Becoming a Monster-Chapter 54: There’s no cure for Stupid

While Arachne eagerly rushed into the fight, Noah used that moment to adjust the balance of their shared experience, shifting it from 50-50 to 20-80, with Arachne gaining the majority of the experience. He also made sure to do the same for the werewolf while investing Arachne’s five unassigned stats into her strength.

He had realized beforehand that Arachne’s poison is effective against larger and more resistant foes. By increasing her strength, he aimed to unlock a perk that would make her more than just a distraction in battles where her poison was less effective.

He was eager to see if her stats were close to reaching the crucial 50 mark, which would potentially unlock this perk. With a quick glance, Noah checked both Arachne’s and the werewolf’s stats, eager to assess their progress.

[Player: Arachne

Race: Jumping Spider

Class: Arachnid

Lvl: 6>7

Exp:248/800->973/1600

Health:63>67%

Stamina:19%>62%

Mana: 16/16

Attributes

Strength: 25>32(33)

Agility:50>54

Constitution:25>26

Stamina:33>34

Magic: 8

Spirit: 27>29

Skills

Active

Paralysis Venom(Lvl 0):progression-2.4%->5.2%

Cursed Silk(Lvl 0):progression-1.7%->1.9%

Passive

Spider Sense(Lvl 0)]:progression-3.7%->6.8%

Caught in the eyes of the spider(Lvl0)]:progression-N/A

Noah saw that Arachne still had a long way to go till she reached 50 attributes in strength. Compared to his own stats, not counting the penalized stats, she was significantly behind, prompting him to adjust the ratio of shared experience between them for the time being.

’I can’t go on like this...If I’m weakened to this extent when one of my creatures dies, then I need to make them stronger to avoid that. I wonder...Will the orbs also work on them?’ Noah pondered the potential of the orbs he had acquired. With the way the zombies have been progressing in levels, he anticipated finding more orbs since the quality of the monsters seemed to be increasing, and at an alarming rate.

His focus returned to his current task, the only remaining item on his agenda: assessing the stats of his new creature.

[Player: Lucas

Race: Werewolf

Class: Lycan

Lvl: 6

Exp:104/800

Health:78

Stamina:77%?

Mana: 10

Attributes

Strength:42(44)

Agility:38

Constitution:59

Stamina:38

Magic:5

Spirit:36

Unassigned Points: 0

Skills

Active

Passive

Lycans Blessing(Lvl 0)Progression:N/A

Lunar Empowerment(Lvl 0)Progression:0%

Supernatural Senses(Lvl 0)Progression:.6%

Lycans Regeneration(Lvl 0)Progression:1.1%

Noah wasn’t too surprised by the exceptionally high stats for a level six creature. He had anticipated such formidable stats, given the werewolf’s resilience against the Zombie King’s attacks and its rampage through the students before he tamed it.

If there was anything that caught his attention, then it would be two aspects that he noticed.

Lycans Blessing-Through the blood of a Lycan, you not only possess regeneration prowess, but your blood is now blessed to remove harmful aliments in your blood. More severe blood loss and toxins require higher constitution and Spirit to overcome.

Noah’s eyes gleamed in realization when he finally realized why Arachne’s venom didn’t work on the big guy. However, his appreciation for the skill was dampened by an unsettling problem, the werewolf’s name.

’No...That name has to go!" Noah inwardly panicked at the thought of being reminded of Lucas every time he called out to the wolf. Although Noah wasn’t the kind of person who would say that a person turned into a zombie is still the person they were before they were turned. That wouldn’t change the fact of Lucas’s name being a toxic reminder of someone he would rather forget. And he would rather give his creature a name that wasn’t based on someone so pitiful.

’Hmm...But what’s a good name?’ Noah pondered as he watched his two creatures at work. He wasn’t sure why, but the werewolf continued to swipe away at zombies despite the low probability of killing its targets. Having said that, when a runner would sometimes come towards it then it would unhesitantly devour it. Noah couldn’t determine if the werewolf was just a picky eater or if there was actually something special about the running zombies.

One thing was certain: the werewolf didn’t appear very intelligent, considering that its past self was once human. Despite the zombies continuing to recover from the werewolf’s powerful blows, not once did it think about changing its form of attack. Noah hoped this could be remedied in the future.

Turning his attention to Arachne, Noah observed her focused assault on the zombies, treating every individual zombie with extreme focus. Ever since their encounter with the zombie horde outside, she learned the quickest and most effective way in dispatching them.

Arachne dominated the battleground, her speed and strength significantly enhanced from before. Using her front two legs as deadly weapons, she targeted the zombies’ heads, easily puncturing through their brains with the increased strength granted by her boosted stats. Her new skill allowed her to anticipate her targets’ future actions, enabling her to land steady, decisive blows as she mindlessly rampaged through the horde.

Noah reflected on how he came up with Arachne’s name and decided to apply the same approach to the werewolf. "Since I based her name on a mythological creature, then maybe I should do the same with him... If that’s the case, then there’s only one name that I can think of, Fenrir."

As an avid reader, Noah found solace in naming his creatures after legends, even if they were only fictional. The sentimental value behind the names mattered more to him than their literal meanings.

Glancing back, Noah noticed Paul was being healed again while Bailey and Blake stood by their side to protect him. But their attention wasn’t solely on protecting Paul; they were also captivated by the havoc unleashed by Noah’s two creatures.

Further in the back, Mark and the others were so engrossed in the spectacle before them that they forgot their initial plans.

Noah was able to achieve what they couldn’t, and he didn’t have to lift a finger.

