Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System

He could almost taste those memories; the bitterness on his tongue, the despair of having just lost a brother in all but blood.

Thoomp-thoomp. Thoomp-thoomp. Thoomp-thoomp.

Placed into a situation alone, separated from others, his heart thumped; it wasn't with fear, but a thrill.

'Come on, then–I'm ready for round two. The Furthest From God…I'll kill you again,' he resolved.

[New state temporarily acquired: "Adrenaline"]

[All skill cooldowns reduced by 100%.]

Each of the massive limbs began their assault, crashing down, sweeping through with their incredible reach as the sea rippled.

["Spring Foot"]

["Spring Foot"]

["Spring Foot"]

–Continuously, he sprung in different directions; a sharp left was taken, kicking against the unbreaking surface of water as he pushed himself out of reach from a crashing knife. As he flipped back with the colossal, black knife stabbing into the sea, he glanced back as one of the limbs was sweeping its blade from the left.

["Blink Slash"]

He warped himself just above it, evading it as he watched it pass underneath before landing. In the air, he was left vulnerable as the countless limbs set towards him.

["Blink Slash"] ["Blink Slash"] ["Blink Slash"]

–Repeatedly, he teleported, feeling the knives pass by his body, constantly shifting his view from normal, upright, upside down in a disorientating fashion before–

"Ghh!"

Squelch.

The overwhelming number of limbs broke through as he found one of the gargantuan blades passing across his chest before he could blink away.

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Only then did he make out what led him to being struck; it wasn't miscalculating the limbs themselves, but he discovered the arm had sprouted more limbs.

A sort of killing creativity that wasn't present with the Furthest From God; this was the craft of the nameless murderer.

It ripped right through his coat, leaving him open as blood gushed from his torso.

Before he could focus past the sudden gash left from his shoulder to his belly button, a parade of fists slammed against him from every direction. It felt more cruel than efficient as the abyssal knuckles punched him from all angles, grinding against his body as he gasped for air.

'He's playing with me–trying to draw this out. That's right…somebody like this enjoys tormenting others. A real piece of work,' he thought.

For some reason, he remained calm even as he felt the integrity of his bones be challenged–

["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"]

–The repetition of strength pumped through his body, accelerating his body until a mere flex of his muscles blew away the abyssal limbs. He dropped down back onto the surface of water, breathing out as blood trickled from his nose, mouth, and ears.

There was nothing left but tattered pieces of fabric on his torso, leaving a single passing breeze to tug the remnants of his coat away with only his bruised and battered chest left bare. As he straightened himself out with an exhale, he was greeted by the sight of not just colossal limbs now, but black-tar giants.

Each took different forms; some of devilish beasts, fantastical behemoths, demonic men, all of gargantuan scale and presence. It was an impossible ocean of foes that marched his way, all coming for one, puny man.

'Don't think about it. Even if it looks impossible–don't think about it. Just do it…breathe in, breathe out, and move forward, Finn,' he instructed himself.

["Abyssal Agent: Shiva"] [Mana: -10000] [-6900/4000]

'It turns out, this is the perfect place for this. A vast, lifeless void–if I do it here, it's fine,' he resolved.

A dark-purple cloak forged of harmonious forces materialized over his body, concealing his face with its hood. It was a stark difference from ["Hades"]; a trance of destruction pushed through his body, providing a benevolent warmth that repelled all curses.

Around him, the black sea trembled and boiled, bubbling up as steam rose. An unnatural, abnormal amount of power flooded through his limbs, like a sublime heat. All thoughts were silenced in his mind, intently focused on one goal as the overwhelming giants stomped ever closer–

"Destroy."

With the arrival of a towering minotaur of black flesh, he moved–

A single slash of his dagger carried with it a fluctuation of pure, refined destruction; a curvature through the wind that rattled atoms, dispersing them and igniting them all at once. The swipe incarnated into an arch of colorless fire, pushing through the closest grouping of colossals.

Like needles to balloons, the mere touch of the flames of destruction dispersed the tar-formed creations into nothing but abyssal splatter.

