The Monster Aspires to Be a Hero!

After class, it was time for my scheduled meeting with the professor.
Professor Jung Woo-hyun is a rather senior professor in the business administration department, nearing honorary retirement.
He is known for his extremely kind personality and affection, making him the professor all graduate students at this university envy.
His virtues are so great that if he weren’t a professor, people say he would surely be a hero instead.
Believing one should share what they have, he volunteers every weekend and takes great care of our club.
Doing something disappointing to such a person made me hang my head in shame.

“Ah, it’s been a while, Jinwoo.”
“Yes, professor. I hope you’ve been well.”
“Yes, yes. So what did our Jinwoo want to see me about…”
The professor seemed to read something from my expression and got straight to the point.
I wiped the sweat from my palms on my pants and slowly opened my mouth.
“Professor. I’m thinking of pursuing a career as a hero.”
“…A hero?”
“Yes. Thank you for taking care of me in many ways until now, I’m really sorry.”
I said that with a bow of my head.
“Being a hero isn’t easy, Jinwoo. There are frequent accidents, and if you’re not famous enough to appear on TV, it’s difficult to live stably.”
“I understand.”
“…Then you should do it.”
I slightly raised my lowered head at those words.
“It’s already been 3 years since I got to know you like this. I know you well enough.”
The professor said that and took a sip of coffee.
“You studied hard, got certifications, and did volunteer work sincerely. Since you worked so diligently, I should trust you.”
The professor told me to let him know if I needed any help.
When I barely missed out on a full scholarship, the professor’s recommendation allowed me to receive a near-full scholarship.
He helped me attend job fairs and recruitment events, and always treated me kindly.
Despite the difficulties of pursuing a career as a hero, the professor trusted and encouraged me.
“If it were Jungheok or Taeil instead of you, I might have gotten angry.”
The professor said that with a small laugh.
It was probably a joke.
“People aren’t evaluated solely based on a single situation or action. They’re evaluated on how they’ve lived until now.”
It was a statement of trusting how diligently I’ve lived so far.
The professor that even graduate students envy.
Could this professor really be the Buddha that has appeared at our university?

After the meeting with the professor, I returned to the club room, but the guys weren’t there.
They had probably gone to a PC cafe.
Jieun seemed to have class until the evening, and Siwoo was likely meeting his girlfriend.
With the new semester starting, club recruiting would begin too.
Instead of doing nothing, I should prepare in advance.
I started working on the computer in the club room.
It was just reusing existing images anyway, so there wasn’t much to worry about.
In the end, 40% of the guys join to chase Jieun, 40% for specs, only 10% genuinely want to volunteer, and the remaining 10% are miscellaneous.
It’s a club where Jieun’s smiles are more important than the actual work produced.
The majority drop out between the first and second semesters anyway.
After finishing the simple work, Jieun came by after her classes ended.
“Ah, you made the recruitment materials?”
“I had some spare time.”
“Let’s grab a meal before heading back.”
“Sure.”
After eating dinner with Jieun, we headed to the bus stop to catch my bus home.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too crowded since it was after dinnertime.
“Hello.”
“Yes, hello.”
As I greeted the bus driver while boarding, the middle-aged uncle smiled back at me.
I didn’t know his name, but he was a familiar face.
“Hello.”
“Yes~ Hello.”
Following me, Jieun also greeted the uncle as she boarded.
I didn’t used to do this, but after I kept acting this way, she started imitating me.
It felt like a baby bird incessantly following its mother.
I clearly remember her asking me why I greeted them before.
I had answered that a few seconds of greeting made the other person happy and didn’t make me feel awkward, so it was good.
Since then, Jieun has mimicked me and greeted them like this.
I wonder why she badmouths me behind my back despite being this way.
I can’t bring myself to ask out of fear.
“Ah, it’s Wednesday today.”
“Why?”
“It’s trash day, isn’t it?”
“You sound like a housewife again…”
Our conversations were these kinds of silly exchanges.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Oh, take care.”
Jieun left first, and I headed straight home to take out the trash.
Then I changed into comfortable clothes and started a light jog.
I need to move around more to adapt to this changed body.
That way, I can hopefully achieve better results.
But there’s something bothering me.

What is it?
Your abilities seem a bit ambiguous for a monster.
…
It’s a bit strange, you see.
This presence is a bit different from ordinary monsters.
Regular monsters don’t exhibit the intelligence to hide their cores and flee when near death.
For it to show that level of intelligence, it must definitely be a mutant monster.
Mutant monsters are invariably threatening to humanity.
But the most this one does is make idiotic laughs like ‘Kuhuhuhuh’.
Its abilities only extend to physical enhancement and transforming its body into something else.
At that level, it’s a strange ability to be called a monster.
There are superhuman ability users on the street with capabilities like that.
It’s too weak an ability to be considered a monster, is what I’m saying.
The source of a monster’s power is its core. Just as humans have hearts and brains, we need cores.
Ah, so you can’t use your full power without a core?
Right.
You’re quite the cheapskate.
If you want, you can create one anytime.
If I create one, wouldn’t I get detected by monster reaction devices?
I need to think of a way to enhance this presence’s abilities while reducing that risk.
After a light 1-hour jog, I returned to find the surroundings had turned pitch black.
March does still feel quite short in terms of daylight hours.
“Hm?”
As I casually looked around before heading inside, something caught my eye.
Today is Wednesday, the day to take out the trash.
I had indeed taken out the trash, but… it was gone.
There was just trash arranged similarly where I had put mine out.
With my heightened senses, even small details like this stand out now.
That’s not the trash I took out.

