Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System

The writhing cyclops rose back to his feet as well as its eye seemed to sizzle with even a greater abundance of steam that brought its eyelids only to partially be opened. When considering a plan of action that could lead to the defeat of the agile cyclops, anything considering his own ability to execute it felt half-baked.

'He's insanely nimble for his size, and moves like an acrobat. On top of that, his senses seem to be elevated–I can't sneak up on him. In terms of assassinating it, that seems unlikely,' he planned.

"It's coming again," Charlotte told him, holding her glistening sword up.

As he stood there in thought, he found that they were separated from the other two, as Jasper and Nova were on the opposing end of the room, though the cyclop's focus seemed set on him.

"The next time it uses its eye, I'll hold it in place," Finn said.

"What? How?--" Charlotte questioned.

"My daggers can cut through magic. It's a bit of a gamble, but I should be able to hold the beam at bay with my blades, but I won't be able to get any closer, so it'll be up to you and Jasper," Finn explained, looking over at her.

Charlotte seemed hesitant about the plan, "That sounds dangerous–no, it's too risky." Read further adventures at m vl_em|p_yr

"Just trust me, Charlotte. I wouldn't set myself up to die," he assured her.

"Mm…" Charlotte considered it before slowly nodding. "Alright. Just, please don't get yourself killed, Finn."

"I'm not planning on it," he told her.

Banking on blocking the eye-beam would take careful timing and positioning, not wanting to risk it being aimed at his companions.

["Deadly Clairvoyance"] [0:29]

["Superior Sense: Smell"]

There was a distinct scent he recalled from the first encounter with the cyclop's eye release; it had smelled of a mixture of sulfur and citrus. Combining foresight and the heightened sense of smell to get any trace of the beam coming ahead of time, he approached the cyclops, though staying ten meters away.

"Come on–I'm ready," Finn said, challenging the giant.

The coal-skinned being flexed its body, bending its neck as its eyelids parted to full capacity, bringing that shining iris to focus right on him. That smell met his nose; like freshly laid dirt and cut lemons–a strong scent that flooded his sense.

Only a millisecond of glowing was witnessed as the assassin raised his daggers like a shield in front of his body right as the shining release came–VRRRRR.

The entirety of his sight was consumed by the sangria light, finding himself immediately being pushed back by the sheer force behind the beam. As he predicted, or hoped, his magic-cutting daggers kept the energy at bay, causing a storm of sparks as the daggers were grinding against its continuous release.

"Go! Now!--" Finn shouted, straining himself as he tried his best not to slide back further.

Charlotte nodded, sprinting across the chamber while guiding her fingers along her blade. The infusion brought to it was not a raging element, but a translucent form given to her weapon, increasing its length yet bringing it to a thinner width.

["Glass Infusion"]

As she sprinted with her utmost haste, the groggy knight got the memo as he came in as well, closing in on the cyclops that was kept in place by its own lack of sight.

"Jasper! It's neck–get the right!" Charlotte shouted, coming in from its left.

The steel-clad knight nodded his head, understanding what was being asked, "Gotcha!"

In unison as the cyclop's beam continued to press against the assassin's guard, the spellblade and knight leapt from either side of the chain-wrapped entity. She swung the clear blade against the left of its neck, with the knight's sapphire edge slashing into the right side.

The enchanted sharpness of her translucent sword allowed it to slice right in, though required further strength to push through the sturdy muscle of the cyclop's neck.

"It's tough as nails…!" Jasper gritted, struggling to push as well.

"Just keep…going!" Charlotte pushed out.

Against the sturdy flesh of the giant, both blades sought to meet one another in the middle before finally–steel met steel as the bone was severed.

With his back pushed against the wall, Finn found the force pushing against his blades suddenly dispersing as did the glow. He exhaled for a moment, seeing across the chamber that the spellblade and knight stood on either side of the cyclops.

While it remained on its feet, its single-eyed head fell from its shoulders with a "thud" that echoed through the chamber.

["The Exiled Cyclops defeated."] ["Anarch Coin x7500 obtained."]

