of them," he explained.

Grishna beamed, "Great! Did you manage to grab some of their meat? It's perfect with a Dwarven Roll."

Atlas stared at her in disbelief, which immediately caught her attention. She grinned mischievously, "Did you think I'd be offended just because they share my name?"

He nodded sheepishly, prompting laughter from the other girls. Artemis said, "Atlas, Wild Orcs aren't like Grish here, an evolved Orc with shared ancestors. They're from a different branch that evolved to be more humanoid as mana seeped into their very souls, as you can see."

"Are they really that different?" Atlas asked.

"Yes, so don't worry about killing my cousins Grak'Thar Gromog'ar," Grishna commented before taking a seat.

Atlas joined them when Amethyst patted the seat next to her. Lilith leaped off him and hurried toward the fire to get comfortable as he settled down. When he did, Estelle said, "If I may, I'd like to stay with you, Le Messie Élu, but I won't be friends with this disgraced orc. That's a deal-breaker for me."

He was about to respond when the orc girl interrupted, "Oh, I feel the same way about you, blonde bitch. The only reason we're not fighting is because Grak'Thar Gromog'ar needs our help to grow stronger," she said with a smile that annoyed Estelle.

"Enough, both of you!" Artemis cautioned, her tone firm. "We can't afford to argue while escaping the Everglade Kingdom."

Estelle huffed audibly while Grishna shot a mischievous smile at the blonde knight. Meanwhile, Amethyst announced, "The food is ready."

Artemis swiftly turned her attention to the meat, deftly removing it from the skewer. She precisely cut the cooked meat into five portions and gave a piece to each of them. Atlas thanked the brunette before eating.

While doing that, he rechecked his status.

[Level Up: 39→40]

[Experience: 190/1000]

[Experience Gained: 400]

[Core Points: 19200→19500]

[Core Points Gained: 300]

As the group ate, Estelle spoke, ''If we can reach the Argonia border, the Evergladians won't chase us like Big Brother's armies marching south.''

Everyone looked at her, but Amethyst questioned, ''If you knew this was going to happen, then why come here?''

Estelle smiled before revealing, ''My friends are from a church set up to follow the Le Messie Élu, but they are also tied to the Argonian Royal Family due to my father marrying the head priestess who leads the Church of the Messiah.''

Once the blonde girl finished speaking, she mumbled an Argonian prayer, ''The one who points the way will lead us to paradise.''

Atlas and the girls were confused, but he recognized the language as French. He shook his head and asked, ''So what does this have to do with me?''

Estelle smiled before eating some of the meat. As she swallowed the mouthful, she explained, ''In Argonia, there are two religions: the Church of the Messiah, who worship you, and the Zarathrulians, who worship the God of Darkness known as Zarathrul. They hate the Le Messie Élu, who they believe is the doom of Argonia.''

Everyone listened intently as Estelle continued, "But Le Messie Élu is the bringer of Sol's light, while Zarathrul's champion is the Evil One. He is destined to cover the world in blood and ignite a holy war that will kill millions."

Once she finished speaking, Atlas asked with a curious tone, "What if I'm not messiah but the opposite? What would you do then, Estelle Argonia?"

The blonde paused and replied, "I honestly don't know. But I don't believe you are the Evil One. Someone from the darkness wouldn't have helped me, but you did."

Atlas nodded thoughtfully. "Only time will tell who I truly am. For now, let's focus on eating and getting our strength back before we move on."

The group continued to eat while Grishna and Artemis set up traps to keep them safe as the sun began to set. Estelle and Amethyst started collecting firewood, and Atlas took out the spell books he had gotten from Zarina.

While examining them, he realized Voidfire Blast was a Level 2 spell, which he couldn't learn until he ranked up. So, he decided to focus on Void Step and started reading.

A notification popped up as the sun vanished, and the two moons shone overhead.

[Void Step Learned]

[Alert: No more spells can be learned until you reach Apprentice]

Atlas smiled at his accomplishment but couldn't resist the urge to test out the new spell. He looked in Artemis's direction as she set up a trap between two trees. Without wasting any more time, he cast Void Step.

Instantly, Atlas vanished from his spot and reappeared a few meters away from the brunette. Artemis, startled, spun around with her sword at the ready. He was dizzy and wobbled slightly but quickly cast Void Step again.

This time, he disappeared in a blur. Artemis caught off guard and attempted to dodge, but before she could react, Atlas reappeared above her. Despite her efforts to evade, it was too late.

Atlas landed clumsily on top of Artemis, and they both tumbled in a heap, ''Malakas! What nonsense are you up, Aetos? Get off me,''

Now that he paid more attention to her, he noticed her thick Greek accent, which he found irresistible. The freckles on her face and her brown eyes mesmerized him until Artemis bonked him on the head.

''Stop staring at me like that, you little pervert,'' Artemis said with a giggle.

Following that, the two of them walked back to the camp after she set the trap, only to see Amethyst sitting on a log while Grishna sharpened her spear, and Estelle tended to the fire as it roared to life.

Atlas sat down next to Artemis, who looked at him with a knowing smile as she leaned in and whispered, ''You're way too young, little Aetos, so get any thoughts of us out of your head until you grow up.''

His grin widened even further before he quickly kissed the older girl's cheek, prompting her to exclaim, "Malakas! Enough of your games, child, or there will be consequences!"

The other girls glanced at her, causing Grishna to tease Artemis as Atlas settled between her and Amethyst. "It looks like you enjoy his teasing, Arti. Why not admit it?" the orc girl quipped.

"Shut up, Grish. He's a scoundrel! I know he will grow up to be a playboy," Artemis shot back, eliciting laughter from the rest.

Grishna draped an arm around Atlas's shoulder and proclaimed, staring teasingly at the brunette girl, "Well, if you're not interested, Arty, I'll gladly take second place."

Artemis stiffened, prompting Amethyst to stifle a giggle. The brown-haired girl responded, "You're third in line, you greedy orc! No cutting!"

Laughter erupted all around before Atlas whipped out some orc meat. Artemis jumped in to cook, with Estelle lending a hand. While they did this, the others kept watch as Lilith woke up, growling into the darkness.

While standing there, a twang was heard, but Grishna dodged by leaning back and catching the arrow before exclaiming, ''Bandits!''