Becoming a Monster

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: A Permanent Shop?

Noah noticed the lone individual walking towards them, noting that the man was one of people he suspected to be awakened since he was able to stand as Raven’s equal. Already, Noah held a hint of respect for the man, much more than what he could spare Raven. Not just anyone could approach him and his monsters without a trace of apprehension, and yet the man bore no signs of being hesitant or defensive. The only annoying trait Noah found was the small smile the man wore. With his history of manipulating characters, he could only see the figure as a person he shouldn’t trust.

Unlike Noah, Ailetta felt a sense of foreboding as she scrutinized Levi approaching, her eyes narrowed, perceptively viewing Levi as someone dangerous. Her reasoning for such a feeling was simple: she didn’t believe anyone would smile towards Noah upon seeing him for the first time. Not to say that Noah wasn’t attractive, at least, not to her. But she was being realistic; the reality of Noah’s monstrous characteristics was something that no sane person could see as welcoming unless they had an ulterior motive.

Levi observed their every action as he approached, analyzing each figure with an uncanny scrutiny. He noted Fenrir’s aloofness, his wandering eyes, playful in nature. He also speculated on the corpses that closely resembled not only Fenrir but also the others werebeast placed in the rear.

With only a brief summary from Raven that she heard from the students, he was only aware that the werebeast straggling at the rear, almost restlessly, was the student that was turned into a monster. There wasn’t any physical difference between the werebeast that was once human compared to the werebeast that was once a zombie.

Amused, Levi was very much interested in this phenomenon. If only he could get a creature like Fenrir..

Reigning in his desires, Levi then eyed Arachne, quickly shunning his eyes away the moment he did so. Unlike the others, Levi felt a sensation that all of his thoughts and schemes were being fully revealed when making eye contact with the creature. His curiosity towards the creature, her mannerism, as well as her human physique, made him very much wanted to unveil everything about her. A monster that could speak the human language? A monster slowly being turned more into a human than a monster? The prospect was much more alluring than turning a human into a monster. He still had a few monster tamers within his group, and who knows how many people out of the civilians were tamers too. If he could learn these secrets, then he could potentially have obtained a path to help secure his future desires.

Despite his engrossed desires, he respected the danger Arachne exuded, panning his gaze to the last member of the group: the girl who somehow was able to gain the monstrous human’s affection.

Levi’s analytical gaze deepened momentarily as he took in Ailetta’s appearance. Was a human who proclaims himself a monster capable of still having attachments to a human? The fact seemed contradictory, but within that one moment of his observation, Levi understood one very important point. His eyes shunned away from Ailetta quicker than they did with Arachne. His body stiffened when he suddenly felt a sense of foreboding of his own; it took him but a moment to understand where the sense of danger originated from.

Noah’s eyes were locked onto him, an intense, unyielding glare that conveyed a silent warning. One that promised retribution should Levi’s gaze linger on Ailetta for too long or if he held any questionable thoughts towards her. His threat was clear to Levi, but Levi took from the scene a different perspective, Ailetta was Noah’s collar to prevent him from acting on his monster impulses.

Clearing his throat to break the tension, Levi proceeded to act oblivious to what just occurred, only maining a respectable eye contact with Noah.

”Hello, Noah I presume?” Levi asked rhetorically. ”I wouldn’t want to come off as distasteful, knowing who you are while you know nothing about me or about our so-called establishment.” He performed a small courtesy bow, his small smile still showing, small enough to be respectful but not wide enough to come off as condescending.

”My name is Levi, one of the three faction leaders residing here. I’m sure you already are aware, but all three of us are what the ’system’ refers to as awakened.” His blunt honesty, voicing what should be considered personal information with an even tone no different than one would use when talking to a friend, caught both Noah and Ailetta off guard. Their surprise further grew as Levi continued to be more and more transparent.

”I function as a mage, although I tend to use guns primarily, but what I excel in is in the use of illusions.” As he spoke, a sturdy brick wall suddenly materialized between them, blocking each other’s view of one another. Being the user of the skill, Levi’s view wasn’t hindered by the wall he created. This wouldn’t be the first time he performed the spectacle to people when showcasing his skills, and each time left him with looks of awe. Even now, Levi looked was spurred by his recent audience’s awe, his expression was noticeably proud as he amusingly observed the others expressions of disbelief.

