Chapter 13 13: Battle Of The Minds

'This guy probably stole kills from others just like he's doing now, yes! That's the only reason he could have a skill to stop it...an-and if i could kill him too..'

———-

During this time Noah was in the middle of taming the spider still. Unlike what he thought was going to occur where he would gain something similar to a spiritual body and battle it out with the spider to tame it through domination. What he was experiencing now was a black environment as if he was in outer space but instead of stars and planets there were balls of energy? He wasn't sure how to describe it since he was one of the balls, his ball took on the colors of white with black strands coated throughout that would flare from time to time chaotically. The other, which he assumed to be the spiders, was completely gray but within the ball, unlike Noah's, the spider had specks of white that were almost unnoticeable. He didn't know what the color signified, he originally thought the white was a symbol of intelligence but because his was black as well, it made him unsure.

Right now they were in what appeared to be similar to a tug of war through sheer will. He felt as if there was an invisible barrier trying to force him out of the space they were in as he attempted to push through the threads of the spider's ball of energy to get to the center. Instinctively he knew that was the only way to obtain his first creature.

Immediately Noah could tell the difference of having a lot of points in his spirit, even though the spider was retaliating as he constantly felt a force pushing against him with a slight pain occurring now and again, that pain felt like a small migraine. He still pushed on without a change in his speed as he progressed.

'Isn't this too easy? Wait…maybe it's similar to Pokémon and since it was weakened it's not able to fight back as much...Maybe I should take 5 seconds to grieve for those people's sacrifices after this is over.'

Luckily no one could hear his thoughts, if people wanted to kill him now for beneficial gains it's not hard to imagine how many enemies he would gain after hearing his thoughts now.

But it also appeared that Noah spoke too soon. The closer he got to the core of the spider, he no longer had to worry only about the force pressing against him. He could literally feel what the spider was feeling at this time. At first, he scoffed at the sad attempt to try to gain sympathy from him. He didn't care how the spider felt initially, it's not like he was gonna treat it badly after he tamed it, the spider was just exaggerating.

He could feel the fear emitting from it, as well as the despair and helplessness.

'Ma-maybe….I should comfort it first and give it a chance to choose…this doesn't feel right an-eh? Somethings not right…'

Slowly the feelings of the spider were growing more intense and without realizing it, the spider's feelings were affecting Noah's. Cold sweat dripped down his imaginary back when he thought of what could've happened if his spirit wasn't high enough at this moment. This altercation was an eye opener for him that he shouldn't be too arrogant without vigilance.

It's been a long time since Noah has felt such helplessness, even when he was beaten up he would feel anger and vengeful instead. It reminded him of the times he spent living under his parents, when he would actually crave social interactions, when the quiet nights felt painful. The irritation he was feeling now was at an all time high that it helped alleviate any other emotional struggle coming from the spider.

"Fuck you! Hate me, despise me, but don't be such a wimp and kill my vibe! You almost made me second guess taming you."

Just like how Noah was able to feel the spider's emotions, the spider was able to feel his as well.

The disappointment the spider felt coming from Noah confused it, it could feel that the disappointment was directed towards itself but couldn't understand why.

All its life it had struggled to survive, always having to be cautious of its many predators then one day it grew in size and became more aware. One of the predators it always avoided could now become its prey, the tall beings fell one after another under its fangs and yet this same creature finds it disappointing?

The spider wanted to prove him wrong, at this point it doesn't care about losing to the creature trying to control it but It didn't want Noah to belittle it any longer.

'Yes! That's it! Maybe I was right in choosing you, struggle and struggle more. How could I rely on you in the future if you give up on yourself now?'

Noah could feel the determination building up within the spider and not a moment later he felt a pressure heavier than before pushing against him. Noah's own energy core began to shine more intensely while the black wisp of energy started to spiral about even more the more excited he became.

Even he knew that he would now succeed in taming the beast, but he couldn't lie that he was enjoying this otherworldly 'battle'. His pure excitement began to also affect the spider's emotions who was becoming 'corrupted' from Noah's emotions and slowly was enjoying its struggle against the human creature.

———-

"Derrick! Are you even listening to me? Let's go already? This is our chance! No one can blame you for not being able to save them, the least we can do is live for them!" If there were only slight tears before, Isabelle could now clearly be seen crying. Even though she was curious about the situation involving Noah, she was mentally exhausted and emotionally unstable. She wanted to go somewhere she could feel safe, but she wasn't aware of the extent that power could corrupt, especially a tangible power that could literally give you supernatural powers that could let you create your own authority.

Derrick's eyes glazed over for a moment. It wasn't her words that were affecting him but it was her crying face that impacted him. Slowly, he raised his hand towards her face in an attempt to wipe away her tears. He wanted to tell her not to worry, that what he was going to do was for both of them.

"Belle….I-!" The time she most needed to be comforted he wasn't able to do so. The irritation in his heart was being eaten away by the guilt seeing the pain he was putting her through. It appeared that his sanity was beginning to return, but just when he almost reached her face, with her hands still holding his other arm, he saw it..

