The Last Boss’s neck—more specifically, the Magic Core inside its grotesque neck—was its hidden, glaring weakness. Ethan finally discovered the clue he'd been searching for.

The problem? The sword's length was barely sufficient to reach the core, buried deep within the thick layers of flesh. Ethan had to thrust the blade all the way to the hilt to destroy it, leaving him vulnerable to a counterattack from the towering monstrosity.

"DIE!!!"

But that didn’t shake him. If it was difficult, it only meant that he had to perfect his movements. He had to do it until he was able to pierce the core without hesitation.

With a battle-hardened focus, Ethan thrust his blade into the neck before him, feeling the tactile vibration from the sword’s tip. His heart raced—it was unmistakable. He had struck something hard but brittle.

*CRACK!*

A resounding echo of success filled the battlefield. Ethan’s eyes widened in disbelief before a crazed grin spread across his face. "I did it..." he whispered, barely able to contain his excitement. “I DID IT! I BEAT THE—”

Suddenly, a massive hand came crashing down, turning him into flattened meat. His triumphant moment evaporated in an instant, death arising from a careless assumption.

When Ethan revived, agony from his rebirth flooded his senses, but his mind quickly processed what went wrong. The Last Boss didn’t have one neck; it had three. Meaning, three cores.

"Troublesome," Ethan muttered, rubbing his head.

However, his expression was far from defeated. A manic smile tugged at the corner of his lips, his eyes alight with something between madness and excitement. The finish line was closer than ever—he could practically feel it. All he had to do was reach it, one step at a time.

"I won’t give up!"

His determined shout echoed through the camp, startling the other refugees. Even Mary, standing a short distance away, couldn’t help but smile, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. She watched over him like a mother would an excited child.

But it wasn't as simple as he had thought.

With renewed vigor, Ethan charged straight for the neck, determined to capitalize on his earlier discovery. Armed with Arthur’s sword, he intended to finish the job right after the other heroes had fallen.

But he didn’t even make it close to the neck.

"...!"

A new attack pattern emerged, swift and devastating, cutting him down before he could blink. He wasn’t prepared. Hundreds of deaths followed before he finally realized the truth: the Last Boss could read his thoughts.

This revelation nearly knocked the wind out of him. It wasn’t just dodging attacks anymore. Before, it didn’t matter if the boss could predict his movements—he was always on the defensive. But now, with a target and the need to attack, having his thoughts read sealed off every offensive option he could think of.

"Do you want me to become some kind of enlightened monk or something?!" Ethan spat, his frustration boiling over. The idea of fighting without thinking about attacking seemed nearly impossible.

Still, it wasn’t entirely hopeless. He had reached the neck once before, so it could be done.

Ethan had two choices: to try achieving a state of pure selflessness, moving without conscious thought, or to continue with his previous method, attacking without fixating on the goal. After some consideration, he chose the second path. Achieving Zen by self-learning? That felt too far-fetched.

Thus, without any drastic change in tactics, he persisted. He pushed forward, death after death, revival after revival. After a hundred thousand deaths, the repetition felt endless. And still, he couldn’t give up. He had already made too many sacrifices.

Time blurred. His revivals would have spanned over 250 years if measured in days. By then, his battles stretched on for hours, amounting to over ten years of accumulated combat experience. He had learned every move, every attack, and every trick. The Last Boss’s once-terrifying assaults were no longer a threat.

Their fight became a duel of equals, as if they could read each other’s minds.

500,000 deaths later. A thousand years had passed. No ordinary human would have remained sane after reliving the same day for so long. Ethan had lived long enough that most faces faded from memory—except for the refugees, the fallen heroes, and Mary. Even his parents’ and old friends’ faces were hazy now.

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"Ethan, are you okay?" Mary’s voice grounded him, keeping his humanity intact.

But their time together was fleeting. His battles stretched so long that each loop began later and later, moving from dawn to dusk. He barely had time to prepare anymore.

"I’m fine," he lied, forcing a smile.

It felt like he was following a script, his heart aching every time she asked. Was he still human? Or had he become something else entirely? Ethan didn’t know anymore.

'At least I still believe I’m human.'

The next day, Ethan hoped it would go as usual. He would try a few new strategies, push the limits of the battle, and inch closer to the end.

