Becoming a Monster-Chapter 44: The King Emerges

The rest continued to watch, holding their breath as terror gripped them; their eyes wide with shock and horror.

Meanwhile, the group of four desperately fought with their lives on the line. Even a scratch could possibly prove fatal, so they had to fight with the utmost care.

After Joe unleashed his spell, he wasted no time in taking up his weapon-a morning star. Its metal handle and spiked ball, embedded with lethal protrusions, didn’t fit the image of a summoner, but at this stage, you can only use what you have.

The group held formation, with LeRoy and Tristan positioned at the front, each wielding distinct weapons. LeRoy wielded two sabers, mirroring Lucas’s style, he was light on his feet as he dodged with experience, his swings firm. Tristan on the other hand wielded the most unique weapon Noah has seen so far, a double-bladed staff. His fighting style lacked flair but Tristan made up for it with his weapons advantage in reach, using precise stabs and lunges as his preferred fighting methods. The two fought with a basic level of cooperation despite their diverse fighting styles, but it was cooperation nonetheless.

Grim’s efforts in neutralizing the majority of the deadlier threats when at the entrance lessened the difficulty for Lucas’s group. With the runners neutralized, the group could concentrate on dealing with the regular zombies, with Zoe covering their backs.

With each member equipped with a weapon providing reach, they adopted the safest tactic: stabbing towards the encroaching zombies. Joe occasionally lent a hand when the numbers proved overwhelming. Yet, it was Zoe who made the most significant impact; despite her small stature, she skillfully wielded a dagger in one hand and a rapier in the other.

Observing her, Noah suspected that most of her stats were allocated to speed. However, her interaction with the zombies intrigued him. When confronted by a runner, she dashed towards it fearlessly, swiftly dispatching it. Strangely, neither the runners nor the regular zombies seemed to notice her, as if she was invisible to them.

The group was holding their own against the zombie invasion, their coordinated efforts proving effective. Unfortunately, Noah remained oblivious to their efforts, preoccupied with his own battle. Nonetheless, his actions didn’t escape the attention of the group.

"Guys! I’m coming! Hold on for just a bit longer... what are you standing there for?" Lucas exclaimed as he regrouped with the four who had ceased fighting. Surprisingly, even the non-combatants didn’t seize this opportunity to escape, despite Arachne having opened up a sizable space to walk through.

Everyone was too fixated on the unfolding spectacle in front of them. A man and Mantis were effortlessly cutting through the zombies, the very ones the rest of the group needed to strategize and coordinate to confront.

They could clearly see Noah fighting in the center of them all. Strategically using the bodies of the walking zombies to impede the runners while Grim swiftly dispatched them from behind, slicing through their necks. Sometimes, the slice was so clean that the head wouldn’t despatch from the body until it fell.

During that time, Noah behaved unhinged as he wildly swung his axes, seemingly without a target. However, the axe would somehow strike home to the zombies’ head every time. When the spectators thought he was gonna be attacked from behind, he would get "lucky" and move out of the way at the last moment. After this occurrence repeated itself one too many times, some spectators started to speculate if it was actually intentional.

"Wh-just what is happening?"

"Wait... doesn’t this mean that he actually could’ve just taken them on by himself?" The scene prompted speculation among the group. Lucas didn’t like this, feeling a surge of resentment; the people ’he’ saved were more in awe of the person who had just extorted them! This realization didn’t sit well with him at all. Did he not also kill zombies by himself just as easily before? Well, maybe not as easily, but he could kill all the zombies on his own too!

"Don’t go thinking we’re safe. There’s a reason why we had to run here. You think if it wasn’t for that monster then I would need to run away?" Lucas felt compelled to make it known to everyone that he still existed and that he was still the leader of their group. And it somewhat worked; the group returned to their solemn expressions, reigniting their concern.

"Can we get out of here then? If he stays here then he can hold them back, right? When it comes, then he can buy us time to group up with the others," Regina, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up. She didn’t like what she was witnessing. She knew the pain she had inflicted on Noah and the torment she had subjected him to. He couldn’t continue to live, at the very least she desired to be as far away from him as possible. She was smart enough to know that rules and laws weren’t going to protect her. And Lucas already proved he couldn’t do it.

Lucas was in immediate agreement with her suggestion. In this short amount of time he had grown increasingly resentful of Noah’s selfish behavior, and a part of him yearned for Noah to suffer. ’There can only be one king.’ The instinctual urge to be the pack leader began to corrupt his thoughts further.