"What? He's really serious about taking the spider from that guy!"

"Didn't he see how that man killed all of those zombies? And he still wants to steal his kill?"

"Get back over here! We're following him so he can protect us! What do you think will happen if you do that idiot?"

Derrick was oblivious to the noise at first, but when he saw movement heading towards the spider, his awareness and paranoia reached dangerous levels.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Everyone is trying to take what's mine…" he turned to rush towards the individual heading towards Noah and the spider only to realize Isabelle still had a hold of his arm.

"BITCH! LET GO! I could've already killed them if it wasn't for you!"

"Ahh!" He swung his arm with such brute force that it caused Isabelle to slam to the ground. It was so abrupt that it felt to her as if her arms were about to pull out of their sockets. Who knows the damage she would have taken if she persistently decided to hold on.

"Der-sniffs* Derrick…..wh-why…." She didn't attempt to get up as she started to bawl her eyes out. The death of her friends wasn't enough to break her, even the harsh words of her boyfriend weren't enough. It was the action of being thrown away as if she was a waste of space that broke her.

The few people that stayed wanted to help her but they all seemed to hesitate. Who wasn't afraid to die? They stuck with them because not only did they feel guilty but they knew that they had a better chance of surviving with Derrick and Isabelle who could heal. Now they didn't have a reason to stay. They were becoming afraid of Derrick and seeing the state Isabelle was in, they would have to coddle her while also trying to protect themselves now.

But not everyone was as cold hearted, one girl from the group ran out to support her, letting Isabelle cry in her arms. No one moved yet, everyone was now glued to what was happening around Noah.

'This is it! This thing should level me up a bunch right? Just imagine the drops I should get...those suckers are scared for no reason. Who would need this guy's help if you could become strong enough to help yourself. If he manage to kill it then we would all just continue having to rely on him, but I'm not as stupid as them.

"Huff Huff Huff! If you put one hand on that spider then that'll be the last thing you'll ever do!"

Derrick was breathing hard at this point and it wasn't because he was tired but it was because of how angry he was at this moment. Everyone seemed to be treating him as a fool, will they keep treating him as a pushover when he runs his axe through them?

The boy from earlier who was just a few feet from the spider now hesitated in his steps as he came to an abrupt stop after being threatened.

He knew who the voice belonged to but he was there too when he heard the girl Isabelle trying to convince him to leave. He gave up! Why is he still here?

Sweat trickled down his neck as he slowly turned towards the voice with a dagger in his hand. Fear could be seen in his eyes but when he came upon the condition of Derrick. That fear turned to anger, he could see the crazed and desperate look in Derricks eyes screaming 'I have to have it'. Derrick wanted the spider just as much if not more than he did, most likely for the same reasons. This is the safety of his life that's on the line, plus the thought of the prestige he could obtain was causing his dagger hand to become itchy.

"And who are you to tell me what I can and can't do? I can tell you're not in the best condition, you still think you can stop me?" He tried to stand his ground while stealthy took a few steps towards the spider. He didn't actually believe he could beat Derrick whose weapon was a couple feet longer than his, but if he could take the initiative and quickly land a killing blow to the spider then he would just be satisfied with the experience and leave the loot. At Least he could keep his life.

"Y-you!" How could Derrick not realize the boy getting closer to the spider. He made a mistake wasting time trying to threaten him, he should've just attacked and been done with it. The boy's actions only steeled Derricks' resolve to kill him too.

'Fine…I was already about to become a murderer anyway, what's two more?' He gripped his axe with both hands and charged towards the boy first. He'll take what was his afterwards.

"Matt get out of there dummy!"

"That's what he gets…"

"Can you all shut up! Look! More of those zombie things are being attracted over here, there's too many of them! Fuck it! I'm leaving! That guy can't protect us if he's dead too."

Due to the constant surprises and suspense following Derricks group battle with the spider and then the altercation between Noah and the spider. Everyone was unaware how big of an attraction they were to the zombies and animals alike in the vicinity. The only reason they weren't attacked yet was because of the hundreds of other students grabbing their attention either by running away or engaging them in fights. Noah would be surprised of some of the small groups who were adapting so well in this chaos.

Some individuals like Mark who was heading towards the girls dormitory with his small group that now had an additional two people could be seen mowing down zombies and the like resembling a one man army. The steel of his sword glowed with a soft light that caused smoke to emit from the zombies whenever the sword made contact with their bodies.

———

"Yo-you're crazy! You're gonna regret this later." The boy confronting Derrick quickly turned towards the spider now that he was in striking distance.

'If I can at least go up by two levels I'll definitely be stronger than you…who knows…maybe I can take care of him and still get the loot after heh-!"

Bleh!* Not only did Derrick freeze in his steps but even the students who were about to flee stopped as they witnessed the boy with the daggers last moments.

He was just about to kill the spider who hasn't moved this entire time and now all they could see was him being impaled in his left thigh and in his neck by two long hairy legs that were attached to the same spider that shouldn't be able to move.

"FINALLY! I can finally call myself a monster tammmmerr?…..Uhhh what's going on here?"