Chapter 3

Before I knew it, I was lying on my bed in my room.

I sat up and did as the black man had told me.

"Guide"

When I spoke the word, a book with a black cover and no title appeared in my right hand.

"Was that not a dream...?"

The fact that the book had appeared made it clear that what had happened was real.

It was a strange experience.

Normally, a person has only one 'Heavenly Gifted Skill.'

There are those who acquire a skill as an 'acquisition type' after training and reaching adulthood, but I had never trained in anything other than sword techniques.

It was an impossible situation, but I had obtained a second one through a deal.

Even if a deal was necessary, it meant that he was an entity capable of giving people 'skills.'

"Who exactly are you...?"

The obvious question crossed my mind, but there was no answer to be found.

In any case, I had obtained a new skill.

Feeling a bit excited about the fact, I opened the book to find that it had only one page.

"This book will lead to the death of the Demon King and its consequences."

There was only one page with that written on it, a thin, empty book.

"That man said I would understand how to use it eventually..."

It didn't feel particularly powerful.

For now, the only thing I could confirm was the skill to summon the book.

Perhaps, as the white man had said, I had been tricked.

But...

"Even so, what I have to do won't change."

I gripped the sword that was my father's legacy and set out on my journey to defeat the Demon King.

A few days into my journey, I arrived at my destination.

I volunteered to join the Kingdom Army, the most representative organization that fought against the Demon King's army.

In hindsight, this choice was a detour, but it helped me understand the current situation of the kingdom and the 'Demon King's Army.'

On the night when my enlistment in the Kingdom Army was decided... "Guide" changed.

"Volunteered for the Kingdom Army"

These words were added.

At the time, I didn't question it, but the added text was in black.

"Is this like a diary...?"

It didn't quite click.

Did this book automatically record my actions?

Thinking there might be something else, I frequently summoned it, but no new text was added for the next five years.

The Kingdom Army seemed to be chronically short-staffed, and when I told them my skill was 'Sword Master,' they welcomed me with open arms.

I was assigned to a small unit and participated in several small-scale defensive battles, protecting villages and towns from attacks by the Demon King's Army.

The Demon King's Army often attacked villages and towns sporadically, making for a busy life.

In the process, I gradually learned the characteristics of the Demon King's Army.

The Demon King's Army is a mixed force composed of 'demons,' including the Demon King, and monsters and beasts.

The upper demons, known as 'demons,' including the Demon King and his subordinates, are few in number, while the majority of the army is made up of lower demons, beasts, and monsters.

After several battles, I found that the enemy units were mostly led by lower demons, and I rarely saw any demons.

Among my colleagues and superiors, few had encountered demons.

The only superior who had encountered them told me:

"Encountering them means death. Run if you see them."

I later learned the truth of those words firsthand.

The Demon King's Army, as an organization, is vastly different from human armies, including the Kingdom Army.

In a sense, the Demon King's Army is a 'pack of wild beasts.'

Wolves form packs.

However, they do not form larger packs by joining forces with other packs or combining small packs into larger ones to cooperate against predators.

In other words, the maximum size of a wolf pack is a few wolves with one leader.

The structure of the Demon King's Army is similar.

While demons have the intelligence to understand the concept of an 'army' as a collection of smaller units, monsters and beasts do not.

They follow the Demon King, their ruler, and are assigned to lower demons, but there is almost no coordination between units.

There is little to no sense of camaraderie, and in some cases, none at all.

Especially among monsters with strong territorial instincts, they may even fight each other.

They are beings that follow only the Demon King, not their own pack.

On the other hand, humans form villages and towns, which are further combined into countries, and individual groups can be integrated into larger entities.

It is possible to interpret 'companions' and 'packs' more broadly depending on the purpose.

This is why humans can still fight the Demon King's Army.

In other words, the reason humans can maintain a front against the Demon King's Army, despite being inferior in individual combat power, is due to 'organizational strength.'

Demons are strong and intelligent, but their numbers are limited.

As a result, the main fighting force of the Demon King's Army is made up of lower demons, beasts, and monsters.

No matter how many soldiers they gather, the strategies they can employ in group combat are limited.

Their basic tactic is to rely on brute force.

In contrast, the Kingdom Army uses formations and strategies to counter them.

This is the current state of the conflict between the Demon King's Army and the Kingdom Army.

However, even with this organizational strength, there are places that cannot be conquered: the strongholds controlled by the Demon King.

The important strongholds are 'labyrinthized' by the Demon King.

