Atlas made up his mind and knew these slavers had to die. With that thought, he readied his dagger and tomahawk before scanning the injured scum as they tried to stand up. There were twelve alive and could potentially fight, but there were a lot more rolling around in pain.
After ensuring the Woolhorns were gone from this part of the forest, he jumped off the branch and landed with a thud before rushing toward the closest bandit, one of the less injured and already on one knee while breathing heavily.
When getting close, the man heard him and turned around with a look of shock written on his face, forcing Atlas to panic and wildly swing with his tomahawk, only to bury the blade into the bandit's temple with a sickening crunch.
The nausea churned within him, but he forced it aside, unleashing several Void Arrows at another four enemies. With many enemies to contend with, he resorted to his cunning nature, using the trees as cover as he darted around, aiming to confuse the slavers.
When the blue projectiles struck the unaware men and women, they let out shrill cries as the arrows pierced their bodies, sending them collapsing to the ground. He wasted no more time and darted around the battlefield, stabbing and slashing all the shocked slavers.
He advanced towards the wounded, swiftly dispatching them with fatal stabs to the head. With each grim act, Atlas found it easier to suppress the revulsion of taking life, which he found strange and confusing.
This grim acceptance drew him to the lessons of ancient history, where the line between survival and progress was often drawn in blood. Some tried to fight back but were taken out by Atlas's magic, which blew up in their faces before putting down the remaining slavers using his dagger or tomahawk.
Ten minutes passed by, he was now lying on his back while breathing heavily and covered in blood. Atlas was happy as he felt all the experience pouring into his body because he killed thirty-seven Apprentice-ranked slavers and seven badly wounded Adept-ranked scum.
Thanks to them being injured by the Woolhorn attack, giving him the upper hand in his ambush. Atlas lay there while catching his breath and checked his status.
[Level Up: 11→20]
[Experience: 550/1000]
[Experience Gained: 9500]
[Health: 148→216]
[Mana: 806→1044]
[Strength: 142→210]
[Stamina: 142>216]
[Charisma: 254→292]
[Intelligence: 140→214]
[Core Rank Up: Low→Mid]
[Core Points: 8400→13150]
[Core Points Gained: 4750]
[Void Arrow: 0→1]
'Nine levels for killing the slavers,' he thought, excited when he saw his gains for taking out the slavers. 'My status has increased.'
After checking his status, he shook his head before searching the corpses for coin pouches. He soon found forty-three with 1000 copper, 200 silver, and 10 gold coins that he had retrieved from the slaver's leader.
Atlas stored them in his space bag before heading into the bandit camp to find this bird girl they spoke about. Five minutes later, he was standing in front of the cage that the slaves were kept in.
He saw a dozen people shivering and looking horrified; Atlas used his tomahawk to break the lock while speaking, ''I will be heading to Frostwood Village if you want to tag along.''
Once Atlas finished speaking to the scared people, he scanned the slaver camp and guessed they had a stash of wealth. His inner goblin came to life as he searched the huts he saw and found nothing until entering the leader's tent.
Atlas thought it was overly decorated. He looked around and spotted a small cage in the corner with a girl curled up while trembling, causing him to use Void Sight on her.
[Name: Amethyst Flameheart]
[Level: 25]
[Rank: Novice]
[Experience: 870/5000]
As Atlas stood there, a melodic voice with a peculiar British accent abruptly pulled him back to reality. "Who goes there? Your aura speaks volumes—you're certainly no slaver," the voice chimed, anchoring him in the present moment.
He spun around and looked at the cage where the girl was sitting, looking in his direction. Atlas noticed her eyes were covered with a blindfold. 'Is she blind?' he thought.
Atlas was just about to speak, but the girl answered his question painedly, ''Yes, I am blind, but I can see using my Cosmic Sight.''
Upon hearing the girl's response, Atlas felt a pang of sympathy. Stepping toward the cage, he drew his dagger and broke the lock. "I'm Atlas," he introduced himself. "What's your name?"
The girl's head tilted to the side, which made her look pretty as she replied, ''Amethyst Flameheart.''
Atlas smiled warmly before extending his hand to help her, which she accepted. As their hands met, a jolt of electricity seemed to course through his body. However, Amethyst quickly withdrew her hand with a yelp.
They remained silent for a moment, allowing Atlas to study her. His gaze was drawn to her stunning purple hair, fashioned in a messy ponytail, and her slender, petite frame, barely reaching five feet tall.
