Becoming a Monster-Chapter 63: Finally Using his New Skills

The group had to take this time to discuss their options, but when it came time to choose a side, divisions quickly emerged, and the arguments grew more intense than expected. The majority of the students, driven by fear and a desire for safety, argued to stay.

However, these individuals were solely focused on their own feelings and safety, failing to consider the implications of their decision. They didn’t realize that if they chose to stay, those who wished to leave would be forced to protect them, or that help might arrive later than predicted, or not at all.

Meanwhile, Noah took advantage of the distraction to advance towards the northern campus gate. With the cafeteria at the center of the campus and the dorms situated around the same distance from the gates, he had just over a mile to walk to reach his destination. However, he still needed to pass by the library and the campus center to reach the main parking lot.

Noah proceeded forward cautiously, his senses alert to the dense clusters of trees situated among the buildings. While these natural spaces were designed to provide a soothing outdoor environment for the students, Noah remained wary of the threat that could be hidden within.

The area was surprisingly quiet as Noah made his way along the side of the library. He wasn’t accustomed to the eerie silence; he had expected to hear screams or the sounds of fighting. However, it seemed that if there were any students still present, they were in hiding like everyone else.

"Hm?" Noah halted when he noticed Arachne freeze and turn toward one of the windows. Following her gaze, he saw a few heads poking out from within the building, observing him. They must not have liked what they saw because as soon as Noah turned and made eye contact, he could see instant fear in their eyes before they quickly ducked out of view.

Shaking his head, the scene caused Noah to chuckle to himself out loud. ’I guess that’s better than trying to attack me, but why are they getting scared all of a sudden now.’ He mused to himself, a wry smile playing at the corners of his lips, his eyes then playfully shifted over to his creatures.

"I think you’re scaring everyone." Noah said, Arachne hissed proudly, her posture reflecting a sense of satisfaction at the fear she instilled in others.

She turned to face the food behind the glass, reenacting her threatening posture to further secure her dominant appearance.

Beside her, Fenrir shifted, his actions peculiar to their current discussion. His muscles tensed as he prepared himself up for action. With a low growl, the wolf bared its fangs, the menacing display punctuated by the deep rumble that emanated from his throat. The vibration of his snarl echoed like the revving of a car engine.

At first, Noah dismissed it as Fenrir’s weird way of reacting to what he said. However, he noticed that soon after Fenrir began to growl, Arachne became alert too. She was no longer looking towards the students in the building, making him aware that their heightened senses were picking up on something else.

Noah raised his guard alongside his creatures, scanning the area to see what had caught their attention. Then, he spotted it: a creature crawling down the trunk of a nearby tree. As it reached the ground, its long body remained partially obscured by the grass, but its movements betrayed its presence. The creature was unnaturally elongated, easily exceeding 10 feet in length.

Noah’s initial assessment of the approaching creature as a mutated snake quickly dissolved as he honed in his enhanced vision. With a focused concentration, he activated his second set of pupils, finely attuned to spotting distant details, and scrutinized the oncoming entity.

As the creature drew nearer, its form became clearer, and Noah’s suspicions were confirmed, it bore no resemblance to a serpent. Instead, it resembled some sort of insect, its segmented form darting with alarming speed toward them. freёweɓnovel_com

Without hesitation, Arachne sprang into action, lunging toward what she assumed was the creature’s head, aiming to sink her fangs into it.

"!"

Suddenly, when her fangs were injected into the creature, the rest of the creature’s body moved with astonishing speed, attempting to wrap itself around her.

Noah was taken aback by the sudden aggression of the creature. As he observed the creature’s body entangling Arachne, he noticed the numerous legs protruding from its segmented body. Though he couldn’t count them, he knew that the creature’s name ended with "-pede."

With only one thought in mind, Noah resolved to deal with the creature as he had dealt with everything else lately: by targeting its head. ’Destroy the head, and it should stop moving,’ he thought grimly.

With his sword in hand, Noah knew he needed more strength to properly swing it if he wanted to cleanly cut off the insect’s head. So, he decided to utilize one of his new abilities.

’Equivalent Exchange’

Targeting Fenrir, the only suitable option at the time, Noah activated the ability to gain ten percent of Fenrir’s strength, boosting his own by a little over five. Though it wasn’t a significant increase, it was enough to allow him to wield the sword effectively.

Swoosh!

With just one swing of the sword, Noah was able to sever the insect’s head from its body. Initially feeling relieved, he was once again taken aback when he saw the insect’s body continue to move. Unsure if this was merely a reflex action or if the creature had somehow found a way to survive without its head after its mutation, either way, Noah remained on guard.

