Becoming a Monster

Chapter 409: Chapter 409: Survival Trumps All Grudges

The three groups of monsters didn’t believe for a second that their actions were being hidden. Since they believed the forest was aiding the demon, they also believed that the forest was aware of their gathering and had already informed him.

What they didn’t know was that Pandora wasn’t aware of them at all, her reach didn’t go past the boundary. But that didn’t mean Noah was unaware. Since he was prepared for something like this, he had already made plans.

Above the trees, in inconspicuous locations around the edges of the entire wall, little slimes could be spotted. They were looking across the wall, acting as lookouts. These slimes were uniquely similar to Ailetta’s. However, their eyes didn’t have the same sentimental appeal as hers. They were merely puppets being manually controlled by Noah’s will.

Because of this, Noah could only use enough to cover one half of the wall. His experience with the ability wasn’t enough to do more, while he wasn’t willing to spend enough mana to instill sentience within them.

That was when he relied on Ailetta, whose slimes were better suited to perform such a feat. With both him and Ailetta working together, everything around their border was under constant watch.

They didn’t try to be too discreet about their surveillance. From some of the monsters’ reactions, both Noah and Ailetta picked up on their gazes towards their slimes. Some even pointed to the others around them, making everyone aware of their presence. But none of them tried to destroy them. Not yet.

"They surrounded us on three sides..." Ailetta spoke with unusual seriousness. If the creatures had attacked one at a time, she had no problem with facing them. She believed their own strength was worthy of combating an entire monster village, especially now they were strengthened by the dungeon.

However, the situation now could threaten them all.

Noah didn’t speak right away. He stood outside their home, his eyes closed as he took in everything. The slimes he created still carried pupils that had the same advanced eyesight as his originals. They couldn’t see as his Nexus eye could, so he couldn’t read their auras, or determine their exact strength. However, he observed everything else.

He noticed how none of the three factions of monsters moved, despite being aware that they were watching them. Instead, the monsters seemed to subtly look around them. They constantly looked to the directions of the others, waiting to see who would go first.

That benefited Noah. At least now he understood that they weren’t allied together. Fighting three separate armies at the same time would be difficult, but it was still better than fighting three groups who were united.

Lastly, he still was able to gather enough information to understand that within all three groups, they all were being led by a creature. Each leader had the bearings of someone powerful. Just from their stance alone, Noah could sense that they were powerful. And if he were to guess, not to mention just two of them, if all three leaders were to fight together, he doubted that even he could overcome them.

His initial plan was to divide and conquer.

He would send his creatures in groups, each fighting their own enemy, while he would be forced to stay here, having to protect the core. It was all a precaution just in case the drake did in fact have nefarious intentions.

Yet, that plan was not viable at all. In fact, he would probably be sending his family out to their deaths. His range only extended so far, he wouldn’t be able to maintain their buffs the entire time.

From what he reflected after their battle with the trolls, without his buffs, only a few of them could evenly combat the enemy.

This wasn’t what he wanted. But nothing was fair in war. Frustration was beginning to gnaw at him.

Ailetta was about to comfort him, she could understand his irritation, she was irritated too. If she and the others were stronger, then Noah wouldn’t have to be burdened with making his decision.

But before she could say anything, her body froze. "There’s something approaching from the south."

Noah turned toward her. The change in her tone made everyone else tense instantly. Noah still had his slime in the area, yet they were inactive while he wasn’t controlling them. After connecting to the slime on the south, he saw what she was talking about.

He assumed that it was another faction of monsters about to attack that he hadn’t encountered before. Instead, what he found was dozens of creatures whose appearance left him puzzled.

They moved in scattered groups, slipping through the trees and brush with a kind of restless caution. At first glance, they looked like beasts, no different than what he would expect from a monster. But certain traits about them were too familiar.

They resembled dogs and cats from his world, but these creatures had clearly gone through evolutions.

Some of the dogs were massive; their muscles and thick hides were more like armor than fur. Others showed signs of mutations.

A mastiff’s hide had thickened into armor, plates fused over muscle. A pair of hounds darted ahead, moving so fast their paws left thin trails of light behind them.

And then, the ground itself trembled.

A pit bull emerged from between the trees, its shoulders broad as a wagon. It was the size of a mutated bear, a walking wall of flesh and muscle. Each step sent heavy vibrations through the ground, muscles bunching and flexing beneath scar-thick hide. Its ears were torn, its snout scarred, but its eyes glowed with cold intelligence. When it exhaled, its breath came out in heavy bursts.

