Dominic was a man who had experienced a great many battles.
He had wanted to die.
But according to his parents' will, he couldn't take his own life.
So, he sought out dangerous places.
When working as a mercenary, he looked for the most dangerous requests, and when working as a fixer, he only accepted the difficult problems that everyone else had rejected.
After working like that for several years, he even got a nickname.
Dragon Fish.
A fish from a folktale that jumped into the dragon's mouth.
Most dragon fish ended their lives as dragon's food, but some special individuals were said to return alive and become dragons.
So, it was a nickname with a dual meaning.
A reckless guy who jumped into the dragon's mouth.
Yet, a special guy who always came back alive.
He had met so many strong people like that and had won against most of them.
He had rarely been defeated, but those who defeated Dominic were special.
"Such a waste of talent to kill over petty squabbles."
Whether it was good luck or bad luck.
Dominic had survived like that.
Among those many fights, one that stood out in his memory was the fight with 'Kena.'
Kena was a special Orc.
Despite being an Orc, he possessed noble swordsmanship and martial arts, and his manipulation of mana was also neat.
He was an existence that should be called the pinnacle of the Orc race.
And this was the characteristic of the strong.
True strongmen all exuded a feeling like the pinnacle of their race.
But…
The Death Knight was different.
The moment he faced the Death Knight, Dominic felt a feeling he had never felt before in his life.
That was not the pinnacle of a race.
No god would have conceived of something so ominous.
That was not a strongman.
He couldn't imagine the training of hardship that a strongman would have gone through.
That was…
Death.
Something in which the word death was personified.
The man's sword cut off Dominic's neck…
"The Pathfinder is hesitating at a fork in the road. What should we do?"
Dominic was resurrected.
* * *
The first time was absurd, but the second time he was calm.
The moment he saw Jarrot's face, everything became clear.
He had returned again.
Time travel, loop, regression…
He didn't know what to call it, but this wasn't the last chance given by God.
It was a recurring event.
"Commander?"
"Jarrot, descend with the Pathfinder and the entire team."
"Yes? But the special mission is…"
"I'll take all the responsibility. Return to the unit and stand by. That's an absolute order."
Dominic, who had said that, left the 8th search team at the fork and leaped away.
He could hear the bewildered subordinates buzzing, but he ignored them.
If they could go back, at least they should go back.
He knew that it was impossible to descend at will because spatial distortion magic was spread over the mountain range.
But what if he entered the forest of shadow monsters first?
What if the target of the magic spread over the mountain wasn't personnel but the number of times?
Wasn't one victim enough?
Especially if that victim was an existence fleeing from death.
But even after arriving at slash-and-burn Village and waiting for a long time, the Squirmers monster did not appear.
Did he move too fast?
Or was it because there weren't enough people?
After pondering for a while, Dominic sat down on the stump of a cut tree and pondered.
What was this strange phenomenon that was happening now?
Why was he wandering around in closed time?
The most suspicious thing was still the Ring.
According to Hanshuya, it was also related to the forest.
But there was a lack of information.
If he couldn't guess the beginning, could he know the end?
What was the way to end this?
Kill the Death Knight and escape the forest?
Should he kill the witch Velicaya?
"Hmm…"
Both were daunting.
Whether it was the Death Knight or the witch Velicaya, they weren't beings that could be easily dealt with just because his mana had increased…
'Wait, mana?'
Dominic skipped a life.
He didn't know whether to say he had returned to the beginning or regressed to the past, but he had started a new life.
So, what would happen to the mana he had obtained through the Ring?
Had it disappeared because he had returned to the past?
Would it be maintained because he had obtained it through the Ring?
While thinking about that, when he contemplated his mana hole…
Mana existed.
The mana he had obtained through the Ring was still surging inside the mana hole.
That meant that the mana obtained by repeating lives was accumulated.
He hurriedly examined the Ring, and it seemed that about one-tenth of the Heat Haze that filled the intaglio was filled.
If he filled it all, he would absorb mana once again.
If he repeated that infinitely, he could become stronger, and someday he would surpass the limits of humans…
Dominic was startled.
He still didn't know what this Ring was.
It could be a sacred object, or it could be a monstrosity.
If not, it could be someone mocking Dominic's fate.
He had to use the Ring's functions, but it wasn't good to be obsessed with it alone.
'Whatever it is, the Death Knight is impossible.'
He couldn't see a way to kill him right now.
He even had to win while saving the 8th search team.
If those who had shared joys and sorrows for 10 years died, wouldn't it be meaningless to escape?
"The moment the witch opens the door to the tower, a translucent Stele floats in the air. The same pattern as the Ring is engraved on it."
"I felt that it was connected to another space from that Stele."
What he had to do in this life was to investigate the Stele.
He had to check if there was really hope for escape there.
Even if.
"…Even if I die."
The moment he said it, he realized that he had become a strange being.
