Chapter 5: Monster Among Monsters
In a side annex of the royal palace.
While reviewing the guest list for the upcoming ball.
“Next Swordmaster?”
At someone’s sudden question, a man tilts his head and answers.
“Obviously, Iban Hellinger will be the first, right? From what I hear, that guy’s insane.”
“Really?”
“His family’s a swordmaster lineage, so he’s got solid backing.”
“Hmm.”
But his answer didn’t satisfy the playful question from the woman reviewing the list beside him.
“What about this guy?”
“The Northern Grand Duke? Well, his achievements are decent, but word is—”
“They say his cold face is super charming.”
“What?”
“Normally, he’s totally expressionless. But in front of someone he likes, his face blooms like a rose. So handsome that people around him have to be careful not to fall for him. Those types are usually more skilled, you know.”
“What? Why’re you suddenly talking about another guy’s face?”
“Why?”
The woman giggles, seeing the man narrow his eyes. She links her arm with his and says.
“Jealous?”
“No, it’s just out of context. We were talking about who’s the most skilled among the invitees, so why’s it veering this way?”
“Why? I was just saying handsome guys tend to be good at their jobs, so it’s on topic, right?”
“Come on.”
The man lets out a dumbfounded laugh.
As he turns slightly toward the woman, he opens his mouth.
“…What about me?”
“What?”
“Do I seem good at my job?”
“Hmm.”
The woman covers her mouth, chuckling playfully.
“Compared to the Northern Grand Duke?”
“Hmmm.”
“What? Why’re you hesitating?”
“Because the answer’s not coming easily?”
“Annoying. Fine, compared to the Knight Commander here?”
“About… the same level?”
“Come on. What about compared to the Guard Captain here?”
“Psh. You’re better than him.”
“Alright then.”
Suddenly.
“Compared to that monster bstard?!”
“What?!”
The man’s finger points this way.
And.
The woman’s head naturally follows his finger.
“Ugh, seriously! We’re talking about people, why bring up that thing!”
“Yeah, comparing him to that monster bstard might be an insult, huh?”
“Right?”
“Yeah.”
Suddenly, their foreheads touch, hands clasped.
Their heads slowly turn this way, but their faces have changed.
No longer human.
The snouts of a gnoll and an orc split wide, letting out eerie voices.
“…Right? You monster?”
Huh?
“Monster.”
“Monster bstard.”
“Monster! Monster!”
“Moooonster!”
“You! You’re a monster!”
The surroundings blur.
The grotesque shouts stretch out, growing louder.
Mixed with static noise, like from a torn speaker, it gets louder and louder.
Moooonsteeeer!
When the noise becomes unbearable.
“…Argh!”
I snap awake.
Screaming as I break from the nightmare, the musty smell of my rugged hideout greets me.
Fauche’s secret laboratory. The safest place on this island, at least.
Letting out a long sigh, I mutter.
“Just a dream.”
On days I overdo it, I always have these dreams.
Scenes from “The Young Lady Monopolizes All the Interest” mocking me in a filthy nightmare.
“…Fck.”
Muttering curses as always to shake off this rotten mood, I wipe the sweat from my forehead and slowly rise.
Looking at the cracked mirror on the lab table, the words from the nightmare slip out.
“…Monster.”
A monster stares back from the mirror.
Sweat-soaked, cannonball-like deltoids gleam on my shoulders.
Thick forearms, like mortars, descend from them.
At the ends, massive hands with knuckles like embedded marbles.
That’s not all.
A chiseled six-pack, each muscle sharply defined.
Thick veins wriggling like snakes.
Hundreds of scars from weeks of relentless fighting, some still not faded to my original skin tone.
No one would call this human anymore.
Even with full doping, no one could build a body like this—I can say that confidently.
Not just the size, but the reinforced muscle fibers and nerves make me stronger than any powerlifter I saw in my past life.
The body’s rapid regeneration, tireless stamina, and explosive muscle power go without saying.
But the “real” thing is something else.
When adrenaline surges, when I inhale deeply and gather strength, the strange energy flowing through me explodes!
Vitality floods from head to toe, steam rises from my body, and my eyes glint with an eerie glow!
It’s almost like a brief transformation.
The hint for this state came from another of Fauche’s journals, piled under the lab desk.
[Berserker!
I, Fauche, call this Berserker Mode!
The explosive power from burning the demonic energy of consumed monsters through the mana circuits carved in the body surpasses even the effects of high-level berserker magic cast by elite mages!
Those fools at the Magic Tower could never imagine this!
Oh, awaken soon, my loyal servant!
As a berserker mad with slaughter!
Butcher those idiots who ignored my genius!
