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2024-10-29 19:42:56‘A large-sized amphibian monster has appeared in the west side of Silver Lake City of Emmiton Province. All residents in the vicinity, please evacuate immediately.’
Jed watched as the breaking news appeared on TV. He sighed with relief that the monster appeared on the other side of the city. It’d be a pain in the butt to move out and evacuate now, as he was waiting for the result of his thorough medical examination. “Mr. Hunter,” someone wearing a white coat entered his nursing room. “Do you remember me?” Jed looked at the hospital staff who now looked through the papers he brought. “Sorry, I was in and out of consciousness while coughing nonstops for the last few days. But I’m fine now, really. I suppose you are my doctor?” “Gregory Johanson,” the doctor smiled, as if in pity, “I have good news for you. Your cough has disappeared completely, so your chest will not hurt anymore.” He sensed something was wrong. “But…” “You only have one year left to live.” Dr. Johanson explained the test results in detail, trying to make him understand despite the empty look on Jed's face. “This is a rare disease first reported only a few days after the big alien invasion ninety nine years ago. We call it Xenorespiratory Failure Syndrome, where a person is exposed to a certain alien radiation and coughs for a week nonstop, and it suddenly disappears on the eighth day. Statistically speaking, there were one hundred and seventy five people other than you who had this disease.” “Had? So can it be cured?” Dr. Johanson took too long to reply, and when he did, the pity in his face worsened. “They all died in their sleep within one year.” Jed had one year left to live, yet his life already flashed in his eyes. Like a broken film record playing continuously. “But… it was just coughs…” “Some people have high tolerance against alien radiation, some do not. It doesn’t matter if you get away from the alien, you already have this disease. It is incurable.” Dr. Johanson stated, “I’m so sorry, but there is nothing else we can do for you.” Just like that, Jed was sentenced to death in one year. Leaving the hospital with nothing but the result papers he didn’t need, Jed wandered around the city, slightly hoping that the alien monster would come his way and kill him already. He was dying anyway. Still, he was hungry. Entering a convenience store, Jed looks for some food and cool drinks, walking slowly to reach the cashier. Waiting for the mother and her child in front of him, Jed looked around the store. There were so many things he wanted to do. So little time he had left. He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth to swallow the bitter reality that was his life. “Mom, that man is crying!” “Hush, honey! Don’t point your finger, it’s impolite.” “But, he’s really crying mom!” “Let’s go home now.” The mother probably nodded at him before leaving, saying, “I’m so sorry for my son, sir.” Jed took a deep breath and steeled his heart. He only had one year left to live. He didn’t want to waste it away. He didn’t need anyone’s pity. “Uhm… do you need something else, sir?” the cashier shifted on his feet awkwardly. Eyes flicked to the school supplies displayed near the counter. “Yes, that notebook and a pen, please.” There were so many things he wanted to do and so little time he had left. He wouldn’t waste it. He had to get his priorities straight. So, once he arrived at his small apartment room, he got down to business. ‘Bucket list of things I want to do before I die: 1. Eating chocolate ice cream 2. Kiss a girl 3. Resign from work and tell my jerk of a boss off 4. Dye my hair pink 5. Punch an alien monster in the face 6. Playing on the beach 7. Bake delicious bread and cookies 8. Climb the Lady of Freedom statue 9. Get a pet 10. Wear the EADF’s cool combat suit 11. Smoke a real cigarette 12. Watch a life football match 13. Sky-diving’ Ding! Jed’s eyes went to his phone. The screen lit up, showing some official notifications from the government reporting that the alien monster in the west side of the city was successfully subjugated by the EADF’s 8th Division. The last notification was an announcement actually. ‘Attention to all survivors! The Earth Allied Defense Force’s selection exam is open. Visit eadf-saviour.org or contact us at 101999 to learn more about the selection exam.’ Jed’s eyebrow rose as he looked back and forth at his phone and notebook he was writing on. ’10. Wear the EADF’ss cool combat suit’ What perfect timing. So many things to do, yet so little time he had. Should he register now? Maybe he can get more than to wear the cool combat suit of the EADF, right? Besides, if he were to die while on duty, it wouldn’t matter much anyway. He only had one year left to live, and he didn’t want any regret nor pity. It must be the right call. And so he sent his application.
