Awakening a 10,000x Skill Proficiency Multiplier in the Apocalypse

And maybe a flamethrower. Come on. Let’s find the next one.”

***

The freezing air of the meat locker slowly faded as Sebastian and Valerie pushed deeper into the Motherboard.

The environment was actively trying to kill them, completely devoid of any magical safety nets. Sebastian’s fractured left arm throbbed with a dull, unrelenting ache. His stitched right thigh burned with every heavy step. He leaned on Valerie’s uninjured shoulder, using her for support while he gripped his bloody brass machete in his right hand.

”I’m going to need a vacation after this,” Sebastian grunted, his breath still pluming slightly in the cool air. ”Like, a full year on a beach. With a little drink that has a tiny umbrella in it. And absolutely zero Wi-Fi.”

Valerie let out a weak, exhausted chuckle, adjusting her grip around his waist to keep him steady. ”I’ll approve the PTO, Seattle. But you’re paying for the drinks.”

”Bold of you to assume I have any money left,” he replied dryly. ”I just deleted the global economy.”

They turned a corner, leaving the dark stone hallways behind.

The architecture abruptly changed. The walls narrowed into a claustrophobic, tunnel-like corridor made entirely of rusted, corroded iron grates. The deafening, rhythmic *CLUNK-CLUNK-CLUNK* of heavy machinery echoed from beneath the floorboards.

But the worst part was the air.

A thick, sickly yellow gas filled the tunnel. It rolled along the grated floor like a heavy fog, smelling violently of rotting eggs, decay, and raw, highly concentrated stomach acid.

Sebastian immediately slapped his gloved hand over his mouth and nose.

”Don’t breathe that in!” Sebastian muffled through his glove, quickly pulling Valerie back a step.

Valerie coughed, covering her face with the collar of her charred overalls. Her eyes began to water instantly. ”What is that? It smells like a rotting corpse.”

*BZZZT.*

The flickering gray system prompt rendered weakly in the yellow fog.

`[Hardware Override: The Third Pillar.]`

`[Processing Load: Pestilence and Decay.]`

”Pestilence,” Sebastian growled, his silver-tinged eyes narrowing into angry slits. ”Of course. War, Famine, Pestilence. The Architects are incredibly cliché. I bet the last guy is going to be Death.”

”How are we supposed to fight through that gas?” Valerie wheezed, her eyes red and streaming with tears. ”If we go in there, our lungs are going to melt in two minutes.”

Sebastian looked down the long, narrow corridor. About thirty yards ahead, completely blocking the path, was a massive, grotesque mound of pulsing, bloated meat.

It didn’t look human. It didn’t even look like a machine. It was a colossal, gelatinous blob of diseased, green and purple flesh, covered in weeping, open sores and thick, pulsing brass pipes that pumped the yellow toxic gas directly into the air. It didn’t have legs or arms, just dozens of thick, fleshy tentacles that slapped lazily against the iron walls.

”It’s a giant, toxic roadblock,” Sebastian muttered, pulling his hand away from his mouth for just a second. ”We can’t outlast it. We have to go in fast, hold our breath, and smash the pump.”

He looked at Valerie. Her face was pale, and she was clearly struggling just to stand.

”You stay here, Princess,” Sebastian ordered, his voice dropping into a serious, protective hum. ”Stay out of the gas. I’m going to run in, chop its pipes, and run back out.”

”You only have one good arm, Sebastian!” Valerie argued, grabbing his coat. ”You can’t swing that heavy brass blade fast enough with one hand! You’ll run out of breath!”

”I don’t have a choice,” Sebastian stated flatly. ”Hold your breath if the gas drifts. I’ll be right back.”

He didn’t wait for her to argue. Sebastian took a massive, deep breath of the relatively clean air, filling his lungs to their absolute capacity. He clamped his jaw shut, gripped the heavy brass machete tightly in his right hand, and sprinted directly into the thick, yellow fog.

The moment the gas touched his skin, it burned. It felt like tiny, invisible needles pricking at his exposed face and the open cuts on his arms. His eyes watered instantly, blurring his vision, but he didn’t stop.

*THUD-THUD-THUD!*

His heavy boots pounded against the iron grating.

The Pillar of Pestilence sensed the vibration. The massive, bloated blob of diseased meat violently shivered. Dozens of thick, fleshy tentacles whipped out from its body, slapping against the walls and the floor, searching for the intruder.

Sebastian ducked under a wildly swinging tentacle, sliding across the rusted grate on his knees.