"That’s right! You heard him; he said he didn’t need us when I offered him to join. So why should we risk our lives? Let’s go, everyone."

"But I thought you said you two were childhood friends; would you really leave him like that?"

Everyone turned to LeRoy; surprised to hear that he was defending Noah. Despite his friendship with Lucas, LeRoy secretly despised Regina. Throughout their ordeal, she hadn’t lifted a finger, yet Lucas obediently followed her every whim. Instead of a wolf, Lucas was more like her loyal dog. He couldn’t stand seeing his friend manipulated by Regina and was determined to open Lucas’ eyes to her true nature.

"Hmph! When I pleaded to him, what did I get? Instead of helping me even with the relationship we once had, he chose to rob us instead. If he doesn’t cherish our friendship, then why should I continue to? Lucas, I’m going." Regina’s voice dripped with hurt and resentment, her practiced acting easily swayed the others emotions to her side.

With that, she turned and strutted out of the room. The others who didn’t want to fight seized that opportunity to follow behind, leaving Lucas with his four fighters. LeRoy took this chance to help direct his friend.

"Lucas, I think we should stay. Even if we don’t like him, that guy is probably our best bet to survive."

"We think so too!" The other three voiced their agreement.

Lucas found himself unable to agree with them. In fact, he couldn’t shake off the shock of realizing that despite all he had done for them, the people he had fought alongside through thick and thin were now placing more trust in a stranger than in him. It was a bitter realization that left him feeling sidelined and undervalued.

He looked towards Noah, who was now bent over a chest with a conflicted glare. He despised him, yet he also couldn’t deny that LeRoy had a point. Just the webs alone proved that Noah would be more than a reliable asset for the threat awaiting them out there. But acknowledging that meant admitting his own inferiority, a thought he found hard to swallow. Taking a deep breath, he resolved his inner turmoil before making a decision.

"Get your loot first and we will wait here. When that thing comes and he fails to handle it, then we will retreat. We won’t waste our lives on someone like him if we don’t have to." Almost everyone was content with what he decided on, but Zoe’s visible distress indicated her disagreement about what he said. freewebnσvel.cѳm

"Do you keep having to call Nathan a ’thing’? How heartless can you be? He’s the real reason we made it this far."

"Don’t you think I know this? But that’s not Nathan anymore... I don’t want to acknowledge that ’thing’ as him... I’ll be the one to kill it!"

The five sat in silence, grieving for the loss of their friend. Eventually, they managed to calm their emotions, preparing themselves for the inevitable confrontation. Soon, four individual chests materialized nearby, containing their own personal loot. Their instinctive movements to approach their chosen chest spoke volumes of their familiarity with the strange phenomenon they had encountered before.

Noah, on the other hand, never knew that the chest was dispensed in such a way. For someone who has yet to fight with other people, if he hadn’t seen it now, he would’ve continued to be oblivious to the fact. Yet, this arrangement suited him well; he no longer had to concern himself with others trying to claim his loot as their own.

While he busied himself with retrieving his spoils, Arachne and Grim took the opportunity to feast on whatever sustenance they could find, prioritizing the runners first.

"GRRWWR!"

Suddenly, everyone was affected by a bone-chilling growl, its ominous tone sending shivers down their spines. Each member of the group felt their bodies feeling an overwhelming urge to bow in submission. The sound itself projected a mental pressure that bore the weight of authority.

"H-he’s here!" The typically stoic Zoe’s demeanor faltered. Besides Lucas, the rest of the group struggled to regain control of their bodies, their movements betraying their fear. If it weren’t for his werewolf pride, then maybe Lucas would be in the same predicament. The condition of his friends didn’t matter to Lucas right now, nor the location of the monster.

’Was he also affected?’ Lucas couldn’t tear his gaze away from Noah, searching for any sign of weakness or distress, desperate to prove his superiority, however.

"What is he doing?" He felt defeated. Noah wasn’t concerned about the Monster at all and was still trying to collect the gold from the chest. ’Is money really more important than his life? Did he not hear the roar? Is that why he wasn’t affected?’

As Lucas voiced his disbelief, the other four members of the group exchanged bewildered glances, equally confused by Noah’s priorities.

Boom!*

The room fell silent as the sound of something heavy colliding with the wall echoed through the space. Even Noah, in the midst of collecting his loot, paused at the unfamiliar noise. His encounters with zombies had given him a rough sense of their physical limitations, and the force required for that sound was beyond anything he’d encountered before.

