Chapter 06. Young Men and Their Quick Healing
Forest.
In front of me, a man’s punch whooshes through the air.
How annoying.
I nod slightly and dodge the punch.
A few strands of hair get messed up, but it’s not something to worry about.
“You’re pretty good, kid!”
The burly, muscular figure steps closer and starts talking to me.
He’s a boxer. Quite a unique type for a monster.
It’s been a while since I’ve had any free extermination work, and I was excited, but this guy is really disappointing.
It seems like a random spawn due to the power of this otherworld, or perhaps he’s just too weak for other heroes to even recognize him as a threat in this story.
At this level, the bounty is obvious.
Feeling irritated, I express my dissatisfaction by fiddling with the stick I have in my mouth.
“Smoking during a fight? Can you even call yourself a warrior?”
His speech pattern is ridiculous.
I don’t know which story he belongs to, but he must be quite embarrassed.
Ignoring the monster, I make sure my hammer is resting on my shoulder as I gaze at the sky.
‘What kind of stance is that? Are you ignoring a warrior in the middle of a sacred battle?’
“Hey!”
How could I possibly care about someone like you?
“Then I’ll make it so that you can’t ignore me!”
The bear suddenly stretches its arms back, adopting a stance as if it’s collecting records.
It’s kind of amusing that it would feel that way since I’m not expecting much from the enemy.
“Heroic Smash!”
Gathering all its power, the bear charges forward, and at the same time, the image of a tiger appears.
‘Why is it using a tiger’s form now?’
How ridiculous. A bear and a tiger.
I slowly shift my hammer in time with the bear’s motion:
Starting from my shoulder, the hammer flies straight towards the bear’s jaw, and upon the collision, the bear’s head gets smashed into pieces.
It’s so weak that there’s barely any sensation of a satisfying finish.
Having lost its head and momentum, the bear collapses to the ground.
I guess I should confirm the kill.
I approach the bear, raising the hammer again, and drive it back into its body.
Thud.
As the hammer hits the bear’s belly, its guts and internal organs scatter around.
The intestines follow through the air, landing right above my head.
Damn it, he’s one of those that have intestines; I thought it would just be flesh like something out of kids’ imaginations. This was a judgment error.
I reckoned it unnecessarily bloated with innards when I thought I wouldn’t leave any pieces behind, and everything would just evaporate.
What’s the use of regretting after doing something?
Brushing off the intestines that landed on my head, I settle onto the squishy corpse and call the Association:
As I listened to the ringing tone coming from my handheld, feeling the warmth of the deceased radiating from beneath me,
soon a stern female voice speaks through the receiver.
“Yes, this is the Association.”
“Registration number 01-005-M.”
“Confirmed. What is your business, Hero Haram Lee?”
“I’ve completed the free extermination of the identified monster. Please process the clearing and the payment.”
“Location confirmed. Payment is being processed.”
Click.
The call ends. After all, the subsequent content will be a repeat of what I’ve heard numerous times.
Now the Association will check the combat power of the recorded monster to pay me.
It was quite a while since I had the joy of free extermination, yet I was very disappointed with this weak creature.
I thought at least a month’s worth of living expenses would come out of this, but it’s ridiculous.
“Seriously, isn’t there a higher-up who could come out?”
For ten years, the story hasn’t progressed, and the income is just the basic salary with a few bonuses from free extermination. At this rate, I might starve to death before reviving the name of a hero in society.
I tuck the stick back into my mouth and rise from that lump of flesh.
“Okay.”
I spat the saliva that gathered in my mouth onto the remains of the monster.
Spit.
“I’m out.”
“Are you okay?”
Lately, the white lump has been properly greeting me. It feels like I’ve lost some weight or maybe my heart is changing somehow?
I fall onto the sofa in the living room and ask Unho.
“Is there any news coming through?”
“I haven’t seen anything about a Magical Girl being attacked.”
Didn’t it even make it to television? Just on my way home, I rummaged through the news sites on my handheld, but there were no such reports.
There’s a chance I didn’t search well, but the Association must be blocking the information.
