Becoming a Monster-Chapter 88: Fenrir’s changes

The self-ridicule lifted the once-gloomy emotional atmosphere between Noah and Ailetta, eliciting a quirky giggle from Ailetta as she tried to wipe away her earlier tears.

As Noah and Ailetta reconciled with each other, the onlookers couldn’t hear the exact words exchanged, except for the brief moments of yelling. However, one thing was for certain: there were mixed reactions among them.

Some were happy for their own reasons, relieved that the tension seemed to have dissipated. Others, however, grew annoyed at the length of time the two were taking to sort things out, especially while they stood in such a dangerous area.

Meanwhile, a few observers couldn’t help but feel creeped out or uneasy at the sight of the emotional exchange between Noah and Ailetta.

"Those two were an item all this time?? Does that mean he’s coming with us now?" one person questioned, eyebrows raised in surprise.

Another voice, dripping with disdain, muttered, "He eats dead things and she controls dead things, those two freaks deserve each other." Another muttered disdainfully.

"I hope the two work out, I’ll feel much safer if he were to join us."

But not everyone was so accepting. "Eeew...is she really gonna date that thing? How can anyone sane want to be with him? He still has the blood around his mouth! I bet he was eating zombies again! Disgusting!"

"Shut it before he hears you! She probably thinks the same thing..."

"Tsk! I should’ve got to him first..."

"Woah, Lily, even you?" someone exclaimed, clearly surprised by Lily’s nonchalant attitude.

Lily shrugged, unfazed by the reactions. "Hey, who cares what’s wrong with him when he can protect us better than anyone else here?"

Even though everyone had a different opinion, the discussion was centered around Noah and Ailetta. Even whispers carried across the crowd, making it hard for them not to be heard.

The earlier warm atmosphere between Noah and Ailetta vanished quickly when Noah heard some of the more disturbing conversations. He released his hand from Ailetta’s hold, his expression hardening as his eyes scanned the group of students before him, focusing on the voices that had spoken the most disturbing remarks about them.

"Don’t worry about them, this is nothing compared to what you are used to right?" Ailetta attempted to pacify him, but she wasn’t aware of Noah’s true thoughts.

"It’s not that, I just want to make sure I remember who they are," Noah said softly as he made his way back by towards Arachne’s cocoon, leaving the rest of what he wanted to say to himself. Ailetta frowned in worry, unsure of what to do or if she should do anything at all. ’I was finally able to hold his hand, and they ruined it!’ she screamed inwardly as she made her way towards Jasmine and the rest who were waiting in anticipation to hear the good news. She wasn’t greedy for all of Noah’s attention; she knew Noah better than he thinks she does, and because of that, it was better to take things slow. She would have more time with him later; she wasn’t in a rush.

Meanwhile, after Noah made it towards Arachne, he remembered that someone was missing all this time. His head spun first towards the "miniature" ants’ carcasses, thinking that Fenrir still hadn’t had enough. Turning around, he fully expected to see a giant wolf munching down ants, but to his surprise and worry, he didn’t spot anything resembling his wolf.

’Sigh, where did he go this time? I feel like he’s becoming more and more of a handful since before...’ Noah was prepared to yell out for him, but decided against it. After exerting himself emotionally, he wasn’t in the mood to attract anything. Knowing he was left with another option, he closed his eyes, seemingly in a trance as he tried to focus everything on the feeling of his bond.

He could feel the excited feelings of Arachne, who was probably dreaming about her new changes. Then, he noticed something unexpected: he could actually sense vaguely the direction she was in. When he felt the feelings of Fenrir, he initially brushed it off as his imagination, but the emotions Fenrir was displaying were almost exactly similar to Arachne’s, and he could vaguely feel his presence as he turned with his eyes still closed.

Opening his eyes, Noah felt dumbfounded. Instead of finding Fenrir’s location, he felt the familiar prodding sensation that signified a notification. A lightbulb went off as he had an inkling of what was happening, but it was soon followed by a feeling of disbelief.

"Don’t tell me...." He closed his eyes once again to confirm his thoughts.

[Fenrir has chosen to undergo his transformation to evolve into ’Demented Werebeast’.]

Even though deep down Noah was expecting it, confirming that he was right was a different matter altogether.

