Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System
Chapter 185: Prototype

Back to the center architecture of the city, the floor they were brought to was just as lavish and pristine as Nikko's own home. Jasper wasted no time face planting the sofa, while Charlotte found her way to a bedroom.

Seeing such a nearly kept place to rest in was something Finn only believed was a luxury reserved for the Tower. Still, staring up at that television, it felt nostalgic.

"Is it to your liking?" Nikko asked. "I'm not exactly an architect, but I designed this all myself."

"Seriously? Just what kind of system is it that you have anyway?" Finn questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a secret," Nikko playfully answered, tapping the side of his head.

"A bit unfair to keep it one-sided like that. But, I've got a pretty good idea of what your system is anyway," Finn accepted with a shrug.

There was another room on the floor-wide suit separated by glass, which he found a circular, blueberry sofa that he slumped onto. It was placed in a lowered section of the complex, letting him peer out of the window and at the cityscape.

Nikko adjusted his glasses as he fiddled with an onyx pot on display, "You were the one that defeated the "lord" of the First Order, Sirius—correct?"

The question brought Finn to sit back up before he could get the chance to relax, looking at the welcoming figure.

"How do you know about that? You weren't there—wait, was it somebody else from this city?" Finn questioned, partially speaking out loud about his own assumption.

"I have eyes and ears in many places. It's only natural if one has the capabilities to gain information, right?" Nikko answered with a question.

"Sure, but I didn't see any of those giant mechs come through the

Convergence Call.

It's a bit funny to be asking for help now when you didn't offer any back then," Finn said, giving a look of animosity to the engineer.

Nikko wandered to the front of the glass, standing in front of it with his hands in his pockets as he peered at the enclosed city, "I understand your frustration–I do. The hard truth is, I have to look out for the safety of

New Moscow

–I can't spare any strength past it. I'm stretched thin as it is."

"Yeah. I get it," Finn halfheartedly said.

"I am not lying or making excuses, Finn. I'm telling you the exact truth," Nikko adamantly assured him, looking back. "Do you know how many monster attacks there are on the walls per day? Several hundred, and while the walls endure, some of those slippery fiends manage to sneak their way in."

"That doesn't sound very safe," Finn said.

Nikko let out a laugh that didn't replace the topic funny, more like comical in its degree, "Safety is a facade held together by string, and this world's winds test it every moment. In order to maintain that thin veil of "safety", I have to oversee that every inch of the city is protected."

"Do the citizens know about this? Creatures infiltrating the walls?" Finn asked.

"The only ones that do are the unfortunate first victims of the beasts," Nikko admitted with a strained expression.

It was clear to see that the youthful engineer wore his stress plainly. None of it was surprising, seeing the scale and ambition of such a city in a world now ruled by the supernatural.

Finn sat on the sofa, resting his arms against its frame, looking at the slender figure, "Listen, I want to help you. There's still just one problem I have."

"I'm listening," Nikko intently said, nudging his glasses with his index finger and thumb.

"That thing–the

"Moon"

dealt with your precious Radegasts in the blink of an eye. Like I said, I want to help, but not if I'm just a lamb to the slaughter. If you don't understand the power of this entity, or have any countermeasures–I can't follow along with this at all," Finn reasoned.

"That's a fair mindset to have and completely understandable," Nikko accepted, waiting a moment with a quiet release of his breath. "--I, however, have built a countermeasure for the Moon."

The curiosity of seeing whatever the "countermeasure" was led him to following Nikko down the elevator, not descending to any numbered floor, but going even deeper, past the surface and underground. He watched to see what sort of passcode was required, though it seemed the secretive floor was something only accessed and verified by the engineer's very own fingerprint.

"I don't like that you hid the existence of a potential counter to this thing until now," Finn said as the elevator descended.

Nikko pushed his glasses up, "It's classified information–top secret knowledge, let's put it that way. I had no intention of telling any of you unless you were cooperating in helping with the extermination of the Moon."

