The Monster Aspires to Be a Hero!

What appeared before my eyes was a chaotic elementary school classroom.
“Waaah…. Mommy…”
“Ugh… Ugh…”
“Teacher! Daeun’s hand is bleeding!”
My consciousness felt hazy.
But I think I know what this is.
This is something I experienced in elementary school.
A classmate who had awakened powers accidentally cut off the finger of a girl named Daeun while using their ability.
He probably didn’t intend to do that.
He just awakened to this strange power, and since the ability seemed suitable for a hero, he was praised by those around him and wanted to show off.
But the result was quite horrific.
Daeun was half-conscious, bleeding heavily and crying loudly, while the teacher was still in shock from the incident.
Even in that chaotic situation, I picked up Daeun’s severed finger.
“Tea…cher… My… ability…”
I said that as I used my shaking hands to activate my ability.
The teacher finally came to her senses, ran out to find another teacher, and a teacher from the next classroom called an ambulance.
In the meantime, I kept holding Daeun’s finger and her injured hand.
I didn’t know if it was the right thing to do.
I just thought I had to do it.
My firefighter father had told me that my ability could potentially save many people if I wanted to become a hero.
The ambulance carrying me, the homeroom teacher, and Daeun headed straight to the hospital.
Fortunately, Daeun’s finger was reattached without any aftereffects.
I remember Daeun’s parents thanking me so much afterwards.
I felt a bit bashful and said that becoming a hero was my dream, so I just did what was natural.
Then Daeun said I was really like a hero.
Perhaps that was the origin for me.
Those words ignited a fire in my heart back then.
Reality may have blown it all out like a typhoon, but that faint ember still gently burns in my heart.
As if constantly blaming me for not giving up.
That’s why I couldn’t let go of my attachment.
And the result is this ending, where it all burns me alive.
I died, and this must be some panoramic fantasy or something.
Though I should have expected it… I was enveloped by a floating sensation.
I dazedly opened my eyes that had been closed.
Strange, I remembered just opening my eyes and looking around somewhere…
The sight before me was quite familiar – it was the ceiling of the hospital I’ve been visiting for 2 years now.
Ah, I must have survived.
As I gazed up at the ceiling with a hazy feeling, my eyes gradually felt heavier.
“Oh, my son!”
“This brat!”
Ah, those familiar voices.
They must have rushed over after hearing about my traffic accident.
I painfully turned my head to look at my parents.
Mom was shedding tears, and dad had an expression of holding back tears.
Ah, I really did survive.
Feeling that relief, I started feeling strangely sleepy.
“Mom…”
“Yes… Yes, what is it, son?”
“I’m sorry…”
I said that and slowly closed my eyes.
After that, I spent time recovering my strength in the hospital.
I was recovering at an incredibly fast rate.
The doctors said it was miraculous how quickly I was recovering.
My parents asked if there was something wrong with my body, but even the doctors didn’t know for sure.
They said that since I was a super-powered individual with the ability to slow decay, that power may have reacted in some way to the life-threatening situation.
Superpowers are quite literally super-powers that modern medicine can’t fully understand scientifically.
In any case, I survived.
That’s what’s important.
After 2 weeks, I had recovered enough to be able to walk around, if not run.
It was only then that my parents could return home with peace of mind.
I had thought I might have to take a leave of absence, but it seems I can continue attending university without issue.

The hazy feeling was like I was dreaming.
My body was moving on its own accord.
It felt like I was absentmindedly watching a scene of controlling a game character.
The surroundings were dark and very quiet.
I blankly checked the clock on the wall and surveyed the area.
I surveyed the surroundings with the feeling of a skilled spy.
Although it was a 4-person room, I didn’t sense any movement from the other occupants besides myself.
This was the 10th floor.
Normally, only those suffering from Superpower Syndrome are admitted here.
The fact that I could stay in this ward was thanks to my somewhat special ability.
Despite my condition, since I wanted to help those who needed my power, the hospital allowed me to stay on the 10th floor.

