Born in apocalypse

’Wow, this thing is amazing. I should take note to reward the chef..’ Dhruv thought with a smile on his face. All his hesitation went down the drain the moment he took a bite second bite of the dish.

’Let’s not waste any time and munch on these bad boys...’ With these thoughts in his mind, he began to devour all the meal around him with a very pleasant smile.

Dhruv wasn’t the only one who was devouring their meal. The trio, Thala and his group, the tribe members, and all the rest of the people were doing the same. The only one who was elegantly eating the food was Lyra, the priestess.

When Dhruv was a minute into the dinner, a notification suddenly rang in his mind.

[You have gained 1 essence point.]

’Hmmm! I can get essence points from eating these things as well. Now this is what I call a perfect example of hitting two birds with one stone.’ The smile on his face widened once more.

The reason he was getting essence points from eating the meat was because most of the dishes here are made from beasts.

For a second, he thought of fusing himself with one of the dishes to see what would happen but quickly dismissed this blasphemy thought. He didn’t want to waste the chance to eat these perfect dishes to save some meager amount of time.

While eating his meal, Dhruv often took glances at the people in front of him. Like him, all of them were happy... No, they were even happier than him for some strange reason.

Seeing their smiles, a thought appeared in his head, ’Should I announce about me being a monster now? I mean, all of them are here and seem quite happy as well. There won’t be any problem, right?’

The moment this thought appeared in his head, he knew that this was a good idea. After planning that he was going to make an announcement today, just after the dinner a weird feeling began to rouse within him.

What will they think, how will they react, and what will be their decision... these types of questions began to pop up in his head. Dhruv knew that convincing these people wasn’t going to be as easy as he had done with the people from the tribe.

Although he was quite nervous about facing everyone, he didn’t want to back down either. After finishing the meal, Dhruv stood up and clapped.

Within a few seconds, he got the attention of everyone in the room. Seeing that he had everyone’s attention Dhruv calmly announced,

"After finishing the meal, everyone, please gather here once again,"

Although everyone was puzzled quite a bit, they nodded their heads nonetheless. After hearing the announcement, they began to continue having their meal. Some had already had their fill, so they were going to wash their dishes.

While everyone was busy doing something, Dhruv moved out of the area and went to the shore of the island to feel some cold air.

...

Ten minutes later...

The area was abuzz with anticipation as Dhruv, the leader of them all, stepped forward on his platform. As usual, his guardian was around him.

While everyone had a look of anticipation on their faces, a single face bore the expression of a smile.

The one with the smile was none other than Lyra. It wasn’t clear why she was smiling; maybe she was wearing her usual expression or maybe she knew what was coming.

Looking at the crowd of people in front of him, Dhruv took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping across the diverse crowd. "My beloved subjects," he began,

"Today, I need to share something with you, something that might seem unbelievable at first, but I assure you, that is the only truth I can guarantee."

The moment these words left his mouth, the atmosphere grew tense.

Looking at their faces, Dhruv continued, "I am a monster..."

After saying these three words, he paused and began to watch their reactions. As expected Dhruv found himself surrounded by the people who were full of confusion.

Even the tribe members who knew about this were taken aback by this peculiar timing of Dhruv. The only difference between them and the others was that they were only puzzled for a few seconds, and after that, all of them returned to their calm expressions.

"Monster..." someone blurted out in confusion.

"What are you talking about, My lord..." From the front rows, a man asked this question.

"So, it is time to announce this.." A member of the tribe mentioned. The moment he said this some of the people around him looked at him with suspicion.

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd. Some exchanged skeptical glances, while others leaned forward with heightened curiosity. Dhruv was still paused, letting the revelation sink in.

After a minute of silence, he finally opened his mouth once again,

"Yes, Monster... the same monster we are fighting. Well, not exactly that terrifying and bloodthirsty, but I am indeed a monster." After pausing for a bit, he continued once again.

After hearing the murmurs of the crowd, he found some questions that almost all of them were asking,

"Well, some of you might have the question, ’Is he always being a monster? Or did he change from human to monster somewhere along the way?’"

After saying these words, he looked down and found that almost all of them were nodding their heads. All of them were curious about the answer.

"The answer is, I was human before the evolution... Hmmm! I was human until the first day of the second quest. Then something happened, and I changed from human to monster... if you’re thinking then... No, I didn’t sell my soul to a demon or something like that."

As he finished, he found that some of them were chuckling, which was quite weird considering the situation.

[Vexar, be ready.] Dhruv sends a signal to Vexar.

"Talking about demons, we have one here as well." After saying these words, Dhruv turned, looking at Vexar, and he nodded.

Knowing what he had to do, Vexar turned from his human form to that of his demon form.

Vexar’s entire clothes burned from the heat that was generated from the transformation. The color of his skin began to change from white to red, and within five seconds, his entire being was completely changed.

After transforming into his demon form, Vexar summoned the five fire spirits that were revolving around him, increasing the dangerous vibe even further.

Looking at the demon in front of him, murmurs began to surround the area once again.

"What is that?"

"What the fuck?"

"Is the youngest guardian really a guardian?"

"You see, this is the real form of Vexar. You don’t have to be afraid of him... he is still our lovely...hmmm! I mean our favorite sword instructor." Dhruv said as he turned to face the crowd once again.

"But, My lord, why would you turn into a monster? What is there for us to gain..." A woman from the front row voiced her question.

"Well, that is a very beautiful question... The reason I... or even you want to become a monster is for the strength. While giving up on your identity as a human, you will get new ways to attain strength..."

"The same strength that is protecting us, and will be needed to protect our family, friends, or everyone you love in the future..." Dhruv became silent after saying these words.

The room remained divided, with some nodding in understanding while others still wore expressions of confusion. Looking at the people in front of him, he remembered a phrase he had already written.

"You see," Dhruv continued, "this isn’t a curse or something to be feared. It’s an extraordinary gift. A gift that allows us to break free from the limitations of the ordinary and achieve feats we once thought impossible."

After saying these words he said his final words, "I will not force you to turn into a monster or anything like that. Even if you did not turn into a monster you won’t face any discrimination. After all, everyone from the tribe is already a monster and have you seen any discrimination."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Dhruv was dropping bomb after bomb; now the crowd was getting confused further, and they couldn’t understand what they should do now.

While they were in the middle of their confusion, a female raised her hand and announced, "My lord, I’m ready to turn into a monster."

Dhruv quickly focused on the female; it didn’t take him long to recognize who she was. She was the leader of the group that had slain the last goblin boss of the first floor, Olivia.

Following her, all the members of her group began raising their hands as well.

’Now this is a great start.’ Dhruv thought as he looked at the scene in front of him.

Like a catalyst, after observing Olivia’s actions, everyone began raising their hands.

Looking at the scene in front of him, instead of being happy, a frown appeared on his face,

’Isn’t it too easy...’