The Monster Aspires to Be a Hero!

How should we procure water in the mountains?
Bore a hole in a zelkova tree and insert a pipe to collect water?
Currently impossible with our equipment.
The most viable option seems to be obtaining the food and water supplies hidden by the staff and supervisors.
Either buried underground or hung atop trees…

Someone is watching us.
As I surveyed the surroundings while climbing the mountain, the monster presence spoke up.
“Wait a moment!”
At my words, everyone stopped in their tracks and hid behind nearby trees.
I may not perceive it well, but the monster presence is sharp in such matters.
Someone was definitely watching us.
“What’s wrong?”
“It feels like someone is watching us.”
“Ah, I see…”
Eunhye blankly uttered those words before mentioning we should subdue any potential attackers.
“Subdue them?”
“Yes. If they intend to harass us for the 2 days in these mountains, they must have a way to resolve hunger and thirst.”
Ah, I see.
Since this is an exam held in the mountains, I had thought we would need to procure our own food and water supplies somewhere here.
But this is ultimately the hero ability certification exam, after all.
Not a survival skills test.
“Jinwoo, please protect Eunhye.”
Saying that, Eunsung set down his belongings and dashed toward the vague direction I had gestured.
Despite the rugged mountain terrain compared to flat ground, his movements showed no hesitation.
Before long, sounds of Eunsung engaging in combat could be heard.
As I listened to those sounds, I activated my hardening ability and kept watch over our surroundings.
The combat noises soon ceased.
Eunsung had returned after subduing someone, carrying food and water supplies.
“Just as Eunhye said.”
A water canteen fully filled, plus some food rations.
While uncertain how many more attacks there might be, it seemed subduing around 3 attackers would secure at least 1 person’s portion.
“That’s a relief.”
Eunhye, who had likely thought of herself as mere deadweight until now, showed a slightly brighter expression.
Weeng
After a short while, the wristbands we were wearing vibrated slightly.
It seemed bonus points had been awarded.
“…This doesn’t feel too bad, unexpectedly.”
If we had auditory or presence detection abilities, we could preemptively respond before being ambushed.
That would reduce the danger while creating opportunities to earn bonus points.
We gathered our belongings and set off again.
Finding a cave would be best, but the chances of conveniently discovering one here were slim.
So we decided on a more realistic option.
Somewhere reasonably spacious for the 3 of us to lie down, with a moderate amount of trees nearby to provide some cover from potential attackers’ assaults.
A spot without overly steep slopes to avoid danger.
We identified a few candidate locations and moved while periodically checking our trail to ensure we could return.
We occasionally crossed paths with other teams, but conflicts were a deduction factor.
So we simply passed by as if the others didn’t exist.
As we roamed around, something caught our eye.
There was a case of a 3-person team having 4 members instead.
“What could that be?”
“Who knows…”
“That might also be included as a bonus factor.”
“Ah…”
At my words, they nodded in seeming agreement.
Besides hunting monsters and villains, heroes also have a duty to rescue civilians.
It seemed not only attackers had been deployed in these mountains, but also such individuals.
As we wandered around, we were able to find someone calling out for help.
At a glance, they appeared to genuinely need assistance, covered head-to-toe in dirt.
“Just in case, I’ll carry them.”

“Understood.”
As I carried the woman on my back, our 3 wristbands simultaneously vibrated.
It also provided the approximate direction we needed to go for rescuing her to be acknowledged.
We walked through the mountains toward the indicated direction and set her down.
“Take care!”
As nonchalantly as if she had merely pretended to be in distress, she waved and departed.
“It notifies us of bonus points being awarded, but doesn’t specify how many, it seems.”
Eunhye commented while examining the wristband from various angles.
It would certainly be convenient if the user-friendly features informed us of our exact score and current location.
As we continued walking while chatting about that, Eunhye stopped us.
“There’s a trap up ahead.”
Eunhye’s clairvoyance had detected a trap the monster presence had missed.
So there were indeed such elements as well.
A trap… a trap, huh…
“Ah, there’s also water over there.”
Near the trap, a 500mL water supply had been prepared.
“One moment.”
I took a tiny sip from the water Eunhye had retrieved.
“…It seems fine, but let’s save it for the final day, just in case.”
Unlike the water obtained from subduing attackers, the supply here could potentially be a trap.
Since such traps existed, there was no guarantee others didn’t as well.
By the time we had finished scouring the mountain area, the sunset had already begun.
We decided to return to the checkpoints we had marked earlier.
After gathering reasonably dried branches nearby and lighting a fire with the lighter we had brought, we took out the sleeping bags and padding.
“Eunhye, you should use the sleeping bag.”
“…Is that okay?”
“It would be more problematic if you caught a cold, Eunhye.”
“Thank you…”
Though still hesitant, Eunhye no longer refused.
“Normally in novels or movies, they avoid lighting fires because it makes them visible from all around, you know.”
Eunsung said that as he tossed wood into the campfire.
“There are scenes like that.”
I followed Eunsung’s lead, throwing in a dried branch.
“Will we be alright?”
Eunhye also seemed to find Eunsung’s words plausible, voicing that concern.
“But it’s better than catching a cold and being in poor condition tomorrow, right?”
There could be night-time ambushes.
But the unease of having no fire was worse than having one.
“Those who didn’t prepare any supplies must be really struggling…”
Eunhye frowned, likely imagining those who had formed 3-person teams without any belongings.
Without even a lighter, padding or sleeping bags, it would indeed be quite difficult.
We had a relatively amiable atmosphere as we ate dinner, assigned watch shifts, and settled in to sleep.
Of course, the non-combatant Eunhye was excluded from watch duties.
That was only natural, given the instruction to treat her as a civilian to an extent.
But things don’t always go as planned.
Whereas daytime ambushes had been extremely rare, we faced 4 attacks at night.
Though we managed some rest, we essentially stayed awake through the night until morning arrived.
Our conditions were understandably abysmal.

