Becoming a Monster

Chapter 44 The King Emerges

”Letʼs go Grim!” Brandishing his axes, he rushed towards the zombies to begin his next farming session; he has yet to realize the danger on the other side.

The rest continued to watch in fear, soon that fear was replaced by shock and then fear again.

The group of four fought with their lives on the line. Even a scratch could possibly prove fatal so they had to fight with the utmost care.

After Joe used his spell, he took up his weapon that happened to be a morning star. A weapon with a metal handle and a metal ball on the tip covered in spikes. It didnʼt fit the image of a summoner, but at this stage, you can only use what you have.

The group held formation, LeRoy and Tristan stood in the front. LeRoy copied Lucas with two swords but unlike Lucas, they were both sabers. Tristan on the other hand held the most unique weapon Noah has seen so far which was a double bladed staff. The two fought with a basic level of cooperation but it was cooperation nonetheless.

Most of the runners were taken care of by Grim since they were also the first ones to break through the door. Without the runners being the main threat, they could focus on the regular zombies while leaving their backs to Zoe.

With everyone having a weapon with reach, they used the safest method and stabbed towards the zombies. Joe on occasion would follow up when too many approached. But it was Zoe who contributed the most, she was small and thin while wielding a dagger in one hand and a rapier in the other.

If Noah had to guess, he would bet most of her stats went into speed. But the interactions she had with the zombies were peculiar. When a runner approached, she would dash headlong into it and quickly finish it off, but the zombies seemed to never notice her. Let alone the runners, even the normal zombies appeared unaware of her presence.

The group was doing fairly well. Itʼs a shame that their hard efforts werenʼt seen by Noah. However it couldnʼt be the same for him.

”Guys! Iʼm coming! Hold on for just a bit longer….what are you standing there for?” The freed Lucas regrouped with the four who were no longer fighting. Even the non-combatants didnʼt take this chance to escape even now that Arachne opened up a sizable space to walk through.

Everyone was too focused on what was going on in front of them. A man and Mantis were breezing through the zombies that the others needed to coordinate against without fear.

They could clearly see Noah fighting in the center of them all. Using the bodies of the walking ones to slow down the runners, then Grim would appear behind them before slicing through their necks. Sometimes the slice was so clean that the head wouldnʼt leave the body till after it fell.

During that time Noah behaved unhinged as he wildly swung his axes that appeared to not have a target. However the axe somehow struck home to the zombies head everytime. When the spectators thought he was gonna be attacked from behind, he would get ʼluckyʼ and move out the way. After this occurrence repeated itself one too many times, some people started to wonder if it was actually intentional.

”Wh-just what is happening?”

”Wait…doesnʼt this mean that he actually couldʼve just taken them on by himself?” The scene had the group speculating. But Lucas didnʼt like this, the people ʼheʼ saved were more in awe of the person who had just extorted them! This didnʼt sit well with Lucas at all. Did he not also kill zombies by himself just as easily before? Well maybe not as easily, but he could kill all the zombies on his own as well!

”Donʼt go thinking weʼre safe. Itʼs a reason why we had to run here. You think if it wasnʼt for that monster then I would need to run away?” He had to make it known to everyone that he still existed and that he was still the leader of their group. And it somewhat worked, the group returned to their solemn expressions and started to worry again.

”Can we get out of here then? if he stays here then he can hold them back right? When it comes then he can buy us time to group up with the others” Regina, who has been quiet the whole time finally spoke up. She didnʼt like what she was seeing. She knew what she did to him and all she put him through. He couldnʼt continue to live, or at least she couldnʼt allow herself to be in the same room as him. She was smart enough to know that rules and laws werenʼt going to protect her. And Lucas already proved he couldnʼt do it.

Lucas was in immediate agreement to her suggestion. He already didnʼt like Noahʼs selfish attitude and part of him really wanted Noah to suffer. ʼThere can only be one king.ʼ The instinctual urge to be the pack leader began to corrupt his thoughts more.

