Becoming a Monster
Chapter 127: The Core of Change

Chapter 127: Chapter 127: The Core of Change

"Thank you," he murmured, appreciating Ailetta’s presence. Any hostility within his presence instantly subsided. Fenrir mirrored Noah’s lack of vigilance, first confusingly glancing towards Noah before splurging on some of the nearby corpses in the area. Arachne was the only one from the group who wouldn’t let the previous transgressions slide. Her senses still warned her that the prey were still threats to her and Noah.

Raven watched the exchange, her confusion deepening. She had expected Noah to not back down, eventually lashing out without restraint, confirming her earlier judgment that Noah was a monster striving to transcend the world into chaos. But this display of restraint and the influence Ailetta had over him made her hesitate.

Not wanting to antagonize over the unknown, Raven hesitantly voiced out. "Does this mean you’re backing down?"

Noah turned his attention towards Raven, his expression unreadable for a moment before a faint smile crossed his lips. "Backing down? No," he amusingly shook his head. "Backing down means being forced to leave doesn’t it? I’ll leave after I’m able to use the shop."

"What’s with that expression?" Noah sarcastically asked, noticing Raven’s surprise at the mention of the shop. "This should make everything simple, no? As long as I can use the shop, then I’ll be gone. Most likely you’ll probably never see me again, so the faster we get this over with the better."

Raven hesitated, her brows furrowing in deep thought. Her first reaction was to turn down Noah every step of the way. She couldn’t shake off the unease that Noah’s presence could bring to their settlement, especially considering that Noah was a twisted monster, a monster that seemed to enjoy chaos much more than the scheming faction leader back at the station. Yet witnessing such a normal and frail-looking girl being able to influence such a person, added on to the fact that Noah appeared genuine on his intention to leave, gave her pause.

"I....I can’t trust you," Raven finally admitted, the resignation in her voice betraying her spoken intentions. "But if it means you’ll leave peacefully after this, then..." She trailed off, torn between bringing multiple powerhouse monsters onto their doorstep or possibly having to confront those said monsters, possibly losing her life and being the cause of her followers dying in the process, all because of her own biases.

Her jaw clenched, the weight of her decision heavy on her shoulders. She looked towards Noah, meeting his gaze, her senses reminding her that she was making the right decision. "Fine," she said tersely, her voice still holding a bit of reluctance. "You can use the shop. But after that, you leave. And if you ever come near us again..."

"I have no other reason to be around any of you. But.....you should watch what you say, the only reason we’re talking is because you have something I need..." Noah turned away from Raven, not bothering to hear or see her reaction. For now, he returned his gaze to his own little group.

"Le, before we go," Noah paused. Lifting up his hand, he materialized a small pearl in his palm. The pearl was reminiscent of the many mana cores he collected in the past. However, this pearl in particular was not only different in appearance, Its insides was a mixture of gold shades, with the brightest shades constantly giving off a lustrous glow. But the pearl also didn’t originate from a monster, instead, it was the final item he received from his chest.

His thoughts on the item were sporadic, excited and anxious of what he believed to be a mana core, a mana core that was a cut above the rest of the cores even enchanted by his skill. There was a scary silence between the four of them, each sentient being was drawn towards the mysterious orb of energy, instinctively understanding its importance.

"Ah!" Dejected gasps shot out of both Ailetta’s and Arachne’s mouth simultaneously, both of them slightly glancing towards the other before quickly resuming their attention to Noah after he stuffed the core down his mouth without warning.

A suspenseful silence would’ve followed if not for Fenrir whimpers of not being given the core. Noah’s eyes were closed throughout the entire time, at first relishing in the core dissolving and incorporating itself into his own mana, before eventually checking his status to understand its effects.

"!"

His eyes widened at the discovery. Each and everyone of his tier zero skills were increased by ten percent! While his tier 1 skills were only increased by a meager one percent. Despite the huge disparity between the increases of his different skills, Noah was beyond satisfied with the overall results, especially after having been notified by the system that the core he just consumed was only a zero-tier core.

