Becoming a Monster

Chapter 3 First Achievement

If Noah had half a sane mind and fear of death as the others then maybe he would do the same but a huge part of him wanted to know. What happens if you kill a zombie?

”Grrwl”

”So even now you guys donʼt even finish your food? Tsk tsk I guess I do look like a better meal donʼt I?” Noah talked to himself as he watched the zombie no longer pay attention to his first meal. It seemed that the more Noah confirmed that what was happening was real, the more he finally felt free and could let himself go.

Whack*

The crisp sound of his wooden bat hitting against the zombies skull echoed in the room. The force of the swing caused the zombie to fall back onto the bed but one blow doesnʼt seem to be enough to finish the job.

”Man that felt good! Iʼve been wanting to do something like this to you three for the longest! Too bad Dom and Logan wonʼt be able t- wait a minute!” Noah almost smacked his head when he thought about one of the most important aspects of zombies. The ability to turn the infected and the dead into more zombies! He looked towards Dom who luckily was in the same position as the zombie but didnʼt observe anything about him yet even with the low observation skill.

ʼWell letʼs just finish you off little Jarred and then maybe Dom will be up for a little bit of fun as well.ʼ

Noah didnʼt waste anymore time as he performed 3 overhead swings onto Jarradʼs skull while a small smile slowly formed on his face and grew the more he felt Jarred skulls being crushed under the weight of his bat. His face soon morphed into a full blown grin when he felt Jarred skull finally give way under his strikes.

Part of Noah was disappointed that it ended so quickly but that disappointment quickly disappeared when he felt a slight pull that felt like it was tugging at the back of his mind. The feeling felt like having a memory that was on the tip of your tongue and would just take some effort to bring up, but he couldnʼt be distracted, at least not now since he finally saw what he was waiting for.

Domʼs ʼdeadʼ body had finally moved!

Whack!*

Hahah! I knew you couldnʼt resist sharing in the fun Dom but donʼt worry I didnʼt forget about you. Noah swung his bat again and again but this time he did so more fiercely. Not only did he aim for Domʼs head but because of the intensity of his swings he often missed and smashed the bat into his upper torso. He didnʼt know how long he swung, Noahʼs mind went blank due to his emotions boiling over. Dom was someone he despised more than Logan who he knew was the main one who told them about his whereabouts.

Everyday he had to see that chubby face that would always smirk at him, truly irritating Noah. For such a suck up Dom seemed to always hold a look of superiority towards Noah even when Logan whom Dom constantly catered to looked at him with a tinge of fear.

It took a few mins after Noah finished up with Dom for him to calm his nerves, it was then he looked up at what heʼs done that he realized he messed up.

”Fuck! What am I going to use now?” He swore towards himself when he noticed the condition of his bat, not bothering about the blood splatters on the wall or on himself entirely. His bat was now entirely broken in half, now that he was sure that zombies could infect others and turn them as well he really felt pressured since his half worn bat didnʼt provide him with comfort.

He needed a plan and he needed one soon, the voice said they could get stronger and he saw in his stats that he could level up so he impatiently wanted to find another weapon quickly so he can level up and get stronger.

Remembering about his level made him want to check if he even received experience for killing the zombies but before he was able to check, the pull from before came again which made him a little annoyed since he had pressing matters going on right now but that didnʼt stop him on focusing on that pull to try to find out what it is, he couldnʼt risk that pull occurring again doing a life threatening situation thatʼs when he heard the voice from earlier when he was able to choose his class.

[Due to achieving the feat of performing your first kill in the allotted time you are granted a skill out of three choices, choose wisely.]

was all the voice said before a series of prompts appeared in his head. Noah wasnʼt given the time to think before the choices appeared In his head similar to his stats panel.

[Feat achieved of killing an enemy within the first 5 minutes, unlocked choices of three unique skills catering to the user.

Lykins awakening- obtain the chance to become an alpha predator of the night. Journey to become a true werewolf, gaining unimaginable strength, speed and perceptual instincts when transforming to your primal form, but while also having more intense emotions. +1 constitution, +1 strength

Birth of the chimera- who you are, what will you become? None of that matters as a chimera. A monstrosity is the only suitable description, gaining the strength and weaknesses of whatever youʼre brave enough to merge with. +1 magic, +1 constitution

Call of the vampire- thirst for power, thirst for blood. Become an apex creature that has an insatiable greed, whether itʼs to be the most charming or powerful, your pride is relentless and so is your will to dominate which grants the vampire incredible mind prowess. +1 agility, +1 spirit]

Noahʼs heart beat intensified uncontrollably when he saw the skill selections. These are the kind of skills protagonists would obtain on their start in his books but then he also remembered that this time others could also achieve great skills as long as they achieved the feat. But Noah was fine with this as well, to be a protagonist meant that you had heavenly luck but at the same time trouble will always follow you.

