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< Prologue – An Awkward Wish >
It looked like the embodiment of the word ominous itself.
The blurred, pitch-black shadow that enveloped the surroundings made the space feel like another world entirely—an alien place where reality did not quite apply.
Within that darkness, only two glowing red eyes could be confirmed as something “real,” flickering faintly amid the distortion.
The reason he decided to call them “eyes” was simple.
The way those lights shifted slightly whenever his own trembling body moved made it impossible to describe them as anything other than something watching him.
[……@#%%$!@#?]
A voice that tickled directly through his rational mind.
There was nothing visible that could plausibly produce sound, yet he instinctively understood that the presence before him—the small mass of darkness—was the source of the voice echoing in his head.
“Uh… what?”
[#$%$%!@?]
“Sorry, I can’t understand a single word of that.”
[$#!@#, ah—. Now?]
“Oh, that I can understand.”
A brief moment of relief at successful communication.
Then—
“……So what are you?”
[That’s not important.]
An underground cave.
Even though the light from a flame lantern cast harsh, trembling shadows across the ground, the inky black presence in front of him absorbed all light, refusing to be illuminated.
As the thing circled slowly above him with a somewhat curt response, the man could do nothing but wait until the voice echoed in his mind again.
[First, I suppose I should thank you. I don’t even know how long it’s been since I had consciousness. You were the one who broke the seal, weren’t you?]
“Seal…?”
The man carefully turned his head.
A lantern still burning its remaining life, books scattered everywhere—
—and then.
A collapsed bookshelf.
“You mean that bookshelf?”
[I’m not like the others. I understand gratitude. I have no intention of taking your body or anything like that, so relax.]
“Wait, my body—what?”
[Now then. What do you want to become?
A legendary mercenary?
A dragon hunter like Sherakan?
A general who crosses the Black Desert?
Your kind has produced many brave heroes since ancient times.
With me, it may take time—but you could leave your name in history just like them.]
“……”
[So? What power do you desire? What weapon will you use?]
“Uh—”
A short hesitation.
“…Not really anything?”
[……What?]
“I don’t like fighting.”
[……What??]
Confusion rippled through the darkness.
The pitch-black shadow slowly descended closer, yet the ominous pressure it carried had noticeably weakened.
[……You’re a Giant, aren’t you?]
A rough mop of hair.
A blunt nose.
Deep-set eyes and a strangely protruding jaw.
Broad shoulders and chest exuded an overwhelming physical presence.
Even his worn work clothes—and the small hand hoe he held—felt strangely threatening in contrast.
“Yeah, I’m a Giant. So what?”
[That’s usually—]
“Look, I don’t even know what you are, or what you want from me.
Anyway, if the seal’s broken, congratulations. I’m going to finish digging those mushrooms and head out, so enjoy your freedom or whatever.”
Without hesitation, the Giant strode forward, reaching toward truffles growing on the dry cave wall above the collapsed bookshelf.
[Hey—wait a second!]
The black shadow rippled urgently around the young Giant.
“Ugh, what now? Annoying.”
[Listen, Giant. This is a problem for me. I told you—I’m someone who understands gratitude. I can’t just not repay you—]
“I didn’t rescue you or anything. I just leaned on that bookshelf while trying to reach mushrooms and knocked it over.”
[Even so… wait. Fine. If you don’t like fighting, don’t you have any other wish? Something you want to become?]
“Something I want to become?”
The Giant’s hand, placing mushrooms into his herbal bag, slowed slightly.
Perhaps this was—
the most important question of his life, past and future included.
But for such a weighty question,
his hesitation was far too shallow.
“Hmm… how about getting rich?”
[……Money? Rich?]
“Yeah. Rich.”
[That… might be a bit difficult…]
“Oh, really.”
Confirming the condition of the mushrooms inside his bag, the Giant turned toward the collapsed stone door that served as the exit of the “secret laboratory.”
The pair of red eyes floating in midair watched his massive back as he walked away without hesitation.
Finally—
it let out a sigh no one could hear, and followed after him.
< Episode 1: Giant Slave of a Small Village (1) >
The small village of Florin lies north of the Calpheon capital.
This place is home to the Shai, a race of small folk who live together in large numbers.
It is famous for its abundant and diverse medicinal herbs, ingredients, and the potions made from them, which serve as its specialty products.
Because the goods produced in the village are highly regarded in the nearby territories—including the capital city of the Republic, Calpheon to the south—Florin, despite its small size, is always prosperous and lively.
