I exhaled slowly, forcing my breathing to steady despite the chaos erupting around .
My eyes found Scarlet and pulled up my debug vision and focused on her.
Level 29.
She’d leveled up too.
But even at 29, she wasn’t strong enough to take the Alpha.
The level gap was too wide.
I focused my debug abilities on her, reaching out with my mana to modify her stats temporarily.
[Target: Scarlet]
[Modify Physical Paraters]
[STR: 15%]
[AGI: 15%]
[Duration: 30 minutes]
The change rippled through her imdiately.
She glanced back at for a split second, confusion flickering across her blood-splattered face, then her eyes widened with understanding.
She felt the difference.
And she used it.
Scarlet beca a storm, tearing through the remaining beasts with renewed ferocity. A boar tried to charge her. She caught it mid-rush, claws sinking into its skull, and crushed it with her bare hands.
Good.
Which left free to focus on the real problem.
The Alpha had started moving, its massive bulk advancing through the ruined gate with deliberate, ground-shaking steps. Each footfall left cracks in the cobblestones.
The guard captain had positioned himself directly in its path, his sword raised despite the blood streaming down his face, despite the way his hands shook.
"Fall back!" I heard him shout to his remaining n. "I’ll hold it—"
The Alpha didn’t even slow down.
It swung one massive paw in a casual, almost lazy motion.
The captain tried to dodge, tried to roll aside, but he was too slow and exhausted.
The claws caught him across the chest, tearing through his armor like cloth, sending him flying backward to crash into the rubble of the barricade.
He didn’t get up.
Shit.
I looked at Scarlet, catching her attention for just a mont.
"Take care of the small fires!" I shouted over the chaos. "Keep the beasts off the villagers!"
She snarled sothing that might have been agreent or might have been a curse, but she moved imdiately, positioning herself between a pack of wolves and where Crew Four was desperately defending their position.
I turned and bolted toward the Alpha.
The creature was focused on the fallen guard captain, moving in for the kill, its massive jaws opening wide.
I had the chance.
The Alpha struck downward, its head lowering, and for just a second, it was committed to the motion, unable to imdiately redirect.
I swung my axe with everything I had, aiming for the exposed joint where its front leg t its shoulder.
[Blade Sharpness: Enhanced 500%]
[Weapon Weight: 8kg]
The axe connected.
And shattered.
The blade broke apart on impact, fragnts of tal spinning away, the handle cracking in my hands from the recoil.
I stared at the broken weapon in disbelief.
[Weapon Durability: 0/100]
[Status: DESTROYED]
The Alpha had barely noticed. A shallow cut marked where the axe had hit, maybe an inch deep through its thick hide, already clotting.
"RUN, YOU IDIOT!" The guard captain’s voice, hoarse with pain and terror.
The Alpha’s head snapped toward , its milky eyes focusing with sudden, terrible interest.
Oh no.
Its paw ca around in a vicious backhand that I had no chance of dodging.
The impact felt like being hit by a stone wall traveling at full speed.
My entire body went airborne, the world spinning, the breath driven from my lungs in an explosive gasp.
I shot backward through the breached gate, past the splintered remains of the palisade, and slamd into a tree trunk outside the village with bone-jarring force.
[HP: 730/840 → 178/840]
I slid down the trunk, coughing, tasting copper.
Blood.
I was coughing blood.
My vision went black around the edges, consciousness wavering, every nerve screaming.
Damn. Just one hit. One fucking hit and it took most of my HP.
I tried to stand, my legs shaking, barely supporting my weight. Everything hurt. My ribs were probably cracked, maybe broken. My left arm wasn’t responding right.
But I forced myself upright, using the tree for support, and looked back toward the village.
Scarlet had taken down most of the smaller beasts, their corpses littered the street, and the remaining few were engaged with the guards and surviving villagers. She was holding the line, keeping them from being completely overrun.
But the Alpha—
My blood ran cold.
The massive bear had the guard captain’s left arm in its mouth. Torn completely from the shoulder, blood pouring from the ragged stump.
The captain was on his knees, screaming, but sohow still conscious, his remaining hand pressed against the wound, trying desperately to slow the bleeding.
And more importantly, he was still fighting, still trying to position himself between the Alpha and his n.
The Alpha dropped the severed arm carelessly and advanced on him, clearly intending to finish what it started.
I looked around desperately, searching for anything I could use.
My eyes landed on a fallen branch, maybe five feet long, thick as my forearm.
I grabbed it, my broken axe discarded, and activated my debug vision.
[Object: Tree Branch]
[Material: Oak wood]
[Durability: 34/100]
I focused, pouring mana into modifications.
[Density: Increased 300%]
[Hardness: Increased 400%]
Tip sharpened, weight increased.
The branch transford in my hands, becoming sothing that resembled a crude spear, heavy, hard as steel, with a point that could punch through armor.
With all the strength I could muster, ignoring the screaming pain in my ribs, I drew back and hurled it toward the Alpha.
And as it left my hand, I made one final modification.
[Velocity: Enhanced]
[Target: Alpha Dire Bear - Right shoulder joint]
The makeshift spear flew like a ballista bolt, crossing the distance in a heartbeat.
It struck the Alpha dead-center in the shoulder, punching through thick hide and muscle, sinking deep.
The creature roared, a sound of genuine pain and rage that shook the night air.
Its massive head whipped around, those milky eyes finding instantly.
"Bad choice," I muttered, my voice barely a whisper.
The Alpha abandoned the guard captain, turning its full attention on .
And charged.
The ground shook with each step as it barreled through the ruined gate, its enormous bulk moving with terrifying speed despite the spear jutting from its shoulder.
Fifteen feet tall. Over a ton of muscle and fury. Coming straight at .
I turned and ran.
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