Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System
Chapter 180: The Walls of Civilization

A slap on the arm came from Jasper, bringing a quick gasp from Finn who looked over at the knight who gave him a sharp look through his helmet.

"What was that for?" Finn asked, rubbing his own.

"I'm still mad you didn't tell us sooner. I get that you were confused and all that, but didja really think we wouldn't believe you and just assume you had a few screws loose?" Jasper reprimanded him with a playful sigh. "There's a whole lot of crazy shit going on nowadays. I don't replace anything hard to believe anymore."

"That's true, it's just…This was definitely a phenomenon I couldn't wrap my head around at first. I'm still not sure I really understand it," Finn admitted.

"It's just good you managed to come out of it okay," Charlotte said with relief.

"Okay? I'd say he came out rich, seeing as he gained levels from it," Jasper remarked with a chuckle.

"Guess so," Finn brushed it off, continuing down the remote road.

It was another mile of hiking without so much as a speck of civilization in sight, only more desolate cars left either on the road itself or decomposing in grassy ditches.

"Not a monster in sight, eh? Maybe they are sticking to cities," Jasper claimed, looking around at the neighboring trees as he walked. "Could be worth just staking it out in the woods."

"I bet some people have already come to that–" Finn responded.

Between his own words, a massive weight crashed down just ahead of them. It landed with such intensity that dirt was repelled in every direction, pelting against his coat like hail as he raised his arm.

"What was that?!--" Jasper sharply asked.

"The consequences of opening our big mouths, that's what," Finn answered, bringing his arm down as the dust settled.

Towering over them with height that rivaled the oaken trees around was a giant presenting not one, not two, but three heads, carrying a massive, wooden shield in one hand and a curved sword in the other.

[ENEMY Identified: "Balachko"] [Level: 55]

"Bleh!" The leftmost head grunted harshly, possessing only one functional eye.

"Guaah!" The middle head roared, marked by a mohawk.

"Ra! Ra! Rah!" The rightmost head cheered, expelling a cold breath through its lipless mouth.

It stomped its massive feet, though it was difficult to tell if it was enraged or performing a dance as two of its mouths opened. There was a change of temperature felt as Finn summoned his daggers, though quickly found himself being pushed back.

"Huh–?" Finn reacted.

Jasper slipped in front of him, raising his shield, "Outta the way–!"

["Vanguard Barrer"]

A newly-observed skill from the knight manifested in a diamond-shaped, ethereal shield of an amber complexion manifested between them and the giant. It was proven to be quick thinking as breaths of fire and ice unleashed from two of the bumbling colossus' mouths.

"Hot! Cold–?!" Charlotte observed immediately from the fluctuating temperatures.

The intensity of the opposing elements that poured from the three-headed giant's mouths pushed against the barrier, being rejected as the frost and fire scattered to the neighboring trees.

"Damn–! The cold is seeping through!" Jasper shouted, replaceing that the arm he held his shield with was crawling over with frost.

As he took cover behind his companion's shield, Finn observed something when witnessing the dual-elemental breath come from the giant.

'This isn't even recognized as a boss by my system–it's a standard monster. A level fifty-five just roaming around normally? I don't want to think about it, but it seems like the world is only getting more dangerous,' he thought.

While Jasper kept his footing, the assassin readied himself to move, considering his path to flank the colossus.

"Alright, I'll replace a way to get behind it. It's busy focusing on your shield, so I should be able to–" Finn planned to the others.

Before he could cement any such idea to come to fruition, the air whistled. It sounded as though something was approaching, quickly and harshly.

"Look! Up there–!" Charlotte pointed directly at the sky.

Finn looked where she had guided his gaze, though only witnessed the flash of a silhouette descending with vicious speed. It crashed down not even a millisecond later, directly beside the element-spewing giant.

"What the–?!" Jasper shouted out.

The barrier was relinquished as the breath of fire and frost came to an end as well. It wasn't just them, but the three-headed monstrosity that seemed perplexed as well as the dust settled. What had landed harshly, yet with elegance was not a monster, though their stature made them almost appear as such.