*SQUELCH!*

A tentacle slammed down exactly where he had been running, leaving a thick smear of acidic, bubbling green slime on the floor. The acid aggressively ate through the iron grating, hissing loudly.

He popped back up to his feet, closing the final ten yards.

He raised the heavy brass machete, aiming directly for the thickest, glowing brass pipe protruding from the center of the monster’s pulsating mass. It was the primary pump circulating the toxic gas.

*WHAM!*

Sebastian swung the blade with all his might.

The jagged brass cut deep into the fleshy mass, but the meat was incredibly dense and rubbery. The blade got stuck halfway through the pipe.

Sebastian grunted, his lungs screaming for air. He pulled desperately on the handle, trying to wrench the weapon free.

The Pillar of Pestilence roared—a wet, gurgling sound that bubbled up from deep within its disgusting body. Three heavy tentacles shot out, wrapping tightly around Sebastian’s torso, his fractured left arm, and his right leg.

”Mmph!” Sebastian gagged, refusing to open his mouth to scream.

The tentacles squeezed with terrifying, hydraulic force. His already broken ribs groaned, grinding painfully against his internal organs. He was pinned. The monster lifted him two feet off the ground, suspending him in the toxic yellow fog.

The massive, central pore of the blob slowly opened, revealing a gaping, toothless maw dripping with concentrated, boiling green acid. It was preparing to melt him alive.

Sebastian couldn’t breathe. His vision was swimming with dark, fuzzy spots. He didn’t have his [Error]. He didn’t have his magic. He was just a man suffocating to death in a pile of rotting meat.

Suddenly, a loud, ringing sound echoed through the tunnel.

*CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!*

Sebastian forced his burning eyes open.

Valerie was sprinting through the yellow gas. She was holding her breath, her cheeks puffed out, her face bright red from the toxic burns. She hadn’t stayed behind.

She ran straight toward the monster, dragging her rusted iron pipe along the grated wall to create a massive racket.

The Pillar of Pestilence reacted to the noise. Two of the tentacles holding Sebastian loosened slightly as the monster turned its bloated attention toward the new threat.

Valerie didn’t try to hit the tentacles. She sprinted right past Sebastian, leaped into the air, and drove her rusted iron pipe directly into the gaping, acid-filled maw of the beast.

*SQUELCH!*

The iron pipe buried itself deep into the creature’s internal organs.

The monster shrieked, violently thrashing. The tentacles holding Sebastian released completely.

Sebastian dropped to the floor, coughing violently, accidentally inhaling a tiny breath of the burning yellow gas. He choked, spitting blood onto the grates. But his right hand was free.

He didn’t grab the stuck machete. He lunged forward, ignoring the burning pain in his chest, and shoved both of his bare hands directly into the open, bleeding wound where his blade was stuck.

He grabbed the thick, pulsing brass pipe buried in the meat.

”Die!” Sebastian thought, his biological steel muscles coiling tight.

He planted his boots, roared through his closed teeth, and violently ripped his arms backward.

*CRRRUNCH! SHHHHK!*

With an explosion of foul-smelling, green sludge, Sebastian physically tore the heavy brass pump completely out of the monster’s body.

The Pillar of Pestilence let out a final, wet, gurgling choke. Without its primary circulatory pump, the massive blob of meat catastrophically collapsed inward, rapidly liquefying into a foul, bubbling puddle of green ooze on the iron floor.

*BZZZT.*

`[Pillar 3 Offline. Processing Load Shifted.]`

The thick yellow gas immediately began to dissipate, venting quickly through the floor grates.

Sebastian dropped the heavy brass pipe, collapsing onto his hands and knees. He gasped desperately for air, violently coughing up a mix of blood and toxic phlegm.

Valerie was on the floor next to him, coughing just as hard. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were bloodshot and streaming tears.

”I told you... to stay... back,” Sebastian wheezed, glaring at her through the clearing fog.

”You were... getting eaten... by a giant booger,” Valerie gasped, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. She offered a weak, utterly defiant smile. ”You’re welcome, Seattle.”

Sebastian let out a ragged, exhausted laugh. He slowly pushed himself up, offering his good right hand to pull her to her feet.

”Three down,” Sebastian panted, leaning heavily against the rusted wall. ”One left.”

He looked down the corridor. The yellow gas was completely gone. At the very end of the tunnel stood a massive, towering set of blood-red iron doors. They pulsed with a terrifying, absolute white light bleeding from the seams.