Ordinary people worry about how to live.
But he had to worry about how to die.
He had to gain something from death.
Information, experience, possibility…
What he needed to obtain first in this life was information about the Stele and to fill the pattern on the Ring.
The moment he came to that conclusion, Dominic sensed the presence of people in his perception.
It was Jarrot and the 8th search team, with serious expressions on their faces.
"I'm sorry. We can't get out. At first, I thought we had gone the wrong way, but no matter what we do, we return here."
"I thought so."
"Did you know?"
"I felt that some kind of magic was spread over the mountain range."
Unfortunately, the target of the magic didn't seem to be the number of times.
It was taking everyone who entered the mountain range to the forest of shadow monsters.
Thinking that way, a question arose.
"Where is the Pathfinder?"
"I don't know. He disappeared at some point."
"Disappeared?"
"Yes. I think he ran away because he was afraid of being blamed for getting lost."
"How did he disappear?"
"That's, I'm not so sure."
After hearing the story, he suspected the Pathfinder.
He thought he had hired an herbalist who was familiar with the nearby geography, but was he perhaps a minion of the witch?
If not, did he really run away?
It was something he couldn't know right now, but it was also something he could know when the next iteration started.
"Jarrot. Collect as many edible fruits or tree roots as possible with the soldiers."
"Are you talking about now?"
"Yes. Right now."
"Understood."
But Jarrot was unable to carry out Dominic's order.
-Kkyaaaaaaak!
It was because the Squirmers had appeared.
'To call that monster a Squirmers.'
The events that followed were familiar.
They moved through space, and Dominic led the team more skillfully.
Then, without wandering, they headed to the base camp where they had stayed in the last iteration.
The two huge trees hid the blind spots, so it was quite a suitable place for a campsite.
He was going to start again here.
Gathering information about the forest and finding the Stele with the same pattern as the Ring.
However.
"..."
There was a guest.
Eight men were sitting, leaning against the giant trees.
They showed no reaction to the appearance of the unfamiliar group.
Some were even closing their eyes as if they were sleeping.
But their energy was unusual.
Each and every one of them was like a tiger and a dragon.
Surprisingly, all of them were strongmen who were far above Edgar.
Although he had been defeated by Dominic, Edgar was a knight belonging to the Royal Family and the Commander of the special guard team guarding the priests.
It was rare for eight people who were clearly stronger than him to be gathered together.
"Who are you? Identify yourselves."
Jarrot stepped forward, but there was no answer.
The moment Jarrot, who thought he was being ignored, looked at Dominic, one of the men got up from his seat.
He pushed open the lid of the wooden box he was sitting on and threw something at Dominic's feet.
Thud.
It was a jewel.
Not one, but dozens of them were strung together.
With this many jewels, they could pay more than the annual salary of all eight members of the search team.
The mouth of the man who threw the jewel opened.
"Food."
"What did you say?"
"We paid the price, so leave all the food you can eat."
The moment Jarrot, who was furious, tried to retort, Dominic stepped forward, grabbing his shoulder.
"We can't sell food. But since there seems to be a guest at the campsite, we'll step back."
The 8th search team had surprised expressions on their faces.
Their Commander was a person who never stepped back unless it was absolutely necessary.
But this wasn't because of Dominic's personal safety, but because of his subordinates.
He didn't know what the outcome of the fight with those eight would be.
But regardless of the outcome, most of his subordinates would surely die.
But the situation didn't move as Dominic intended.
"This is the last time. Leave the food and go."
"I said we can't sell it, didn't I?"
"Then you have to die."
The man kicked the sword he had put on the floor, grabbed it, pointed it at Dominic, and tilted his head.
"Strong?"
"Will you step back?"
"No way. Who are you?"
"Tera Defense Army, 8th Search Team Leader."
It was that moment.
The men, who had no interest in the situation, all looked at Dominic at once.
A tremendous killing intent erupted.
The 8th search team, feeling the killing intent, was startled.
Dominic was the only one who properly read the energy of the unidentified men here.
"You're Dominic?"
"Do you know me?"
The moment the men stood up at the same time, Dominic realized who they were.
Their clothes looked like those of mercenaries, but mercenaries didn't wear those shoes.
They all wore the thickest and sturdiest boots possible because they didn't know which mission area they would be deployed to.
Otherwise, they could step on poisonous weeds or a blind knife and become disabled.
However, their shoes were too simple.
Some even wore sandals with fairly high heels.
In addition, the ropes hanging around the waists of some of the men were mooring lines used to tie to sails.
They were things he had often seen when he was kidnapped to assassinate the pirate admiral Aaron.
So, those guys were…
'Pirates.'
Judging by their reaction, they were Aaron's sworn brothers.
The legendary nine swordsmen who had mocked the navy and dominated the sea for decades.
No, one of them had died at Dominic's hands, so there were only eight of them now.