"Damnit!" Mark’s frustration drove him back into the battle he had initially fled. He couldn’t accept the widening gap between himself and Noah, he was falling further and further behind. At this rate, he wouldn’t even be strong enough to touch Noah’s shadow, his mind was dead set on catching up to Noah, no matter the cost. Jasmine called after him, her voice filled with concern and fear for his impulsiveness, but he didn’t stop, forcing Jas to gather what little courage she had remaining to run after him.

As Mark charged ahead, the others hesitated before deciding to join him. After all, if they fought alongside Noah’s creatures, surely it should be safe for them to engage the zombies right? It sounded like a great plan to them, but they failed to realize a crucial detail.

"I wouldn’t do that if I were you." Even though his voice wasn’t loud, to the people there who couldn’t mistake his voice for anyone else, Noah’s voice carried its own weight.

They all turned to Noah in fear, believing that he was threatening them to stay back. Mark couldn’t take this lying down.

"Or what? You’ll attack us too?" For some reason, Mark wore an odd smirk, leaving Noah puzzled. Noah couldn’t understand the irregular man’s thought process. Since he’s met Mark, his opinion of him has only worsened. Because of that reason, Noah reconsidered his warning.

"Fine, be my guest." Noah shrugged before walking back to the seats, leaving the group dumbfounded. They weren’t sure what that meant, did that mean he wouldn’t attack them, or not?

Conflicted with Noah’s sudden change in behavior, the group became increasingly emotional as they watched the zombie’s numbers dwindle from the efforts of Noah’s creatures. Especially those like Mark and the ones who understood the value of leveling up.

"Wait! I don’t think you should go either!" Bailey intervened, sensing the danger of the situation. She didn’t know what was going through Noah’s head, but from her own experience, she knew it wasn’t wise to interfere.

As she spoke, she felt the weight of their stares, accusing glances silently questioning her motives. Refusing to let their suspicions linger, Bailey pivoted, directing their attention to Paul’s situation.

"This is what happened to Paul when he got between that monster. Without his skill, I’m not sure what would’ve happened to him. Are you still willing to go?" They all looked towards Paul, who was holding his sides while periodically coughing. Blood trailed down his lips, likely from the internal injuries he had suffered.

Everyone saw his condition, but they were also too preoccupied with running away to notice him being thrown into the air. The memory of Paul being trapped in the beast jaws, fighting for his life just to prevent himself from being eaten sent shivers down their spines.

Tangible fear crept into the group, their hearts wavered, their courage dwindled as they glanced to one another for support, only to nervously look away.

"FUCK FUCK FUCK! That bastard is just trying to take everything for himself! I’m sure he even had that beast attack him purposely." Mark’s voice was filled with frustration as he continued to watch Noah’s two creatures decimate the incoming zombies. Each new group of zombies met the same fate: being slammed into the wall by the werewolf, only for Arachne to swiftly dispatch them with a stab to the head. It no longer resembled a fight; it was more like free experience at this point.

That thought left Mark gnashing his teeth. Jasmine saw Mark’s agitation growing and worried he might do something rash, as he often did in moments of anger. She knew she had to intervene before things spiraled out of control.

"Mark...This time we don’t have the right to be angry." She began cautiously, not wanting to further agitate her brother. But before she could elaborate, Mark’s face snapped in her direction, his eyes blazing with anger and astonishment. For the first time, Jas felt genuine fear for her safety from her own sibling.

"What I mean is, he gave us the chance to fight as much as we wanted, he didn’t attack until we started to leave so if anything it would be us stealing from him.." Jasmine rushed to clarify, her voice barely above a whisper, her eyes pleading for understanding as she observed Mark’s face reddening with frustration.

He was angry because she was right, but he felt more aggrieved because that meant Noah didn’t do anything wrong! He didn’t feel right about this at all. ’If it wasn’t for him not helping us in the first place then we could be leveling up to-! What if he planned it that way??’ Mark just thought of a crazy conspiracy, he had no idea that his insane thoughts were actually on the mark. That stupid smirk of his re-emerged as he prepared to tell everyone else his findings, but before he could, his eagerness to do anything was washed away.

First it was the sound in the background or rather the lack of noise. Then he heard the group around them talking amongst themselves.

"It’s over?"

"Wait...So why did we even fight in the first place?"

Not wanting to believe it, Mark slowly turned towards the door. To his surprise, there wasn’t a trace of any zombies coming through the door anymore. His mind went blank before he began to feel defeated, threatening to extinguish his resolve. He almost felt willing to give up confronting Noah about the conspiracy he believed Noah planned against them. That was until he saw the chests began to appear now that the fight was over. The chests filled the gym, making the space appear like a king’s treasury.

The chest gleamed in the dim light, but among the array of bronze and silver chests, there was only one adorned in gold. And that gold chest just happened to be the one Noah was heading for.

"Oh no you don’t!" Without warning, Mark bolted towards Noah, not giving anyone time to react in time.

That didn’t include Noah’s creatures.

Boom!

Arachne, ever vigilant of threats to her master, saw the approaching attacker, the same one who constantly put Noah in a bad mood. Without hesitation, she pounced on Mark, slamming him into the ground while she bared her fangs menacingly towards his face.

"Urgh! Get off me!" Even then, Mark didn’t throw away his arrogance.

"Mark! Noah? Noah! Please don’t hurt him! You know how he gets. There might just be a misunderstanding. Mark? Why did you rush at him?

Jasmine tried to plead on Mark’s behalf. Yet, Arachne remained unmoved, and Noah didn’t intervene unless Mark actually had a good reason. However, he anticipated that Mark’s reason would be as absurd as usual.

"We obviously killed more than he did! Some of the people even died, and you’re asking me why? He’s taking the best chest for himself when that should be ours!" Mark raged, disregarding the gravity of his situation.

Noah shook his head upon hearing the answer. It seemed that the guy always meant well, but he was just absurdly stupid.

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