Of course, the more lively a place becomes, the more “hands” are needed to sustain that vitality.
However, the Shai of Florin did not have enough hands—nor large enough ones—to handle all of that work.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
The giant, who had been resting briefly after stopping his work pressing down on a cauldron, was approached by a girl.
Of course, since it was impossible to accurately judge a Shai’s age by appearance, whether she was truly a “girl” was uncertain. But to him, such matters as their age were of no concern at all.
“Did you bring what the village chief asked for?”
“Truffles? I already delivered them earlier.”
The giant wiped the thick sweat running down his chin with a shrug of his shoulder.
As soon as he answered, the girl’s brow furrowed sharply.
Of course, he knew well that the Shai’s expression was not due to his sweat, smell, or shabby work clothes.
“What? Hey! You were supposed to bring them to me, not the village chief!”
“The chief said he needed them.”
“No—! I’m the one who told you to bring them! So you should’ve brought them to me!”
“….”
Ah, here we go again.
“You’re hopeless, clueless, and completely useless!”
[To summarize: this Shai ordered you to do the job the village chief assigned to her, planned to take the credit herself, but you delivered it directly to the chief—so she got scolded instead.]
A shadowy form of ink-black darkness appeared between the giant and the Shai girl, with a pair of glowing red eyes at its center.
However, the Shai girl seemed completely unaware of the ominous presence, maintaining her look of contempt and irritation.
“Geez. Sorry about that. Why didn’t you just tell me to bring it to you then?”
“I DID!”
“Did you? I don’t really remember—”
“That’s because your giant head is empty! Ugh, you’re so annoying!”
The Shai, her large round ears turning bright red, snapped irritably before turning away and quickly disappearing from sight.
Only after her shadow had completely vanished did the giant finally meet the gaze of the eyes that had been treated as if they didn’t exist.
“Seems like other people can’t see you.”
[I told you. Whether you want it or not, the moment you got involved with me, you became special.]
“If that ‘special’ means being treated like a mental patient, I’ll pass.”
The sweat had cooled, and his strength had returned.
With a short groan, the giant stood up and slowly walked toward the cauldron larger than even the Shai’s body.
He had not yet completed his daily quota, and so he was about to return to his “routine.”
[The cave I was sealed in was a place where quite a few unpleasant and ominous beings passed through, including myself.
If you stay in a place like that too long, the energy we emit will corrupt your mind.]
“….”
[Whether it’s you being shoved into that place just to pick some mushrooms, or the work you’re doing now, or the way that Shai treated you earlier.]
“….”
[Hey, Giant. Don’t tell me… are you a slave?]
The shadow’s tone was light, but the giant’s sigh as he stepped off the cauldron was heavy.
“Well, it’s ambiguous.”
[…Ambiguous?]
“A slave needs a master, right?
It’s true I was ‘sold’ here, but no individual actually paid to own me.
If anything, you could call me a communal slave of this village.”
[So when you said you wanted to become rich, it was to buy your freedom?]
“Hmm, not exactly.”
The massive body climbed back onto the cauldron. The shadow’s confusion seeped into its voice.
[Then what is it?]
“I don’t really care about the way they look down on me or the work I do every day.
I just don’t like the reward—one flat beer and some dried grilled bird.
If I could eat better food and buy what I want, they can call me stupid all they want, and I wouldn’t mind crawling through dangerous caves either.”
If the shadow had a physical body, it would have certainly sighed.
[That’s exactly what freedom is, you idiot.
If you earn money to buy freedom, all you’re doing is gaining the right to work for even more money.]
“Hmm, is that so?”
[Honestly, why are you even obeying people who aren’t even strong enough to beat you in one hit?
With just a stick, you could smash their heads in and run away.]
The darkness of the shadow deepened, and its voice grew clearer than even the red glow of its eyes.
[So? Want me to help you?]
“No. I told you, I don’t like fighting.”
[…Ah, right.]
A sour, bitter aroma of herbs spread through the cauldron, and the giant coughed from the unrefined medicinal fumes.
He didn’t realize it, but the shadow had not disappeared—it simply stood there, quietly watching the “slave” of a massive body.
[…Hey, Giant.]
“Yeah?”
[What’s your name? Even a slave must have a name.]
“…”
A brief silence.
The giant stared into empty space as if stirring through distant memories.
“…Rotem.”
