Rohan hated his job.
Not for the work.
But for everything else.
The long hours.
The arrogant manager.
The low salary.
And most importantly, the way everything remained the same, despite his efforts.
"Rohan!"
Rohan looked up from his desk, to see the angry expression of his boss.
"Why hasn’t this report been finished yet?!"
Rohan sighed before looking at the clock.
It was almost midnight.
"I’ve been working on it since this afternoon,"
he replied.
"What about it?"
asked his manager. Rohan looked up from his work. "And?"
"I’m almost done,"
He said before looking back at his report. His manager dropped a pile of papers on his desk. "Finish these as well."
"You want me to finish all of this tonight?"
"That’s your job,"
his manager said before walking away. Rohan clenched his fists.
He wanted to yell right now, to throw those papers from his manager in his anger. In the end, he just sat back down
"I’ll quit one day,"
Rohan muttered under his breath. He looked back at the clock. It was already 12:17am. He had spent nearly twelve hours working on that report alone.
His eyes were burning with exhaustion and his stomach twisted in pain. He hadn’t eaten in almost two days and all he wanted was to go home and sleep. Finally at 1:03am, he finished his report and stood up to gather his things. "I can’t do this anymore."
Outside, the cool night air greeted his lungs as he walked to the bus stop. He pulled out his phone to check the time, only for him to notice three missed calls from his mother. He smiled weakly as he put the phone back in his pocket. "I’ll call her tomorrow."
The road was quiet as he waited for the traffic light to change. As he crossed the street, he heard the distant sound of a honking car
"Move!"
Rohan turned to see a truck speeding right at him.
His eyes widened in surprise. "What the-?"
As Rohan attempted to run, his foot slipped
The truck was closing in on him and there wasn’t enough time for him to escape. BANG!
Pain. That was the first thing that registered in his senses. Rohan opened his eyes to see the wooden boards on the ceiling. He blinked a few times and looked at his hands. "What...?" He tried to sit up but a sharp pain shot at his skull. "Ughh."
"Hey you’re awake,"
A female voice said as he turned his head to the right. A young woman sat at the edge of the bed. She wore a simple white dress and had her hair tied at the back of her head. Rohan stared in confusion. "What..." He tried to get up again but the woman stopped him. "Easy now. You’ve been asleep for three days." His eyes widened. "Three da-?" He shook his head. "Where am I?"
"In your room," the woman replied.
"My room?"
Asked Rohan as he looked around the small wooden cabin. In front of him was a small table and a window. To his left was a bed while to his right was a wooden wardrobe. Everything seemed very old and worn. The woman looked at his hands. "You don’t remember anything?" she questioned. Rohan looked at his hands. "What happened to me?"
The woman frowned. "You fell off the training platform yesterday"
"The training platform? What do you mean?" asked Rohan as he got off the bed. He looked at his hands again. They didn’t look like his hands. They were still good but they seemed to be younger. His heartbeat quickened. "What happened to me?" he asked again
The woman crossed her arms. "You fell from the training platform yesterday," she repeated
"Training platform... What is that?"
The woman sighed. "You were in the training room when you lost consciousness. It seems the fall was pretty hard." Rohan narrowed his eyes. "Tell me what happened." She looked at him carefully before standing up. "You were training for two years." Rohan raised an eyebrow. "I’ve been training for two years?" The woman nodded. "You wanted to become a Dungeon Hunter."
"A Dungeon Hunter?" asked Rohan as he took his gaze at the window. Outside the wooden cabin, he saw the village. It was surrounded by a tall wooden fence. Some of the villagers walked casually on the roads. Others wore armor and carried their weapons on their backs. They even had people riding on horses. Suddenly, a giant creature passed in front of the village gate. It was an enormous creature with green skin, sharp fangs, and a large axe. It was a monster. Rohan turned his attention back to his strange companion. "What kind of world is this?" he asked.
The woman looked at him in confusion. "Don’t you remember anything?" she asked. Rohan shook his head. "I want to know what happened to me," he said again. The woman sighed. "This is the Kingdom of Asteria." Rohan looked at the woman and then at the village again. He turned back to her. "Is that what they call this place? Asteria..." He took a deep breath. "What is an adventurer?"
The woman looked at him in confusion again. "You’re not funny at all," she said. "An adventurer is- oh wait, you don’t remember at all, do you?" She turned her gaze at a long sword next to the bed. "This past year, you’ve been training to be a Dungeon Hunter." Rohan looked at the sword. It looked very heavy. He almost stumbled when he picked it up. "A Dungeon Hunter?" he asked once more.
"Yes," said the woman. "Now come on; the alarm has already rung three times." Rohan followed her gaze to a bell on the wall. Three people in the village were pulling the rope. The first bell had already rung. His heart pounded in his chest as he watched the two other villagers run through the streets. "What does that mean?" he asked. The woman grabbed his arm. "It means monsters are coming." Another bell rung. "There has also been a break-in in one of the dungeons." Rohan looked around and suddenly grabbed the sword in his hand. The woman looked at him with wide eyes. "What are you doing?" she asked. "It seems like my job, huh?" he muttered.
The woman looked at him again. "You have to hurry. Monsters are attacking the village as we speak." Rohan looked at the sword. Then he looked at his companions. Finally he turned his back to the room. "If I really am an adventurer, then I’ll become the strongest Dungeon Hunter."