Despite its monstrous size, the other dogs didn’t fear it. They moved with a goal in mind.

Yet even that giant lowered its head when the white one appeared.

The leader was large, but smaller than the pit bull. Yet, it held more presence than the bear-sized pit bull or the dogs combined. Its fur was pure white, glowing as if it was something holy. Its eyes burned like the sun. The thick mane that ran down its neck to its chest stood upright, every strand trembling faintly with coursing energy.

The other dogs watched it, not with fear, but reverence, like soldiers awaiting command.

On the side of them, separated only by the trees, were the cats.

The first was a shadow in motion, its black fur absorbing light until only its silver eyes could be seen. It was panther in shape, but its face resembled that of a lynx. Every step was smooth and deliberate, leaving no sound, no trace. Every cat followed behind it. It was clear this one was their leader.

The second followed at its side. It was both pale and hairless, its body almost human in posture as it walked upright with careful balance. Its eyes were white, nearly colorless, giving the impression of blindness, yet it moved as if completely aware of everything around it. Its forelimbs had changed to long jointed claws that flexed no differently than a human’s.

Behind them came others of varying kinds. A thick-furred Maine coon whose mane bristled with static, letting out quiet pops of electricity as it moved. A Siamese whose body was taller and leaner than normal. Its narrow frame gave it predatory vibes. The air around it seemed to bend, its outline blurring as if two bodies overlapped and drifted slightly apart before settling again. An orange tabby followed, its fur rough and uneven, the stripes twisting without a pattern. Its eyes were dull red, and the air near its paws and tail wavered faintly.

The two species lacked partnership; the distance between them showed that their natures rivalry was still intact, yet they still traveled together.

That changed the day they last encountered the scent of Noah’s blood. Wandering just to survive, the two species learned that despite their evolution, they were not freed from the food chain.

The undead ignored them, but the insects and the flying predators were different. The few days that passed slowly thinned their groups. Yet, those who survived became stronger.

And then, the world changed again.

They found themselves within a forest that had no resemblance of their home. The sudden transition made their instincts flare, the mana in the world attacked their senses repeatedly. The first night was purely to find shelter so their bodies could adjust. There was a heavy scent of foreign beasts and monsters, yet they could barely circulate their mana like they used to without effort. They were vulnerable.

But wherever they went, they met things worse than hunger. Monsters that stalked them even at night. They didn’t sleep, they barely ate.

And the monsters that took advantage of that the most were the goblins.

Individually, the goblins weren’t stronger, they weren’t faster, but they were clever, they were hunters. They didn’t fight head on; they ambushed, striking with poison from afar, using traps and fire whenever they settled. They outnumbered them, never fighting one on one.

Worse than the goblins were the hobgoblins. Larger, stronger, more cunning, and cruelly patient. For every fight the cats and dogs won, they lost two more of their own.

The goblins forced them together.

At first, the two sides turned on each other as they always had. But when the goblins struck again, from both flanks, neither side had a choice. The hounds and the felines turned outward, fighting back to back instead of tearing each other apart.

For the first time, the two species fought as one. When they won, they didn’t separate again. They were too wounded, and the threat of being attacked again didn’t go away.

That uneasy truce held through the day that followed.

It was only earlier through the day that they finally had a moment of rest. Creatures they hadn’t expected to see in the forest had caught the monsters’ attention, humans...

But moments after the humans departed, they picked up on a familiar scent that tugged at their souls, tempting them, calling them.

They didn’t know who it belonged to, or why it lingered, but it was something they remembered. A scent tied to a world that no longer existed for them. For the first time since arriving, they felt something other than fear.

The dogs were the first to follow it, noses pressed to the ground. The cats followed, not because they trusted the dogs, but because the smell meant safety, or at least, familiarity. And together, they moved toward the scent.

The journey led them to the wall.

Noah watched as the two species traveled together, approaching the wall in cautious curiosity. They froze as the mana from the dungeon brushed their senses, their eyes flicking between the barrier and one another.

For a moment, he saw something familiar in them, creatures that had once been enemies, who shouldn’t have gotten along, now traveling together. Most likely, it was for their survival.

Then, as if struck by a realization, his head snapped to the side. Without a word, he turned and began walking.

Ailetta called after him, startled. "Noah, what are you doing?"

He didn’t slow down, speaking out without turning to her or the others. "The drake and I need to have a little talk."