Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System
Chapter 148: The World's Ticking Clock

Finn took it upon himself to gather the firewood, which Charlotte promptly cut up and set aflame with her blade.

While the fire was set for a warm rest, he decided to scope around for something they could eat—perhaps berries or protein.

The mountainside woods were rather quiet and tranquil, with only small critters crossing his path.

As he walked amongst the plentiful trees and shrubs, the events of the day still processed in his mind.

'If I'm being honest, I wasn't that close to Nova. I kept my distance, sort of because I've come to expect things like this…I hate that. It shouldn't be that way, but it is,' he thought while silently hunting.

The subtle crunching of twigs and leaves brought him to kneel down behind foliage. There were movements of something light-footed, though he picked up on it.

Between the oak, he could see the unusual fauna of the mountainside woods; a grouping of what resembled deer.

The grazing herbivores had dark-blue fur with white dots that had a small glow, with little horns that buzzed as they ate.

'That's a whole lot of them,' he thought, keeping silent.

It was the perfect opportunity to test out one of the numerous abilities he had recently acquired, having one in mind that seemed perfect for the current situation. Knowing the sort of fickle creatures the hoofed mammals were, even if they looked different from the ones he knew, it was clear that he needed to remain utterly silent and unknown until the moment to strike.

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While the blue-furred dear grazed on the blades of grass, he carefully positioned himself behind a tree, placing his index finger against the oak. He aimed his digit in such a way that it was directly pointing at one of the unassuming fauna on the other side.

["Phantom Piercer"] [Mana: -200] [3800/4000]

From the tip of his finger, a small projectile no larger than a bullet pierced through the trunk of the tree as though it was a non-existence obstacle. It shot without any noise behind it, silently striking the herbivore that had no chance to react.

The sound of flesh and bone being bored through led him to quickly sidestep around, confirming that the formless bullet struck right between the eyes of one of the mystical deer. Just as its body went limp, the others scattered, though he only needed the one.

'That's a nice skill. It'll be handy to have,' he thought, looking at his hand as he conjured the traces of the phantom shot before discarding it.

["Seqhu defeated."] ["Anarch Coin x50 obtained."]

[Experience Points: +100] [200/200000]

[Assimilated ability from ["Seqhu"]: "Berry Immunity" 1 / 1]

As he approached the hunted prey, he knelt down as he held his hand out, calling upon a bundle of sturdy string.

["Dark Threads"] [Mana: 100] [3700/4000]

He quickly tied its legs together before hosting it up, replaceing its weight to hardly be cumbersome for his body's elevated condition. As he carried the slain creature, crossing through shrubs bearing plentiful fruit.

The skill acquired from the "Seqhu" was something he considered as he put his hand to his chin, staring at the rather ominous, bumpy berries that laid on the leaves. He decided to test out the ability as he plucked a number of the naturally grown fruit, shoving them into his pockets before continuing on his way with his prize.

'Well, they probably won't be able to have these berries. More for me, I guess?' He considered while hiking his way back.

The light of the campfire was a good enough guide to direct him back as the light of daytime had already begun to dim. As he stepped past the treeline, dumping the hunted prey, he found the knight quietly sitting by the fire while Charlotte did the same.

"Oh, what's that–?" The curious woman asked as the blue-furred deer was dropped down.

Finn shrugged, "Not entirely sure. I'm at least seventy percent positive it's edible, at least."

"That's…reassuring," Charlotte said with a half-hearted chuckle.

It took a bit of creativity to set up the prey above the campfire, though it was starting to be cooked thoroughly as he tied it to a branch above the flames. As the meal was being graced by fire, he sat himself down right across from the knight, who hadn't said a word.

"My sister, the first people I met after the world went to shit, Magnus, now Nova…It feels like all we do is lose," Jasper let the words breathe out with truthful sorrow.

It was a sentiment that Finn was more than familiar with—perhaps it was simply the new way of life. Though as he considered that the truth, a part of him rejected that.

