Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System

A moment was taken before Magnus responded, "Something. Maybe...It might work."

"If you have a plan, then we\'re all ears, mate–!" Jasper shouted, scraping his boots against the floor to keep himself steady.

Finn lended the knight a hand, placing his hands under the shield holder\'s arms to provide him support, "Come on!"

Despite the pressing situation, Magnus stood there with a distant look as though the chamber wasn\'t filling with abundant death.

–

[Ystad, Sweden | Before The First Impact]

The quaint town still rooted in medieval structure, with cobblestone streets and half-timbered houses that neighbored a port was one perfect for the man. He sat on a bench with a book in hand–"Dvärgen," in the same spot as always, beside a cafe as a light rain came down.

["I am ever myself, always the same, I live one life alone."]

It was a passage in the book that stuck to him, resonating with the man who kept to himself. He lived by the philosophy of "Don\'t make trouble for others", often believing it was best to remain alone. After all, he only sat there during the rainy winters as it was the time the streets were at their loneliest.

He kept his umbrella up as the gentle rain pattered against it, taking periodic puffs from the cigarette between his lips.

"What\'re you reading?"

The lonesome reading he valued highly was intercepted by the question. It wasn\'t from a voice he knew; a stranger.

He looked over to find a young woman with braided, hazel hair standing by the bench, wiping her hands off.

\'From the bakery?\' He presumed by the dough-stained apron she wore.

A brief answer was given as he turned his attention back to the book, "Dvärgen."

"What\'s that about?" The curious woman asked with a smile.

The glance he gave to the stranger who was now becoming a best was almost offended she didn\'t know.

"Read it if you\'re curious," Magnus answered briefly.

"Maybe I will sometime. You look like you\'re drawn into a different world when you\'re reading it, so it must be interesting!" She said.

Magnus didn\'t say anything in return at first, hoping that was the end of that as he breathed smoke out from his cigarette.

"I\'ve seen you around here a lot. I work at the bakery just down there, by the way—" The freckle-cheeked girl explained.

"I gathered that," Magnus said without looking.

"Oh—I guess my uniform gives it away! Ha-ha!" She laughed. "You know, you\'re a strange guy."

"What?" Magnus reacted, taken aback by the outwardness of the baker.

Amidst the light rain that traced itself along the old cobble of the town, the aroma of freshly-baked goods met his nose at that moment.

The young woman smiled, pointing at his clothes, "You\'re soaked despite holding that umbrella now. You didn\'t even pull it out until you started smoking. Isn\'t that a bit silly?"

"What do you want?" Magnus brushed the observation off.

"Just making conversation. You seemed lonely, after all," the baker said with a smile. "I\'m Melina, by the way."

"Magnus," he introduced himself briefly, keeping to his book.

Somehow, by giving his name he believed that may somehow bring the rather nosey woman to leave him to his devices, though somehow that instead brought her to take a seat beside him.

"What\'s it about? The book," Melina asked.

Magnus grumbled, finding that even if he tried to stare at the words on the page, it would simply be impossible to read while the girl sat there. He set his marker in the book before closing it, looking up as the light rainfall continued to run slick on the cobblestone.

"It\'s about a dwarf hungry for power, to his own fall," Magnus explained as briefly as he could.

"Oh, that\'s…Interesting," Melina remarked.

The comment was ignored by Magnus, who opened his book again as if dismissing the conversation he didn\'t ask for.

Melina scooted closer to get a look at the pages, "I didn\'t mean it in a bad way–it does sound interesting."

"...Is that so?" Magnus said.

["Every week from then on, we sat on the bench together during the breaks in her shift. It was an annoyance at first, something I didn\'t ask for, but I guess over time…It became part of my routine. I even stopped smoking, though she didn\'t ask, I didn\'t want to give her secondhand issues. Even if it was small and mostly meaningless, having somebody to share something with–it meant something."]

After enough meetings, they even began to talk about things outside of the book; how their days went, what sort of events they had going on in their lives. There was a genuine connection, he felt, also feeling that it went both ways.

Still, it wasn\'t something so easily acted upon.

One such rainy day, as both sat beneath the umbrella on the quiet bench, Melina leaned over while looking at the words on the book.

"You know, I\'m surprised you haven\'t been to the bakery yet. I\'d give you a nice discount–for being a first time customer and all that," Melina offered with a smile.

"Ah, playing the long game to get a new customer, is that it?" Magnus playfully said.

Melina lightly flicked his arm before standing up, "Just an offer. I promise you\'ll like it–I recommend the Semla–I make a mean one."

"I\'m not a fan of sweets," Magnus said politely.

"Oh, c\'mon–" Melina pushed.

Magnus finally gave in, "Next week then, I\'ll give it a try."

"Really?!" Melina clasped her hands together with a bright smile.

"If I don\'t like it though, I\'m leaving a bad review," Magnus joked.

"Ha-ha! You\'re free to do so, but you won\'t be disappointed!" Melina assured him.

The rainy days of winter had come to an end as spring set in with beaming sunlight that cascaded over the old town, sprinkling down the roofs. He found himself not yet sitting himself on the bench, instead passing by it as he set his sights on the bakery just a strides away.

As he approached the front door, he reached for the handle, though stopping as he grasped it. A sign in the center sat there: "CLOSED."

It struck him as odd, seeing as he had come here on the same day, every week for months now, and it had always been open. All except for this one day, where he finally wished to try the pastries.

He looked around, finding an old woman passing by that he usually saw coming in-and-out of the bakery.

"Excuse me!--" He called out, waving to the elderly lady. "Do you know why the bakery is closed today? It\'s usually open around this time, isn\'t it?"

"Ah, yes…It\'s a regretful situation," the small, old woman said with small nods and a sniffle.

"What? What\'s regretful? What do you mean?" Magnus hurriedly asked, feeling his heart ache inside of his chest.

The words that fell from the senior\'s lips found his ears with harrowing news:

"It\'s awful…The owner, Melina…She passed just last night, I hear. A horrible accident."

There wasn\'t a sound that left his lips as he listened to what he had been told, only standing there, starting a thousand miles away as though he had seen death itself.

"Sir? Are you feeling alright? You look pale," the old woman asked worriedly.

Magnus stepped away, holding his head in his hand as he waved off the senior, "Yes, thank you…I\'m fine."

["Right when I opened my heart, as I began to believe maybe there was something for me in this life, it was snatched away. I learned my lesson; I learned not to "hope." I closed myself off again."]

With the rain returned, he continued his lonesome times on the bench, reading with a cigarette between his lips. The only difference now was the space beside him felt all too empty; a warmth at his right was gone.