Becoming a Monster-Chapter 53: I can do it all by Myself

Bang Bang Creak!*

The doors groaned under the strain of force pushing against it, it wouldn’t be long before the zombies breach the building. Slight bulges could already be seen forming on the hollow metal door, and creaking sounds emanated from its hinges. It was only a matter of time before they were thrown into battle once again.

Bailey cautiously placed Ailetta on the seats as close as she could to Noah. Her movements were overly cautious as to not to trigger the werewolf that became her symbol of death. Despite the bout of weakness Noah’s shown, just this newly added tamed beast made Noah’s location the safest place in the room.

Meanwhile, the group quickly banded together to dish out their roles. "There’s not much time so we will keep it simple." Jasmine took this chance to coordinate the team. She knew Mark would have a problem if Bailey stepped in to lead and the same could probably be said if Mark tried to take charge.

Surveying the area, Jasmine noted that everyone’s attention was on her. Jas couldn’t help but notice the frown on her brother’s face, she was aware of his frustrations of his leadership being overthrown, but there was nothing else she could do. She needed to focus her thoughts on the task at hand. Their lives were at stake, and she couldn’t allow her mind to wander.

Jas had no prior experience in gaming terminology nor was she adept at war strategies. However her intellect was keen when it came to analyzing situations and making conjectures, proving useful in her need to make a battle plan. "Paul? I need you and anyone else who can be the front line to approach about twenty feet from the door. If there’s anyone with distant magic skills then now would be the time to use them. Don’t let your fear make you neglect that our world is different now." Her heavy reminder resonated with many of the bystanders who were filled with hopelessness. An illusionary light shone above their heads as they were reminded that they too were given an otherworldly power to defend themselves.

"Mark? Can you, Bailey and anyone else who has confidence in taking on the zombies take care of the ones that can run?" Jas rhetorically asked. It wasn’t really a question about can they do it, but will they do it? She left the question open for them to decide as she proceeded giving out orders.

"Mages, after using your skills, I need you to support the front line. Isabelle? We need you to stay in the back, if you have a support skill, don’t use it. Your healing will become valuable to us. We may still get infected but that doesn’t mean we can’t fight."

The tension was building and many of the people were beginning to grow nervous. Luckily, there were more people than they could ask for. Out of the sixteen people who were in charge of fighting the Zombie King’s subordinates, eleven of them were still alive and ready to fight. With Jasmines and Bailey’s group included, they had close to forty students left alive.

But from the looks of the people’s nervousness and fear, she felt that she should still instruct them further.

"Look around you! If you can, hurry to open the chest to see if there’s anything that could help us! For anyone else without a weapon or one that you’re not used to, quickly find one on the ground."

Responding to Jasmine’s urgent command, the group quickly scattered. Those seasoned in combat made a beeline for the chest. Many had hidden motives, taking advantage of thoses who had little knowledge of the loot dropped. Their haste to loot the chest wasn’t necessarily for better gear, but for the more unique loot it offered. While the inexperienced members scoured the ground for any weapon they could find, their movements fueled by desperation and the sound of the zombies forcing their way in.

Meanwhile, Bailey seized the opportunity to approach Noah once again, her steps hesitant due to her insecurities. She needed to know if he would really leave them out to die. Yet, as she drew closer, a low, menacing growl rumbled from Noah’s formidable werewolf companion, freezing her in her tracks.

Bailey’s gaze darted nervously upwards, her eyes flickering nervously not to make direct eye contact with the imposing creature. Instinctively, she took a step back out of respect, and mostly fear. Even if Noah doesn’t personally help them, she believed that as long as the wolf joined them then they would have nothing to fear.

While she remained rooted in place, Noah couldn’t help but become annoyed since his werewolf would continue to growl until she left. Unable to ignore the situation any longer, he directed his attention towards Bailey, his tone even, but filled with impatience.

"What do you want?" Bailey jumped in surprise after being addressed so suddenly. For some reason, she just couldn’t help feeling like a kid while in his presence. Placing her hand on her chest, she inhaled deeply to calm herself. However, her voice still appeared feeble.

"Ar-are you really not going to help us?" Bailey asked, her eyes watery with emotion. Then She began to feel helpless when she noticed that he still hadn’t opened his eyes to talk to her.

"Bailey! We need you here now, they are about to get through!" Jasmine’s urgent voice snapped her back to reality. Multiple hands were reaching through the With one last glance towards Noah, Bailey made her way towards them, leaving Noah alone to think about what he should do.

’Sigh....it’s not like I want to help them, but this would be a good time to level up Arachne and.....’ realizing he needed to come up with a name for him soon.

His thoughts drifted back to the Zombie King and how it had manhandled the werewolf. He needed to be able to rely on his creatures more, meaning that his priority should be making them stronger. Even though he didn’t have any intentions of helping the group, he felt that he couldn’t allow so much experience to go to waste.

’Hmm I’ll just wait a little bit and then I’ll start collecting that juicy experience.’ He thought to himself, readjusting in his seat for a more comfortable experience.

Bang!*

But as soon as Noah tried to get comfortable, he heard the doorway finally giving way, the zombies on the other side tumbling over themselves as the door crashed down under their relentless assault.