[Experience Points: +45000] [71100/80000]

[Assimilated ability from ["The Exiled Cyclops"]: "Ocular Blast"]

A sigh of relief left his lips as the system displayed the spoils of victory. It was a bit regretful to him that it wasn't enough to reach the next level, as his body still ached, though he marched over to the center of the room.

The others were busy catching their breath as well, still seeming surprised that the cyclops had been slain as its headless body remained on its feet.

Jasper sat down, resting his arm on his knees, "Crap, mate…I need a moment."

"Yeah, I don't blame you," Finn said, rubbing his throbbing head.

The bard was hesitant to stand near the standing corpse of the exiled cyclops, constantly watching it nervously, "So, like…it's dead, right? Like, actually dead and not going to suddenly come back and attack us?"

"It's as dead as dead can be," Finn assured her.

Charlotte brushed her hair out of her face, "Do you think this is what is guarding the divine fruit?"

"I hope so, but I wouldn't bank on it," Finn said.

"This doesn't look like any kind of throne room to me, so I doubt it," Jasper added.

After a short time taking to recoup from the stressful encounter, they cautiously headed deeper into the weathered temple. Finn looked at the others, gauging their current strength as he assessed their levels:

[Charlotte] [Level: 36]

[Jasper] [Level: 37]

[Nova] [Level: 36]

'Looks like they all leveled from that cyclops. I'm close to another level myself—I'll keep that in mind,' he thought, using the wisp to lead the way.

The passage led into a narrow walkway positioned over a pitch-black chasm of unknown depths, though the wind that rose from beneath certainly felt primordial.

"This place is coming down, isn't it?" Jasper remarked, looking at the fractured marble that served as a single bridge through the chamber.

"It already has, by the looks of it," Finn said, carefully moving.

"Don't look down, Nova," Charlotte instructed the bard who followed right behind her.

Nova tilted her head up, forcing herself to watch only the ceiling, "Of course I'm not!"

"You climbed the steps to the floating castle with ease. I thought heights didn't get you?" Finn questioned, hearing the whimpers of the bard a few spots back.

"This is different! I can't see where I would fall–it totally makes my stomach feel fuzzy…" Nova explained.

"I actually kind of get that," Finn agreed, finding himself trying not to look down.

Observing the interior of the fallen room found other peculiarities, with lion-face statues positioned sideways on the wall, as if defying gravity or simply melded there.

As he carefully moved, the room around him spun as he took his next step. Instead of finding solid footing, he felt his boot stepping onto air.

"Ah—"

He slipped his foot off the side of the walkway, nearly stumbling right into the unseen depths before catching himself.

"Finn? Are you alright?" Charlotte asked.

"Careful, mate. Don't want to take a tumble down there," Jasper remarked.

He nodded, brushing it off as he kept moving, "I'm fine. Just slipped."

In truth, there was still haziness in his mind, no doubt from being slammed by the cyclops as though he was a hammer brought down against an anvil.

'We're all out of ambrosia now. I have all of these coins stocked up, but what's the point if there's nowhere to spend them in this world?' He considered, rubbing his head.

While in thought, he found a swirling sensation in his stomach as he took another step–once again, there was nothing where he intended to place his foot.

"Huh–?"

"Hey!" The shout came from Charlotte.

As he blinked, realizing he was stepping right off of the fractured walkway, staring down into the pit, the only thing that stopped him from an unfortunate descent were the hands that grabbed his shoulders.

It was by the quick reflexes of Charlotte and Jasper taking hold of him that he was saved, which he realized as he was straightened out.

"Woah, you totally almost died!" Nova remarked, watching from a few steps back.

"That's it, mate–you're not good," Jasper told him, still holding onto his arm. "You got slammed pretty hard back there. I did, too–but I've got a steel head, mate."

"Yeah, Finn…Be honest, please," Charlotte urged him, meeting him eye-to-eye.

For a moment, he stood there, caressing his own head before nodding, no longer being able to deny his condition, "Alright…Let's just cross to the other side, then take a minute to rest. I'll be good to go after that."

"You promise?" Charlotte asked.

"I promise," he reassured her.

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