To confirm, I turned on my smartphone’s flashlight and checked the trash bags.

It seems someone is targeting us after all.
You’re right.
And it seems to be a rather strange person targeting us.
If I was certain about this invader presence being inside me, I might have taken bolder action.
But I haven’t revealed any such indication.
At most, they used Clairvoyance, which requires pre-reporting usage except for hunting villains or monsters.
They committed an illegal act by using it to observe me.
They even stole the trash I put out.
At this level, I should judge that there’s a stalker lurking around obsessed with my existence.
I’ve heard cases where stalkers attach themselves to heroes before their debut.
Could this be such a case?
With complicated feelings, I looked at the trash pile before heading inside.
Rooms made of special materials to block Clairvoyance are expensive.
At least double the cost of this rooftop room I’m renting.
As a current student, that would be an extravagance for me.
But constantly being wary of others’ gazes is also unsettling…
What should I do about this?

Those who awaken abilities generally either live as ordinary people or pursue becoming heroes.
These heroes are further subdivided into those belonging to national ability response teams and individual office heroes.
However, there are also legal cases of using abilities outside those categories.
Specifically, superhuman bodyguard companies.
Unlike heroes who make a living through image-building like idols, they pursue practicality.
Performing feats impossible for ordinary people, they can be called elite agents.
Kim Jin-hyeok, dispatched from such a bodyguard company, let out a long sigh.
He had once debuted as a hero with his Psychometry ability.
But he fell victim to Superpower Syndrome and spent 2 years in a coma.
A terrifying disease with a 90% fatality rate, but he was fortunate enough to be one of the few who awoke.
Upon awakening, he gained the new ability of Clairvoyance.
However, he could not return to the hero industry.
It was because his family had incurred considerable debt for his sake.
So he joined a bodyguard company where he could maximize his abilities and earn high wages.
Psychometry and Clairvoyance were exceptionally useful abilities for a bodyguard company.
He earned less than combat-capable bodyguards, but it was quite satisfactory.
Then a named request came in for him.
The amount offered was substantial, making it impossible to refuse.
The mission he faced was to gather information on a certain man.
Jinwoo Lee, 23 years old.
Has a father who is a firefighter and a mother who is a housewife.
A 4th-year student at the prestigious Y University in Seoul with an excellent GPA of 4.2-4.3.
Height 182cm… correction, 185cm.
Has a handsome appearance and a physique from years of calisthenics rather than weight training.
An increasingly rare kind person with an excellent reputation at school.
His ability slows deterioration, earning him the nickname ‘Mr. Preservative’ in middle school.
He now seems to have awakened Physical Enhancement abilities, with senses sharpened beyond imagination, making approach extremely difficult.
‘What category is this?’
He didn’t understand why there was a checkbox for whether the subject had a girlfriend or not.
‘None for now.’
Among those dreaming of becoming heroes, some avoid dating to prevent their reputations from being tarnished or blocked villain attacks.
If this student has lived without abandoning his dream of becoming a hero, he would likely be that type.
Or he could be gay.
He used Psychometry to examine the trash Jinwoo had thrown out.
Nothing particularly unusual was found.
He could only tell that Jinwoo seemed to be an extremely diligent student.
One who spent most of his time studying, a hardworking, popular student with good grades and reputation, diligence, personality, and decent athletic ability.
On top of that, he had a handsome appearance, recently awakened new abilities, and performed a newsworthy feat?
At this level, if his shortcomings weren’t at least 3cm, he would be unforgivable.
He resisted the urge to note “shortcomings 3cm” in the personal details.
After organizing the information, he visited the client.
She was the young mistress of a major corporation, undergoing rehabilitation at Buwon Hospital.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
After receiving the report from him, she immediately shifted her gaze to the materials, as if their business was concluded.
As she read the information he had gathered, her eyes widened slightly.
“A loner… Keheh.”
The loner part seemed to bother her as much as any 3cm shortcomings.
For some reason, he felt a sense of kinship with her.
Watching that, she showed a soft smile for a while.
With his decent appearance, if he debuts as a hero, he might become a big hero that attracts attention.
Perhaps she was considering grooming him as a corporate-backed hero.
Operating in the gray area skirting the line, conducting a background check on him could yield a major corporation’s annual salary.
To the former hero, reality was more important than dreams.