Becoming a Monster

Chapter 187: Chapter 187: Imagination Becomes Power

Ailetta smirked, her fingers lingering for a moment before pulling back just slightly, still keeping contact with his skin. ”Of course,” she replied, her tone was one of amusement, but her eyes were saying something else as they trailed up to meet him. ”I need to cover ’everything’. How else am I going to understand your changes?

Despite her lust, there was genuine intrigue in her gaze. She couldn’t admit that she became absorbed in her urges, forgetting why she was checking in his body in the first place. But Noah wasn’t going to fall for it; he knew fully well she wasn’t simply conducting ’research’.

”You’re not that convincing, you know that, right?”

His smirk showed that he was playing along, but other than that, Ailetta could tell that she should only go so far. For Noah, there was a time and a place for everything, and as of now, not only were there others around, but his thoughts were still preoccupied with his recent changes.

”You always ruin my fun,” she replied softly, with a hint of a pout. Her gaze still was filled with the curiosity from both, her fascination with his body didn’t dwindle, filled with intrigue now that she was able to process her earlier thoughts. ”But I guess you’re right...There are things we should focus on first...” Her eyes shifted from his face over to his arm made of slime. ”For instance, that can’t be all there is, can it?”

Her eyes flickered with a sense of hesitance; she had a foreboding feeling that she barely did anything for Noah.

Noah followed her gaze to his arm. His fingers twitched before he anticipatingly flexed them. Now that he was refocused on the powers he gained, he couldn’t help smiling as a result.

The moment he squeezed his fist, elongated spikes shot out of his arm that extended and penetrated in the ground. Without retrieving the spikes back into his arm, his entire arm morphed into one giant sword that was twice the length and size of his usual arm. With just a casual swipe, the sword penetrated through the nearby surface, becoming rooted into the concrete after breaching almost half an inch.

Noah’s grin widened as he felt the lack of resistance of the building against his ’arm’. Ailetta, in turn, was also surprised, but it was only a slight shock; what he did just now was something that was possible even with her. Still, she wanted there to be more, and Noah didn’t let her down.

The sword seamlessly reverted back into an arm, a subconscious form that Noah didn’t mind. Suddenly, each of his spider legs started to become coated with the slime, not only enveloping them, but the legs became extended by at least twice their size.

Noah experimented with the legs, the thought of just enveloping his legs with his slime felt like an injustice to what he believed he was capable of. His gaze hardened before he instilled mana into the slime. It wasn’t just the slime that coated his appendages but also his arm and the remaining slime within him that took on a change. The violet energy that continuously swirled within the gelatin substance began to pulsate; each pulse was slow and steady, but the violet energy within glowed ominously each time.

Noah could feel the change immediately. Although he had only inputted only a bit of his mana, he still couldn’t help marveling at how his appendages felt even stronger than before. Each appendage then stabbed into the ground with a swift motion, uplifting Noah into the air. With only a mental thought, the legs extended further, lifting him nearly twenty feet in the air, halting the moment he reached a certain distance, letting him know that there was a limit to how far they could extend.

As he looked down, he could see all his creatures now staring up at his figure. Fenrir was the most surprised of them all. The ever attention seeking canine rose on his hind legs, bringing his towering figure to almost reach the bottom of Noah’s feet as he struggled to lick him.

Fenrir’s antics almost ruined the moment. Noah couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Fenrir acting like an overgrown pup desperate for attention. The playful canine’s excitement reminded Noah of a puppy eager to play, sparking an idea.

Emboldened by his thoughts, Noah focused on his spider legs, which were still embedded in the ground. Each leg began to generate new appendages, weaving and intertwining with incredible speed. The appendages shot out in all directions, creating a network of silk-like strands that quickly enveloped everyone within a twenty-meter radius.

It wasn’t just one appendage per leg; at least five shot forth from each, rapidly interlocking and forming a sturdy cage around them.

Thinking it was a game; Fenrir ran towards the nearest ’bar’ eager to take a bite out of it. With a playful growl, he took a leap and bit down, producing a loud ding as his powerful jaws made contact. To Noah’s surprise, the webbing held up momentarily before cracking with a resounding snap, splintering under Fenrir’s forceful bite.

The triumph in Fenrir’s eyes was unmistakable, a glint of mischief shining through as he scanned for his next target. Without missing a beat, he bounded toward another section of the cage, his tail wagging furiously, clearly enjoying this unexpected challenge.

”What am I going to do with you?” Noah muttered exasperatedly, retracting all the slime back into his main legs before Fenrir could destroy the cage entirely.

He watched as the last remnants of the gelatinous substance slithered back into his limbs, while Fenrir let out a disgruntled huff, clearly disappointed that the game had ended so abruptly.

Noah felt a pang of regret for not taking the chance to challenge Fenrir in their playful contest. It would have been the perfect opportunity to experiment with the durability of his slime, especially after he had infused it with a higher dose of mana. He could have gauged its limits and resilience against a creature as powerful as Fenrir, but he had let the moment slip away.

Yet, the pile of cores they had gathered was more pressing. He needed all of his mana to ensure that he was able to properly process and prepare them.

As he receded back towards the ground, Ailetta sighed with a sense of relief. With Noah’s display, she at least believed that the genes provided him with a better opportunity to improve his growth.

”Why do you look like I’m done, Le? I still have one more skill to show you.” Noah peered down into his hand, with the others distracted to where he was looking, no one paid attention to the movement behind his unique eyes’ lid. That was when they picked up on something moving down his arm that quickly reached the back of his hand. The suspense was soon settled the moment the layer of his hand opened to reveal a large eye submerge itself from within. The eye creepily gazed around its surroundings, an eye that contained a brightly glaring red pupil.

For a moment, Ailetta believed Noah had gained the same empowering ability that allowed her to split the sentient entities within her body and control the dead. But unlike her, who was composed of a legion of slimes, Noah’s slime lacked the sentience that defined hers; a realization that would soon become apparent.

The eye was just the start. With a mere thought, Noah severed his hand from his wrist, letting it fall to the ground with a dull thud. As soon as his hand impacted the earth, the slime began to twist and coil, gathering itself together as it formed into a shape that was barely half a foot tall.

The little slime, now resembling a crude mannequin, had an unsettling presence despite its small size. Its body was smooth and featureless, with arms and legs that ended in rounded stubs, devoid of fingers or toes. The most striking detail was the singular eerie eye situated in the center of its face, staring forward with an unnatural, unblinking focus. Other than that, the slime had no nose, mouth, or ears, just a blank, smooth surface where human features would typically be.

Ailetta tilted her head, studying the strange creature with fascination. ”It’s like a little golem,” she mused, noticing that the small slime lacked the fluid movement of what a sentient creature would have. She knelt down, reaching out but stopped short of touching it. ”But....what can this little guy do?”

The little slime stood motionless for a moment. Then with a mere thought from Noah, it raised one of its stubby arms in a stiff, mechanical motion. Though its form lacked refinement, it was clear that the creature responds instantly to Noah’s commands.

Its actions lacked the appeal that Ailetta was hoping for, but in that one moment she let her guard down. The creature’s arm sharpened into the shape of a small dagger that poked at her gelatin skin. The pointed end only brushed against her hand before Noah willed the creature to disassemble, dissolving back into a pool of slime that slithered onto the ground towards him.

”It’s not about what he ’can’ do. As long as I have mana, the better question is: what can it not do?”