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2024-10-29 19:42:56“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 didn’t stop laughing, but he promised he’d be by Jed’s side if that happened again. As a proud spectator, of course. Even so, Jed couldn’t get angry at the blond as he got what he wanted in the first place.
“So, where is this alien core you know of?”
The Monster Disposal Unit was part of the Ministry of Planetary Affairs division. As the name suggests, their works involved in ridding the monster’s corpses and cleaning the city out of any remaining hazards. It sounded like a messy work, truthfully so but at least, the pay was enough to keep Ricky and his five younger siblings.
Ricky worked there since he graduated high school and resigned just last week after he got selected to join the Force. So, he was well-known about where they kept the damaged alien cores from any other parts of the corpses.
Thankfully, they still got free time to roam around and get acquainted with each other before the official training started tomorrow. Furthermore, Jed was lucky that the alien core was actually being kept in the storage facility in the Defense Force’s bases.
“As you know,” Ricky said as they were close to the Monster Disposal Unit’s storage facility in the base, “I no longer work there, so I don’t have my keys anymore. I can get us in the storage facility, but you have to move on your own inside. If you’re caught, please don’t mention my name, okay? I really want to keep living.”
“You make it sound like a heist, you know?” Jed teased, wondering what the inside of the storage facility would look like.
Ricky gulped, barely aware that he was being an accomplice without much thought. “I-it’s not like that!”
Jed chuckled, “Then, you’re fine.”
As they arrived in front of the building’s emergency exit, Ricky led the way inside. Ricky made sure they weren't caught by the CCTV, so they slipped through the emergency stairs. He then asked if Jed had something to draw on.
Jed took his little notebook and flipped through to find an empty page, then handed the blond a pen.
“What did you write here?” Ricky asked after he caught a glimpse of the front pages.
“Just things I always wanted to do before I die.”
“Dude, why do you have such depressing thoughts? I know we’ll get sent to fight aliens, but keep a positive vibe, will you?”
Jed rubbed his neck. “Anyway, what do you want with it?”
“Oh this?” Ricky stuck his tongue as he drew a map on the notebook. “This is the elevator, and this is the map for the underground floor. You will find the alien cores being kept there.”
Squinting his eyes, Jed tried to make sense of the map Ricky drew. Turns out, the blond was a good artist. He even made a surreal painting he called a map in such a short time. “Great.”
“Don’t rat me out, okay? If you don’t come out in fifteen minutes, I’ll start the fire alarm.” Ricky said before he got out of the emergency door, “And remember the passwords to enter the underground floor.”
The door was closed before Jed asked him. “What passwords?!”
Of course, no one answered him. He was all alone.
Taking a deep breath, Jed collected his courage. He walked to the back side of the building, located where their cleaning service’s locker room was. Spotting it, went inside and stole a uniform. Thankfully, no one was inside to witness his first crime. Jed wore the uniform complete with the mask to cover his nose and mouth. He pushed a cleaning cart for the perfect undercover.
He knew his plan worked because the security guard didn’t bat an eye at his appearance in the lobby. Even Ricky who strode through the front door wasn’t aware of him. To the elevator, Jed pressed the basement button. However, it didn’t work.
Instead, the floor buttons lit up red, as if asking him to enter the code. Jed was fucked. He didn’t know the passwords – Ricky didn’t tell him the passwords, despite what the blond said to remember it already.
He didn’t know shit about any of this.
But, the key scanner also lit up in red colour. Could there be some keycard in his stolen uniform?
“Ah! Found you!” Jed chuckled as he found an ID card inside the uniform’s pocket. The owner’s name was Phillip Youngs, and he was a senior cleaning service with underground floor clearance to boost. “I hope it didn’t use all of the luck in my life.”
Sliding the key card in, the elevator dinged as it descended to the underground floor. For a one level difference, the ride seemed to take up too long for Jed’s guess.
When the elevator finally opened, he was face to face with sturdy walls and huge cables on either side of the hall. It was poorly lit and had a certain dampness that touched his skin. Jed didn’t like the feeling of being here, but he must find at least one alien core to save himself for further trauma.
[Failure to use Ultimate Skill – Devouring for the next 10 minutes will result in punishment.]
“Oh, shit.”
Jed had to move quickly or else, he’d never live another day with even one shred of dignity in his name. The map Ricky kindly drew for him proved to be useful, despite the great efforts he must exert to decipher the meaning behind the blond’s artful skill.
Striding further inside while pushing the cleaning cart, Jed didn’t have much time to find the alien core. The only good thing about this was that the dingy place didn’t have many separate rooms. In fact, the hall only led to five different rooms, each with certain functions that Ricky didn’t care to mention.
However, it was clear that the furthest left room was where the alien core existed.
Heart beating rapidly, Jed put his hand on the door and–
“Hands up or I’ll shoot you.”
Jed felt the muzzle of a gun was pressed against the back of his head.
