[ Next morning ]

  Thompson picked me up in the middle of the night, with bed and all, and I surprisingly slept through it all. When I woke up, I was surprised to find myself in a tent, surrounded by soldiers.

  They simply ignored my screams of terror and then told me what happened. Long story short, the bugs are on the move along the entire front and more cities will soon fall. They didn't manage to wake me, so they simply abducted me from my home. I at least learned one thing....fairies can sleep through everything!

  It's now 8 am and I'm already done eating breakfast. For dessert I'm about to enjoy over a hundred crystals, which were delivered here in a crate st night. It's the first big haul since Thompson spread the word to let the extermination teams, asking them to collect those crystals.

  I absorbed one crystal after the other and never felt full, but I did feel warm on occasion. Whenever that happened, I simply flew a few circles and then continued absorbing them.

  Lots of upgrade messages appeared, but I ignored most of them. Absorbing them all became a tedious job after a while, but I managed to complete the job before 09.30 am.

  When I finally checked my stats, I felt euphoric. I'm getting stronger...fast. "Hehehehe.... I'm a level 3 Defender now." Oops....I hope that nobody noticed that evil grin on my face.

  ===========================================Name: Ann FinleyAge: 17Gender: female

  Family: nature spirits Race: fairyCss: Cn Defender (level 3)

  Mana capacity: 12301 / 15200 (current / max)Venom charge: 17210 / 21000 (current / max)

  Racial skills:-purification-outfit-transtion-concealment-fairy dust-compass

  Css skills:-attack mode (speed/agility)-shock-stinger-burrow

  Titles/achievements:-crosser of worlds===========================================

  Thompson joined me in the huge mess hall tent, which of course was the appropriate pce for me to ingest those crystals.

  "How did it go? Finished absorbing all of them?"

  "Yes, it took me over an hour. But I feel....better..lighter...no idea how to describe it."

  "You just did. Besides....you might want to inspect your tail."

  "Why?" I take my tail, look at it and do a double take. "No way....there are two of them now?" They're wagging in the same rhythm.

  "Double the fluff, double the buff." He grinned.

  "Yeah, the fluff is nice, but....how will they perform?" I'm hugging my fluffy tails...so fluffy!

  But unsurprisingly he immediately wipes the grin from my face by asking me the inevitable."I thought you'd never ask. We have a spider, 10 miles north of here. Ready to put it out of its misery?"

  "Eh...not really, but it has to be done. But first please tell me, where are we even?"

  "This pce is give or take 10 miles north of Florida's state boundary...also known as the front."

  Yeah...I was afraid of that. "Okay.... I guess I'll have to kill a spider then. Let's do it!"

  "That's the spirit. And good to see you wearing the new uniform."

  They basically updated the uniform's color, making it resemble a real Air Force uniform."Yeah, your mascot doll near the entrance is naked now, just saying." I grinned.

  "Huh? Hahahaha, we're all adults, let it be. I'll have it repced."

  "I never thought that I'd be wearing clothes designed for dolls."

  "And I never thought of seeing one on the battlefield either." He kept staring at me, giving me a poker face, but I knew exactly what he meant.

  "Hey, I'm not a doll, okay?! I'm a....Defender! Whatever that may mean."

  "It's just a title, nothing more, nothing less. It will be what you make of it. Let's make it a memorable one."

  "Yeah, I'll try. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see a familiar face, but why are you even at the front? I mean, you're not in the military, are you?"

  "No, I'm not, but I'm here to monitor your training performance. The military will take over from me during real missions, but I'll still be monitoring you. Makes sense?"

  Not really. "Um...I guess so. Alright....let's go."

  Half an hour ter I'm standing in a red zone. There's a bug stone nearby and lots of monster activity has been confirmed. My first real life moving target will be another spider.

  Lindsey is there as well, sitting in a jeep, but she's staying at a safe distance from the spectacle. There are also plenty of soldiers and even tanks, ready to assist. Thompson didn't lie when he said that they weren't taking any chances. It may sound strange, but it still helps me feel more at ease.

  I change into my 'combat mode' and see my 2 tails slowly changing into their attack positions...ready to sting. One to my left, the other to my right. My venom level is at 100% and I just switched on the Concealment skill.

  First test will be to see if it can detect me. Next task.....end the monster.Lindsey won't see me in action, but people should be able to see the spider's responses to my movements. They do have the equipment to see me, but I'll probably be moving too fast to spot me, especially since I'm not that big.

  Okay...here I go. I slowly make my way towards the moving target, but stay at a safe distance. Right now those 8 eyes should be able to see me, but they apparently don't.

  There are a few horses running in the distance and the spider unfortunately decided to go after those, foiling our attack test.

  The spider moves at top speed and the horses never stood any chance. It sprayed some form of venom from its front and that actually melted the horses in seconds. Good to know...no frontal attack.

  I move high up into the air, while looking around to spot any flying monsters. While the monster is still devouring the horses, I rush down and let my stingers sink into my prey. The monster screams and immediately colpses....confirmed dead.