‘Only that poor girl with broken limbs…’
“If that’s how you feel, then why not just stop worrying?”
“Then it would mean that girl is suffering alone. Everyone should share the pain.”
“Is that so?”
For some reason, as Unho gazes at me with sad eyes, I reach out and pet his fluffy white fur.
“Don’t worry, no one will die. Just… I just want to change things.”
“I wish no one got hurt.”
“If you’re young, you bounce back quickly. As long as you don’t die.”
I’ve had much worse when I was young, and I didn’t die, so it’s all good.
For some reason, stroking Unho’s soft fur puts me in a good mood and I find myself lost in thought:
Attacking the heroes and leaving my mark on the survivors wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
No one would see it, and the public sentiment would be delayed, and if I keep doing this, the number of casualties will pile up, making it so the Association can’t control the information.
“But still, it’s taking way too long.”
“Is there a forest nearby?”
Due to the tension in my face, Unho’s voice takes on a distorted tone. While he seems to enjoy the way my hand feels, he’s rubbing up against it.
“I’m wondering how I can make my actions widely known.”
“How about going on television to announce your claim?”
That would be easier said than done. “No, there’s no need to insist on a television broadcast.”
I pull out my handheld and quickly call up an internet broadcast service.
Let’s see, I can be a hero in action.
Flipping through the options, a considerable number of broadcasts appear.
There are hardly any that have small viewership. Everyone’s riding on the name value of the heroes, and all the popular channels are well-watched.
“Are you serious?”
“You know you have your own handheld at home, right?”
“The operating instructions are published, just hit the video button, and my favorites will come up. It’s great!”
The white pig knows how to do this: “The regions where heroes fight are controlled, so people can’t get in, right?”
“Yes.”
“So heroes use cameramen and broadcast live: viewers watch the heroes in action, and the heroes increase their recognition.”
Then why isn’t Haram doing this? Always whining about money.
“They blocked it because they deemed it cruel.”
I rarely get to go out and fight, and since I don’t have a stable audience, there’s really no need to draw attention.
If I had known ahead of time, at least I could’ve saved on hiring a cameraman.
I don’t care since I’ve no thoughts on killing, but it’s also not wise to show my face too much considering future plans for that.
Even though it’s a bit annoying to have failed my chances to earn some pocket money…
“Can you look for someone special to work with who’s currently on the move?”
“Got it.”
I quickly scroll through with Unho, searching for heroes that are on the move for hero activities.
During combat; casual broadcasts, a cameraman has heroes engaged; gaming broadcasts? This one is a treasure.
Found it.
A male transforming hero. Luckily, he’s pretty close too.
“I’m heading out to work now.”
*
I arrive at the scene just in time.
Looking down from above a building, the hero is already transformed and fighting a monster, while the cameraman is busy capturing them on film.
The best timing to jump in seems to be right after the hero defeats the monster.
With that timing in mind, I summon the hammer and bring it out.
Yesterday, I was too flustered to check, but it seems this hammer has also been upgraded with magical capabilities, just like my other weapons, allowing me to summon it anywhere.
With my new weapon in hand, I focus my mind.
The hero fighting on the ground is our enemy.
White hair dyed with black as it flows in the air while the blue Magical Girl outfit is once again tinged with black, and accessories glow and vanish into the air.
As my body feels lighter, the enemy also unleashes their special move, attempting to erase the monster from this world:
Flash.
In a short leap off the ground, I hurl myself into the air.
The dress flutters in the wind, and the black particles scatter everywhere. Those black particles coat the air and I follow the stream down.
The scene that reflects in the camera is downright spectacular. Like a dark meteor.
‘Can you see it? Once more, overwhelming power: ‘
It seems I aimed to say something cool, but that line gets blocked by my fall:
Between me and the hero.
As I crash down, I wrap my body with the dark particles and thrust my red hammer forward towards his face.
‘Is that a new monster?’
Judging me as a foe, he immediately fires a punch at me.
Quick on the draw:
He must be using a body enhancement special skill since he’s armored, and it looks like he has some telekinesis as well:
He raises the hammer toward the punch I’m sending.
