Becoming a Monster

Chapter 207: Chapter 207: Inferno Tamer’s Ember

The consequence outweighed the potential gains Arachne could obtain. And with one more of his creatures out of the equation, that left Fenrir being the last recipient for the ember.

The moment Noah called Fenrir’s name; the beast literally sprung from his seated position. if not for the feathered collar, the ground would’ve been easily destroyed from the force of his landing.

The tension during the moment Fenrir received the ember was even more daunting than the earlier battle. The depression and yet mildly resentment Arachne was releasing through her mana seeped uncontrollably around them.

Noah worriedly looked in her direction, wanting to console her, wanting to do or give her something to make up for her always being left out from the loot. He understood how much she valued strength, understood that she always was self-conscious of not being strong enough, and seeing everyone else receiving something to increase their strength while she stood empty-handed weighed heavily on her.

Her usual confidence seemed momentarily shaken, and the sight troubled Noah more than he cared to admit. He hadn’t meant to make her feel overlooked. But the reality was that each of his companions had unique strengths, and his decisions to distribute the items weren’t without reason.

Thinking of what he could do for her, what he could provide for her to possibly enhance her strength. His thoughts centered around the very skill he gave her, the very same one that made him as strong as he was now. She still had room to obtain another gene to enhance her strength. But she also received his genes from the moment she obtained the skill. And just like how he was able to enhance his original genes acquired from them after their evolutions, he wondered if the same would apply to her, despite the fact that he was no longer considered to be human.

There was the off chance that it wouldn’t work, but he was willing to give it a try. However, before he could even put the plan into motion, he was distracted by the intense wail sounding incredibly loud by his side.

For the first time since Fenrir had become his companion, the giant beast cried out in pain. His massive claws raked furiously at his throat, as if trying to claw out an invisible force within. The discomfort seemed to writhe through his body, crawling downward until it lodged, like a burning thorn in his chest. Flames erupted from Fenrir’s mouth, searing the air with scorching heat and escaping in ragged bursts that left him gasping. Shreds of flesh, fur, and fragments of his hardened bones began to accumulate beneath him, falling like ash. The others watched in uneasy silence, unsure whether to step in or keep their distance, each silently questioning if this suffering was the cost of transformation. For them, the ember was a trial to endure; for Fenrir, this might be the path to newfound strength. But Noah couldn’t stand idly by, watching one of his own writhes in such torment.

”It’s okay, boy...” Noah sternly placed a reassuring hand on Fenrir’s side. ”You’re strong enough to handle this. Just hang in there.” He could feel the intense heat radiating off Fenrir’s body. Each of Fenrir’s convulsive jerks sent out waves of blistering heat, forcing Noah to stay light on his feet. Several times, Fenrir’s body jerked toward him, claws snapping dangerously close, but Noah deftly dodged, adjusting his position until he was near the far edge of Fenrir’s head.

Despite the heat, Noah reached out, his hand glowing with a calming energy. A warm, luminous glow spread from his palm, enveloping Fenrir in a soothing light that pulsed rhythmically. His ’heal lesser wounds

’ skill was now much more powerful than before with his massive spirit. Underneath the light, the trembling in Fenrir’s body began to lessen, his muscles relaxing even as the fire inside him continued to burn.
But the struggle wasn’t over. Fenrir’s breathing remained labored, and every few moments, a new surge of heat and pain would ripple through him, reigniting the flames and sending fresh tremors down his spine. His eyes, usually fierce and sharp, were now hazy with pain, reflecting a rare vulnerability.

Noah thought the transformation was nearly complete when Fenrir’s pupils suddenly dilated, and his body once again spiraled out of control. This time, however, Noah managed to stay close, his hand glowing with healing energy as he tried to soothe his companion’s agony. But then, without warning, parts of Fenrir’s body erupted into flames. The fire quickly spread, enveloping him entirely, threatening to consume him alive. Despite the intense flames and Fenrir’s violent, jerking movements, Noah noticed something strange.

