The forest shook.
Branches snapped loudly as something pushed its way through the trees.
Derrick squinted toward the dark tree line.
"...Okay," he muttered.
"This is the part where the tutorial monster appears."
The five giants beside him stood up.
Even kneeling, they had been taller than Derrick.
Now that they were standing, they were absolutely massive.
Each one stood at least eight meters tall.
Derrick had to tilt his head almost straight up just to see their faces.
One of the giants spoke.
His voice sounded like distant thunder.
"My Lord."
Derrick blinked.
"Wait, you guys speak?"
The giant nodded slowly.
"We serve."
Derrick grinned.
"Good. That saves me from learning giant sign language."
The ground shook again.
The forest suddenly exploded with movement.
Three creatures burst out of the trees.
Derrick's eyes widened.
They looked like giant lizards.
But their scales glowed faintly red, and thin streams of smoke escaped their mouths.
Each one was roughly the size of a car.
Sharp claws dug into the ground as they hissed.
The system panel appeared instantly.
[Monster Identified]
Scorching Lizard
Rank: Low Monster
Threat Level: Low
Derrick tilted his head.
"Low threat, huh?"
One of the lizards opened its mouth.
A small burst of fire shot forward.
Derrick immediately stepped back.
"Correction," he said calmly.
"Low threat for giants."
He pointed toward the monsters.
"Attack."
The giants moved instantly.
The one holding the massive axe stepped forward first.
The lizards screeched and charged.
One leapt forward.
Fast.
Much faster than Derrick expected.
The creature aimed straight for him.
Derrick's eyes widened.
"Oh come on—"
BOOM.
A giant foot slammed down in front of him.
The ground shook violently.
The lizard crashed directly into the giant's leg.
The giant didn't even move.
Then the giant swung his axe.
The weapon came down like a falling tree.
CRACK.
The lizard split in half.
Derrick blinked.
"...Well."
He scratched his head.
"That was quick."
The other giants had already engaged the remaining monsters.
One grabbed a lizard by its tail.
Then lifted it into the air.
The creature screeched angrily.
The giant casually slammed it into the ground.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The third lizard tried to run.
It barely made five steps before a giant hammer came crashing down.
The impact created a small crater.
Silence returned to the field.
The entire battle had lasted maybe twenty seconds.
Derrick slowly clapped.
"Nice."
A system notification appeared.
[Battle Completed]
[Enemies Eliminated: 3]
[Reward Obtained]
Low Rank Mana Stones ×3
Derrick blinked.
"...Only three?"
He looked at the system.
"Wait. Don't I need five?"
The system stayed silent.
Derrick sighed.
"Right. Of course."
One of the giants stepped forward and picked up a glowing stone from the ground.
The stone was about the size of a marble.
The giant carefully handed it to Derrick.
Derrick turned it in his hand.
The stone glowed faintly with blue light.
"So this is a mana stone."
He nodded slowly.
"Okay. Resource farming."
Classic game mechanic.
One of the giants spoke again.
"My Lord."
Derrick looked up.
The giant pointed toward the forest.
Smoke was rising in the distance.
Derrick frowned.
"...That's not normal."
He climbed onto a nearby rock to get a better view.
Beyond the trees, he could see it clearly.
A thin pillar of black smoke rising into the sky.
Derrick crossed his arms.
"That looks like a fire."
He looked back at the giants.
"What do you think?"
The giants were silent.
Derrick sighed.
"Right. I'm the strategist here."
He jumped down from the rock.
"If something's burning, there are two possibilities."
He raised a finger.
"One. Monsters."
Second finger.
"Two. People."
He looked toward the forest again.
"If it's people… they might need help."
He paused.
Then shrugged.
"And if it's monsters, we get more mana stones."
Win-win.
He turned to the giants.
"Alright."
He pointed toward the forest.
"We're going scouting."
The giants nodded.
The group began moving toward the mountain forest.
Derrick walked in the center of the formation.
Honestly, he felt pretty safe.
Walking around with five eight-meter giants was like having portable tanks.
After about ten minutes of walking—
The smell hit him.
Smoke.
Burned wood.
And something else.
Something worse.
The forest opened into a clearing.
Derrick stopped walking.
"...Oh."
A small village stood in the clearing.
Or what was left of it.
Several houses were burning.
Others had already collapsed.
The ground was littered with broken carts and scattered tools.
Derrick clenched his fists.
"Monsters?"
A scream suddenly echoed from one of the buildings.
Derrick's head snapped toward the sound.
The door of a burning house burst open.
A man ran outside.
Behind him—
A Scorching Lizard lunged forward.
The creature tackled the man to the ground.
The man screamed in terror.
Derrick didn't hesitate.
He pointed forward.
"Kill it!"
The giants moved instantly.
One giant sprinted forward.
His steps shook the ground.
The lizard barely had time to react.
The giant grabbed it by the neck.
Then lifted it off the ground like it weighed nothing.
CRACK.
The creature's spine snapped instantly.
The giant tossed the corpse aside.
The man on the ground stared up at the giant in shock.
Then he slowly turned his head.
His eyes landed on Derrick.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then the man whispered something.
"G… giant?"
Derrick walked forward calmly.
"Relax."
He glanced around the burning village.
"Looks like you guys are having a rough day."
More people slowly emerged from hiding.
Some from behind houses.
Some from the forest.
A few children clung to their parents.
All of them stared at the giants with wide eyes.
Derrick crossed his arms.
"So," he said casually.
"Who here is in charge?"
The villagers looked at each other nervously.
An older man slowly stepped forward.
His beard was gray, and his clothes were covered in soot.
"I… I am the village elder."
Derrick nodded.
"Good."
He pointed toward the giant standing beside him.
"My army just killed your monster problem."
The elder looked at the massive giants again.
Then he looked back at Derrick.
"...Your army?"
Derrick smiled slightly.
"Yep."
He gestured toward the forest behind him.
"And I just so happen to own territory nearby."
The villagers exchanged hopeful looks.
Derrick could see it immediately.
Fear.
Exhaustion.
Desperation.
These people had clearly been attacked recently.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"...Look."
He pointed toward the smoking village.
"This place is basically gone."
The elder lowered his head silently.
Derrick continued.
"But my territory has space."
He shrugged.
"And I could use workers."
The villagers looked at him.
Hope slowly appeared in their eyes.
Derrick grinned slightly.
"So here's the deal."
He pointed toward the mountains behind him.
"You come with me."
"I protect you."
"You help build the settlement."
He crossed his arms.
"Sound fair?"
The village elder stared at him for a long moment.
Then slowly—
He knelt.
"My Lord."
Behind him, the rest of the villagers followed.
Derrick blinked.
"...Wow."
He rubbed his head awkwardly.
"That worked faster than expected."
A system notification appeared.
[Population Increase Detected]
[New Subjects Joined Territory]
Population +52
Derrick stared at the number.
Then he slowly looked back at the villagers.
Then at the giants.
A grin spread across his face.
"Alright."
He pointed toward the mountains.
"Let's go build a civilization."