NOVEL WEB Chapter 1
Fantasy.
A word that makes any man’s heart flutter.
Movies, dramas, novels, etc.
It’s a recurring theme in various media.
Vast grasslands and exotic races.
Unseen ecosystems, mysterious magic, and spirits.
It resonates with the desire for exploration and freedom that people living like cogs in a dense urban jungle hold in their hearts.
However.
Where there is light, there is always darkness.
If there’s a hopeful side of fantasy that ordinary people imagine.
There’s also a side of despair.
Medieval-style outdated facilities, poor hygiene, and lawless conditions where bandits appear as soon as you step out of civilization.
Add to that corrupt nobles, peasants who farm their entire lives, and ordinary soldiers dragged into war, struck by magic, and horrifically burned.
As in reality.
In the fantasy world, there are tragedies too painful to witness.
It’s truly heartbreaking.
Since it’s fantasy, why can’t we just see the good side? Mysterious magic, hopeful heroes, unrealistically beautiful elves, etc.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
A world without tragedy, pain, or hunger.
Just a free and happy world.
Huh?
Isn’t that right?
“F***…”
Lying on the hard, damp floor, I looked up at the ceiling.
I saw a plank covered in spiderwebs that looked like it could collapse any moment.
Yeah, I looked up and saw a plank.
Is this what a house is?
Since I was born in a fantasy world, couldn’t I have been born into a better life?
“Darling, we don’t have money to prepare for this winter.”
“Really? Then we’ll have to sell one of the kids.”
Not some poor peasant selling their kid because they’re broke, damn it.
**
Bang!!
“Stay quiet!”
I was sold.
The reason? I had the audacity to open my eyes.
Born like this.
Can the manufacturers just act so irresponsibly? Those b******s.
“Sniff… Mom…”
“It’s cold…”
Around me are kids who were sold just like me.
All of them, deemed the least useful in their families, are now sitting in a corner of this Slave Market.
“Hey, shut up!”
And the Workers here glare at them, spit, or poke them with sticks to intimidate them.
…Just your typical medieval fantasy slave market.
What’s going to happen to me?
I sat in the farthest corner of the Iron Cage, head against the wall, thinking.
Since I was reborn into this world, I’ve been living in a shabby shack, begging for food, so I don’t know much…
But judging from my past life’s memories, this is a medieval fantasy world, so there are plenty of places I could be sold to.
Worst case, I get sold to a crazy mage as a test subject, or if I’m lucky, to a male brothel.
I’m not that good-looking, but I’ve been told I’m decent, so the latter is more likely.
…F***.
What’s lucky about that?
Either way, it’s f***ing terrible.
Not that I have the guts to bite my tongue and die.
I just lament my life in this helplessness.
What sin did I commit in my past life… Oh wait, I did.
This must be punishment.
Thinking it’s more punishment than bad luck, around that time.
“Don’t worry, everyone…!”
The biggest Boy among us started comforting the others.
He looks older, maybe a teenager.
It’s unusual since they usually sell younger kids like me or the others who aren’t useful for labor.
“In our country, this kind of slave trade is illegal, so they’ll come to rescue us soon.”
He said something that caught my ear.
Selling kids is illegal? I didn’t know, I’ve just been begging to survive.
He knows about the law, so he must be somewhat educated.
“There’s a city nearby… Maybe the Guards from there…”
I listened.
Since he seems to know more than me, maybe his words could help…
Clang!
“Shut up!”
…I thought he was listening.
But apparently, he was too noisy, so a Slave Trader roughly opened the Iron Cage and came in.
“This brat won’t stop yapping!”
Then, he started kicking the biggest Boy, the most noticeable one.
“Ah! Ah!”
“Shut up, brat!”
He must have been targeting him because he was the biggest and most noticeable.
Plus, he looked sturdy, so a few kicks wouldn’t break him.
Watching that, I glanced outside.
In my view, there’s one Slave Trader and two or three Workers.
When I was dragged here, I noticed this cage is on the outskirts of the Slave Market…
Is this my chance?