Boom.
The shockwave of the armored fists and the hammer collide.
“Don’t throw punches casually without gauging the opponent!”
Despite the speed and power being quite usable,
this strategy is one that can always be countered with technique.
Sliding the hammer, I duck into hisspace.
Seeing how close he’s getting, he seemed to realize he had trouble hitting a small person.
He tries to step back, but fails miserably.
As he retreats, I pull down on the hammer, catching the weapon across his arms.
The sound of clanging is satisfying; I’m feeling the rhythm.
I immediately yank back the hammer towards myself, pulling him toward me with it as I see the shocked expression in his eyes.
You’d think it would be absurd for a child to defeat you in a power struggle.
I’ve seen that familiar expression countless times.
The enemy approaches.
As I grasp tightly with my left hand, the black powder begins gathering to form a black gauntlet.
The color might be slightly different, but it’s a feature that was also part of the previous Magical Girl outfit.
With my gauntleted hand, I deal a forceful slap to my opponent.
But all I get back is thud.
Slick like a bass drum and without a hint of impact to feed back;
Is it telekinesis?
It seems this isn’t just a special move, but can also be used for defense as well.
With my right hand, I pull the hammer back; as he reaches out trying to grab me with his right, his body rotates as he attempts a maneuver.
Passing through the space between his left armpit:
It seems he hasn’t fought much with people smaller than him.
As I escape his grasp, I pull with all my strength; the hammer I wielded just moments ago clatters away from his left arm.
Holding onto him tightly, I pour in all my power.
Even though his balance has already faltered,
he doesn’t even attempt to stabilize his body.
The enemy, lacking sense and experience,
falls towards me.
I angle the hammer toward the head:
Smack.
A shocking collision.
His head shakes.
Feeling that undeniable impact, I volunteer to step aside.
Let him fall flat on the ground.
The armored hero collapses without even a chance to balance himself;
I wonder if his sanity faded away as he tries to cling to something?
Struck with that thought, I kick him in the stomach.
“Eek!”
I hear a scream.
Turning towards the source of the sound, my sight is filled with the cameraman squatting on the ground:
He must think with the hero down, it’s his turn next.
With minimal hesitation to torment a civilian, I slip him a note detailing my claim.
“If you could just show that on screen, I’ll let you go quietly later.”
To ensure I don’t resemble my usual self,
I delivered my line with a slightly more feminine flair.
“Got it!”
The cameraman fumbles as he accepts the note, capturing it on film. The chat for the broadcast is probably going wild.
Well then, the work’s done.
Now to hand out some hardships to this hero.
While I don’t exactly feel like breaking this armored guy’s limbs and all, I won’t make it that easy.
How many times to bring the hammer down? It feels cumbersome.
If I brought out the sledgehammer, it could all be solved in one go, but then I’d be exposing my identity, which would be idiotic.
I slowly inspect his armor to gauge how many strikes it would take.
Alright.
Now, the time for minors to be handled is here:
“There, camera operator? We’ve hit the prop. Now please cut the broadcast.”
“Got it!”
He swiftly shuts off the camera and dashes away from the scene.
Though, there’s no way an escape like that is fully okay.
I was worried that if I asked him to cut it off,
“This channel might get flagged for brutal footage.”
Surely, it’s wrong to be doing this to a hero:
He has to eat too, after all.
Now then, let’s get started.
Bam. Bam. Bam. Crack.
“Aaah!”
“Hold on tight! You still have a limb left and a dish to clean, just hold on a bit longer!”
Crash. Bang. Crack. Boom. Bang. Crack.
“Aaaah!”
Even as the task comes to a conclusion, his screams don’t cease.
Thanks to the helmet, I can’t see his face, but surely,
inside that helmet will be a mess of screams
and overflowing tears.
“It’s perfectly snapped off, so there shouldn’t be any issues later on for the head. We’ll do a thorough check.”
“Ahh…”
Whether he hears me or not,
I introduce my words only to him.
Much to my surprise, things are going rather well.
I jubilantly snicker and step away from that place.
With this, the Association will surely have to move.
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