Chương 3: How Powerful Can a Bug be?

Eight in the morning and the broad daylight has already illuminated the darkest corners of Huayan City. It is another day for the mighty heroes to propel towards their goal. Everyone is set for today's activity; Becca prepared a little treat for her friends – a teapot of chamomile tea and some perfectly baked crispy brown cookies. They gathered and sat on the wooden varnished chairs beside the low round jet black table.

"So what is it?" Andre asked as he took his cup to take a sip of the hot tea.

"We've just successfully defeated our first enemy and we should be proud of that. But I feel like, our performance was bad; that we only won by luck. And the fact that Ms. Jane told us 'it is not too strong or too weak'; makes me think that we didn't do really well." said by Sebastian with a worried look.

"Hey, what matters the most is that we won. And we'll get better and stronger at some point in time. So don't worry Seb, you did well in managing the team. We've always looked up on you ever since we started ranking up and joining tournaments together. You are a great leader." Emily explained to Sebastian while rubbing his rigid back.

"Yeah." muttered by Rocco as all eyes shifted towards him. "She's right. Without you, our tank and our team leader, I-I don't even think that we can win anymore. You are the heart of this squad. So… Cheer up!" added by Rocco who tried his best to speak comfortably and audibly in front of his friends. They all looked at Sebastian and gave him a cheeky smile.

He smiled back and said "Let's do this." as he extended his right arm in front and formed a fist.

They followed and shouted with him, "S.A.B.E.R. Squad!"

"Good day! What can I help you with?" asked by Ms. Jane who seems satisfied with the mood of the squad.

"We would like to know more about these bugs. What are their types? What are their weaknesses? How powerful can they be?" Sebastian queried in hopes for a clear answer.

"Bugs can come in every form – animals, objects, humans or even a combination. They start as a bug alone, but if they made contact with something, they will take over its body and use it. And if two bugs with a body collided, they will form a combination and become stronger. However, it could also weaken them if they were paired up with the wrong partners. These monsters are rated from one to ten – one as the weakest and ten as the strongest. An example is the mad enemy that you've fought earlier; it was a two-star monster. Imagine if it was an eight-star, how hard would it be? Next, their weaknesses are only discovered when you fight with them, there's always a small glitching spot on their body where you can deal a huge amount of damage when hit. For the last question, they can gain power as much as they want by combining strengths with other bugs or by killing them." explained by Ms. Jane enthusiastically.

"How are we going to measure their difficulty rating?" Sebastian asked.

"Oh, right. I'm sending you a star-measuring device to help you with that. But this product is pre-release yet; it might stop working in a few days or weeks. Just check your inventory in the menu and select the item." Ms. Jane answered as she delivers an item through the use of hologram. In just a matter of seconds, the team was notified that the item has already been sent in their storage. Sebastian took the device with care – It is shaped like a remote control with a small rectangular screen and a long thin antennae.

"When it rings or make a sound, it only means that there is a bug nearby." she added.

"Will there be more devices that will look as old as this?" said by Emily as a joke that made her friends laugh.

"This item will definitely be useful. Let me be the one to handle that." Becca volunteered, the star-measuring device was passed from Sebastian to her.

"Do you want to take the second mission now? Or would you like to train first?" asked by the hologram, Ms. Jane.

"We will practice first before proceeding." Sebastian responded.

"Well then, good luck S.A.B.E.R. Squad." uttered by Ms. Jane before disappearing.

"Let's go team!" Sebastian shouted, followed by the loud cheers of his friends as they rode Sebastian's car. They traveled from one place to another in search of an ideal training ground for them.

"I thought we were going to train?" asked by Sebastian who found himself and his teammates sitting inside a local yet popular Japanese restaurant.

"The people are looking at us." Rocco whispered to them while looking around the area.

"Don't mind them. We'll be fine." Emily replied as she waits for the delicious food. All of a sudden, screams were heard in the center of the restaurant that grabbed the attention of the customers and the S.A.B.E.R. Squad; what alarmed the team is that their star-measuring device rang.

"There's a zombie! Help!" shouted by a rich-looking woman. A teenage boy who seemed to be the zombie that the woman was referring to was crawling on the tatami mat towards her.

"Put this monster away! This restaurant is filthy! I'm not going to come here anymore!" she added in an ominous tone. The boy crawled faster and jumped towards the woman's neck; he bit her with a loud crunch. Loud screams and panic encased the restaurant as the customers rushed towards the exit. She turned into a starving zombie and started biting remaining customers along with the teenage boy.

Becca turned her device on and checked the opponents' rating, "He is a five-star monster, while the infected ones are only a single-star. The glitching part of the others is on their frontal body; it's super visible. But I can't find the sweet spot of this guy."

Ms. Jane popped up and said "This is now your second mission. I'll add this to your task list. Good luck!" then she vanished right away.

"Let's aim for the infected people first." uttered by Sebastian while guarding his allies.

"Got it!" answered by his friends.

"Light of retribution!" Becca shouted as she rained down holy lights to the darkness of the zombies' heart. It was a very effective move that severely damaged the enemies. The teenage boy rushed and bit the weakening zombies.

"What is he doing?" thought by Becca as she watches the scenario and saw the zombies regaining their full strength. Rocco activated his skill 'Planets Attack' and blasted glossy starlit spheres towards the other zombies with the assistance of Emily who shot a powerful malefic bomb that killed them. The boy began biting his fellow zombies that made them regenerate.

"Why are they reviving?" complained by the enraged Andre; he threw razor-sharp flying swords and cut all the weaklings. "Now, I think it's done." he proudly added but in no time, the zombies are back to chew. "Oh come on!" he exclaimed.

"Guys, I think I know what's happening. This brainless teenage boy bites his allies to revive them, but that also means that he is passing his strength. In conclusion, he becomes weaker every time he infects or resurrects them." explained by Becca.

"But we can't keep doing the same thing over and over again, we'll lose all our mana." Emily argued as she released blast waves from her malefic gun.

"Just keep your mana and we'll use ours." she responded.

The teenage boy seemed to understand what they were talking about; he isn't completely brainless after all. However, his rating already dropped from five to two stars. He switched his attention from his allies to Emily as his jagged mouth started watering with saliva. The enemy ran on all fours and leaped to bite her but was blocked by Sebastian's shield, "Don't you dare hit my friends." he said. The zombie began crunching his shield and was tossed to the side by Sebastian. But he didn't give up; he jumped from walls and disarrayed objects until he is nearby Emily.

"His weakness is inside his mouth!" shouted by Becca.

The zombie passed from Sebastian by jumping on his shield and pounced towards Emily; he opened his large mouth to bite her, making him vulnerable. But as soon as he is almost in front of her mid-air, Emily launched her deadliest skill 'Destruction Rush' right into its mouth; the pure malefic energy flew past through its skin and killed it with no mercy. Though they made damages in the restaurant, and that hole on the ceiling made by Emily, they were thanked by the owner of the Japanese restaurant – he was obviously devastated.

"Congratulations again S.A.B.E.R. Squad. You did well, even better!" Ms. Jane said while absorbing the essence of the enemies.

"Oh look! It dropped an item!" yelled by Emily while pointing at the glowing object. Andre picked it up and knew that it was an assassin emblem. He wore it and felt an immense power flowing within his core.

"This is great! I am even stronger than before!" Andre exclaimed as he look at his own emblem.

"Tomorrow, call me and I'll give you a present." Ms. Jane told them with a smile and left.

"This is great and all. But I want to be a normal person again." muttered by Rocco while looking down on the floor. His teammates looked at him, speechless, can't say a single thing.