Level Up: Voidwalker

When Atlas and the girls arrived at the counter, they had to wait as another party talked to the woman. It took five minutes until the group arrived in front of the receptionist, who raised her head and said, ''Hello youngsters, I'm Adelaide. How can I help you today?''

Atlas stepped forward while holding Amethyst's hand, ''We want to sign up to become adventurers,'' he said.

Adelaide smiled at them, ''Are you both thirteen?''

They nodded, causing the woman to take two pieces of paper and hand them to the duo with a pen. Atlas and Amethyst started filling it out and had to put their hometowns, affinity, and what class they were.

When Atlas came to the name, he didn't know what to put, but that's when Amethyst's voice echoed in his mind, 'Azhar'Zul.'

'That will be my adventurer's name. It's unique, and people all over will come to know it,' he thought before handing the paper back to Adelaide, whose eyes widened in amazement.

She looked at him and then back to the paper, but Estelle spoke up while glancing around, ''Yes, he's the Le Messie Élu. Are you a follower of the L'Église du Messie?''

The older woman smiled as she looked at the blonde knight and was shocked, ''Princess Estelle, sorry for being rude. I didn't recognize you.''

Atlas watched the knight wave her away, ''We're here for Le Messie Élu and Amethyst. Don't cause a fuss, Adelaide.''

''Of course, My Lady,'' she said before turning to Atlas and Amethyst. ''Let me sort out this paperwork and prepare your guild cards. You can sit by the bar and wait until I call you both over.''

He nodded with a smile before the group approached the closest table, but Atlas made his way over to the quest board, which caught his interest. He started going through the available quests the guild had to offer.

[Rank H - Sewer Clearance: Kill all the Blood Rats in the city's sewers - Reward: 3 silver coins on completion - Proof: Rat tails]

[Rank G - Tidebreaker Chaos: Kill all the Tidebreakers that have infested the southern beach - Reward - 10 silver coins on completion - Proof: Claws]

[Rank H - Herb Collection: Collect Blue Seaweed from the Southeast beach - Reward: 2 Silver coins on completion - Proof: Several bundles of Blue Seaweed]

'Interesting, me and Amethyst could do these when we have some time,' Atlas mused as Artemis spoke up from behind him.

''Looking for quests already?'' she said in her exotic accent that sent shivers down his spine.

Atlas turned around with a smile, ''Yes. I found three that Amethyst and I could do to get some experience under our belts,'' he answered while handing over the three sheets of paper.

The brunette took it and went through them before speaking, ''These are good apart from the Blood Rats, their horrible creatures.''

He noticed she shivered when mentioning the monsters, but the duo returned to the table where the other three girls were chatting. Atlas told Amethyst about the quests which she agreed to complete with him.

When the other three heard this, they smiled, and Grishna commented with a teasing smirk, ''Do you want us three to babysit you, Navara?''

''No, thank you,'' Atlas said with a chuckle. ''You can join us or do your own thing. I want to experience my first quest.''

They all nodded before Estelle spoke, ''We have some stuff to take care of; I need to buy some potions, Grish needs to buy more metal for her screaming spell, and Artemis wants to go swimming again.''

''You and Grish are bestfriends now?'' Amethyst exclaimed with a big smile. ''Good!''

''No, Little Bird. We have to get on because we need to make sure Le Messie Élu doesn't die before he's strong enough,'' Estelle answered as the orc girl nodded in agreement.

''She's still a blonde bitch who stuck up,'' Grishna commented with a grin.

Estelle giggled, ''And you're a no-good orc who let down her family.''

Everyone started laughing and waited for Adelaide to sort out their guild cards. The older woman reappeared ten minutes later before calling for them to return to the counter where she held two brown cards.

Atlas took one while Amethyst took the other as Adelaide started speaking. ''Put your thumbprint, and it will connect with you. It serves as a form of ID that allows you to enter most cities in Valoria.''

She took out two small booklets with the guild symbol on them and continued, ''These are the rules and other information you need to know, but I'm sure these three young ladies will explain everything to you both.''

Then, Atlas examined the brown card and noticed it was shiny. It had his name and guild rank on it; that's when he saw his name glowing at the top, 'Azhar'Zul.'