Noah’s eyes quickly snapped to the insect’s severed head, and without hesitation, he began to repeatedly stab it until the body ceased its movements.

It was indeed an anticlimactic battle, yet it served as a stark reminder to Noah, whose recent encounters had primarily been with zombies, that he couldn’t afford to let his guard down when it came to the dangers posed by wildlife.

After ensuring that the creature was truly dead, Noah walked over to Arachne to help her remove the insect’s corpse from the rest of her body.

"Don’t depend on your venom so much next time. That’s why the thing was able to get the jump on you like this. You’re strong even when you don’t use it," he sincerely advised her.

Knock knock*

They were about to move on when Noah heard a sound knocking on glass, recalling the people from before, he could already figure out who it was.

Despite the curious gazes from the people watching him from the library, he focused on the chest that had just dropped, surprised by the quality of the chest that was of silver grade.

’Was that bug really that much of a threat?’ He thought, since the way he typically determined the value of a chest was by the quantity and quality of what he defeated. The bug didn’t seem as dangerous as what the chest indicated, causing him to doubt if the chest dropped according to his original expectations.

’No...I’m sure it must’ve been poisonous as well. With the way it quickly wrapped around Arachne in its last attempt, it would be impossible to beat it without sufficient stats.’

After pondering over the issue, he quickly opened the chest, deciding to forgo his usual ritual for chests of gold or higher. Inside, he found a small amount of gold, which didn’t surprise him. Alongside it was a sturdy bracer made from what appeared to be insect shell.

’First the replica of that king zombie’s sword, and now this...Is it a coincidence that I get drops related to what I kill now?

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he swiftly equipped the bracer to his dominant right arm before examining the final item. It was a whip adorned with numerous tiny spikes, resembling the body of the insect he had just slain. Though impressive in its own right, Noah wasn’t particularly interested in such a weapon.

’Well at least I still got something out of it.’ Noah muttered, linking the bracer onto his arm. He nodded in satisfaction at its aesthetic before turning to depart.

"Wa-wait!"

As he continued walking, Noah soon heard a window slide open and voices shouting to him, but he remained indifferent. Thankfully, as he put some distance between himself and the building, he noticed that they didn’t leap out the window to pursue him.

Approaching the end of the structure, he anticipated a small clearing ahead, followed by the administration center, before reaching the main entrance parking lot to make his exit.

Boom!

"Hey! Come back! Those things are over there!"

Someone yelled after bursting through the side door, it was a clearly different voice than before.

This time Noah glanced over to the voice, he could see that the person was actually worried and afraid for him, yet this caused Noah to shake his head. Noah felt the intention was good, but the way he went about it may have cost him his life if he was someone else.

"Grreewwr!"

And right on cue, the unmistakable sounds of zombies sounded from the other side. From the sound of feet quickly approaching, Noah discerned that many of them were runners this time.

Thud thud thud!*

Mixed in with the sound of footsteps was the ominous thud of something heavy in the distance. Amongst them, Noah distinguished the sound of steps moving much faster than the rest, steps that were much faster than compared to the usual runners he was accustomed to.

"Everyone grab your weapons, we have to help him!" The voice from earlier sounded behind him.

Just as quickly as Noah heard the footsteps, he immediately saw two zombies rounding past the corner first. They no longer were running like the zombies before, limbs pumping with the precision of seasoned athletes. Their arms swung in perfect synchronization with their legs, a stark contrast to their typical Frankenstein runner counterparts. Judging from their speed, Noah estimated their agility to be close to 40, far surpassing any he had encountered thus far.

It seemed gender didn’t matter at all when it came to the zombies physique, the two were both male and female, but they were almost identical in speed.

Arachne, eager to redeem herself after the earlier encounter with the insect, prepared to attack. However, before she could strike, Noah stepped in front of her.

With a resolute gaze, Noah stood his ground, sensing that this would be the perfect opportunity to test out his newfound skill. If the skill worked as he believed it was intended to, he would have no fear facing zombies in numbers.

There was no clear way to activate the skill, so Noah decided to trust his instincts. With a narrowed gaze, he focused all his attention on the two zombies closing in on him rapidly. With each step the zombies took, Noah’s senses heightened, feeling a subtle connection with the mindless beings that he never encountered before; a connection built on power, a power built on the hierarchy of their blood. They had just approached a few meters away from him before.....

"Stop!"

His tone, though cold, carried a sense of danger that resonated with the people coming from the library. Instinctively they stopped as well. Not because the skill was affecting them, it was because of the surprising action of the zombies following Noah’s command.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel