Chapter 1: Became a monster (1)

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A male-oriented collection-type mobile game.

The game’s style was extremely simple.

In Hero City, divided from City A to City Z, ‘pull’ girls capable of using Abilities and subjugate the monsters!

…It was a stereotypical otaku narrative.

Well, I started playing the game precisely because I liked that kind of story.

While others might find it a bit cringey or childish, I was an open beta user who started playing <Monster Frontline> right from its early service days.

From making a 1-star character into a 5-star.

Then, when exclusive equipment was introduced, I even spent real money to get it for them.

And then, when stars were added to exclusive equipment, I upgraded all the equipment to the highest 3-star grade.

And then again, when a new growth system called 6-star awakening appeared above 5-star characters, I raised their stars even further.

And yet again, when a pet system was added, requiring separate gacha pulls, I ended up spending several hundred thousand won…

“Haaa…”

Thinking about it now, I could immediately understand why I quit that game.

The developers’ insane push for real money spending was unbelievable.

There’s a certain satisfaction in spending when the BM is reasonable, but then came the rumors of a 7-star awakening, even more powerful than 6-star.

Service period: 5 years.

At that time, the number of concurrent players was barely around 100.

It was a long-lived case for a mobile game, but simultaneously, <Monster Frontline> was on the verge of shutting down, and I was part of the so-called 100-man suicide squad.

A hardcore player, called the last hope of a dying game.

Someone already hopelessly devoted.
That was me.

“…Let’s quit.”

I had already spent hundreds of millions of won on this game, but the news demanding even more spending made me immediately delete <Monster Frontline> from my phone.

And so, 10 years later.

“Krrrk! Krk!”
‘F*ck.’

I found myself in Hero City, the main stage of <Monster Frontline>.

Not as the protagonist of the male-oriented collection mobile game I once cherished, nor even as a TS female character. Instead, I was a monster.

A monster meant to be subjugated.

First, let’s retrace my memories.

My name is Kang Janghoon.

I am 37 years old this year.

My occupation was an ordinary salaryman, and like always, I woke up early in the morning and was commuting to work.

But the traffic light should have been green.

Honk honk!

“…Sh*t.”

No, if it were dawn, maybe I could understand… no, even at dawn, that shouldn’t happen.

It seemed I was hit by a truck driven by someone drunk in broad daylight and died instantly, without even feeling the pain. When I came to my senses.

At first glance, it looked similar to the Earth I lived on, but it was a world where wastelands and ruined cities outnumbered the lands humanity had developed.

A world where, among humans, only women could use superpowers called ‘Abilities’ to protect people from monsters called beasts.

A mobile game with a story where humanity’s survival was guaranteed by ‘female heroes’.

Somehow, I had been reincarnated into <Monster Frontline>, a game I quit 10 years ago.

Not even as Kang Janghoon, who died just moments before, or as a TS female character capable of using Abilities.

“Krrrrrr…”

A grotesque monster with a horned mask-like face, its whole body covered in tough, reddish-black hide, flapping pieces of flesh like a cloak.

It looked extremely dangerous at first glance, the kind that should be subjugated immediately, even having blonde hair that seemed to grow like fire. I was that kind of ‘monster’.

“Krrrk. Krk…”
‘This is messed up…’

Seriously, isn’t there usually an unwritten rule for isekai reincarnations after getting hit by a truck?

‘I opened my eyes and found myself reincarnated as a hero.’

Setting off on an adventure with an elf mage, a tsundere priestess, and other male characters to save the world, while also having passionate nights with the companions-turned-heroines I grew close to along the way, for the sake of future generations.

Someone who should be loved by the people of this other world, no matter what.

Isn’t that the unwritten rule for truck-kun victims?

But what is this reflection I see beyond the shattered window of the collapsed building?

My height is roughly 2 meters.

My appearance is like a guardian straight from hell.

I remember that even in <Monster Frontline>, monsters with such hideous appearances weren’t very common.

After all, overusing models like this would lessen the impact of the weekly triple boss monsters or regular bosses.

Yes, this visual was, at the very least, that of a chapter boss.

An appearance typically seen only on ‘Named Monsters’.

‘By the way, what kind of monster did I even reincarnate into?’

It’s already been a week of walking through this ruined city.

The place where I first opened my eyes.

Perhaps because it was recently attacked by monsters, the electricity hadn’t been cut off yet.

Even as a monster, I got hungry, and whenever I did, I could often stop by a collapsed convenience store and sustain myself with still-cold drinks and snacks.

