The Desert Worm

It had now been two days since Jong-suk had been wandering through the Valdara Desert with this group of merchants, completely disconnected from reality. The sand seemed to stretch endlessly, and he still had no idea what was going on. The sun was beating down mercilessly, and honestly, he was starting to hallucinate. At one point, he even thought he saw a camel in the shape of a unicorn.

"No, you're just thirsty, Jong-suk. That doesn't exist."

He couldn't help but sigh. But no matter how much he tried to convince himself that all of this was just a stupid dream, he simply couldn't. The merchants seemed so serious, and especially, that name — Kael Draven — kept haunting him. He was too embarrassed to tell them that he wasn't that Kael. They wouldn't have believed a single word. Who, being as lazy as he was, could imagine such an absurd situation?

But well, he had to move forward. It wasn't going to resolve itself, right?

The group continued on, like flies in a lantern, walking endlessly under the unforgiving sun. Jong-suk dragged himself behind, watching the enormous circle of sand stretch to the horizon. There was no city in sight, nothing. Just sand.

The next morning, he woke up grimacing, his mouth as dry as a forgotten sponge. He got up, dragging his feet, his brain still half asleep. The desert routine: stretch, drink water (if the bag wasn't too hot), and prepare for another endless day of travel.

He glanced at his group. All the merchants were there. Well, almost all.

He frowned. Where were the five others?

"Eh... guys? Five of you are missing."

He rubbed his eyes, hoping he wasn't still hallucinating, but when he looked again, five people had indeed disappeared.

"Five! What happened there?! We were already having evenings sleeping under the sun, and now, on top of that, people are vanishing?!"

An elderly merchant, the only one Jong-suk hadn't yet dared to speak to directly (because he looked at him as though Jong-suk were some mythological hero), turned to him with an expression of absolute indifference.

"Ah, it happens."

"How does that happen?! Five people is more than just an 'accident,' right? Are you all sure you're in good shape?"

"No, they must have gotten lost. It happens with the desert. You see, the sand, the mirages, all that." The old man shrugged, as though this wasn't the strangest thing to happen that day.

Jong-suk suddenly felt angry, and he started pacing around.

"No, no, wait… there are five people missing! Not just a lost backpack or a box of biscuits that fell under a camel. These people didn't even appear in the scene! What is this, a novel?!"

He threw his arms up, exasperated.

"A magical desert and mysterious disappearances, huh? Sure, I'm in a fantasy drama. Where are the enchanted runes and magical creatures attacking us in broad daylight?!"

The merchants looked at him with blank eyes, as if they were watching a comedic act they had seen hundreds of times. Another merchant, a younger one, approached and, with no emotion, replied:

"You know, it's the desert. We always lose people. It's actually a good thing. Fewer people to manage, more space for the others."

"More space for others? What is this, a video game? We lose five members, and you're happy about it?"

The merchant shrugged, totally indifferent.

"We have enough water reserves for everyone. No need to rush."

Jong-suk lowered his head. Five people missing, and the others seemed to not care at all. It really didn't make any sense.

He turned his gaze toward the vast expanse of sand around him, then toward the group of merchants that kept moving forward. No one seemed worried. It was like losing people in a desert was an everyday routine here.

"No, no… this is ridiculous! This isn't a drama here, it's a dark comedy! Seriously, I should have read this novel, that's it!"

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and, with a sarcastic smile, muttered to himself.

"Great, great. Five missing, plus another day of walking under this sun… Just me and my glorious fate… probably an episode of desert reality TV."

But as he reluctantly started walking again, he realized something that hadn't hit his consciousness yet:

"Wait... Who is really Kael Draven here? Am I the hero, or just the guy who's going to die in a desert to make the story more dramatic?"

At that moment, another merchant approached and placed a hand on his shoulder. Jong-suk turned abruptly, thinking they were finally going to tell him the truth. But no, it was just a little smirk.

"It's just Kael. People disappear sometimes. It's not the end of the world."

Jong-suk rolled his eyes.

"I already got that, thanks. But that's not how it works in hero novels, is it?"

The merchant looked at him with a sort of wisdom in his eyes and, with an oddly serious tone, simply replied:

"In this world, nothing is ever that simple."

Jong-suk stood there, a little lost, wondering if this was a sage or just a guy who had watched too many fantasy films. But this desert was playing tricks on him, and he wasn't even sure if he wanted to make it out alive.

Jong-suk didn't even have time to process where he stood in this absurd situation when the ground beneath his feet suddenly started to shake. Not just a small tremor like, "Oh no, a little quake," no… A real desert earthquake.

