W-what happened? Where am I? Revenant thought, laying on the cold floor of a dungeon. Slowly gaining consciousness, he felt a sharp pain in his head.
"Don't move! I got this!" Revenant was startled to hear a small voice shouting. Who is that? he wondered. Opening his eyes, he saw a large monster charging toward him. Suddenly, something kicked the monster away. As he squinted to look closer, he saw a man standing there—short, frail, and unimposing. He doesn't look very strong, Revenant thought.
The man approached and offered a hand to help him up. "Are you hurt?" he asked swiftly.
"Yes. I don't know what happened. I just woke up down here. Where am I? And who are you?"
"Don't worry about it," the man snapped. "Shut up before they hear us. We need to get out of here. This is the bottom floor of the dungeon."
Revenant's eyes widened in shock. How the heck did I end up on the bottom floor of a dungeon? he wondered.
"Can you walk?" the man asked.
"Yes, I can walk. I can fight too, if I have to—but I'm pretty badly hurt. Also, I can't see out of my left eye."
The man helped him to his feet. "Alright, let's get out of here." Just as he spoke, the monster let out a loud screech and charged again. "Looks like it's up!"
Revenant raised his hand toward the monster. Suddenly, it exploded into pieces. The man's eyes widened with disbelief at the sheer destruction.
"Please... help me," Revenant whispered, his voice weak. The attack had drained all his strength, leaving him barely able to stand. The man rushed over, supporting him as they moved toward the dungeon entrance.
Outside, the man propped Revenant against a rock before slumping beside him to catch his breath.
"So," Revenant began, eyes closed and breathing heavily, "are you going to tell me who you are?"
"My name is Akemi, sir. I work at the local pub… as a cook."
"A cook?" Revenant tried to laugh but winced in pain. "You kicked a bottom-floor monster across a room. No way you're just a cook. You're small, sure, but that's not something even strong fighters could do easily."
Akemi shrugged. "I'm really a cook. But I spend most of my free time killing monsters and exploring dungeons." He handed Revenant a canteen of water. "Your turn. Who are you?"
"My name's Revenant—just call me Rev. And don't call me 'sir.' I'm only in my twenties, like you." He took a long drink. "I have no idea how I ended up down there. I woke up, and that was it. I'm... well, I was a military leader of sorts. Anyway, thanks for your help. What city is this?"
Akemi tilted his head. "Wow, you are messed up. We're just outside the royal capital."
Rev began to push himself up. "The capital... I haven't been here in almost eight years."
Akemi stood, watching cautiously, then moved to steady him. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Rev dusted himself off. "I'm far from home. Let's head into the city. I need a place to stay."
Akemi grabbed his sword and bag, adjusting them on his back. "Sure thing. I know a place."