Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System

"Ah, it just ate those up, mate," Jasper observed.

Finn ignored the remark that he was already well aware of, witnessing the grotesque entity slowly wave its arm, "--Jump!"

The warning was followed as he jumped up with the others following suit as the massive limb of bubbling tar swept across the ground.

A trail of boiling goo was left from the arm that swung over, sizzling on the steel gutters it landed on.

Jasper didn't waste any time reeling his sword back as it became engulfed in a sapphire aura before slashing it towards the distant monstrosity–

["Azure Slash"]

The ranged arc of bright-blue energy launched at the fallen dragon, crashing right against its body. At the same time, Charlotte brought flames from her blade, sending a burst of fire towards the grotesque entity:

["Blazing Infusion"]

Back-to-back, the rangeless slashes impacted Fafnir, bringing tar to spill from its repugnant body, yet no visible damage was done. All that occurred was a brief parting in its gooey body, though the black substance quickly filled itself back in.

"Seriously?!--" Charlotte reacted.

"Damn thing isn't feeling anything we throw at it!" Jasper added.

Magnus settled his feet on the ground while the barrel of his cannon lit up with a bright-orange glow before the trigger was pulled, "It's not unkillable–! So don't let up!"

["Hail of Fire"]

A spread of over a dozen chunks of volatile projectiles launched from the cannon, crashing against the emerged monstrosity. Each piece fired off exploded into a burst of flames.

The clash of the exploding chunks caused the tar flesh of the dragon to ripple as it let out a distorted roar.

"Is that doing anything?--" Charlotte wondered out loud.

"Looks like it," Jasper said.

"It's not enough," Finn confirmed.

The observation was marked true as the tar flesh of the fallen dragon simply filled itself back in once again, bringing Fafnir to spread its arms with a devastating cry. What left the maw of the rotting beast was the opposite of a thunderous roar; a high-pitched screech.

"Aeghh…!" Finn let out, covering his ears.

"Ungh…Shit!" Jasper winced as well, shielding his ears as quickly as he could.

Even when protecting his sense of hearing, Finn could feel the ringing screech piercing into his skull like a hundred knives. It was enough to bring them each reeling in pain, unable to escape the attack of sound itself; a persistent, relentless weapon.

Finn was brought to a knee, clenching his head so tightly it felt his skull might shatter, though it was better than letting the sound pierce further. It made his brain throb with acute pain, finding blood leaking from his nostril.

'What the hell…do we do?! At this rate–it'll kill us…!' Finn questioned.

He could feel his eyes set with such pressure it felt they may pop out, forcing himself to his feet as the screeching threw off his balance entirely. All he could do was force his gaze on the putrid, half-emerged dragon as its mouth stayed open to release the horrid noise.

Into his hand, he relinquished his dagger for something larger, deadlier in a single movement; a weapon big enough to effect the putrid beast.

["Bloodstained Odachi"]

Just as he felt the handle met his grip with its uneven weight, he leaned forward as he kept his bloodshot eyes on the screeching dragon:

["Blink Slash"] [2:59]

["Magnificent Blade"] [Mana: -600] [700/2500] [2:59]

In unison, he used both skills, bringing the accursed blade to become engulfed in a brilliant shroud of silver flames and golden lightning. Wielding it in that split-second as he found himself in the air, brought face-to-face with the putrid guardian of the sewers, he could feel the weight of the elemental grace on the sword.

As the slashing motion was made directly against the snout of the gooey dragon, it was unleashed with a burst of the platinum blaze, followed by a roar of the gilded electricity. It rained down the devastating disaster of elements upon the beast, cutting its ear-stabbing screech short as it staggered in pain.

Finn landed back on his feet with an exhale, looking at the odachi as the colorful unison of fire and lightning vanished. He felt surprised by the grandeur of the skill, and its effectiveness, especially considering who it was assimilated from.

'Just who the hell was that skeleton…? He was capable of something like that?' Finn questioned while looking at the lengthy sword.

The thought process was cut short as he looked up, finding a massive, tar-fleshed hand coming down from above. Before he could jump back on his own, he found his hood tugged from behind, being yanked back without much care.

"Hah–?" Finn let out, watching the dragon's hand slam into the grate.

Right behind him was the cannoneer, letting go of his hood, though still looking towards the beast, "Whatever you just did, it looks like it managed to put a dent in that disgusting thing."

"Yeah, look–I can see its bone!" Jasper pointed out.

Where the majestic slash had been performed, the sludge flesh of the dragon was parted across its forehead, revealing its blackened skull beneath. While Magnus made another attempt to bombard the wall-anchored creature with cannonfire, it waved its arms wildly, tossing its accursed goo in all directions.

"Don't let that stuff touch you!" Finn yelled, hopping step-by-step to avoid the rainfall of boiling gunk.

Each spot that the gunk landed on began to sizzle like an egg cracked onto a stove, bubbling up without a moment to waste.

Staying near the back of the chamber, opposing from the beast as far as she could be, Nova yelled into her microphone, "It isn't in my blood!"

["Grace of Resistance"]

The lyrical incantation brought a subtle aura around them each; Finn witnessed the light, soft-blue shine clinging to his body in a hexagonal shine. Just as the protective enchantment came, a wave of the tar swept by.

Finn tried to backstep it with his arms raised, though a few drops still hit his cheek; the same occurred for Charlotte and Jasper, though the boiling substance didn't burn through their skin. It burned lightly, though nothing immediately harmful.

Nova called out, "It'll only last a couple minutes, but you should be more resistant! Especially to that gross gunk!"

"Thanks!" Jasper shouted from up ahead.

Finn added in without looking back, "Yeah–keep it up, Nova!"