Becoming a Monster

Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Emergent Threats

With Ailetta now browsing through the shop, Noah sat down just a few feet away from her, making sure to stay between her and the others. He first took a moment to focus on his bond with Fenrir and Arachne to see if there were any irregularities with their emotional states.

Fenrir was apparently excited; what he was excited about, Noah was unsure. However, Arachne’s feelings gave rise to concern. He felt a deep longing within her emotions, a feeling that he could understand. What concerned him was the growing irritation that he sensed beneath her longing.

Without knowing what was happening, Noah could only hope Arachne was being annoyed by Fenrir’s usual antics and nothing else.

”It’s only a little bit longer,” he muttered to himself, trying to reassure himself lest he grew antsy.

While he waited, small zombie cores began to materialize one by one in the palm of his hand until his hand was full. Dazingly, he began to look around the cell, distracting himself while he popped a core into his mouth, then another one after the first was digested.

From the very beginning, when Noah sat down and magically brought out mana cores to eventually eat them, Levi couldn’t take his gaze away. Although Noah had explicitly stated that he would eat the zombies cores, Levi didn’t believe he was consuming them so casually!

Before he knew it, Levi was already walking towards Noah, drawn by his curiosity.

”What is it?” Noah quickly vocalized when he saw Levi approaching. Not only was he in the middle of doing something, but Ailetta was also in a vulnerable position. Despite the recent joyful banter they had exchanged, as long as the opposition was human, he would never let his guard down.

Levi stopped a few steps away, chuckling outwardly to alleviate the tension. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he had momentarily forgotten Noah’s true self. The threat of danger from just Noah’s stare was enough to make Levi understand that the little trust he thought he established was no different than a man believing he was able to befriend a wild beast.

”Are you really eating those? I thought it was just a metaphor or something,” he admitted, purposingly remaining oblivious to Noah’s brief hostility while his eyes remained glued to the diminishing pile in Noah’s hand.

Noah’s vigilant glare soon waned under the question. He nodded, unsure of what to say to add to the conversation as he popped another core into his mouth.

”How else am I supposed to eat them?”

Levi blinked, not prepared for such a direct question. ”Ha...I guess I just didn’t really think about it though.” He chuckled while sitting down on the cold floor opposite Noah, his eyes still eyeing the cores. ”It’s really miraculous, no? A core that small that turns an ordinary person into a zombie in literal minutes and yet you don’t feel a thing?”

Noah paused, taking a moment to look over the core in his hand. ”Well I told you before that I should be considered a zombie...and these things...well, I’m sure you would have the same sensation if you were to eat a human’s core.”

Levi didn’t respond, his eyes vacantly looking towards the ground, absorbed in his own thoughts. If he wanted to upgrade his skills as fast as Noah, he would need cores that were compatible for humans. Levi couldn’t help himself as he looked towards Ailetta. His desires couldn’t stop him from having impulsive thoughts. He quietly admonished himself, realizing his thoughts were heading to dark places from which there would be no going back. His gaze looked past her, focusing on the mysterious entity. Knowing that the shop was the quickest way to achieve results, he couldn’t help wondering how much an orb would cost, and how foolish his past self was.

With that thought in mind, he was about to ask Noah if he knew how much mana cores were priced in the shop, but before he proceeded, his thoughts became blank as he watched Noah bring out an object.

The sight of the object caused Levi to bitterly laugh. ”Of course you would have so many...” he muttered to himself, watching Noah place four out of his five upgrade stones in front of him. Noah hadn’t planned to consume all of his cores in one sitting; he just needed to consume enough to increase the proficiency for the next level.

”Oh? So you were able to get these too? I’m guessing you fought your fair share of evolved zombies then?” Noah asked offhandedly, replenishing his cores with a few the last amount he needed to complete his goal. Levi was quickly growing accustomed to Noah’s weird actions, but he was more focused on the contents of Noah’s question.

”Evolved, huh? I do remember the system briefly mentioning that. How many evolved zombies have you killed exactly?” Levi asked in suspense. Their group has only fought three so far, with each one only capable of being taken down with the help of the three faction leaders coordinating together. It should be an accomplishment to be proud of, surely. However, Levi couldn’t help noticing how nonchalant Noah was in his question; it gave Levi the feeling that Noah had fought just as many, if not more. And even then, he felt that Noah didn’t view the evolved zombies as much of a threat as he and his ”colleagues” did.

Briefly glancing towards Levi’s way, Noah looked to the ceiling while in thought. His eyes seemed to recount the past before he eventually shrugged. ”Just one I guess.”

