Becoming a Monster

Noah’s blood couldn’t directly allow an ordinary creature to ignore the limits of what it was. But just as a mortal would need the interference of a god-like catalyst to surpass its genetic limits, Noah’s ability to turn them into Fallens became that interference.

Most of the creatures experiencing the more subdued mutations were the ones who had either started with relatively ordinary bloodlines or had yet to become one of his Fallen.

Their changes were all relatively similar to what Noah had witnessed from the spiders. Most received an increase to their physical capabilities, while one of their main traits or abilities experienced either a mutation or a considerable increase in power.

Alexandria and Dog were both a part of that group.

Alexandria grew a few inches larger than before, while she and her shadow now gained the ability that when they attack a person’s shadow, the damage would then be transferred to the user.

Dog experienced a slightly greater physical transformation.

His body grew larger, while the joints in his arms and legs gradually adjusted to make walking on two feet feel almost as natural as remaining on all fours.

His aura experienced an even greater improvement.

Before, its healing effects had been limited primarily to physical injuries suffered by those connected to him. Now, that same aura could affect more than damaged flesh. Poisons, diseases, and other ailments could gradually be weakened and healed.

Out of that same group, Meat was one of the few creatures who had yet to become Fallen but still experienced a significant physical mutation.

His body grew considerably more durable, with his already thick hide becoming even harder to damage.

More importantly, the third head that had only partially formed during his previous mutation finally finished developing.

Yet that was practically the extent of his changes.

Compared to Alexandria and Dog, Meat’s mutation was much more drastic physically, but there was little improvement to his abilities outside of what naturally came from possessing another head.

The difference between his creatures became much more apparent when Noah turned his attention toward those who had already become his Fallen.

Dummy was one of the easiest examples.

The beast had consumed so many things since becoming a Fallen, and it appeared as though all of that had been building within him until now.

Dummy’s body probably experienced the most extreme change out of them all.

Although his appearance remained relatively similar as before, the beast’s constant contortions throughout his transformation, along with his painfully loud grunts, showed just how much agony the transition caused him.

Dummy’s transformation reminded Noah of his own when he first acquired his chimera trait. Having all of his bones, muscles, and blood broken down and replaced was a sensation he would never forget.

However, the end result of Dummy’s transformation was proof that the more painful it was, the greater the benefits.

All the bloodlines Dummy had devoured seemed to finally show small, permanent traits within him. His regeneration became even stronger after all the trolls he had eaten; his blood became more adaptable to foreign substances from the goblins; and after consuming so many undead, he could remain functional even after losing enough blood to normally incapacitate him.

Each of these traits wasn’t nearly as effective as they initially seemed. Dummy hadn’t suddenly gained the regeneration of a troll or the “immortality” of an undead.

But as long as he continued consuming those creatures, the traits would continue growing stronger while giving his body the opportunity to incorporate even more from their bloodlines.

What amazed Noah the most was that Dummy’s ability had no specified limit.

And it wasn’t restricted to living creatures either.

Almost anything Dummy could consume had the possibility of becoming a part of him as long as he consumed enough.

In addition, Dummy could now retain an additional essence.

The only downside was that Noah had learned long ago that he couldn’t control what Dummy decided to keep. Currently, the beast was enjoying eating so much dirt that it replaced one of its essences with the earth.

At least his mutation had made that habit considerably less problematic, while at the same time, he was now able to benefit even more from those essences.