Becoming a Monster
Chapter 132: Burning Pockets

Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Burning Pockets

Noah and Ailetta were now standing before the shop’s owner, its mysterious appearance was an uncanny resemblance to the one they saw at the school.

Levi observed their backs as he watched Noah interact with the robed figure, his expression was one of shock and awe, thinking about the last thing that was said.

’Even against a god....I was wrong. It’s not information that I need if I want to become as strong as him. My mindset was weak from the beginning...’ Levi’s thoughts began to formulate future plans and necessary risks he would have to take in the future. By this time, Noah was now within the confined mental space of the shop. Ailetta decided to stay by his side to prevent any unnecessary distractions.

Emerging into the shop’s space, Noah first looked over the amount of money that he now had after receiving not only Ailetta’s share but also the gold that was given to her by the others.

The last time he checked his gold, he had almost 7k gold, and now, he had exactly 15,681 gold to use. It was a massive amount, an amount that would surely expedite his and Ailetta’s growth.

While in the shop, there were two skills that he at least wanted to get for himself. One was the minor illusion skill, while the other was the frail constitution skill he wanted earlier for himself. But as he ventured over to the spells, he decided to scroll further than usual. That’s when he came upon spells that were not only higher in grades, but also more expensive; MUCH more expansive.

Looking through the monster tamer abilities, the next highest tier of spells cost 5k gold, and that was only because he had the monster tamer class; otherwise, it would be 10k just for a skill.

Curious to see what was the difference between a beginner ability and an intermediate ability, Noah took the time to browse through the options.

’Just like before, they have two to three types of spells and multiple variations. But I can slightly understand why the spells cost so much more.’ Noah thought to himself as he looked them over.

There were three types of abilities worth noting: Guardian’s "fire ward", "water ward", and so on. "Fire infusion", "water infusion", etc. And then there was "Skill Augmentation." Out of the list of monster taming skills, those three resonated with him the most.

Seeing the skills that would normally be out of his reach, his curiosity got the best of him, and he explored the mage skills to see what intermediate spells the class would have to offer.

Just the first set of spells he saw were all enticing him to spend the rest of his gold.

From magic missiles to elemental walls with derivatives of all the elements, and grant lesser invisibility. The list was quite expansive, but the ability that caught his eye was actually an upgrade of one of the abilities he initially wanted.

[Greater illusion purchased! 5k gold spent.]

".....fuck....I bought it without thinking..." Noah muttered, realizing that he had just spent a third of his gold impulsively. Although he sounded dispirited from his impulsive buy, inwardly he was smiling ear to ear. Just like with manabolt, Noah couldn’t deviate from his true desires.

"Okay Noah, you got what you wanted, now let’s focus on getting something for Ailetta. Or should I have her buy her own skills instead? That way she can spend less money on her skills?" he thought aloud, conflicted with the decision. It took him yet a moment to think about it before he came up with a decision. Mentally saving 5k gold to the side for Ailetta, he planned to use the last 5k for himself.

Not wanting to spend the rest of his gold on skills, he browsed some of the other subcategories of abilities; passing over the other class skills before reaching perks.

The first option listed was surprising: the option to receive a beginner’s subclass, with the price only being 15k. Noah thought "only" 15k because he honestly felt that the price was rather cheap for its value. But if you broke it down, then the price would be considered overpriced for some.

A subclass only garners you one, maybe two beginner skills, which at most will cost the person 4K gold. The other benefits would only allow the person to obtain specific loot for the class and allow for cheaper purchases of skills. But overall, the average person would only look at the immediate benefits and assume the price wasn’t worth it.

In this case, Noah knew better. Just an intermediate skill without the discount was 10k gold. He would be essentially saving 5k gold with the subclass just like he was able to with the illusion skill.

After just seeing the first perk, his attention was much more engaged to see what other perks there could be. The next item caused his face to scrunch, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. The item was a voucher for an appearance change. And the one after that was a gender change! What brought him the most confusion was the fact that the two items were more expensive than the subclass perk, costing as much as 30k gold!

"Who in their right mind would buy this!" The audacity of having such an overpriced perk actually caused him to become upset. For a moment, he really had the urge to vent his mind to the shop owner. It took for the next item on the list to subside his frustrations.