Hearing the low number, Levi unknowingly released a deep sigh, relieved that Noah truly wasn’t as monstrous as he was led to believe. Mixed within his relief was also a bit of frustration due to the fact that Noah inadvertently downplayed their hard earned achievements. Maybe because Levi was beginning to feel inferior to Noah across all marks that he wanted to rub it in Noah’s face that he had killed more higher leveled monsters than he did. There was a slight smug grin beginning to stretch on his lips, one that even someone who took pride in having countless masks was unable to hold back.

”Well...that’s only when counting the ones that I fought personally. With Fenrir and Arachne, hmmm... I’d say we killed fou-no, five evolved zombies if we include the one I killed by myself, and six evolved creatures overall if I include the bird we fought.” Noah nodded to himself, more satisfied with his memory than he was with his accomplishment.

Meanwhile, Levi’s deadpanned expression couldn’t wash away his deflated self-worth.

”You know what? I think I might hate you...” Levi spoke without even a shred of guilt, nor did he hold a hint of any animosity in his eyes. His vacant gaze felt empty, his tone even more lifeless.

”Eh?” Noah was left speechless. Questionignly, he gave Levi a look over, wondering if Levi was being sarcastic or joking in some weird way that went over his head. But there was nothing for him to learn that didn’t leave him with more questions. Levi’s resigned demeanor felt genuine, but that confused Noah even more. There was nothing that they discussed that should warrant such behavior.

Trying to emphasize with someone was always a chore in Noah’s case. He could put up with Ailetta, but that was different. So in this situation, he decided not to think about it anymore.

Levi probably expected Noah to question him, at the least he felt that Noah would become incited. Instead, Noah shrugged. ”Eh, I guess I’m just a hateable person,’ he said dismissively, popping his last core into his mouth.

Levi blinked, momentarily thrown off once again by Noah’s nonchalance. The ”monster” whose gaze could immediately set him on edge felt like a different being entirely right now. He really wanted to pick apart Noah’s brain, wanting to know the ’real’ Noah. Was it the non-caring persona he was showing now, or...was he just holding himself back because of a certain someone?

For some reason, Levi began to get excited about what Noah would do if something were to happen to Ailetta. He wasn’t always like this, but he was aware that something about himself began to change ever since he obtained his unique skill.

Noah caught Levi’s contemplative gaze but chose not to address it. He had more important things to focus on. Ailetta approached, her face lit with a smile. ”I’m done,” she said, her eyes flickering between the two men before resting her eyes on the upgrade stones. ”Noah? are you about to...”

Ailetta wanted to question Noah’s intentions but before she could, the ground shook with a heavy intensity, causing her to stumble in place. Noah instinctively looked towards the ceiling, although he couldn’t see through objects, the concern for his ’two’ creatures led him to look towards the source of their bond.

Quickly, one of Levi’s followers came into the cell, urgently running to Levi’s side.

”It’s bad, really bad! There’s an army of giant insects outside!” The man shouted despite just being a few feet away from Levi. Subconscious, the man’s attention was attracted to the movement towards his side. He turned to see Ailetta balancing herself, but then he made contact with a pair of piercing eyes. Unlike before, Noah’s gaze was filled with killing intent towards the threat that could potentially harm his creatures. The man just happened to be caught in the crossfire.

The adrenaline pumping through the man’s body instantly dissipated, the intensity of the pressure coming from Noha’s gaze caused him to freeze in place. Levi stood up, quickly intervened, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder, pulling him back slightly. ”Calm down, we need to stay focused.” He then looked at Noah and Ailetta. ”We have to deal with it now. Noah, Ailetta, are you willing to help?”

Noah’s gaze shifted to Levi, his eyes dangerously narrowing, analyzing Levi heavily, believing that Levi was trying to use him just like the others. Without a word, Noah looked towards the upgrade stones, placing his hand over two of them, causing them to shine and dissipate a few seconds later before proceeding to do the same with the last two. The magic show was enough of a distraction for Levi not to rush for Noah’s answer.

Momentairy, Noah closed his eyes, digesting the new changes of his skills. Still without addressing Levi, Noah stood up turning to Ailetta. ”Let’s go,” he spoke bluntly, his mind elsewhere as he tried his best to control his feelings.

Levi didn’t stop Noah from leaving nor did he try to stand in his way. As soon as Noah passed, Levi looked towards his group. ”Well don’t just stand there gawking at me, let’s go.” He ordered impatiently, taking off behind Noah. He wasn’t concerned in the slightest about Noah’s participation. He could tell that Noah was as protective of his creatures just as he was of the girl. Although he should be concerned about the new threat, he was more anxious to finally see Noah in action.