Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System

He hopped onto the first of the stones, watching the water rush against it before jumping to the next one.

"Hyup–" He let out before catching himself on one foot.

For a moment, his balance was tested halfway across the makeshift bridge, finding the flow of the river seeming to intensify now that he was midway through. As he moved to jump to the next one–the stone suddenly moved.

"Wha–"

The rushing, rampant water pushed it, knocking it out of its place as he found himself stumbling just short of the other side of the river. He planned to throw his dagger, pulling his left hand to do so as his right stretched in front of him.

Before he could toss his weapon, he found his outstretched hand grabbed, stopping his fall as he blinked a few times. It wasn't until balancing himself did he notice there was somebody standing at the other side, catching his hand.

There was a reassuring smile from the nameless man of magenta eyes and messy, black hair, who gave him a small laugh, "Almost took a splash there, didn't you? Guess you're lucky I was closeby."

"...Ah? Thanks?" Finn questionably showed his gratitude.

The stranger that pulled him safely to the other side of the forest was a pale man of princely features, dressed in a white-and-gray uniform that resembled something out of a twentieth-century military get-up.

It was odd to Finn as he questioned his own senses, knowing he fully would've registered the presence of somebody if they were that close, yet the stranger had slipped right under his radar.

["Sleuth Status"]

[Unable to obtain information.]

'It failed–weird,' he thought, looking at the stranger.

"What's your name?" Finn asked, trying to fish for whatever information he could.

"Ah…Let's go with Corvus," the stranger gave him a name as if deciding it on the spot with a playful shrug.

"That's not your actual name, is it?" Finn questioned.

A laugh came from the strange, youthful man as his gray cape fluttered behind him, "You caught me. It's not like I'm asking for your real name, either–just tell me what you want to be called."

"Alright…then I'm Ren," Finn gave a different name on the spot.

"Ren? Hold on, you said that so casually without missing a beat–is that your actual name?" Corvus asked, putting his hand to his chin.

"Who knows," Finn shrugged off. "Anyway…What're you doing out here? If you're looking for somewhere to stay, there's a welcoming place back across the river."

It was odd to find another survivor randomly in the forest, though he couldn't tell if the taller, peculiar man was lost or not.

Corvus played with a low-hanging branch that stretched nearly to the river's edge, "I'm just scoping things out, y'know? What about you? Seems like you were trying to take a swim a minute ago."

"Actually, I'm looking for a cave somewhere this way–it's got some real nasty fiends lurking, from what I've heard," Finn admitted, pointing past the uniform-wearing man in the direction he meant to go.

Corvus looked back in the direction pointed out, "Hmm…Well, I'll tag along then."

"Wait, what?" Finn questioned.

The playful man stood himself right beside the assassin, as if waiting for him to lead the way, "I've got nothing better to do for the moment! Besides, an extra pair of hands is never a bad thing against fiends, right?"

"I guess I can't argue there," Finn accepted.

What turned into a quiet quest was now one accompanied by the strange man, though Finn didn't mind all too much. At the very least, "Corvus" seemed friendly, if not a bit eccentric. As there wasn't exactly a trail to follow, one was made as Finn walked through the tall foliage of the forest.

He remained wary of the man as he walked with him, looking over, "What's your class?"

"Class? Oh, I'm a Hero!" Corvus answered, pointing to himself proudly.

"Hero? Never heard of that one," Finn mumbled.

An eye was kept on the mysterious man, not knowing if he was somebody that was going to stick around long term, or if he even wanted that. There was still too much off about Corvus; his sudden appearance and casual nature just didn't sit right with the cautious assassin.

"Hey, what—" Finn began to ask.

The question was promptly cut off as Corvus pointed ahead once parting a bush, "Oh, up ahead! That cave looks pretty menacing."

As pointed out, the entrance to a cavern was visible through a veil of golden bushes. It was a bit surprising to find it so soon, though he wasn't complaining.

"Yeah, that's probably it. I doubt there's a whole lot of ominous caves around here," Finn remarked, approaching the front.

