1 Professor X

Jess couldn't help but click her tongue as she read the ridiculous news headline.

[Breaking news: A new hero on the rise; Shadow Fox to leave Professor X in the shadows?]

"There's no way in hell an immature newbie like that can compete with our Professor X."

Professor X was a name commonly known as the nation's best superhero. He was talented, powerful, and respected by both common people and other heroes. He was the youngest among his class of monster hunters, just 27 years old.

He first started when he was merely 14 years old and now, 13 years later, he had managed to create quite a name for himself. In this world, there were not that many people who did not hear of him. He was the best among the best.

He was a hero you could not even dream of competing against. As an ally, he was the best one could hope for and as an enemy, he was probably the worst one could expect.

"Well, you might change your opinion soon," Siviel chuckled softly as he commented.

Jess creased her eyebrows together and looked at the man in confusion as she questioned, "What do you mean?"

"We contacted Shadow Fox. He might just join our company."

"What?!" Jess jolted up with her face scrunched up in disgust, "No way! Since when did the company lower its standards?"

"Professor X will be taking his interview in person," Siviel added.

"Preposterous!" Jess roared in anger, "That Shadow Fox is nothing but trouble! He is anything but a hero! He is reckless and overconfident! He almost killed 300 people while trying to hunt down a mere B-class monster!"

"Well, he has talent and we kind of need that talent. A lot of our heroes have retired in recent years. Even Professor X was talking about his retirement. The company needs new blood to keep going. Shadow Fox might not be the best fit, but he's young and if we put in enough effort, we'll be able to mold him into a great hero."

Jess clicked her tongue, "Stop dreaming. You can't make a hero out of a villain."

"But you can make a villain out of a hero?" Someone else entered the room and joined their conversation.

Jess turned to look at the man and her eyes suddenly seemed to be twinkling with admiration as she spoke, "Professor X! What are you doing here?"

"I wanted you guys to meet your new team member," Professor X spoke as he stepped aside, introducing the person that was standing behind him, "This is Stephen, also known as Shadow Fox. I'm sure you've heard of him. He recently took down a B-ranked monster."

Stephen had his face covered with a broken Fox mask that only left out his eyes to see.

Jess couldn't help but look at the man in pure shock, her mind immediately going blank at this unexpected turn of events.

"I hope you guys can get along with each other," Professor X spoke with a warm smile.

Stephen's eyes calmly scanned the two people standing in front of him.

Jess was wearing a worn-down pair of cargo pants with an off-white thin T-shirt that tightly hugged her thin frame. Her hair was short, not even reaching her shoulders and her face was a bit plain. No matter how you looked at it, she looked ordinary.

Siviel, on the other hand, had a kind-looking face. The glasses he wore were a bit big for his small and thin face but for some reason, they perfectly matched him and his white doctor's coat. However, for Stephen, even Siviel looked too plain.

After a solid minute or two, Stephen turned to look at Professor X as he spoke, "They aren't heroes. Why are they here?"

Jess frowned as she heard this and almost cursed at the man but refrained from doing so since Professor X was also there. Siviel only smiled as he heard this and did not look to be offended.

Professor X patted Stephen on his back as he spoke, "You better learn to be nice to them. This is your team for the time being."

"Team?"

"First rule of being a hero: Never act alone," Professor X spoke as he continued, "Behind every great hero, there is a team that works together to protect and aid the hero."

"This is Jess," Professor X spoke as he gestured over to the girl who was sneering at Stephen, "She's a weapon's master. She'll be in charge of your weapons and armor. Anything you need, you can ask her."

"And that is Siviel. He's a computer genius. He'll help you find and track the target. Throughout the mission, he'll be in contact with you through your earphones so make sure to wear them."

"But I thought I was going to work with you," Stephen spoke as he innocently looked at Professor X.

"For the time being, You'll be working as my assistant, along with these two. According to your performance, you'll be promoted to the status of a 'hero' and will get your own team."

"Then is this your team?"

Professor X nodded his head with a smile as he confirmed it.

"Don't they look too ordinary to be your teammates?"

"..." Jess suddenly had the urge to throw a desk at this prick whose mouth had no filter.

"I trust them with my life," Professor X spoke with a small smile, "They may look ordinary but they are the best in the business."

Stephen opened his mouth to say something but before any words could come out, he was suddenly interrupted by the loud sound of a siren that echoed throughout the room.

Professor X's face suddenly turned serious as he shouted, "It's a monster!"

Without wasting even a single second, Jess and Siviel immediately sprung into action.

Siviel put on the headphones and sat down as he typed away on his keyboard and tried to find more information on the situation.

"It's an attack!" Siviel spoke with his eyebrows creased together, "School of Art and Commerce, Hilton Street, West block. No confirmed casualties as of yet. It appears to be another B-class monster."

"Got it!" Professor X exclaimed.

Jess helped Professor X wear all his equipment while she threw another pair over to Stephen, leaving him to help himself.

Professor X, "Who reported it?"

"A student reported it. It was hiding in the girl's washroom. The school was immediately evacuated and the monster is currently locked inside."

"Okay. Let's go Sha-" Professor X turned to Stephen but immediately stopped speaking once he realized that the boy was missing.

"Where did he go?"

Jess, "That reckless asshat went on ahead."

Professor X frowned as he heard this but did not bother saying anything much.

"You should also go," Siviel spoke as he looked at the man, "Hurry up and stop that kid from burning down the entire school. He is now a part of our team and we do not have the money to pay for repairs."

Professor X nodded his head as he heard this and immediately jumped out the window and headed out to the address given by Siviel.

Professor X activated his air jet boots and within just a few seconds, he reached the school that was highly guarded by the local police.

When the policemen saw him, they couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.

However, the very next moment, one of the rooms inside the building blew up.

Professor X immediately recognized the cause behind the explosion and frowned as he questioned his own decision.

Was it really a good idea to take Stephen in?

Without wasting another second, Professor X headed in, hoping to stop Stephen from causing any more destruction, but it looked like someone else had already stopped him. Or to be more precise, 'something' else had already stopped him.

A huge, 20-meter-high slime monster had completely managed to swallow a helpless Stephen who could no longer use his powers.

"This is why it's important to follow instructions. You are now part of the company, you are not to act alone anymore!" Professor X scolded him.

Stephen tried to say something but thanks to the slime that covered him completely, no words could come out of his mouth.

"And you should know that fire has no effect on a slime monster," Professor X added as he took out a freezing gun.

The situation wasn't that dangerous.

Slime monsters, although ranked B, were not that powerful. Even if a person was swallowed by the slime monster, they could be saved if the monster was killed within a few hours. However, if the slime monster escaped and the person was trapped inside the monster for more than six hours, the person's flesh would start dissolving with the slime, killing the person and making the monster stronger.

Professor X wanted to immediately get rid of the slime monster. All he had to do was pull the trigger and freeze the monster, killing it in the process. However, he didn't pull the trigger.

Professor X didn't pull the trigger because, for a second there, he heard the slime monster's words and felt a sense of pity for the poor creature.

"Professor, kill him! This is your chance!" He could hear Sivial shouting from inside the earphone but he did not move.

You see, Professor X had a secret.

A secret that he shared with no one.

He was not an ordinary monster hunter, he was an S-class monster himself and could understand the language of other monsters...

An ability that only he had inherited.