Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System

213  Flipped On Its Head

"Spasibo!" In unison, both the boys said what he could only imagine was "thanks" before they hurried off. He watched with a smile as they ran out of the store, reminiscing of his own childlike memories of such stress-free excitement. As for himself, he was tempted to grab a few games of his own, though decided against it. 'It'd probably be a waste. When the apocalypse is dealt with, then I'll relax and game all night,' he told himself. Heading out of the shop, he walked around the plaza, still finding no sign of the two he was waiting for. He didn't want to explore too much, as the point of the meetup was to do that with his friends. Left standing near the coin-filled fountain, he stood there, watching as people passed by, carrying bags, filling the atmosphere with casual chit-chat. It felt as though in that mall, the world might've been normal, even if that was a faraway hope. Standing there, the chatter of the shoppers was deafened by a ringing— "—?" Finn stopped, looking around for the source of the blaring sound. Some of the people kept walking and talking, while others seemed to notice the sound as well. Not just the shrill ring, but the air flexed; vibrations rippled through the area. It was something too subtle to be noticed by a normal person, but his acute senses were well aware. 'What's that? It's getting louder,' he thought. The ringing intensified, growing as everybody in the plaza came to a stop with the same confusion. All at once, it felt as though every cell in his body alerted him of danger. Just as he looked up, taking a step forward with the intent of taking action at the unknown vibrations— Everything broke. A terrible storm ripped through the building, bringing the roof crumbling down. No, that wasn't quite right—it slammed down, instantly submerging his vision in darkness. Before he knew it, he was laid on his stomach, feeling an incredible amount of weight laying against his back. That darkness he found himself in changed, though he realized quickly he must've passed out briefly. "Nngh…" He winced as his back muscles strained to handle the incredible weight laying against him. Even with his eyes open, he couldn't see anything but a bit of his own hands, only from the small glimpses of light that managed to slip through. 'The mall collapsed…? No, something brought it down–shit…shit,' he thought, trying to rationalize the situation while pinned below the entire building. Attempting to move came with some difficulty as the edge of a large chunk of the ceiling must've been pressing against his spine. Trying to lift himself while the rubble did its best to keep him pinned, the sounds of screams met his ears from outside of the debris. It was pure terror; so many yells, all in a complete panic. Hearing the horrified screams forced him to push with all of his strength, not knowing what was going on beyond the collapsed mall. 'What the hell…is going on out there?' He thought. A massive rumble was heard more than it was felt, sounding as though a hammer the size of a mountain had struck the city. —THWOOM. Again, that dreadful impact rippled through the city. This time, it caused the pile of debris against his back to move slightly. It was enough to let him move just a bit, allowing him to gain some leverage. ["Orcish Boost"] ["Supercharge"] Flooding supernatural strength through his body, infusing it through every fiber of muscle for that moment, he flexed his entire self while pushing up. He pressed his palms against the shattered ground, lifting with every ounce of strength before breaking through–

"Nnhf!--"

He managed to climb up to his feet, shoving a massive slab of marble off his back, though still having another pair of debris to push off. With a final push, the triangle of thick, dense stone was pushed away as he climbed out of the collapsed mall. "Hfff…" He breathed out, coughing as dust filled his lungs. Standing atop that mountain of fallen debris, there were no remnants of the mall left standing; all he could see left of anybody there were the bits of their bloodied limbs sticking out from beneath the rubble. His lungs fought for air as the shock settled in, though his mind did its best to adjust to the sudden situation. As he looked over, it wasn't just the mall, no–it was everything. Multiple buildings were crushed into craters like a palm making an imprint on snow. Tilting his head back, the scenery filled him with bewilderment. Floating in the sky, entire skyscrapers moved alongside a parade of cars, trees, and even strips of the roads. It all seemed to orbit a massive sphere in the center of it all. The enigmatic object resembled a tiny planet, coated in emerald grass and azure water. [Special Entity Recognized.] [Major Arcana: "The World"] [Level: 150] A hum emitted from the spherical goliath, rippling through the air. The chunk of a building orbiting around it was crushed with its tens of thousands of pebbles being suspended. 'What's it–?' Finn questioned. As he attempted to figure out what the intent of the massive sphere was, every cell of his body instructed him to protect himself as he crossed his arms in front of his body–

["Impervious"] [4:59] A blaring noise like the wind itself being bored a thousand times over filled his ears as the countless pebbles were launched in every direction from the sphere's gravity. Each of the projectiles, small as they may be, were shot with speed that broke the sound barrier. A single of the high-speed pieces of sediment was enough to smash through a truck left on the road. The nearby buildings that were left standing were filled with holes, leaving entire walls smashed in as windows shattered from the sheer speed. He stood his ground in his moment of invincibility, feeling multiple impacts collide with his immovable self, bouncing off his body and being deflected into the nearby walls. 'If a single one hits, that's it for me–' Finn thought, finding himself thankful for his quick reflexes. As soon as the dust settled, he immediately sprinted down the hole-riddled road. There was hardly anybody left alive on the street, with bodies left on the streets that looked as though they'd been blown away by bombs. 'Shit–shit…! Where are you guys?!' The worried thought strained his mind. The cries and screams of civilians flooded his ears, though it was overwhelmed by the hum of the massive sphere in the sky above. He sprinted, only seeking his friends as he leapt over a ravine left split in the asphalt– n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

A sudden change in the temperature brought him to a grinding halt as he found orange snowflakes drifting down; embers, hot to the touch gliding down onto the street. For a moment, he was left oblivious to their origin before witnessing a flash of bright-orange light touch down from a few blocks ahead. "Nngh–?!" He squinted, raising his hand. A massive pillar of fire slammed into the city, erupting through the unfortunate buildings closest to the burning force. Even from the distance it was at, the rippling heat waves caused the asphalt he stood on to boil as his boots began to blister. The faces of the stores neighboring his position began to melt from the enormous heat. Sweat dripped from his pores as he looked towards that blinding pillar of fire in the distance, seeing a silhouette buried within its all-encompassing heat–

[Special Entity Recognized.] [Major Arcana: "The Sun"] [Level: 150]