As he stood at the entrance, placing his hand on the rocky threshold, a howl of wind came from within. It made the hairs on his arm stand, looking into the lightless lair.

"Pretty dark, isn't it? I can create some light, if you need it," Corvus offered, peering in while placing his hand over his brow as if that'd help him see.

"No, I've got it," Finn said, snapping his fingers.

["Lesser Wisp"]

The floating, sentient ball of light hovered above his hand before he gently guided it to float ahead.

Corvus whistled, waltzing in behind the moving source of light, "That's pretty convenient."

"Hey, keep it down—we don't know what's in here," Finn said in a harsh whisper.

"Right, right, my bad," Corvus apologized tongue-in-cheek.

There wasn't much to be discovered yet, only finding the rocky passageway leading deeper into the lightless cavern. All he could hear, besides the footsteps of the unlikely companion behind him, were periodic echoes that came from further ahead.

"What're you looking for here again?" Corvus asked before lowering his voice after a sharp glance from Finn. "Oh—right, being quiet now.

"All I know is that it's been scaring the old man living in the forest. He's been hospitable, so the least I can do is give him some peace of mind," Finn whispered.

Corvus was quiet for a moment, walking with little fear as though it was a casual expedition, "I see. You're a thoughtful guy, aren't you?"

"Not really," Finn brushed off.

As the glow of the wisp was followed, the monotonous walk into the depths was intercepted as he felt his foot kick against something.

It rattled, bouncing off the bumpy ground as he looked at what his boot had hit. What swayed on the floor was a skull, though chipped as though a bite was taken out of it.

"Dammit," Finn mumbled.

"That's a bad sign, for sure. Looks human to me—the skull, I mean," Corvus clarified, kneeling down to investigate.

Finn watched the peculiar man lift the half-broken skull to inspect it closer, "What? Were you some sort of detective before all of this?"

The skull was carefully placed back down as Corvus straightened himself out, "Common knowledge for anybody who's seen their way around."

"Yeah, fair enough," Finn said.

A slight slope led to a descent in the cave, with the wisp granting shine to the area that laid ahead. The dull, gray stone before blended into chalky, blood-red rock.

Puddles sat in the dips of the ground, though not of water, but repugnant blood.

"Phew…That's certainly a smell," Corvus brushed his hand in front of his nose.

"What kind of cave even is this? Something like this is in the forest?" Finn questioned, looking around.

It felt as though the slope led to an entirely different cavern, as the scarlet walls were filled with holes ranging from small to entire passageways. The scope of it was the size of a football field, at least in that one area, littered with bones ranging from those of small animals, large beasts, to human.

"I can tell you what's living here," Corvus said. "You're bleeding, by the way."

"I am? Dammit,," Finn mumbled, though hardly surprised, glancing over at the uniform-wearing, princely man as he wiped his nose, finding it leaking again.

"In cases like this, I think it'd be better to learn firsthand–it's coming," Corvus warned, looking ahead with a carefree expression.

A vibration emitted against the ground, bringing Finn to call upon his daggers as he looked around for whatever that lurked in the scarlet cave to come. The puddles of dormant blood rippled, none more than the pool of it in the middle of the chamber, seeming to possess an unseen bottom.

What erupted from the chasm of blood somewhat resembled the shape of a man, though it was far from human; it crawled out with circular fingertips that suctioned onto the stone.

Its body was made up of muscle, segmented with dark-gray, ringed tissue that seemed to absorb the blood it rose out of as it picked itself up.

Like a whisper spoken through nightly woods, a foul voice left through the mouth made of folds on the eyeless face of the humanoid entity, "I smell it–your blood. Those who enter my abode…relinquish the blood in their body."

["Sleuth Status"]

[...Assessing information about [???]...]

[BOSS Identified: "Ebi, Minor Deity of Leeches"]

[Level: 40]

"Is everything in this damn world a boss? Give me a break," Finn mumbled, keeping his daggers ready.

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