Level Up: Voidwalker

\'Its only increased by two hundred?\' Atlas thought with a curious expression.

After that, he pulled out four high mana potions and downed them before checking again as each one would give him two hundred and fifty mana.

[Mana: 3398/7608 (1000)]

\'That topped up my mana pool, but they make me feel sick if I drink anymore,\' he pondered before searching the room.

Atlas quickly noticed everything was covered in sticky webs, but the clutter was scarcely worth investigating. In a grim outcome, a dozen skeletons lay scattered, their bones twisted and tangled as if they had been left to rot in a nightmarish breeding pit.

The scene was a morbid reminder of a long-forgotten horror where a relentless darkness had consumed the once-living. Atlas discovered a rusted toolbox on a nearby table, which caught his interest.

Carefully, he used his sword to slice through the tangled webs harder than he thought, revealing a leather-bound book nestled within a metal container, \'What this, A diary maybe?\' he thought with a curious expression.

Atlas checked the door leading beyond the room and noticed it was closed, which caused him to wonder how the Crawlers were leaving. He scanned every inch of the place, only to spot a dozen vents scattered on the walls.

\'Oh, for fuck sake, this is just getting worse,\' he thought while watching them.

He searched for a place to sit and read the diary. As he opened the first page, the date left him puzzled, \'Today is the 8th Dark Day of Snowdrift, the season of Winterfrost, year 127 of Dawn\'s Chronicle.\'

Recalling what he knew of Winterfrost, Atlas pondered, \'The season is divided into four periods: Frostfall, Snowdrift, Everglaze, and Frostwane. The other seasons follow the same pattern: Springbloom, Solaris, Goldenfall, and the current one blanketing the world: Winterfrost.\'

He read the date in the diary, \'1st Water Day of Everbloom, Springbloom, year 20 of Dawn\'s Beginning.\'

Atlas was stunned, his mind racing as he took in his surroundings. "This place is two thousand years old! How is that even possible?" he wondered in amazement.

He recalled from the memories he had absorbed upon arriving in Valoria that the calendar was known as the Dawn. The Dawn\'s Chronicle began after a world-ending disaster had ravaged the land, marking a new era in the world\'s history.

Following that, he started reading the diary, which belonged to a young noblewoman named Amara Silverstar, who escaped her homeland, the Valkoria Federation, along with most of her city on this mega-ship.

***

Amara\'s eyes shot open as an alarm blared throughout Silverstar City, which meant something that threatened the whole city was approaching. She exited the bed and started getting ready as her maid Ebba rushed into the room.

\'\'Lady Amara, we need to leave. The Starforge Voyager is ready to set sail, and your father has ordered the whole family to board,\'\' Ebba informed her in a panicked voice.

\'What\'s going on! I know disasters have destroyed several cities, but Silverstar City was out of the way,\' she pondered while she put on a silver necklace that her fiance gave her during the Winterfrost Ball.

Following that, Amara grabbed her diary and followed Ebba until she spotted her three younger brothers and parents ready to leave. Her father was named Samuel Silverstar, the Duke of the western province of the Federation.

The grey-haired man turned to her with kind eyes and spoke concernedly, "Amara! We must get going and board the Voyager before the Monster Wave hits us."

When Amara heard this, she grew confused and questioned, \'\'Can\'t the defenses deal with them? What about the Federations Nova Mages?\'\'

Samuel frowned before approaching her and placing a caring hand on her shoulder while explaining, \'\'Titans are leading the charge, and they have already destroyed the southern and eastern provinces, but luckily, the council and capital escaped on Voyager\'s sister ship.\'\'

Amara nodded while answering in a determined voice, \'\'Okay, Father. When are we leaving?\'\'

\'\'Right now. Follow your mother to the carriage,\'\' Samuel responded. \'\'I must head to the Starlight Facility to escort the scientists and civilians to the ship.\'\'

Following that, the Silverstar Family left the mansion and got into a carriage before traveling through the chaotic city. Amara looked out the window only to see the citizens panicking as they headed for the harbor.

