After finishing the stew, I stood up, grateful. The man had been hospitable without asking anything in return. When I checked my pockets, I found a small pouch with a few gold coins. I looked at them for a moment, confused.

  Where did I get these? I wondered, but didn’t dwell on it for too long. I pulled out a coin and handed it to the man as thanks. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw it.

  "Are you a millionaire or something?" he asked, clearly bewildered.

  I looked back at him, not fully understanding. "No... well, I don’t know," I replied after a brief pause. Honestly, I didn’t know if these coins made me rich or not. The man, without pressing further, smiled and thanked me with a slight bow.

  "Have a safe journey," he said with a friendly smile.

  I nodded and carefully stored the pouch. My next destination was the land of giants, although I wasn’t entirely sure if I should go there. But what other option did I have? I had no other ideas, so I set out toward the lands I’d been directed to.

  The land was vast, with mountains in the distance and a completely clear sky. A light breeze brushed my face, carrying the soft scent of flowers. Everything was calming, a contrast to the confusion I felt inside.

  I walked for several minutes, enjoying the landscape despite my uncertainty, until the sound of running water grew louder.

  A river, maybe? The terrain became rockier, and the trees grew more abundant, giving the impression that I was entering a wooded valley. Despite everything on my mind, I couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty of the place.

  The sound of water led me to a river. As I arrived, I saw a figure in the middle of the water holding a spear, clearly poised for hunting. What really surprised me was the man’s size. He was enormous, much larger than any human I’d ever seen. He had to be a giant.

  The sides of his head were shaved, and the hair on top was braided back. His clothing looked like it was made from a rustic fabric, and his belt was nothing more than a thick, poorly tied rope.

  How do I approach him? I wondered. I had no idea how to start a casual conversation with someone like him. He seemed focused on what he was doing, unaware of my presence.

  Then, something in the water behind him caught my attention. At first, I couldn’t make out what it was, but it moved quickly and was heading straight toward him. An aquatic creature! I ran to the riverbank, making sure the giant could see me.

  "Watch out, behind you!" I shouted with all my might.

  The giant glanced at me briefly, confused, then turned his head just in time to see what was approaching. From the water, a gigantic snake emerged, much larger than him.

  In a matter of seconds, it coiled around his body, squeezing him with immense strength. I heard the giant’s groan of pain as the snake’s pressure immobilized him, and his spear fell into the water.

  Without thinking, I ran to help him. I instinctively reached for a sword at my waist, but there was nothing there.

  Did I ever have one? Without more time to hesitate, I jumped toward the snake, trying to position myself on top of it. At that moment, it opened its enormous mouth, revealing sharp fangs clearly aimed at injecting venom into the giant.

  I leaped high, charging my fist with chaotic energy, and as I descended, I struck the snake’s head forcefully. The impact was strong enough to make the snake release the giant, leaving it momentarily stunned.

  The giant, wasting no time, retrieved his spear from the river and, with a precise strike, drove it into the snake’s head, ending its life.

  Both of us were left panting, exhausted. I turned to him, and in a deep voice, he thanked me, "I’m grateful, stranger. As a token of appreciation, please share a meal with me."

  I raised my hands, slightly nervous, smiling. "It was no problem; I just happened to be passing by," I replied. The giant easily lifted the enormous snake and slung it over his shoulder. "Here’s our dinner," he said with a grin.

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  My eyes widened in surprise. "Are we really going to eat that?"

  "Of course. These snakes are packed with nutrients, and their meat, well-cooked, is quite tasty," he explained.

  "Wow..." I murmured as we both left the river.

  The giant dropped the snake a few steps from the river, and it landed with a heavy thud on the ground. Then, he extended his hand to me. "My name is Eldrek," he said firmly.

  I extended my hand to shake his and replied, "I’m Darius." His hand was enormous, big enough to crush mine if he wanted to, I thought ironically as I shook it. Eldrek released my hand and, without wasting time, pulled a knife from a pouch tied to his belt, beginning to cut the snake.

  "Prepare a fire while I take care of this," Eldrek requested.

  I nodded, unable to avoid thinking that just a few minutes ago I’d eaten stew, and now I was preparing to eat a giant snake. The walk had helped me digest, but honestly, I wasn’t that hungry.

  Still, this was the perfect opportunity to see if I could get closer to the giants through Eldrek. Funny how fate works, I thought.

  As I gathered dry wood for the fire, Eldrek asked me directly, "What brings you to these lands?" He asked without looking at me, focused on cutting the snake’s meat.