"You're making it real easy to trust you," Finn said with a hardly subtle hint of sarcasm.

"I need your cooperation, not your trust–I believe the best course of action is to always remain skeptical of your surroundings," Nikko advised him.

Just as the piece of advice fell from the man's lips, the elevator's descent finally came to an end as it stopped moving. A moment later, the doors parted to a pristine room of smooth, black walls kept slightly illuminated by cerulean lights.

"What is this?" Finn questioned, looking around as he carefully stepped in.

Apart from monitors, what resembled 3D printers, and some sorts of tools manned by robotic arms, there were pieces of technological equipment that he had no footing to even understand.

"My home," Nikko answered with a small smile, petting a robot arm that lightly waved. "--The workshop where

New Moscow

as you've seen it was born."

"No assistants?" Finn asked, scoping around the workshop that appeared more like some kind of sci-fi laboratory.

He leaned down a device with clear class, watching as a small assembly of robotic arms fiddled with motherboards, seeming to reconfigure and assort them in various ways. The purpose of it was lost on him, though he didn't beat himself up over it, considering who it was he stood by.

Nikko seemed happy to answer his curiosity, "I don't mean to pump my head full of air or diminish anybody else, but the work I do…It's not something others can assist me in. My system–part of what it does is allow my mind to peer into conceptual configurations from an inhuman sort of precision."

"That's a nice way of saying you're smarter than everybody else," Finn called out, standing back up as he continued looking around.

The off-handed comment brought a small laugh from the inventor, "Really, I don't mean it like that. It's just a simple fact of my system opening my mind to a realm that can't be reached through human limitation. Every moment, I develop new blueprints in my head, transporting those thoughts directly to my true assistants here." Stay updated through mvl

"Right, so that's what they're doing," Finn said, glancing at the assembly of mechanical arms that worked tirelessly. "Just what is it exactly you planned to show me? None of this looks like a countermeasure for the Moon."

Nikko took intentful steps towards the back of the room where a black curtain laid, obscuring whatever it was that had been wished to remain unseen. He followed closely behind, replaceing himself ever curious with the inventions of the engineer.

"I called it a countermeasure, but I believe it may be more appropriate to say it's an

equalizer

–the fact is, without this, it might be impossible to face our enemy," Nikko clarified. "But, semantics aside–"

Finn watched as the Canadian inventor snapped his fingers, commanding the dormant arms to part the curtains to what was veiled. Sat behind a transparent cover was a sleek, black suit made of some kind of metal.

It wasn't bulky, but rather compact, designed with simplicity, yet elegance in mind. Compared to what was worn by the military commander seen earlier, it was smaller, but more fitting for a human frame.

"A cyber suit?" Finn observed.

"It's a prototype combat jacket, using the

Radegasts

as a base, but much more improved. I call it the "

Perun

." What you see is just its default form, but it fits itself to its wearer. After putting it on, it remains compact enough that you could even wear clothes over it," Nikko explained with a clear amount of pride in his development.

"So it's more fashionable and convenient than the previous one I saw. I'm failing to see how that turns the tables against the embodiment of the Moon," Finn questioned, looking at the engineer.

The smile written on Nikko's lips was as if he was waiting for that kind of response so he could continue his explanation, not sparing his excitement, "Of course. You see, the

Perun

is specifically designed to amplify the class and system abilities of its wearer. It provides a physical boost not unlike that of a

Radegast

, only without the size."

"Interesting," Finn said.

"That's not the main part of it, though," Nikko continued, standing in front of the glass, staring at the prototype as though it were child of his. "It deploys its own personal gravitational skin. That is, it remains largely resistant to the effects of external gravity."

"Something like that is possible? That sort of technology–it sounds centuries away," Finn remarked with awe. "So, that's the "equalizer", then–with this, you won't get turned into a pancake."

"Exactly. It evens the playing field," Nikko confirmed. "Even if it's

God

itself, human ingenuity can replace a way to adapt to it. That's the beauty of technology."