TEOCH 3

After lightly washing his face to clear the redness around his eyes, Tristan guided me with a gentle expression, as if nothing had happened. But whether this could truly be called “guiding” was questionable. To be honest, at this moment, it felt less like he was guiding me and more like…

“This is the training ground, isn’t it? There must be many strong and upright knights, but it seems they’re in the middle of training right now. It might be better to visit other places first and come back later.”

“You’re right, that’s probably for the best…”

“And that over there looks like the wizard’s tower. Would it be alright to stop by there first? I can overlook other things, but I need to visit that place to choose my basic skills. I hope there’s a return skill this time.”

“S-skills?”

“It’s nothing important, so you can ignore it. Oh, right. After visiting the wizard’s tower, could you take me to the temple, Your Majesty? I’d like to test if the priests can become companions, but more importantly, I need a lot of holy water right now. I have purification abilities, of course, but having about twenty bottles would make me feel secure.”

This was because I was closer to guiding him. It’s a bit contradictory, but I know the layout of this castle far better than Tristan does. He’s only lived here for twenty to thirty years, but I’ve been guided through this castle by the head attendant for thousands of years.

Naturally, the head attendant’s explanations couldn’t be skipped either. And since those explanations took well over two hours at the very least, they were so exhausting that they couldn’t even be compared to watching the game over message or listening to Tristan’s initial spiel.

To make matters worse, the head attendant’s voice was so soporific that even self-hypnosis about listening to music was nearly impossible…

“You seem to know the castle’s layout better than I do.”

“That can’t be. You’re the master of this castle, aren’t you, Your Majesty?”

Sorry, Tristan. I just can’t bear to listen to that explanation again. Ignoring his slightly hurt expression, I hurriedly moved on.

It seemed that in the second playthrough, the person giving the explanations had changed from the head attendant to Tristan, but even with a different explainer, I had no desire to hear that tedious spiel again.

It was an almost instinctive rejection. It stemmed from the resentment of those long years spent cautiously watching the fussy head attendant’s reactions, desperately trying to convince myself I wasn’t dozing off.

Tristan and I headed to the wizard’s tower. This was a place you had to visit at least once to start the game. Not only could you acquire a key companion, the “wizard,” but it was also where you could choose your “basic skills.” As we stepped into the tower, the wizards inside immediately bowed to greet the king.

“We greet Your Majesty, the esteemed king. Is this the one?”

“Indeed. This is the messenger of the gods and hero from another world who will change the kingdom’s future. Assist him with the reverence you would show a deity.”

There was a time when I found such words a bit embarrassing to hear. How could I, a mere thirty-year-old office worker, be a hero who changes a nation’s future? Even if it was a game, wasn’t this treatment a bit excessive? I used to think that way.

Not anymore, of course. Honestly, these people could bow to me a hundred or a thousand times, and it still wouldn’t be enough. At the very least, they should shed tears of gratitude as many times as I’ve died and come back to life to make it fair.

Though, to be fair, it’s all pointless talk. If the person I care about smiled at me even once, all the suffering I’ve endured would melt away like snow.

“So, what do you hope to gain here? Tell me anything. The wizards will assist you wholeheartedly.”

I gazed at Tristan’s smile for a moment before silently turning my head. What I needed right now were survival skills to endure the Demon Realm.

When I asked the wizard to grant me magic to enhance my abilities, he nodded and led me to a small room upstairs. It was time to acquire skills.

As in most RPG games, skills are important in this one too. However, unlike other games where attack or defense skills hold high importance, the skills in this game are strictly for “survival.”

Gaining skills doesn’t make you stronger. It’s just that without them, you can’t survive. It took wasting thousands of lives to finally realize that. Thinking you can defeat monsters by acquiring skills will never let you clear this game.

Following the wizard into the room, I stared at the enchanted scrolls hanging on the wall for a while. I ignored the flashy-sounding skills like Blade Storm, Smash, Bloodlust, and Divine Scales. In the early days, I believed these were important and tried various combinations, but thousands of attempts led to one conclusion.

Attack skills in the early game aren’t as meaningful as you’d think. Choosing more than one attack skill is something only fools do.

“Lucky me. ‘Fortify’ and ‘Return’ are both available.”

I picked two magic scrolls from the edge of the wall first. I chose two of the three skills available at the start in one go. But it wasn’t a reckless choice. ‘Fortify’ and ‘Return’ were the most essential skills for surviving in the Demon Realm.