[HERO Identified: "Ilya of Murom"] [Level: 75]

A man nearly as tall as the giant, at least three meters in height, wearing abundant chainmail and a grand cape that looked to be made out of the fur of an enormous, dark bear.

'HERO? I've never seen that label before from the system–is he on our side?' Finn questioned.

Before a word could be spoken, it was the giant's triple heads that lashed out–roaring and grunting as it raised its curved sword to swing at the unknown figure. It swung its colossal blade in a downward motion, fully capable of splitting a grown man in half–CLANG.

The giant's blade broke in half before it could make contact. A sparkle of light brought Finn to quickly tilt his head to the side just as the other part of the sword flung right by his cheek.

As the titan was left confused and stammering as its heads bickered with one another, the sound of steel scraping echoed through the remote road. From the silver-branded scabbard at his side, the [HERO] unsheathed his sword, revealing a claymore too large for a man to wield.

Yet with one hand, the blade was swung.

In that singular motion, all three heads of the giant were cut off separately, as were its limbs as its body was reduced into a dozen pieces. It was difficult for Finn to discern if it was some kind of unique ability, or if that was merely the raw strength of the stranger.

"Grrrk!"

"Bleguh!"

"Guuah…!"

The heads of the barbaric giant squealed upon being removed from their shared body, though falling silent as they bounced off the soil. Seeing the powerful creature dispatched with ease as though it was no more difficult than chopping up a vegetable, silence befell them as they watched the chainmail-armored figure.

'Is it an enemy?' Finn thought.

'I seriously hope this guy is on our side–really, really hope. I don't want to fight that,' Jasper wished.

'I can't let my guard down yet…We don't know what this person is about–they could be against monsters and people alike,' Charlotte considered.

With none of their weapons lowered, caution was not ceased as the chainmail-clad figure didn't turn around, only somewhat glancing back at the three.

"Stay safe."

The words left from beneath the figure's helmet with a deep, gravelly voice, interlaced with a heavy, but understandable slavic accent.

"Wait–" Finn called out.

There was no chance to exchange greetings or any sort of information before the [HERO] leapt back into the sky, traveling by a single jump as the giant of a man vanished into the overcast.

"What the hell was that all about?" Jasper questioned, looking at the clouds.

"I think that was the "Boon" we earned—I'm assuming, anyway," Finn answered, watching the sky as well.

It was a perplexing encounter, though the parting words of the stranger left some amount of reassurance to him–"Stay safe."

"Was he helping us?" Charlotte wondered. "He wasn't another system user, was he?"

"I don't think he is like us. "HERO" was what the system designated him as. So I'm venturing to guess he's somebody granted to this world to help us out. I'm assuming there's more like him out there," Finn presumed.

"I sure hope so. I know we need all the help we can get out here," Jasper breathed out.

It was only after hours of walking that a piece of civilization was in view, having to hike along a freeway filled with abandoned cars. A gargantuan city showed itself in the near distance, just a dozen miles of hiking away.

An eroded traffic sign in the slavic language fortunately had its english name written in small letters beneath: "MOSCOW."

"There we go–hold on, what's up with that place?" Finn observed.

"Something's definitely different about it," Charlotte added.

Around the major city of Russia, there were colossal walls of sleek, black steel, making it impossible to see what actually laid within it. Standing on the side of the elevated freeway where a hundred foot drop would await if he slipped, Jasper flipped the visor of his helmet up to get a better look.

"Careful,"Finn warned, standing near his legs.

The knight looked as far as he could, calling out what he could make out with his eyes, "There's something on top of the walls. Looks like guns of some kind–they're enormous."

"Guns? Like cannons?" Finn asked, not having much luck seeing it himself from that distance.

"More like railguns–some serious firepower up there. Wait, hold on–I'm seeing something else. What the hell?" Jasper remarked.

Charlotte worriedly asked, "What is it?"