’What is it with these two deciding to evolve all on their own? I thought I got to choose?’ Noah felt a surge of annoyance, but that didn’t solve the question of where Fenrir was. He remembered that the last time he saw him was close to Arachne, which just so happened to be right next to the dorm where they had occupied themselves long enough for Noah to advance his class.

He had nothing else to go on, just the vague feeling from earlier. And sure enough, as soon as he walked through what should’ve held a door, he could already hear the sound of loud breathing coming from within. When he peered inside, he had to squint to fully verify what he was seeing.

Fenrir was lying in what appeared to be a nest of fur—’his’ fur—but Noah could see that Fenrir was clearly still covered in it. The sight was puzzling. He took a cautious step closer, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. The nest of fur looked almost too meticulously arranged to be accidental, and the rhythmic rise and fall of Fenrir’s massive chest suggested a deeper significance to the scene.

The breathing grew louder the closer Noah got, and with each step, he noticed more and more changes happening to the werewolf.

While standing, Fenrir was close to 10 feet tall, half of that when on all fours and close to 3 feet when lying down. However, the Fenrir he was observing was clearly larger than before by at least two feet!

That wasn’t the only change he noticed. The dark grey mane that once ran down Fenrir’s back had transformed into a striking silver. Parts of his belly were now exposed, revealing abs of steel and the chiseled pecs that were half-covered in fur. Most astonishing were the dark purple veins protruding from Fenrir’s body, visible where the fur didn’t cover. These veins highlighted Fenrir’s zombie semblance, a physical manifestation of his connection to his master.

Noah marveled at the transformation, having half a mind to strip down to check if he had developed a sculpted body like Fenrir, but he withheld the urge. He continued to make his way around Fenrir, observing the changes. Soon, he came upon Fenrir’s paws, which had grown along with his body. It was hard for him not to notice the growth when he saw that Fenrir’s arm was undergoing the same transformation as its torso. Bulging biceps and muscular forearms with protruding veins caught Noah’s eye, causing him to twitch involuntarily as he grabbed Fenrir’s biceps and gave them a squeeze.

"Are you evolving into a werewolf or a bodybuilder?" he asked out loud, nervous at the thought of a nearly hairless wolf, filled with muscle, flexing all over the place. Unconsciously, he shook his head to rid himself of those dreadful thoughts before turning his attention back to Fenrir’s paws, which had initially caught his attention.

He walked over and tried to lift one of Fenrir’s paws, now noticeably larger. The paw was closer in size to that of the giant zombie, despite the zombie being significantly larger than Fenrir. Noah couldn’t help but gulp as he imagined someone being caught in Fenrir’s grip. The sheer power in those paws was both awe-inspiring and terrifying, a reminder of the incredible strength Fenrir now possessed.

"Ouch!"

Noah suddenly dropped Fenrir’s paw without any prior warning. He had been curiously inspecting Fenrir’s claws, which were the same silver color as his mane. Lost in his examination, he hadn’t noticed that the pressure he used to hold Fenrir’s claws caused Fenrir’s own claws to flex, cutting through his arm and the armor in the process.

There was a deep gash in his forearm that began to leak purple blood as he applied pressure. "Sssss! His claws are sharper than my sword!" He winced at the pain and glanced down towards his wound to ensure it wasn’t near his wrist, allowing him to breathe out in relief. Though shocked by Fenrir’s claws tearing through his armor so easily, he was more alarmed by a startling discovery that caught his attention, one more alarming than even his own transformation.

Noah’s eyes widened in astonishment when he noticed the area around his wound begin to fester, while a purple liquid, more vivid and brighter than his blood, slowly seeped out amidst the violet flow. A feeling of dread entered Noah’s heart as he began to suspect the vicious liquid, scrutinizing it while trying to glean from the memory of Fenrir’s class what the liquid signified. As he reviewed the first line described in Fenrir’s class, Noah’s eyes constricted even more.

"Motherfucker!" Noah lashed out, unable to hold his shock. Just to be sure of his thoughts, he looked towards Fenrir’s paws again, more specifically, the tips of his claws. What he saw left him mortified. A light violet hue inlaid the tips of Fenrir’s claws, maybe because he was just scratched, but Fenrir’s claws subtly still released a few drops of liquid forming at its ends.