“Krrrrrk! Krk!”
‘Well, at least I won’t get scolded for this!’

No matter how money-crazed the convenience store owner might be, would they really complain about a monster eating some food amidst the wreckage of their store?

Would they be crazy enough to say something?

…No, wait, is the owner even alive?

Munch munch munch.

Ah, this chocolate bar melts in my mouth.

A stamina recovery item with overwhelmingly good performance compared to what you could get early on when starting <Monster Frontline>.

Its name was Freedom Chocobar.

In-game, it was a brokenly overpowered food item that allowed immediate use of skills normally limited by a turn count, usable every 3 turns. If purchased with real money, each one cost a mere 100 won.

‘100 won… I thought it was a cheap and kind BM, so I used them freely, but by the time I realized it, I had already spent about 50,000 won in a single battle.’

The problem was, while it was one thing in PVE fighting monsters, it could also be consumed in PVP against other players. From then on, if both sides started using Chocobars…

Shake shake.

I don’t even want to think about it.

A battle starting at 100 won to see whose money runs out first.

Just recalling it now gives me PTSD.

Munch munch munch.

“Krk… Krk…”
‘By the way, do I really have to live in ruins like this until I die?’

The convenience store food isn’t infinite.

More importantly, even if my appearance is like this, I’m still ‘human’ inside. A person needs to live where people are.

If I keep surviving like this, my mind will surely break before my body does.

Above all, just as I am a monster, other monsters exist in the world of <Monster Frontline>.

‘It’s been three days like this already, did I encounter them three or four times during that period?’

Monsters several times larger than my 2-meter tall frame, looking fearsome at first glance.

Maybe because my face is so hideously ugly?

We mutually fled from each other, so there haven’t been any real problems so far, but fighting those things would surely mean death.

Just like right now.

Kwang.

“Krk?!”

Something crashed through the convenience store window and landed in the triangle kimbap corner.

At first, I thought a cannonball had fallen, so I immediately dropped flat and covered my head with my arms.

Then, noticing the silence, I got up again and looked around. What had attacked the convenience store that had been providing my meals for three days was none other than a monster’s head.

‘Hiiik?!’

It was the severed head of a shaggy-haired monster, about the same size as my height, looking like a cow…

‘Wh-what is this?! …Ah, could this be the ‘Goat Monster’? Come to think of it, I think I’ve seen it in the game.’

The Goat Monster.

Among the monster grades classified from 5th Grade up to Special Grade, it was definitely a low-level monster corresponding to Quasi-4th Grade.

Its nickname among veteran players was ‘large punching bag’.

Perhaps because it had almost no attack power but possessed incredibly tough defense.

It was a monster frequently subjugated by hardcore players for combo practice, and I myself had tested various character combinations on this guy.

…But were you really this scary-looking in person?

‘There was a setting that a monster’s strength varied depending on the ‘Title’ attached to its name.’

This was an ‘unresolved plot point’ that I hadn’t figured out because I deleted the game midway.

However, consolidating the information I knew, all monsters were connected to some specific concept in human society.

They took that concept as their title and appeared as monsters, and the source of their power was the fear of humanity, whom they antagonized.

For example, the Goat Monster whose head is now before my eyes.

Since few people feared goats, this one’s title held little fear, meaning it could never exert great power.

But names that people feared.

Like ‘Dominion’, or ‘Gun’, or ‘Chainsaw’, ChainsawChainsawChainsaw anyway ChainsawChain-somethingChainsaw.

‘D-don’t tell me there’s a monster around here with a chainsaw attached to its head?!’

Monsters with such titles, just hearing them sent shivers down my spine, possessed power that made this Cow Monster seem insignificant.

“Krrrrrk!”

Where did this thing even fly in from?

Considering this guy, known for its sturdy defense, flew in with only its neck cleanly severed, it definitely meant something dangerous was nearby.

Rustle rustle rustle!

Before escaping, I hugged the Chocobars and drinking water to my chest.

“Krrrrrk!
‘Run!’

Clack.

Just as I opened the convenience store door, which now had a hole in it, and stepped outside.

And then.

Immediately.

…Beep.

“Krk?”

Haven’t you seen a monster grabbing Chocobars before?

A red dot, like a barcode scanner checking the Chocobars I hadn’t stolen… but found, slowly moved up from my chest.

A sniper rifle’s scope was now aimed right at the top of my head.