An excellent choice.
For some reason, that’s how I felt.
I blankly got up from my spot and approached a nearby patient lying in bed.
Ah… looks delicious.
I was hungry.
There were too many people around, so I couldn’t eat.
Now I can finally satisfy my hunger without worrying about people’s gazes.
I had expended tremendous energy reconstructing my dying body.
It’s time to replenish that energy now.
What was laid out before me was ‘prey’ more appetizing than any gourmet delicacy.
I gobbled it down ravenously.
It was like a sudden downpour on parched land.
Vitality instantly surged through my dying body.
Aah… this feeling.
After finishing my meal, I turned my head and saw there were still 2 more servings of prey left.
With my now lighter body, I approached the prey.
Delicious. So delicious!
I devoured the prey mindlessly.
But it was still vastly insufficient.
The 10th floor is full of prey.
I must eat all of that prey.
I focused my hearing to listen for any sounds around me.
The night shift nurse had checked this room about 10 minutes ago.
There wouldn’t be enough time for her to interfere with my meal.
I carefully gripped the door handle and opened it.
…None.
With slightly bolder movements than before, I stepped out into the ward hallway.
My destination was the room straight ahead.
Opening the door and going inside, the sweet scent of prey wafted again this time too.
It was blissful.
There was so much prey packed in here!
Once again, I began eating ravenously.
I was so hungry.
It felt like no matter how much I ate, the hunger wouldn’t be satisfied.
It didn’t take too long to finish the meal.
I had to hurry.
Finish eating before the nurse comes around to check the rooms again.
With that thought, I focused on hurriedly filling my stomach.
In any case, the things here are just low-quality food.
The main dish was still remaining.
After hurrying to finish my meal, I encountered a crisis.
The location of the main dish was far enough that I could be spotted by the nurse.
How should I handle this…?
I’ll go.
Even knowing the risk, I couldn’t stop my feet from moving forward.
This aroma that robs me of reason – I cannot refuse it.
I advanced forward, hiding behind a wall and checking for any signs of movement.
Fortunately, I didn’t sense the night shift nurse’s gaze.
I passed through the hallway as quietly as possible.
Success.
I opened the door to a private room that was a bit too spacious to be called a single room and went inside.
As expected, there was no one providing care at this hour.
Laid out on the bed was that familiar woman… no, that incredibly delicious prey.
Sniff sniff.
Ah… blissful.
The nurse might come around for checks soon.
The fact that I had to hurry and eat this delicious meal was merely agonizing.
But there’s no helping it.
I slowly began my meal.
Aah.
Aaaaaaaah.
Such blissful flavor.
If I indulge in this taste for too long, I might completely lose myself…
That’s how it tasted.

“Huh!”
My eyes shot wide open.
My chest was pounding like I had just sprinted at full speed, and my hospital gown was soaked in an unpleasantly damp sweat.
Just what was that dream?
With an ominous feeling, I looked around at the nearby beds.
The patients still lay there, suffering from Superpower Syndrome.
They’re alive.
“Haah…”
I let out a long sigh of relief.
What the hell kind of messed up dream was that?
I drank the water from the cabinet next to me and got up from my spot.
Huh?
My body feels light.
I felt overflowing with vitality, like I might float away.
It was like I had become even healthier than before the injury.
Could I have awakened some new ability?
Three days later, I was discharged from the hospital.
The doctor’s talk of it being a miracle was just a bonus.
“Take good care while recovering, okay?”
“Yeah yeah, I got it. I’ll be careful.”
“Good, take care of yourself.”
Mom hugged me, patted my back a couple times, and left with dad.
In a way, it’s only natural for mom to act like that.
The doctors did say it was a miracle that I survived that kind of major surgery.
“Whew!”
I stretched and took a deep breath, feeling the familiar bitter yet cold winter air.
Hmm… it doesn’t even feel that cold either.
“Phoo…”
I cupped my hands and exhaled, creating a white puff of breath.
My breath came out thick like smoke from a cigarette, yet strangely, I didn’t feel cold at all.
What’s going on?
With that thought, I blankly raised my head and noticed another strange phenomenon.
The world seemed unnaturally clear to me.
My eyesight in both eyes is around 0.5, which is quite poor vision.
But now, everything looked incredibly crisp, like my vision from middle school.
…Something does seem to have happened to my body.
They say trauma can sometimes stimulate part of the brain and cause special phenomena, is that it?
Or could it be related to that dream I had a few days ago?
As I was thinking that, I sensed someone approaching me.
It feels like I can even recognize people just from the sound of their footsteps now.
“Oh, is that the little kid?”
“Um… uncle, are you okay now?”
“It’s big bro, you brat…”
“Sorry, Jinwoo.”
This kid named Woojin and his mother had visited me several times while I was hospitalized.
Now that I’ve recovered, I told them not to come anymore, but it seems they came after hearing I was being discharged.
“Woojin, you should say ‘thank you’.”
“Thank you, bro.”
As he bowed his head, his eyes betrayed an insincere greeting, so I placed my hand on the brat’s head.
“When greeting someone, you should look at the floor, kid.”
I said that and ruffled his hair.
“Aack!”
The brat who had been putting on an act suddenly started acting like a typical mischievous kid.
“Really, thank you so much, Jinwoo.”
“No problem. Hey, be sure to look both ways before crossing from now on.”
“…Okay.”
I exchanged goodbyes with the mother and son, then walked off.
Ah… it gave me a proud feeling.
If it weren’t for me, that kid definitely wouldn’t exist in this world.
I saved that kid.
Isn’t that enough to be considered a hero?
The first semester of my 4th year will be starting soon.
It’s about time I got serious about things like building my specs and employment.
Since I don’t have the right abilities anyway, the little kid dreaming of being a hero should make his exit now.
Wasn’t that incident enough for me to let go of my attachment to being a hero?
If I had an ability like Solidification or Acceleration, I could have resolved the situation more easily.
Since I didn’t have either, I almost died.
That’s exactly my place.
Still, I was… satisfied in my own way.

What alerted me to the abnormality was two days after being discharged.
As usual, I visited Buwon Hospital.
Buwon was more chaotic than normal, and I occasionally spotted people who looked like reporters.
With suspicions, I headed to the 10th floor of Buwon and witnessed an unexpected sight there.
The people who had been suffering from Superpower Syndrome, in an indefinite comatose state, had all woken up.
Not a single one was left unconscious.
What is this…?

It was a good meal.
What?
Startled by the sudden voice, I looked around, but the other people showed no reaction, as if only I could hear it.
Something… strange was happening.