To be frank, this is all too much!
What kind of sick joke is this?
Last Hero? Demon Lord? Gods?
"Argggghhh... You'll pay for this, Goddess!!!"
Although I did say "I will" on impulse, I still find it hard to believe my situation.
I look around and see that the light she emitted is long gone.
It was just utter darkness.
"I can't really see anything from this room though."
Yet, for some reason, it was calming. Why is that?
I already miss sleeping.
But I can't just ignore what she said.
"First, I'll sort my skills. Then, talk loudly about a very long soliloquy about how the entire conflict on the surface will generally affect the time I sleep."
"[Status Open]"
...Wait. Just [Status] is enough. I wonder why they call it that way?
Meh, not interested in those cool things. Well, not really...
Status
Name: John Micheal
Level: 50,043
Age: 100,026
Job: None
{Stats}
HP: 5,454,687 / 5,454,687
Mana: 1,543,789,345 / 1,543,789,345
Atk: 2,352,021
Magic: 10,345,789
Dex: 1,451,247
Agi: 1,351,161
Vit: 1,851,519
Luk: 3,402,924
{Skills}
(Skill List) {Skill Points}: 150,128
[Night Vision] Lvl. 10 (Max) (Active)
[Self-Suffice] Lvl. 10 (Max) (Active)
[Appraisal] Lvl. 10 (Max)
{Unique Skills}
[Immortality]
[Experience Gain]
[Deep Slumber]
[Limitless Growth]
[Concealment]
[Skill Acquisition]
{Unique Attributes}
[Hero]
[God Pantheon's Will]
---
What a bizarre-looking status board... but it seems that I do lack some skills, huh?
Status? Oh yeah, I'm really tired of seeing it already.
But what are these things, anyway? I didn't really listen to the Goddess since I only wanted to stay out of trouble.
I definitely see some stats, but the rest is too hard for me to understand. EX+? What kind of rating is that? It seems too good to be true...
While I space out, I notice the large space around me.
Aside from the clean coffin I slept in, everything here is dirty—moss-covered walls, dust in the air.
It spoiled my mood to sleep.
"This is impossible... Damn you, Demon King!"
...Or not. I'm really just trying to hide it.
But how?
Get out of this dungeon, defeat the Demon Lord, and then go back. A good ending.
But that's not that easy.
I'm not that kind of person. Even when I was still on Earth, I was never really an ambitious person.
I'm someone who would rather stay away from others yet still feel sad about it.
This is the story of how I became a NEET in this world anyway.
I'm tired. But I've already rested. Yet my body screams for more.
Can I even satiate it?
On my end, it's okay, but for the world, it's not.
I'm not selfish. I'm really just trying to reason out my actions.
But I can't think of a proper one.
Anything will do! A reason why this NEET must move outside this ideal home and go solve someone else's problem...
That's it.
The gods granted my selfish request—to sleep eternally. And to repay this debt, I must solve things on the surface. Then everything will be okay!
Yes, what a perfect reason! Not only will I solve my problem about sleeping eternally, but I can also repay my debt to them!
It's decided! I'm going to do it now!
...Or not. I still haven't figured out these skills.
Oh, wait... I remember the Goddess saying I have a guide for these things?
What do I even say? [Come out!]?[O thee, Guide,]?
Hmmm... Ah! It's that name, [Hermes]!
I'll try saying it then.
"[Come out, Hermes!]"
Then I saw something... or someone? I can't tell. But it appeared to be very small.
Plus, that spin was definitely something straight out of a fantasy novel.
"Oh, great Hero that has been summoned here! I am Hermes, messenger of gods, and I am your temporary guide—wait, what?!"
Eh?
"How did I end up here?! Who are you?!?"
...I guess this dude is just as confused as I am.
"Who the hell are you!?"
I'm supposed to be the one questioning that...
"Wait... Ughh!! My eyes!!!"
He dropped to his knees, clutching his eyes as if they were bleeding.
Now that I think about it, he's actually in rags. I got carried away and didn't notice it before. Chains wrapped around him emanated a malicious aura. His body was covered in bruises and scars.
Such white skin and glowing blonde hair, yet all wasted... Those eyes looked like they'd endured far too much.
