Chapter 25: The Mysterious Man

I clenched my eyes shut as I waited for the inevitable end of my life. A few uncomfortable seconds passed before I opened my eyes once more. What the hell was taking so long? The rat that was about to eat me was currently shaking its head side to side frantically. The hell? After a few more seconds of frantic shaking, it finally stopped. As it turned toward me I noticed something odd about it. Were its eyes always red? That was the last thought on my mind before I blacked out.

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Opening my eyes slowly, I looked around curiously. What was I just doing? As I looked around in a dazed manner, my parents stared at me in confusion. Oh, it seemed that I dozed while we were eating. Man, I must’ve stayed up late last night for that to happen. After telling my parents I was fine I looked down and began to eat my spaghetti. For some reason it tasted really good today. I must’ve been craving it or something.

As I ate my spaghetti I engaged in small talk with my parents. I wasn’t really interested in the conversation but if I didn’t say anything I would probably get in trouble. The next few minutes passed by in a light hearted mood until dinner was finished. As I took the trash to my garbage can outside, I glanced at the beautiful blue sky.

Hmmm.

Something seemed off.  I didn’t know what, but I felt as if something was wrong. What was it? Tossing the trash bag in the garbage, I walked up towards my mailbox at the top of my driveway. I might as well look to see if we have mail as I pondered on what was wrong.

Did mom tell me to do something and I forgot? No, I didn’t think that was it. For some reason everything around me seemed……fake. As if this wasn’t reality. My face crunched in confusion as I reached my mailbox. But before I could think on it any further, my phone vibrated in my pocket, bringing me out of my musings. I pulled it out to answer it but it somehow slipped and fell in the nearby sewer.

Wait, didn’t this happen before? My phone seemed to fall down in slow motion as my memories began to come back. Yes, it did! I got trapped in a damn sewer. Once I realized this, the space around me began to distort. I stumbled in shock as the ground beneath gave way. What the hell? Without anything to stand on, I was forced to fall deeper and deeper into the dark abyss.

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Sitting up in shock, I looked around frantically. Where the hell was I? Sweat poured down my face as I examined my surroundings. Since I was in some sort of cave, I assumed that I was still in the sewers. But how was I still alive. Although my whole body was filled with pain, I was still alive. The only thing I could remember before I blacked out was the rat. It looked as though it was going to eat me but for someone reason it didn’t. Maybe the change in eye color had something to do with it. I was about to think on the situation even more but I was interrupted by a voice.

“So you’re finally awake.”

The hell? My head turned backwards so fast that I almost snapped my neck. Gritting my teeth in pain, I glanced at the owner of the voice.

The person who was speaking to me seemed to be a male that was in his thirties or forties. His well brushed hair was tainted with small lines of white that blended in quite well with his grey hair. As he rubbed his thick beard, I noticed freshly trimmed nails on his smooth skin. But don’t let his smooth skin fool you. From what I could see of his skin, I could tell that his body possessed a lot of strength. Maybe it was because of his muscles, maybe it was because of the way he presented himself, maybe it was a little of both. Either way, I did not want to get on his bad side. Not if I wanted to live.

After he finished looking at his nails, the mysterious man turned his crimson eyes toward me. The moment I made eye contact with him, I felt as though his eyes were peering directly into my soul.  It was like he was the predator and I was the prey. And no matter what I tried to do, I would be unable to flee. The feeling was quite unnerving to say the least.

I quickly move my eyes downwards to his pale face so I didn’t have to look into his eyes anymore. If I had to guess, I would say his visage was a mixture between pale and healthy. Not pale enough to need help, but not healthy enough to be completely fine. Now that I thought about it, the reason for his paleness might be because of the sewers. Maybe he got trapped like me except he had to stay down here for way longer. Or maybe it was something completely different. Once I was done examining his face, I turned my eyes toward his chest.

On his body he wore a suit of armor that seemed to be made of steel. Judging from the various dents and scratches, I could tell that this armor had seen many battles. In the middle of his armor was some type of symbol that I had never seen before. Maybe he was in a group or a faction that used to fight or something. There was also a ring on his hand that was made out of various precious jewels. If he sold even a piece of it, he would be set for life. That was how expensive the ring on his hand was. It was probably even more precious to him since he hadn’t sold it.