”Thatʼs right! You heard him, he said he didnʼt need us when I offered him to join us. So why should we risk our lives? Letʼs go, everyone.”

”But I thought you said you two were childhood friends, would you really leave him like that?”

Everyone turned to LeRoy, they were actually surprised that he was defending Noah. But even though he was friends with Lucas, he secretly despised Regina. She didnʼt do anything this whole time but Lucas would do everything she wanted. Instead of a wolf, Lucas was more like her loyal dog. He didnʼt like this version of his friend and he wanted to open Lucasʼ eyes to what Regina truly is.

”Hmph! When I pleaded to him, what did I get? Instead of helping me, even with the relationship we once had, he chose to rob us instead. If he doesnʼt cherish our friendship then why should I continue to? Lucas, Iʼm going.

She turned and strutted out the room. The others who didnʼt want to fight used that moment to follow behind, leaving Lucas with his four fighters. LeRoy took this chance to help direct his friend.

”Lucas, I think we should stay. Even if we donʼt like him, that guy is probably our best bet to survive.”

”We think so too!” The other three voiced their agreement.

Lucas wasnʼt able to agree with them. In fact he wasnʼt able to get over the shock of hearing the people he has been fighting together with through thick and thin were now relying on a stranger more than they were with him after all heʼs done for them.

He looked towards Noah, who was now bending over a chest with a conflicted glare. He despised him, yet he also knew that LeRoy was right. Just the webs alone proved that Noah would be more than reliable for whatʼs out there. But admitting that would also mean heʼs admitting that heʼs inferior, he didnʼt want that. He inhaled deeply before he finally relaxed his body.

”Get your loot first and we will wait here. When that thing comes and he canʼt handle it then we will retreat. We wonʼt waste our lives on someone like him if we donʼt have to.” Almost everyone was content with what he decided on. However Zoe was visibly upset about what he said.

”Do you keep having to call Nathan a thing? How heartless can you be? Heʼs the real reason we made it this far”

”Donʼt you think I know this?? But thatʼs not Nathan anymore…I donʼt want to acknowledge that thing as him…Iʼll be the one to kill it!”

The five sat in silence to grieve. Soon, they calmed their emotions so they could prepare for the deciding fight. They were used to it now since they all worked as a group for some time. Four individual chests appeared close to them with their separate loot.

Noah on the other hand never knew that the chest was dispensed in such a way. For someone who has yet to fight with other people, if he hadnʼt seen it now then he wouldʼve continued to never know. But it worked better for him this way, now he didnʼt have to worry about anyone trying to claim his loot as theirs.

While he was in the midst of retrieving his spoils, Arachne and Grim took the time to eat what they could.

”GRRWWR!”

Suddenly everyone was affected by a bone chilling growl, their bodies felt the need to bow. The sound itself projected a mental pressure that had the bearing of authority.

”H-heʼs here!” The stoic Zoe began to panic. Besides Lucas, the group of four all panicked while they struggled to regain full control of their bodies. If it wasnʼt for the pride of the werewolf, then maybe Lucas would be in the same position. The condition of his friends didnʼt matter to Lucas right now, nor the location of the monster.

ʼWas he also affected?ʼ Lucas couldnʼt take his eyes off from Noah, he wanted to find any show of weakness or even a frown, just to say that he was better than him, however.

”What is he doing?” He felt defeated. Noah wasnʼt concerned about the Monster at all and was still trying to collect the gold from the chest. ʼIs money really more important than his life? Did he not hear the roar? Is that why he wasnʼt affected?ʼ

He couldnʼt believe what he was seeing and neither could the other four when they heard Lucasʼs question.

Boom!*

The room became silent when the sound of something heavy collided on the other side of the wall. Even Noah halted what he was doing because the sound wasnʼt something any of the zombies he fought couldʼve done.