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Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 2. To be Eaten Alive
Jed arrived at the EADF selection exam in Emmiton Province after an hour of riding the train. The exam venue looked like a mini EADF’s base, with a wide parking lot and anti-alien defence ready to be used.The first one was a physical exam. Jed was confident in himself. Even as he wasn’t perfectly athletic like the other participants, he wasn’t a walking stick with zero muscle mass. He hit the gym. At least once a month.Yet, he barely survived with ragged breath and sweat rolling down his face as he laid on the ground.He felt someone staring at him. Looking up, Jed faced a girl who was wearing a very bright orange jacket and wireless yellow headphones. “Can I help you?”The girl looked down at him, as if he were a bug she could stomp anytime. She huffed and turned on her heel.Frowning, Jed mumbled, “Seriously?”Then, a chuckle came beside him. “Don’t mind her, man.”“If I’m not spent, I’ll teach her some manners.” Jed turned to the blond newcomer who sat beside his lying form. “Who
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 3. To Devour to Death
It was dark.Suffocating.There wasn’t anything he could do, but to accept death as it was.It was way less than a year, yet his death already came. Gruesome, unlike the peaceful deep sleep the doctor told about. Jed didn’t have that kind of luxury.Instead, he was eaten alive by a monstrous frog-like alien. Swallowed like a damn drug from a dark corner in the street. He didn’t want it.Trying to get air into his burning lungs, Jed could only gasp in horror at the end of his life. Choking on the alien’s innards, he felt a searing pain in his back. In the middle of his spine – excruciating.Even so, there was nothing he could do.[System activated.]It was dark.But, the white and blue letters framed by a bluish panel floated in front of his eyes. Did he not close his eyes already?Shouldn’t it be dark, in this suffocating stomach of a monstrous frog-like alien?Jed could no longer breathe.And he’c cry if only he could…But he’d die–Ah, he knew it.There was no way he’d accept death n
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 4. Cross-Offed Alien
After being discharged from the hospital, Jed decided to do something from his bucket list.It was a sunny Monday morning, and Jed was dressed in a pair of jogging pants and loose t-shirt. Shouldering a worn bag, he made his way to the train station. As usual, it was crowded during rush hour. Pressed against other people, he was thankful that it’d be the last time he did this.Jed arrived at his office at the last minute before the working hour started. Apex Marketing Solutions located in the middle of Silver Lake city’s economics area. Sharing a ten floor building with four other companies, the entrance always appeared busy no matter what time of day.Riding the elevator to his floor, Jed was greeted by the security. “You sure you want to dress like that after your one week absence from work, Mister… Hunter?”“I see nothing wrong with my clothes,” Jed shrugged, giving a wink to the two receptionist girls who stared at him in confusion. “Is the jerky boss here?”“Ugh,” the security hes
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 5. Public Punishment
“Hmm?” Jed looked at his reflection through the mirror. It had been three days since he resigned from the office and small alien monsters attacked out of nowhere. It also had been three days since his strange hallucination said he’d receive a punishment. [Warning.] [You have failed to use Ultimate Skill – Devour.] [You will be punished.] “Talk about time,” Jed snickered, wondering what would happen now. [Punishment: Public humiliation witnessed by ten people.] “Public humiliation? Nah, that’s not my cup of tea.” Jed walked out of his sparkling clean bathroom. “Let’s see, what shall I do for today?” He moved to his desk, where he wrote the bucket list in his notebook. For the last three days, he had added more things he wanted to do, and crossed off some of them. ‘9. Get a pet 10. Wear the EADF's cool combat suit X 11. Smoke a real cigarette 12. Watch a life football match 13. Sky-diving 14. Clean my apartment 15. Play video games all day 16. Shop witho
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 6. The Freak and the Mute
Jed arrived at the Earth Allied Defense Force’s Emmiton Province Base minutes after the appointment ceremony was held.“Dude! You’re late! I thought you didn’t make it!”A blond man with one mole under his left eye approached with a cheerful face. They bumped fists, and Jed instantly remembered who this person was.“Ricky Mitchell, nice to see you again.”“Are you okay? I heard you stayed in the hospital for a week? I’m so sorry about that. It was my fault. If not because of me, you wouldn’t get eaten by the monster–““It’s fine, Ricky.”“Are you sure?” Ricky shifted on his feet uncomfortably, “Because if not, I’ll give you half two thirds of my monthly payment to make up for the horror and injury you suffered for the rest of my life.”“That’s just too much.”“I agree.”Jed faltered at Ricky’s shamelessness.“I mean,” Ricky rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. “I have five younger siblings who live below my minimum wage working in the Monster Disposal Unit. I just, ugh, I
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 7. Monster Disposal Unit Heist
“What do you mean you’d piss and shit yourself in public if you don’t eat an alien core now?”Jed never thought he’d tell anyone about this traumatising and humiliating nightmare even for once. Let alone only one day after the merciless punishment happened.Sighing in disbelief himself, Jed grunted, “It is exactly what it sounds like. What more do you need me to explain?”“Dude? Like, seriously? Everything!” Ricky crossed his arms. “Of course you need to explain everything. Are you even aware of the words coming out of your mouth?”“… yes?”“You must be joking!”“I know it sounds crazy–““Now you get it!”“–but the punishment for failing to do that already traumatised me. I can’t go through that the second time.”Ricky looked at him as if he grew a second head. “What do you mean by the second time?”“Do you really need me to explain that?”“I want to see it.”“Dude!”“Sorry!” Ricky turned away and held his stomach, shoulders visibly shaking. “…”“Please stop laughing at me.”Ricky did
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 8. Ultimate Skill – Devour!
