Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System
Chapter 38: Surge of Adrenaline

A change in the wind brought him to look up as the first of the flying whales made its descent towards him.

He stood his ground, steadying his foot on the unsteady surface as he brought the greataxe back. The horned beast drew closer, unleashing its abyss-rippling call as it charged straight for him.

["Orcish Boost"] [4:59]

Imbuing the momentary strength into his body, his muscles swelled as he brought the axe down at the very moment the ebon narwhal came within reach. The horn of the marine creature was completely overpowered by the blade, being cut away.

It was perhaps more strength than he imagined himself having, as the downfall of his axe came down, splitting through the blubberous.

The whale was split in half as it passed by, leaving Finn being soaked in a downpour of its repugnant blood. There were no guts, as though the creature was only made of blood and blubber.

"--Hah," he quickly exhaled, glancing to the side.

From the left, right, and directly above, the remaining three of the mythical whales flew at him from the suffocating angles.

"Replication!" He shouted while swinging the greataxe nearly as large as his own body.

Pointing the swing at the whale that came from his front, the duplication was brought from the momentum of the action. It spurred the fleeting copy of the greataxe to be used as a projectile, sticking straight into the black-fleshed whale's head.

The direct hit brought the narwhal to release a cry as it crashed into the abyss, leaving the young man with two left to face–

"Nrgh!"

Before Finn could turn around, he was suddenly shoved in the back by what felt like a train. He found his feet lifting from the surface of the black sea, carried into the air by the unstoppable force.

By the horn that miraculously did not pierce through his torso, but instead passed just underneath his arm, he realized he had been struck by the narwhal from behind. Such a hit from behind should've shattered his spine into a fine powder; only by the virtue of his strengthened body did he replace himself unbroken.

Still, he had another issue to worry about, replaceing himself forcibly riding upon the whale's snout as the momentum kept him still.

Just ahead of where the beast flew, he saw the remaining of its kin soaring straight towards him to meet him halfway with its horn. Before he could replace himself skewered, he flipped himself back, landing on the head of the flying narwhal.

It began to swerve before he jumped off, plummeting down as the other of the flying whales flew straight towards him. He looked down, discovering he was on a quick path into the open mouth of the behemoth.

"Not happening," he muttered.

Fixing the position he descended in, he landed both feet on the upper and lower of the whale's parted maw, staring into its chasm-like mouth of slippery tar. He pointed his hand down, invoking a spell that seemed appropriate:

["Summon: Lost Goblin"] [Mana: -300] [700/1350] [2:59]

From a sacrifice of his own magical reserves, he manifested a ravenous goblin, sending it straight into the whale's mouth. The feral fiend clawed its way deeper into the behemoth, willingly descending into the pits of its stomach.

A pained call echoed from the narwhal as it began to writhe and swerve in the air as the squelches of its own insides being shredded by the goblin were loud and clear.

Finn leapt off of the anguished whale, only replaceing one left as he watched it flying in from his right, just below him.

["Dark Threads"] [Mana: -100] [600/1350]

The durable wire was extended, used as a rope as he tossed it out, aiming for the standout horn of the beast. It wrapped around the spear-like bone, allowing him to swing over to the soaring creature.

As he used the momentum to close in, he landed upon the flying beast's head, sinking his dagger into its head with a killing strike. So quickly felled, the narwhal crashed down into the abyss, leaving the young man landing on his feet.

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

Louder and louder, his heart screamed. The more he fought and kicked to survive, pushing himself to new limits as his body ached and his mind tired, the more he truly felt alive.

[New state temporarily acquired: "Adrenaline"]

[All skill cooldowns reduced by 100%.]

With all obstacles cleared, the man of a wildly-thumping heart looked towards the faceless entity, who had been so close, yet so far. In his hand, he flipped the greataxe; its weight became natural as he fought with it.

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

Once more, the faceless embodiment of the dead raised its arms. The abyss rippled, giving way to countless titans that rose from the boundless depths of darkness. Each resembled the original entity itself, standing at heights rivaling that of skyscrapers, surely their heads would touch clouds if they were present.

Against the wall of abyssal giants that reached towards him with their dreadful hands, the young man did not bat an eye as his heart sang in his chest as though a drum being beat.

The adrenaline that ignited the blood in his veins, dilating his eyes, led him to leap into the air as he brought the weighty greataxe back, facing the colossals without fear in his heart.

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

…And so on, and so forth; the only thought in the man's mind was that skill. With the temporary elimination of cooldowns, that inherent limitation brought him to imbue mystical strength into his body endlessly.

Each time he invoked it, he felt his muscles constrict, coiling with further power, swelling up and tightening. He pushed the limits of his superhuman physiology; his skin reddened from the strain as his veins expanded and his heart roared–

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

Such strength left in his strained body left him feeling as large as the titans. The handle of his weapon was gripped tightly enough that it risked shattering into a powder. As it was swung, the air itself was cleaved as the winds cut away at the abyss below in the process of the motion.

In that split-second, he calculated the amount of targets before him–

One. Two…Four…Twelve…Twelve giants surrounded him with their all-encompassing mass.

["Blink Slash"]

["Blink Slash"]

["Blink Slash"]

–A complete discombobulating string of movement, instantaneously moving across space while simultaneously swinging his weapon.

["Blink Slash"]

["Blink Slash"]

["Blink Slash"]

From one split-second to the next, he found himself before another target, swinging his axe with such unnatural strength that the wind alone carved through the abyss as if he was Moses.

["Blink Slash"]

["Blink Slash"]

["Blink Slash"]

A flicker between multiple targets; he brought himself face-to-face with the colossus that lacked one, swinging his axe as he turned it to nothingness. In less than a millisecond, he was already before another target, upside down in midair as he swung his axe at its pitch-black midsection.

Across another infinitesimal moment, he simply sliced right through the body of another giant without first seeing it.

["Blink Slash"]

["Blink Slash"]

["Blink Slash"]

A fickle blur through the abyss brought his axe through the remaining three of the giants, replaceing himself going from upright, upside down again, then tilted to his right side in an unorthodox motion.

[0.001 second(s)]

In that time that could not be registered by the human mind, he had strung together the twelve slashes, felling the giants as he landed back on the surface.

"Heuh…!" He winced.

Coming to a stop, the gross abuse of the strengthening skill was released, causing blood to squirt from his nostrils as all of the pressure on his muscles evaporated. From the way his brain felt, as though it was cooking within his skull, he knew the strain he placed on it was risky.

Once more, he cleared the obstacles between the one Furthest From God.

However, this time, it was different; the faceless entity didn't seem to fall back on summoning forth even more creatures to impede him. Now, it seemed willing to welcome his approach.