Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System
Chapter 51: Aspects of The Gluttonous

Before a single step was taken by either man, an abnormal shift came in the body of the one wielding the carnivorous power. Crow's musculature increased, as his skin reddened and his veins bulged.

Even more abrupt was the skin that split and parted on his head, giving way to protrusions that sprouted outward in a curved finish: horns.

'Hold on, that's…' Finn analyzed, keeping his distance while remaining ready.

The hunter took a lowered stance, with his knees bent and his shoulders hanging loose, keeping his head down with his newly-formed horns pointed forward.

["Minotaur Shift"]

'He ate something like that–?' Finn realized.

Just as he came to realize what he was looking at, he found the horned man rushing towards him with a freakish burst of speed. It was like a bullet piercing right towards him, causing the papers on the floor to scatter.

Finn slid to the side, glancing over to replace the peculiar combatant immediately pivoting, changing directions on short notice despite the remarkable agility at play. Rather than wasting the cooldown of an evasion skill, he chose to face the minotaur-empowered hunter head-on.

["Orcish Boost"] [4:59]

He dug his boots into the ground as his muscles swelled with strength, putting his hands forward just as the shifted man pushed straight towards him in a burst of speed. It took quick reflexes to grab onto the horns, being pushed back, though grinding to a halt as he contested his strength against the hunter's own.

Finn exhaled while pushing down with all of his strength, attempting not just to slow down his opponent, but bring him to the ground with his burst of power.

"Strength like an orc–? I can play that game, too," Crow said with his head still down.

Finn was left standing tilted, watching as the man who already was empowered by the raw physicality of a minotaur had another change undergo his body. A green complexion swelled within the hunter, producing a growth in his physique as his bones creaked to adjust to the new size.

["Minotaur-Orc Shift"]

'Seriously–? He can combine their strengths?--' Finn questioned, replaceing himself beginning to be pushed back once again.

The once thin, unassuming build of Crow was not turned to something monstrous in that moment, becoming twice his previous size with muscle mass tenfold what it was before.

Finn found himself quickly beginning to be overpowered, helplessly being pushed back as the wielder of the Predator System simply walked forward as if a gnat held onto his horns.

"You have to try harder than that, Finn!" Crow yelled with a voice altered by the sheer monstrous growth within his body, flicking his head up.

Just a tilt of the transformed man's head brought Finn off his feet as though he were weightless, being flipped into the air.

He released his hold of the grind, letting himself be flung up as he looked down at the one who embraced monstrous aspects.

Finn didn't care for the bullish grin of the horned hunter, instead aiming his vision right for his neck.

["Blink Slash"] [2:59]

He passed right by the empowered figure, dragging his dagger along his neck. There was no feedback of his blade having carved through his flesh, only feeling it scrape the hardened throat.

Just as he landed, he flipped back, avoiding a retaliatory slash of the cleaver.

As he caught himself on his feet, his eyes confirmed the futility of his swift strike: there was only a superficial cut along the side of Crow's neck.

The muscles gifted to the apathetic hunter by the Minotaur and orc genetics both granted his body a steel-like toughness. That was a painful truth that Finn learned.

"Thanks for scratching that itch," Crow taunted with his monotone voice, rubbing the light cut.

It felt like facing a cheater in a video game; somebody whose power didn't match his stats.

Still, a glimmer of hope shined itself as the hunter's morphed physique began to deflate. The horns that protruded from Crow's head retreated, along with his complexion returning to its pale state.

'He's back to normal. That's it, then—he can't hold forms like that for very long. It's probably exhausting,' Finn analyzed.

Crow tapped his cleaver against his own head, letting its dull side knock against his own skull, "Come on. Do your best. A meal is only at its best when I have to work for it."

–

Behind the spellblade, she glanced back while turning around the corners of the rows of shelves. Right after her, the towering bookshelves were split apart by clean cuts, giving way for the pale-skinned, lanky man that chased behind her.

'This is the one Finn warned me about. He was right–this speed paired with that enormous blade is troublesome,' Charlotte thought, continuing to move.

She ran her hand along her blade, causing it to become engulfed in a sublime light:

["Holy Infusion"] [2:59]

Using a quick pivot, she finally met the rabid slayer on her own terms, swiping her blade towards him. She didn't rely on the actual length of her sword, instead casting the light it was engulfed in at the figure.

VROOOOM

The arc of brilliant radiance carved through the floorboards, bringing the slayer to an unorthodox response:

In that moment, the doppelgänger of Raven plunged his odachi into the ground, gripping the handle as it intercepted the slash of light.

["Reaper Guard"]

The buried blade severed the light, causing it to disperse into particles that resembled fireflies. It wasn't a skill that the spellblade was familiar with, though pushed on nonetheless.

'If I can just get in–he can't draw his weapon from the ground in time–' Charlotte planned, dashing in.

Coming within striking distance, her light-engulfed blade was moved towards the unprotected side of the slayer. Even so, that gargantuan weapon was plucked from the ground in a single, swift motion–

CLANG

"Ngh–"

Charlotte found her sword bouncing off of the steel of her opponent's blade.

–

The pursuit of the hunter brought Finn to jump through the hole in the library's wall, stepping onto the nightfallen street of the decayed city. Just as he touched upon the asphalt of the street, he spun around to replace the cleaver-wielding figure right behind him.

Crow was no more than a breath away, already swinging his meat-carving blade right for his face as the glint of that silver filled Finn's view.

["Impervious"] [4:59]

CLANG

The cleaver bounced right off of the momentarily invulnerable nose of the assassin, bringing Crow off balance. Finn stepped in, pivoting as he first aimed his dagger for the man's throat, but feigned, instead opting to stab it into the hunter's unprotected hip.

As quick as the attempt was, he found his action rejected as the tip of his dagger only cut into the man's shirt, but failed to pierce his skin. The feedback pushed a vibration through Finn's arm, feeling as though he struck a dense rock.

In fact, that's just what he had hit, seeing as stone-like scales had manifested across that portion of the hunter's body.

"Doesn't feel nice having your blade bounce off, does it?" Crow asked with a taunting tone, presenting the stone scales that encrusted the skin of his left side.

["Stone Golem Shift"]