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< Chapter : 2 The Giant Slave of a Small Village (2) >
The damp and dark atmosphere inside the cave was not much different from daytime,
but the ominous feeling of the cave at midnight carried a completely different level of coldness that pierced through rough skin.
Rotem unconsciously rubbed the arm holding the lantern as he walked forward,
while a shadow darker than the cave itself flickered behind the greatly intimidated Giant.
[At this level, it makes sense that ordinary humans can’t endure this place.]
Perhaps even this shadow, which had no real body, could feel the dark energy wrapping around the cave.
As the red eyes flickered around while examining the cave where it had once been “sealed,” Rotem let out a short sigh.
“I told you, this cave is dangerous. The villagers were horrified when I asked if I could come here to gather mushrooms.”
[Still, you seem to endure it pretty well. Yesterday you even entered the secret area deep inside where I was sealed. It was hard to even breathe there, wasn’t it?]
“Who knows. Maybe it’s because I’m a big Giant.”
[Hmm. Is that really the reason?]
The shadow smiled faintly enough that Rotem could not notice.
“It” knew.
It knew the true nature of the “energy” filling this place,
and that even ancient dragons would struggle to resist being consumed by it.
“Ah, here it is. Is something like this okay?”
Using the faint lantern light while continuing deeper into the cave, Rotem pulled something out from behind a rock.
As he lifted the lantern toward it, a mushroom with half of its cap blackened and rotten came into view.
[It’s fine. The number matters, so gather everything, even if it’s completely rotten.]
“Yes, yes.”
Since he had already explored the cave several times before, Rotem roughly knew where the mushrooms were located and quickly filled his herb bag.
Of course, the quality was so terrible that his usual self would not even glance at them,
so even while picking them up, he could not get rid of the growing doubt in his mind.
“…….”
“Hm? What did you say?”
Rotem raised his head, trying to find the source of the voice he thought he had heard.
But the shadow simply shook its red eyes side to side.
[No, I didn’t say anything.]
“Really? I definitely heard something.”
[Maybe it was ‘that.’]
Following the shadow’s relaxed gaze, Rotem raised the lantern toward the direction it indicated.
The moment he did, he swallowed his breath.
“…….”
A Giant even larger than Rotem by a full head.
Leather armor covering most of his upper body including one shoulder,
a rusty yet still threateningly large Crea one-handed axe,
and leather pants that had been torn below the knees but still held their shape.
It looked exactly like the typical “Giant adventurer” one could commonly see around, so Rotem let out a relieved sigh and stood up.
“Whew, you scared me. Hello there. Working late at night? Are you here doing an ecological survey?”
“…….”
Without answering, the adventurer took one huge step toward him.
“Uh…… excuse me?”
[Rotem, that’s not an adventurer.]
“Huh?”
[No, more accurately, it’s something that ‘used to be’ an adventurer.]
While Rotem turned toward the shadow beside him, the “adventurer” once again closed the distance without hesitation.
Finally, its face entered the lantern light,
and Rotem understood the shadow’s words.
Eyes without pupils, without even focus.
A dark red liquid dripping from its half-open mouth.
And above all else,
the clear yet faint dark energy wrapping around its entire giant body.
“……No way-”
Rotem could not finish his sentence.
The moment he stood up, the Giant who “used to be” an adventurer charged toward him with terrifying force, swinging the axe.
“Kgh-!”
Because the opponent swung the axe so widely, Rotem managed to grab the wrist holding the weapon and stop its movement.
But due to the huge difference in physique and the monster-like strength that ignored all reason,
it was too much for Rotem to hold back forever.
In the end, Rotem kicked the creature’s leg to break its balance,
and while the giant body staggered, he practically hung onto the arm holding the axe and desperately tried to twist its elbow.
If it had been a normal person, the pain would have forced them to scream and drop the weapon,
but the opponent kept holding tightly to the axe as if it did not care even if its arm bent backward.
If Rotem gave it even a little space, his head would immediately be split open.
“Hey, do something somehow-!”
Rotem’s desperate shout was directed toward the shadow that had done nothing but “float there” beside him.
But despite his danger, the shadow’s voice remained calm.
[What exactly am I supposed to do?]
“No, anything, just do something already-!”
Crackkkkk-.
Sacrificing its own elbow joint, the adventurer slowly began freeing its arm from Rotem’s restraint.
[……Anything?]
“Yeah, hurry!”
[You definitely said anything, right?]
“Fine, fine, just-”
.
.
.
“Huh?”
Morning sunlight slowly entered through the cave entrance far away.
The dreamlike memories and missing gap in time made it feel as though he had just awakened from deep sleep.
“…….”
But Rotem knew.
The scene before his eyes felt more dreamlike than anything else,
yet could never possibly be a dream.
“……What exactly did you do?”
[You told me to do anything, so I did anything.]
The shadow had somehow calmly moved beside him.
Its two red eyes still stared at him ominously and without wavering.
Rotem stared at the pair of red lights for a moment before finally letting out a short sigh and standing up.
Then he lowered the axe he did not remember picking up,
and the axe scattered dark red drops of blood over the body of its original owner.
“……I asked what you did.”
His face was not pale, nor was his voice trembling like a groan.
Rotem’s mind was clearer than ever.
But he openly showed disgust toward the vivid sensation still remaining in his hands,
and toward the beheaded Giant corpse that was obviously the cause of that sensation.
[I simply added a little fairness to an unfair fight.]
“……What?”
[‘That thing’ wasn’t just crazy or consumed by madness. It was simply…… robbed of both body and mind by one of my kind.]
