Becoming a Monster

Chapter 403: Chapter 403: Not a Power for a Queen

The core reflected the many lights within the confined space, and at the same time, the scent that lingered from the other cores couldn’t compare to this one. It wasn’t simply that the smell was more enticing. The smell tugged at the receiver’s instincts, the smell was one that was of power instead of food.

Arachne still never witnessed the core effects, but Ailetta had. It was the same type of core that she consumed back when Noah seized the power of the woman in the jail cell.

Ailetta’s eyes narrowed in recognition. She didn’t need to say it; she understood what Noah wanted to do with it.

Ailetta stood across from them, admiring the structure of the core. But more importantly, she was thinking of the mechanism behind it. The skill required a soul and blood to be able to extract a skill, and then that skill could only be given to those bound to him by his blood pact skill.

What intrigued her most was whether it was still possible to give the skill to someone else. The skill was depicted that way by the system, but the system doesn’t exist anymore. They didn’t have to keep following rules that no longer existed.

However, she wouldn’t voice her thoughts, not yet. She knew that doing anything that involved the soul wasn’t something to take lightly, even for her. She still vividly remembered the sensation of her soul being corroded by the being within Noah. Anything involving the soul was unpredictable.

Besides, she still lacked what she needed most: subjects to test on. And Noah would never allow her to use the others for that purpose.

Her gaze flicked toward him, admiring the power that her loved one wielded.

Arachne, on the other hand, stood motionless, her many eyes looking in the core’s direction, but the gaze in her eyes showed that she was looking through it. Her thoughts weren’t just on the core, but on what Noah was asking of her.

She was told that the core would grant her a power that was uniquely suitable for her. One that would make her even more lethal in battle. The ability was one that would mask her presence. Not just from her enemies, but from everyone.

Noah wasn’t wrong when he said it suited her. With her speed, she was more of an assassin than anything else.

If she was still the same spider as before, she wouldn’t hesitate to take the skill for herself. Noah wasn’t wrong when he said it suited her. With her speed, she was more of an assassin than anything else.

But her instincts denied that way of fighting with her entire being. There was a pride within her that fought against her thoughts at every turn. The pride of a Queen. She wanted to be the Queen whose strength came from dominance, not from the shadows. She wanted the same form of power that Noah had shown her before, absolute authority over the battle.

A spider that lurked unseen was a predator.

But a spider whose enemies knew she was coming, and still couldn’t escape... that was a Queen.

Yet... she knew she wasn’t there yet. And until she reached that power, the core in front of her could at least make sure that she was still useful to Noah.

She knew what the smart answer was. Every part of her reasoned that this was the logical path. Her legs twitched behind her as her gaze drifted to Noah, who had been watching her patiently, as though he already knew the decision she would make.

Arachne bowed her head slightly, ashamed and embarrassed she refused the offer. "I...I want a different strength than this.." She spoke softly, a voice trembled, emotional from believing she was letting Noah down when he was giving her a way to grow stronger.

"That’s not a power for a queen..."

Noah was slightly surprised by her denial. He didn’t say anything, his eyes scrutinized her for moments longer than Arachne could bear. How could he forget? The spider who deemed herself to become a Queen, the strongest Queen. Looking at her now, her abilities were becoming that of a fighter and that of a commander. This ability would no doubt make her stronger, but not if it meant denouncing what she was determined to become.

The shroud across his face disappeared, replaced by his human-like appearance that was smiling towards her to relieve her worries. "Then we’ll find something that suits you better."

Arachne found herself genuinely surprised. Since the moment she first followed Noah, she had seen him as a being who constantly sought out power. And even when he achieved that power he would never be satisfied.

But when she remembered why he was always growing stronger, all the times he rose to fight an enemy that threatened their lives when they weren’t powerful enough. She remembered that he was always reaching for strength because of them.

And that, ironically, made her want to grow even stronger. Not to prove herself, not even to evolve faster. But to be worthy of the man who gave her everything.

With her rejection, Arachne assumed Noah would give the core to Fenrir. There was no doubt in her mind that Fenrir would accept it.

But then she saw Noah turn, his palm pointing towards seemingly no one. It was then she remembered that there was always another person in the room.

"Pandora." Her image appeared instantly beside him. Though her illusion didn’t need to, it still turned toward the core in his hand, as if she were truly seeing through its eyes.

"If Arachne doesn’t want this, then you are my next best choice. I’m sure you heard what it does. This ability could also improve your strength as well."

Pandora’s expression was unable to change, at least, she was still at the stage where she was improving her ability to control illusions. Yet, her aura still faintly trembled. Strength was no longer what she cared for most. What mattered to her was him. To her, the act of receiving something from Noah mattered more than the gift itself.

"I...accept," she responded quickly. Her tone couldn’t match the intensity of what she felt inside.

Noah studied her for a moment before glancing down at the core again. Now he had to determine if this would work. Pandora didn’t have a body capable of consuming the core as Ailetta had. But this was the perfect chance to find out if she could. And if she was able to, he could also feed her cores in the future too.

He could tell that Pandora was already satisfied with just his blood, but he knew that the benefits of mixing her blood with a core was far greater. He wanted the best for all his creatures.

Pandora didn’t react immediately. She remained silent, her gaze lingering on the core as if she were in deep thought. Then, after her pause, she reached out, not with her illusion, but through her real body.

Smaller roots broke through the ground, wrapping gently around the core in Noah’s hand. Noah didn’t resist. Without delaying, he removed his hand when she tightened her hold around it. Pandora continued to coil her roots around it until it was almost completely hidden within their grasp.

Then it began. A soft light pulsed within her roots. It was dim at first. But slowly, the pulse grew stronger, brighter, spreading from her roots to her main body.

And while the pulse grew stronger, the core itself began to change. The light it gave was a dim glow that faded with every pulse until the crystallized layer began to crack, flaking like dust before it eventually withered away. And when the glow finally faded, all that remained between her roots was the hollow shell of an empty core, but even that crumbled soon after.

Noah and the others waited for some reaction. They knew what the ability was, but, how exactly would it affect her?

Noah was the first to understand what was happening. It was so subtle that he wouldn’t have noticed before, and it was only because of the specialty of his Nexus eye that he became aware of what was wrong.

With his eye he could see her mana, but with his regular eyes, there was nothing to sense. Her aura, her life essence, simply no longer existed.

It wasn’t like she’d disappeared. She was still there. They could see the tree which embodied her true form, but that was it. They only saw a tree. To their senses, she was no longer a dryad, a special tree, just another part of the forest.

If she hadn’t been the only tree there, and if their attention hadn’t already been on her, even her special traits would’ve been ignored. The energy breathing through her bark, the roots that blended into the walls, all of it felt natural.

Even Ailetta couldn’t sense that something was wrong. Then, slowly, the faint feeling of Pandora’s essence returned, the warmth in her mana, the glow of her roots, all the details that made her ’her,’ stirring once more and jolting the others into sudden realization.