Her white skin had an otherworldly glow, hinting at her non-human origin, and her pretty features gave her a distinct appearance. Atlas also observed her ears, similar to his own but slimmer and more pointed.
While looking at the girl, he heard her call him something, ''Mteule,'' she mumbled. ''The legends were true. You're real.''
Atlas just looked at her as he grew confused and asked, ''What's a Mteule?''
Amethyst shook her head with a smile, ''It would be your name in the Nubian Empire on the Aridonia Continent.''
''Aridonia Continent? Nubian Empire?'' he asked before shaking his head and deciding to leave it until they were safe. ''We can discuss this when we get to the nearest village.''
The girl nodded, but Atlas quickly noticed she only wore a thin dress that wouldn't keep her warm. That's when he gave her some clothes he had looted from Wildwood City, for which she was thankful.
Amethyst quickly changed and now seemed warmer. She was pleased with her new look, which included a thick jumper and pants too oversized for her. Atlas had to admit she looked adorable in it.
'She's so cute,' he thought.
Atlas noticed her cheeks turning red as she spoke in an embarrassed tone, ''Stop staring at me like that.''
He laughed before changing the subject, ''Why were the bandits calling you a bird girl? Are you a pigeon?''
Amethyst went completely red this time as she retorted, ''I am not a bloody Pigeon Atlas! I am a mighty Cosmic Phoenix and will burn you to ashes if you call me that again!''
He started snickering before backing off, ''Come on, Pigeon girl. We must escort the people back to the village and get warm food.''
After saying that, a purple glow was seen as a projectile hit the tent wall next to his head, causing him to yelp as he darted away while being chased by Amethyst, who was screaming insults, but Atlas failed to see the smile on her face.
While outside, Atlas took a loaf of bread and handed it to her. She took it with a huff as he said, ''It's awesome that you're a Phoenix; where did you come from?''
Amethyst looked down and revealed, ''I argued with my parents and ran away while visiting their friend on the Aridonia Continent. Before I could return, I was caught by a roaming group of slavers who had someone with the Analyze skill.''
She looked down as she played with her fingers, ''They found out I was a Pheonix and managed to find a buyer in Thalassar City down south who wanted my purity intact so he could take it, which would force me to bond with him.''
''Why would you do that? Couldn't you escape,'' Atlas inquired while they waited for the people to get ready to move.
Her face went bright red before she answered, looking at her feet, ''When a Phoenix does that thing with a man, we bond for life.''
Atlas's eyes widened, but Amethyst continued, ''That's why we're allowed to choose our husbands; we would be bonded for life and need to get on with each other, or it won't grow, and I would diminish until we return to the Great Beyond.''
He nodded in understanding before a man in his twenties approached him, ''Young Master, thank you for rescuing us,'' he said. ''These ruffians were waiting for a slave ship to arrive in the next few days.''
When hearing this, his blue eyes glowed with greed, but Amethyst bonked him on the head, ''You can't attack the ship, silly,'' she giggled. ''They have high-ranked warriors on board and won't be able to use a monster again.''
Atlas chuckled before the man introduced himself, holding his hand out, ''I'm Biric, one of the two traders who reside in Frostwood Village.''
''I'm Atlas, and this is my girlfriend Amethyst,'' he took the hand while pointing at the Phoenix girl with the other.
She went bright red before exploding, ''I am not your lover, you cheeky devil!''
Atlas chuckled, ''I'm joking,'' he said before turning to the trader, ''It's good to meet you, Biric. Is everyone ready to go?''
The man nodded, ''Yes, it should take us a couple of hours to get to the village. Hopefully, we make it back before nightfall.''
''Okay, let's go. Amethyst and I will watch the surroundings while you lead the way,'' Atlas said.
Biric smiled before rushing over to the people wrapping cloaks around themselves. That's when Atlas remembered to check the leader's tent for any loot. When he walked off without saying anything, Amethyst became alarmed and followed him.
Atlas entered the tent and searched the slaver leader's possessions until he heard the Phoenix girl comment, ''Are you looking for his stash?''
''Yes, do you know where it is?''
Amethyst nodded before walking to the bed and flipping it with surprising strength for her size. When she did that, it revealed a hole with a small chest at the bottom, causing his eyes to widen.
While this was happening, a certain princess Atlas was connected to was in trouble, which was the start of her story and a meeting that would change two lives.