Chapter 14: Is it That Serious?

Noah's euphoria at successfully taming the monster was quickly overshadowed by the unsettling atmosphere that surrounded him. As he emerged from the surreal realm of energy, he found himself confronted with a chaotic scene.

After coming back from that dark space, he witnessed the spider, HIS spider, had just murdered someone. Even more confusing was seeing the man, Derrick, brandishing an axe in his direction. Because of the unexpected occurrences, Noah wasn't able to observe the new changes brought to him by taming his first creature.

'Wait….I was able to tame it, right? RIGHT??' Noah questioned. He assumed that taming a creature meant that the said creature wouldn't be able to act without his orders. If it did, he at least believed that it shouldn't kill friendlies. He couldn't help but narrow his gaze towards the spider and he felt it, he felt a small mental connection. That could only mean that he had successfully tamed it. However, if he tamed it and the current scene still wasn't avoided, that could only mean.

'Don't tell me these people tried to attack us.' His eyes narrowed at the thought of another group playing god with his life.

Meanwhile, Noah was trying to come to terms with this crazy development, Derrick was still attempting to process what happened.

He looked towards Matt's body still dangling from the two sharp legs that were able to penetrate his body seemingly without any resistance. His eyes then trailed over to the spider's full figure before looking to Noah, who was left in his own thoughts, unaffected by the death of another human being.

He repeated this process a few times, not sure what feelings he should have at this moment or what actions to take. He failed at every step to kill anything he set his eyes on, and he realized that both things had one particular denominator in common.

'Ugh! It's always him…' Derrick glared towards Noah with extreme hatred, as if they were lifetime enemies. That hatred bore a dense killing intent, an amount of bloodlust that would be impossible to pick up if this were still their Earth of security they were used to before. But now, with Noah's abnormal early stats in his spirit, he instinctively felt the danger originating from a certain direction. Even while lost in his thoughts, he was made aware of the present danger, making him reel in his wandering thoughts to find Derrick deeply staring towards him. There was no reason to question if Derrick was the source of danger. His expression showed it all, his expression was that of a fuming bull in heat.

"Hmm?" Noah questioned with his gaze after seeing Derrick's attitude towards him. He didn't know what he could've done to offend him. He saw the majority of the end of his confrontation with the spider and saw how he basically had given up. Even if he didn't, Noah didn't see any way for Derrick to win when the spider was ever so vigilant. Not to mention that if Derrick wasn't able to defeat it with a group, then how could he when he was alone?

"You made that thing kill Matt? No…no…you killed him! You murderer!"

Maybe it was because Noah had been able to quickly assimilate his mind to everything that had been happening, or maybe he was broken to begin with. Seeing the boy Matt dying in front of him by the very spider he just tamed didn't come to mind until he heard an aggrieved voice screaming towards him within the group of students who followed.

"Ah!" An imaginary light bulb appeared over his head. He didn't consider that the boy the spider killed could be the reason for Derrick's hostile gaze. He'd forgotten how it felt to have a bond with another; he didn't know how it would feel to lose a loved one since he didn't remember the last time he loved anyone before or even felt loved.

He looked towards Derrick with a sense of pity while ignoring the voice who screamed before. If that voice cared so much, then why was Derrick here and not him? Noah couldn't imagine how wrong he was in this regard, but nothing else would make sense why Derrick was here unless they were trying to help him against the spider and that was the reason the spider killed the boy called Matt. It would also explain the look Derrick was giving him.

They had come to save him from the spider just to have the spider kill his friend, and it appeared that he himself made the spider do it. Noah tried to imagine himself in their position and felt that Derrick's enmity towards him was justified.

What Noah didn't know was that his look of pity played differently from Derrick's perspective. In his eyes, Noah's look appeared not as one of genuine empathy, but as one tinged with arrogance. In his eyes, Noah's expression seemed to belittle him, as if he were looking down on Derrick with disdain.

"Ugh, I'll kill you, you bastard!" Derrick lost his composure. He was blinded by rage and consumed with hatred, with nothing else in his sights besides Noah. Nothing else mattered to him right now but to wipe away that expression from his face that made him feel small and inferior.

"What? Is it really that serious?" Derrick's berserk condition really left Noah confused. He could already see the number of bodies the spider killed before, which numbered close to 15. He was sure some of those bodies were people that Derrick knew, so why was he so upset over this one person? Besides, Noah inadvertently saved them by taming the spider; he's the victim here! Thinking up till here, he decided to try to appease Derrick and the others by at least returning the body to them. That should make them appear less threatening and satisfy them somewhat, no?

Noah looked down at his spider. "Uh…wait, I didn't give you a name, did I? Can you give him the body back? Maybe that'll calm him down."

Boom!

Not a moment later, Derrick was soon seen flying back a few meters after being impacted by Matt's lifeless body. The impact not only flung him away, but the momentum sent him rolling a couple of meters more. Noah facepalmed himself, flabbergasted due to the spider's actions to his orders. He couldn't understand if the spider wasn't able to comprehend his intentions or if the spider did it intentionally because of the bad blood between the two already.

