Becoming a Monster

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Did the Ritual Work?

With the changes to his creatures now complete and Ailetta officially inaugurated as his tamed ally, Noah finally turned his attention to the dimly glowing chest not far from him. His eyes gleamed with anticipation, recognizing yet another opportunity to enhance his strength.

However, just as he was about to move forward, his steps came to a halt. His gaze shifted toward Arachne and Fenrir. ”Arachne?” he called out, a hint of curiosity in his voice. Unlike Fenrir, who seemed content with his recent tasks and was indulging in the lifeless corpses from which the mana cores had been removed, Arachne’s attention was fixated elsewhere. She was hungrily staring at the mountain of cores.

Noah’s brow furrowed slightly as he observed her, sensing that something more profound had changed within her. It wasn’t just her appearance; even her cravings seemed altered. But this shift didn’t seem entirely unnatural to him. One of her main skills now revolved around absorbing the essence of what she ate.

Eating corpses could surely meet the requirement of her skill, but the cores harbored more than just the creatures’ mana. If Arachne wanted a pure source of their essence, then their cores would be ideal for what she desired.

”If it’s the cores you want, then take them...But! Remember to leave at least half for me. You should know why, right?” Noah questioned, his words punctuated by a knowing smirk, one that Arachne didn’t need explained.

Arachne’s eyes lit up, glowing with a deep, renewed eagerness. The memory of the ’treats’ Noah had crafted before flooded her mind, sparking an intense craving within her. She recalled the potent scent of his blood, so rich and intoxicating that just the memory of its aroma made her feel as though she could taste it. That same scent now danced at the edge of her senses, filling her with a heightened anticipation. Her multiple eyes sparkled with excitement, imagining the flavors that awaited her. Her fantasizing desires made her overlook the importance of what his treats were made for.

Arachne’s body twisted as she prepared to make her way toward the pile of glowing cores. But just as Noah thought she’d begun her feast, he noticed her gaze was still fixed on him. Her expression, however, was entirely different from the one she’d shown before. ”I still haven’t received the ones you promised me from before...” she said, her voice low but sharp, her many eyes narrowing with intensity. There was a clear sense of betrayal and vindictiveness in her tone.

Her body language hinted at a deeper demand, one that went beyond the immediate pile of cores. She was subtly, or perhaps not so subtly, reminding Noah that she deserved more, far more, than whatever amount he had in mind for her. In her own way, she was pushing for her rightful reward, yet her demeanor didn’t convey her intentions as clearly as she thought it would.

Noah, however, wasn’t phased. He met her glare with a calm, almost knowing gaze of his own. ”Don’t worry,” he said, his voice steady and reassuring. ”If all goes well, you can eat as many as you want until you’re satisfied.”

__________

”Are you really still doing this Noah?” Ailetta voiced, having already opened the contents of what she considered to be her last chest now that she was no longer bound by the system.

Her tone was one of exasperation, yet she also found Noah’s peculiarities cute. Hearing her teasing words, Noah didn’t budge; he intently stared down the obsidian chest, waiting, waiting for nothing besides his ritual, which he would forever deem as his good luck charm.

Almost a full minute was spent for the quiet staredown with the chest before Noah made his move. For someone consumed with power, he still found himself slightly giddy to the prospect of uncovering loot. His eyes shined as they reflected the different flares of lights deep within the chest, but then his expression morphed to one of confusion as he reached in and recovered a coin from its contents. It wasn’t the same gold coin as from what he remembered. Platinum, that’s what was reflected from the coins surface. He tilted it in his hand, perplexed. When he peered further into the chest, there were only six of these coins in total.

Curiosity driving him, Noah willed the system to receive the coin’s value. In an instant, his eyes widened in astonishment as his total wealth surged by 500. A flicker of greed lit in his eyes, and in a swift, nearly frantic motion, he retrieved the remaining coins. His hunger for power may have been overwhelming, but his greed for money was no less insatiable.

His second pair of eyes fully opened, scanning the chest with heightened focus, ensuring nothing escaped his notice. In the end, four objects stood out, each with its own distinct aura of power. Weighing his options, Noah chose the item he was most familiar with: a giant green orb, significantly larger than the attribute orbs he had encountered before. It was easily twice the size of the ones that had granted him 25 stats.

Noah grunted in frustration as he struggled to lift the orb, which was almost double the size of his palm. The difficulty brought a wave of annoyance, a reminder of his current handicap without his arm. The thought of it reignited a burning resolve within him; he vowed to recover his arm as soon as possible.

Laying the orb on the ground beside him, Noah rested his hand atop it and began the absorption process. He felt the energy surge through his body, increasing his agility by 50 and pushing him past the critical 200-point threshold. The boost also triggered a level-up of his perk, which transferred an additional 5% of his agility to his monsters.

