Chapter 5

I started to notice the "true characteristic" of the "Guide" skill on my eighth attempt.

At first, I joined the kingdom's army, then Ignis's party, and after that, various adventurer parties.

No matter which party I joined, once I told them that my father was a Sword Saint and that I myself was a Sword Master, they welcomed me with open arms.

I joined all the famous parties in the Adventurer's Guild.

However, they all seemed similar to the "Fruit of the Great Tree."

No one was seriously thinking about defeating the Demon King.

I no longer acted recklessly as I did back then.

Once I realized that the party members weren't serious, I left on my own, prepared, and headed for the Demon King's castle.

"I'm still not ready."

Even though I felt that way, the five-year deadline that Crow mentioned pushed me forward.

And then, I was killed by the same demon and returned to "that day."

"Is this what he meant by the ability of the Guide...?"

Most likely, it's the ability to repeat the life from fifteen to twenty years old until I kill the Demon King.

This is the power of the Guide skill.

It fits with what I sacrificed in the deal, so I'm sure it's correct.

That's why I started to understand the meaning of the warning from that man... "Shiro."

"So, he was trying to trick me, was he...?"

The words of "Shiro" and "Crow."

Crow said, "Effectively, five years."

But, from my perspective, it's not just five years.

By the seventh repetition, I felt that thirty-five years had already passed.

Crow would probably say, "I didn't lie, did I?" ...

Indeed, from a third person's perspective, it's "effectively five years."

But from my perspective, it's "effectively thirty-five years" right now.

The meaning changes depending on the reference point.

He skillfully guided me with his words.

I don't understand the meaning of the pages increasing, but I thought it was probably to count how many times I died.

From my experiences so far.

"This won't do."

With that resolve, I decided to form my own party instead of joining others.

Normally, it would be difficult for a fifteen-year-old to form and manage a party.

In reality, the average age for becoming an independent party leader is around twenty.

However, I have thirty-five years of experience as an adventurer.

I thought I could manage.

If there were no parties aiming to defeat the Demon King, I would create one from scratch.

That was my goal.

I went to the Adventurer's Guild and applied to form a party.

The skills "Sword Master" and "Son of a Sword Saint" were excellent for promotion, and various people expressed interest in joining the party that same day.

When I told the interested parties that we would aim to conquer the Demon King's castle in five years, some looked at me as if I were a strange object, but there were still those who agreed.

I chose a priest, an axe wielder, and a thief from among those who seemed serious.

That night, I suddenly activated the "Guide" skill.

Since volunteering for the kingdom's army, nothing had been added to the blank book, so I hadn't used it much recently...

First, in red letters, it read:

"Form a party"

Below that, in black letters, it read:

"Axe wielder, priest, thief"

After repeating this a few times, new pages and text began to appear in the book.

There were three types of text:

Red letters, blue letters, and black letters.

Through repetition, I began to understand the differences.

The content written in red letters:

This is probably the "essential tasks" for defeating the Demon King.

If these are not done, it is impossible to achieve the goal of defeating the Demon King.

In other words, forming a party on my own is an essential action for defeating the Demon King.

And while I can't be certain, the blue letters probably represent "somewhat important tasks."

Information like visiting a certain city or a magic item shop.

These are not essential, but the more of these actions I accumulate, the closer I get to defeating the Demon King.

In other words, they are somewhat interchangeable actions.

And the black letters:

These are probably irreversible failures.

I think so because once black letters appear, no more red or blue letters are added to that page.

In other words, if I volunteer for the kingdom's army or choose the wrong party members, my path to killing the Demon King is closed.

After making this prediction, I formed parties multiple times and added various members.

The next addition to the book, after forming the party, was on the tenth attempt.

It was a blue text:

"Spear wielder, Faran, joins"

At that time, I hadn't yet noticed the difference in the text, but I was excited that the text had been added.

"Wow! The spear wielder seems important!"

I remember muttering to myself.

Faran, the spear wielder, has the skill "Great Spear."

It's like the spear version of "Sword Master."

He's a formidable warrior, and his addition brought stability to the battles.

"Defeating the Demon King, that's great! A real man should aim for what others won't do!"

He agreed with me.

I felt a lot of hope for defeating the Demon King, but it didn't work out.

The demon guarding that unnamed path.

I couldn't break through him.

It wasn't enough with just him.

After that, I continued to search for party members among those who responded to my recruitment.

On the twenty-sixth attempt.

About forty people expressed interest in joining my party.

I had already gone through the process of adding each of them and checking the "Guide" multiple times.

I tried adding a few to the party to see what color the text would be.

Actually, a few were still left.

But most of the remaining candidates had non-combat skills, which were unlikely to contribute to defeating the Demon King.

For example:

"Mr. Elius! Please... let me join your party!"

This was a familiar event that occurred every time I formed a party.

About a year after forming the party, a black-haired girl would express her desire to join.

This girl, Eileen, is a typical example.

Her skill is "Accounting."

It's not a combat skill.

For a normal adventurer party, it might be fine.

For a new party, having an accountant could help stabilize operations.

But my goal is to defeat the Demon King.

To end this cycle, I need to defeat the Demon King.

There's no room for someone who can't contribute to combat with a skill like "Accounting."

Moreover, I know her fate.

If I reject her from my party, she will eventually join a small, weak party and die on her first quest.

Since I know she will die, I tried to dissuade her.

"Give up on being an adventurer."

I advised her a few times and even tried to prevent her from joining other parties, but she still ended up dying.

Every time, the same outcome.

I also know the fates of a few others who are destined to die, and I myself am destined to die at twenty.

In other words, "dying on the first quest" is her fate.

Even if I add her to my party, she will die soon, and I'll have to recruit new members again.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you join our party."

"......I see."

When I reject her, she is disappointed but backs down.

I feel bad for not being able to help her, but I've become accustomed to watching her leave with her shoulders slumped.