Noah’s curiosity got the best of him as he decided to observe how the group would handle the situation.

First, he witnessed the earthquake-like spell from before. No surprise was shown on Noah’s face, he anticipated they would try to replicate what happened before and barricade the door. However, this time, the spell seemed less forceful than when he experienced it before. Only the wall above the door crumbled from the force of the ability, falling onto the zombies rushing to get in.

The spell was used to strategically create obstacles, disrupting the zombies’ attempts to flood into the room all at once. Immediately after the spell’s deployment, a barrage of spells rained down towards the entrance, presumably aimed at thinning out the advancing horde. However, Noah wasn’t sure how much of the attack was planned. The barrage inadvertently caused parts of the rubble to collapse, almost jeopardizing the group’s efforts to funnel the zombies.

At this critical juncture, their frontline advanced to intercept the zombies at the door. Paul took the lead, employing his stone ability to impede the zombies’ advance with impressive effectiveness. His practiced faith in his ability gave him immense courage in the middle of the horde, bearing the weight of most of the attacks. Initially, because of his presence, the effort of the others seemed promising. frёewebηovel.cѳm

However there was a saying, ’you’re only as strong as your weakest link’. Despite Paul’s formidable physical strength and faith in his impregnable skill, his mobility was severely hampered by his ability, leaving vulnerable gaps in their formations. He was forced to rely heavily on the support of his companions, but they faltered in their duties as more zombies emerged, forgoing their duties to hold their ground.

"Ah! they’re getting through!"

"There’s no way we can hold them by ourselves!"

Fear began to play its role, and one by one, the frontline broke down and dispersed, leaving only a handful to stand alongside Paul. But how could those few ward off so many zombies by themselves? Gradually, Paul was becoming desperate for the lives he was responsible for, and frustrated for his lack of leadership, failing to rally his companions. Soon, Paul found himself isolated while the nearby zombies swarmed him, leaving the rest of the zombies to rush further inside.

"Tsk! You cowards are ruining everything!" Mark stepped up to deal with the incoming swarm, with the elite team in tow, they started to make quick work of the incoming zombies. Even those who had fled before were left in awe of their group’s abilities, and tried to return to the fight.

Around 10 minutes passed, and the group struggled on, but the swarm appeared to be never-ending. Fifty? One hundred? No one knew how many they had killed so far. All everyone knew was that the number of wounded was increasing.

"FUCKK! We can’t keep doing this! We need to retreat!" Mark barked out, and it appeared that everyone was waiting for that order. Dropping whatever zombies they were engaging with, most of the students began to flee towards the locker room. But for those still engaged with the zombies, the question remains: how will they find an opportunity to escape without support?

"No! We can’t leave when Paul is still in there! Paul!" Bailey desperately pleaded in Paul’s stead. She scanned the battleground, hoping for a response, but everyone’s actions were fixated on saving themselves as they continued to bypass her. Tears engulf her face, the realization that their illusion of camaraderie was all a false pretense when it truly mattered.

With each passing moment, her heart hammered in her chest as she watched Paul’s lone figure amidst the horde. The duration for which he could maintain his skill remained uncertain, and Bailey’s worry intensified. She knew all too well that his abilities drained his stamina, and the recent encounter with Noah’s werewolf had likely taken its toll.

As the thought of Paul’s impending death pressed down on her, Bailey’s body began to move on its own, desperately advancing towards Paul. Initially, her overwhelmed emotions allowed her to bypass her fatigue, fear was replaced with anger as she struck down every zombie she encountered. Corpses began to build up in her vicinity with each lethal swing, her body at their center of it all.

But it was then that she awoke from her stupor. She believed that she was getting closer to Paul, but it dawned on her that she barely moved from where she was before. Helplessness took over after realizing that what she tried to accomplish was an impossible task, despair threatened to engulf her.

"Awhhooo!" But just as despair threatened to consume her, a familiar sound struck at her soul. The haunting howl that still lives vividly in her memories sounded. And with it came a glimmer of hope as the massive beast of nightmares pounced into the middle of the army of undead.

Boom!

Using one of its ginormous claws, the werewolf swept away groups of zombies at a time. But because the zombies’ brains weren’t destroyed, they still continued to rise. Yet, this didn’t stop the werewolf from continuing its savage assault. For every ten zombies slapped away, at least three would die. Eventually, he reached the building’s entrance where Paul was still valiantly fighting off the relentless horde.

Smack!* The wolf slightly remembered that this individual was extremely hard to eat. It wasn’t allowed to kill the people here, but that didn’t deter him from venting its grievances. With the back of its hand, it sent Paul flying across the room, near the others. A huge collision sounded at the moment of Paul crashing into the ground, the force of the werewolf’s attack alone strained Paul’s transformation to its limits, while the impact from his crash forced its cancellation.

Noah watched the scene unfold with a wry smile, choosing to feign ignorance. Instead, he turned his attention to Arachne, who approached him, asking if she could join the fight.

"Fight as much as you want." Noah encouraged, his smile widening. He knew that with Arachne’s proud mentality, she would only continue to grow stronger, especially now her new "underling" is taking her thunder, and potentially, her food!

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