  It surprisingly starts turning into a messy goo, but since I'm not a spider myself, I won't be eating that disgusting stuff. Finding the crystal was easy, and it got absorbed really quickly.

  I'm returning to the armored vehicles and then become visible again. But before I can enjoy the many compliments, I hear Thompson shouting "Ann! Job well done! Listen! We have an important update!"

  Apparently the Air Force sent a high altitude aircraft over Florida and they used the newly developed technology to see 'Concealed' bugs....and found 3 enormous ones. Another high altitude strike bombed the area, and they were confirmed dead without any issues. Yup, they never saw the bombs coming, and never activated their shields. Something tells me that we simply got lucky this time.

  However, just when I was about to enter party mode, he had to spoil the mood."Ann, we have a problem. We have a big one with your name on it. It's a huge bug, scorpion type. It's heading straight towards a poputed area, and it will get there before we can finish evacuating people. We need you!"

  "Okay....so this is a no choice thing, right?"

  "Exactly. We already attacked the thing, but...."

  It took me a moment to understand why he didn't finish the sentence."Oh nooooo....let me guess, it has shields?" I grimaced.

  "You got it. Do what you can, the extermination crews have been alerted about you entering the combat zone so there won't be any friendly fire. And....surprise....here's your headset! Freshly built from the tech guys."

  I'm gesturing wildly that I don't exactly agree."Are you nuts? I can't wear that thing in battle!" It's basically a small microphone and a speaker connected to a head band.

  "You have to!"

  "Mr Thompson...you want me to kill that thing, but I can't do that with that weight on my head. Let's discuss this ter, okay? People are about to die!"

  "Alright, then let's call this your final training session. Go!"

  I nod and then rush away into the direction he had pointed me.

  This pce used to be a city or a town, but has been reduced to nothing but rubble. It's like a dozen tornadoes decimated this area. So many homes...gone. Streets are still recognizable, but who knows how many humans are still hiding? No,..I must focus now!

  After flying for a few minutes, I spotted the huge scorpion. It's much, much, bigger than the spider!My venom is down to 80%, so I think that I'm going to use all of it for this nasty bug.

  Its 8 legs give it a huge speed, but thankfully I'm able to fly even faster. Each leg throws up sand and dirt into the air, telling me that even the legs are very powerful.

  When I'm about to do a sneak attack from behind, it immediately stops running, turns around and faces me.

  Did I forget to activate my Concealment? No...it's active! "Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap,.....it can see me!"

  And sure enough, better te than never...I get the message.=======Concealment skill failure - target is using countermeasuresWarning - target is far above recommended attack level=======

  "Yeah, no shit. But people are counting on me! Crap..."

  "Raaaaaaaaaa." A deafening sound reaches for miles and hurts my ears.It's taunting me, because we're having something like a cowboy standoff. I'm dead.....soooo dead.

  I fly high up into the sky and see it reposition itself again and again, always keeping a firm lock on me. It keeps screaming, perhaps asking for reinforcements? This thing isn't going anywhere....it's fully focused on me now!!!

  Maybe I can use this to my advantage, and make it move away from the city without attacking it?

  When I'm sick and tired of this waiting game, unable to make it follow me, I decide that the time is right for an attack. I move in from above and fly as fast as I can, but only use a long range zap attack. Sure, long range means less power, but I'm trying to learn about my target's abilities here.

  "ZAPP!"

  It screams, but apparently not from pain. My zap got deflected by the shield, which is usually invisible. A blue spherical shield formed around it, but only for a second.

  Great...just what I need. A bug from hell, equipped with sci-fi shields. Are these things aliens? If anything, it only got more pissed off.

  Now it's my turn to taunt it, so I shout "come here! You filthy bug! Do you have a nice crystal for me?"

  "Raaaaaaaaa." "Raaaaaaaaa." It taunts me again...not even moving an inch.

  Does it really see me as a threat? But I'm so tiny in comparison! And I don't even have any shields!Again I get fed up with the waiting. But what should I do? I can't even touch it!

  Then it dawned on me.....I have to work with the humans... Nobody asked me to kill those things all by myself!

  I look back and see the armored vehicles waiting for me. I need advice....fast. But I don't have the headset. What should I do?

  But even if they can help....how do I get past that shield? Can they nuke it? Nah, I'm quite sure that they have already tried that.

  I'm still hovering here, at a safe distance and the monster is simply waiting like a good puppy. No idea what's wrong with it, but it seems really obsessed with me. Maybe it has never seen a fairy before? Or do only high level monsters use Concealment, and it is genuinely afraid of me?

  I'm taking my time to check my skills, since I don't appear to be in any immediate danger."Mmm......'fairy dust'? Should I try that one?" It's a skill I haven't tried yet. Should I try it from high above? It might be great for making it rain or nuking bugs...I have no way of knowing. Ah! Of course, I should have read the manual!

  I quickly read the description, while slowly moving to my left. It still keeps following me...good, very good.

