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2024-10-29 19:42:56Jed and Ricky waited outside the steakhouse for the five younger siblings of the Mitchell family.
He was a man of his words, so he’d take up on the promise to pay the blond back for the help back then. If not for Ricky, he doubts he’d survive getting shot by the bipolar girl on their first official mission.
“How far is the family housing from here?”
“Hmm?” Ricky tapped his chin with a finger, “About an hour by foot, I guess.”
“You guess? Why don’t they ride the train or cab?”
“No cab willing to take five medium-sized people in one go, and to order two would kill my wallet. Besides, the train station is pretty far from the housing.”
Jed hummed. “You’re really peculiar with your money, huh?”
“Well, I have to save up for my sister. She’d get married next month.”
“Wh-what? How old is she?”
“Twen
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Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 34. Empty, Quiet Street
The evening sun made orange streaks across the sky as Jed strolled back home from school.He took a detour, wanting to see the location an alien monster destroyed last week five blocks away from his house. Doing that made him come home late for dinner. He wondered what his mother cooked, and got excited as he remembered his father would be back from his out of town office trip.Last time his father brought a popular tin-boxed fruit candy from the nineties. Alas, the factory was attacked by a horde of alien monsters before he was born and they tried so hard to recover from that, even if they declared bankruptcy five years later. Now, only a handful of old-time stores sell their remaining stocks.Humming at the thought, it took Jed a moment to notice that the neighbourhood seemed oddly quiet, more so than usual. There were no kids playing outside, no cars driving by, and no neighbours chatting on their porches. He noticed toys strewn across a lawn and an abandoned
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 35. Search for Truth, Hide the Secret
A female soldier dressed in a lab coat knocked on a closed door. She only opened it when the person inside gave her permission. A tall man with medium-length hair was expecting her.“Sir, this is the report you ask.”Taking the offered tablet, the man got up from his desk and walked to the large window in his private office. The evening sun casted a glow on his eyes as he read what was displayed on the screen.___Subject: Jed HunterService ID: EADF-2079-13JHDate of Birth: August 10, 1999Place of Birth: Crestwood, Emmiton, AveriaCurrent Rank: PrivateDivision: 8 – Ground Assault and Defense (GAD)___Personal BackgroundParents: William Hunter (missing), June Hunter (missing)Siblings: NoneEducation: Crestwood High School (Class of 2015)Military Training: EADF Basic Training, Advance Zero Gravity Battle Training, Alien Threat Response Cou
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 36. Nevaksha Base Raid
[Extraterrestrial cores detected.][Consume extraterrestrial core to activate Ultimate Skill – Devour.]Jed looked up at the sky where nine creatures of storm raided the base with lightning and thunder, heavy rain that came out of nowhere drenched him in seconds.He saw them. All nine of them.Large reptile body covered in reflective scales. Massive manta ray-like wings with undulating membranous texture that stretched wide, and long flexible tail with a series of electric discharge nodes along its length.One of them, the nearest monster, flailed its tail and electricity gathered around it. In three seconds, a streak of thunder crackled from it, strucking a tower somewhere in the base. The monster opened its hooked beak widely, and Jed felt something worse was about to come.His instinct told him to close his ear as the monster emitted a powerful roar. It generated shockwaves that shattered all glass windows and damaged some nearby bu
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 37. Get the Weapon Ready
The heavy rain still pounded against the damaged buildings and the open ground of the Nevaksha Base. Lightning flashed across the sky as thunder followed a few seconds later. The manta ray reptile monsters teamed up to bring their advantage of storm to raid the base, how clever.Eyes sharp, the strongest captain of the EADF tried to locate where the invisible humanoid boss was. But, the manta ray reptile monsters attacked first. Their electric tails crackle with energy, sending precise thunder to strike him.Max dodged to the side, rolling to avoid the thunder. He came up firing, trying to hit one of the manta ray reptiles, but the monster was more agile than it looked. Despite their manta ray-like wings, their movement speed beat Max’s standard rifle’s firing speed.Slash!The humanoid monster suddenly turned visible as it lashed out with blades that came from its four arms. Max barely managed to block the attack with the butt of his ri
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 38. Mysterious Man to the Rescue… or Not?
Jed got paralysed.Freaking pathetic.He should have known better not to dip his hand on someone’s cookie jar. He didn’t even hesitate then.The moment his fingers made contact with Max’s specialised weapon, the warhammer’s security system activated, paralysing him in excruciating pain. His muscles locked, his vision blurred, and he crumpled to the floor, unable to move or call for help.The roars and shrieks of the manta ray reptiles echoed through the dark halls, the louder one being on the other side of the armoury’s steel doors. His heart pounded as he got paralysed, knowing the creature was moments away from breaching the armoury.A blaring roar from the flying monster made the steel doors shudder, an impact from the shockwave it generated. Metal screeched and bent, and with each second, the creature came closer to breaking through.Jed watched in horror.Another powerful roar resounded, sending thunderous shock wav
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 39. Automatic Defense Mechanism
[Alert!]An excruciating pain exploded through Jed’s body, more intense than anything he had ever felt. As if his spine was being torn apart, each nerve set ablaze.[Alert!]He tried to scream in pain, but no sound escaped his lips.[Alert!]Pain continued to surge through Jed, his vision swimming with darkness. Just as he thought he couldn’t endure it any longer, the blue and white screen that only he could see appeared like a glitch.[Automatic Defense Mechanism activated.]Like a burst of light, a translucent sphere shield appeared, enclosing Jed’s paralysed body in the centre. The next second, Jed could no longer feel any pain, as if the severe agony was a mere hallucination, and he could move again.Hovering in the middle of the three metres translucent sphere, he noticed that everything trapped inside was destroyed. Except for him and the specialised warhammer belong to max. Thankfully, his clothes were
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 40. The Coward’s Way
Ryan Tanner crouched behind a low concrete wall, clutching his automatic gun tightly. His breath came in shallow bursts as he scanned the dark base.The manta ray reptiles, tails charged with electricity that made them bright beacons for targets, flew near the ground. Their thick underside like a mockery, every roar resulted in a shockwave that destroyed half a building.“Tanner, you draw its attention and keep it busy. I’ll circle around and take it down from behind.” Charlie’s voice crackled through his earpiece.Groaning in distaste, Ryan ran ahead and disappeared into a building. He didn’t want to be a decoy, even if it was for his own platoon leader. His pride was too big for such a small role like support.He wanted to take down the alien monster and get the glory for himself.“Hey, what are you doing?” Charlie sounded more aggravated, “I said, you’re the decoy!”R
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 41. Humanoid Alien Monster
Jed didn’t know if the threats he said to Ricky were enough to snap him back to reality. But, he believed that stupid blond would stop panicking and show his true potential.He didn’t really know what’s the deal with Ricky. As long as he observed, Ricky was always panicking one time, and could easily kick ass in the other. For all he knows, the blond might also suffer from the same mental illness as Ellie Hawkins. Bipolar disorder or something like that.Either way, he also delivered the weakness of that manta ray reptile to the platoon leader Charlie Odell. He had contributed to the team. Now, he had an alibi, in case he needed to disappear and eat some cores.Shaking his head to clear his mind, Jed gripped the special weapon in his hand. Thankfully, the security measurement was off, so he didn’t have to fear another crippling, agonising paralysis anymore. His mission now was to carry the heavy warhammer through the dark base to where Ma
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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
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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