Looking up towards Ailetta’s questioning stare, her eyes widened just as much as his after he explained the core’s effects. Her eyes glistened at the prospect of retrieving the same item within her loot, but then the thought brought about a concerning question. "Why have we only received something like this now?" She voiced to Noah. After following Mark’s group, she has seen her fair share of looted items, but never has she laid her eyes on an item remotely similar to the core.

Noah only had to ponder briefly on the subject before he came to a quick conclusion. "It’s probably the same as with the shop, it must be one of the perks of being an ’Awakened’. Ailetta nodded in support of his theory.

"Oh!" Her body suddenly jolted, coming to a realization as she reapproached her chest to bring out the loot she acquired after being distracted when noticing Raven’s earlier arrival.

Noah’s expectations for the items weren’t as high as for the loot gathered from his own chest, Aitleta was neither awakened, nor was her chest as high a grade as his. And seeing the items withdrawn only solidified his earlier thoughts. Besides the predetermined gold, her loot consisted of two potions and a large two hand double sided battle axe. An axe easily passing her height, the struggle to lift the weapon from the chest was a clear indication of its weight.

Neither disappointed, nor ecstatic, Noah only took one of the potions and the weapon, admiring its aesthetic before placing it within his storage ring. He left her with the low-tier mana potion, while the potion he chose to safekeep was the lowest tier zombie cure. Questions arose about the grade of the potion, since the majority of the zombies they faced were edging closer to evolution. Although it was still useful for others, potentially being used as a bargaining chip or a last resort if Ailetta was ever infected; Noah doubted that the potion would be beneficial to him by time the day was over. Images of hundreds, thousands of evolved zombies roaming the cities shifted through his mind.

"Noah?" Ailetta grew worried when noticing the change in his demeanor. The shift in his aura was too quick and without warning. Instinctively she peered behind her, believing that maybe a monster or monsters were lurking.

Her expression made Noah realize that his thoughts were showing in his expression. "It’s nothing for now, but we should get going. The faster we get what we need from the shop, the faster we can finally get rid of the annoyances."

Noah’s reminder made Ailetta pause, glancing towards the others, specifically Jasmine, who was now looking at them from afar. Her body felt heavier knowing that this could be the last time she ever sees her friend again.

But then something clicked, her earlier conversation with Noah replayed in her mind, expanding her worldview. Instead of just seeing Jasmine opposite her, imagining the sadness she would put upon her when leaving her forever to stay at Noah’s side.

Ailetta took in the distance between them instead, a distance that was filled with the corpses of zombie parts and deep puddles of blood. The divide between them was like night and day. Their mixed expressions between fear, worry and reproach made Ailetta understand that the world that she wants was never compatible with theirs.

She envisioned herself on the other side, having her same meager strength as before. There was a time when she could only question how much longer can she stay alive, now, her only question is what else does she need to do to become stronger. There was a clear distinction between the two sides, one side was fighting for survival, while the other was fighting to live.

Ailetta’s turned towards Noah, a somewhat detached look was mixed within her gaze. "Let’s go, I’m ready."

Noah nodded towards her despite his gesture being made more towards himself. There was a sense of satisfaction for him as he witnessed the change within her. To him, Ailetta was one step closer to forsaking her humanity, one step closer to leaving the cage within their limited morals and selective compassion.

With Noah leading the way, they soon closed the distance, with Noah now standing face to face with Raven. Her entourage was unable to stand in his presence without feeling the need to tense their muscles for any signs of aggression. And while that may come off as a sign of disrespect, Raven had no intention of having her women stand down.

"Remember our deal, I can vouch for you to use the shop, but you’ll have to keep your word and leave."

"That was the plan already, the quicker the better." Noah hurried her on, seemingly impatient to get rid of her. Raven wasn’t sure why his demeanor irked her more than it should have. However, she couldn’t come up with a rebuttal to vent her irritation without coming off as being immature.

"Girls, Let’s go." Raven then turned to the students. "You all can just follow behind. We would be more than welcome to have more willing hands to help our group." Raven followed up, her irritableness escaping through her tone, causing the students to feel uneasy and confused.

The trek back to the station was perceived to be longer than the actual distance. The silence only enhanced everyone’s perception of the time ticking by. Curious glances would land upon Noah and his group of monsters following behind them, eventually, they made it to the police station clearing.