13 A Change Brought Through Thousands Of Lives

"This life also…. seems like a failure…"

Noah was on the ground, surrounded by 30 Nagas. The monsters had a human upper torso, while their lower halves belonged to snakes.

Blood flowed from Noah's injuries while he breathed his last.

As he tried to stand on his legs, refusing to give up in the face of defeat, a window appeared.

[ Congratulations, you have continued to fight tenaciously for 9999 lives without giving up. You, who fought against the overwhelming despair without backing down, have received the title 'Great Hero'. ]

[ Ding! You have gained two titles, 'Vile Evil Villain'(Chaotic Evil) and 'Great Hero'(Lawful Good), with extreme opposing alignments ]

[ Conditions to unlock Unique Trait 'Genius Psychopath' has been met. You can now freely use 'Genius Psychopath'. ]

[ Effect: Can Inverse Skill Effects ]

[ Congratulations, you are the first person to unlock a Unique Trait. May you reach ascension and ■■ ]

Battle Concentration activated on its own.

Noah saw the slow blades of Nagas heading for him and raised his hand. Even without seeing the status, he knew how to use his trait.

"Sage Heal"

A bright golden magic circle appeared as Noah activated one of his three class skills. Markers appeared over the heads of 30 Nagas and their physical conditions improved considerably.

[ Sage Heal: An AOE healing spell. Heals 10,000 Health Points of the marked targets in a 10-meter radius ]

[ Activating 'Genius Psychopath' ]

The air thumped and…

"Inverse"

[ -10000 HP ]

[ … ]

[ You have leveled up ]

[ You have leveled… ]

[ You have…. ]

[ … ]

The Nagas fell without any resistance. The mighty warriors, who seemed no different from harbingers of death, were lying on the floor, dead.

Noah stood on his trembling legs and walked over the corpses. He couldn't believe his eyes.

Was this the end?

Has his suffering ended?

"Ughhh"

Noah fell to his knees. Tears unknowingly dripped from his eyes.

The notifications of level up didn't matter.

The fact that he didn't need to suffer anymore didn't matter.

Finally…

He could fight back.

He didn't need to struggle helplessly anymore.

{Child…}

"I know." Noah wiped his tears, revealing a resolute expression. "I know this isn't the end."

Noah was inside an enclosed cave. The only way out was the massive gate in front of him.

What was on the other side?

A peaceful town?

A safe zone?

No, Noah knew better than to believe in the grace of luck. He spoke.

"The Nagas were not even level 10. Their strength was underwhelming when considering my other deaths. Whatever is on the other side of that door is my real opponent."

Noah collected weapons from the Naga corpses. He took two daggers, a sword and a shield.

As he moved toward the gate, Hepius objected.

{Child, allow thyself some respite. The burden of those thousands of deaths hath surely wearied thy soul. Should thou employ the "Sage Heal," it shall provide some relief to thyself. Then, thou mayest venture forth to endeavor the opening of the door.}

"No, I can't do that."

Noah stood in front of the massive gates.

Their intricate dark carvings oozed a chill sharper than frozen tundras.

Noah added. "I don't have food or water. Luckily, my stamina is still high. This is my perfect chance to fight, when I'm at my strongest."

The door creaked when Noah pushed them.

His surroundings crumbled and Noah found himself in the middle of a dimly lit hall. On the border of the circular hall stood massive statues who carried different weapons each, while a glamorous chandelier hung at the ceiling.

GRRRRRR!!!

The animalistic cry caused Noah to take a stance.

"Huh?"

Noah was shocked after witnessing the scene in front of him.

A 10-meter tall man was fighting against a three-headed dog. Calling it a dog would be an understatement, as it was at least twice as large as the giant.

The giant punched the monster and flung it away.

[ You have entered Stage-1 ]

[ Stage-1 Details: Hades is infuriated by Heracles, who has come to his door, intending to slay the doorkeeper of Hell, Cerberus. Enraged by his audacity, the God of Death and Underworld asks you to defeat Heracles before he leaves Underworld. ]

[ Goal: Defeat Heracles ]

[ Reward: ??? ]

"What is he doing?"

Cerberus was on its last leg while Heracles picked his club, aiming it at the monster's head.

{The Guardian of Underworld has the ability to kill all with a single bite. Heracles, being ever cautious, seeks not to leave any loose ends, hence—}

"Tell me that sooner!"

Noah dashed towards the two boss monsters. His goal was to kill both Cerberus and Heracles and gain their Exp.

{Hah! For someone who has been through hell and worse, thou are quite energetic.} commented Hepius as he understood Noah's intention.

Noah snuck close to Heracles before they could notice and activated his skill.

"Inverse Sage Heal!"

[ -10000 HP ]

[ Hidden Boss Level 45 'Cerberus' slayed ]

[ You have killed the Doorkeeper of the Underworld and antagonized Hades ]

Noah read the notifications and his eyes widened.

At that moment, Heracles stared at the corpse of Cerberus and turned towards Noah.

"Who dares disturb my labor!?" he bellowed.

His shout shook Noah's innards, forcing him to retreat. As he watched the relatively alive Heracles, Noah muttered, "Why didn't he die?"

{Use your 2nd class skill.} Hepius scoffed from the sides. {Charging at the enemy without scouting his abilities, what a fool.}

Noah shrugged. "Guess I was too excited."

[ Level Suppression will occur due to the large level difference ]

[ Your stats, item, and skills effects will be reduced by 40% ]

[ You have opposed Level Suppression with your tough mental fortitude. Your stats, item, and skills effects have returned to normal. ]

"Sage Eyes"

—

[ Heracles ] Dungeon Boss

Rating: Elite

Level: 40

HP: 60,000/123,4500

Weakness: Weak to Debuff Magic

—

His eyes widened at the remaining Health Points of Heracles.

[ Heracles is using Earth Hammer Skill ]

The gigantic club struck the earth. Cracks spread on the ground and it ruptured.

Sage Eyes was one of the three class skills Noah gained when his level was reset to 0. It not only appraised monsters and items, but also predicted the skills an enemy was using.

Thanks to it, Noah was able to move before Heracles attacked. Though, he couldn't dodge the shockwaves of the impact.

[ You have lost 91 HP ]

[ Alert! You have less than 10% remaining HP! ]

"Die, you heretic!" shouted Heracles as he swung his club again. This time he didn't miss.

BOOOOOMM!!!

Noah was smashed into the walls.

{Alas, thou wert too hasty. With thy current abilities, thou canst not defeat such a formidable foe.}

Hepius shook his head. It was time for Noah to move on to the next life.

"Who decided that?"

Hepius' eyes widened when he heard the voice from the hole in the wall. Similarly, Heracles also stared at the location with disbelief.

"Damn, that hurt." Noah walked out. "You hit me two times. So, I get to hit you twice, right?"

[ Your HP has reached 0 ]

[ Activating 'Great Hero' title effect ]

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