  "In truth, my memory is a bit foggy. I’m not exactly sure how I got here. Somehow, I just had this feeling that the land of giants could help me in some way," I replied, shrugging.

  Eldrek didn’t react as he continued preparing the meat. "I don’t know what you’re hoping to find there," he said in a neutral tone. "My people are different from others. There are no markets or places to stay. You’ll only find giants forging, and we don’t allow outsiders in unless they come solely to place an order."

  I reflected on his words while lighting the fire. Maybe he’s right; it doesn’t make sense to go there, I thought. But this intuition… I just can’t ignore it.

  "The fire’s ready," I announced as the flames began to rise.

  Eldrek improvised a cooking base and started placing pieces of meat over the fire. Then he looked me directly in the eyes. "I can get you in if you want. It’s the least I can do. Once you’re there, you can decide what to do."

  I felt a warmth of happiness inside, though I kept my expression relaxed. "I’m grateful, Eldrek. And, come to think of it, my belt feels empty without a sword... are you a forger too?"

  Eldrek nodded. "I am. Although lately, I’ve been using methods different from the others—methods that some consider questionable."

  My curiosity piqued instantly. "What do you mean by that?" I asked.

  Eldrek, without saying more, crouched down and placed his hand on the ground. Instantly, the earth began to tremble slightly, kicking up a bit of dust.

  "I can control the earth," he finally said, with a neutral expression. "Feel it, shape it. I haven’t mastered it yet, but I’ve been trying to apply it to my forging. I’ve made many mistakes along the way, but I firmly believe I could imbue my skill—and that of others—into a weapon, creating something magical. But I have two problems..."

  I looked at him, fascinated. "Wow... What problems?" I asked, "maybe I could help."

  Eldrek offered a slight smile.

  "The first is that I haven’t found a mineral capable of withstanding the infusion of my skill. The metal always ends up breaking. Plus, the process exhausts me since it drains a lot of mana every time I try." He paused before continuing.

  "And that’s the second problem: I haven’t met anyone else with special abilities who could help me, until today. I saw what you did with the snake… my eyes didn’t deceive me, did they?"

  I shook my head, smiling. "You’re not wrong. Yes, I have an ability, though like you, I haven’t fully mastered it. But if you think I can help you somehow, count me in. I’ve got nothing else to do, and besides, I could get a magical weapon out of it. What could be better than that?"

  Eldrek nodded, looking at me with determination.

  "Then let’s get to work. With your magic, we could test different minerals without exhausting me too much. In fact, I was looking for minerals just now, heading toward some nearby mountains where I think we might find something. Once we’re done eating, we could go there, gather some minerals, and start immediately in my village."

  "Perfect!" I exclaimed, excited.

  Eldrek pulled a piece of snake meat from the fire, lightly seasoned it, and offered it to me. "Try it," he said.

  I took the piece carefully, still hot, and took a bite. My face must have shown my surprise. "It’s delicious!" I said with a smile.

  "See?" Eldrek said, with a hint of pride in his eyes.

  After eating, I felt my stomach full from so much food. "Wow, I really ate a lot," I joked, letting out a small laugh. "I think it’s been a while since I’ve eaten this much... I can barely move."

  Eldrek gave a slight smile. "Food isn’t scarce here, but it’s odd you don’t remember eating like this before."

  I nodded, sighing. "That’s true; I look forward to getting my memory back," I replied, not going into too much detail.

  While Eldrek packed some meat for the journey, I took the opportunity to ask, "What’s the path to the mountains like? Is it dangerous?"

  Eldrek stood up, dusting himself off, and as he gathered his things, he answered, "In general, there aren’t many predators in these lands. But in the mountains, there are some giant birds that could cause us trouble... let’s hope we don’t cross paths with them."

  "Giant birds..." I repeated with a questioning tone, letting out an ironic laugh. "Is everything giant around here? Can’t there just be normal-sized creatures?"

  Eldrek chuckled as he packed his bag. "Where are you from, Darius? Here, this is normal. Sure, there are smaller creatures, but they tend to be venomous... I’d say they’re even more dangerous than the birds."

  I raised an eyebrow, somewhat incredulous. "Uh... ‘medium-sized,’ you say?" I thought that, considering Eldrek’s size, his idea of "medium" might not be the same as mine. Next to him, everything seemed small.

  "Alright then, to the mountains!" I replied, standing up and dusting myself off. Eldrek nodded, and together, we began our journey toward the mountains.