Apocalypse me a litrpg a.., p.1
Apocalypse Me: A LitRPG Adventure, page 1
APOCALYPSE ME
©2024 NOCT
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CONTENTS
ALSO IN THE SERIES
1. Apocalyptic Arrival
2. Become the Strongest Apocalypse
3. Eating Ants
4. Ending an Apocalypse
5. Fleeing a Rock
6. Coffee Shop
7. Drowning in Coffee
8. Baby Apocalypse Vs. the Golem
9. Catch
10. Not Here
11. The Cashier
12. Espresso, Please
13. A Simple Life
14. Removal
15. To Lose a Friend
16. Know Ahead
17. Fated Rivals
18. Drop
19. A Safe Place
20. Waxing Power
21. Fighting the Wax Tentacle Monster
22. Boom, Baby
23. To Declare Truce
24. Big Boom
25. Two in Class
26. Shoes in the Dark
27. A Hero
28. Click
29. Pill House
30. School House
31. Looter Shooter
32. Eating Men in Back Alleys
33. School’s Out
34. A Little Too Late
35. Getting Over It
36. PA Room
37. Drawing Fire
38. Knock-Down Drag-Out
39. Smash Mash
40. Cat Man
41. No Brains
42. Resting
43. Good Morning Ride
44. Finding the King
45. Speed Eater
46. Cats and Cats and Cats
47. Run, Run, Run
48. Cats on Cats
49. Headquarters
50. An Unexpected Guest
51. Scoping Out the Cat Man
52. Bum Rush the Pet Store
53. Bad Luck Black Cat
54. Cat Man and Regressor
55. Brace for Impact
56. Cat and a Hard Place
57. Caught Out
58. Awakening
59. Business Time
60. Arena
61. Can’t Stop Won’t Stop
62. Main Event
63. Take the Head
64. Wake Up
65. Announcer’s Booth
66. Leap of Faith
67. At the End of the Tunnel
68. From Above, To Below
69. Nice
70. Kiting the Baddies
71. Mascot Troubles
72. Rise Again, Bird Kaiju!
73. Bloodstained Field
74. Figuring it Out
75. A Good Night’s Rest
76. Skills for the Skill Gods
77. Transformation Time
78. An Idea
79. Mob Battle
80. Farewell
81. Eternity’s End
82. Explosions and Other Fun Things
83. Blast Through!
84. Death of an Alliance
85. Boys and Boxes
86. The Plan
87. Those Who Remain
88. Here They Come
89. Chugga, Chugga
90. Strike the Heart
91. Finish This
92. Dinosaur Attack
93. Man vs. Monster
94. Bone Climbing
95. Finish This
Thank you for reading Apocalypse Me
Groups
LitRPG
ALSO IN THE SERIES
Apocalypse Me
Apocalypse City
1
APOCALYPTIC ARRIVAL
“So. Zombie apocalypse,” Ryan said, drawing up alongside Zeke. He gestured with his iced coffee, taking in the city below them.
On the far side of the balcony, four floors down, cars roared. Perched atop the skyscrapers that hemmed in the museum, billboards shone with bright color, advertising everything from perfume to fast food to alcohol and condoms. Pedestrians scuttled by, businessmen and women hurrying to their next meeting while a man on a corner spun a sign, inviting people to stop in and buy insurance. Beside him, a busker strummed a guitar while a homeless man sprawled on the side of the street, snoozing away, a dog curled up beside him.
“Zombie apocalypse, huh?” Zeke asked, pushing up from the steel railing. A glass panel pushed a few inches above the rail, protecting him and small children from slipping under it and dropping to the street below. He looked at the dirty-blond boy beside him, quirking a brow. “What about it?”
Ryan’s blue eyes shone. He grinned. “Odds of survival. What do you think? How long would you last?”
“Me? What, in the city?” Zeke frowned. A light breeze blew through his short-cropped dark hair, and he squinted, hazel-green eyes screwed up against the late-spring sun.
“Yeah. You’re going to college here, right?” Ryan asked.
Zeke snorted. “That was only if my swim scholarship came through. As it is…might be more like community college.” His eyes settled on Ryan’s drink, and his stomach grumbled. Cream swirled invitingly amidst the dark coffee, luscious and inviting, highlighting the museum café’s old-fashioned man logo on the plastic cup. His mouth watered. I bet it’s delicious. I’m so hungry…
He pressed his lips together, turning away. I’m fine. Coffee isn’t filling, anyway. And that menu…oof. The city is expensive, no lie!
“Aww, c’mon. There’re other scholarships. I’m sure you’ll get something. I mean, right?” Ryan said, tilting his head.
Turning back to the city, Zeke shook his head. He sighed, then shrugged. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Anyway. Zombie apocalypse,” Ryan said.
“Zombie apocalypse. I think I die right away,” Zeke said.
“Really? You’re pretty fit.” Ryan frowned.
“Not that fit. Besides, I’m a swimmer. That isn’t going to help me much in the apocalypse. Not like I can swim through a horde of zombies,” Zeke pointed out.
“Still, stamina, strength…” Ryan swung an imaginary baseball bat through an imaginary zombie head, “that’s gotta count for a lot!”
Zeke waved him away. “Nah. I think I die right away. Immediate zombie. I mean, right? If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
“I think you’d do better than me. I’m a nerd, not a jock like you,” Ryan joked, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Yeah, yeah. Where’s Mia?” Zeke peered over his shoulder at the café’s exit.
“I dunno. Still customizing her double-cream-whipped-mocha-caramel macchimochamericano or something,” Ryan said with a shrug.
Zeke nodded. He tilted his head at Ryan. “How about you?”
Ryan froze. He pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. “Me…?”
“Brain freeze?” Zeke asked, chuckling. He nodded at Ryan. “Yeah, you. Zombie apocalypse. How long do you last?”
“Zombie…apocalypse…” Ryan startled as if he’d been slapped. He looked upward, then frowned. Slowly, he nodded to himself. “Then, this is…”
“This is?” Zeke asked, confused.
Ryan jumped at him and grabbed his shoulders, bowling him backward.
He fell back, surprised. His spine struck the railing. “Ow! Ryan, what the hell?”
“Zeke…this is for the good of everyone. For the good of humanity,” Ryan said. Blue eyes bored into Zeke’s, full of madness.
“Uh…what? Dude, you’re heavy. Get off me,” Zeke said, shoving at Ryan.
Ryan’s grip tightened. “Listen to me. I don’t have long. If you don’t die right here, right now, the world is over. Humanity dies out.”
“Ryan? Is this because I said I’d die first in a zombie apocalypse? I wasn’t being literal, you know,” Zeke said, laughing nervously. The hell? What’s he on about?
Ryan took a deep breath. “I—”
“Guys! Where are we going next? Dinos?” a chestnut-haired girl asked, bouncing
Ryan glanced at Mia, then tensed. He looked into Zeke’s eyes. “Trust me. There’s no other way.”
“No other way for—?”
Releasing him, Ryan backed up a few steps.
Confused, Zeke stood. “Okay…?”
Ryan sprinted toward Zeke.
Zeke’s eyes widened. Startled, he jumped up from the railing. “Ryan, what the fuck?”
Without a word, Ryan leaped into the air and kicked Zeke in the chest.
Zeke fell backward, his arms flailing. His spine struck the railing. His head snapped back, whiplashed by the force of the kick. Stunned, he sprawled over the railing and the glass pane. Electric pain shot down his spine, arcing directly into his brain.
Ryan stared at him, his blue eyes alien, cold. Zeke saw himself reflected in those eyes, and his heart froze. I’m already dead to him.
What…what the hell?
He wasn’t joking? He… What happened? What’s going on?
No. This isn’t Ryan. Ryan would never do this. Ryan would never look at me like this. This is someone else.
Rushing at him, Ryan reached out again.
Zeke jolted, forcibly breaking his stun. Move. I have to move!
Mia screamed.
Around them, other tourists turned, eyes wide. Some stood on their tiptoes to get a better look.
From across the balcony, an overweight security guard lumbered toward the three of them as fast as his three-hundred-pound frame would allow, reaching for the Taser on his hip. He shoved at a knot of tourists, fighting past them. “Move!”
The tourists shifted, but slowly. An old woman hobbled to the side, accompanied by an old man who shuffled a single beat faster. Huffing and puffing, the security guard fought his way through. “Come on…move!”
Iron-strong hands grabbed Zeke by the waist. All at once, Ryan pushed him up and over the ledge.
Zeke’s hand snapped out, gripping blindly. He latched onto the railing. His wrist bent over the glass pane that made up the other half of the protective barrier. He jolted to a halt, and the glass’ rounded edges bit into the underside of his wrist. Blood dripped down his arm. “Ow!”
“Zeke!” Mia ran for him, hands out, terrified.
Ryan ignored her. He pushed at Zeke’s wrist.
Zeke gritted his teeth, holding on despite the pain.
He didn’t hesitate. Not even a moment.
I can’t— I don’t understand. Ryan wouldn’t. He wouldn’t!
What’s going on?
Knuckles white, Zeke grabbed at the railing with his free hand. His hand bounced off the glass, unable to reach the extra few inches to the railing. He swung from the force of his grab, and the glass dug deeper into his wrist. More blood streaked the pane and ran down his arm. His grip weakened. Afraid to lose his grip entirely, he hung still.
Desperately, he shouted, “Ryan! Snap out of it!”
“Hey! Get away from him!” the security guard shouted, finally running up on Ryan.
Ryan stared at Zeke, eyes cold. “I have no option. I’ve tried. I’ve tried so much.” He lifted his arm and slammed his elbow down on Zeke’s wrist.
The glass’s edges bit into his tendons. His bones creaked. Zeke lost his grip for a moment. With the tips of his fingers, he caught on again, but the railing slipped steadily out of his grasp, millimeter by millimeter. “Ryan!”
Raising his elbow again, Ryan slammed it down on Zeke’s hand. “I’m sorry.”
Zeke’s fingers slipped off the railing. He dropped, falling backward. Ryan…why? What?
As he fell, a gash split the sky. A deep sound thrummed out, resonating in his bones more than his ears. Bright white light poured out, coming from somewhere beyond, somewhere alien and unknowable.
Time slowed.
Zeke stared, wide-eyed. The fuck?
In slow motion, tourists screamed and ran. Tires screeched and cars slammed into one another below. Mia reached after him, shouting something he couldn’t hear.
What’s happening? Why am I moving so slowly? He tried to sit up, but the same as everyone else, he could only move in slow motion. Is this what it feels like before you die?
Ryan looked up, staring at the sky. His fist curled.
Zeke’s brows furrowed. Something shot through his head, a thought half-completed. As if he already knew—
Thick black liquid spewed out of the white gash in the sky. Rather than falling like rain, it spread through the air and domed over them, pouring toward the ground. None of the black dripped directly down. Instead, it formed a void, an enormous bowl-shaped empty space blocked off by the black at its borders, as if someone had placed a glass bowl over the city and poured melted plastic over it. The black goo eclipsed the sky and the white light, hiding both from sight.
In moments, only a tiny hole at the apex of the barrier remained, and even that closed rapidly. Just as the white light was about to vanish for good, the black goo slowed, crawling instead of rushing.
Zeke blinked. Huh?
Above him, the people running suddenly froze as time slowed again. The screams dropped in pitch, from shrill shrieks to a low drone. Zeke’s fall also slowed as if he fell through water not air. He frowned, looking around. Even slower now. At this rate, I’ll never hit the ground. Not that I mind, but—
Words appeared in front of Zeke’s vision, burning into his brain.
WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE INCUBATOR.
YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED.
PLEASE CHOOSE YOUR CONCEPT.
What? Concept? What the hell is happening?
Did I get saved? Am I—
He glanced down. The ground awaited him, cold, hard, final. He swallowed, his heart racing. I’m about to die.
DEATH IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE CONCEPT.
PLEASE CHOOSE YOUR CONCEPT.
Zeke’s stomach grumbled. He frowned, his mind racing. Maybe— Wait! Okay, maybe I’m going insane as I fall to my death, but what the hell. Maybe this is real. Maybe I can survive this if I choose the right ‘Concept,’ whatever that is. Something like invulnerability, or regeneration, or phasing—
CONCEPT CHOSEN.
“What? I didn’t choose anything! Hold up! You can’t cheat me like this. I had a chance. I could have survived!” Zeke shouted at the words.
CONCEPT: HUNGER
LEVEL ZERO SKILL GRANTED: [DEVOUR]
PLEASE BECOME THE STRONGEST APOCALYPSE.
ONLY ONE CAN LEAVE.
The strongest…what? Leave? Escape the dome…?
Time snapped back to normal. Black poured across the sky, sealing off a massive dome of the city. The tourists overhead screamed and ran. Ryan turned and vanished, leaving Mia behind on the railing.
Zeke plummeted. He slammed into the sidewalk, and everything went dark.
2
BECOME THE STRONGEST APOCALYPSE
Pain. Darkness. The taste of copper. Eyes shut, Zeke lay completely still on the sidewalk.
An alarm blared. The wind blew, wafting an acrid scent over him. Zeke twitched and immediately regretted it. The tiny shift sent agony blasting through his body, washing over him in waves.
What…what…
Ryan, with an iced coffee. A casual chat. That familiar face, his blue eyes colder than the arctic. Mia’s horrified expression.
I fell. No…Ryan pushed me. I survived? How?
Exerting herculean effort, he opened his eyes. His vision blurred, barely able to make out the sidewalk in front of him. Crashed cars piled up in the road beyond. Smoke billowed in the near-distance. A woman in blue ran by, panicked.
Mia? No…
As he focused on the woman, a screen appeared in front of his vision.
Please assign your points.
Warning! You are near death. You need to find something to eat or drink to raise your vitality.
Death estimated in: 2:06
You have one new skill. Would you like to examine it?
What…what…
Please assign your points.
“What points?” Zeke muttered.
Level 0. Points: 5
STR: 0
CON: 0
DEX: 0