It was almost as if he had been sealed.
"I remember now... We were defeated, and that Demon King sealed us!"
"Yeah, yeah, can you now please explain things to me?"
Do your job, guide.
"Who are you? I know I questioned you before, but I don't really know why I was sent here."
Umm... aren't you my guide?
Is this guy really okay?
"My name is John. Does it ring a bell?"
"Don't mess around with me—agh!"
Whoa. He totally tried to be angry.
"I see... This body is already too weak."
Now he's making me feel bad for his situation. What about mine? Fine, I'll play along.
"Now you look pitiful. I'm sorry."
"A mere mortal pities this god? I don't need it!"
"Look, I'm also in a pinch, so can we just talk?"
Seriously. It feels like if we keep up this pace, he's just going to get dragged into something dramatic.
"I am Hermes. I was called the messenger of gods... well, back then."
?
What's this?
This guy is actually chill when he's calm.
"Okay, no! Don't do another excessive flashback about how you neglected this world and basically lost because all the heroes you picked were either ignorant or complete idiots!"
"How can you even say that to us?!"
I just wanted to keep it professional...
"If you know that much, then I'm guessing you're a {Hero}?"
There we go, finally!
"Yes, I am a hero, but I wasn't a formal one until now."
"Then our plan worked. Honestly, we were nervous since we didn't know the identity of the last hero in this world."
"I don't really think it was wise to leave it to me."
"We didn't really have much of a choice either."
This topic really pisses me off!
"But I'm really surprised that my seal was temporarily broken..."
Well, his appearance is grim, after all.
"I don't know about that! More importantly, aren't you going to teach me the basics?"
"Huh?"
"What?!? Don't act surprised! I called you here as my {Guide}! Why are you like that?"
"You called me here!?! Impossible! Not even the gods can break those seals—how can you just casually call me?!"
I don't care!!!
"Do your JOB!"
Suddenly, he flinched.
"W-what?... W-who the hell are you?!?"
Not this again!
"I told you, I am John, a hero!"
"N-no... your stats! You're not human—no, this isn't even possible!"
Huh?
"Don't you see your stats?! All of them exceed S—except the other stats!"
I know it's something big, but I don't really get what he's talking about.
"Hey..."
"H-heeh!!"
Why is he scared? Oh, come on!
"Calm down..."
"N-noo!!"
"I said CALM DOWN, GODDAMMIT!!!"
The whole room shook.
Oops. Maybe I overdid it.
Hermes was already groveling on the ground.
"I'm sorry!"
"No... I should be the one who's sorry."
I really need to control my powers a little.
"Again, can you please do your job as a {Guide}?"
"Why? Haven't I already explained it to you? If you are indeed a hero, then that means you must have summoned me at least once in your time here."
But I abandoned that responsibility…
"Plus, your level is absurd! Even us gods can't compare to that! Your stats are also amazing! How did I miss such a gem as you?"
Gem? You mean coal? Okay, stop with the puns.
"About that..."
I sat down and explained everything Athena and I had talked about. How I was a defective hero, supposed to be someone else, but Athena failed. She said it couldn't be reversed, but she felt pitiful (not really—she just gave in because I nagged about it). So she sent me here along with some skills to sleep forever (literally) as I requested. A few (read: centuries) years later, she woke me up and explained the world's crisis (that I don't really care about), and that I was the only one left who could solve it. So I abruptly agreed.
"Now I see... but you're some serious leech, aren't you?"
"It's not leeching if you're not harming them..."
"So you're saying that you called me here just to teach you the basics? This takes me back..."
"Stop."
"Fine, fine, you're stingy. But it seems that you were able to call me despite me being sealed. I think it has something to do with your Magic..."
Finally, some explanation!
"But, I don't really think that's the case since you have no knowledge about it."
Okay, so can we please get to the actual explanation?
"Okay, fine, I'll do my job! Just stop looking at me like that—you look way too impatient!"
"Does it really look that way?"
"Yes! And not just ordinary impatience—those eyes are looking at me with murderous intent!"
Is this guy paranoid?
Still… I think it's going to be a long night. Or day. Whatever.