Manga Chapter 01

## Summary

Flum Apricot is a young, country girl who was forced to join the Hero’s Party due to Origin’s Degree. However, not all the members feel Flum is worthy to be part of the journey to defeat the Demon Lord. A betrayal will change Flum’s life forever along with allowing her to a fated meeting with someone who will change her life forever.

## Synopsis

In a dank, drearier dungeon, a young teenage girl, Flum Apricot, is dragged on the cement floor only to be thrown into a cell. She looks up to see a girl sitting across from her with a shinning eye. As Flum along with the other slaves remain sitting in the cell, the Unnamed Slave Merchant comes in and makes an announcement. He tells them that they are worthless, and he can't make money off of them. He also states that since he has spent a lot of money on them, he will dispose of them, and he wants them to entertain him as they die.

The unnamed slave merchant activates a mechanism that opens up a compartment on the ceiling. Before Flum and the other slaves can process what is happening, several ghouls fall from the ceiling above. Flum watches in horror as one of the slaves is eaten alive. She can't help but wonder what she had done to deserve this.

In a flashback to a few days ago, Flum is being held by her collar by a member of the Hero's Party Jean Inteige. He considers her to be worthless due to how her Reversal Affinity renders her stats to be all zero. He tosses her aside and leaves her while she attempts to gasp for air. Flum can't help but feel depressed over how she has not been able to be of much use to the Hero's Party.

While Flum may have been chosen by Origin, she has only been able to do chores for them, such as cooking. As she heads off to buy food for dinner, she comes across Cyrill Sweechka, who apparently heard everything. Flum attempts to act friendly, but Cyrill looks at her coldly and walks away. This merely causes Flum to become more depressed as she and Cyrill used to be friends. She looked up to Cyrill as the Hero who would defeat the Demon Lord, but now her friend only looks at her with distain. The only upside Flum has that day is when Eterna and Gadhio come to help her with the shopping.

Not long later, Jean drags Flum to the slave merchant. Despite Flum's protests, Jean restrains her and personally brands her on the cheek with a the mark of the slave. As he does this, he claims he got the approval of all the other members of the Hero Party much to Flum's shock and despair.

In the present, Flum watches the ghouls eat one of the slaves. The Slave Merchant mocks the slaves helplessness by telling them they can try defend themselves with that sword that is on display in their cell. When one of the slaves attempts to wield the sword, he is reduced to a puddle because it was a cursed sword. Then a female slave begs for mercy, the slave merchant at first acts like he'll spare her only to cut her throat claiming that she stunk.

Upon witnessing this cruelty, Flum says she did nothing to deserve this. The slave merchant claims that Flum tricked him into buying her and wasting his money. He tells her to 'roll over and die'. Just as she breaks down, the slave merchant grins and tells her that she can take her chances with that cursed sword if she doesn't want to die. Seeing that there is no better option, Flum reaches out for the cursed sword as the ghouls begin to surround and bite her. She reaches and grabs the sword fully expecting to die only for her not to.

Flum sees that rather than melting, her wounds are healing, She can wield the sword easily. She then quickly kills the ghouls with ease and breaks open the cell. The slave merchant begs for mercy, but Flum cuts him down before he can finish. Flum then looks up and tearfully says it is okay for her to live. The sword that disappears and a tattoo appears on the back of her hand. She realizes the sword that she possesses is an 'Epic Tier' equipment, so she can summon it on will, but she is confused by what exactly is going on. Rather than focusing on that, she decides she'd worry about that later.

Flum looks to see that the girl with the sparkling eye is the only other survivor besides herself. She walks up to the girl and offers her hand. The girl looks up at her blankly as Flum offers her the chance to escape. The girl asks Flum if she's going to be her new Master. Flum tells her that she didn't intend to, but she reluctantly agrees to be the girl's new Master since she can see that she'll only come with Flum if she agrees to it.

Upon finding cloaks, Flum introduces herself to the girl, and the girl tells Flum that her name is Milkit. Afterwards, they make their escape from the slave merchant's dungeon. The chapter ends with Flum acting as the narrator by indicating that it was fate that brought her and Milkit together, and it was the beginning of their journey.

## Major Events & Continuity

* Flum is betrayed by Jean and sold into slavery.
* Jean lied to Flum that the other party members were in favor of her being sold into slavery, and he permanently burns a Slave Mark into Flum's left cheek.
* When the Slave Merchant tries to feed Flum and other slaves to his ghouls, it leads to Flum acquiring the cursed sword. In retaliation, Flum kills the Slave Merchant for killing the other slaves and attempting to kill her as well.
	+ The Slave Merchant is the first person Flum kills.
* Flum and Milkit meet for the first time, and Flum officially becomes Milkit’s Master.

## Adaptation Differences

* The scene with Jean selling Flum into slavery is shortened. For example, the part where Jean tells Flum that her parents are better off without her is cut. The part when Jean lies to Flum about the other Party members deciding to sell her was shortened as well.
* In the Light Novel, Flum cuts the Slave Merchant to pieces before partially decapitating him. In the manga, he is cut in half with one strike.
* In the Light Novel, Flum and Milkit exchange names as well as their ages. In the manga, they only exchange names.

## Character Appearances/Debuts

* Flum Apricot
* Milkit
* Jean Inteige
* Cyrill Sweechka
* Eterna Rinebow
* Gadhio Lathcutt
* Unnamed Slave Merchant
* Linus Radiant (Cameo)
* Maria Affenjenz (Cameo)

## Character Deaths

* Unnamed Slaves
* Ghouls
* Unnamed Slave Merchant

## Trivia

* Due to the Slave Merchant never appearing in any Light Novel artwork, this is the first time the Slave Merchant appears in art form.