"Can I get this if I already have one?" he exasperatedly muttered to himself after seeing that it was possible to be granted a unique trait, while just below that was the option for a unique skill. The person who he has become today, the power that he was able to claim, the monsters he was able to defeat; all of it was because of the unique trait he obtained. If it was possible for him to obtain another one....he could only imagine how powerful he could become.

"But the price is 50k just for a skill while a trait is 100k....I should be happy with what I have. One day I’ll have enough to come back here."

Seeing how the rest of the perks were far out of his reach, he mentally browsed for one last item that he knew he needed.

"I already have three, but I plan on upgrading all of my skills eventually," he thought, satisfied with his choice.

Without hesitating, Noah spent 4k gold to retrieve two more tier zero upgrade stones. With what he had in mind, his newly acquired zombie skills will be able to be upgraded before leaving the station.

There was a longing in his heart to at least spend his last thousand gold, but desire for obtaining more intermediate skills prevented him from doing something unnecessary.

Leaving the shop, Noah was once again startled by the masked figure directly in his face. Deep down, he felt the hooded figure was mocking him for being so broke, but he pushed the thought aside. There was an urgency to set his plan in motion before they were to leave.

"What did you get?" he turned to Ailetta, who was waiting patiently for him to finish. Her smile touched Noah even more; her excitement for his success, without being displeased with the thought of him not sharing anything with her, only further solidified herself in his heart.

Instead of telling her, Noah briefly closed his eyes, focusing his thoughts before opening them again.

"What?" Ailetta gasped in astonishment when she witnessed the hard, cold ground under them become a bed of beautiful flowers. Her feet slightly lifted as she tried not to crush a rose under her foot, but then she realized that she could still only feel the cold ground instead of the soil beneath the grass. Her face scrunched up in confusion as she remembered Levi’s earlier illusion display, which left her perplexed.

"I can smell the flowers....and they’re moving..Noah, this is an illusion, but it’s different from what Levi showed us." Her gaze lifted to face Noah, only to see his amused smirk. Seeing his playful eyes, and recognizing that he was messing with her the entire time, her cheeks puffed up in anger. Noah only found her pouting to be amusing. Deactivating his skill, he was about to explain the skills details to her, but before he could get a word out, Ailetta pounced atop of him, playfully biting into his neck.

Noah laughed when he sensed her small nibbles bite down harder when she realized how tough his skin was. "Le, what exactly are you trying to do?" His laughter echoed, venturing outside the cell, eliciting both curious and uncomfortable glances inside.

"The skill is called Greater Illusion. It’s more powerful and realistic than the previous one. Apparently, the shop sells intermediate skills and advanced skills despite our level. I got the skill because I thought it would.....synergize well with my other skills?" He stated in the form of a question.

Ailetta stopped nibbling, looking up at him with eyes that showed that she didn’t believe his reasoning. "I see," she said, narrowing her eyes at him, but a smile tugging at her lips. "So, it wasn’t because you wanted to be like a certain overlord, huh?"

Noah embarrassingly chuckled as Ailetta climbed off him, brushing her clothes. "Okay, I’ll admit, it’s pretty impressive. But don’t think you can get away with messing with me like that all the time."

She then grabbed his hand, preparing to lead him back the way they came. "Come on, let’s go back. We still have to find a place to settle down." With a small tug, she was ready to lead the way. However, she felt Noah slightly pulling her back. She looked towards Noah with deep confusion while he continued to look towards her with fondness in his eyes.

"Before we go, how about you get something for yourself? We still have gold left over, and I already have what I need."

Shocked, Ailetta initially wanted to refuse; she wanted to be an asset to his strength. Using the gold that could further increase Noah’s potential strength as if she was doing the opposite, but Noah saw through her thoughts.

"For someone who wants to stand by my side, how can you do that if the power gap between us continues to widen?"

His question caused Ailetta’s heart to stir. Those have been her thoughts all along, haunting her. She looked at Noah, his indirect way of showing his support strengthening her resolve. "You’re right," she said softly. "I want to be strong too, but not just for you, for myself as well."

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