Steel Mikhail felt the air around him that seemed to open up his pores and fill him with strength as his sight turned to the large monolith which appeared at the center of the empire a few days ago.
The monolith was ranked to be an EPIC ranked dungeon, and even now it was not fully explored. He would prepare his team and dive down into this dungeon over the coming weeks, training his skills as much as he could and increasing his strength. He could not lag behind someone that was fighting for all them too much.
He knew his role as the protector, but was slightly envious of the things outside this word he hadn't yet gotten a chance to see. When would the chance come in the future for him to explore the unknown places out there?
---
Many countries in the United Federation found themselves experiencing a similar occurrence with the floating landmass. The event would later be termed simply as a Worldwide Buff as many places experienced elevated levels of essence that caused the awakening and strengthening of many individuals.
With the advent of new dungeons that were not undergoing dungeon breaks if they weren't constantly cleared, along with this new occurrence, the hopes of the humans were extremely high.
A surprising sight had played itself out in the United Federation when the floating landmass first appeared, where its top hunter, Kazuhiko, bolted into the skies trying to reach it.
"Hey hey hey!"
His screams rang out in the skies as he stood on a katana surrounded by darkness which was propelling him further into the skies. He didn't care for the dense essence filling the air as he bolted towards the landmass at even faster speeds.
He found it to be shrinking as he neared it, seemingly about to escape his grasp.
"HEY!"
His figure flew even faster as he tried to reach it before it disappeared, but it flashed away, and so did his figure. This was the first case that people noticed and talked about later, where a hunter had reached and gone inside the floating landmass.
It continued to appear and disappear all over the countries that held a significant amount of people in the next hour, where the figure of Kazuhiko also flashed out as the last country was covered by the blue light.
Hunters and governments would call and ask Kazuhiko exactly what he saw in the floating landmass when he reappeared, but the reckless hunter didn't give any answers. People only found him to be diving into the newly appeared dungeons with even more and more vigor, occasionally screaming out how he wanted to see demihumans and own his own land.
Chapter 139 - The Lost World
The Frozen Plateau Spiritual Land appeared in the skies of the hidden village once again, where Noah was sighing exasperatedly at the guy that chased after the Spiritual Land.
He saw the amazing things on it and asked about the place Noah had gone to, his eyes flaring as he wanted to go there himself. This was something that would be easily possible with time, so he was told to wait some more as he got stronger. Power at the EPIC rank would not be too big a deal in places that had MYTHICAL monsters.
The advancement of his and Steel Mikhail's strength would be under the eyes of Sophia from now, as they were about to come in contact with their benefactor sometime in the future.
Noah breathed out in relaxation after having spent the inordinate amount of time teleporting across the two superpowers as he used the [Boost Environment] feature of the Spiritual Land.
This allowed for the increased rate of strengthening for the hunters in his homeworld. His eyes were now looking at a whole other location as he finished talking with Sophia in the hidden village.
Many plans and possibilities were discussed with the System, also known as the planetary core, as the next location was decided. Something wondrous was about to occur, as another usage of the memories obtained from the Demon Kings was going to happen.
The unique skill obtained from Orias allowed the user to travel to any location they had seen before. This was the description of the skill, plain and simple. So then what about places and locations you have seen from the plundered memories of your enemies?
Memories usually remained with the person that experienced them. They could talk about them or explain them to others, but they were theirs to keep. The skill, [Memory Plunderer] allowed Noah to take the memories of his enemies and experience them as if they were his own.
This naturally meant that through the memories from Gremory and Orias, he had seen many locations and places. This coincided with the spectacular unique skill that allowed for spatial travel to any location you had seen before, as the combination brought about something that would normally never be possible.
Noah smiled as he looked at the particular memories of the Lost World of Atlantis that Orias had descended in before. This was a large world, one level higher than the Beast World, and had the besieging of many beings from multiple origins.
The reason the Atlantis has the words "Lost World" attached to it was because of its uniqueness. The inhabitants of Atlantis were so technologically and magically advanced that they created something from the combination of technology and magic which allowed them to shield and hide their world from being located.
This was something that would rarely be found across the universe, thus the large world gained the title of "Lost".
Over the years though, beings that wanted the technology and treasures in Atlantis did not give up, and used their own mystical means to locate and find the appetizing world. The Demon World was among those that succeeded in getting the coordinates of the Lost World of Atlantis.
With the unique skill that Orias held, they were never able to lose sight of it again, as whenever the Atlanteans activated their terrifying technology that moved their world and hid to a different location, Orias could still use her Unique Skill to go back into the world she had already been to and seen. Their coordinates were thus always in the hands of the demons.
In this world, there were many things that Noah would come across, but there were a few things he was paying attention to. First and foremost was the demons running around in the world, the unique treasures and even possibly the Supreme Treasure that everyone was searching for, as well as the beings from other worlds besides the Demons that would undoubtedly be looking for the same things in Atlantis.
Everything seemed to be in order as the Spiritual Land was safely anchored to Noah's body, the preparations fully complete for this next stage of the journey.
