Preparations

Bug ran with his full speed and reached Fly's house in just a couple of seconds. The time is ticking, he can't waste too much time explaining what is happening.

"Fly! Go to the village gate with your mother, I'll meet you there! And don't bother carrying anything with you"

Fly didn't even have a chance to speak as Bug dashed in another direction. Though she didn't know what's happening, she trusts Bug enough to not question him. She called her mother and hurried to the village gate.

He dashed to his next stop. The people who saw him running were bewildered. This was their first time seeing someone run so fast! When he ran past the people, weak gusts of wind followed his trail.

Soon, Bug reached his destination. He didn't bother knocking on the door and just barged in. Beetle's mother was startled when the door suddenly flung open. She almost drops her cup of coffee!

"I'm really sorry barging in here all of a sudden, but we need to go, now!" Bug said in a hurried voice while he stared at the back of his friend.

"What's happening Bug?" her voice sounded more raspy than normal.

"The Alters, they're coming! I need you to follow me. I know a safe place"

Mrs. Ant just smiled at him and place her wrinkled hands on Bug's shoulders. "Bug, I am old already. I can't go on a little adventure anymore" She said in a soft voice. "I know you're here for Beetle, so, go on and take him with you"

"But! he needs y-"

"No, Bug. He needs you more" She looked at her beloved son before signaling Bug to get him.

Bug cannot convince her no matter what he said, so he just did what she told. He walked towards his best friend and patted his back.

"Beetle, I'm so sorry, but your mother can't go with us" Beetle didn't respond as always. Bug carried his best friend on his back. His strength allowed him to carry the man without even feeling his weight. It's like he wasn't carrying anything at all.

He walked outside the house, but before he runs off, he said one more thing to Mrs. Ant.

"I'll be back. I'll defend this place! You can count on me!"

She just chuckled and looked at him like he's just a kid. "Sure you will. And Bug, thank you for staying with my son all these years"

Bug nodded before running towards the village gate. Bug vanished from Mrs. Ant's view seconds after he ran off.

When Bug reached the village gate, he saw the worried faces of Fly and her mother. It seemed like they already knew what was happening. Well, it's too hard not to notice when you see the people around you literally fumbling and rushing everywhere!

"I take it you already know what is happening?"

The two just nodded at him with worried expression still imprinted on their faces. Bug looked at the two and saw Fly carrying her painting tools. Bug just shrugged it off because he knows that Fly really like to draw. It was her hobby.

"Good! Just follow me. I'm just gonna tell you now, my place is pretty far away, so we have to run. We can take a break once in a while, so don't worry" Bug said in a commanding voice before running towards their destination.

Since Fly and her mother is not a super soldier like him, he matched his own speed with their speed. Still, running and taking a break just once shortened their journey. Luckily, no monster interrupted them. They reached the underground place in just 6 hours.

Bug removed the cover revealing the metal door marked with clear claw marks. This startled Fly and her mother which he quickly noticed. He just reassured them that there are no monsters nearby.

They descended to the deep dark underground place without any light source. Fly felt a chill down her spine as she climbed down the ladder.

Bug descended last as he needed to add another cover on the door and strap Beetle on his back. After a few minutes of climbing down, they finally reached the floor and was amazed at the sight before them.

He didn't bother to entertain their curiosity and just directed them towards a cramped space. When all of them were inside, Bug clicked the down button and the room worked on its own.

After they finally got down, Bug led the way again and didn't bother explaining why there were skeletons laying on the floor. A few left and right turns later, they reached a corridor with bedrooms on either side.

"Stay here for a bit. I'll be back, okay?"

"What!? you're leaving? again!?" Fly yelled at him. She looked so angry and concerned at the same time. She was tired of being left alone by Bug, so she wasn't able to keep herself from yelling. "Bug, it's dangerous out there. You will die!"

Bug patted her head and smiled. "Don't worry, I won't die. You don't believe me? just you wait then" Bug chuckled before heading out again. He couldn't waste any more time.

He didn't know it, but Fly shed tears as he left her again. This time, she wasn't sure that he was coming back. She couldn't even persuade him to just stay. Well, what can she do? she's just his friend, after all.

Bug finished concealing the metal door, then he called out his status. "status"

Bug felt glad when he saw that he still has 107 NUPs. "Not buying that berretta was a really wise decision!" He clenched his fist and proceeded to spend all of his NUPs on his attributes.

Bug rounded his strength and agility to 30 points each. With this combination of attributes, he was sure he could deal a devastating blow to any Alter soldier or knight. Since he was sure that he will be fighting more than one Alter at a time, Bug also decided to increase his endurance to 20 points.

The moment he confirmed all of this, searing heat flowed from his stomach until the heat envelopes his whole body. "Arghh!" The heat and pain were immeasurable.

Bug gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. He was now laying on the ground, squirming. "AHHH!" He was gasping for air now. A few more minutes and he's really going to lose his consciousness! He endured the pain because if he loses his consciousness now, he might not be able to arrive at his village on time.