Due to their structure, it is impossible to deploy a large force at once.

This makes it difficult to leverage the advantage of 'organizational strength.'

Even if units are divided to conquer the strongholds, they are often wiped out individually by the monsters stationed on each floor or the traps set up.

If a small unit encounters a demon, the most powerful individual in the labyrinth, and there is no one with the skills to counter the demon, there is no chance of victory.

In fact, during my time in the Kingdom Army, several units were sent to the Demon King's Castle and other strongholds, but all were annihilated without a fight.

The Demon King's Castle, in particular, is a natural fortress surrounded by sheer cliffs.

There is only one path leading to the castle, which is extremely inconvenient as a stronghold, but from the attacker's perspective, it is an impregnable fortress with no clues for conquest.

The path to the castle is narrow and long, and a misstep means falling to your death.

As a result, it is impossible to deploy an army and attack.

Due to these factors, the current war situation is at a stalemate.

No, the Kingdom Army is in a worse position, as they are forced to fight defensive battles even against brute force attacks.

However, among them, there were those who successfully conquered, albeit on a small scale, the strongholds of the Demon King's Army.

They were adventurers.

They are hired by the country and the people through the 'Adventurer's Guild' for money.

They make a living by hunting monsters that, while not worth sending an army, can cause damage to human settlements if left unchecked.

Among the adventurers, there were skilled groups composed of powerful skill users who could conquer small-scale strongholds of the Demon King's Army that had been labyrinthized.

Successful adventurer parties that conquered strongholds were called 'S-Class' and were more respected by the people than the Kingdom Army.

Some of their missions included escorting them to the labyrinth, serving as a support role to allow their combat power to be focused on conquering the labyrinth.

"Elis, you have the 'Sword Master' skill, right? Why don't you quit the Kingdom Army and join my party?"

On the way to the labyrinth, Ignis, the leader of the S-Class adventurer party 'Fruit of the Great Tree,' invited me.

The name comes from the great tree that gave hope to humanity before being cruelly broken by the Demon King.

It means they are carrying on its will.

I shook my head at his offer.

"No, I have something to do."

"Something to do?"

"Of course, defeating the Demon King."

"Haha, are you serious?"

"Of course."

At first, Ignis listened to my words with a smirk, but he must have read my expression and became serious.

"I see, we welcome those with determination. Let me know if you change your mind."

He patted my shoulder and left.

After that, we completed the mission without further conversation.

His party disappeared in the labyrinth we delivered them to.

Adventurers and the Kingdom Army.

To me, they were just different roles, but some in the upper echelons of the Kingdom Army found their existence annoying.

This was because they had conquered several strongholds that the Kingdom Army could not.

In other words, they were obsessed with saving face.

It was a pointless matter, but it couldn't be helped.

Where there are many people, there are such individuals.

That said, the adventurers had only conquered small-scale strongholds, and the large, important strongholds of the Demon King's Army still stood unconquered.

Of course, the Kingdom Army also wanted to break this deadlock.

And five years into my journey, the year when, according to Crow's words, I should be able to defeat the Demon King.

With my previous achievements, I was in charge of a small unit, and I discussed with my subordinates.

"I want to attack the Demon King's Castle."

At first, they were confused.

But when I passionately convinced them that the situation would only get worse if left as is and that we couldn't rely on adventurers or the upper echelons, they all agreed.

After volunteering to the upper echelons, my offer was accepted.

The 'Sword Master' skill is a powerful skill rarely seen even in S-Class adventurer parties.

They must have bet on it.

Leading ten subordinates, I moved along the path to the Demon King's Castle, and finally, I encountered it.

A demon.

The opponent was just one.

The battle was over quickly.

Powerful magic attacks killed my subordinates helplessly.

I managed to dodge the magic, but after a few exchanges, a spear was thrust into my chest, the last one left standing.

"You are too weak. To challenge the Demon King's residence with such strength is sheer arrogance."

With those words, I felt death approaching with certainty and thought:

Indeed, as 'Shiro' said, I had been tricked.

As a result of a confusing deal, I was given a mysterious book.

A book with only the cryptic phrase "This book will lead to the death of the Demon King and its consequences" and the added text "Volunteered for the Kingdom Army."

In other words, I had been toyed with by him.

I couldn't even reach the Demon King, let alone kill him. That was the only conclusion I could draw.

(What... leads to the Demon King's death...?)

I cursed in my heart and continued to hope for the Demon King's death until the very moment of my death.

---

The next moment, I woke up in my room at home.