Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System

All of it felt both cartoonish and nightmarish to the young man as he stood there, watching the massive remnants of the mechanical suits collide with the street. The "Sun" itself felt like a cruel joke; the arrogant, malevolent being was something that struck him as "impossible."

'Is it even possible to win? This thing…It hasn't even been managed to be scratched–are we meant to be able to beat this?' Jasper questioned.

As it stomped towards him, each step quaking through the street, dismantling the stability of the asphalt with its heat, he felt his grip on his sword being tested.

Maybe this was the end of humanity, expedited; perhaps survival was a privilege, one ripped away and brought to an end by something so impossibly unbeatable.

No, that wasn't right–as cruel as the world may have turned, he didn't believe that to be the truth.

'Mate, you wouldn't look the other way, would you? Then why the hell am I trying to? Just keep those eyes forward, looking towards the prize,' he convinced himself, squeezing the handle of his weapon.

"Good! Don't lose that fire! Let hope burn through you–otherwise, it's all a bore!" The Sun commended, raising his arms as a wave of extreme heat pushed outward.

All he could see was that blazing being, glowing so brightly like a star marching towards him. He raised his sword, going for a desperate, hopeful swing—

"Worry not!"

"—Huh?"

Amidst his own swing, a voice shouted from above. Before he could fully glance up, a high-speed silhouette crashed down between him and the burning entity.

'What the—?!' He thought.

Whatever it was, it clashed directly with the Sun, producing a shock wave that knocked him off his feet.

More than before, he was swept away, unable to control his momentum as he found himself flung across the sector of the city.

Amidst his uncontrollable spinning, he caught a glimpse of the one who had arrived so dramatically—

[HERO Identified: "Ilya of Murom"] [Level: 75]

'Wait, that guy—? I've seen him before—' Jasper recognized.

While centering on his thoughts, he was distracted by his entire body finally coming to a stop as he crashed right through a concrete wall.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

—One.

—Two.

—…Five?

He lost count, slamming through each wall, though his enhanced body with [Purity] brushed it off. It was only all the way to the edge of the city, crashing against the thick, black-steel walls that enclosed it, did he finally come to a stop.

"Uuuegh…Seriously?" He groaned.

A few coughs coaxed the dust and bits of sediment from his mouth and lungs. He had to pluck himself from the barricade, as the steel had caved in around the shape of his body.

'The fuck was that…? Ilya…That guy from before—saw him when we first arrived in Russia. A "HERO"—damn near almost killed me arriving here!' Jasper thought.

A disgruntled groan escaped his lips as he fell from the caved-in wall, catching himself on his feet. As he landed, a buzzing sound met his ears.

"Jasper."

He looked up, finding what resembled a robot butterfly hovering just above him, using its ocular lens to view him. The voice was one he knew–

"Nikko?" Jasper responded. "...Sorry, but I'm not doing so hot here. Your Radegasts got totaled, too. Might have to tuck tail soon–"

"Jasper, there is a way to achieve victory here," the drone informed him.

"Huh…?" He looked up again, latching onto those hopeful, faraway words.

Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

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[Across The City]

In the sky, the planetary sphere once more emitted a hum, peeling asphalt from the street and uprooting trees from the parks below.

"Another pull is coming! Hold on!"

The warning came from the pilot of the Radegast, bringing Finn to clutch onto it as tightly as he could, latching his fingers around the handle on the mech's shoulder. Anchors deployed from the Radegasts, extending as hooked spears that lodged into the ground.

It managed to hold its position, not being lifted by the pull of the [World] as chunks of buildings and pieces of the sidewalk floated upward. What was coming next was all too known–the return of all the resources crushed and now in possession of the sphere: a hailstorm of death.

"--Deploying shields!" Arnold announced.

Compartments opened from the back of the Radegast, releasing folded metal that expanded, quickly unfolding into a protective dome around the unit.

"I don't think that's going to hold up!" Finn shouted, leaning right beside the window into the pilot's seat.

"Just have some faith! I'll get you there, safe n' sound!" Arnold assured him.

All he could do was trust the word of the pilot, holding on tightly as it began to move with the hovering, dome shield following along. The transparent, tiled barricade let him see the devastation just beyond it as countless projectiles crashed against it.

Screams of those unfortunate enough to be in the path of the rubble storm echoed, though was quickly snuffed out, overwhelmed by the intense humming.

"The civilians…They've been escorted underground already–they're safe," Arnold explained with clear strain in his words, navigating through the asunder streets. "It's up to us now to clean up this mess!"

"Yeah," Finn said with a focused nod, watching the destruction befalling New Moscow.

Then closer he got to the location of the [Moon] entity, the more strange craters became frequent in the city. With the end of the wave of the release of high-speed rubble, the Radegast's protective barriers were retracted, though damaged like swiss cheese.

"See?! Not too bad!" Arnold shouted from the mech's cockpit, sprinting down the desecrated street with the Radegast's giant feet stomping into the asphalt.

The assassin neglected to respond, instead watching up ahead as something caught his eye; blurs of white hopped out from around the corner ahead, seeming to slip out of the decimated buildings.

"Hey–what the hell are those?" Finn asked, squinting.

"What're you–shit," Arnold began to question, though seemed to notice them as well.

Intercepting their path, humanoid creatures of pale, glistening skin revealed themselves, releasing a sharp "ring" that blared against their ears.

[ENEMY IDENTIFIED: "Moon-Born Extraterrestrial"] [Level: 50]

"Aliens–?!" Arnold called out.

There were at least a half dozen of the peculiar beings, some crawling across the walls of neighboring buildings, others sprinting right for the Radegast without any hesitation.

"Looks like they're a package deal with the Moon–can't catch a damn break," Finn remarked with an annoyed breath, hopping down from the shoulder of the towering mech. "Cover me, yeah?!"

Arnold seemed taken aback by the lack of hesitation, hoisting up the colossal rifle attached to the Radegast's right arm, "Yeah! Leave it to me!"