"Am I infected?" Noah muttered with deep concern, his gaze fixed on the infected wound, watching as his already purple veins darkened further around the initial injury. Helplessly, he waited, his heart pounding with apprehension, as the advancement of the "venom" in his arm seemed to come to a halt. Noah remained in suspense, unsure of what action to take as he continued to observe the progress of the "venom".

Gradually, Noah noticed the receding of the infection, the "venom" slowly seeping out from the gash, a sigh of relief escaping his lips.

"Phew.....After everything I’ve done, everything I....Ate....I would’ve never thought I could still be infected. Fenrir’s strength is immeasurable, but I fear that his "venom" is his deadliest aspect now." Reflecting on Fenrir’s new quirks and its potential evolution, Noah couldn’t help but ponder, "what kind of monster am I making?’

His thoughts raced with both fear and awe, but more importantly, excitement at the thought of his monster’s fearsome changes. Noah’s thoughts returned to Fenrir’s powerful venom, imaging its effects on the average person. However, as his thoughts tunneled on his beast venom, he remembered a scene that occurred that wasn’t far from what just transpired. A scene where his body was forced to integrate with the DNA of the substance that was inflicted upon him.

"Don’t tell me it’s happening again! This time, I really wanted to choose what I integrated with," he lamented, plunging into his mental space to scan for any notifications. While he was convinced that acquiring a trait from Fenrir in its new form would offer the highest potential compared to the other two genetic sets within him, Noah knew the importance of carefully considering his options. Synergy between his traits would be far more valuable than merely possessing powerful ones.

Seconds ticked by, each one an eternity. Noah’s tightly shut eyes furrowed deeper, wrinkles etched themselves onto his forehead as he struggled to concentrate. Yet, no notification appeared. Slowly, he opened his eyes, a brew of uncertainty and suspicion reflecting in his gaze. He scrutinized his wound, questioning whether he was truly infected. The open gash confirmed his fears, leaving him with only one plausible explanation.

’So just like my monster taming ability, I can only obtain two genes until I level up the ability....I’m not sure if I should be relieved or annoyed.’ He thought to himself before shaking his head, refocusing his thoughts to the matter at hand.

Noah considered seeking help for his injured arm but hesitated. The thought of relying on someone else felt like an admission of weakness. Then, a familiar face from the group flickered in his memory, prompting him to postpone his investigation into Fenrir’s changes. Stepping outside, he was taken aback to find the entire group of students gathered outside his dormitory.

Without thinking, he released the grip on his arm and retrieved his sword from his ring. The students hadn’t seen him use his ring before, and when they saw him magically pull out such a large sword from thin air, they were amazed. However, that amazement quickly turned to fear when they noticed the sword being directed towards them. Only a few, including some of the more skittish individuals and the guards, put up their guard to fight back.

"You’re bleeding! What happened to you?" The heavy atmosphere faded as Ailetta ran towards him, but Noah wasn’t in the mood to change subjects. He glanced at the others before addressing Ailetta.

"Why are they here? I said I would spend the night with you, not all of them too."

"Th-they thought it would be better if we all stayed in one place...but we won’t have to stay in the same rooms, so it should be fine, right? Can we talk about it after we get your arm healed?" Ailetta turned toward the crowd of students who were beginning to feel uneasy under Noah’s nerve wracking gaze.

"Can one of you heal his arm?" she almost begged. Noah sighed, thinking that if he knew it was going to turn out like this, he would have rather let his wound heal naturally.

No one moved for the first few seconds, but then almost at the same time, two people stepped forward. One person was from Mark’s group, while the other was Isabelle. They both stopped to look at one another as if deciding who was going to go, which proved to be unnecessary.

"You," Noah pointed towards Isabelle, who finally showed a hint of emotion since their last interaction. She almost took a step back instinctively out of fear. Her feelings toward Noah were complicated. She respected, hated, relied on, and was fearful of him all at the same time. And right now, he was the only person that still left an impact on her after Derek’s death.

Isabelle shivered at Noah’s reminder of the promise she had failed to fulfill. With a slight nod, she walked towards him while Noah’s eyes roamed over the rest of the group.

Noah’s gaze swept over the group, noticing the extra equipment many of them were wearing compared to last time.

"Where’s my money?"

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