The Monster Aspires to Be a Hero!

Through my conversations with Jieun, I felt I was solidifying the image.
Greed had said a core was necessary.
So I planned to prepare a hero suit that incorporated inserting the core like equipment.
Yes, a rider suit.
The concept of slotting a core-containing case into a belt around the waist to unleash finishers.

Accel!
Exactly, something like that.
While we’re at it, you could shout a phrase each time you use a finisher, powered by the core’s energy.
Surprisingly, heroes who vocalize their technique names tend to be more popular.

So even humans understand romanticization to some degree.
Greed was uttering peculiar nonsense as we departed Seoul early by bus.
Our destination was a secluded mountain in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province.
Here, there should be no detectors to sense the wavelengths Greed would emit while generating a core.
I hurriedly headed to a deep area unlikely to have any visitors.

This should suffice. Have a seat.
“Let’s set up the tent first.”
Since I didn’t know how long this would take, I had brought a tent along.
Considering we might need to camp overnight, I began pitching the tent.

Time is money!
As I prepared for camping by setting up the tent, the previously still Greed formed hands to assist me.
Its movements seemed vaguely impatient.
“That eager, huh?”

Similar to the exhilaration you felt when your pepper grew to 23cm, I’d wager.
…For some reason, I felt I could relate to that sentiment.
Come to think of it, since the core was akin to a human’s brain or heart, it was only natural to crave it.

Grab onto something.
“Okay.”
After pitching the tent with Greed, I sat by the campfire we had started in front.

Nnghh!
The moment Greed shouted that, I began feeling drained of energy.
An acute sensation of my vigor being sapped away.
As my consciousness grew hazy, I laid down in the tent.
I simply closed my eyes.
…
…

Wake up.
Tap tap
Lightly tapping my cheek, I opened my eyes to find tentacles of a peculiarly diminished size staring at me compared to before.
“Greed?”

Yeah.
“You succeeded?”
Greed confidently held out a small stone grasped in its tentacle-formed hand.
A core around the size of two thumbs.
This would likely be a D-rank monster’s core.

I need to accumulate more energy. The stamina drain is severe, so I can probably only do this once a week at most.
Saying that, Greed carefully wrapped the core in a handkerchief it had brought.
Handling it like delicate glass or a precious gem.
Only after wrapping the handkerchief-bundled core in another cloth did Greed seem relieved.
“Cores aren’t that fragile, are they?”

Hmm…
Cores were sturdier than expected.
At least, not so delicate as to warrant such precautions with mere handkerchiefs and cloths.

It’s that precious to me.
“I see?”
If equating it to human anatomy, it was akin to the heart or brain, so that made sense.
Greed had developed remarkably human-like thought processes, so it likely viewed the core similarly.

Now it’s time to replenish energy.
“Right.”
Using my abilities to assist those afflicted with Superhuman Syndrome had never been about seeking recompense.
It was merely to fulfill the lingering desire to become a hero I could never achieve.
But now, it seemed I would be helping them for reasons I could no longer feel fully justified about.
A vaguely desolate feeling crept in.

This is what’s known as a win-win strategy.
“What does helping people have to do with winning or losing?”
You either help if you want to, or you don’t.

It’s about adopting a comfortable perspective. If you find lost money on the street and turn it into the police, you’re legally entitled to 5-20% from the owner as a reward. This is similar.
“Mixed feelings about that.”

What a sweet potato you are.
Greed scoffed that it wouldn’t have even gone to the police in the first place.
“A delinquent mentality? Even if it was 1 million won, or 10 million won?”

First secure it, then conceal your trail away from CCTVs. Check if it’s genuine currency. If it’s a check, the hassle of going to the police would be unavoidable.
“Ah… I see…”
A surprisingly pragmatic approach, leaving me taken aback.
My body was already quite fatigued, and with dusk approaching, we would likely need to spend the night here.
I laid out the camping supplies I had brought.

More comfortable than last time.
Greed reignited the dying embers by adding thin branches, then began cooking rice in a portable rice cooker pot.
“Quite convenient.”

Kuhuhuh.
We boiled water to make tea from tea bags, then heated up a retort curry pouch to mix with the rice.
Though the April mountain air felt slightly chilly for camping, Greed’s presence seemed to mitigate the cold.

Now for designing the suit to utilize the core!
Shouting that, Greed rummaged through my belongings to retrieve a notebook.
It then began sketching with a pen.
Surpassing the crudeness of controlling my body, Greed now wielded its tentacles like its own hands.
The artistic skill with which Greed freely maneuvered the tentacles protruding from my shoulder blades was, well… around university entrance exam level.

Kuhuhuhuhuh.
Emitting that peculiarly addictive laugh, Greed presented the suit designs it had sketched.
Though rider suit styles, they all shared one commonality.
“They give an exoskeleton-like vibe.”

