Chapter 128: Could You Keep Watch

Atlas watched the corpse pile move as more Dark Cave Ants tried to burrow through their dead kin to get to him. He readied himself while blasting the bodies with Void Blast, letting the ones behind come through.

He stabbed, slashed, and thrust his blades into many of the giant ants before they stopped coming. Atlas caught his breath while collecting the twenty green cores and checking his status once he had stored them away.

[Level Up: 103→106]

[Experience: 4280/5000]

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[Experience Gained: 19750]

[Health: 854→874]

[Mana: 3824→3876]

[Strength: 876→920]

[Stamina: 1126→1146]

[Charisma: 472→482]

[Intelligence: 670→684]

[Core Points: 15440→29090]

[Core Points Gained: 13650]

While looking at his status, he remembered a quote from Earth about getting stronger as his body felt the strain of all the fighting and spell casting, ' The mightiest of warriors know their own limits and push beyond them.'

Atlas gripped the handles of his blades, determination burning in his eyes as he shook away fatigue. To become the strongest warrior in Valoria, he knew he had to surpass everyone. With renewed spirit, he charged into the ant's nest, cutting down every monster that crossed his path.

'These creatures won't stop me; they will only help me grow even stronger,' Atlas excitedly thought.

His movements were a blur of darkness, a streak of relentless fury. Dozens of ants fell to his Nightblade before him, their bodies littering the tunnel's floor, which led deeper into the ant's nest.

As Atlas advanced, he reached a sprawling chamber where a colossal insect, guarded by smaller ones, awaited him. A notification popped up when he saw his new enemies, which made him smile as it was the first hurdle on his journey.

[Sub-Boss One: Dark Cave Ant Queen - Floor Five]

After seeing that, he scanned the remaining monsters to see what he was fighting and their ranks. 'They don't seem that strong, but it's better to check,' he thought.

[Dark Cave Ant Warrior]

[Rank: D+ - 350 Exp]

[Tough monsters - Use explosive magic to crack the exoskeleton]

[Dark Cave Ant Queen]

[C - 500 exp]

[Moody bitch who hates all intruders - Blast her away and make sure to destroy the monsters brain]

'Now it's time to complete this dungeon and earn some more monsters for my growing army,' Atlas thought as the excitement built up before he cast a dozen Void Bullets that peppered the monsters, causing chaos to erupt in the chamber as the explosion rocked the chamber.

Smoke filled the chamber, but he didn't move while waiting to see what the Queen Ant would do as the smell of burned monsters hit his nose. The Warrior Ants rushed forward, but Atlas grinned before activating the Dungeon Conquerer and summoning the Death Gorilla, which stormed out of the azure portal that opened up next to him.

When the monster appeared, she brutalized the other creatures by punching and pummeling them before pulling off their limbs and crushing the ants' heads with her foot. The Death Gorilla then let out an earth-shaking roar.

As the massive monster clashed with the Warrior ants, Atlas focused on his true target—the queen. Without thinking, he launched a Void Bomb across the vast chamber. The spell struck the Sub-Boss squarely on the head before erupting in a blinding explosion.

Before that happened, he shielded the Death Gorilla, who hugged him tightly after she raced across the chamber. However, the Void Guard protected them while wiping everything out apart from the queen.

Once the dust settled, she let Atlas go while checking his body for injuries, just like a worried mother, causing him to smile as he put his hand on her arm. ''I'm okay. Let's deal with the queen, and you can join me on my dungeon journey.''

She huffed but nodded in acknowledgment before turning to the Queen Ant, who was Struggling to get up; the glow of green cores lit up the destroyed chamber. Atlas approached the monster before thrusting his blade through its head, causing it to die.

He felt the experience pour into his body, causing him to smile before a notification popped up.

[Sub-Bosses: 3/4]

Atlas was happy but knew it would take a few hours to get to the boss, but that wouldn't stop his goal of completing the dungeon. While thinking to himself, the Death Gorilla picked him up by the scruff of the neck and put him on her back.

They started traveling to the staircase to the sixth floor, and she could pass through the barrier that blocked the other monsters. When Atlas saw the next challenge, he sighed as if it was a swamp.

