With the sandworm dead, the remaining tasks were much simpler. First, the wounded received first aid. Fortunately, no one's life was in immediate danger—just some broken bones and bruises, but nothing that couldn't be treated in the city.

  Next came the most important task: moving the sandworm's carcass. The method used to transport it was quite simple. The ropes from the sleds were tied along the beast, and harpoons were used to secure some of the knots in place. While not the best way overall, it was the only one they could manage at that moment.

  Once everything was ready, they set off towards the city.

  Lucius was walking through the main entrance of his house. After returning with the guard, he left almost immediately, as by the end of the day, he didn't belong to them anymore. He didn't have to follow their protocols, nor would he receive a reward for his actions at that moment—at least not yet. The sale of the sandworm would take a few days, and by then, he would be long gone. A shame, but that's how things were.

  The wounded had gone to the hospital, but there was no one truly close to him there, so he simply wished them the best and said goodbye. Nothing was really holding him back anymore. He had already said his goodbyes the night before to his friends, and to his uncle when he quit the guard. Only his family remained, and he would be ready to embark on his own adventure.

  "Are you back already?" A surprised voice asked as he passed through the door.

  Lucius turned to see who was speaking and found it was his sister.

  "Yeah, it was a simple task they wanted me to do," he lied, simply continuing on his way. "Wake me up when it's time for lunch."

  Her surprise wasn't unfounded, as he had left around 7:30 in the morning and returned near 10:00. Anyone would have assumed that dealing with the creature responsible for the disappearance of several animals would take longer, maybe half a day—not just two hours, not counting the 15 minutes to get to the location and another 15 minutes to return.

  "Yeah, right." Without giving him a chance to reply, she left the room.

  Lucius simply groaned and went to his room to rest for a while. Although he hadn't been seriously injured, the bruises from the fight and his sore muscles needed some rest. Not to mention, he was covered in sand from the tumbles he took while fighting, so a change of clothes and a bath before lunch were in order.

  After a well-deserved bath, Lucius entered his room and went to his closet to find a similar set of clothes. Once dressed, he simply slept until a servant called him to eat.

  Without much thought, he went to the room where his family usually ate and sat next to his older and younger brother, facing his sister. His father sat at the head of the table, with the youngest son to his right and his wife to his left.

  There was plenty of food on the table: lamb and camel meat in various preparations, vegetables and fruits that weren't common in this part of the city. While his family always had good lunches, this one was special, as Lucius was about to leave and wouldn't return for quite some time. It was a farewell lunch.

  "How did it feel to hunt a sandworm?" Lucius' father suddenly broke the silence at the table.

  His mother and siblings were surprised that Lucius had faced such a creature. Even though he hadn't done it alone, it was still surprising.

  "I wonder how he found out," Lucius thought, not really surprised by the question, as he finished chewing a piece of lamb. "Well... you know, just a bit of planning and a pinch of luck, and anything's possible... of course, when I say luck, I mean me," he said, deciding to exaggerate his role in the fight.

  "Seriously?" His father asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at him.

  "Yeah, of course," Lucius said, trying not to appear nervous. He took a glass of juice and lifted it to his mouth to hide his face while avoiding eye contact.

  "That's strange. I was told that at one point, you were in danger."

  Lucius almost choked but managed to control himself and answered with the little confidence he had left.

  "Of course, I was in danger, just like everyone else. After all, a sandworm is something to fear."

  That was true, but he knew he had nearly been eaten, and if it hadn't been for the captain, he could've died before even starting his journey.

  His father didn't respond and simply watched him for a while before resuming his meal. Lucius sighed inwardly, prepared to keep eating, but was interrupted by a voice to his right.

  "How was it fighting against a giant worm?" The boy asked, nearly shouting in excitement.

  Lucius thought for a moment on how to respond. "An epic battle of honor and adventure, where everyone is recognized for their actions, regardless of their roles, though, of course, I was one of the important ones, fighting head-on with that beast with only my sword," he said, using his hands to mimic how he used his sword, giving his brother a better visual of his fight.

  "Incredible! And you're going to fight more monsters on your trip?" The little one asked, completely excited for the adventure his brother would embark on.

  "He's not doing that!" His mother interrupted Lucius before he could answer. "He'll simply be in the war territory, working in one of the cities, not facing city-devouring monsters."

  "Yes, yes, that's the plan." Lucius said, not wanting to argue further. He kept eating, though his mother wasn't exactly on board with his decision to venture into the God of War's territory. It wasn't like they could stop him. Everything was already prepared, and it was time to leave.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "And how are you going to get to the capital of the War Kingdom?" His sister joined the conversation.

  "I plan on passing through Nahrin, and from there heading to the border town Duhaar, crossing the border, and looking for a caravan or something to help me get to the capital, or we'll see what happens," Lucius responded without much trouble. The complicated part would be leaving the Soy Kingdom, but once he was in the War Kingdom, everything would be easier.

  The meal continued without much issue, and naturally, the time for goodbyes arrived. Although his mother wanted him to stay, she couldn't really force him and bid him farewell with a few words.

  "Take care, don't go looking for unnecessary trouble, and remember that you'll always have a home here," she said as she hugged him.

  "I'm always taking care of myself," Lucius said, ending the hug and waving goodbye as he left the house.

  Lucius was walking through the city on his way out, thinking about the journey ahead.

  "Even though I'm heading to Nahrin, I didn't tell them how long it'll take me to get there," Lucius thought, as he didn't plan on heading directly to that town. First, he'd try his luck traversing the more dangerous parts of the desert to hunt dangerous creatures on his own and, if possible, sell their parts to make a lot more money than he had. "And if I'm lucky, maybe I'll finish my essence core."