Federation soldiers guided them through the bustling streets as the carriage approached the harbor. There, a colossal ship loomed on the water, capturing her awe. \'It\'s incredible that the council managed to build something like this,\' she thought. \'It\'s a floating city in all but name.\'

If Atlas had seen the vessel, he would have called it a monster cruise ship, as it was massive. As the carriage closed in on the boat, it stopped before a heavy guard gangway leading up to the deck.

Amara knew this was the nobles\' entrance while the ordinary people boarded through another way she didn\'t know. She nodded before stepping outside as her mother spoke to the commander, \'\'How many have boarded Theo?\'\'

The man scratched his bushy beard while answering, \'\'Four million so far, another two or three before the monsters arrive, my lady. Thanks to the dwarf engineering and elf space magic used on the ship, we can now save Silverstar City, but the council isn\'t happy with the cost of the upgrades.\'\'

\'They\'re never happy, but father always gets his way when it comes to them,\' she thought while hearing the man.

Amara watched her mother Melanie shrug before replying, \'\'It\'s worth it if our citizens can survive the End Times, as the scholars call it. Samuel says we\'re sailing north to Astoria to seek refuge with the Eldoria Empire.\'\'

Theo nodded, \'\'Yes, my lady, but the empire has demanded a price, and they want the Arcane Ember, which is stored safely in the captain\'s vault.\'\'

When Amara heard that, she remembered the stories of the stone with mysterious powers that scientists believe come from the long-rumored Dark Realm, \'If the scholars are right, we can harness the energy from it to power the Federation,\' she mused while waiting to board the ship.

\'\'Has Samuel reported in yet? He said he was going to the Starlight Facility to retrieve the people there?\'\' Melanie asked worriedly as the family maids ushered the children on board.

Amara decided to stay and wait for her other family members, which included three older brothers and two sisters. They worked across the city but knew they were heading here due to their father\'s orders.

Theo, allowing the other nobles to pass through the blockade, replied after ordering more soldiers to guard the entrance, "They\'re gathering all the samples, notes, and subjects from the experiments as the Federations deem them valuable; the report said they will be departing soon."

\'Why are they bringing those vile creatures on board!\' she thought while cringing. \'Hopefully, there is enough security to keep us safe.\'

As Amara listened to that, Ebba spoke quietly, \'\'My Lady. We should board the ship and take cover before it rains.\'\'

She nodded and walked toward the gangway, boarding the massive vessel. Maids and servants guided them through the ship\'s corridors to the quarters where the nobles would stay.

***

Atlas stopped reading as more banging sounded from above, which creeped him out. He put the diary in his storage before listening, but nothing else was heard. Now reading the ship description, he soon realized he was at the bottom of the vessel.

\'This Arcane Ember sounds interesting,\' he thought, which led to a notification to appear.

[The Arcane Ember Flames is an essential component of the Vanquishers Blade. Retrieve it, boy - Nyx]

Atlas was confused but glanced up and thought, \'Thanks for the information, Nyx.\'

He sighed because he now had to find the captain\'s vault, which he had no idea where it was. Atlas decided to leave the engine room and found himself in another corridor, but this time, there were only three doors, two on either side and one at the end of the passageway.

\'I wonder what vile creatures she was talking about? Maybe the Deepsea Crawlers?\' Atlas wondered while walking down the eerie corridor.

While approaching the first door, he readied his blades before pushing the door open, and when it let out a jarring noise that echoed out, causing him to cringe, \'What the fuck!\' he internally panicked.

Atlas peered into the room and realized it was a storage room with metal boxes on several shelves, \'What could be in here?\' he thought while entering.

He inched closer to the nearest shelf but froze as a sudden scuttling sound echoed through the silence. His heart pounded as he bolted toward the noise, only to find a trail of dust spilling from a nearby vent like something had just crawled away.

\'What the hell was that?\' Atlas thought, his eyes darting around the dimly lit room, scanning every shadow.

He shook his head, forcing himself to focus. With a deep breath, he turned back to the shelf and cautiously opened the nearest metal box. The sight of its contents made his blood run cold.

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