Chapter 233: Chapter 233 - Shadowveil Grove
Atlas set his foot firmly on the island, and at once, darkness surrounded him on every side. Not that he could not see, he was long since accustomed to the shadows. But the atmosphere here was heavy, oppressive.
They had arrived in a forest where tall, skeletal trees loomed overhead, their trunks thin and half-dead, stretching upward like brittle fingers clawing at the sky.
He glanced around. The others had already appeared nearby. Edrik, Serenith, Luna, Thryssia, and Katriel.
"Phew!" Katriel, or Kate, let out a sharp squeak, shivering as a chill ran down her spine.
"What kind of island is this?" she asked, hugging herself tightly.
Luna, dressed in her plain attire rather than her magical form, gave a small giggle.
"Kate, did you not listen when Tessa explained where we were headed?" she said lightly. "This is the Shadowveil Grove. Most of the monsters here are of the dark type. Ghosts, undead, and similar creatures."
"Ghosts... I hate ghosts," Kate muttered, quickly moving closer to Tessa and clutching her left arm.
Tessa gave her an annoyed glance. "Stop it, Kate. They are the same as any other monsters, only their type happens to be ghosts."
"That is still a ghost, Tessa!" Kate whined, her voice trembling. "I hate ghosts. I hate the undead. Their rotting bodies, crawling with worms, ugh! Luna, I want to go home. Please, let’s go home, ahhh..."
Suddenly, a sharp wind gusted through the trees, rushing past them from one direction. The air grew colder, and the already shadowed forest seemed to sink even deeper into a night-like gloom.
Kate shuddered violently, pressing both hands over her head as if to shield herself from the suffocating atmosphere.
Tessa’s voice dropped low, carrying a weight that made the silence around them feel even heavier.
"Do not make a sound," she warned. "The monsters here are mostly above level 140. They are strong, and many of them attack the mind. If we let our guard down, their skills can overwhelm us. Death comes easily in a place like this."
Kate shivered harder at her words. "Tess... why did we have to come here? We could have picked a safer island, with monsters that look like flowers... or something cute instead."
Tessa reached out and patted the cat-girl’s head gently.
"It is alright. We are here to help Atlas push his level quickly. If we stay consistent and disciplined with this hunt, four days should be enough to raise him to level ninety-six."
"Four days?" Atlas muttered under his breath, responding with a faint frown.
"Yes," Tessa replied. "You are at level eighty-eight now, correct? If you take down a monster around level one forty-five on your own, you should gain about two hundred forty-seven thousand experience points."
"Oh... you are quite sharp with numbers, aren’t you?" Atlas said, giving her a sideways look.
Luna let out a soft giggle. "Tessa is a bit of a... what should I call it? A number-crunching nerd? You can rely on her to calculate experience points, progress, and projections like that. Right, Tess?"
The short-haired, sharp-eyed girl in heavy armor gave the faintest of smiles. "Yes. Roughly thirty to forty monsters should be enough to push you to level one hundred."
"That is an interesting number," Atlas mused. "But if the monsters here are all above level one forty, would that not be quite a challenge?"
"That is why Kate and I are here," Tessa answered with a smirk.
"Why me...?" Kate groaned, her ears flattening. "I did not sign up for an island like this, Tessa. No! I want to go home!"
"What about me!" a brighter, chirpier voice rang out. Serenith.
The moment she spoke, the wind whipped through the trees again, gusting so hard it rattled the dead branches around them.
"Sera... don’t be so loud... I am scared..." Kate whimpered, clutching her ears.
"Oops, sorry, hehe." Serenith chuckled sheepishly.
They quickly pulled their focus back to the strategy at hand. Atlas had already shared the items and advantages he carried, anything that could help smooth the hunt ahead.
"I suggest you hold off on using the experience scroll," Tessa said plainly. "At least until you’ve adjusted to the monsters we will be facing here."
"I understand," Atlas replied with a steady nod.
"And because this island is so dark from above," Tessa continued, "Sera won’t be able to scout effectively from the skies."
Atlas knew Edrik could easily take over scouting, a task usually done by Kurogasa, but he let the plan unfold as arranged. Kate would take the role this time. Edrik and Serenith had come along mostly to accompany him, not to shoulder the main responsibilities.
Which meant the duty of tracking and identifying their targets now fell squarely on Katriel.
The cat girl’s whole body shook as the words sank in, her tail puffing up in protest.
"Tess... you are torturing me, Tessa... I hate you, I hate you!" Kate whined, stamping her foot as though on the verge of tears.
They pressed forward, moving with deliberate slowness. Every step seemed to echo unnaturally in the suffocating darkness, as if the forest itself were listening. The unseen presence of monsters weighed on them from every side, though their eyes could find nothing in the shadowed depths of the trees.
Eventually, they reached the island’s edge, where the forest broke apart into a more open clearing. It was safer ground for their plan. Far enough from the treeline to avoid being swarmed.
The strategy was simple: Kate would scout ahead and lure a single monster, one that Tessa had already analyzed. Once it was drawn close enough and separated from the others, Tessa would use her ability to control the fight, giving Atlas the chance to strike the creature down alone, securing the experience for himself.
"If we can kill even just two monsters, you should gain a level, Atlas," Tessa explained. "It will be quick progress. I expect that before morning, you will already reach level ninety."
"That sounds like a perfect plan," Atlas said with a grin, giving a thumbs-up to Kate, who was still trembling at the idea.
"Now, Kate, show us your beast transformation," Luna teased with a soft giggle. "I am certain Atlas has been waiting impatiently to see it."
"I am not here for a performance, Luna. And I am definitely not part of Tessa’s little experiments..." Kate protested, her tail bristling as she folded her arms stubbornly.
Then her eyes flicked to Atlas, her expression almost pleading.
"Atlas, I thought you would defend me... huu..." she pouted.
Atlas only laughed under his breath.
Was Luna truly serious when she said this girl had never once lost a lord battle?
It truly felt like déjà vu, the same first impression anyone would have upon meeting Mira. A carefree, innocent bunny girl who seemed incapable of harm... until the battlefield revealed just how brutal she could be.
And now, Kate.
At that moment, she stepped back from the group, her movements stiff with reluctance, but everyone’s eyes followed her closely, especially Atlas.
"Roar..." Kate let out a small sound, more like an imitation of a growl than anything else.
"Roar!!!" she tried again, louder, but still hardly threatening.
Atlas blinked, baffled. What was she even doing?
Then, another roar split the air. This one was no childish mimicry. It boomed across the clearing, reverberating through the trees with a primal force.
Kate backflipped, her small body twisting midair before landing heavily on all fours. In an instant, her figure shifted, fur spreading, limbs thickening, her presence swelling with feral power. By the time her paws struck the earth, she was no longer the timid cat girl from moments before.
"Wow..." Atlas exhaled in awe. "What kind of beast is that?"