The carriage kept going across this weird land.
There was barely anything around here.
Only the same thing Gabriel called—
"Sand."
I glanced ahead and noticed we were approaching a ruin.
I didn't ask anything about it, but I noticed how Gabriel slowed the carriage until we stopped near it.
"We're camping here, kid."
I jumped off the carriage and swung my sheathed sword as I landed on the sand.
"Time for something productiv—"
My voice wavered as I looked around.
There was nothing in this land.
Gabriel then chuckled.
"Hey, kid. Wanna hunt?"
I tilted my head, then asked.
"There's nothing here. Hunt what?"
"That's what you thought. But we're currently surrounded by many beasts."
Gabriel levitated four of his coins, then launched them toward the flat area in the distance.
Gabriel stood there, waiting.
So did I.
At first, nothing happened.
But then—
A giant worm emerged from the sand...
Gabriel smirked, then launched his coins at it.
SWOOSH!
The coins cut it in half.
Later that night, we sat across from a campfire as Gabriel cooked the worm's meat.
"I heard this tastes good."
"Wanna try it, kid?"
Gabriel looked at me while offering me a piece on a stick.
"You try it! I'm not eating such a thing!" I yelled as I forcefully ate the bread from earlier.
"It wouldn't hurt to try, kid."
"Come on."
I didn't respond and kept eating this plain bread.
...
He sighed.
"You still distrust me?"
"Fine. I'll tell you something else."
"I'm the King of Gold..."
My eyes widened as I glanced his way.
King of... Gold?
Impossible...
The legendary King...
"You're lying."
"I wouldn't force you to believe me, but just this once..."
I stared at him, then took the stick and quickly ate it...
I braced myself for the awful taste, but—
To my surprise, it was...
Delicious!
I grabbed another one and continued eating, completely forgetting about the plain bread beside me.
After I ate, I looked at him, then asked,
"So you're the same man from those legendary tales?"
Gabriel smirked at me.
"Precisely. But let me clear something up for you... Not everything within it is a fact."
"I could tell you my story, but... you need to rest. We need to wake up early tomorrow."
I nodded and lay down on the carriage to rest.
Traveling is exhausting,
and tomorrow will be another long day.