Becoming a Monster

Chapter 232: Chapter 232: Finally, Creating Our Home

Noah scrutinized the snake as it was in the midst of observing its changes. Although the snake was now in an unbreakable bond with the tree, that didn’t mean that the snake was necessarily on their side. It lacked freedom but it still retained its free will.

His sharp gaze missed nothing, the snake’s restless movements, the quickening flicker of its tongue, even the fluctuations of its mana. If it so much as hinted at rebellion once it gained the strength to act on it, Noah wouldn’t hesitate. He would ensure the tree absorbed everything, the power granted by the fruit, and even the snake’s very life essence.

Noah couldn’t tell how strong the snake had become, but he doubted that his webs could hold it down as easily as before. That was why there wasn’t any hesitation in his heart to put it down if he had to, even if it meant wasting the fruit that required so many resources to create, and even if it meant losing out on a valuable pawn.

Still, Noah was confident in his intuition. Unlike humans, monsters often wore their intentions on their skin. He believed that the snake was smart enough to realize that its newfound strength wasn’t enough to change the scales of their roles.

The snake, who was finally getting accustomed to its changes, seemed to finally pick up on the danger. Its eyes flickered to Noah, sensing his judgeful stare, and it immediately went docile. Not a shred of defiance remained in its eyes. The shift was almost too convenient, but Noah didn’t let his guard down. Monsters might wear their intentions plainly, but desperation could make even the most predictable creatures dangerous.

”I always fulfill my promises, but I’m sure you can sense it, your life is no longer your own. You have a duty to keep this tree alive now, that duty also extends to this forest. But I won’t restrict you, as long as you perform your duty well, then you can do whatever you want.”

The snake’s body trembled slightly, whether from the weight of Noah’s words or the lingering aftershocks of its transformation, he couldn’t tell. Its violet eyes remained fixed on him, unblinking, as though it was attempting to gauge the sincerity of his declaration.

”I....understand...” The snake conveyed its acceptance of the role Noah had bestowed it, but Noah could also sense the undertone of something deeper. The snake was disappointed, but it was also yearning for something....more.

Noah’s gaze sharpened, but he emitted no form of aggression towards the snake. ”It seems you’re greedier than I imagined. If you thought your small display of loyalty would allow you to obtain the same blood that I gave the tree, then you misunderstood your place.”

The snake shifted, its body shuddered with fear at the thought of potentially ruining its standing with Noah. It knew there was going to be a change within the forest, a bigger change than when the spider was the ruler, and it wanted to be a part of it.

The promise of power, of growth that could even surpass the form it just achieved, was too tempting to ignore. But now it realized it made a mistake; there was no room for ambition here, not yet, not unless Noah allowed it.

Sensing its anxiousness, Noah didn’t press further. Wanting more power was typical of any creature; his companions were no different. However, only his companions could ever request anything of him without a trade off of equal standing.

The snake couldn’t tell what Noah was thinking, and not knowing only increased its worries until it heard Noah speak to it again.

”Just don’t let it happen again,” Noah dismissively spoke, his attention now elsewhere as he looked around the area in deep contemplation.

”Le, I’m thinking we should use it here.”

”It’s about time!” Ailetta responded without the need for context. Seeing the tree’s and the snake’s transformation was interesting, but to her, she was most looking forward to securing a place they could call their own. Her eyes shone expectantly as she stared towards Noah’s ring while her other eyes surveyed their surroundings, as if she was appraising the land for a house.

Her excitement easily resonated with Noah, causing him to gain a small smile that quickly reverted back to his stern expression when he noticed the snake was still there, watching him with unease and uncertainty.

”What we are about to do now requires no one to interfere. Can you make that happen?” Noah requested the snake. The snake was aware that the question wasn’t a request at all; it was both an order and a test. Either way it wasn’t going to reject it. In its urgency, it forgot to respond. Its body began to move while staying still simultaneously. Without its head in the scene, only the passing of the violet energy on its exterior was the only indicator that its body was in motion as the rest of its body, no different than darkness itself, made it almost impossible to perceive what direction it was going.

It was only when Noah saw the snake’s tail passing that he turned to face his curious companions. His hand reached over his ring, initiating for the heart shaped artifact to materialize in his palm.

”With this, we can finally create our home.”

There was no need to put it off any longer; his creatures felt the same way. No one spoke as their anticipating silence spoke for them. No more wandering, no more uncertainty.

Arachne was probably the most excited of them all. Her gaze was more eager than they were excited. Unlike the others, she was the most self conscious of her strength, and also the one who struggled the most out of all of their fights. Her physical power had limitations, while her main abilities also held many restrictions. The skill that she believed would change all of that was a skill that not only required time, but also required for her not to leave a specific place for a certain amount of time.

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Looking at the pseudo heart in his hand, Noah was aware that he needed to pump his mana into to trigger the change. However, he wasn’t sure how much was actually needed or if the amount of mana he had would be enough. His uncertainty gnawed at him, but as his hand tightened around the artifact, he found his resolve.

”I’ll just use everything... there should be nothing wrong if I give too much, right? And if it’s not enough...” he muttered under his breath, the words trailing off as he steadied his thoughts.

With that, the ring on his finger glowed once again, a soft pulse of light signaling the beginning of the process. In response, lumps and lumps of mana cores began to materialize around him, appearing from nowhere as though summoned by his determination. They quickly began to stack, rising higher and higher until they reached above his head. Yet the pile continued to grow, its weight and size increasing until the mana cores started to topple, crumbling over themselves.

He didn’t hesitate to use his entire collection of mana cores, leaving only the spider cores behind, uncertain of when or if he would find more. Soon after, Noah’s body began to stir with a subtle but growing intensity. The air around him thickened as he began to accumulate all the mana within himself, channeling it into the artifact in his hand. The pulse of the artifact resonated in sync with his own heartbeat, but each beat grew stronger, louder, pulsating through the air in waves so powerful they could be heard across half of the forest.

The snake froze, its entire momentum halted by the overwhelming pressure. Its head snapped in every direction, scanning its surroundings in a panic. When its gaze landed back on Noah, it immediately understood: he was the source of this oppressive force. The feeling was unlike anything it had ever experienced, a sensation that made it feel completely uncomfortable. Warily, the snake looked around again, trying to make sense of the unfamiliar sensation that gripped the forest. It couldn’t understand why, but the forest no longer felt natural.

The changes weren’t only felt by the snake. Many of the native creatures living in close proximity to where the change was occurring, began to flee in droves, migrating toward the other half of the forest. These creatures were unsure what they were fleeing from, their sense of danger was akin to how animals would flee before an impending natural disaster. Meanwhile, two specific creatures looked in the direction of the change. The two were oblivious to the exact identity of the being who was the cause of such a change, but they knew that it had to be the intruder.

The two had to come to a decision, a decision that would eventually leave them with two choices.

One option was to combine their forces, joining together to create a single, unified hive, sharing their power to resist the encroaching change. They would have to set aside their differences, pooling their strength to challenge the unknown threat that loomed ahead. The other option, however, was to retreat, to abandon their current positions and submit to the rule of the ”true” ruler of the forest, the one who had never bothered to exert its dominance, content to let the spider reign over half the territory simply because it was too lazy to claim the whole of it.