Traces of my monster physiology.
“I see.”
The rider suits equipped with bone-like exoskeleton armors looked quite decent at a glance.

This belt is the key point.
“The belt?”

It opens with a single touch like this.
Greed then explained how the belt was designed to open at a single press.

When the belt slants open like this, the core is inserted here.
“The core housed in a cylindrical container?”

Exactly. And here’s the key point.
Greed pointed its pen at the setting details it had written down.
“Hmm… ‘When the core’s energy is depleted, it ejects like a spent double-barrel cartridge’?”
Yes!
Observing Greed’s elated demeanor, I was suddenly reminded of an old memory.
I definitely had this same feeling when receiving a First figurine as a birthday gift from my parents.

I even found information on that First fellow.
“Oh?”

Monsters appeared globally, causing immense casualties. And when the second monster manifested in this nation, a man emerged like a shooting star.
“Ah, yes.”
Monsters were too durable for conventional firearms to hunt.
Tanks, helicopters, fighter jets were mobilized, and countless missiles gathering dust in warehouses were fired.
The result was… easily imaginable without saying.
Amidst that, a man who could fell monsters with his bare fists appeared.
How must people have perceived him?
They likely had the same thoughts as my childhood self.

Insanely awesome… or something?
“This rascal…”
Greed had entered my body in early February.
And now in April, around 2 months had passed since then.
It seemed Greed had gained some ability to glimpse my memories.

I’d probably have thought he was insanely awesome too if I were you.
“…I suppose.”
Any male would naturally enjoy the genre of giant rampaging monsters.
And if those giant monsters were evil, only to be defeated by an embodiment of justice, it would be even more appealing.
To my childhood self, First was truly a god, invincible.

Now it has really become a godlike existence.
“…Hey.”
Surely it didn’t mean…?

That’s right.
“This rascal…”
First’s last public appearance was 5 years ago.
After disappearing without a trace, he hadn’t been seen anywhere since.
Some believed First had embarked on a journey to hunt monsters.
Others scoffed that he had likely retired or perished.
The ‘god’ analogy probably stemmed from such circumstances.
Quite an insolent rascal.
“First is still alive.”

Your basis?
“I don’t need a basis, I just believe he is.”
First was the legendary hero who singlehandedly stopped even A-rank monsters.
Fundamentally, the higher a monster’s rank, the larger its physique.
So they typically take on raid-like forms.
The notion that such a hero who singlehandedly defeated those monsters had suddenly perished?
That was harder to believe.

If you say so, I suppose.
After their mountain camping, Jinwoo and Greed returned to Seoul.
Their plan had been successful, as the monster detectors showed no reaction.
“Hopefully we can make good use of this now.”

No problem. I’ve already grasped the basics.
“Grasped it already? Wow…”

I need your assistance.
“My assistance?”

Your hardening ability to prevent energy dispersion. When utilizing the core’s energy, the emitted waves need to be contained by your ability.
“Ah, I see. But my ability isn’t all-powerful? While stationary, I can maybe sustain it for 2-3 minutes, but if moving around…”

No, that might make it even more romantic, in a way.
“What do you mean?”

An opponent beyond your current abilities, a time-limited finite power… that’s how the flames are stoked.
Upon hearing Greed’s words, Jinwoo felt his heart inexplicably race.
Though different, they were gradually growing alike in peculiar ways.
And from afar, an entity observed them.
“Hrmn, zat… mal? No… a flow, to their dialogue.”
That entity watched as Jinwoo muttered to himself.
Humans sometimes mutter despite no one else being present.
A behavior only exhibited while holding some rectangular object, unless eating.
But Jinwoo muttered without any such object.
Suspicious.
Most suspicious of all was the faint core presence it sensed from him.
Monsters could sensitively react even to inert monster cores.
Just as Greed could detect coreless monsters, this entity could vaguely sense a core not emitting any wavelengths.
A human carrying a monster core, frequently muttering to himself.
The thought arose that he might be that existence.
The monster dragged its feet as it approached Jinwoo.
At that moment, Jinwoo turned his head toward the monster.
Their eyes met.
The monster observed Jinwoo’s appearance.
“Kuhu, found… you.”
That human was strong.
One capable of identifying their presence mingled among humans.
Carrying a core, did it mean he had slain their brethren somewhere?
The monster in disguise would soon be slain by this man.
The monster instinctively realized that.
Yet it felt neither fear nor dread.
“Kuhu, huhuhu, ku.”
All that escaped its lips was a twisted laughter.
The first emotion they felt, having infiltrated the human world by imitating humans, was exhilaration.
Those who had been mimicking humans were gradually adopting human-like mentalities.