As the gravity of the situation sank in, Noah’s demeanor shifted to one of seriousness. In his mind, he could almost hear the ominous strains of boss fight music playing. He knew he was strong, but he was also proven multiple times that strength is only relative. Was he stronger than normal zombies? Yes, but even in video games, progressing through the story was always easy, but when it comes to MMOs, the boss fights were always on another level that a solo character couldn’t contend with unless he was way over the level required.

"Arachne! Grim! Co-"

BOOOOOMM!!*

The deafening crash reverberated through the gymnasium as the second blow struck, shattering the rubble barricading the entrance into a chaotic storm of dust and debris. The resulting cloud of smoke obscured both parties from each other’s view. Even with Noah’s peculiar vision, he still couldn’t penetrate the smoke. His heart pounded with anticipation as he strained to catch a glimpse of the looming ’boss’ monster.

Soon, the gymnasium was filled with the ominous sound of heavy footsteps. The suspense put Lucas and his group on edge, while Noah was becoming impatient due to the unknown.

Growls*

"What the fuck is this?!" Noah couldn’t help but curse as he stared in disbelief. Instead of the boss monster he was expecting, numerous walkers arrived through the smoke screen, marching in eerie single-file lines. As over twenty of them entered, they came to an abrupt halt, fixating their lifeless gaze on Noah. It was a sight that none of them, including Lucas and his group, had ever encountered before.

Step, step, step*

When the confusion was at its highest, the footsteps resumed, this time accompanied by a encompassing silhouette finally emerging from the dissipating smoke.

"Oh come on! I wanted a BOSS! Just a regular boss... why is this looking like a raid boss now?" Noah truly believed that if this new world was based on a video game then it must be rigged. However, as he watched the figure draw nearer, he realized he was mistaken. It wasn’t that the game was rigged...it was broken.

A towering figure walked into the opening, its massive frame towering at least 8 feet tall; intimidating even for someone like Noah. Yet, it wasn’t the creature’s size that concerned him; it was the unsettling aura it exuded and its peculiar appearance. As Noah observed it, he could clearly discern that it was a zombie, but at the same time, he felt it wasn’t. It lacked any clothing except for tattered jeans that barely covered its lower body, revealing veins as black as night coursing prominently throughout its exposed flesh. However, its eyes and the remaining attire it wore made him unsure of its true nature.

Atop its head sat a grotesque crown fashioned from jaws and teeth, some of which appeared too large to be human. Draped over its hulking frame was a cloak that Noah couldn’t identify at first. When he focused his new pupils to enhance his vision; his expression grimaced when he realized that the cape wasn’t made from a fancy material or any fabric but was made from human skin. Even now he could make out the underside of its "cloak" that was soaked in blood, with patches of extra skin attached.

What’s more was the zombie’s eyes; nowhere were the dead, ravenous eyes from its zombie counterparts, this creature’s eyes gleamed with crimson gems, radiating an aura of absolute dominance. Though its roar had failed to affect Noah, its piercing gaze left him feeling somewhat inferior. Yet, Noah managed to shake off the feeling, only someone like him who had high spirit could accomplish this feat at the moment.

The more Noah observed, he began to realize that the zombie could be what he read about in his stories, a Zombie King. If it was only that then he could still feel confident in winning. However, as the dust began to clear, revealing the horde of zombies standing behind the king, Noah’s confidence waned. He couldn’t gauge their numbers, but it was enough for him to know that he was in over his head.

But what truly unnerved Noah was the weapon wielded by the king. Fit for its regal status, it held a sword unlike any he had ever seen. With a hilt and blade crafted entirely from bones, the sword was enormous. As the king planted it into the ground before him, Noah noted that the width of the blade alone was at least the size of his waist, and the sword itself was longer than he was tall.

The situation wasn’t looking good for Noah; the odds were completely stacked against him. For the second time in his life, he was ready to make a run for it. When he had that thought, the zombies before the king started to move. When Noah prepared himself to run away, he noticed that the zombies weren’t coming forward, but instead cleared a path for the monstrous ruler to approach.

With deliberate slowness, the king lifted the sword from the ground.

"Grrrewwe!" It roared, assuming a menacing stance as its piercing gemstone eyes provocatively locked onto Noah.

Taken aback, Noah knew what the zombie was doing but he just couldn’t believe it. He was prepared to run before, but now, NOW, a surge of irritation coursed through him.

"Is this bitch challenging me?"

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