The “thing” the shadow referred to was the corpse leaking unnaturally black blood, far too dark to belong to any ordinary creature.
“Had its body stolen? Then did you take over my body just now and do this?”
[I told you yesterday. I will never steal your body. You told me to do anything, so I only borrowed it for a moment.]
“…….”
By now, the Giant’s corpse was completely covered in the dark red energy pouring from its body and bubbling violently.
Back when Rotem traveled with the merchant group, he had once seen the same thing happen to the corpse of a swamp fogan lying dead on the roadside, so the sight was not entirely unfamiliar to him.
“……Your kind? Stealing bodies? I’ve never even heard of a race like that. What exactly are you?”
Rotem stared directly into the shadow’s red eyes.
Facing his determination, the pitch-black shadow let out a low groan.
[Hmm, a race, huh. If I absolutely had to classify us like that, the human who sealed me called beings like me ‘Black Spirits.’]
“Black Spirits……?”
It was a strange name he had never heard before.
[Though, if we’re being precise, I’m a little different from what they called ‘Black Spirits.’ You could say things got twisted from the very beginning.]
“……I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
[You don’t need to know. Even my own memories are vague.]
“Don’t try to understand things that can’t be understood.”
As if it had read his thoughts, the shadow drew a line there.
Rotem nodded, and sensing his resignation, the shadow quickly changed the topic.
[Anyway, how’s that thing doing?]
“That thing? Ah.”
A short sigh.
The shadow’s gaze pointed toward Rotem’s herb bag at his side.
The same herb bag that had been crushed several times while wrestling with the Giant possessed by the Black Spirit.
“……They’re completely smashed.”
After checking inside the bag, Rotem could only sigh.
The mushrooms had already been in terrible condition to begin with,
and after being crushed around during the fight, they no longer held even the minimum quality or shape.
Every truffle inside had become mashed together into a disgusting paste.
“At this point, they’re only good for putting into soup.”
[It’s fine. Take them all out.]
“What?”
[Take them out and spread them over this rock.]
The shadow drew a large circle over a rock near the cave entrance.
Rotem tilted his head, unable to understand the Black Spirit’s intention,
but eventually followed the request and dumped the contents of the bag onto the rock.
“There.”
[Good. Watch carefully.]
Once again, the shadow drew a large circle above the rock.
Then another circle, moving slightly faster.
Another one, even faster.
Another one…….
Despite the repeated motions, Rotem could not ask what it was doing.
Because before he could even speak, the “reaction” had already started.
Like the Giant’s corpse before, the pile of mushrooms began bubbling with black foam.
But unlike the corpse, the disgusting bubbles were not coming from the mushrooms themselves.
The black energy blooming from the damp floor, walls, and hanging stalactites gathered around the mushrooms,
as though responding to the Black Spirit’s movements, bubbling and boiling around them.
“What is this-”
Unable to properly understand what was happening, Rotem unconsciously stepped back.
But the sight unfolding before him soon stole away his reason.
Earlier, the disgusting black foam had absorbed and broken down the Giant’s corpse.
But this time, the opposite happened.
Something flowing out from the foam began seeping into the mushrooms.
And the mushrooms touched by the black energy began changing as though time itself were reversing.
The wrinkled caps spread open again.
The rotten flesh became firm and full.
The bent stems straightened proudly once more.
The process was gradual,
but since it happened to every mushroom at the same time, Rotem did not need to wait long to see the final result of the strange phenomenon.
And it was-.
“……Amazing.”
[Not bad, right?]
“Not just ‘not bad.’ These are top-grade, no, beyond top-grade. I’ve never seen this level of quality nearby before. Each one could easily sell for 300,000 silver.”
As if he had already forgotten everything that happened in the cave just moments ago,
and as if he had completely pushed aside the question of what restored the mushrooms’ vitality,
Rotem could only continue admiring the fresh truffles while touching them over and over.
“Amazing. How did you do it?”
[Even if I explained it, you wouldn’t understand. Just think of it as using the energy filling this place in reverse.]
“Then we can sell these, buy more damaged herbs and mushrooms, bring them here, improve them, and keep repeating the process.”
The Black Spirit had said it would teach him how to become rich.
And regardless of what the creature truly was, Rotem was certain the phenomenon before him was the method.
But the shadow looked down at Rotem with a strange, shallow smile.
[Close. But things won’t continue this simply forever. Herbs and mushrooms are only the beginning to secure capital, not the final goal.]
“What?”
Worthless mushrooms that could not even be sold had just been transformed into premium goods worth 300,000 silver each-.
And yet this was not the end?
“Then what’s the final goal?”
[Well, there’s no point explaining it now, so I’ll tell you slowly over time.
For now, starting today, your job is to slowly reduce your slave work while also finding buyers willing to regularly purchase herbs and mushrooms like these.]
“Buyers…….”
Rotem’s eyes searched through his memories.
“……Hmm, that part won’t be difficult.”
[Good. Then let’s go work hard, Mr. Giant Slave.]
Grinning widely, the Black Spirit floated toward the cave entrance like drifting smoke.
After confirming all the mushrooms were safely back inside the herb bag, Rotem prepared to follow behind it.
Then suddenly,
a strange sense of discomfort tickled the corner of his mouth.
“……Hey, Black Spirit. I have something to ask.”
[What is it?]
“Did you always have a mouth?”
At Rotem’s question, the Black Spirit stopped moving and turned back toward the slave.
With a bright smile,
showing pure white teeth.
[Of course.]