Given the game’s nature, where even early skills are randomly assigned, it’s common to struggle when neither of these skills appears. It looks like this playthrough will go quite smoothly.

“Now, for the last one…”

As I thought to myself, a skill list automatically appeared in the bottom left of my vision. This was a system window only I could see. If a virtual reality game were ever made, it’d probably feel something like this.

Anyway, my default skill is ‘Purification.’ This is a special passive skill unique to the protagonist. Without it, any wounds inflicted on monsters heal rapidly. Only with the Purification skill can you deal meaningful damage to them.

At this point, you can probably guess how absurdly high this game’s difficulty is. You’re up against a mountain of monsters, yet your companions’ strength alone can’t even properly kill a single low-tier monster. What kind of ridiculous difficulty is this?

Of course, companions aren’t entirely useless. Without their special skills, survival is tough. That’s why companions are fairly important in this game. But ultimately, it’s the protagonist—me—who has to land the final critical hit on monsters. You have to keep that in mind when choosing skills.

“It wouldn’t hurt to pick one simple attack skill. Better than nothing.”

After some thought, I chose a skill called ‘Incision.’ The name might sound like it’s for surgery, but in reality, it’s one of the more useful attack skills.

It causes up to two wounds with a single attack. It’s a plain, unremarkable skill, but in terms of preventing wound regeneration, it’s as reliable as they come. In a game where all enemies have regenerative abilities, it was one of the few truly useful skills.

“That’s enough.”

“Is there anything else you need?”

“I need a wizard to accompany me to the Demon Realm. Even with a few enchanted spells, I have my limits.”

“Understood. A wizard to accompany you is waiting downstairs. Follow me.”

I nodded silently and followed the wizard downstairs. The wizard’s tower was not only a place to acquire skills but also a reliable spot to gain trustworthy companions.

Everything in this game is random, including the companions you can get, which change every time. It’s not uncommon to have to settle for a different companion because the reliable one you entrusted your back to in the last playthrough has vanished without a trace.

That said, the game isn’t entirely devoid of “fixed elements.” For example, the companion wizard you get from this tower is always the same person. No matter how much you pester them, asking if there’s another wizard—since this tower, holding the kingdom’s largest number of wizards, should have no trouble sparing one more—the result is always the same.

It was frustrating at first, but over time, I came to see it as a blessing. Knowing exactly what skills, behaviors, and personality your companion has is more reassuring than you’d think.

“As expected, you’re here this time too.”

As I descended to the lower floor, I saw a familiar profile talking with Tristan. A young man, wearing a loose robe lightly tied with a belt and string, held a large staff that looked like it’d tire out your arm. He greeted the king with a calm expression. The habit of brushing his strikingly blue hair behind his ear was still there.

He was a wizard who used fire magic. Famous for his flashy spells that burned everything, he often gave an awkward smile because his magic barely worked on living monsters.

The more mischievous companions nicknamed him “Kindling.” His magic was rarely useful except for cooking food or starting fires.

But without his fire, surviving long in the Demon Realm was tough. The realm’s climate was swelteringly hot like summer during the day but freezing like winter at night. The monsters’ tendency to stubbornly hide in dark places played a part, as did the Demon Realm’s food, so toxic that it had to be cooked to near incineration to be edible.

So, the companions never thought of him as a burden. Not just because of his fire, but also because his easygoing, affable personality put everyone at ease.

Spotting me, Tristan immediately approached with a warm greeting. The wizard, as if just noticing me, turned his gaze toward me. The faint tension in his expression softened into one of anticipation and goodwill.

I waited for him to greet me. It didn’t take long.

“Rohan, this is the wizard who’ll accompany you to the Demon Realm. He’s young, but promising and highly skilled.”

“It’s a true honor to meet you in person, hero. I’m Damian Solua, and I’ll be assisting you from now on. I look forward to working with you.”

“Nowon… no, Rohan. Nice to meet you.”

An old friend who’d shared tens of thousands of deaths with me wore the expression of someone meeting a stranger. For a moment, it felt like the hazy look of his blood-soaked, dying face overlapped with it, but as always, the image conjured by the past vanished quickly.

Ah, this is nice too. You died in the last playthrough, and you’ll likely die again in the near future, but for now, you’re alive. Having both the person I care about and a friend I hold dear alive at the same time—what could be happier than this?

Did my foolish choice give you a new life, or will it drive you to death again? With a calm heart, I extended my hand and shared my “first” handshake with Damian.