Inside of him, the voice of a rather clumsy, oaf of a man resounded in his soul—"The world only ends when we stop fighting."

Even he had trouble accepting that sometimes. So much still felt simply empty–that each victory was a single step in a million mile journey. It was overwhelming just to imagine what lengths it would take to achieve true peace, yet didn't change what the natural choice was.

"I don't know if the fighting will ever end," Finn admitted as the flames of the campfire crackled. "There's times I consider that maybe just laying low and trying to live in hiding might be the best. I really don't know."

"A life of fighting or a life of fear," Jasper said with an exhale, taking his helmet off as his hang drooped down over his shoulders. "One's shorter than the other, that's for sure."

Finn glanced over, discovering that the girl of silken hair was on the verge of tears as the droplets of emotion sat on the rims of her eyes.

"Charlotte?--" Finn softly called.

"I'm just…sad. The deaths, all of it, but–" Charlotte said, lifting her gaze as she looked at the calm flame. "It's too precious. Life is too precious of a gift to even consider giving up. It doesn't matter how hard it gets, you just can't."

"I get it, I do, but honestly, lately it's feeling damn hard to lift my sword," Jasper admitted with a look of lament in his eyes, hanging his head.

Charlotte spoke from the bottom of her heart, "Do you value your loved ones? Your friends? Everybody that has fallen–you value them, don't you?"

"'Course I do. What're you even asking, mate?" The sorrowful knight asked with a disgruntled look.

"If you do, then you should treat the life you have more precious," Charlotte adamantly said.

"You're right," Jasper breathed out. "This crap just gets rough sometimes, is all."

"That's just the way it's going to be," Finn added in.

As the meal was finished being cooked by the flames, the assassin used his blade to cut it up into proper portions. It was a rather tender meat, one that was easy to eat, though the flavor tasted like grass–a perplexing clash of texture and taste.

Still, compared to canned food, it was a delight as he ate up, watching the other two quietly do the same. It was amidst a silent, but peaceful meal in the stretch of nature did the air shift. To the acute senses of the assassin, it made him flinch as he immediately looked over–

RUMBLE.

–Everything shook. It wasn't just a tremor through the soil he sat on, no; the entirety of the transient world seemed to tremble. They each shot up their feet amidst the sudden rumbling, only assuming it might've been an approaching enemy.

Finn looked up, replaceing the sky of land above cracking; the soil split and began raining down sediment in its shattered state.

"What's going on?--" Jasper asked, placing his helmet back over his head.

"It's breaking apart–look," Finn pointed out above.

Seeing what was essentially the sky itself beginning to lose its stability as the air flexed around them led to one, clear cut conclusion at such a grandiose scale.

"This world is ending," the realization came from Charlotte's lips.

"Yeah, seems like that's the case…We're out of time, then," Finn said, glancing at his companions. "I don't know if we're ready, but we have to confront Sirius."

"Time to rip the bandaid off, then," Jasper accepted, breathing out.

It was fortunate enough they were camping close to the ashen fields, leading to a fast arrival to the floating steps. With taking one's time being a now abandoned luxury, he ascended each of the ethereal platforms with quick movements, not looking down as he set his sights on the castle in the sky.

Every few minutes, another world-shaking tremor would come, further bringing more sediment to sprinkle down from the sky. Feeling it all rumble coaxed him to move faster, not having any idea just how much time there was–perhaps days, hours, or mere minutes–he had no way of knowing.

"Phew–"

He breathed out upon reaching the summit of the steps, stepping onto the disconnected stairs that led to the sight of the impenetrable gates of the Storm King's Keep. Standing there for a moment, not knowing if to expect another knight to come crashing down like in his first visit, he waited for his companions to catch up.

Charlotte arrived with no more than a brief exhale, though the knight landed with a sigh of relief as though having felt his life compromised by the climb.

Another tremor came, this time bringing them much closer to the rain of sediment from the reversed sky above.