At least, that was the expectation. The beat of his heart lapsed, his breath momentarily caught in his throat. Contrary to his past experiences, Noah stood unfazed, his eyes locked onto Levi’s with a curious gesture. The human-spider behind Noah didn’t react either, her eyes unblinking, unimpressed by the display; only Ailetta and Fenrir were affected by the skills effect.

For the first time since he gained his newfound power, Levi questioned his existence, his thoughts faltering under Noah’s unintentional demonstration of power. However, Levi’s hesitance was fleeting. He acted accordingly, wearing an embarrassed smile and chuckling outwardly while ending his skill.

”Well, that was embarrassing...I must say, you and your creatures are intriguing beings. But I digress, what I wanted to show is that I’m a person who gives before asking for anything in return.” Levi gestured to the station behind him.

”Our base has almost four hundred people, including approximately one hundred able fighters. We are a base of survivors, hoping to serve as a layer of safety for civilization and a beacon of hope for those who are unable to find their way.”

”We were fortunate enough to have both Peterson, Raven and myself achieve awakening. With our strength we were- we ’are’ able to protect everyone despite the low odds of keeping up with the monster’s pace of growth.”

Levi paused, his eyes somber, while his tone became more earnest. ”But there are limits to what we can achieve alone. And yet, from what I heard about you, you have achieved remarkable feats by yourself, feats that even now I still find hard to believe. I don’t want to come off as presumptuous and ask for your protection, or coax you into helping us build our base out of our own moral beliefs. What I ask for is information, nothing more. In exchange, our base will always welcome you if you ever find yourself needing to visit the ’shop’.”

Done with his speech, Levi’s earnest gaze was now holding a mixture of eagerness and expectation. However, his thoughts were a contradiction to the facade he presented. Throughout his speech, hoping to lead the conversation in his favor, he constantly observed Noah’s expression. All the while, there was a growing unsettledness gnawing at Levi’s patience, Noah’s expression barely changed, only looking towards Levi with an aloof stare, one that held little consideration for what was being said.

But then, towards the end of his speech, Levi was hit with a reaction. Noah’s eyes widened just enough for his keen observation to notice.

As Noah listened, he began to grow dull to where the conversation was heading. Like always, people would always find a way to ask for his aid without offering anything in return, and he would always be made out to be the bad guy if he was to ask for equal compensation for his service, whatever that may be. Just like now, Levi was asking for information, information that was built upon his own life struggles and insights. And for what? Only to use their shop which they didn’t own?

Noah felt the need to scoff, expressing his disappointment while making his stance clear. That was before he picked up on a piece of context that began to make his thoughts stir the other way. Levi stated that the shop would ’always’ be there if he needs to use it. That should imply that the current shop didn’t have a time limit!

Noah couldn’t believe it. In his heart, he felt that Levi just wasn’t aware of the shop having a time limit, something even he had overlooked when he had first ventured into its wares.

However, the prospect of a permanent shop fed Noah with a sense of expectation that was impossible to ignore. His initial irritation began to give way to his expectant interest.

He took a slight step forward, his gaze fixated on Levi with an intensity that left Levi a bit uneasy. ”You say the shop will always be there. Are you aware of any restrictions or time limits associated with it?”

Towards the question, Levi’s initial doubts to roping Noah in was fully discarded. His eyes lit up with joy as he spoke with greater fervor. ”So you were aware of the time constraints? When we first discovered the shop, there indeed was a time limit placed. Our plan was only to stay here as long as the shop remained before retreating towards the nearest checkpoint that the army had established. But! Ever since this morning, the time displayed disappeared, and during that time we were given a message. The message mentioned that the size of our group met the requirement to indefinitely extend the shop’s time.”

Noah’s mind raced at Levi’s revelation. He couldn’t say with complete confidence that he would be able to find another shop after he left, at least one that was in close proximity. But not only did he find satisfaction with this knowledge, the information also gave him the idea of creating a base of his own. Would a base of monsters satisfy the requirements for the shop? or would he have to find other individuals just like him?

Maintaining his excitement, Noah decided to bring up his only condition. ”If I agree, I don’t expect to be asked to do anything else besides exchanging information.”

”Of course, of course, I’m a man of my word.” Levi gave a chivalrous bow before looking towards Naoh expectantly.

For a moment there was awkward silence, with the voices behind them sounding in the background. Noah’s once excited eyes now narrowed with a questioning gaze, not knowing exactly what information he was supposed to give.

”Isn’t this the time you should ask me something, or...?”