  Thanks to his training, he had become capable of manipulating the essence of his body, making him much stronger and faster than normal people, but he still had a long way to go. Forming his first essence core was the first step.

  A true example of strength was the hero of the Sun Kingdom, who was said to have formed more than three cores before hunting a dragon, a feat that all humans desired to achieve.

  And if he hunted creatures that could manipulate essence across the desert and consumed parts of them, it would help him greatly in forming his core. Or, if he consumed one from a creature directly, he'd be one step away from forming his own. Although the worm they hunted today had an already-formed core, he had no right to look at it, so there was no way to consume it, much less pay for it. It could easily be worth an entire building.

  Lucius sighed, feeling discouraged by that fact, but with all the motivation to become strong on his own. However, during his walk, he came across something he hadn't seen before: a small shop with a sign that read "The Wheel of Fate."

  Curious, Lucius approached and entered to find out what it was about. Inside, everything was quite dark, with different types of crystals on shelves, along with spices and animal parts. It all seemed to point to an occult store or something along those lines.

  Before he could keep looking, a woman stepped through a curtain leading to another room. She wore a robe that covered her whole body and makeup that made her look like a skull.

  "Welcome to my shop. Are you looking for something special, or would you like me to perform a fortune-telling?" The woman asked kindly, approaching Lucius.

  At that moment, Lucius felt a bit nervous. He had entered with the intention of finding out what the store was about but never imagined he'd see things like this. "Hmm... I'd like a fortune-telling," he said. That seemed like the safest choice, as he didn't intend to buy anything strange from the store.

  "I understand. Follow me then," the woman said, turning toward the curtain, and Lucius quickly followed. When he entered the other room, there was a table, two chairs, and a dimly lit gas lamp. "Do you want a specific kind of fortune-telling, or should I choose?"

  "I don't know any type. Please, go ahead and choose," Lucius replied, not sure how to behave, so he decided to be formal and sat in the chair farthest from the wall.

  "In that case, we'll use the tarot cards," she said. With that, she left the room and came back with a small box in one hand and an incense holder in the other, which she used to spread incense around the room.

  The fortune-teller placed the incense holder on the table and took the remaining seat. She opened the box and took out a tarot deck, beginning to speak as she shuffled the cards.

  "The incense helps your spiritual body relax and aids in the revelation of your past, present, and future."

  Like a true charlatan, she explained things, but with the dark atmosphere and her makeup, it gave some credibility. The fortune-teller stopped shuffling the cards and laid them out on the table.

  "You need to choose three cards. One will represent your past, another your present, and the last one your future. Make the best decision possible... a single glimpse at your future could change the course of fate."

  "Well, you know how to set the mood." Lucius thought jokingly to himself, then chose the three cards that caught his attention. The fortune-teller took the rest away, leaving only the selected ones.

  "First, your past."

  She turned over the first card.

  "The Sun. It means you've had a good life, filled with prosperity and happiness. You've never lacked anything, and you've been successful in many things."

  She moved her hand to the second card.

  "Now, your present... The Wheel of Fortune. You will be truly lucky, and as long as you make the right decisions, everything will align for your success."

  "That's good to hear." Although Lucius wasn't convinced that she was a true fortune-teller, hearing that everything would go well always helped with confidence. He was feeling a bit anxious about what awaited him, but with this prediction, he wasn't as nervous as before.

  "Lastly, your future."

  She turned over the final card.

  "The Moon. It signifies the veil of the unknown. It hides secrets and dangers. Anything can happen. It also indicates pain and the loss of truth! My advice is to be careful with every step and relationship from now on. The danger might not be severe, but one can never be sure." With these words, she finished the fortune.

  "I guess that's where the confidence I gained goes... well, not really, that future might point to when I reach Nahrin, so it's not all bad," Lucius thought. He felt overwhelmed by the reading of his future, and the eerie atmosphere didn't help at all. "Thank you for the prediction."

  "No problem. The price is 10 brisas," the fortune-teller said with complete confidence.

  Lucius simply stared at her for a moment, wondering if he had heard wrong. But seeing that she was just staring at him, he took out his wallet, pulled out two 5-bills, placed them on the table, and left without looking back.

  "Thank you, and come back soon."

  "I'm never coming back here in my life! They give me false hope, scare me with my future, and now rob me blatantly! What a cheeky woman!" Lucius said, feeling grumpy about being practically robbed. He complained as he walked to the city exit. "Next time, I'll ask for the price first."

  He was already at the city gates, ready to leave with his few belongings in a backpack when one of the guards at the gate called him. Without thinking, he approached to see what they wanted.

  "Are you leaving, Lucius?"

  "Of course, it's time for my own adventure."

  Lucius approached and high-fived the guards as a farewell gesture.

  The other guard suddenly spoke. "Be careful out there; it's really dangerous right now."

  "What do you mean?"

  Lucius knew that the desert was really dangerous, with parts being inaccessible either because of monster territories or criminal gangs. Danger was never close to the cities, especially not to one as large as Zephyros. That's why the warning caught him off guard.

  "Don't you know?... The killer was found by a visitor from Noctis. When he was discovered, he tried to escape into the desert and is being pursued by that man... but there's a chance he could be killed, and that lunatic would be free to roam. That's why I'm telling you to be careful."

  Lucius couldn't believe what he was hearing, as the timing seemed perfect. It seemed like he might just have good luck.