Noah started to get serious, in his head he could hear boss fight music playing. He knew he was strong, but he was also proven multiple times that strength is only relative. Was he stronger than normal zombies? Yes, but even in video games, progressing through the games were always easy but when it comes to mmos, the boss fights were always on another level that a solo character couldnt contend with unless he was way over the level required during the story.

”Arachne! Grim! Co-”

BOOOOOMM!!*

Unlike the first time, the collision on the second attack not only broke the rubble blocking the entrance, but it also pulverized most of the smaller debris and the door ceiling. The destroyed debris turned into smoke and blocked both parties to see the other. Even with Noahʼs eyes he still couldnʼt see through the smoke but he was also confused why not even the silhouette of the monster appeared.

Soon loud heavy footsteps reverberated throughout the gymnasium. The suspense put Lucas and his group on edge while Noah was becoming impatient due to the unknown.

Growls*

”What the fuck is this?” Noah couldnʼt help but curse. Instead of the boss monster he was expecting, numerous walkers arrived through the smoke screen in single file lines. When more than twenty entered, they all stopped and waited while facing Noah. It was disturbing to Noah to say the least and it was also something that Lucas and the others havenʼt experienced.

Step, step, step*

When the confusion was at its highest, the footsteps restarted, but this time Noah could finally recognize a silhouette.

”Oh come on! I wanted a BOSS! Just a regular boss…why is this looking like a raid boss now?” Noah truly believe that if this new world was based on a video game then it must be rigged. When he saw the figure approached, he knew that he was wrong. The game wasnʼt rigged…it was broken.

A lingering figure walked into the opening. The monster seemed to be at least 8 feet tall, for Noah, that was massive. But that wasnʼt his concern, it was the aura of the creature and its appearance. When Noah observed it, he could clearly see that it was a zombie, but at the same time he felt it wasnʼt. It didnʼt have any clothing besides the ripped jeans that were more like shirts to it. Because of the lack of clothing, its black veins could be clearly seen running through its body and were more pronounced than before. However its eyes and the ʼapparelʼ it wore made him unsure.

On top of its head was a crown, a crown made of jaws and teeth but some of the teeth seemed too large to be human. On the back of the zombie, it wore a cloak, he didnʼt know what the cloak was made out of but he regretted that he asked. He used his new pupils to enhance his vision, his eyes grimaced when he realized that the cape wasnʼt made from a fancy material or any fabric but was made from human skin. Even now he could see the underside of its ʼcloakʼ that was soaked in blood, with patches of extra skin attached.

Whatʼs more was the zombieʼs eyes, nowhere were the dead hungry eyes from its zombie counterparts, what was in its place were red gems that demanded complete dominance. If its roar didnʼt affect Noah then its eyes made him feel a bit inferior. But Noah was able to quickly shake that feeling away, only someone like him who had high spirit could accomplish this feat at the moment.

The more Noah observed, he realized that the zombie could be what he read about in his stories, a zombie king. If it was only that then he could still feel confident in winning. When the dust started to clear he saw zombies behind him waiting outside the door. He didnʼt know how many there were but it was enough for him to know that he was in over his head.

And this didnʼt include the weapon it wielded. For a king, it held a sword fit for its statuses. In its hands that it used to place into the ground in front of it was a huge great sword made of bones. Even the hilt was made of bones. The width of the blade was at least the size of Noahʼs waist and the sword overall was longer than him.

The situation wasnʼt looking good for Noah, the odds were completely stacked against him. For the second time in his life, he was ready to make a run for it. When he had that thought, the zombies before the king zombie started to move. When Noah prepared himself to run away, he noticed that the zombies werenʼt coming forward, but instead made way for the king itself.

Slowly and casually, the king lifted the sword from the ground.

”Grrrewwe!” It roared and took up its stance while its gems stared daggers into Noah.

Taken back, Noah knew what the zombie was doing but he just couldnʼt believe it. He was prepared to run before, but now, NOW he was becoming a bit peeved.

”Is this bitch challenging me?”

...….

A/N made it a little bit longer since I dont want to have too many chapters about the same scene.