Arachne and Fenrir both paused mid-feeding, their heightened senses immediately aware of the sudden change. The power coursing through Noah flowed into them as well, enhancing their strength and making them keenly aware of his growing dominance. Even Ailetta, standing nearby, subtly acknowledged the shift in power with a knowing glance.

Noah continued with his loot, bringing out the next item that evoked a sense of familiarity. It was a small, round metal ball, now slightly larger than a billiard ball, with its surface darkened to a matte gunmetal gray. The number one was still etched at its center but pulsed faintly with a crimson glow, radiating a subtle but unnerving energy. Thin, intricate lines resembling veins of molten silver ran from the number, spiraling outward across the surface like cracks in its hardened shell. These lines seemed alive, shifting ever so slightly as if the ball held something volatile within. Despite its cool metallic appearance, there was a distinct warmth to the touch, like holding a living ember.

[Ascension Stone Lvl 0 detected! Choose a skill from level 0-1 to upgrade, disregarding the requirements.]

There was a blank expression on Noah’s face as he reread the notification, his thoughts were filled with disbelief at how grand the item in his hand really was. Amidst his trance-like thoughts, his body jerked when his hand subconsciously loosened. His heart lurched in his chest as he reformed his grip around the stone, caring for it more tenderly than one would a newborn. This was no longer just an upgrade stone; this reached the cusp of being considered an artifact.

With the stone, Noah could think of a multitude of skills he had that would be perfect to upgrade, but because he had so many, he felt the need to properly choose wisely.

He gave one last lingering look towards the stone before placing it into his storage ring, finding himself slightly salivating to the last two contents of the chest. If his first two items were so good, then he could only hope that the last two items would continue the theme. Between the last two items, he once again reached for the last familiar item.

An orb, an orb with golden-yellow swirls constantly coalescing within. An orb that Noah understood was meant to grant his creatures a skill that was brought forth from one of his defeated monsters.

It wasn’t possible for Noah to tell what skill the orb contained; he could only hope that the skill originated from the Queen. If that was the case, he felt that there was only one ’person’ suited to use it, someone who would benefit the most from obtaining it.

”Arachne,” he called out, looking towards the human version of her, who was in the middle of stuffing another core within her mouth, her stuffed cheeks betraying the fact that her mouth was already full.

Instead of saying anything more, he uplifted the core in his hand, allowing for her to see it. A predicted, humorous scene played out. Arachne’s action froze in the middle of stuffing the previous core in her mouth, her hand slipping and causing the core to fall, bouncing off of her chest before landing in the pile of other cores. Not once did she show a reaction to the fallen core; her sight was set on the core within Noah’s hand, as if it were calling to her. One moment she was standing amongst the cores, the next, a huge gust of wind blew, and she was just inches from Noah; the core already being held within her cupped hands that never gave heed to Noah.

Noah could have continued checking the last content within the chest, but he was already invested in what skill the core contained.

Just like an attribute core, Noah was expecting for Arachne to just absorb the core’s energy, just like she had done when he presented her with an attribute core in the past. However, his helpless expression to what she did next was a clear indication that Arachne and Fenrir weren’t that different after all. Her cheeks expanded as she engulfed the core in its entirety. There was a moment of impatience as he noticed her jaw pressing down. He could already assume that she was trying to bite into it.

”You don’t have to eat.....nevermind..” He helplessly sighed as he watched the large indent slowly descend down her throat. He could follow the indent throughout the entire sequence, eventually seeing it reach her stomach before it suddenly disappeared.

Instead of waiting for Arachne to fully digest the skill and tell him what she received, he chose the quickest route, going into the system to check instead.

Queen’s Tribute -Quality isn’t always better; with an army by your side, quantity can overcome the odds. But with a colony under your rule, their strength becomes more than just an extension of your own. For each loyal creature under your rule, you can activate this skill for 10 mana for each creature under your rule to temporarily drain 5 percent of each individual’s overall stats, empowering your own.

Reading the description, Noah confirmed that he was right in his assumption that the skill came from the Queen. And reading the skill, he could infer that, as Arachne was now, the skill wouldn’t be useful for her at all. But! With her newly acquired ability, he was sure that this skill would probably become her trump card.

He found himself pleasantly pleased with yet another great item amongst his loot. Now that his curiosity towards the skill was satisfied, he turned his attention to the remaining item. His excitement grew as he focused on the unknown item; he was ever more eager to find out what it was. Its shiny luster, and its appearance held an ominous feeling to it, and yet he found himself strangely attracted to it, as if the item and his soul were calling for each other.