Chapter 1: Trouble Begins
After coming out of the forest, where no one could threaten them, Atlas could use the Nihility Dimension again.
The mystery about what had happened before was still unsolved, but he had already formed his assumptions.
"Maybe... the Nihility Dimension has a defensive array that prevents the owner from opening it if surrounded by enemies. Well, it still worked on Obscurium, so the only explanation is that the portal will not show up if the enemies can perceive my presence. What a tricky force..."
In fact, it was an annoying problem, but at least he discovered it while he was still in time.
Who knows what could have happened if he wanted to save his life while facing an opponent far stronger than those creatures?
"What should I do about this bear?"
Looking at the unconscious creature in the Stony Spirit's hand, Atlas didn't know what to do.
He didn't like slavery, even though it was widely used on the continent, so he faced another problem.
"Maybe I should put him on the Nihility Dimension and make a friendly pact when he wakes up..."
He couldn't let this considerable prey escape, so in the end, he chose this option.
Since Rose was still inside the Nihility Dimension, he wasted no more time and resumed his journey.
Covered by the bronze mask and the Darkisher, Atlas used the Teleportation Formation on the Village of Nevery and returned to the City of Inflamed Chalice on the East Continent, evading everyone that could recognize him and making him waste such a precious opportunity.
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The City of Inflamed Chalice was full of life as always.
Wayfarers and traveling traders could be found everywhere.
The city guards controlled everything, making this city one of the safest places on the continent.
Once Atlas reached the city, he went immediately toward Uncle Beard's house.
He didn't want to cause too much commotion, so he opted for a more private reunion.
Luckily, Elisabeth was at home. In fact, when Atlas arrived, he noticed her working in her private garden.
She was even humming a beautiful song while enjoying the fragrance coming from the flowers.
Atlas approached her, and sure enough, he gave her a huge scare.
"WHO!!" Elisabeth turned around, holding a deadly dagger. She was just a step away from the lowly thief who dared to barge into her property when Atlas's voice sounded hastily.
"Aunt Elisabeth... it's me, Atlas!"
Hearing his response, Elisabeth halted and stared at him strangely: "Atlas? Don't make me laugh. He is on a long expedition! Who are you?"
Her dagger was just a few inches from his face, so he found this situation a bit unbelievable.
'The hell is going on? How could she be this strong? I felt my body bound by a terrifying power... was she this strong even before?'
The bronze mask could hide his identity and morph his voice, so it wasn't so strange that she was acting like this.
From her point of view, Atlas was just a lowly thief who was trying to do something behind her back.
"Aunt Elisabeth... Calm down... Let me remove the mask..."
"Fine... but lowly thief, don't do anything funny... otherwise..." She looked at him with a murderous gaze and neared the tip of her icy dagger a bit more to let him know that her threats were genuine.
'Good lord... When did she become such a tigress?'
Atlas gulped down, scared shitless by her action, and removed the mask very slowly.
Seeing his face, Elisabeth's reaction was relatively fast: "Atlas... is that truly you? How is that possible? You should still be on the ocean..."
Free from the danger, Atlas distanced a bit for her, just in case: "Well... I'm back. Anyway, were you so strong even before? Aunt Elisabeth, you scared me so much..."
She was still lost in thought and clearly didn't answer.
"Hey... Aunt Elisabeth..."
Waked up by his voice, she recovered and questioned again: "Why are you here? What about Rose? Don't tell me that you didn't find her?"
Assaulted by another round of questions, Atlas responded calmly: "Actually... I found her..."
Elisabeth gripped his shoulder and frantically interrogated: "WHAT?? Where is she? Is she fine?"
"Mhm... Calm down... she is fine. Can you call Uncle Beard and that guy, Oakur, over here? I don't want to make too much noise about this matter, so I hope you can help me..."
"Thankfully... Don't worry, I will call them. Let's go inside and talk..."
She didn't ask why he wanted to do something like this, yet there was no problem with it.
"Fine, but before that, I will take her here. I hide her around the city because she is still unconscious..."
Hearing his answer, she was pretty annoyed: "You let an unconscious girl alone? Are you stupid or what? You... Ahi... What are you still doing here? Go and bring her back, idiot!"
The tigress was back, so feeling her anger, Atlas ran away like a scared rabbit.
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Atlas couldn't bring her out of the Nihility Dimension in front of Elisabeth, and naturally, he couldn't go around the city with an unconscious girl in his arms.
For this reason, he chose to first check the situation and only then bring her back.
After running far away, Atlas approached a hallow alley and summoned the young girl.
There was no need to open a portal. In fact, Atlas could do anything he wanted to do with every single object inside the Nihility Dimension.
Holding her graceful body again after so long gave Atlas an incredible sensation.
Her body was so soft and fragrant that staying by her side was simply a blessing.
Atlas didn't want to gain another strange nickname, so he ran back toward the house and entered the main hall, which was wide open.
"Aunt Elisabeth... I will bring her into the guest room."
He knew the way well, so he didn't waste more time.
Soon, hurried footsteps followed behind him almost at the same time.
"Rose... You truly found her... It's incredible!"
Elisabeth snatched Rose from his manly hand and started scrutinizing the young woman. Clearly, she was pretty worried about her well-being.