'Maybe I should've been more specific… This is really making me out to be the bad guy here. Urgh, okay, what would someone normally do if their pet killed someone's friend in self-defense? Those books didn't prepare me for something like this.'

Noah briefly glared at the spider before shaking his head; he couldn't put the blame on it since these people attacked it when it was at its most vulnerable. He still wasn't sure what their plan was; did they expect the spider not to act at all? The Matt guy didn't seem to put up a fight at all in Noah's view.

'Why help if you're incapable? That's like trying to save a person from drowning when you can't swim.' He continued to admonish Matt even in his death while he hopped off the spider's back. He approached halfway towards Derrick, who just now was able to remove the body from himself. Noah wasn't sure what to expect in this situation, and his spider was still exhausted from earlier, so he wasn't expecting to rely on it during this time.

"Hey… sooo about what just happened…"

Noah still wasn't able to formulate the right wording that could calm down the raging man in front of him. What was he supposed to say? 'Don't be mad since the spider is now under his control? Sorry for your loss?' It all sounded cheesy in his mind.

Well, it wouldn't have mattered what Noah said during this time; his words couldn't reach Derrick after being consumed by his rage and pride. Throwing a dead body at him was equivalent to being slapped in the face, and it hurt! What's worse was that it was in front of others.

Derrick felt so humiliated that he wouldn't be able to move on if he didn't kill the annoyance opposite him. He would be haunted by this moment every second of his life if he couldn't personally watch the life leave Noah's eyes.

"FUCK IT! I don't care anymore, I'll end you!" Derrick roared with all his might. If there were any creatures in the vicinity, his monstrous bellow certainly caused more than a few to look their way now, but like he said before, none of that matters.

'You made me do this…' Still glaring deeply towards Noah, a change began to happen to Derrick's appearance. His muscles throughout his entire body began to grow and bulge out. He was already particularly stocky before, but he seemed to be morphing into a bodybuilder in real-time. His clothes were unable to properly fit anymore as his shirt and pants were ripping at the seams due to his continued growth in muscle mass.

Noah, who was witnessing the change happening, was astonished initially. This was a transformation, for crying out loud, and he was witnessing it firsthand. Every moment during this apocalyptic time, he was reminded time and time again how supernatural the world was becoming, and every moment he witnessed made him even more excited for the unforeseeable future.

It was just after a few seconds of observing Derrick's transformation that Noah's expression turned grave. Despite the absence of any immediate threats in the vicinity, Derrick had chosen this moment to reveal his newfound power, raising questions about his motivations and intentions.

A sense of unease settled over Noah as he considered the possibility that Derrick's transformation might not be driven by a desire to protect or defend, but by something far more sinister.

'Is he planning on killing me? What the hell? What did I do?' Noah inwardly panicked a little, he wasn't prepared to face off against someone who was granted the ability to turn into the hulk. He also couldn't comprehend why someone with such a power didn't use that power to protect his friends earlier. 

But his panic state only lasted briefly, if he was going to die then it should be by at least something grand like a dragon! He started to become annoyed that he had yet again met someone else who was trying to ruin this new experience for him on the same day.

'Fine…let's have it your way, maybe i can find out if i can also get goodies from killing people, hehe…this is getting exciting! Urgh don't get distracted Noah, his transformation seems to be really strong. He definitely got a boost of strength, but what about agility and his constitution?' 

Thinking this far ahead, he looked to his new companion which was now on high alert. As an insect that always had to struggle to survive, it could easily perceive the danger Derrick was radiating who now was sporting purple veins along every muscle. It was a disturbing sight to see, each vein appeared to be on the verge of bursting at any notice.

. 

"I'll definitely need help from you with this fella..I also need a weapon now…I doubt he'll let me go back and retrieve mine." 

Using his handy 'Hunters Sight' ability, he quickly glanced around to see what he could use in this situation, yet what he found almost left him speechless.

'Hmmm? ahh fuck me….Johnathan why cant you just stay dead? sheesh!'

What he found was definitely something he could use but it was also something he was trying to avoid and that was a shield. Since the start of this new world it looked as though fate was trying to force him to become a meatshield. Despite his reluctance to embrace the role, Noah couldn't deny the strategic advantage of wielding a shield in combat, especially as a monster tamer. By protecting himself from harm, he could ensure his survival and empower his creatures to do the heavy lifting in battle. Yet, the lack of options and agency left a bitter taste in his mouth, as he longed for greater autonomy and control over his fate.

Noah's heart sank as he realized the proximity of the shield, partially obscured by the lifeless body of one of the spider's earlier victims. Despite the grim circumstances, he knew that retrieving the shield was his best chance at defending himself against the impending threat posed by Derrick's transformation.

Noah's thoughts drifted to the missed opportunity represented by the dagger still clutched in Matt's lifeless hand. 

'It seems that fate could be a bitch even now…well let's make this work! I still have stats to spare, lets just use them all and besides…i've been wanting to see the notification for taming that spider for awhile now.'