Fenrir’s cries, though powerful, didn’t hold the same raw desperation as before. And as Noah focused, letting his second pair of eyes take in every detail, he noticed that the flames weren’t behaving randomly. They were rooted in specific places, anchoring themselves to areas that shared a common trait: his exoskeleton. Each patch of flame clung firmly to these hardened regions, as if feeding off the armor-like surface beneath.

Fenrir let out a thunderous roar, and the flames surged in response, blazing even more intensely as if his own will was fueling them. The fire grew in magnitude, crackling with fierce energy, and for a moment, everyone believed that this fiery appearance would become his new form. But just as the flames reached their peak, they began to recede, slowly dimming and withdrawing, until not a single flicker remained on his body.

In place of the flames, his exoskeleton had transformed. Each part of his once-hardened hide now glowed with a sinister, molten appearance, as though lava itself pulsed beneath his skin. His form radiated a dark, intense heat, and the fiery glow casting shadows that seemed alive, rippling across his body like embers in the night. Fenrir’s transformation was complete.

[Fenrir has reforged his body with the use of the Tamer’s Ember, his resistance gain from its residual fire properties causes his body to only take half the damage from any heat-based attack.

Fenrir’s mana has completely merged and become empowered with fire, significantly bolstering his magic by 100 points!

Cinder Breath (Lvl 0) has been learned!

Cinder Breath- Releases a fiery breath that spews out in a wide cone, creating a shimmering heatwave peppered with red-hot embers. These embers linger briefly, setting ablaze any surface they land on, making it difficult for enemies to escape the spreading flames. The strength and length of the ability is determined by the amount of mana supplied in the attack but is capped at 150 mana. The cap will increase with each level.

Mana has reached the first limitation of 50 points; skill Dreadful Nullification obtained.

Dreadful Nullification level up!

Dreadful Nullification- Fenrir can tap into the primal dread of his being to nullify certain types of magic.

All incoming magical debuffs (such as curses, status effects, or mind-control) are reduced by 30%.

When hit by a debuff, Fenrir has a 25% chance to immediately dispel it, returning to full mental clarity.]

Noah watched in awe, feeling both relief and admiration. The trauma of almost losing his creatures before has unmistakably impacted him much more than he had realized, but seeing Fenrir’s transformation also made him proud of his beast tenacity. And even more so, Fenrir’s torture didn’t go unrewarded. The skill itself was good, but the benefit of his magic was even better; especially because his magic was only at meager 34. An increase of 100 points was equivalent to Fenrir leveling up five times!

The magic coursing through Fenrir now wasn’t just an upgrade; it was a game-changer. And though the immediate benefits weren’t clear, Noah knew this would pay off down the road. Fenrir had gained his final perk, and though it wasn’t immediately useful, Noah understood its long-term implications. His thoughts lingered on the future, where the most dangerous threats might not come from the monstrous or the unknown, but from humans. Creatures with the ability to master diverse skills, ones that could debuff and incapacitate. In a world where strength and magic were the keys to survival, having a team member capable of countering such threats would be invaluable.

Noah’s musings were interrupted by a brief pang of uncertainty. Despite not holding any true animosity toward the human race as a whole, he knew the cold truth: in their eyes, he was a monster. And monsters, no matter how noble their intentions, were hunted. That bitter reality, when combined with the fact that he was preparing to create a dungeon, elicited a smirk without his knowing. More and more he was becoming like the villains in his stories, the demon lords that he empathized with, more so than the hero’s and innocent bystanders.

His thoughts were interrupted from Fenrir’s overbearing roar that ripped through the forest, a roar that was announcing its new form to the world. A billow of flames and smoke unintentionally erupting from his maw that was uplifted into the air. The blaze shot up into the air, reaching for the sky like an untamed beast of its own. It was as though Fenrir, still unaccustomed to his newfound power, had no control over it, his body and emotions too wild to be tamed.

Maybe Fenrir was yet unaccustomed to the change, but his eyes widened in shock when he felt the flames flowing through him, the heat of his own flames flowing in front of his eyes.

Noah’s awe vanished seeing Fenrir’s clumsiness. ”He’s still the same old Fenrir, no matter how much he changes.”