[Rotem?]
“Yeah. Rotem. That’s my name.”
[Good. Rotem.]
Right in front of Rotem’s face, the shadow drew closer, its back against the cauldron.
Nothing was visible except the dark presence and its red eyes.
But Rotem could clearly feel it smiling.
[I’ll make you rich.]
[First, the most important question. How much have you saved so far?]
“Saved? You mean money?”
A thick, clouded night sky with no moonlight.
At the edge of the village, beside the stable, Rotem’s lodging was a converted storage shed once used for hay and horse gear.
It was barely equipped with a simple bed and a lantern, enough to pass as a living space, but far from ideal—especially with the smell of manure drifting through the gaps in the wooden boards.
[Yeah. You’ve been working here for about half a year, right? You must’ve saved something.]
“Hmm…”
Sitting on a bed far too small for his body, Rotem scratched his protruding jaw with a troubled expression.
The shadow, sensing what that reaction meant, let out a despairing sigh.
[Don’t tell me you’ve been working like an actual slave without pay?]
“No, that’s not it. I agreed to receive all my wages in a lump sum after one year.”
[What? Why would you make a contract like that?]
“So I wouldn’t run away.”
Rotem answered casually while drinking lukewarm beer. The shadow watched him under the dim light, flickering slightly.
[Anyway, I want to hear more about what happened before you came here.]
“Hmm? It’s not a very interesting story.”
His expression was dull, not even slightly affected by alcohol.
“I grew up in an orphanage in Drieghan, then ran away.
A merchant caravan happened to pass nearby, and an adventurer escorting them helped hide me, so I made it to Keplan.
But then I found out the orphanage was still searching for me,
so with that adventurer’s help, I was introduced to a way to live with food and shelter while keeping my identity hidden for a long time.”
[And that’s working as a slave here?]
“Yeah.”
[You were basically tricked into being sold by that adventurer, weren’t you?]
The remark was blunt, but Rotem merely shrugged.
“Maybe.
But from what the village chief said, that adventurer didn’t take any commission. In fact, the idea of a one-year contract payout was also his suggestion.
He probably thought I’d be more at risk if I couldn’t endure and ran off.”
The shadow rippled as if scoffing.
[What on earth did you do at that orphanage to make them chase you so desperately?
Is it normal for an orphanage to go that far just because one kid ran away?]
“…”
An unfamiliar silence seeped in, accompanied by the sound of insects outside.
The shadow didn’t press him further, and smoothly changed the topic.
[Forget it. So you’re saying it’ll take at least half a year before you get any usable money.]
“Right.”
[What do you do if you need something before then? Even if you’re working but not getting paid yet.]
“I do side jobs during free time, or gather herbs to sell.”
[Like those mushrooms from before?]
Rotem nodded.
“Yeah. But truffles near Florin are expensive and hard to find.
They mostly grow in caves, and the only cave around here is the one that drives people insane.”
[The cave I was sealed in.]
On the western side of Florin lies the so-called “Kafras Cave.”
It is known as the site where an alchemist named Kafras once conducted secret experiments.
Due to its unknown dark energy, anyone who explores it is said to lose their sanity—earning it the reputation of a cursed place.
“Right. But this village is strict about potion quality, so only the finest ingredients are used.
Since truffles can’t be cultivated, they must be gathered in the wild, but the good ones have already been wiped out.”
[Are there any usable ones left in that cave?]
“Only immature ones, or ones far from top quality.”
[So there are some.]
“…Well, yes.”
[Good. Get up.]
“What?”
Just as Rotem had finished his beer and was preparing to lie down, the shadow’s sudden demand startled him.
The red eyes flickering around the lantern seemed almost impatient.
[You said there are mushrooms left, right? Then we’re going to gather them.]
“No, I told you they’re low quality at this point. And going there at this hour would be dangerous—”
[You said you wanted money. Then do as I say. I have a method.]
The shadow’s voice turned firm.
Despite being backlit by the lantern, it cast no shadow of its own on the bed behind it.
It was right in front of him, yet impossible to grasp.
An ominous presence that could not be confirmed as real.
For a moment, Rotem thought—
Maybe he had already gone insane in that alchemist’s cave like the others.
And maybe this shadow, and its voice, were proof of that madness.
“….”
But he stood up anyway.
Not because he was seduced by the shadow, nor drawn to the cave.
He simply—
had been craving something called “the abnormal.”
