Becoming a Monster-Chapter 57: Here we go again

"Did it work for me too?"

[You consumed the mana source of a compatible species, magic and skills pertaining to comparable race is increased. Due to the title ’The Fallen’ you have acquired an affinity to mana and extracted the full amount of mana to increase your magic source.]

[Consumed mana core has replenished your mana reserves by ten.]

[You have reached the limit of the effectiveness the current zero tier mana stones have on your mana. Mana obtained from current mana stones are reduced by 90 percent of their original effectiveness.]

Player: Noah

Race:Human Chimera

Class: monster tamer

Gold: 2616->3056

Lvl: 9

Exp:46/6400->507/6400

Health:49%->50%

Stamina:16%->29%

Mana: 12/96->25/106

Attributes

Defense: 25

Strength:28(31) {9}+5

Agility:40(44) {13}+7

Constitution:63(69) {20}+10

Stamina:38(41) {12}+5

Magic: 48(53)

Spirit:75(101)

Attributes ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Unassigned Points: 0

Skills

Active

Monster taming(lvl 0)progression:75%

Killing instinct (lvl 0) progression:100%

Decree of Equivalent Exchange (lvl 0) progression: 0%

Undead Webbing(Lvl 0)1.9%->6.2%

Passive

Rodeleros(lvl 0) progression: .6%

Soul cage(lvl 0) progression: .76%

Stamina regeneration (lvl 0) progression:100%

Immortal body (lvl 1) progression: .7%

Budding feeder (lvl 0) progression: 100%

Subservient Hierarchy (lvl 0) progression: 0%

Genetic Synergy(lvl 0) progression:50%

Taming proficiency(lvl 0)N/A

Unity through pain(lvl 0)N/A

Spiders Alertness(Lvl 0)3.7%->9.4%

Sensory Spines(Lvl 0): 2.5%-8.3%

Titles

The Fallen, Subjugator, Insatiable Hunter

It was impossible for Noah not to notice the information about his mana being replenished. With most of his abilities relying on his mana,

"Is that real? A ninety percent decrease" Noah’s mood soured as his ambitious expectations were quickly shut down. ’And here I thought I found a cheat to increase my strength yet ag-’

His thoughts froze as his eyes continued to drift down towards his skills progression levels. He wasn’t sure of the exact numerical increase, but it had to be at least a five percent increase, and that was just accounting for one pearl! Intuitively, he couldn’t help but wonder how much of an increase Arachne gained after eating seven by now. When he thought about it, he still had to allocate her five points since she leveled up.

[Player: Arachne

Race: Jumping Spider

Class: Arachnid

Lvl: 7>8

Exp:973/1600->57/3200

Health:67%->65%

Stamina:62%->58%

Mana: 16/16> 22/22

Attributes

Strength:32>34(35)

Agility:54->58

Constitution:26>29

Stamina:34>37

Magic: 8>11

Spirit:29>31

Unassigned Points: 5

Skills

Active

Paralysis Venom(Lvl 0):progression-5.2%->42.8%

Cursed Silk(Lvl 0):progression-1.9%->37.4%

Passive

Spider Sense(Lvl 0)]:progression-6.8%->44.2%

Caught in the eyes of the spider(Lvl 0)]:progression-N/A]

Noah’s eyes shined with excitement as he noticed the significant growth in Arachne’s skills and mana. Each subtle improvement filled him with a sense of accomplishment, however, his mood flickered when he recalled the spiders that fled; he really wanted to exterminate them all.

"Tsk...we might really have to wait to go looking for them again. Shop first, and then we can always come back." In frustration, he mindlessly snapped off one of the dead spider’s legs and started to chew on it. It was an odd behavior, even for him, but it felt strangely natural.

"Arachne, finish up with the last two so we can get going." He urged, though she didn’t need the reminder. Whether she found the pearls tasty or instinctively knew they were good for her, she was already busying herself with the last spider. Noah seized the moment to enhance her strength using the five points she had earned, pushing it up to 39.

When he increased her stats his eyes wandered over to Fenrir who was casually stuffing the spiders that no longer had cores into his mouth, swallowing them whole without even attempting to chew.

"Hey! At least chew! You’re making Arachne look good!" Noah sighed inwardly, knowing he shouldn’t be surprised when Fenrir was still considered a zombie. All they knew how to do was eat.

’Hmph! He doesn’t know how to enjoy a meal, don’t compare him to me!’ Arachne chimed in, having finished finding all the pearls.