Sophia stood outside the hidden village as her eyes flashed shades of white and blue, becoming a face filled with conviction that would soon return to an innocent one as the seconds passed. Left with her were some LEGENDARY focus cores and various EPIC cores that she could use any way she wanted. Whether to be given to the protectors of this world or used to first strengthen the body where two consciousness resided was up to her.
Noah looked through the memories obtained from Orias about the Lost World as he closed his eyes and chose the starting location. The unique skill, {Spatial Travel}, was activated as a tremendous amount of mana was consumed to fuel this travel across the universe into a world that was tucked away in mystery.
His figure disappeared in a flash of red light, heading to unknown lands where many things awaited.
---
Today's combined skills:
Pierce + Executor's Speed :: A+ Piercing Speed
Flight + Instant Transfer :: A+ Warp Flight
Regal Archer's Eyes + Sense Heat Source :: A+ Searching Thermal Sight
Immutable Regeneration + Paladin's Blessing :: S Blessed Regeneration
Arctic Zone + Pursuing Infernal Lightning :: S Pursuing Spirit of Ice and Flames
Devastation + Aura of the Demented :: EPIC Hellish Descent
Windbourne + Hidden Endeavor :: EPIC Auraless
[Noah Osmont][Occupation: Hunter]
[Vitality: 431]
[Focus: - ]
[Strength: 437]
[Skill(s) :: [F][E][D][C][B][A: Recorder-100, Language Comprehension-100, Lion's
Roar-100, Silent Communication-100, Cook-59]
[A+:: Relegator's Spear-100, Water King's Skin-100, Piercing Speed-1, Warp Flight-1, Searching Thermal Sight-1]
[S :: Enfeeble-100, Phoenix Arrow-1, Shield Slam-8, Budding Farmer-71, Ricocheting Shield-1, Bear's Fighting Style-1, Archer's Gamble-1, Smouldering Sword Strike-100, Earthen Spears-100, Thought Acceleration-100, Crisis Avoidance-100, Illusory Cover-100, Blessed Regeneration-1, Pursuing Spirit of Ice and Flames-1]
[S+:: Draconic Armor-99]
[EPIC :: Corrupted Sword Saint's Incarnation-91, Iceberg-89, Absolute Zero-92, Bone Spears-88, Bear Emperor's Fur-91, Life Steal-89, Teleport-95, Arctic Breath-87, Summon Holy Blight-98, Hellish Descent-1, Auraless-1]
[LEGENDARY :: Corrupted Sigil of Hegemony-68, Demon King's Haki-55, Memory Plunderer-5 ]
[UNIQUE :: Spiritual Land Management, Primal Conjurer, Spatial Travel, Shapeshift]
[Equipment: (3x B-Ring of Storage)(A-Ring of Storage)(S-Storage Pouch)(S-Veiled Suit)(EPIC-Kingslayer)(EPIC-Rat King's Mask)(EPIC-Prismatic Guardian) (EPIC-Unshattered Charity) (EPIC-Tigereye's Roots)]
Chapter 140 - Atlantean
A flash of red light, brief darkness, and then a shining blue light stretching itself across the horizon.
The process of arriving in the Lost World of Atlantis was that fast with the use of {Spatial Travel}. It felt as if Noah had just strolled from one corner of the land to another, but it was actually across many stars before arriving at a place in Orias's memory.
He opened his eyes to a clear blue sky, and even clearer blue colors below him as the sea moved by. Every single corner of the skies that he turned to all showed a vast array of the body of water stretching across the horizon.
There were calm waves moving by as almost all life could be sensed in the sea. Noah knew he was looking at the wrong places as he smiled and activated another unique skill, {Shapeshifter}.
The painful sound of bones and the human structure being changed rang out as the body he had always been used to rapidly began changing. The process was quick, which cut the pain short and allowed for a rapid transformation to occur.
His body changed and soon became the depiction of something he had seen among the many memories, one of the native species of this Lost World that was known as the Atlantean.
They were an interesting species, having a body similar to that of humans, but with extra features that adapt under the heavy pressure of the sea and the amphibious characteristics that allowed them to breathe underwater.
Of course, someone of the LEGENDARY rank would not have trouble surviving underwater due to the lack of oxygen with the power they held, but this change to become an Atlantean was not for the purpose of just adapting to the sea.
Noah felt his new body that seemed to match everything he had seen in the memories, from the general outlook to their soft and moist skin all over his body. Not too much had changed with his body, the only thing vastly different was the golden hair that replaced the dark one he had been born with.
He felt the actual physiological changes when his body began sinking into the sea. A feeling of likeness entered his mind the moment he touched the water, as he sunk completely into the sea and opened his eyes to a brand new world. He was looking at the wrong places when he stared in the skies as he arrived, and now, he was beginning to see the fantastical sight of the world teeming with life.
