"A jeep?"
Daigo stared at the very ordinary-looking jeep, scratching the back of his head. Training… what did training have to do with a jeep?
Was he supposed to run alongside it?
In truth, Daigo's guess was partly right—but it wasn't him running after the jeep.
It was the jeep running after him.
For those who inherit the legacy of the Warriors of Light, the Ultra Jeep is the mountain you can't get around.
"Get in."
Koji slid into the driver's seat. Lumine and the others took the passenger seat and the back.
"Sorry, the car's full." Koji grinned at Daigo.
"Then the training—"
Daigo's heart sank. A very bad feeling crawled up his spine as he eyed Koji warily.
"Training starts!"
…
"Daigo! …Don't run! Run at the car!"
"I don't understand, Mr. Koji—this is way too dangerous!"
Daigo finally understood what the "training" was, and he genuinely couldn't understand it. Why would training be done like this? It was insane.
And he was supposed to charge at the car?
He didn't want to get run over by a jeep.
On the beach, Daigo sprinted like his life depended on it, while the "jeep monster" chased him from behind.
"So thrilling!" Furina's face was flushed red with excitement. "I don't even know why, but this kind of high-speed rush feels amazing!"
That was the Ultra Jeep's "buff"—absolutely exhilarating.
For the person being chased, though, it was not exhilarating at all.
"What kind of training is this?" Yae Miko's mouth twitched. "This is even more hellish than my anti–Raiden Shogun special training."
Koji, are you sure you don't have some personal grudge against him?
Without transforming, Daigo was still just a human—maybe a slightly special one. If that jeep slammed into him, he'd go flying.
"Daigo, this training is definitely fine. It can boost you fast."
Some monsters loved charging headlong into things. Training like this let Daigo, as the human host, get used to it ahead of time.
"Isn't there a safer method?!"
Daigo complained as he ran. If he'd known this was the method, there was no way he'd have agreed. This was literally life-threatening.
"This is the fast-track method. As for conditioning your body, that's your own business."
Koji spoke lazily. This was a method Leo had personally tested—there was absolutely no doubt it worked.
Daigo knew he couldn't avoid it now. He could only grit his teeth and take the training.
Next time… even if he ran himself to death, he was never agreeing again.
The jeep training didn't stop until a call came in from the Victory Team.
"Daigo, a monster has appeared. Return to the unit immediately." Captain Iruma's voice came through.
"Roger."
Daigo didn't care how exhausted he was. His expression turned serious in an instant. Another monster—what was happening to Earth?
"Daigo, since you can become a Giant of Light, you need to observe with your own eyes," Koji said meaningfully.
A monster like Gakuma wouldn't normally attack humans. The reason the Gakuma on Kyora Island attacked the workers was because the minerals were being over-mined.
It was a conflict between people and nature.
"Does that monster have something special about it?" Daigo paused. His first instinct had been to destroy the monster to prevent humans from being hurt.
"The two Gakuma on that island have existed on Earth for many years and never had any conflict with humans," Koji said simply. "They only attacked because humans dug up too much of the stone they'd stored."
"So… this is the bitter fruit of what humans caused?"
Daigo's expression turned complicated. In this case, humans really had done something wrong.
"I know what I should do."
After thinking it through, Daigo returned to base. If he didn't kill them, then he could only relocate them.
"Humans really are a complicated species," Yae Miko said with a sigh. "You've got your shining points and your darker side too. Over-mining for profit—going too far—that's greed at work."
She'd seen plenty of humans do stupid things for greed. That wasn't something easily changed.
Shenhe fell silent. She thought of her father—coveting the impossible dream of bringing the dead back, he tried to sacrifice his own daughter… and still failed in the end.
Truly foolish. Once your eyes were blinded, there was nothing you wouldn't do.
Koji just shrugged.
Situations like this were everywhere. Even in worlds without monsters, human development required mining all kinds of resources—and what it damaged was nature itself.
A world where humans and nature peacefully coexisted, never crossing each other's boundaries… those worlds were rare.
On the other side, Daigo arrived at Kyora Island. Without hesitation, he transformed into Tiga. After teaching them a lesson with fists and kicks, he carried both Gakuma away together, transporting them to an island no human had ever set foot on.
"See? My Ultra Jeep special training was totally useful," Koji said with a laugh.
Besides their petrification beam, Gakuma's main style was charging wildly—attacking with their horns and claws.
Charging headlong…
Wasn't that exactly what the jeep training was for?
Daigo didn't speak. He simply sank into thought.
Becoming Tiga meant carrying a heavy responsibility.
How was he supposed to live up to that identity…?
(End of Chapter)
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