Luckily, Fenrir hadn’t developed conscious thinking yet, sparing Noah from an argument. Before he forgot, Noah took the time to go over Fenrir’s stats and spend his points.

[Player: Fenrir

Race: Werewolf

Class: Lycan

Lvl: 7

Exp:104/800->291/1600

Health:78->80%

Stamina:77%->75?

Mana: 10

Attributes

Strength:42->45(46)

Agility:38->41

Constitution:59>64

Stamina:38>40

Magic:5

Spirit:36->38

Unassigned Points: 5

Skills

Active

Passive

Lycans Blessing(Lvl 0)Progression:N/A

Lunar Empowerment(Lvl 0)Progression:0%

Supernatural Senses(Lvl 0)Progression: 0.6%>0.9%

Lycans Regeneration(Lvl 0)Progression:1.1%>1.3%

"Wait a minute... Will everyone with a unique skill transform into zombies with these kinds of stats when they get infected?" Imaginary sweat trickled down Noah’s face. He’d met many people with unique skills so far, and they were just college students! What about soldiers and other trained professionals? Surely they would have their fair share of unique skill holders. But could they bring themselves to harm someone they were meant to protect?

"If anything, they would try to detain them first... Sigh! I was hoping that maybe I could get more OP zombies."

Noah’s thoughts circled back to his creatures stats one last time. Fenrir was so close to gaining a perk; he couldn’t miss this chance to allow Fenrir to obtain another skill as he added the rest of his stats to strength. Almost immediately, a notification caught his attention.

[Your tamed creature, Fenrir, has achieved the first limits of 50 stats in strength, perk based on class Lycan obtained; ’Becoming deadly weapons’]

Passive-Becoming Deadly weapons: A Lycan’s claws and teeth were always to be feared. But what if these natural weapons could be enhanced? With the obtained skill, the sharpness and toughness of your teeth and claws have been improved. Further enhancements will occur as the skill levels up.]

"...Well, it sounds good, but I don’t know how good the changes are. I didn’t exactly test out its claws before this happened... I’ll have to keep an eye on it as it levels up."

"Now we can go." Noah glanced at his two creatures before leading the way to the cafeteria. It didn’t take long for the group to reach their destination, and Noah wasn’t surprised by what they found.

The sight of the cafeteria’s exterior confirmed his suspicions. The area was littered with zombie corpses, alongside the carcasses of giant beetles the size of full-grown golden retrievers.

As they approached the entrance, Noah noticed the broken door and the makeshift barricade of tables and other items stacked in its place. History seemed to be repeating itself, prompting Noah to change his plans and make a detour to the window he had used before.

Noah was about to jump through the window when he had a realization and turned around. He glanced at the oversized werewolf following behind him on all fours, even though it could walk on two legs.

With a sigh, Noah abandoned his initial plan; deciding that leaping through the window with Fenrir in tow would be impractical, unless he intended to demolish the entire wall.. He was forced to resort to an old skill he had almost forgotten about.

"Ok, big guy, seems like you’ll have to go inside for a while," Noah said as he motioned to place his hand atop Fenrir’s massive head.

Fenrir didn’t show any signs of rejection as he responded immediately, lowering his head to the same height as Noah to make it easier for his master to perform the skill. Noah then proceeded to make contact with Fenrir’s head before closing his eyes and activating the soul cage skill. He didn’t have to close his eyes, but doing so made it easier for him to focus.

Last time he attempted this with Arachne, the process took longer than anticipated and was uncomfortably intense, but this time was different. As Noah fully connected his souls to Fenrir, he mentally exclaimed, ’Oh!’ Fenrir didn’t resist in the slightest, even when Noah brought his soul into his own. However, the process was going too smoothly, and Noah knew that the next stage, finding a place within his body for Fenrir’s soul to reside, would take time.

As Noah waited for Fenrir to move, he noticed that the werewolf remained still. Uncertain of how to proceed, Noah hesitated, considering whether to guide Fenrir himself. But as he reached out, intending to direct Fenrir to his back, he was met with an unexpected sensation he felt a presence there that shouldn’t have been.

’! How is she here if she’s out there...?’ Noah thought, beyond surprised to feel Arachne’s soul originating from his back. He pushed aside his questions for later and focused on the task at hand. If he couldn’t use that spot for Fenrir, he would guide him somewhere else.