Once I was done looking at him, I responded to his question. I made sure my tone was polite because I was pretty sure this mysterious man had save my life. It was always good to be kind to your benefactor. And even if he didn’t save me, he could probably kill me in my current condition if he felt like it.

“Yah, I guess I am. Where am I by the way?”

I already knew I was in a cave, but I wanted to know where. I assumed that I was still in the sewers but I might actually be somewhere else.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“You’re in a small cave that is located in a sewer infested with giant rats, bats, lizardmen, and many more strange creatures. You’re lucky to be alive actually. When I found you, you were close to death.”

Oh, I didn’t know there were lizardmen in here too. And it also seemed like my guess was correct about still being in the sewers. After all, I couldn’t leave until the final boss of the dungeon was defeated. Or at least that was what the blue boxes told me when I had tried to leave the first time. But maybe the final boss was already dead and I could’ve just left when I wanted. The moment I thought this I shook my head. I was pretty sure I would’ve received a notification or something if the final boss was killed.

It also turned out that my benefactor who had save my life was the man standing in front of me. I wasn’t that surprised because if he wasn’t the one who saved me, then why would he be here?

“Oh, so you’re the one who saved me.  You have my thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“May I ask why?”

There had to be a reason for him to save me. The odds of him doing it out of the goodness of his heart were slim to none. Hell, I might not even save someone if there wasn’t something in it for me. I’m not about to risk my life for someone I didn’t even know. But it all depends on the situation. If someone really needed my help, I would help them if I could. It all depended on how I was currently feeling.

Not only that, but I was pretty suspicious of him already. From the way he held himself and the dents and scratches in his armor, I could tell that he had been a soldier. But not one of this world. No one used steel armor in this day and age unless they were cosplaying. And I was pretty sure he wasn’t doing the latter.

I was also pretty wary of him since I didn’t have any weapons of me. If he decided to attack me, I would probably lose. If I didn’t have these wounds, then it would be a different story. I also needed to remember that he save me from being eaten alive. There was no point in saving me if he was just going to kill me later. That would just be a waste of energy. I also decided to hear him out since he did save my life. And I needed to show my appreciations somehow.

“What do you mean why? Can’t I save a fellow man out of the goodness of my heart?”

The moment he uttered those words, my face grew ugly. Did he take me for a fool? Don’t get me wrong, I was thankful that he saved me. But there was a reason for he did, and I wanted to know why.

“Let’s cut the bullshit. There’s a reason that you saved me. You know it and I know it. The question is….what you think I can do for you that someone else can’t.”

Since the conversation didn’t look like it was going to go anywhere for the next few minutes, I just cut to the source of things. There had to be a reason he saved me, specifically me. I was pretty sure that he could find someone else if he tried. Although he was probably stuck in the sewers like me, so maybe I was his only choice. And maybe I was wrong and he just saved me out of the goodness of my heart. That could be it, but I doubted it. There was just no way.

The moment I finished speaking, all of the fake happiness vanished from the man’s face. I guess he realized that he wouldn’t need his little pretense anymore. Instead his face took on a serious, more somber appearance.

“Huh, I guess you’re smarter than you look.”

A vein began to bulge from my forehead as the man continued speaking.

“You’re right. I did save you for a reason.”

Before he continued, he allowed a small space of silence to occur before he spoke again……What the hell was the point of doing that? Was he trying for a dramatic effect or something? Shaking my head, I leaned in closer to see what he would say next.

“It’s because you’re human.”

Wait, he saved me because I was human? Because I was his fellow man? No, that didn’t seem to be the case. The way he said human made me thinking that he didn’t consider himself one. Normally I would check his status to see what he was, but it was mysteriously absent. Therefore I just had to toss out random guesses until I figured out the answer.

“Oh. So you saved me because I was one of your fellow species?”

Hopefully this was the case. I was hoping he wasn’t some sort of monster that could mimic a human appearance. If he was…then I would have a problem.

“No, I saved you because you would be useful. I have need of someone who is still alive. After all, there are some places where my kind can just not enter. But you, you could. Yes, with you everything could be solved.”

A sickening grin appeared on the man’s face as he looked at me with longing. What had I got myself into?