Chapter 11: The White Warden

Atlas noticed on one page that the author had drawn several pictures of trains that reminded him of locomotives but gave him a steampunk feeling. A list informed him that using them had several rules, including not transporting soldiers into other domains.

If this rule were broken, the Morozov Guards would intervene and fight whichever kingdom broke it; plus, they had many allies who would invade the rule-breaker. He also read more about the Greenskin Confederation and the blimps the different kingdoms purchased from the goblins.

The kingdoms had to send their pilots to the greenskins for a training program that they operated, which made most realms reliant on them for transportation. Lastly, the Azure Trade Federation dominated international trade between the continents due to its trade routes and harbors.

Thanks to a secret method, the Azurian vessels rarely got attacked by the numerous monsters that stalked the seas, which caused a shiver to run down his spine. After that, Atlas put the book away, as he had learned enough and saw his intelligence attribute increase.

The sudden upgrade sent a refreshing feeling shooting through his body, causing him to check it out.

[Intelligence: 82→84]

Pleased with the minor upgrade, Atlas pulled out some fruit that resembled an apple but was blue and pink. It was strange, but he ignored it as he ate and watched the sunset. The Thalassians referred to the two moons as Zahidul and Azadul.

Zahidul glowed a beautiful silver color that lit up the world. At the same time, Azadul let off a golden glow that illuminated the Azhar'Zul Constellation that hung over the southern part of Valoria.

The story behind the moons was that Luxia made them at the world's birth to bring light to the darkness and drive away the monsters. This allowed her children to grow and flourish until the terror of the night no longer affected them.

Atlas continued to watch the night sky before wrapping the cloak around him and falling asleep while curled in a ball. The following day, he was startled awake by the echoing roars of nearby monsters.

His heart pounded as he scanned his surroundings, but nothing could be seen. Shaking off the remnants of sleep, he rose to his feet and descended from the branch to resume his journey.

He continued to walk through the forest and didn't encounter anything until he walked under one tree and something lunged at him. Atlas yelped before activating Void Guard and blocking another strike.

Atlas looked around and spotted two snakes slithering toward him. 'Where the hell did these things come from? ' he thought internally before scanning the new monster.

[Frostfang Python]

[Rank: D - 300 Exp]

'Why does the experience show up now? Because I learned about it maybe?' Atlas mused before aiming his hand at the closest Python and releasing ten Void Arrows that peppered the snake's bulky body.

Atlas continued to cast arrows into the monster while backing off, but his panic increased when he couldn't see the second Python anymore. A shiver ran down his spine, causing him to cast Void Guard.

The blue shield appeared just as the creature lunged from the brush to bite Atlas. The snakes were twice the size of a Python from Earth, and the strength of their bodies sent him flying through the air.

He crashed against a tree and felt something break.

[Health: 42/88]

Atlas struggled to his feet as pain radiated from his body. He looked up only to have a heart attack as the Frostfang was lunging at him with its maw wide open, only giving him a few seconds to react.

Without thinking, he raised his hand and cast several Void Bullets that flew down the monster's throat and erupted as the explosion rippled through its body. Atlas didn't rest as the second was still out there.

He glanced around and noticed it was slithering toward him with burns on its face and looking angry due to its mate being killed. Atlas sighed and cast more bullets, but the snake did something he hadn't expected.

It instantly sped up and wrapped its body around his own, causing him to panic and reach for his dagger and stab the Python before it could hurt him any more than it was as it was squeezing his small body.

[Health: 20/88]

The Frostfang Python roared out in pain, but Atlas wasn't finished as he cast a Void Bullet into an open wound, which caused explosions to destroy the snake from the inside. Its body loosened, allowing him to free himself.

As he escaped, the monster's large body crashed to the ground, causing this part of the forest to grow quiet. Atlas lay there, breathing heavily, wondering why he kept getting injured.

But to his shock, a notification popped up.

[Health Regeneration Learned]

When Atlas saw this, he guessed it was a benefit of getting hurt so much in such a short time. He clicked the notification to read the information.

[Health Regeneration: Replenishes 2 Health Points every five minutes- Increases when skill is leveled up]

'Oh nice, that will be very useful,' Atlas thought while lying on the cold ground.