"Since you aren’t picky like a certain someone, we’ll go for the arm," Noah decided, quickly securing the wolf’s location. Doubt crept in as Noah wondered if he was using the same skill as before, or if the ease of the process was due to his previous experience with Arachne.

As the skill completed, Noah’s vision returned to find only himself and Arachne standing by the window. He had never been able to check his back during the skill’s activation before, but with Fenrir now on his arm, he felt a nagging urge to inspect for any changes. Yet, his gear obstructed his view, leaving him frustrated and unsettled.

"Fine, whatever, it’s not like I wanted to see it anyway." Noah muttered, masking his disappointment as he shifted his focus back to the window. He made sure to allow Arachne to go in first. His stats were abysmal compared to what they were before, an annoyance that he wished would be corrected soon, but it served as a heavy reminder to strive for greater power.

As they walked into the room, Noah noticed that the dog from earlier was now covered in a sheet, likely an attempt to mask the scent of death that could attract unwanted attention.

The two continued to make their way through the room and into the hallway. Even in the dim lighting, Noah could make out the closed doors leading into the lobby. He hoped they weren’t barricaded like the previous one.

Upon reaching the door, Arachne made way for him to open it, but before he reached the handle, he could already make out voices on the other side. Judging from the sounds, there were a lot of people on the other side.

Bracing himself for another potential conflict, Noah cautiously pushed the door open.

"Hey! Everyone, the door, look!"

"Someone go get Neal!" A voice from the other side echoed through the door, followed by an abrupt silence.

Noah could sense the tension mounting on the other side, a sign that they were alert and prepared. It was good that the people were vigilant, that at least meant that people were adapting, however now he couldn’t allow Arachne to go in first. The thought caused a smirk to appear on his face over the irony, his appearance wasn’t any better. Bloody, while wielding a giant eerie bone sword and sporting multiple pupils?

’Maybe Arachne would have less of an impact on them then me?’ He joked to himself before stepping through the door, bracing himself for the reactions of those inside..

"Mon-Monster?"

"Archers prepare your bows! Don’t worry about wasting any; they are really cheap in the shop."

"D-do you think this one will be easier than the giant-"

"! There’s a giant spider behind it too! It’s a lot bigger than the others. Hurry up and get Neal and his group! What’s taking so long?" The people continued to go into a frenzy.

Noah didn’t blame them for their growing hysteria, although it was quite annoying. However, the situation became even more chaotic when Arachne positioned herself in front of him, ready to defend her master from the vast amount of prey.

He didn’t know where this huge group of people came from. They certainly weren’t with Mark’s group; otherwise they would’ve brought them when they came to the gym.

As the name Neal echoed in Noah’s mind like an alarm, he hoped it wasn’t the same person he was thinking of, someone he preferred to avoid just as much as Regina.

Noah’s gaze constantly roamed between everyone wielding a weapon against him. There were at least thirty fighters in the lobby alone, and he could make out more people within the cafeteria itself. It was uncertain if the people in there were capable of fighting.

Deciding to wait for Neal’s arrival, Noah also used the chance to channel his soul skill, just in case he needed to bring out the big guy.

Bam!

Suddenly, the sound of doors swinging open on the second floor caught his attention, signaling the arrival of a few figures rushing down.

Noah’s expression darkened as he recognized the familiar faces among the group. ’It just had to be them...’ The first person who grabbed his attention, for the wrong reasons, was none other than Regina. He had hoped she died in the wave of zombies at the gym, but apparently she had managed to flee all the way here.

Even though he despised her, she wasn’t the main priority right now. It was the manipulator standing next to her and the group of armed people at his sides.

Neal possessed an uncanny charm that made him popular among their peers. If someone were to ask who was the most popular guy in the school, then 90 percent of them would say Neal. To the public, he was a saint, but to Noah and the people who suffered under him, he was no different than a snake playing the devil’s advocate. He could convince others of his innocence even when his hands were stained with blood. No one would be the wiser since he was already viewed in such high esteem.

With his vision, Noah could make out a small and almost unnoticeable smirk on Neals face before he put on a "mask" to address the issue at hand. Noah could already tell that Neal was aware of who he was, most likely informed by Regina no less.

Noah was unsure what sort of play Neal would put on this time, but he was mistaken if he thought it would go the way it used to.

As of now, it doesn’t matter what everyone else thought. Neal could convince them that Noah murdered their families. But what could they do about it if he did?

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