After that, Atlas put his thumb on the bottom right corner and felt a prick. Once he pulled his thumb back, the card glowed before settling down. Once Adelaide saw this, she smiled before exclaiming, ''Welcome, Azhar'Zul and Zulia. I hope you two do great things and your names are celebrated across Astoria.''

He smiled, and Amethyst was happy, but the three older girls were confused, causing Artemis to comment, ''Why have both of you used different names? Changing them takes a long time if you ever choose to.''

Atlas shrugged, ''It felt right; I love the name Azhar'Zul.''

The three older girls smiled at him before turning to the phoenix girl who had red cheeks. She revealed, ''I wanted something similar to my Amore, and Zulia was the one I came up with.''

Artemis beamed, ''How come the two youngest have found love already? It's unfair to us older girls,'' she mockingly complained.

Grishna giggled, ''Especially Estelle; she's twenty-three already and nearly old enough to be Grak'Thar Gromog'ar's mother.''

''Shut up, you goblin!'' The blonde knight retorted.

Then, Atlas took the three quests to Adelaide alongside Amethyst as the others waited, who smiled while taking them, ''Is it you and Zulia doing these?''

He nodded, ''Yes. I want to try my first quest. How many do I have to complete before ranking up?''

he older woman thought briefly before explaining, "To reach Rank G, you must complete twenty-five quests and pass a Combat Trial issued by the guild. Once you do this, we will change the color of your card."

As Adelaide finished speaking, she took the young couple's guild cards and put them through an odd-looking machine that emitted a bright light. After completing the process, she returned the cards to Atlas and Amethyst.

''You have three days to complete all the quests, Azhar'Zul,'' the older woman said before returning to work.

The group left the guild as Estelle spoke, "I know an inn called The Wandering Wyvern. We can stay there tonight and do your quests in the morning before going shopping."

Before anyone could reply, Grishna announced, "You both can deal with the monsters and seaweed. We'll be there if anything else shows up to eat you two.

While the four followed Estelle, the blonde pulled Atlas aside and spoke, "We'll train when we get to the inn. I want to help you get stronger and faster."

Atlas nodded, excitement swelling within him. "There's no doubt I have to be the strongest, Estelle. I have a feeling I'll be dragged into something big."

"You will, Le Messie Élu. You will change the world at the tip of your blade, and I'm here to ensure you achieve that," she said with a smile.

Not long after that, they arrived at the Wandering Wyvern and noticed it was quiet. Atlas and the girls entered the establishment to see half a dozen people sitting around while eating and drinking.

The blonde knight led them to the counter, where they booked the largest room and dinner for all six, including Lilith, who made her complaints known. This elicited laughter from everyone, and Atlas promptly ordered food for the group.

"Well, young ones. If you like, I can have your food sent up to your room, or you can dine in the hall," said the owner, a burly bald man with an infectious smile. ''It's sausage and mash straight from the Thalassian farms. I had a shipment arrive this morning."

After the man finished speaking, Atlas approached the nearest table and sat down, with Amethyst to his left and Artemis to his right. The older girls sat opposite them as Estelle started telling them about Volantic.

Atlas discovered that the city had been founded on a small island, which Nova Mages had expanded using earth magic. They created additional land and erected the protective wall that surrounded the city.

''Are Nova Mages rare? Because Artemis, Amethyst, and I have a core. Does that mean we're one?'' Atlas questioned.

Estelle and Grishna looked at the other three with wide eyes before the orc commented, ''Who would have thought I would be in a party with three Nova mages? Well, two unwakened ones and a beginner, but that's still good.''

Atlas looked at the brunette, who shrugged and said, "Uncle got me a basic Mana Core Pill from somewhere up north that allowed me to unlock Bronze Body, which gave me a big boost."

"We need to get you and Little Bird some pills so you can unlock Body Tempering for both of you," the blonde knight revealed as the inn owner appeared with their food.

The older man placed it on the table before dismissing himself as the group started to eat. Atlas enjoyed the meal, which reminded him of the orphanage's dinners whenever guests visited and the staff put on a show.