Before he made his decision, the last three words of the first sentence caught his attention, ʼcatering to the userʼ.

”Does that mean everyone will have three different skills to choose from? And why did I get these three specifically? Itʼs like itʼs forcing me to not be human?” Just the thought of being outcast for being something other than human made him hesitant about choosing but as quickly as he had the thought he quickly made a decision.

”Hell! People treated me like I wasnʼt a human to begin with so why am I hesitating? If Iʼm going to be a monster then I might as well become the best of them.”

[Choice of Birth of Chimera confirmed.]

Just like before, Noah was thrown out from his mind space abruptly and was back in his dorm. It appeared that he was in the space for at least a few mins but with his observation skill yet again taking effect he noticed that the puddle of blood barely moved a few inches from its initial location.

Noah wanted to observe the changes of his new skill but thatʼs when he felt it, the pain, the unimaginable pain. He was prepared for there to be a change in his physique but he wasnʼt prepared for this. He felt his blood churning vigorously and was almost boiling inside him to the point that he felt he was being burned alive causing him to scream miserably. He was used to pain because of all the beatings heʼs had but this couldnʼt compare. Part of him wished he wasnʼt adapted to pain, maybe then he would have fainted already but he was still conscious while the pain only got worse. The blood became so hot that it was dissolving his muscles and then his bones slowly, somehow they were recovering just as fast not letting either gain the edge.

The silver lining of all of this was that the students outside avoided his room in their attempt to escape, even Logan who had ran away earlier but came back after realizing that he left his phone and keys, ran away in fear to the miserable screams of Noah. Due to this he was able to avoid any mishaps of someone opening the door and letting in a zombie or even letting themselves in and they just happened to be infected.

A little over ten minutes passed by, Noah was now on the ground lying in the puddle of blood from the zombies seemingly half dead. He was yet aware of it but as he laid in the zombies blood his mouth hung open without his control while streams of blood would slip into his mouth while he breathed. If he was aware of what was occurring then he would surely attempt to force himself to throw up but at this moment he relished the unknown liquid substance that soothed his throat from the drastic screaming heʼs done.

A few minutes went by since the changes stopped occurring, maybe it was from the change in his body or his anxiousness that he wasnʼt aware of how much time has passed but after finally gaining a sliver of consciousness, he tried to quickly stand which proved to be a small challenge since his changed body wasnʼt something he was used to.

ʼUgh…these classes should at least come with a warning attached, maybe the werewolf wouldʼve been a better idea? Heh, who am I kidding? A chimera sounds as messed up as I am.ʼ Noah talked to himself as he finally gained his bearings. He began to inspect himself to see if he could see any visible changes but that alone caused him to freeze with a tinge of fear. He was aware of the subtle sweet taste that lingered on his lips but so much had happened that he didnʼt pay too much attention to it. Not until he saw the stains of blood covering himself.

”Please tell me this blood is mine….” He pleaded softly after touching his face near his lips to find that half of his face was plastered with blood. Hesitantly he looked towards the ground where he originally laid, his eyes first widened in horror but they then glazed over in helplessness before he soon felt he was losing his sanity.

”Hahahaaaa!” He laughed out loud at the depressing yet comical sight. He realized that the blood he lied in the entire time and also the blood that he was drinking during his transformation was, ironically, the zombieʼs blood of the ones he just killed.

”Of course I would soon die just when I found something to live for!” He cursed his luck, he didnʼt know if he should off himself now so he wouldnʼt become a zombie later or should he let himself turn and let his zombie form go and infect other people out of pettiness.

A few minutes went by as he wallowed in despair, the chaotic noises in the background didnʼt phase him, why would he care if he was gonna die. He didnʼt bother to continue inspecting himself but even if he did he wouldnʼt be able to notice the only change that happened to be his eyes. His iris was now as black as his pupil resembling a dark hole. Soon that annoying feeling came haunting him again, finally gaining his attention, that feeling as if something was tugging at the back of his mind.

”That damn notification! Is it just gonna rub it in my face about being infected? Will it countdown my expiration date as well? Fuck!” He swore out loud with a tone that seemed as if he was on the verge of crying.

​ Reluctantly he closed his eyes and brought up the notification.

ʼYes! Fuck yes!ʼ He cried when he saw what the notification was informing him of.