A few minutes later, the pain and heat subsided. It's like, the heat went back to his stomach and just dissipated. Bug felt his strength increase by almost tenfold! Instead of being tired, Bug felt more energetic and powerful than ever before.

He noticed again his increase in body mass and height! He felt like he was a butterfly after breaking out of his cocoon! He is like an entirely new person.

Bug tried to jump, but he underestimated his strength. Cracks formed on the ground when he jumped and he almost reached 10 feet into the air! Bug's heart thumped, he didn't expect this! When he landed, another cracks formed on the ground, but this time it was more prominent.

"Whoo! HAHAHA," Bug celebrated like he had just married the most beautiful woman on earth! Now, he is going to test his agility. He adopted a sprinting stance. He took a deep breath and dashed towards a large tree 50 meters away from him.

5 seconds. It only took him 5 seconds to reach the tree! Unfortunately, his momentum prevented him to stop on time. He crashed at the tree literally breaking it along with all of his bones!

When he jumped, he didn't sustain this much damage! He was too careless this time and he deserves it.

It took almost 2 hours before all of his bones regenerated. He was conscious the whole time, so he felt all the pain. Fortunately, he was already used to the pain. At that moment he realized that he needed to control his exertion of force or he will be incapacitated or worse. Control is the key he thought.

When he can finally run, he dashed towards the direction of his village. This time he concentrated on his path and watched out for any trees in front of him or branches laying on the floor that can trip him. He ran so fast that he reached the village in 3 hours! That's a new record!

But before he entered the village, he opened his skill board and upgraded his swordsmanship to level 3. He immediately felt all of the information about swordsmanship and the advanced techniques flow through his brain. He felt his head heating again, but this time it was tolerable.

All in all, his massive spending of NUPs cost him a staggering 101 NUPs! Although he felt bad at spending so many points, he still convinced himself that it was for his own survival, which it is. Besides, he can still earn a ton of NUPs when the fighting is over. He was actually looking forward to all the loot he can get.

Most of the civilians had already left for the evacuation centers. There are only some civilians left because they didn't want to leave their belongings as if it was more important than their lives.

The best archers that the village can offer already manned the watchtowers. Bug was sure that they were magic warriors. Inside the village, hunters of all shapes and sizes, man and woman, all prepared for the inevitable. Some were cleaning their armors, others were sharpening their swords and dagger and some even practiced their favorite moves!

Bug also saw a couple of magicians on his left side over 10 meters away from him practicing their supporting and attack magics on target dummies.

Lesser archers manned the windows of the buildings and houses to serve as their cover. The last one he saw was a couple of burly man digging deep holes and covering it with thin plywood then covered it again with a layer of dirt. It seemed like it was unnecessary, but it will help them if even one of the Alters fell on it. It wouldn't even hurt them! But, the less the enemies at once, the better.

Bug estimated that there are at least a hundred hunters, currently preparing for the battle. Their number looked formidable.

It was already dark when they finished all of their preparations. Some of the hunters started a bonfire in the middle of the village and they congregated around it as if they were in some kind of picnic.

The mood was gloomy and serious. No one attempted to break the silence. Only the crackles of fire were heard the entire night. Only the heat from the bonfire heated up their spirits and made the cold, uneventful night tolerable. And only the presences of their fellow hunters strengthen their resolves to fight for the lives of their families and their only home!

It was still a bit dark and they can only see a little bit of the golden glow of the sun on the horizon, indicating that it was already early in the morning when the archers and spotters at the watchtower saw some movements inside the dense forest.

Before they can alert the other hunters, the loud howls of the striped jagged dogs did the job. Based on the sound of it, it was at least a whole pack with no more than 5 members.

All hunters readied their bows and arrows, swords, shields, and armors. The fighting spirit was overflowing on their bodies. They all looked ready to fight to the death!

But, the first thing they did was to hide inside the buildings and houses. It was not cowardice, though. No. They are all actually prepared. They just have a little surprise for the Alters.

A blow horn sounded outside their village, signaling that a noble Alter was going to say something. The moment they heard the horn, all of their hairs stood up. Their instincts said that they should run now and never look back. But, they held their ground and further increased their fighting spirit.

"Humans! You all know what you did and you insects, now have to pay the price!" A rather soft voice that was far too different from what they imagined rang loudly across the village.

"Now, as a merciful noble of the house, Larken will give you an hour to release the culprits from the bombing of our precious supplies and killing many of our men. If you did what you are told, I will allow you the honor of a quick death! But, if you didn't do what I asked you to do, I will make sure your deaths would be long and agonizing. Take your time for I shall enjoy your fear and terror from here"

An hour later not a single sound was heard inside the village. The noble sighed, but he had a wide smile that made him look like a real monster. "Very well, then. You chose a slow agonizing death...I liked your choice HAHAHAHA! RELEASE THE DOGS!" The noble laugh like a maniac. Very un-noble of him.