But something unexpected happened.

"Let’s go!"

With Arthur’s command, the heroes charged forward. The mage fired the beam as usual. But then...

*TING!*

Arthur’s sword was knocked away—an event that had never happened in a thousand years. The blade landed beside Ethan. The heroes still fell, but now he had the sword earlier than ever before.

Something had changed.

With a sword in hand, Ethan leapt into the fight. Despite his overwhelming fear, he fought fiercely, dodging attacks with precision. This time, the Last Boss presented openings, far more than usual.

'Is this a trap?' He hesitated for only a moment before deciding to strike.

Jumping over the Last Boss’s hand, he stabbed the first core with Arthur’s sword. The core shattered with a satisfying *crack*.

"Hup!"

Without stopping, Ethan dodged the monster’s follow-up attacks. But something was off—the creature was panicking, its movements erratic.

"No way..."

Ethan didn’t let the opportunity slip. Using the creature’s thigh as a platform, he leapt to the second neck and shattered the core.

*CRACK!*

For the first time, he destroyed two cores in one battle. He could feel triumph within reach, but kept his guard up, ready for the next move.

*GAAAAAH!*

The monster began charging energy in its mouth—an attack Ethan had seen before. A beam of destruction capable of leveling everything in front of it. He knew how to avoid it—move behind the Last Boss. Furthermore, the attack left the third core wide open to potential attacks.

But then Ethan’s eyes flicked to the camp behind him.

Mary wouldn’t make it out in time. She and the other refugees were within range of the blast. His breath caught in his throat.

Ethan had a choice: end the battle now, sacrificing the camp and his one and only anchor, or risk another loop. However, the likelihood of everything aligning flawlessly once more was extremely slim. It was less than one in a million.

"Kuh..."

Ethan ran, his cowardice breaking him. His heart screamed, but he couldn’t let this opportunity slip. He used the creature's back to climb toward the third core, ignoring the explosion before him.

*BOOOOM!*

The beam devastated everything, including Mary. Ethan’s heart shattered. He had promised not to let her die again, but still failed. His teeth ground together, and his eyes turned red, filled with fury toward both the Last Boss and himself.

"UWAAAAAAAAGH!"

Like a man possessed, Ethan stabbed the final core, twisting the blade, before stabbing again, over and over, even as the monster’s body began to collapse.

"..."

In that moment, something strange happened. Information flooded Ethan’s mind, a familiar feeling—like the first time his Rewind skill had activated. But this wasn’t the same.

"[No Cost]...?"

It was a new skill, one that removed all limitations from other abilities. It lifted all limitations, including cooldown, activation conditions, and range restrictions. It was the hero's reward for defeating the Last Boss.

But Ethan didn’t celebrate.

He collapsed to his knees, his tears soaking the bloodstained ground. When there was no one left to share it with, what was the point of victory?

*RUUUUMBLE!*

"...!"

But fate wasn’t done with him. The ground quaked—a familiar vibration he had felt countless times before. He slowly raised his head, staring in disbelief.

"No way..."

Eight more Last Bosses approached from all directions. Gigantic, grotesque monsters identical to the one he’d just slain.

"...Heh."

Ethan chuckled, his hope fading. He had won... but it was far from over.

"No," he muttered. "I’m not accepting this."

His mind raced, turning over the knowledge from a thousand years of experience. Then it hit him.

"No Cost... What if I use Rewind with it?"

He didn’t need to die to activate it. He knew it had no cooldown anymore. And now, it wasn’t limited to just 24 hours.

"If humanity can’t survive, then I’ll build it up from the ground." A fire reignited in his heart. "I’ll prepare us for the coming apocalypse!"

Ethan gripped his chest, eyes blazing with resolve. "I will become the world’s hero!" he shouted. "And if I’m going to play hero," he added, "I’ve got to do it thoroughly!"

Light exploded from his body, signaling the activation of No Cost. He set Rewind’s parameters, rolling back time not just 24 hours but to the beginning of the apocalypse—a full decade ago.

"REWIND!!!"

With one last glance at the horizon where the monsters gathered, he raised his middle finger. Ethan turned his back to the chaos and leapt into the past, ready to carve a new future for all humanity.