THE GIANT WHO WALKED THE ROAD
Kael remained perfectly still.
Even the Ashen Draft Horse seemed to understand the danger.
Its ears flattened against its head as it stared toward the horizon, refusing to take another step.
The colossal creature moved with impossible slowness.
Each stride carried it hundreds of meters forward, yet every footfall sent a deep tremor through the Endless Road.
Boom…
Boom…
Boom…
The vibrations traveled beneath the black stone like distant thunder.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
Now that the creature was closer, he could finally distinguish its shape.
It resembled a gigantic tortoise.
Its shell was not made of bone or scales but of an entire forest.
Towering silver trees covered its back, while waterfalls cascaded from its sides, vanishing into thin air before reaching the ground.
Ancient ruins rested atop the shell.
Broken towers.
Collapsed temples.
Fragments of enormous statues.
It looked less like a living creature and more like a forgotten kingdom walking across the world.
A blue notification appeared before Kael.
World Creature Detected
Name: Wandering Mountain Tortoise
Classification: World Beast
Threat Level: Impossible
Recommendation: Do not provoke.
Observe from a safe distance.
“Impossible…”
Kael whispered.
The system had never used that word before.
Not Dangerous.
Not Avoid.
Impossible.
He took a slow breath and remained exactly where he was.
The World Beast never looked toward him.
It continued crossing the Endless Road, paying no attention to the tiny travelers beneath it.
Minutes passed.
Finally, its enormous body disappeared beyond a line of distant hills.
Only then did Kael release the breath he had unknowingly been holding.
The Ashen Draft Horse gave a nervous whinny.
“I know.”
Kael gently rubbed its neck.
“We’re ants to something like that.”
The realization settled heavily in his mind.
Until now, Kael believed survival depended on becoming stronger than ordinary monsters.
The Wandering Mountain Tortoise shattered that belief.
There were beings on the Endless Road so powerful that fighting them wasn’t even a possibility.
He would need wisdom as much as strength.
The journey resumed.
The road curved gently through a valley filled with enormous stone pillars.
Unlike the musical pillars he had encountered earlier, these were covered in carvings.
Thousands of names had been engraved into the stone.
Some were fresh.
Others had weathered away with time.
Kael stopped beside the nearest pillar.
At its base, glowing words appeared.
Road Memorial
Every name carved here belonged to a traveler who completed their journey.
Completed?
Kael frowned.
Did that mean they reached the end?
Or simply died?
He scanned the countless names.
There were hundreds.
No…
One name near the bottom shone brighter than the others.
Arlen Voss
Road Sovereign
The title caught Kael’s attention.
Road Sovereign.
The same rank mentioned by the Road Forge.
Was this someone who had mastered the Endless Road?
Or merely another legend?
Before he could examine further, another traveler called out.
“Hey!”
Kael turned.
A wagon approached from behind.
It was larger than his own and reinforced with iron plates.
A young man in his twenties waved enthusiastically.
He wore round glasses and carried a notebook tucked beneath one arm.
“Mind if I stop here?”
Kael nodded.
The stranger climbed down with surprising energy.
“I’m Ethan.”
He extended a hand.
“I’ve been traveling alone since yesterday.”
Kael shook it.
“Kael.”
Ethan’s eyes immediately drifted toward the repaired wagon.
“You’ve upgraded yours.”
“A little.”
“I knew it!”
The young man grinned.
“I’ve been documenting everything.”
He proudly held up the notebook.
“My theory is that every traveler receives slightly different opportunities.”
Kael became interested.
“What kind of opportunities?”
Ethan flipped through several pages.
“I met someone whose talent lets her identify medicinal plants.”
He turned another page.
“Another guy can communicate with Road Beasts.”
Another.
“One woman can temporarily strengthen barriers.”
Ethan looked at Kael.
“So what’s yours?”
Kael hesitated.
The Road Forge had already been identified as a hidden talent.
Revealing it to strangers felt unwise.
“I focus on wagon repairs.”
Technically true.
Ethan accepted the answer without suspicion.
“That’s already amazing.”
He sighed.
“My talent isn’t exactly exciting.”
A status window appeared above his notebook.
Traveler Talent
Perfect Memory
Can permanently remember every map, road, symbol, and written text encountered.
Kael’s eyes widened slightly.
That wasn’t weak at all.
On the Endless Road…
Knowledge meant survival.
“You underestimate yourself.”
Ethan blinked.
“You think so?”
Kael nodded.
“You’ll never get lost.”
“You’ll recognize patterns other people miss.”
“You’ll remember information long after everyone else forgets.”
Then a slow smile spread across his face.
“I hadn’t thought about it like that.”
The two travelers continued walking side by side for several kilometers, exchanging everything they had learned.
Kael spoke about the Whispering Mire.
Ethan described a region filled with poisonous crystal flowers that exploded when disturbed.
Together, they pieced together another important conclusion.
The Endless Road wasn’t identical for everyone.
Certain sections overlapped.
Others changed depending on the traveler.
“It’s testing us differently,” Ethan said thoughtfully.
Kael nodded.
“Probably according to our choices.”
Before either man could continue, the ground shook violently.
Not from another World Beast.
This tremor came from ahead.
A loud crash echoed across the valley.
Kael immediately climbed onto his wagon for a better view.
Smoke rose from the road nearly five hundred meters away.
Another wagon had overturned.
A pair of giant creatures surrounded it.
Unlike wolves or mantises, these monsters resembled enormous armored rhinoceroses covered in jagged black crystal.
Their horns repeatedly slammed into the overturned caravan.
Each impact splintered thick wooden beams.
Screams echoed from inside.
“There are people in there!”
Ethan shouted.
Kael had already seen them.
A woman desperately tried pushing aside broken planks while shielding a little girl beneath her body.
An older man swung an axe from inside the wreckage, but every strike bounced harmlessly off the crystal armor.
The monsters were moments away from breaking through.
Ethan grabbed a spear from his wagon.
“We have to help!”
Kael didn’t answer immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on the battlefield.
Charging blindly would only create more victims.
The Road Forge mark above his heart began warming.
Golden lines spread across his vision.
They traced the movements of the crystal beasts.
Their weak points.
Their blind spots.
The shape of the overturned wagon.
The angle of the road.
An idea formed instantly.
Kael looked toward Ethan.
“Listen carefully.”
“We’re not fighting them.”
“We’re moving them.”
Ethan frowned.
“What?”
Kael pointed toward a steep embankment running alongside the road.
“If we can lure them there…”
“…gravity will finish the job.”
The young man stared at the massive crystal beasts.
Then back at the slope.
A slow grin appeared.
“That’s…
actually brilliant.”
Kael climbed onto his wagon and tightened his grip on the reins.
“Get ready.”
The crystal beasts struck the trapped caravan once more.
The wooden roof finally began to collapse.
There wasn’t much time left.
Kael snapped the reins.
The Ashen Draft Horse surged forward.
Straight toward the monsters.
Straight toward the desperate survivors.
Straight into his most dangerous gamble yet.
END OF CHAPTER 7