All sorts of organisms he hadn't seen before were visible as Noah used the recently combined [Searching Thermal Sight] to quickly locate many of the beings around him. The cold-blooded organisms that took the temperatures of their surroundings were still clearly visible to him with the use of this skill. With a single thought, the skill allowed his eyes to hone in on the direction and being he was thinking of.
On this surface layer where he was in, he could only see many organisms with the characteristics of fish swimming around. Their bodies glimmered as their colorful scales whizzed by, their speed being something you don't normally see.
If he wanted to get the chance to see more important things, he had to go much deeper into the sea. A smile appeared on Noah's face as he felt the comfortableness of being underwater with the body of an Atlantean. Under the water, he opened his mouth to hear words and sounds coming out with no problems, the vibrations of his voice traveling in the water as if he was in the air. Even if his voice could not be heard, he still had [Silent Communication] to imitate one of the traits of Atlanteans that he would no doubt come across soon.
The Atlantean species was loved by the sea, and they received boosts in their power whenever they fought in their natural habitat. Noah had no problem adapting to the new body as he began moving around using [Warp Flight]. With this combined skill, he could fly while at the same time transferring around nearby locations as he chose, the speed even faster than before.
Having gotten used to the new feeling and seeing breathing come to him even easier than when he was in the air, Noah's figure barrelled down deeper into the sea, very keen to meet the inhabitants and fully start his journey. He used his skills to actively sense for and look as he dived deeper and deeper, the first location already laid out in his mind.
---
In the vast sea, a few nautical miles away from a city that was known as Liquinia, a brutal scene was playing itself out.
Three Atlanteans were surrounding another species that was native to the Lost World, known as the Merfolk. There was a clear distinction between Atlanteans and Merfolk, with the latter having the lower half of a fish most of the time.
This time, a particular Merman was injured and continued to take heavy hits from the Atlanteans around him, a gruff voice ringing out from the leader.
"You should not have followed us Sud. Our employer is very thorough, and does not allow any mistakes. I am sorry."
The Atlantean with golden hair seemed sorry as his apathetic voice rang out, the green trident in his hands shining with a black light as it went towards the chest of the Merman.
THUCK!
It sank in with little resistance as Sud, the merman, looked at his friend in shock.
"Santus! We grew up...together…why collude with...GUH!"
Painful words came out as bright green neon blood dyed the sea, with a dying sound from the merman coming out in the end as the one that he considered a friend twisted the trident in his chest and took his life.
The cruel look remained on the Atlantean's face as he pulled out the trident and swung it to the side. He was about to tell the two beside him to take care of the body when another voice rang out before his.
"Wow, I chance upon murder as the first thing I see?"
The voice seemed to contain calm and curiousness, turning the face of the Atlantean grim as without even giving a single second to understand who just appeared, a command left his mind and entered the minds of the two beside him.
'ATTACK!'
The command rang out in their heads, and in the next second, there were three Atlanteans hoisting green tridents as their figures bolted where the voice was coming from.
Water rapidly rotated around them as their speed increased, nearing the position of the voice in an instant. The tridents glowed green as they waited to hear the sound of flesh being pierced. A sound did come, but not the one they expected.
SWOOSH!
A terrifying feeling overcame the three Atlanteans as they felt their Tridents hit nothing, and a second after began seeing green blood flowing out of them as it quickly froze over. The area around them had become enclosed in ice as a long blade passed through each of their bodies and took their lives.
[Absolute Zero] had a killer effect in the sea as it stopped the movement of anything in its range while the long blade being wielded sliced apart the rank S Atlanteans as if they were nothing. The curious voice that had come upon the scene of murder rang out once again.
"Now, what stories will your memories tell?"
Chapter 141 - Liquinia
Liquinia.
One of the citi
es that was in the euphotic zone where sunlight could still reach. The city was teeming with all sorts of life around it, as at its center was a large bubble that repelled any water from coming in.
This was a city where Atlanteans held control. In their history, it was mentioned that Atlanteans were originally those from the human race, but after spending a significant amount of time in the sea, they adapted to living there. The curious thing was that for a majority of the cities they controlled, there were many areas where they used their technology to create pockets of air where many of the old human activities were carried out.
Their counterpart, Merfolk, preferred the sea in its entirety. Their cities were fully wrapped around in the water as this was their natural home.
Noah gazed at the City of Liquinia and curiously observed the new things around him. He saw a futuristic city full of lights, with multiple vehicles that looked like the most terrifyingly weaponized submarines docked around the city.
The buildings were a mixture of gothic architecture and the most futuristic additions you could imagine, with some tall skyscr.a.p.ers created spectacularly that it seemed like Jenga blocks were just stacked together.
Atlanteans and Merfolk floated around the perimeters with glistening tridents in their hands as they went in and out.
This was the city where the three Atlanteans he had just taken down were from. From the memories he obtained, they were under the employment of the same beings he was chasing, where they were in contact with a subdivision of a legion under a Demon King.
The demons were already actively moving around the Lost World of Atlantis and forming connections with the locals, turning those with weaker hearts against their own people already.
When the three traitors who had just killed their friend without batting an eye died, they also provided a few more things besides the memories.
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