He stayed there for another ten minutes before standing up and checking his mana before looting the Monster Cores.

[Mana: 340/600]

After checking that, he stood up, reached into his space bag, and pulled out two Minor Health Potions. Atlas downed them both and felt his Health shoot up, allowing him to move around with pain shooting through his body.

Atlas then used his dagger to dig out the two green Rank D cores, which were quickly stored in his bag. He then gazed toward the snake fangs, guessing they would be worth some coins, so he cut them out.

With four fangs and two cores, Atlas continued his journey and finally reached The Death Mountains, where he had to turn East and follow the Black Mirror Lake until he reached an open plain ending in another snow-covered forest.

He was trekking through the endless sea of trees; Atlas crossed over a small stream only to have a shabby arrow hit the tree right next to his head, causing him to jump to the side while taking cover behind a fallen log.

Atlas stuck his head out and saw a swarm of Snow Goblins rushing toward him, 'Oh crap, there are loads of them,' he thought. 'I need to thin out the numbers before they reach me.'

With that in mind, he jumped up and started casting Void Bullets at the monster ten meters away. Atlas began to slowly back up as he took out his dagger and got ready to fight with them.

Atlas kept firing Void bullets that mowed down many creatures, causing their bodies to drop to the ground. That tripped up the ones behind, giving him the upper hand as he charged toward them.

With his dagger in hand and the vague knowledge of how to wield it, thanks to the Dagger Mastery Skill, he learned. Atlas reached the first Goblin and thrust the blade into the creature's skull with a sickening crunch.

While doing that, he aimed his hand at another before casting a Void Bullet, which caused an explosion that sent two more flying. Atlas moved onto the next Goblin and clumsily swung the dagger across its throat.

After killing the Goblin, he rushes to the next one but is stopped when one of the monsters launches a spear at him. The weapon struck his side, causing Atlas to yelp in pain as he killed another by stabbing it through the eye.

[Health: 66/88]

Following that kill, Atlas fired a Void Arrow at the one who threw the spear and cast a Void Guard to deflect a few slashes from the right, which bounced off the blue shield, allowing him to kill another group without taking any more damage.

The monster dropped to the ground as he cast three more Void Bullets at the remaining creatures, causing them to flow in the opposite direction. He was breathing heavily while leaning against a tree.

As he gazed at the blood-spattered ground, a wave of nausea rushed through him, causing him to throw up. Yet, in the aftermath, Atlas sensed an unsettling familiarity with killing the monsters.

'Don't think about it, If I didn't kill them they would of eaten me,' he reassured himself.

Then, Atlas counted the Snow Goblin corpses and found twenty-seven. Using his dagger, he cut out all the cores before storing them in his space bag and sitting down to take a break.

Atlas glanced around the forest and soon spotted some roots to hide in. He walked over to them and climbed inside. Once comfortable, he checked his status to see the new upgrades he had earned.

[Level Up: 8→10]

[Experience: 250/1000]

[Experience Gained: 1950]

[Health: 88→148]

[Mana: 600→806]

[Strength: 86→142]

[Stamina: 87→141]

[Charisma: 230→254]

[Intelligence: 84→138]

[Core Points: 6350→8100]

[Core Points Gained: 1750]

[Dagger Mastery: 0→1]

Atlas felt a surge of satisfaction upon receiving the Mana Core Bonus, significantly enhancing his attributes. He could sense its power coursing through his body, boosting most of his attributes by 50 points, with his mana increasing by 200 and charisma by 20.

After that, he pulled out a loaf of bread and started nibbling while watching the winter forest. Amidst the peaceful chirping birds and distant roars, Atlas found himself momentarily at ease, allowing his guard to lower as he savored his meal.

Yet, amidst this peace, something caught his interest. He squinted before seeing a monster stepping out of a bush, and when he saw this, his eyes widened in fear. The beast stepped into the open. It stood twelve feet tall and was covered in white, matted fur.

Atlas couldn't tear his gaze away from the creature's glowing red eyes, which held an evil that caused a shiver to run down his spine as he scanned it.

[White Warden]

[Rank: B - 800 Exp]