Becoming a Monster

Chapter 158: Chapter 158: Becoming a Proper Fallen

To his question, Ailetta paused for a moment to process it, her multiple eyes shifting slightly towards the shell of her creation.

”Yes, I did. It was only an experiment, but it turned out to be....quite successful,” she replied with a hint of pride. ”Everything was able to merge, from its strength to its traits, down to its mana core. My babies were able to fuse it all perfectly!” Her voices brimmed with gleefully excessive pride in her accomplishment.

”Hmmm,” he thoughtfully humed to himself, his steps continuing to advance towards Fenrir’s body.

His thoughts expanded with different options of what he could do with that information for his next course of action. But as he pondered, his expression slightly frowned towards the interrupting trigger in the back of his mind.

However, his expression softened when he realized what the trigger represented. His steps stopped just a few meters away from the deep slumbering wolf.

”What is it?” Ailetta’s tone sharpened as she sensed the change, her many eyes narrowing as they zeroed in on him, while others scanned their surroundings with growing vigilance. She couldn’t pinpoint why he stopped or why he remained frozen in thought. It gnawed at her.

Her only option was to use their fresh established bond. That was when she picked up on his analyzing thoughts despite being in a daze.

”The system, is it? Hmmm... I haven’t checked mine since my....transformation,” she murmured absently. Thoughts of going through her notifications tugged at her, but she held off for now, preferring to keep watch for any danger. Besides, her gaze couldn’t help lingering on two noteworthy objects nearby, two chests, close to the spot where she and Noah had originally been.

The first most notable chest was one that blinded the vision of the eyes facing in that particular direction. Its diamond dazzling exterior was extravagant. And Ailetta knew that this chest in particular was meant for her. The unique presence of the second chest assured her of her assumption.

The other chest, one that differed greatly from any chest she has ever come across, and was sure that Noah had yet to acquire either. The chest was almost completely black, an obsidian darkness that prevented even the sun’s rays from reflecting from it. On its surface, hints of crimson glowed only around the edges of where the metal frames would be, while an ominous mist rose just inches around its surface.

The presence of the obsidian chest grasped Ailetta’s curiosity. Her form twitched with her eagerness to uncover the chest’s contents and able to present them to Noah when he was done. But just as she was about to approach it, Ailetta froze, a realization dawning on her.

”So that’s what they were doing...”. Her thoughts returned back to the hunched figures at the station, grouping together as she watched everyone preparing to leave.

Her eyes narrowed as she wondered aloud, ”I wonder if he noticed too?” Then she scoffed softly. ”No... of course, he did. He loves looting more than anyone.” She smirked, imagining his reaction. ”Ah, I shouldn’t touch it then. He’d want to open it himself.”

Amusement flickered in her eyes, though quickly replaced by a darkened, dangerous glint as her thoughts shifted. How could Noah, of all people, ignore such a treasure? The chest practically oozed potential rewards, rewards far greater than anything he had obtained before. Yet, he hadn’t claimed it.

”They should count themselves lucky...” Her voice dropped, almost to a whisper. ”But no, I shouldn’t be jealous. I’ve already secured my place...” Her gaze drifted back to the lifeless husk of her creation.

”He asked about its core for a reason,” she muttered, the cogs in her mind turning once again. ”Whatever he’s planning, he’ll need it.” A knowing smile tugged at her form. ”I should fetch that while I’m at it.”

Within moments, her body began to writhe and contort. Eventually, a small section of her body separated from her figure, resembling one of the advanced slimes that retained their eyes and creepy smile. Without needing to receive any verbal commands, the slime only looked towards Ailetta with eagerness to please before making its way towards the chimeric husk

With nothing else to do, she could only wait.

____________

[Fenrir leveled Up!]

[Your soul has reached the critical requirement to activate the Ring of the Fallen. The host of the ring is now undergoing a physical manifestation to accommodate his soul.]

[The Ring of the Fallen has fully merged with your soul and body, initiating your path to become a starting existence of your own Fallen. Like any true Fallen, you have gained your own initiation to turn others into creations of your existence. The skill, Chimeric Soulforge, has been obtained.]

[Chimeric Soulforge- Through the use of your Primal Nexus, you are capable of storing the residual souls of those you kill by extracting the souls from what is left from their mana cores. The strength of the creature’s soul would dictate the potential of the transformation of those that are imbued with the soul, not only tying them to your existence, but also turning them into a chimeric being derived from the imbued soul. Each use of this can only be exerted onto a number of creatures based on .05% of the individual’s total mana. While each creature can only assimilate with one soul, they can be stripped of their merged soul in exchange for another one.]

[All of your attributes have been affected by your transformation, granting you 200% to all of your attributes.]

[Warning! a forceful merging of an alien soul has merged within you. A symbiotic existence is now tethered to your soul, making separation of the two near impossible. Both souls now compliment the other. Your spirit has increased by half of the bonded soul, while you increased the symbiotic soul by half of yours.]

[Warning! Spiritual interference has been detected within your soul, limiting the extent of your instinctive powers. The transformation has regressed from its once primal state, resulting in your current permanent boost of attributes to regress to only a 50% increase.]

[Perks for strength, agility, constitution and magic have reached the next threshold to level up.]

[Muscle Tempering increased to level one! increased tamed creatures strength from 30% of your own.]

[Tendon Tempering increased to level one! increased tamed creatures’ agility from 30% of your own.]

[Bone Tempering increased to level two! increased tamed creatures strength from 35% of your own.]