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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
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 10. Let Game Begins
Jed placed his feet on an uneven object as big as his previous office desk and pushed himself away. The impact made him dashed towards a red prism near the diving pool’s side.He didn’t know left or right, nor where up and down was. Before the game started, the way up was clear because the water was lighter due to the clear glass. However, once the game began on Captain Reed’s command, the clear glass was closed by a lid and everything became darker.The zero gravity environment in the diving pool also made everything feel the same. There was no pull towards the earth’s core, so one could easily forget where the way up was while being here.Nearing the red prism, Jed stretched his hands in front of him, bracing the impact to not make him face-plant against the hard object again. He saw one of the white cubes containing a gun headed there, so he’d get–“Not so fast, Jerky Jed!”Ryan Tanner appeared from behind the red prism and snatched the white cube away. It opened with a touch, show
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 11. The Last One Standing
00:03:23That was the time left before Captain Reed stopped the game. Jed only had less than four minutes to hide as best as he could and arm himself with a Lightlock.He had fallen into Ricky’s trap like a fool. He underestimated the blond and unknowingly mocking him like their other teammates, that he didn’t consider any other possibility. When Ricky pulled that Lightlock out of nowhere and shot him dead in the chest, he felt so betrayed like an idiot. However, he felt relieved because it’d be a fair fight.00:02:07Time was ticking down and Jed’s win slowly seemed so unreal. Ducking behind a yellow prism, he hid from the living menace who strolled around like a predator.“Where are you, little fish snack?” Ryan looked around while singing a tune. “Come here, come here, Jerky Jed.”That was the second time Ryan Tanner called him that. Now, Jed wondered why he was a jerk here. As long as he re
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 12. The Holy Search for A Chocolate Ice Cream
Jed never imagined that his hunt for a chocolate ice cream would lead him through the throng of people dancing in waste in a nightclub called Goddess’ Virtue. But here he was, spending his first off-day from the Force to cross one of his bucket lists.He heard a rumour in the dining hall about Smokey, the night club’s owner who trades on the black market. It was the only place he could think of concerning the rare chocolate ice cream that stopped being produced when the last factory was destroyed about three decades ago. Even though he knew the method to make it himself, to get cocoa as the main ingredient would be impossible.Alien monsters attacking one place after another in random outbursts caused the supply chain around the world to be restricted. Besides, the government and leading figures often disregard anything else besides eradicating the remaining alien monsters on Earth and strengthening the military force in preparation for another invasion in
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 13. Win, Win, Chicken Dinner
After finding out who Max Petrovich was, Jed took a daring plan in mind. He went to the station and rode a bullet train heading straight to Brexton, a neighbouring city with an enormous alien monster rampaging wildly. All for the sake of meeting EADF’s strongest captain to deliver a ridiculous message and get his prized chocolate ice cream.Jed grinned, imagining how the legendary rare chocolate ice cream would taste in his mouth.However, due to the ongoing alien attack at the centre of the city, the bullet train stopped three stations before its actual destination. In fact, all train stations from there on stopped operating, as the protocol when alien monsters strike a city.“Do you need a ride, sir?”Jed turned to a taxi driver offering from the station’s exit. He nodded and got in the yellow car. “How close can you get me to the alien attacked area?”The driver looked worriedly from the rear view mirror, but his mouth couldn’t lie. “D
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 14. Bloodstone Shards
A fucking flying heavy-duty tank was above them.Jed reflected on his misserable life. He would be dead in less than seven months peacefully, hopefully. But, the freaking tank probbaly would kill him any seconds now.Fuck.There was a way to escape this instant death, but Jed wasn’t sure it was a great idea. It’d cost him to reveal something he’d like to keep in secret. Although, it was way better than being a crushed potato.Shit. Shit. Shit.Using the Threxian Exosuit was the only way to keep his body intact, but he wasn’t alone. The strongest Captain in the Earth Allied Defense Force was here. If Jed’s strange power was found out, he could end up locked in a secret facility with chains and straightjacket, enduring many inhumane experiments day and night until his last breath.Of course, unless they found a way to revive him and keep on experimenting. Or they’d just use his dead body for it.Jed c
Bucket List of the Apocalypse: Devour System 15. Frogsbane Coil
“Bloodstone Shards.”Jed felt a warmth blooming from the centre of his spine that travelled to his left hand. A sliver of red appeared from the cracks of his exosuit, like an angry vein that burst out instantly. It formed a crystalline red shard that broke into seven jagged fragments. Sharp arrows as long as his forearm.[Skill – Bloodstone Shards was activated.]The crystalline arrows circled around Jed’s left hand, hovering obediently. Ready to be shot anytime he commands.And so he did.“Fire.”Jed shot his left hand forward and the seven crystalline red arrows shot out to the enormous ape-like alien that chopped off Max’s arm. In that distance, it took less than ten seconds for the arrows to hit right on the monster’s left eye.The monster roared in pain.Max used that opportunity to grab his warhammer. Using his left hand this time. He didn’t know why the ape-like monst
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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