Which caused him to think, 'I hate swamps! But at least I have her with me.'

Atlas looked at the monster as she scanned the swamp and smiled as he ran his hand through her silky fur, saying, ''Your name will be Kala; you seem like a mother to me and have shown that you care for me.''

Kala looked back at him and nodded before several explosions erupted around her. That's when she caught a pair of jaws aimed at biting them. When Atlas saw this, he cast Void Blast at one as he lunged toward another that tried to attack his monster's leg.

When Atlas blocked the attack, he felt his arms strain but soon realized they were again fighting the Landsharks. Kala snapped the monster's jaws open before pummeling it with her huge fists, causing blood to fly everywhere.

Afterward, he deftly avoided the Landshark's attack, drove his blade into its side, and unleashed a Void Blast. The powerful explosion erupted from within, obliterating the creature.

Kala took down two more creatures, covering him as he engaged another beast. The pair battled through a half-dozen monsters before the onslaught finally ceased. Exhausted and drenched in sweat, Atlas felt the weariness settle in as the adrenaline faded.

'I feel so tired, but I must keep fighting,' Atlas pondered.

Following that, the pair butchered their way across Floors six to twelve, where they encountered a new type of monster, one that creeped him out, forcing them to hide in a tree to evaluate the situation before attacking.

A group of frog-like men were hunting in the swamp below, hidden in the hot and humid brush. Atlas noticed the things stood taller than himself by a head but were more muscular and evil-looking, which surprised him as they felt weak, 'These will be easy to kill!'

He saw they were wielding homemade swords and spears while some had slings. They were hunting a Cave Fisher, cornered only to be put down seconds later when the biggest frogman thrust its spear into the lobster's eyes.

Atlas realized they were hunting for other creatures, which interested him. That's when he turned to Kala, who was hiding next to him while they eyed the new targets. He smiled at the gorilla before informing her of the plan, ''Let's ambush them, girl. It will be fun to scare the monsters before putting them down.''

'This monster is more than just a soldier,' he wondered. 'Maybe as I use them more the monsters grow closer to me.'

Once hearing his suggestion, Kala nodded with determination in her eyes before Atlas scanned the new monsters to see what they were.

[Kuo-Toa]

[Rank: D+ - 350 Exp]

[Hit them with everything you have! They will swarm you otherwise]

Atlas beamed in excitement before speaking as he jumped from the branch, ''Let's go, kala!''

Kala leaped into the fray, roaring fiercely and beating her chest. Meanwhile, as Atlas crashed to the ground, he unleashed a Void Wave that incinerated a dozen frogmen, turning them into ash.

'Killing these monsters is an easy experience farm. I should stay here and fight more of them,' Atlas mused. 'No, that would become boring after an hour.' seaʀᴄh thё ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

After that, he went to work and ran his blade across a larger Kuo-Toa's throat just before sending a few Void Bullets into a small group, sending them flying across the swamp. The Death Gorilla was pummeling the frog men who tried to stab her from behind with their shabby spears.

The two of them butchered their way across floors twelve to fifteen and killed so many frogmen that it got boring after a while. Atlas was now sitting on a branch that looked over a lake in the middle of the swamp.

'At last, I managed to collect fifty Monster Cores. I could sell them to earn even more gold, but the two thousand silver and one hundred Kuo-Toa tongues he had collected will do for now,' Atlas pondered while eating an Orc's Delights meat box, which he enjoyed as all the flavors exploded on his tongue.

Atlas offered some to Kala, but she shook her head, then pulled him into a warm embrace that made him aware of how drained he was. He removed his helmet and said, "Could you keep watch while I get some rest?"

Kala nodded and made sure he was safe while recovering. Atlas soon fell asleep while the gorilla wrapped him in a motherly hug and let out a growl to keep the monsters away until he could wake up.

A couple of hours later, Atlas woke up feeling refreshed, causing him to let out a loud yawn. The Death Gorilla turned her attention to him before he smiled, ''Thank you for protecting me, Kara; I appreciate it and do hope we get on from now on.''

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