"Fuck them. They should be able to handle a single wave without me."
[Hell Difficulty Challenger: Caliste Henry]
[Shop Points Remaining: 1,200]
I barely had enough points for a return ticket, and I wasn’t about to spend everything just to carry humanity through another wave of monsters. They always acted high and mighty. Let them handle a single wave on their own for once.
I sat on the corner of a jagged stone and wiped my sword clean.
[Do you wish to enter the 39th Floor Boss Room?]
[Yes] | [No]
I stared at the prompt before me, deciding to wait a little. This was my fifth attempt at this boss, and I had failed every time, barely escaping with my life.
Challengers from lower difficulties always talked about how easy this floor was. But they were just a bunch of losers from [Easy] mode—they had no idea what the real tower was actually like. Half of them couldn’t even make me bleed, yet they spoke as if they were superior simply because they managed to clear their own watered-down difficulty.
"They can all go fuck themselves for all I care."
I was the only one left in [Hell] difficulty because of them in the first place. By convincing everyone to pick [Easy] or [Hard], they made it impossible for me to recruit a team and progress any further.
I laughed out loud, all alone, surrounded by hundreds of rotting monster corpses.
"It’s their own fault humanity died out. The rewards you get from [Easy] difficulty are fucking garbage, which is why they come crawling for my help every single time. Well, not today, motherfuckers. Handle it on your—"
A loud mechanical noise cut off my monologue.
—BEEP!
[Humanity has fallen.]
[You are the last survivor.]
"...Really?" I let out a heavy sigh and shook my head. "What a bunch of incompetents. Whatever, it was only a matter of time anyway."
Humanity’s population had already dropped by 90%. Everyone still alive had consolidated in the west, near New York and Montreal. Those in power had decided it was for the best, and it probably was at the time. But we still weren’t powerful enough.
Well, they weren’t.
That’s what happens when 90% of the population chooses [Easy] difficulty just because of government recommendations. They wanted to keep everyone "safe."
"Corrupted bastards. They only ever cared about saving their own skins."
At first, [Easy] mode fighters were enough. But as the years passed, the monsters grew exponentially stronger until those challengers became completely useless, relying entirely on the [Hard] difficulty veterans. Eventually, the monsters scaled up again, and that’s when they realized they needed the [Hell] difficulty challengers.
Except everyone who chose [Hell] had already died.
Everyone except me.
That made me their so-called savior. I could only laugh when they first gave me that title. They never gave a single shit about me until they needed my sword, and they never even bothered trying to help or recruit me. Granted, it wasn’t like I was the most welcoming guy around either.
"Whatever, it’s all in the past now. It’s over. Might as well grab my return ticket and go die with the rest of them..."
Before I could touch the menu, another mechanical tone blared directly inside my head.
—BEEP!
[Humanity’s Savior, do you wish to turn back time and give your people a second chance to survive the apocalypse?]
"Even the system is calling me that now." I shook my head bitterly.
I wasn’t even surprised the system was offering a regression. I’d read enough webnovels in the past to recognize the trope. Usually, though, they only offer it once you’ve actually conquered the entire tower, whereas I wasn’t even halfway up.
I had two choices: turn back time, or die right here.
Honestly, a part of me just wanted to rest. But I wasn’t suicidal either. If I went back, I could stop that corrupt government from ruining the world’s future by pushing everyone into [Easy] mode. Plus, I already knew exactly which challengers actually had real potential.
I thought it over for about ten seconds before making my choice.
"Alright, turn back time. It’s time to teach those assholes how to clear the tower properly."