“Hands up or I’ll shoot you.” Jed felt the muzzle of a gun was pressed against the back of his head. He froze on the spot and did as told. “Who are you?” The female voice was achingly familiar, but Jed couldn’t place a name nor a face on it. “This is no place for a cleaning service. I’ll give you one last chance to tell me your name.” Jed gulped at the threat. “My name’s Phillip Youngs and I’m here to clean. If you don’t believe me, then why did my key card work to get me here?” “I’m sorry for my rudeness.” The gun’s muzzle was no longer against his head, but Jed had this urge to duck right about now– “Oh? You can dodge well for a cleaning guy.” Jed cursed as he crouched to avoid the girl’s attack. However, when he turned around and looked up, he didn’t expect to find Ellie Hawkins to stare at him with murder in her eyes. “Why are you attacking me?” “Because you’re a fraud.” “N-no, I’m not. I told you, my name is Phillip–“ “Youngs is dead.” Ellie started with an emotionless t
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 9. Zero Gravity Dive
This was school. Every day, every hour of classes.Basic combat and advanced weapon training. Alien biology and technology. Tactics and strategies. Survival Skills. Communication and Coordination. Psychology. Standard Medical Training. Intelligence Analysis.Many things to learn.Jed worked as hard as anyone. All of them struggled for the first time in their lives. They better struggled here than against an alien monster.But the games – that was when the fun began.The Captainof the 9th Division, Henry Reed, introduced them to the game room in their second month. The arena was located in the northeast building of the base, far from where they lived. They walked to where the biggest diving pool Jed ever saw was built, about half of a football field. The floor was clear thick glass, so they could see what lay beneath the water.Jed was shaking with excitement. One more list he’d crossed off in his bucket list.“Let’s get you dressed first,” Captain Reed said, climbing down the stairs on
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- Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System
53. Unknown Potential
Ricky groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. The dim lighting of the infirmary comes into blurry focus. His body ached, a dull reminder of the events he vaguely remembered from the previous day.He sat up, wincing, and looked around the room. Several of his younger siblings were there, along with a few base personnel, all of whom seemed to be grinning at him.“Hey, sleeping beauty,” his brother Michael said, smirking, “Decided to join us again?”Ricky rubbed his eyes, confusion etched across his face. “What… what happened?”“You don’t remember?” his sister, Lily, asked, her eyes wide with excitement. “Your teammate said you took down two flying aliens. By yourself.”Rikcy blinked, his heart skipping a beat. “What? No, that can’t be right. I don’t even remember half of yesterday's attack.”“Believe it, bro,” Michael said, crossin
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52. The Sniper’s Prey
“…what the hell?”As he was busy trying to figure out the control panels, Jed almost missed the moment the humanoid alien and his Draquilonis were blasted from behind. Precisely, from the ground where the base was located behind the spaceship.Like lightning, the sniper took down the humanoid alien in one shot. Something Jed dreamed he was capable of doing, sadly, he couldn’t.Seeing as the humanoid alien was killed, he thought it was safe to land the spaceship now. The large viewport in front of him showed more city lights below. He had to turn the ship towards the west, where a desolated rocky plain with no building or civilian housing was located. Nothing was there, making it a safe place to land.Jed gritted his teeth as he pulled on the controller bracelets. The spaceship thrusters roared against the planet’s gravity as he tried to redirect the ship.However, he heard a sharp crack echoed through the alien spaces
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51. Alien Spaceship
[Active Skill – Molten Pierce]Jed grinned as he activated his skill.Molten Pierce took less than a second to form in his right hand. The jagged material of his Threxian Exosuit morphed into a drill with a fiery orange edge. He punched the alien’s chest with it, enhanced by a penetrating force that sent the alien through the metallic airlock.The slender humanoid alien was thrown out of the spaceship, but Jed was sure it’d still be alive. Moreover, with one Dracuilonis flew past the broken airlock to save its master. At least, this gave them enough time to do something about the nuclear bomb aboard in this ship.“Max–“Jed stopped himself, realising that he called the captain’s name. But, Max ignored him as he was busy trying to speak through his earpiece and connect to the base. “Control room, can you hear me?”He doubted it would work. The last thing Jed heard was that craz
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50. Dual Blades and Warhammer