Across the sea, the far reaches of the flame destabilized the waters, incurring wrathful tidal waves, crashing around as the remnants of the destroyed wind howled.

That single movement left his arm trembling as he forced himself to take another step. Each and every movement was agonizing; the sheer power pushed through his body was crippling.

With another wave of the abyss-made giants, he swung his dagger again as his arm cracked like an ungreased doll. The strain on his body resulted in his forearm cracking from within, his muscles unraveling like yarn.

Yet–

FWOOOOSH

The devastation of that crippling power set forth in a grand wave of cataclysm; waves were tossed as the transparent flames burst forward again. Even as his arm dropped limp at his side, there wasn't so much as a groan from his lips as he continued marching forward.

["The benefit of "Zombie" came from non-lethal wounds being ignored to an extent. So long as he wasn't cut to pieces, he could keep fighting, no matter how broken and battered his body became."]

As he continued his march, the water rippled from beneath him, rising as he was lifted by whatever it was that emerged. He was knocked up into the air, looking down at the behemoth that rose from the black sea.

A call emitted from it that sent vibrations through the air; a far too large, monstrous whale that caused the water to crash in every direction. Its gargantuan maw opened, large enough to engulf entire ships–

With a flick of his wrist, the abyssal whale was blasted into smithereens by the colorless force of destruction. Even attempting to use smaller movements, condensed to smaller parts, brought damning results–crack.

His wrist snapped, though he only glanced at it before dropping back down to the surface.

'Keep moving. Keep striking. Even if I break,' he resolved.

It felt as though his bones were being squeezed, crunching beneath an unbearable weight. Every movement made his skeleton creak like old wood, stiffening his body as he breathed out.

—Dozens.

—Hundreds.

The giants born of the abyssal sea rose from every direction, completely surrounding him. There were far too many; perhaps thousands, engulfing him in their colossal forms.

["Orcish Boost"] ["Orcish Boost"]["Orcish Boost"]["Orcish Boost"]

–Again.

["Orcish Boost"]["Orcish Boost"]["Orcish Boost"]["Orcish Boost"]

–More.

["Orcish Boost"]["Orcish Boost"]["Orcish Boost"]["Orcish Boost"]

Every instance of the strength-amplifying skill magnified the already inhuman power flooding his body, squeezing his bones and tugging at the integrity of his muscles. It felt as though his skull would be crushed by the pressure as blood gushed from his ears and nostrils, yet–

More.

["Supercharge"]

Against the army of abyssal giants commanded by the ["Devil"], he swung his blade, carrying with his simple movement an imperceivable wrath. The waves parted, pushing away in all directions as though they had been commanded away by a higher power.

The unseen flames ignited the air, atomizing each and every one of the abyssal giants that surrounded him in an instant.

A powerful counter, however–

Squelch.

From his shoulder, his entire arm flung off as though popping out like a bullet. The recoil of such a blow left him fortunate enough to feel he didn't have his entire body blown to bits, only discarding his right arm.

[Abyssal Agent Deactivated.]

The cloak dispersed from his bruised body as he coughed out, spewing blood from his throat as he gripped his shoulder where plentiful crimson poured.

"Nrrgh…!" Finn gasped, wincing as he glanced over at where his arm used to be.

The after-effects of [Shiva] were felt as his entire body ached, feeling as though his skull had been battered by hammers.

["Unbleeding"] [9:59]

He restricted the blood flow from the gnarly nub where his arm once was, breathing out as he found himself pressed with yet another side-effect:

[Mana Debt Incurred | All skills restricted until mana is repaid.]

It only seemed that the situation grew worse as he stood alone in the abyss, still unaware of where the nefarious man lurked.

'Mana debt…That' s new. No skills…If it only applies to my assassin abilities, I can work with that. If it's everything, I'm dead,' he considered.

A hoarse breath left his lips as he watched the abyssal sea; the ripples calmed, leaving it tranquil and unmoving once again. Searching the barren view, the last place he thought to look was straight down, discovering his late find–

Hands reached out from beneath the surface, grabbing into his ankles and yanking him right down. All he could do was suck in the largest breath he could, filling his lungs as he was brought down into the unforgiving, black depths.