Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System

It was in the grass to the left of the castle gate that a soil-covered, circular lid was found in the ground.

"Not used much by the looks of it," Jasper said while kneeling down, still out of breath.

"You know, we can wait longer if you\'re still feeling tired," Finn offered the clearly exhausted knight.

"Yeah, it\'s no problem," Charlotte assured.

Jasper brushed off the offer with a wave of his hand, holding a smile, "Me? No, I\'m fine, mates—no worries."

"If you say so," Finn said.

"Don\'t expect me to carry you if you can\'t walk," Magnus jokingly reminded the knight.

"Not in a million years," Jasper responded.

As they gathered around the massive lid, the layer of soil was brushed off as the keyhole revealed itself in the center.

"You\'ve got the key, right?" Magnus asked while looking at the assassin.

Finn reached into his pocket, bringing the required object out, "--Right here."

The key slid right into the lock, though it required some elbow grease to turn it, having to use both hands to do so.

"Do you need a hand?--" Charlotte offered, standing beside him.

Finn breathed out, breaking a sweat as he continued to turn the unnecessarily heavy lock, "Nope…I\'ve got it…!"

With a "click", the mechanism was secured as the seals on the sewage gateway were withdrawn. It felt all too grand for what were merely sewers, though none of it was humble; not the overwhelmingly large castle of glistening marble, nor the floating continent it sat upon.

"We\'re really going down there, aren\'t we? Oh…" Nova mumbled as the lid was unlocked.

Finn grabbed onto one of the handles, beginning to pull, "Some help?--"

Another grip was taken by Magnus, though Jasper tried to help, Charlotte took another hold as they lifted in unison. It took a combined, strenuous effort, though the metal lid was hoisted up. It seemed more appropriate to be the shell of a tank with how thick it was, being dropped to the side with a heavy thud.

Jasper peered down at the ladder that led into the unseen depths, "Well, ladies first?" He asked, looking between the spellblade and bard.

"Listen, I know I don\'t really need to say this, but we need to be one-hundred percent focused when we go down there," Finn said, looking around at the others. "It\'s part of the Storm Keep. I don\'t doubt there\'ll be dangers down there as well. But, even when we get into the castle–it won\'t get any easier."

"I didn\'t think it would," Charlotte said.

"Don\'t worry so much, just take it easy!" Nova advised the assassin with a hearty pat on the shoulder.

Finn ignored the less than wise words from the bard, looking at her, "I\'m serious. If you can\'t stay focused, then you can stay back. I\'m not going to let you bring any of us down. Do you understand that?"

He kept his eyes locked on the playful girl, not letting his warning be slipped away from as Nova tried to look away before finally waving her arms.

"Alright, alright! I won\'t get in your way, happy? I didn\'t plan on it anyway, but I\'ll follow your lead, Mr. Boss-Man," Nova assured him halfheartedly.

"Good enough, I guess," Finn said before setting himself onto the ladder first.

As he began his descent into the depths of the sewer, he was thankful that he wore gloves, as the metal of the ladder was long rusted away, coated in old grime. It didn\'t take many steps down until the fresh air became stale and rotten, quickly assaulting his nose.

He held in an outward reaction to the smell, briefly looking up to see Magnus was descended directly above him. The light coming from the entrance above quickly diminished as the dark depths welcomed him.

As the ground became visible, he dropped down from the ladder, finding himself standing on a stone walkway that neighbored a shallow river of sewage.

While he adjusted to the new environment, rather, he tried his best to deal with the intense stench, it wasn\'t long before one-by-one, the others descended beside him.

"It\'s definitely…ripe down here," Jasper said, scrunching his nose.

"Oh, I knew I shouldn\'t have come down here…!" Nova complained, covering her nose with her hoodie.

"Ladder is right there," Finn pointed back with his thumb, not accepting any complaints now.

"I didn\'t say it wasn\'t anything I couldn\'t handle! It\'s just…an adjustment," Nova said.

There was a single path forward through the sewers, bringing him to take the lead with careful steps. Though nothing made itself known yet, he didn\'t feel that would be the case forever.

At the end of the path, there were two directions leading to unknown destinations–left or right.

"I\'m thinking we should\'ve asked that skelly for directions down here before he bit it," Magnus lamented.

"We don\'t need to go anywhere specific, right? All we need to do is get into the castle itself," Charlotte reminded them all.

"Yeah, you\'re right," Finn agreed.

"Well, flip a coin?" Jasper suggested jokingly while peering side-to-side.

While it was given thought for a moment by Finn, all of that was thrown to the wayside as Nova marched her way to the left tunnel, "This way!"

"Hey–what\'re you doing?" Finn asked sharply.

Nova looked back, "It doesn\'t matter which way we go, right? So…left! C\'mon!"

Though it was frustrating to follow along, it didn\'t mean anything one way or the other, leaving the left to be the chosen path. Of course, Nova was left quietly humming as she walked now, seeming happy with herself.

Finn moved past her, taking the lead as he ruffled her hair, "Next time, don\'t do things on your own."

"Hey–watch the hair!" Nova protested, attempting to fix her messy tufts.

While the young woman huffed, they were quickly interrupted as the river of sewage moved. A ripple in the murky water brought them all to a still, listening in as something moved.

"An alligator?--" Charlotte guessed, glancing over at Jasper.

"Why\'re you looking at me? First off, we have crocs in the Oz, not alligators!" Jasper corrected.

"Alligators in sewers is a myth, anyway–I don\'t know what that is in the water, but it\'s probably not good," Finn explained, keeping his daggers ready.

The rippling drew closer, getting between both walkways before what lurked in the putrid waters emerged. Muddy liquid cascaded down its back of pearly scales; it rose to its hind legs, though a reptile of familiar origin.

It presented two heads on its shoulders, each hissing at the intruders of the sewers as its double tails flicked behind its body. The monstrosity stood hunched over with its back pressed against the ceiling, looming over twice the height of the humans.

["Sleuth Status"]

[Enemy Recognized: "Albino Double-Headed Alligator"] [Level: 32]

"It is an alligator! See!" Charlotte pointed out while drawing her sword.

"What sorta history channel did you watch?!" Finn asked.

"I\'d hardly qualify this thing as one!" Jasper responded.