Jed’s dual swords, Noxblades, glinted under the flickering lights of the narrow corridor. His breath came in measured intervals, each one syncing with the hum of the ship’s bio-engines. Standing across, a slender humanoid alien mirrored his stance, its own dual blades that came from its long limbs shimmering with an eerie, otherworldly glow. With a sudden movement, both of them lunged. Blades clashed against blades, sparks flying as they exchanged rapid, fluid strikes. Jed’s muscles burned as he parried and struck, his eyes locked onto the alien’s unblinking human-like gaze. The alien’s movements were almost dance-like, its agility matching Jed’s Hyperreflexia, a passive skill that granted him superhuman reaction times for dodging and countering attacks swiftly. Not stopping, Jed recalled the skills that came with these dual blades. ‘Crosscut!’[Active Skill – Crosscut][CD: 59 minutes 59 seconds][Core: -500]As if his arms were moving on their own, Jed gave a crisscrossing attack
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49. Stealth and Speed, He Said
Jed managed to find a small opening to the alien spaceship and cautiously stepped through the airlock.The spaceship was a massive, imposing vessel with an eerie otherworldly design. Its walls were composed of a dark, metallic material that seems to absorb light rather than reflect it. The corridor was lined with sharp, angular edges and adorned with pulsating crimson energy conduits that gave off a dim, menacing glow.The air was thick with mechanical hum, and the occasional flicker of blue and purple energy fields added to the foreboding atmosphere. It seemed that everything here felt almost organic in nature.“Alright, my awesome self, just stick to the plan.” Jed muttered to himself. “Find Max, get out. It’s all about stealth and speed. You got this.”He had less than five minutes to do that. Awesome, he said.Jed moved forward, his Sky Dominator boots didn’t make any echo as he thread inside, thanks to his n
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48. Sky Dominator
[Item – Frogsbane Coil was drawn.]Jed swung the dull pink whip, snapping his wrist to make the end curl around the tailless manta ray reptile. It screeched in anger, but Jed didn’t let go. He gave a thug on his Frogsbane Coil, making him and the manta ray reptile to jerk each other.He managed to get on its back despite the flying monster’s useless roar of shockwave and struggles. Once he got a good grip on the manta ray reptile, Jed drew his right arm and shot it quickly to its thin back.The flying monster roared and roared in pain, but Jed didn’t let go. He curled his fingers on the small core located in the middle of its chest and wrenched it out. The manta ray reptile gave a final roar and its struggle ended. It dropped dead from the sky, along with Jed who couldn’t stop grinning.“Well, there’s no better time to eat a snack than now, hmm?”And so he did.[Ultimate Skill – Devour was activated.]“Damn right!” Jed laughed as he was free falling from the sky. “I better get the bes
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47. Headshot
“Do you think this is enough to defeat me?”The slender monster said as its cracked face reconstructed in a matter of seconds. Its twig-like hand reached out for Jed, the four fingers spread right in front of Jed’s face. From its narrow palm, a crack formed and opened, showing a small hole.Jed barely had time to react before the slender monster shot him dead in the head.[Active Skill – Fungal Shield][CD: 59 minutes 59 seconds][Core: -100]Bang!Agony exploded through his head, and he fell to the ground and screamed in pain. His vision went dark, and for a moment, he was sure he was dead.[Alert!][Alert!][Alert!][HP: 7/100]Through the haze of pain, Jed desperately tried to call for a skill in his repertoire.[Active Skill – Regenerative Spores][CD: 359 minutes 59 seconds][Core: -400]Miniscule spores were released from the small gaps
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46. Shadow Cloak
The air brushed fiercely all around Jed’s body as he tried to make sense of the monster’s strength. He had to do something before it greeted him in the sky and kicked him down to the earth.“Shadow Cloak!”[Item – Shadow Cloak was drawn.][You may activate its invisible feature at will.][However, attack initiation will deactivate its feature immediately.]A dark cloak shrouded around Jed’s body, and he disappeared into thin air.Invisible.“So I was right.” The semi-translucent humanoid monster remarked. Its slender face looked like a piece of chopped wood with a pair of slanted eyes and wide mouth, looking around it in wonder. “You absorb creatures to get their strength too. Just like me. I wonder if you can fly, too.”Jed couldn’t. It’d be cool if he could, though.The semi-translucent monster looked up at the sky, couldn’t
- Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System
45. Curious Monster
[Ultimate Skill – Devour was activated.]Boooom![You have devoured Velociphron.]Something fell from the sky. A tall humanoid figure with an ominous presence that sent Jed reeling.[You received rewards as follows.]He ignored the blue and white panel that only he could see. It told him the rewards he got from devouring the humanoid monster just now. How could he, when a more menacing creature dropped from the sky, like a bad omen for a curse after he ate another alien core.Jed cautiously observed the new alien.It stood taller than Velociphron, with a semi-translucent, shimmering skin that shifted colours every few seconds. It had elongated limbs and fluid movement, like a walking serpent as colourful as a disco ball.“What are you?” It asked curiously, staring at Jed with unblinking six eyes on its face.When he locked eyes with the colourful slender creature, he felt an eeri