Who Needs a Hero?

…..

Petrified, unable to form a reaction, a young man with dark brown hair looked at the dark landscape that surrounded him on all sides.

Jumping up from the cold, hard ground, he stretched out his limbs, which creaked like the old gears of an abandoned car.

Again? He said, slapping his forehead violently. Why? Why the ** can I get over that?

Standing in the middle of a black abyss, where the floor resembled a half-translucent black mirror, he mused.

At that moment, his head throbbed with a mixture of anger, fear and other indescribably violent sensations that permeated his long insane mind.

Strangely, the only thing present in the nauseating environment was the man with the shaggy brown hair, tied in a ponytail by his yellow bobby pin.

Fuhhh… whats the use of exalting myself, at a time like this?

Sighing deeply in reflection, he felt his already aching head feel like it would split in half into two distinct pieces as a metallic creak sounded through his drooping ears.

Tired, and wondering repeatedly what it meant for him not being able to break through the mythical dungeon of Kronos — which had been claiming millions of victims in search of its immeasurable treasure —, the boy faced the origin of the mysterious sound.

Before its piercing crimson eyes, similar to old earthy red wine, five blue screens hovered indefinitely, defying all laws about physics and science, once established by humans.

[Youve died]

[Your unique ability, World Memoir, prevented you from joining the plane of souls and dead!]

[User was forcibly brought to Yggdrasil Hall]

[Total number of current attempts has been changed!]

[Number of attempts: 42,472 — maybe you should try a little harder and not die!]

Yes, yes… Im well informed about that already, mother**er…

Cursing himself and the program that informed him of the details of his new and failed attempt, he felt several pangs in his chest, as if thousands of needles were puncturing his skin, without rest.

However, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation, his red eyes narrowed like a cats as he desperately tried to force his brain to come up with a plausible answer to his countless questions.

Why the hell can I get past that point? And, even if I just ignore the dungeon, later on Ill die for lack of the relics needed to hunt the monsters of the Pantheon! He thought, his eyes bloodshot.

First of all, why couldn he do anything against the creature that served as the main guardian, responsible for guarding the treasures and relics in Kronos Dungeon?

Shouldn he, Ezra Trawlhaban, be extremely special like the first generation Epics, as he had been one of the first people affected by Sevens wave of Madness?

So why didn there seem to be any possibility of him passing that hellish trial, which always led to excruciating death?

Were all his efforts worthless in the end?

To make matters worse, even if he just left Kronos Dungeon alone, without getting involved in matters related to it, it would later lead to his inevitable and painful death, one way or another.

So there weren many options the kid could take here, to be honest.

Fucking hell…!

Frustration was what engulfed his heart and mind, in that moment of momentary weakness.

”Screw all that. ” Ezra pronounced, clearly annoyed. Im not giving up here. I refuse to believe that things won work out. There must be a way, right? ”

In fact, he still had a chance to get around all that — just use his unique ability and go back to one of the saves hed previously made.

Furthermore, with his prior information, and superhuman intellect, he could easily use the group of heroes as he saw fit, to his own advantage!

Worlds Memory: Mnemosyne! Standing firm, Ezra recited the name of the skill variation aloud.

Biting his lip, the young man pressed his index finger on the screen and selected the fourth, and also brightest, of the options on the blue tabs.

Another screen, this time asking for his confirmation, popped up alerting him of his decision.

[Save Slot 04, titled The Dictation of Nobunaga, has been selected]

[Are you sure you want to proceed with the current choice?]

His eyes scanned the screen, quickly reading the dark, greenish words that snaked freely, similar to snakes waving their scaly tails in the wind.

[Note: Keep in mind that when confirming the return, you will only be able to access this window after you die!]

[Do you really want to proceed?]

[Yes/No]

Taking a deep breath, as he gathered air in his exhausted lungs, he nimbly clicked the [Yes] button, resolute in his decisions. Confidence seemed to exude excessively from his previously downcast figure.

[User is being transported back to the Save Point!]

[The exclusive skill, World Memoir, wishes you good luck]

”This time it will be different. ” He exclaimed, calming himself down.

Blinking shortly thereafter, the landscape changed completely as if by a mere magic trick.

Firming his grip on the silver sword that had materialized out of thin air in his left hand, Ezra found himself standing in front of a large, tall door covered in slimy mucus.

In parallel, surrounding him, about 10 people with elegant appearances and faces stamped with admiration, also appeared in his peripheral field of vision.

Remarkably, the cloying black, which spread endlessly in all directions, had left no trace behind, as if it had never been there in the first place.

”Shall we move on, Ezra? ” An armored man, carrying a sword twice the size of his body, suddenly asked.