Go carve my great name across the kingdom!
- Fauche]
Berserker Mode.
True to its terrifying name, entering it lets me unleash power far beyond what I could before.
There’s one downside.
After Berserker Mode ends, recovering from injuries takes longer than usual.
Like right now.
Ugh!
Pain spreads through my body, and my eyebrows furrow in the mirror.
“Sht.”
The pain from three broken ribs yesterday is tough to laugh off, even for me.
“That crazy monster bstard.”
Worse than the pain is the fact that I didn’t kill the monster that broke my ribs.
That’s right.
Even with a superhuman body and Berserker Mode, it’s not enough to become the apex predator of this damn island.
I can still hear its footsteps when I close my eyes.
- Thump… Thump… Thump…
Yesterday, while going wild alone in the orc tribe’s camp.
Maybe it was the thrill of fighting an entire tribe in broad daylight, or maybe it was Berserker Mode, but I missed it.
A crazy monster coming down from the valley, approaching the orc camp.
- Thump… Thump… Thump…
The ground-shaking roar hit me.
Its massive form cast a giant shadow over the battlefield.
[Ogre]
It was my first time seeing one in person.
Bigger than a mid-sized office building.
- Chwi, chwiii!?
- Chwiik!
- Chwiiiiik!
The moment it appeared, the orcs fleeing from me ran back toward me, as if I was less dangerous.
Even without their DNA-deep terror, I quickly understood.
Why each ogre is a “subjugation” target.
Why it takes a company-sized force to hunt one.
Why even seasoned mercenary groups call ogre hunts insane.
A single club swing.
The wind pressure alone swept the orcs away like fallen leaves.
Even in Berserker Mode, I had to plant my feet in the ground and clench my teeth until they creaked to withstand it.
- Roar!
Surviving was all I could do.
Even that was while the ogre ate the orcs I’d hunted, heading back to the valley.
I landed a few attacks, but they only left bruises at best.
Its irritated, ferocious counterattacks left me with broken ribs, barely escaping.
‘Fcking insane.’
Terrifying strength.
Truly, an apex predator vying for the top of this island’s ecosystem.
But.
‘I’ve got to beat that.’
To escape this island, I can’t be trembling at a mere ogre.
That’s when I decided.
Boom!
A massive roar and a strong tremor shake the entire cave where my hideout is.
A boulder fell.
I’d seen it occasionally while hunting gnolls, goblins, and orcs in the island’s central region over the past weeks.
Why do boulders fall?
Unlike ogres that sometimes come down to wreak havoc, a crazy monster lives up there, throwing boulders when it’s pissed.
[Cyclops]
It hadn’t thrown boulders to the island’s edge before, but the reason doesn’t matter.
Whether yesterday’s chaos was too loud, or it fought another predator like an ogre, or it just unleashed its uncontrollable power, who cares?
‘There’s no time.’
The only thing that matters is getting stronger, faster.
I need to get insanely strong.
To survive the cyclops’s random boulder attacks from up there.
To survive the thunderbird’s attacks when I reach the coast to build a raft.
To survive the tentacle monsters rising from the sea when I set sail.
‘Orc tribes are the least of my problems.’
I need to become a monster beyond my current self, capable of taking down an ogre single-handedly.
How? By training harder than ever, pushing my body to the limit, and hunting the remaining monster tribes near the island’s edge to grow.
When it’s all done, I might gain something beyond mere survival.
Not just strength, but maybe that mysterious gem said to be embedded in the cyclops…
Wait.
‘If only there was a faster way!’
That’s when it hit me.
A strange sound came from my chest, where the broken ribs from yesterday snapped back into place.
Crunch!
Tapping the area with my fist to check if they healed, I feel it.
Thump thump!
A strange sense of stability.
Of course.
Once bones heal…
‘Aha!’
A thought strikes me.
There was a way.
A brilliant idea to speed up the injury-recovery cycle I’d been using.
‘Why didn’t I think of this sooner?’
Bones get stronger after breaking and healing, don’t they?
So.
‘If I break and heal them every day?!’
Bones are the body’s framework!
If I strengthen that framework as much as possible!
Won’t I have a much better frame than now?
“Ahhh!”
A shout of awe bursts out.
A fcking genius idea!
This body boasts insane regeneration unless the injuries are from Berserker Mode!
No need to limit breaking and healing to muscles!
No need to fight monsters just to get injured!
I’m floored by this brilliant idea.
For a brief moment, the thought flickers—am I going crazy?
“…Haha! No way!”
Laughing heartily, I brush off the doubt.
Curious how far my bones can be strengthened.
“Self-sufficient sweet grind!”
Crack!
I swing my right arm, smashing my shinbone.