  "Fairy dust is one of a fairy's core skills. It has many different uses, such as helping pnts grow, for use as a fvor enhancer in recipes and to show off during festivities and celebrations. Safe to use on all forms of life but should not be used near technology, during thunderstorms or near other forms of electricity."

  So fairy dust....'to do or not to do'...that's the question. But what other choice is there?"Yeah....growing pnts....that's not gonna happen. And the monster is technically a lifeform as well, and since the dust is apparently safe to use on all beings...it's not of much use to me right now. But......electricity? Technology? Maybe....the shield is a form of electricity?"

  I'm again staring at the scorpion and notice that it's absolutely frozen...much more patient than I am. Am I out of range? Is it that? Or did it fall asleep? Does it py dead, hoping that I lose interest? What I wouldn't give for a monster manual. And no, I'm not going to try talking to bugs again.

  At least Thompson and his people are learning from this event. And having a patient waiting monster allows me to both think about a strategy and give the humans more time to evacuate.

  I bet that the people watching CNN are getting bored too. Time for action. "Okay, fairy dust it is!"

  I fly a bit higher up into the sky, seeing the creature move again. It's following me, but I'm well out of range.

  When I'm hovering above it, at a high altitude, I say "fairy dust!" And there it goes....lots of green particles are falling down like freshly fallen snow. So that's what those particles were....fairy dust!

  As soon as the first particles nd on the shields, I see an unexpectedly severe reaction. The shield is buzzing and glowing. There are lightning bolts all over the thing, draining power from the shield into the earth around it.

  Ahhh, could that be the expnation? It simply felt...safe? Secured by the shield? And there it is....the colpsing shield zapped the creature itself! It's screaming in agony, and that's my cue.

  Without hesitation I rush underneath the thing and sting it multiple times. But instead of leaving, my brain is again fixated on the crystal. My hands are glowing again, and I'm burrowing my way into the creature before I know it.

  I get to the crystal in no time while I hear the terrifying death screams from above. I absorb the crystal and make my way out of it.

  When I look at the dead creature, I notice that it's slowly melting from my venom! I really shouldn't have burrowed into that thing! What if I touched my own venom? What was I thinking? No, that's wrong.....I wasn't thinking at all! My body did this....it knew...it KNEW that I was safe. I'm immune to my own venom!!!

  Let's hope that my friends are using binocurs right now. "Oh crap...I'm still invisible." I switch off the Concealment skill and start using hand gestures, and sure enough they are approaching me. I double checked that the flow of fairy dust had ended, and it's long gone.

  Both Lindsey and Thompson rush closer to me, but I shout "stay back! I have venom on my body!"

  "Wow....thanks for sharing. What did you do, Ann? How did you do that?!" Lindsey asked, sounding either very excited or very impressed. Probably both.

  "Hi Lindsey, and people back home. What happened, you asked? I was extremely lucky, that's what happened. I first analyzed its movements. It seemed afraid of my Concealment skill. It must have thought that only high end monsters could use that. Either that, or it was pying dead, hoping that I would lose interest.

  When I was ready to attack, I used my fairy dust skill on its shields after reading about its use cases in my manual....for ck of a better word. When the shield colpsed, it got distracted, and that's when I hit its underbelly. There was no way in hell that I could survive its massive stinger, but the underbelly seemed retively unprotected. But after I injected my venom in there, my body acted on its own. I burrowed inside and consumed the crystal from the inside...thus killing the beast."

  "That was very impressive, Ann. Will you continue your hunt now?"

  "No, Lindsey, my energy and venom levels are too low now. But the crystal I got was superb! I got a major mana boost from it. Maybe some new skills too, no idea. I need some time to discuss tactics with the military first. Next time I'll probably be wearing a headset, but it will prevent me from fully using my abilities like burrowing.

  But the way I see it, I don't have to do that anymore. Next time I should be able to disable the shields and the extermination teams will deal with the rest. True teamwork. I was never meant to work on my own, but this was an emergency."

  "Well said," Thompson said. "Let's call it a day and analyze our experiences. We learned valuable things today, thanks to our monster killing Defender."

  I nd on the Jeep's bonnet and cross my arms. "Purification!" It instantly cleaned my body from the goo and I surprisingly still have mana left now. And yes, I should have done that earlier, but I simply forgot about the cleaning skill.

  Did that monster crystal recharge my mana too? I feel brimming with energy and like it so much that I don't want to disable my combat mode. It feels like an adrenaline rush.

  Without any warning I'm beginning to glow. A bright green aura surrounds me and I see a new message.

  ===============Evolution criteria met:combat mode - final evolutioncountdown: 1 minute

  Warning - seek shelter immediately===============

  "What's wrong?" Thompson said while leaning over to me. I'm sure that he read the terror on my face.

  "I got a warning message! It says to seek shelter immediately! Some kind of final evolution is going to happen to me!"

  "Understood! Fly away now! Move..move...move!!" Thompson shouts while I'm flying away from them.

  When the countdown timer hits 10 seconds, I nd and prepare for the worst.A very bright fsh blinds everyone around me. And after that.....I simply fell asleep.