Becoming a Monster

Chapter 571 - 570: The Jig Is Up

The sudden appearance of the two figures caused everyone to instinctively reach for their weapons.

The atmosphere changed so abruptly that even the surrounding adventurers walking along the street slowed their steps.

Some instinctively glanced toward the group while others quietly moved farther away, having experienced enough fights throughout their lives to recognize when violence was only moments away.

”Whoa there, wolf cub.”

The voice carried a playful confidence that felt completely out of place given the tension.

”It’s only us.”

The figure standing before them slowly reached up before lowering the hood that had concealed most of her face.

A coat of white fur greeted them first. Then came the unmistakable features of a tiger beastkin.

She was nearly as large as Paul himself, possessing the broad shoulders and powerful frame of someone built for direct confrontation.

Yet every person standing there knew that appearance was deceptive.

She was more of an assassin than her seemingly frontline fighter appearance, capable of moving with an effortless grace that almost made it seem as though her feet never fully touched the ground.

Just as Paul and the others at the front, Ishii and the others confronted the other presence.

Unlike the tiger, he hadn’t bothered concealing his identity.

A relaxed smile rested comfortably across his face, and his posture looked so casual that someone seeing him for the first time might have mistaken him for an ordinary traveler who had wandered into the wrong street.

That impression lasted exactly until someone recognized who he was. Because everyone who had ever crossed blades with the man understood the easier he appeared to approach...

The more dangerous he became.

Paul and the others slowly lowered their hands from their weapons.

However, instead of easing their tension, the recognition made every muscle in their bodies tighten.

The figures’ identities weren’t simple in the slightest. They were S-Rank adventurers, and they were among the handful of people Thalric trusted without reservation.

And perhaps more importantly...

They were also the people responsible for training them.

Paul still remembered every lesson they drilled into him.

Most of those lessons involved being beaten into the ground until his body picked up what his mind couldn’t.

Resisting them would accomplish nothing. If anything, it would probably end considerably worse than any lesson they had endured during training.

That was why, despite everyone’s instincts screaming at them that something was wrong, their hands gradually left their weapons.

”...Robera,” Paul spoke as he always did, his expression revealing almost nothing despite the countless thoughts racing through his mind.

”Why... are you here?”

”There isn’t any training today.”

The tiger beastkin placed both hands upon her hips before letting out an amused laugh.

”Oh?”

”So the little wolf cub still remembers us?”

”I was beginning to think that your little recent success made you forget.”

A few of the others couldn’t help but lower their heads.

Even now, she somehow managed to make the conversation feel as though they were still students standing before their instructor.

Then Robera smiled. It was a smile each one of them recognized.

The kind that reminded them far more of a mother who had already found the broken vase and was waiting to see how long the child would try to hide it.

”Cubs...” She let out a quiet sigh before slowly shaking her head.

”You youngsters really need to stop thinking you’re clever. You all actually thought we hadn’t noticed?”

”I suppose every generation reaches that age where they rebel.”

A few people instinctively lowered their eyes.

Somehow, Robera always had a way of making grown adventurers feel like children again.

”What’s wrong?”

”You’re all awfully quiet now.”

Her golden eyes slowly wandered across each of them.

”You know... You’d be amazed how often young adventurers think they’re being subtle.”

”Cubs will just never learn.” She shook her head with an exasperated sigh.

When she looked at them again, she had an expression that they had seen one too many times in training. The same expression just before she got serious.

An overwhelming pressure settled over the group without warning.

It was the pressure of someone reminding them that the difference between an experienced S-Rank adventurer and a group of talented newcomers was still unimaginably vast.

The adventurers and civilians passing through the street continued about their day without the slightest indication that anything had happened.

Paul felt it more clearly than anyone. His ability to sense a being’s level was becoming more of a curse than a boon.

If Robera decided that this was no longer a conversation between instructor and student, then every person standing here would be on the ground before they had the opportunity to understand what happened.