"Huh?! Is this normal too?! Don't tell me the sand is shaking just for fun now?!"

The merchants, however, suddenly looked panicked, which was NOT reassuring. Up until now, they had remained stoic, even with five people missing. But now, they were running in all directions, screaming.

"THE DEVOURER IS COMING!"

"Hide!"

"Offer it your worst friends as a sacrifice!"

"WHAT?!"

Jong-suk turned to the man who had just suggested that, staring at him in shock. But before he could protest, a massive mound of sand exploded just a few meters ahead, sending dust flying everywhere.

And then, he saw it.

A massive creature, as wide as a house, burst out of the ground, making a horrific noise—a mix between the growl of a starving beast and the sound you make when you accidentally inhale noodles the wrong way.

A giant earthworm.

A. GIANT. EARTHWORM.

Jong-suk felt his soul leave his body.

"Nope, nope, I'm going back to sleep. I definitely didn't sign up for this."

The monster opened an enormous mouth lined with rows of circular teeth. Slimy filaments dangled inside, and a deep, guttural growl echoed, clearly saying "I'm going to eat you."

The entire group was in chaos. Some tried to run, others prayed to gods they had probably just made up on the spot.

"Great! So we're in Dune now, huh?! And who am I supposed to be?!"

The worm lunged straight at a poor merchant who hadn't asked for any of this. Jong-suk, still frozen by the sheer absurdity of the situation, didn't even react.

The merchant screamed as he tried to run, but the worm pounced on him and…

Swallowed him.

Whole.

Without chewing.

Silence fell over the desert as everyone stared at the ground in shock. Then, one of the merchants let out a sigh.

"Well… At least that's one less mouth to feed."

Jong-suk's eyes widened.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

Panic resumed at full force. The worm, apparently still hungry, turned toward another merchant and opened its massive mouth, ready to go for round two.

That's when Jong-suk realized he had to do something.

"Wait… Who's supposed to kill it?!"

All eyes turned to him.

"… No."

One of the merchants gave him a sincere look.

"Kael, you're our only hope."

Jong-suk blinked.

"… Well, we're screwed."

Jong-suk (or rather Kael, according to these desert lunatics) had no idea what he was supposed to do. He had no sword, no magic, and most importantly, NO DESIRE to fight a mutant earthworm that could swallow him in one bite.

"What if we tried negotiating with it, huh? Maybe it just wants to talk?"

The worm let out a horrifying roar before swallowing another merchant.

"… Okay, apparently not."

Everyone kept running in all directions, but Kael stood frozen in place. He knew that in fantasy novels, the protagonist always found a way to kill the monster, even without training.

Except… he had NO idea if he was the hero or just some side character destined to die in chapter one.

"What if I'm the guy who dies to motivate the real hero?"

The worm charged at him.

"OH NO!"

Out of pure reflex, Kael did what any sane person would do—he grabbed the first thing he could find on the ground and hurled it with all his might into the monster's mouth.

Except… it was a snake.

A nice, venomous, very much alive snake that clearly did not expect to be treated like a thrown weapon.

The reptile flew through the air, switched into projectile mode, and landed directly inside the giant worm's throat.

Silence fell over the desert.

Even the monster looked shocked.

It slowly backed away, as if realizing it had just eaten the spiciest meal of its life. It trembled, groaned, and then…

BOOM.

It collapsed onto the ground, completely dead.

Jong-suk blinked.

"… Huh?"

The merchants stared at the scene, then turned to him with pure admiration on their faces.

"INCREDIBLE! Kael has slain the Devourer!"

 "Our hero!"

 "He defeated it in a single strike!"

"Oh yeah, yeah, no, that was totally what I meant to do… Absolutely planned."

He placed his hands on his hips, trying to hide his shock.

"Hey, killing a monster isn't hard. You just need a good strategy."

The merchants all nodded, impressed.

Kael, meanwhile, was just trying not to burst out laughing.

"I killed a monster… by throwing a random snake at it…"

But before he could fully process the absurdity of the moment, a glowing window suddenly appeared in front of him, floating in midair.

[DING!]

[System Activated]

[Congratulations! You have slain the Desert Devourer. As a legendary monster slayer, you receive a unique reward.]

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"… This is a joke, right?"

A new line appeared.

[Welcome to the Cursed Monarch System!]

Kael's expression darkened.

"… Oh no."

It was official. He was really stuck in this damn novel.