Sneakily.
Carefully, without drawing attention, I got up and moved through the trembling kids.
And then.
Thud! Thud!
“This brat!”
“Ah! Ah!!”
I approached the Slave Trader who was beating the Boy.
He’s about 170 cm tall.
Bigger than most adults I’ve seen.
“You, what…”
Before the Slave Trader could react to my approach.
Thump.
I lunged and grabbed his ankle.
“Hey, you little… Aaaah!!”
Crash-
Using all my momentum, I twisted it.
“Ahhh!! You little b*****d!! Ahhh!!”
As the Slave Trader rolled on the ground.
All that was left was the open Iron Cage door.
“If you don’t want to be slaves, run!”
I shouted and ran out of the cage.
Most were too scared, but a few, including the Boy who was being beaten, ran out with me.
“Uh, uh…!”
“The brats are escaping!”
Chaos erupted around us.
“Chase them!”
“Grab them all!”
The Workers and nearby Slave Traders all came running.
“Come here!”
Desperately shaking off the Workers, I ran to escape before more people arrived.
From what I saw earlier, if I can just get past that entrance, there’s a forest.
Just focus on running.
As for the others…
I hope they escape on their own.
It’s not my time to worry about others.
So, using my memory of when I was dragged here, I ran towards the entrance.
“You brat!”
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Dodging and pushing the Workers.
“You little b*****d!”
Sometimes, when I couldn’t dodge.
Swish.
Whack!!
“Ugh!”
I used my small frame to throw myself at their weak-looking shins.
It only made them stumble, but that was enough to shake them off.
The Slave Market was bigger than I thought, and more Workers came running at the commotion.
“I got you, brat!”
“Where do you think you’re going, you little brats!”
But since they were distracted by the other kids, I managed to run ahead and reach the entrance.
Is this my escape?
Once I’m out, how do I get to the city from the forest?
I have some survival knowledge, but this is a different world, so fear crept in.
Still, f*** being a slave.
It’s better to go into the forest and find a city whose direction I don’t even know than to be auctioned off as merchandise.
Hoping the Boy’s words were true, I was about to run through the wide-open entrance when.
Thud.
My body stopped as if all my desperate running was a lie.
“You’ve got spirit.”
There was one thing I overlooked.
This is a fantasy world with magic and aura.
“Ah!”
“Where do you think you’re going!”
I could hear the Workers and Slave Traders rushing behind me.
But now, I couldn’t move in front of the man who suddenly appeared.
When did he even get here?
A tall, thin man wearing a wide-brimmed hat, at least two heads taller than an average man.
He gave off the vibe of a dried-up giant tree.
And he wasn’t there before.
Blink, no, not even a blink, and he was standing there as if he’d always been.
…Is he some kind of swordmaster from a novel?
At least he’s on the same level as the mages I’ve heard about in the slums.
Then.
“You b*****d!”
Thud!
With a sharp pain in the back of my head and my vision blurring, I thought.
Whatever this is, I’m f***ed.
*
Later.
“You f***ing brat! My ankle!”
I got beaten for days by the Slave Trader whose ankle I twisted.
B*****d, I must have twisted it well since he was limping.
But getting beaten still hurt like hell.
The only good thing is that I’m merchandise.
“This brat twisted my ankle too…!”
“If you want to do that, buy him yourself.”
“F***!!”
The Slave Trader who wanted to do the same didn’t touch my ankle.
Then one day.
“Sigh… Fine… No need to kill him myself.”
With those words from the Slave Trader who was beating me, I was sent off in a cage.
Where are they sending me, covering the cage with a black cloth?
Jolting along in the dark cage with no light, holding my bruises, I was locked up for a long time.
“Come out!”
The cloth was removed, and I was dragged out, blinded by the sudden light.
Then, after a while.
My eyes adjusted to the light.
And what I saw was.
“Here, this is your new home.”
A massive Coliseum.
Looks like I wasn’t put up for sale as merchandise.
“Twist your ankle all you want here, kid.”
Sent here as a specialty item out of spite, damn it.