Several of the people standing beside Ezra looked in the young mans direction, awaiting his response.

Of course, why not? Smiling arrogantly, he took a step forward without batting an eyelash.

Since I learned to control the World Memoir, there has never been anything to stop me from paving my way! Even if it is a small chance, almost impossible, I will cling to it!

However, contrary to his expectations, it all ended in an instant, with him coughing up blood or noticing various sharp objects attached to his chest.

Ezra felt the pain and anguish eat away at his sanity, just like the many times hed forced himself to pick himself up and fight for his own principles as he struggled to overcome other trials.

F-son of a bitch! I… why can I…?

Crushed, nonstop, like a lowly ant, Ezra felt like a worm as he had his chest pierced, his head ripped off, and his limbs stretched out of his body, attempt by attempt.

To make matters worse, each time he died, his eyelids would heavily close against his will, only for him to wake up in the infinity black void.

The last remnants of his logical thinking and sanity seemed to slip away more and more.

His erratic face, contorted into a frightening and menacing grimace, showed that the young man was already on the verge of reaching the limits of his wits.

Shit, that damn guy… Dismayed, he asserted to himself. Planning does nothing against him. Its as if that bastard could read my every move. ”

Controlling himself not to fall to the ground, he closed his eyes for a second, contemplating his next step to take.

All I have to do is try again. Mental toughness — this has to be the key to winning. Besides, if I just do this instead of that… then maybe I have a real chance…

Finishing muttering to himself, as a true madman would, he found himself biting his left thumbnail.

A small amount of his blood trickled through his palm as Ezra summoned his power again.

[Save Slot 04, titled The Dictation of Nobunaga, has been selected]

[Are you sure you want to proceed with the current choice?]

Starting over, he tried in various ways to use various methods to defeat the dungeons guardian — however, all his attempts were fruitless failures.

Not even with some of the worlds greatest heroes backing him, he was able to emerge victorious in combat. Nothing seemed to work, at first.

As a result, unlike what people were used to seeing on Ezras face, a facial expression of helplessness and anger filled his face, now sunk in negative sensations.

Hiding his feelings so that others would think he was different from what he really was, had never proved as difficult as it was at that point.

Oh. You
e here, once again. A deep voice said, from the back of the group.

Quickly snapping out of his reverie, Ezra quickly turned his head toward the source of the sounds of human feet slamming against the stone floor.

There, his crimson eyes widened as he saw the silhouette of a tall man, about 1.89 cm tall, with notorious dark blue hair and purple irises, in the bizarre shape of a cross.

E-eh? Why is there a human here? The groups main healer questioned, causing everyone but Ezra to be surprised that there was another person of his kind in the place. Is he the enemy or is it just a misunderstanding?

Ignoring the futile barbarians that scrutinized him from head to toe, the dungeons final guardian noticed the exact moment when Ezra — the young man at the squads centerpiece — suddenly paled like an undead.

Afterwards, still not saying anything, the mysterious barefoot and gaunt man cast a chilling look in Ezras direction, making him feel incalculable discomfort.

F-**… The young man, the target of the stares, shivered like a frightened little child.

As if the entire hall stopped for him, the people who were his ”companions ” seemed to disappear.

His legs wobbled for a second, something that had never occurred to him in his entire life. Not even during the process of his first death had he been so terrified.

Simultaneously, his focus returned to the humanoid creature; the brown-haired man didn dare move in the meantime, feeling cold sweat pouring down his sticky cheeks.

Ezra Trawlhaban… I see youve done that again? Said the humanoid creature, its nonchalant tone showing not a single emotion. Don you get tired, boy?

Ezra opened and closed his mouth countless times, not knowing what to say.

The words were clearly fixed in his mind, but it seemed that, at the most crucial moment possible, they were doing their best to escape his mouth.

I… I…

Whatever. I won waste my time on nonsense anymore — perish. The monster stretched out its hand towards him.

And, like lightning, not letting Ezra see it with the naked eye or dodge it, a hole opened up where his stomach had been.

”… ”

In the second after the guardians attack, the young brown-haired men opened his eyes to the black void, once more.

He stood there, a dark layer covering his crooked expression.

In the meantime, a blue holographic screen of his own power, the only thing that used to greet him in that dark place, materialized before his dead-fish eyes.

[You died]

[Your unique ability, World Memoir, prevented you from joining the plane of souls and the dead!]

[User was forcibly brought to Yggdrasil Hall]

[Total number of current attempts has been changed!]

[Number of attempts: 85,767 — maybe you should try a little harder and not die!]

AAAAAAAAAAA!!

Screaming, Ezra fell powerlessly to the ground.