Her golden eyes slowly swept across the group.

A quiet chuckle escaped her as she noticed that they held themselves better than she expected.

Her expression settled down afterward.

”You’ve all grown. I’m proud of that.”

”But now that we’ve gotten that out of the way...”

”Guild Master Thalric would like to speak with all of you. I suggest we don’t keep him waiting.”

There wasn’t the slightest hint of negotiation in her voice.

The words themselves were polite. The meaning behind them wasn’t.

Silence settled over the group. None dared to go against her, let alone argue.

Resisting the two people standing before and behind them would accomplish nothing.

For better or worse... Whatever they had been trying to keep hidden had finally reached Thalric.

Almost instinctively, everyone’s attention shifted toward Paul. Among everyone standing there, he had the most to lose.

If everything surrounding Noah came to light, then Paul’s connection to him would become the first thing placed beneath scrutiny.

To be turned into a werewolf could be overlooked, but if Noah had also claimed Paul as his monster, then that was something else entirely.

Paul understood that better than anyone.

For only the briefest moment, his hands slowly tightened into fists before relaxing just as quietly.

”...Understood.”

—

No one spoke as they finally reached the room where they trained.

They all had questions, questions concerning what they should expect when they got there, and about their other teammates.

But everyone there, besides Amara, knew Robera wouldn’t answer anything they asked.

When they pushed through the doors, an open arena welcomed them, as well as a sight that they weren’t expecting.

The Guild Master’s entourage was unusually small, a clear sign that whatever this meeting was about, he trusted only those present to hear it.

But standing across from them were the rest of their friends. Every single one.

This time, even Amara was surprised, as she and her small following had been with them for only a few days.

The amount of information they knew about the others was almost just as much as the information Paul and the others shared with Varkesh.

Despite her surprise and initial worry, her expression calmed down instantly.

As her gaze roamed over everyone there, besides Bailey, no one was going to die anytime soon.

Whatever this was, it wasn’t as serious as everyone believed. But she wouldn’t tell them that. She didn’t want to risk tempting fate.

Still in silence, they made their way to everyone else. The main entourage joined Levy, Raven, and Riley at the front.

They couldn’t help inquiring with their gaze to understand what was going on, and it was only then that Levy shook his head with a wry smile.

”The jig is up. It was about time anyway,” Was all he said. However, it was difficult to tell if he even cared what they told them or what they found out.

His remark wasn’t missed by Thalric and the others.

Though subtle, it caused the tension within the room to lessen ever so slightly.

Levy’s reaction wasn’t what he would have expected from someone whose secrets had just been exposed.

Rather than showing panic or searching for an excuse, the young man accepted it with surprising ease.

If anything, he sounded as though he had expected this conversation to happen eventually.

From Thalric’s perspective, that changed the situation considerably.

Whatever they had been concealing was undoubtedly important enough that they believed it worth hiding. At the same time, Levy’s acceptance suggested they had never intended to keep it hidden forever.

It made Thalric wonder if it would’ve been easier to just talk to Levy about it alone from the beginning.

With a glance, Thalric looked over to Elowen, the one who understood this little protege the best. She oversaw all of his training and was his direct mentor.

He wondered if he had ever mentioned anything in hindsight.

And sensing what Thalric was thinking from their years of partnership, Elowen simply shook her head.

However, despite her usually cold exterior, she was more relaxed now. She placed great value on Levi’s growth.

Thalric waited until everyone had settled before speaking.

His gaze eventually came to rest on the group in the front.

”Before anyone says anything...”

”I want all of you to understand why you’re here.”

”The reason I called all of you here is that I believe you’re withholding information from the guild.”

Although no one spoke, Thalric noticed more than one heartbeat quicken.

He expected as much.

No one knew how much he already knew, nor where this conversation was about to lead.

”I also believe that information concerns the ”demon” currently residing within the forest.”

”And I suspect that very demon is the same one I sensed where I first found you.”