Becoming a Monster

Chapter 404: Chapter 404: Signs of the Next Tier

Pandora’s awareness returned slowly. It wasn’t just the actions in the room; all of her senses were shut down during the process of gaining the skill. She hadn’t realized how deeply she’d sunk into absorbing the core’s power until now, when she seemed to have "woken up" to the scene before her.

The sudden return to her surroundings startled her. The intensity of the varied stares she received from the others in the room made her wonder, had she done something wrong?

She hadn’t meant to activate anything. The ability had stirred on its own. For the first time, she hadn’t been aware of anything outside herself.

"Pandora, you didn’t do anything wrong."

Before the anxiety could root deeper, Noah’s calm voice reached her, even through the chaos that made up her thoughts.

Her thoughts were in disarray. Her illusioned form continued to flicker in and out of existence, leaving Noah only left to look at her tree form.

"We were just surprised by how much the ability suits you."

But with just one sentence he could sense her worry vanish as if her earlier panic didn’t exist. To her, his words were absolute.

If Pandora was able to smile right now, she would have. Instead, her roots sank a little deeper into the ground, and the faint pulse of her mana brightened.

Noah studied her quietly for a moment before speaking again. "Pandora, can you extend your ability again? There’s something I want to check.

Pandora didn’t question his orders. Although she didn’t intentionally use the ability before, being able to use the ability on her own initiative wasn’t a problem at all. The ability was ingrained into her soul.

Noah’s eyes moved slowly, scanning the space around them. The roots in the walls shared the same effects as her main body. The glow in them was gone, or at least, in his eyes they appeared to be ordinary roots, as normal as they could get.

Following his gaze, Arachne tilted her head. Her forehead creased in mild confusion. To her, she couldn’t understand what Noah was intending to do. In fact, it didn’t occur to her that the roots had lost their shine.

But Noah could still confirm the mana within them through his Nexus Eye. Naturally, he began to think of the advantages and disadvantages of the ability if it were used in battle. The ability was useful, as long as the opponent wasn’t aware of the ability.

Even if she could thin her presence, someone who knew what to look out for could still respond. Her roots may look ordinary, but roots also don’t move on their own. And more importantly, if someone had the ability to sense or see mana like he did, her ability wouldn’t give her an edge at all. Unless...

"Pandora, I want to test something." A new idea sparked as he turned to Pandora who resorted to using her illusion to communicate with him. Although speaking to the illusion was no different than talking to her main body, he still proceeded to speak directly to her illusory form. He understood that this was her way to feel more connected with him.

She always did that, bridging the distance, finding any excuse to exist a little closer to him.

He didn’t mind. It wasn’t distracting anymore; if anything, it reminded him that these small details mattered to them.

Sensing that she was waiting for him to speak, Noah didn’t wait for her to respond. He asked her to unearth one of her roots directly in front of him. He only needed one for the test. The roots shot straight up, stopping just at his height. It was then that he followed up with his next request.

Directly next to the standing root, another root materialized beside it.

The original root was just like the rest, ordinary, lacking a noticeable aura. Yet, the illusioned root was still glowing, looking just as it normally would. The only thing lacking was its aura. It was as though the reality and the illusion had exchanged roles.

Noah’s eyes widened slightly. "That’s... backwards..."

He was expecting to learn something from this, but he wasn’t expecting... this. His gaze landed on Pandora, who was eagerly waiting for the next order.

However, seeing his puzzled gaze his puzzled gaze made her second-guess herself once again."

Her confusion was apparent, and Noah quickly noticed it. This made him consider something he didn’t think of before.

"Pandora," he said carefully, "when you use your power, do you see yourself differently at all?" It was a strange question, illogical even, yet Noah had to ask it.

The question was certainly lost on Pandora. ’Was she supposed to be different

After confirming that she didn’t see herself the same way that the others could, everything began to make more sense. At least, Noah thought he was closer to understanding what was going on.

It reminded him of the time he used to attend school. His presence, if he wasn’t being targeted by certain individuals, was usually overlooked. But at the same time that didn’t mean he overlooked himself. He figured Pandora was the same way.

This wouldn’t work. She had to be aware of exactly what she was doing.

Under Noah’s certain change in demeanor, she saw something that even surprised her. A root, almost identical to her own, appeared on the opposite side of her own illusion. Shock traveled through her as she rotated between Noah and the illusion.

She knew she didn’t do it. At least she didn’t think she had yet. For a moment, she wondered if she had unconsciously performed an ability again. In response she released the use of her illusion, but it was still there. This time her gaze stayed on Noah for an answer.

"This is my own illusion, your ability is shared with my own, so of course I can use it too."

He spoke without looking at her, only walking closer to the illusion and her root. He pointed towards the illusion he made, explaining to her that the illusion version is what they saw. That if she wanted to truly learn how to make use of her ability, then the first step is learning how to make her illusions look like ordinary roots.

Noah could sense her internal processing, the awe, the quiet confusion and the burning determination to meet his expectations. Even without reminding her, he was sure that she would practice relentlessly. It was in her nature to perfect anything he entrusted her with.

Satisfied, his mind was already shifting elsewhere. There were too many unknowns surrounding them, and relying on the drake was no longer an option. He would rather not have to interact with it, at least for now he wouldn’t. After the drake’s last outrage, he could sense that his blood had a strong effect on it. He was willing to make the gamble.

He would wait it out as long as he could, until the drake stubbornness became desperate just for another drop, maybe then they would be able to talk. And by then, he would have new demands.

Until then, he felt that he should take the initiative to venture out through the forest himself. He didn’t care about leaving the forest, there was nothing he desired outside of it. What he wanted was a place where he could build and grow without outside interference.

The drake had mentioned that there were many beings in this world stronger than itself.. Noah wasn’t overly prideful, he understood that he couldn’t defeat the drake by himself, not without calling upon the soul spawn within him. Even then, he learned how to communicate with the spawn. Ever since the fight with the Seraphim, it had been unusually still.

Even with his soul spawn, it would only be enough to fight the drake to a standstill. And if there were creatures stronger than it, he was still far behind. So if he could understand the forest layout, learn what creatures resided in it and slowly establish his territory, he could grow his and his family’s strength enough to contend with those stronger creatures.

But that also brought him to his second option. His gaze flickered towards the center of the room. The dungeon’s heart was still floating steadily, its aura slightly more intense than it normally was.

He didn’t need the system, and he didn’t need to interact with the heart to sense that it was close to upgrading. Closeness was subjective. It could be a few days, weeks, but in the end, Noah felt that the heart should take precedence over anything else. If the heart had reached its next tier, his fight with the dragon might have gone very differently.

Just thinking about it, his decision began to solidify. The forest could wait. The world would still be there when he was ready. But this...his family’s future started here.

Noah’s expression hardened as his gaze fixed on the dungeon’s heart, its steady pulse matching his resolve. "Pandora," he called. Her illusion appeared instantly. "Call the others back. I’ll need everyone here until I’m done."

She vanished to obey, and he turned to Ailetta and Arachne who were both worried and curious due to his abruptness. "I’m going to try something with the dungeon. Make sure I’m not interrupted...especially by our neighbor.