Ever since the monster had entered my body, I could stay awake through the night while retaining a moderate amount of stamina.
So the overnight camping and mountain trekking didn’t present major issues for me.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine…”
The real issue was likely Eunhye, who lacked combat abilities.
Those challenging the hero ability certification exam were individuals with trained basic physiques.
But as a non-combatant female ability user, Eunhye seemed to be reaching her limits.
With an anxious expression, Eunhye likely felt she was hindering the team.
“At least we’ve warded off all ambushes so far and secured food supplies, so we won’t fail. Let’s just take it easy while resting periodically.”
“Yes.”
Saying that, we took breaks at locations suitable for fending off potential attacks.
Though quite grueling, it seemed we were gradually nearing the end of the exam.

Help…!

As we were resting after eating lunch, a voice calling for help rang out.
“This might be the last one.”
We rose from our spots and approached the direction of the voice.
Eunhye surveyed the area and confirmed no traps were present.
In that moment, I thought this would be the end…
“Wait a second.”
I stopped our group that had started approaching her.
“Why?”
“Um… that person seems to be a trap.”
“Huh?”
Until now, we had rescued 2 civilians to earn points.
The commonality between those civilians was that their entire bodies had been covered in dirt, as if they had rolled around in the mountains.
It wasn’t just the 2 civilians we had rescued.
The other teams we encountered while trekking were also always carrying dirt-covered civilians on their backs.
But this civilian who had appeared was different.
Spotlessly clean, without a speck of dust, as if having teleported down from the sky.
Suspicious.
Perhaps they had mysophobia and avoided getting dirty.
But even their shoes lacked any dirt, so this seemed worth investigating.
Could this be a trap set up to prepare for villains disguised as civilians attempting an ambush?
If they were a teleporter, they might target Eunhye the moment we showed any reaction.
“It might be a trap. Let’s just pass by.”
We should have enough cushion in our scores regardless.
At my words, the other two showed slightly puzzled expressions, but ultimately nodded in agreement.
While keeping watch on her without letting our guard down, we slowly retreated backwards.
It was at that very moment, having left the woman calling for help behind, that it happened.

There’s someone.
The monster presence’s warning came again.
“Jinwoo?”
“Yes, there’s someone here.”
Eunsung looked ready to immediately dash out and subdue the enemy, but I shook my head.
“Let’s slowly retreat. It seems we’ve already accumulated enough points.”
This was the final day.
With the exam’s end drawing near, the enemy’s assault could intensify.
Preserving our score stability might be more advantageous instead.
“I suppose so.”
“Yes.”
Without objection, Eunsung and Eunhye simply followed my words.
We retreated while evading any potential ambushes.
As we moved while preserving our score, the wristbands vibrated to signal the exam’s conclusion.
After the exam ended, we followed the wristband’s guidance back to the gathering area, where quite haggard-looking examinees came into view.

No, don’t go near that trap!

Ughh…

Argh, shit…
Among them, the most raucous team’s grumbling voices rang prominently in my ears.
From the sounds of it, they seemed to have fallen for the trap after attempting to aid that person we had passed by.
“I suppose that person was indeed a trap.”
“…If not for you, Jinwoo, we would have been in big trouble.”
Eunsung said that with a sigh of relief.

Congratulations to those whose names are called. You have passed the final exam.
With all proceedings concluded, we had naturally passed and exchanged parting words about working diligently once officially active, before going our separate ways.
And so, as I was returning home, it happened.

Enemy.
Enemy?
The monster had said that, but my eyes couldn’t perceive anything.
As I was thinking that, a person with a rather peculiar vibe passed by right before my eyes.
Yes, peculiar.
They were imitating human motions, but somehow seemed out of place.
For one, their walking form was abnormal.
Despite no apparent leg injuries or wounds, their gait was unnatural.
Their neck was also strange.
As if having difficulty raising their head, only staring downward.

That’s right, that’s the one.
Beyond that too, their movements seemed quite off in various ways.
I decided to follow this suspicious man.