Becoming a Monster

Chapter 460: Chapter 459: An Existence Calling

"So, that’s how it is." Noah finished listening to Fenrir recount his encounter with the others. His hunt for trolls, the reason he disobeyed his rule to step out of the forest, and irritation from a peculiar female.

Noah was curious about the female’s identity, yet it was far harder than it seemed. Fenrir was terrible at describing things, especially when it came to humans. He knew the difference between them based on their scents and gender. Other than that, until he could look past them as food, they all looked the same.

This made it nearly impossible to discern who they were, because from Noah’s perspective, almost every woman in that group despised him.

What surprised him most was how often Fenrir talked about Paul over everything else, even above his hunt. However, the entire time, Fenrir would only refer to Paul as "Stupid." But even then, there was pride in the way he spoke about him.

"Stupid should be here."

Fenrir wasn’t subtle at all with his words; he wanted Noah to bring back Paul as soon as possible.

"One thing you must remember, big guy, is that you need to make sure that your subordinates aren’t being treated unfairly. You remember the times you felt that everyone else was being given nice things when you weren’t? Or how about the times when I spent more time with the others?"

Noah let the words linger. Fenrir’s thinking was one-dimensional, but he wasn’t stupid.

As Fenrir turned the idea over, irritation surged first. It was instinctive, immediate. Then it dulled, settling into something closer to reluctant attention.

"What you felt is exactly how you were going to treat the other two. If you don’t put in the effort to make them feel recognized, to make them respect you as their leaders besides the power of your bond, then they will continue to dissatisfy you."

Fenrir paused. There was a lot to unpack, and even more questions.

He thought about Dummy, trying to imagine the creature experiencing the same emotions he had once felt. In the end, there was nothing. Dummy only cared about eating. Fenrir couldn’t see the glutton getting jealous as long as he had food.

And Baka? Fenrir was having a hard time not getting angry just thinking about the new recruit. Fenrir’s training has become almost unbearable because of Baka alone.

While both he and Dummy grew tired, Baka only grew crazier, attacking them both indiscriminately. In the end, the unbearable beast would succumb to its rage, falling into a slumber just to wake up later fully rested, while both he and Dummy had to continue with the training.

Dissatisfaction? His current biased thoughts didn’t know how to feel about it. If his pack stirred away from his leadership, if they challenged him, he would just remind them who was the leader with his strength.

That was how it worked.

That was how it had always worked.

Noah felt that thought settle and didn’t reject it outright. Instead, went the route that would always get a rise out of him.

"Don’t think about it too much," he patted Fenrir’s nose.

Fenrir froze.

The pat caught him completely off guard. His ears twitched sharply, body tensing as if he’d been struck instead of comforted. For a brief moment, he was confused.

Then he processed it.

Slowly, his head tilted, eyes narrowing as he looked down at Noah in thought.

He was expecting to be corrected, to be warned of his inadequacies, and to hear that he once again didn’t meet Noah’s expectations. Instead.

This was the first.

The tension left him in a low huff. Fenrir straightened himself, his tail flicked once in restrained satisfaction. As he stood, he glanced back at Noah again. Not a hint of displeasure in his eyes at all.

"I understand that being a good leader requires a lot of effort. It requires someone to think outside of themselves. I’m sorry I put those burdens on you, too."

There were parts that Fenrir wasn’t sure of, but internally, he was still nodding along to what Noah was saying.

"I shouldn’t compare you to Arachne... She’s improved a lot over these few days."

Fenrir’s ears snapped upright at the mention of Arachne’s name. He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn’t explain it.

"Arachne takes the time to properly train and command all of her subordinates. She even comes to me sometimes, asking for advice so that she can do better."

Fenrir’s eyes widened slightly as he caught the pride in Noah’s voice.

He barely reacted this time as Noah reached out to pat him again. "It was wrong for me to force those expectations on you. You don’t have to worry about it anymore."

Fenrir didn’t even let him finish.

"I can do that too." The words came out rushed, a flare of anger in his voice from jealousy.

Noah paused his pats; his silence was long enough for Fenrir to mistake his silence for doubt.

"I can become a good leader too. I will be better!"

That was the moment Noah relaxed. He reached out and patted Fenrir’s nose again. "It’ll be tough."

"I can handle it. I will show you I can do it, too." Fenrir felt hurried. He didn’t waste anymore time as he turned away to go fetch the two.

Noah watched him go. He wasn’t sure how exactly Fenrir was going to handle it, but at least now the challenge had been set. And Fenrir had taken it without realizing it was ever a test.

——

"Sigh... that’s one down." Noah didn’t move. His gaze scanned over what they had built so far. Thinking about how far they had come. But that also meant thinking about how quickly this could all end.

There was still a lot to improve on.

"Pandora," he called out to empty air, which was instantly filled by Pandora’s presence. There wasn’t any surprise in Noah’s gaze at all from the sudden appearance; she was always like this.

Underneath that expressionless illusion, Noah could sense her emotions clearly. Once again, her emotions had spiked. Another creature had tried to get past the wall.

He looked deeply at Pandora. She was so adamant about not letting anything in, not even something as insignificant as a small bird. 24/7, she constantly kept this vigilance.

There was admiration, but there was also concern. So Noah sought to fix it. He didn’t say anything before; he spent a few days pondering over many possibilities.

Between having the dogs and cats take over for her, defending the outer perimeter of the wall, and creating miniature golems from access cores to take over, killing everything that came through until the creatures learned to avoid the wall altogether.

Every option seemed viable. But each one left him feeling unsatisfied. He had already realized why they all kept wanting to come in. And that reason gave him a sense of fulfillment.

That feeling wouldn’t go away. And the more it didn’t, the more he wanted to understand.

It was only last night, while talking to Bolas, that he finally found clarity.

That scene replayed itself even now.

"It’s because it’s your calling." The drake spoke with confidence that radiated an inner peace.

That confidence made Noah give the drake a look over. Subconsciously, he compared him to the lofty, arrogant creature he was before, to what he is now.

Now, there was no comparison; he was completely different.

Dark scales replaced the old ashen scales; each one carried violet light that pulsed beneath their surface. His horns were repositioned to the top of his head, extending as they grew deadlier.

Across his back, jagged spikes were everywhere. On its shoulders, spine, tail, and even along its legs.

His physical change was a far cry from what Bolas used to be. But what truly changed was the way mana responded to him.

The world’s mana constantly fed into him. Faint wisps of the same miasmic energy now unconsciously burned around his body. Those wisps devoured the mana around him, turning it into fuel.

It wasn’t enough to make him a creature with unlimited mana. But it often gave the illusion that it was.

However, Noah understood why Bolas’s body had developed in such a direction. Because even with so much mana, his new abilities demanded more.

"Umbral Wings Manifestation."

It was this skill that Noah bestowed on Bolas that had reshaped him into what he is.

Although Bolas didn’t acquire the wings like he wanted. He could manifest wings with the new energy that flows in his body.

The skill was more mana-reliant than when Noah used it. Unlike Bolas, Noah used his slime to create physical wings, using it as both an amplified ear and a stabilizer for when he uses the skill.

But Bolas doesn’t have that privilege. And he never complained. If anything, he treated the result with quiet fascination.

Every day, without fail, he would manifest them. Simply... to look at them.

Since his transformation, Bola’s personality has changed. When he spoke, it was no longer to argue for the sake of being right, but to offer perspective. Although he still believed his perspective was the most correct one, it was still a pleasant change.

Although that arrogance showed itself more and more, it turned out that he was right about most things. And also turned out to be right even now.

"Our calling isn’t necessarily what we were born to do... It is what defines who we are."