“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
[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
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
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
[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
“…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
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
‘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
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