Titan Hollow smelled like roasted mammoth.
Which, according to Derrick, was both incredible and slightly horrifying.
Three massive mammoths had been defeated yesterday, and the entire settlement was now dealing with the aftermath.
Which basically meant…
A mountain of meat.
Huge slabs hung over smoking fires.
Villagers were cutting, drying, and salting the meat as fast as they could.
Children were running around yelling things like:
"WE'RE RICH!"
Even the ogres looked excited.
Ragor himself was dragging a mammoth rib the size of a small tree branch toward the cooking pits.
Derrick sat on Tor's shoulder watching the chaos.
"…we accidentally solved the food problem."
Tor rumbled softly in agreement.
The settlement below was lively.
Bor and Grom were still working on the outer stone wall.
Every time a massive boulder dropped into place—
BOOM.
Dust flew everywhere.
Krag was dragging giant tree trunks across the valley floor.
Luga stood near the forest edge, acting like a silent guard tower.
The villagers were slowly becoming used to the giants.
Children waved at them sometimes.
One brave kid had even tried climbing Bor earlier.
Bor had looked extremely confused.
Derrick stretched lazily.
"Honestly… this is going better than expected."
Then a familiar sound appeared inside his mind.
DING.
Derrick groaned.
"…and there it is."
A blue screen appeared in front of him.
---
[Giant Summoning System]
Daily Summon Limit: 2 Giants
Cost Per Giant: 5 Mana Stones
Available Mana Stones: 10
Possible Summons Today: 2
Derrick rubbed his chin.
"Right."
He had been saving those mana stones.
Mostly because he wasn't completely sure about something yet.
He looked down at the five giants working below.
Grom.
Bor.
Krag.
Tor.
Luga.
They followed him.
They listened to his commands.
But Derrick knew something important.
"They're not slaves."
Tor glanced down at him.
"They're allies."
The giants had their own personalities.
Their own thoughts.
Their own pride.
Summoning too many giants too quickly could cause problems.
Derrick crossed his arms.
"Leadership is complicated."
Tor blinked slowly.
Derrick pointed at him.
"You wouldn't understand. You're basically a walking mountain."
Tor looked mildly offended.
Below them, Ragor approached.
The ogre chief stopped near Tor and looked up.
"Human leader."
Derrick sighed.
"Still working on the title."
Ragor ignored that.
"You watch giants."
Derrick nodded.
"Thinking about summoning more."
The ogre frowned.
"More… giants?"
Derrick pointed toward the valley.
"If this place grows, we'll need more strength."
Ragor looked at the five giants.
Then at Derrick.
"Seven giants…"
He paused.
"…very strong tribe."
Derrick smiled.
"Exactly."
He stood up on Tor's shoulder.
"Alright."
He looked toward the open clearing outside the stone wall.
"Let's do this properly."
He raised his hand.
"System. Summon Giant."
The world around him shifted.
A glowing circle suddenly appeared on the ground outside the settlement.
The villagers gasped.
"Magic!"
Wind began swirling around the circle.
Dust lifted from the ground.
The light grew brighter.
Slowly…
A massive figure began forming inside the circle.
Then—
A giant stepped out.
He was enormous.
Broad shoulders.
Heavy muscles.
His skin was dark gray like weathered stone.
An enormous stone hammer rested on his shoulder.
The giant looked around slowly.
His deep voice rumbled.
"…new land."
The light faded.
The giant looked down at Derrick.
"You summon."
Derrick waved.
"Hi. Welcome to Titan Hollow."
The giant studied him.
Then he looked at the other giants.
Grom raised a hand.
"New friend."
The giant nodded once.
"Name… Durn."
The villagers stared in shock.
Another giant.
Just like that.
Bor walked over and examined the newcomer.
Krag crossed his arms approvingly.
Tor nodded once.
The giants seemed… satisfied.
Derrick looked back at the system screen.
---
Mana Stones Remaining: 5
---
He sighed.
"Well… halfway committed now."
He raised his hand again.
"Summon Giant."
The circle appeared again.
This time the villagers watched quietly.
They had already seen the impossible once today.
The light grew brighter.
Another giant stepped out.
This one looked different.
He was taller.
Lean but powerful.
His arms were long and strong.
A massive stone spear rested in his hand.
The giant sniffed the air.
"…battle smell."
Derrick scratched his head.
"Yeah. That's mammoth."
The giant slowly nodded.
He looked down at Derrick.
"You call."
Derrick pointed at himself.
"Yep."
The giant lowered his spear slightly.
"Name… Varka."
Behind Derrick, the other giants gathered.
Seven giants now stood together.
Seven living mountains.
The ground itself seemed to feel heavier.
The villagers were completely speechless.
Ragor whispered slowly.
"Seven… giants."
Derrick stretched proudly.
"Yep."
But then something interesting happened.
Durn and Varka suddenly stopped moving.
A faint glow appeared on their skin.
Strange symbols briefly flickered across their arms.
Derrick blinked.
"…what's that?"
Tor looked at the two new giants.
Then he spoke calmly.
"Blood rune."
Derrick tilted his head.
"Blood rune?"
Grom nodded.
"All giants born with rune."
Bor tapped his chest.
"Rune of hunger control."
Krag added:
"Little food… enough."
Derrick blinked again.
"…wait."
He pointed at the giants.
"So you guys don't actually eat that much?"
Tor shook his head.
"Rune absorbs energy from land."
Grom grinned.
"But meat still good."
The villagers sighed in relief.
Derrick laughed.
"Okay that's extremely convenient."
Seven giants eating normal human amounts of food would have destroyed the settlement's food supply.
But the rune solved that problem.
The giants only needed small meals.
The rune sustained them.
Derrick nodded slowly.
"Whoever designed giant biology deserves a medal."
Behind him, the villagers were celebrating again.
Titan Hollow had just become significantly stronger.
Seven giants.
Humans.
Ogres.
A strange but powerful tribe.
Derrick looked across the valley.
Stone walls.
Wooden huts.
Farms near the river.
And giants walking between them like ancient guardians.
He smiled.
"Alright everyone!"
The villagers looked up.
"Back to work!"
He pointed toward the walls.
"We still need defenses!"
Then he looked at the giants.
"And you guys."
Seven enormous heads turned toward him.
"Try not to accidentally destroy the valley."
Grom nodded seriously.
"No promises."
The villagers laughed.
High above Titan Hollow, the wind moved through the valley.
Seven giants now walked its land.
And far away in the deep mountains…
Something ancient felt their presence.
Seven giants.
Gathering in one place.
For the first time in centuries.
And it slowly opened its eyes.