[Imparted Linguist increased to level two! Upgraded from intermediate understanding to advanced comprehension. Allows for a more deepened understanding of your tamed creatures’ emotions and intentions while also allowing you to now sense the emotions and intentions of creatures of the same species as your tamed creatures.]

_________

Noah’s notification wasn’t as excessive as he initially believed; but the contents of the system was worth taking his time to as he glossed over everything. The skill he gained from merging with the ring was already expected, it was for this reason that he inquired about the core of Ailetta’s creation.

The skill requirements, as well as the functions of the Primal Nexus, as the system referred to it as, was instantly integrated within him as soon as the connection was made. However, the reasons for why he obtained the skill wasn’t something that was shared to him during the integration process.

As he looked at the remaining feed, inwardly he chuckled to himself as he read the system’s way of terming his and Ailetta’s bond as a symbiotic existence. But then, his demeanor shifted once again when recounting his last discussion with the entity of his soul. He remembered the strength displayed by the entity, acknowledging that how he was now was nowhere near standing on even terms with such a being.

”And as I grow stronger, my growth will continue to act as its fertilizer. I don’t have the answer to overcome it now, but something tells me that this Primal Nexus will be my answer...”

Thinking on his own personal strength, Noah couldn’t help overlooking his stats to see where he stood.

Lvl: 11

Exp:780/25,600>17,450/25,600

Health:68%(53))

Stamina:74%

Mana: 240/380> 510/572

Attributes

Defense: 80>120

Strength

:80>120(138)
Agility:88>132(152)

Constitution:162>243(279)

Stamina:103>155(178)

Magic: 173>260(299)

Spirit: 164>244(342) +69

He looked at his stats with a bit of indifference, already he was comparing his stats to how they would compare with that entity inside of him. He felt that his stats were still far from what was needed.

”But I still have time. That thing needs me just as much as I need it...”

”I’m sorry Fenrir,” Noah said as he returned from viewing his system. His perk was already showing its effectiveness; his own emotions were being influenced by Fenrir’s. Even in his nearly dying state, Noah could sense Fenrir’s frantic desire to wake up so it could protect his master, unfettered from his own fate.

”I’ll make sure that this doesn’t happen to you again. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again...” Noah softly spoke to his companion, despite not being able to be heard, his hand strongly brushed against Fenrir’s bristled fur. His fur was soft to the touch under his caress, but any normal being would find it difficult to comb their hand through.

As Noah’s thoughts were being consumed with what he needed to do for his creatures, small miniature cracks edged closer to his location. Turning, the sight of the once shell less monstrosity was just meters away from him, seemingly waiting for further instructions. Inwardly, he smiled to himself, appreciating how reliable Ailetta was.

Thinking of her, Ailetta wasn’t too far behind. Her eyes curiously roaming over Fenrir and Noah. ”Darling,” Ailetta pronounced the endearing term with emphasis, while also watching Noah’s reaction. Her body quivered with unspoken feelings and desires when noticing Noah’s imperceptible smirk, her eyes forming crescent in reflection of her overwhelming joy.

”Ahem! You didn’t specify if you needed just the core, so...I brought the entire thing. If you want, can I break it down for you to retrieve it?”

To her question, she was only met with Noah’s confusion. ”Why would you need to break it down? I only need the core. I can take it out without all the trouble.”

Ailetta’s eyes shifted, many of them avoiding making eye contact while she replied to his question. ”Although I can still control it...trying to control a corpse without a core is quite taxing on my babies. My babies can function nearly on their own, almost sustaining themselves as long as the bodies they control have a core within them. But, if the core is mixing, they would need to compensate for it with their own energy, and in the end, it’s not worth the effort.”

”Hmmm,” Noah perceptively took in everything. His gaze shifted back towards the Frankenstein- like creature. ”If that’s the case, then you’re right, it’s not worth it.” Silently, his hand rose towards the creature before his webs shot out with an explosive force. The web quickly made contact with the creature’s midsection, and when it seemed as though his webs would tether itself. Instead, the webs acted as a sharp solid substance, no different than a lethal weapon, puncturing through the creation’s shell.

It wasn’t able to be noticed from within, but Noah’s webs manipulated itself from a sharp object, wrapping itself around what should be the creature’s heart before being yanked out of its body. To Noah, he was unsure exactly where the heart was, but his ’souls’ eye could clearly detect an aura much more intense than the rest of the creations’ aura being emitted.

Ailetta’s eyes initially widened in shock. Not at how Noah manipulated his webs, but at how they were able to penetrate both the creations’ hide and her slime’s elasticity. But then her surprise only shifted to immense pride.

Her gaze continued to eagerly watch Noah as he placed the head sized heart on the ground, unhesitatingly piercing the heart with his only hand.

The core he retrieved barely fit inside of the palm of his hand. Unlike the animal cores he obtained before, this core was clearly tainted by Ailetta’s mana. A combination of violet and black energy wrapped around clouds of grey, while yellow lights mixed within it.

The core radiated more power within his hands than it did when embedded inside the creation’s body. Noah could only think the reason was because the mana had to stretch itself from not only acting as the creature’s mana reserves; but also a significant portion of it was used to maintain the rest of the body.

But while within his hand, the power emanating from the core was enticing enough for Noah to consider using it for himself. His eyes never focused on the orb of power; instead, he turned and walked over to Fenrir.

Standing before him, Noah chose not to use the orb on Fenrir. Instead, he placed the core near his Primal Nexus.