"Hey get back here!!!"
A furious huge man chased a little boy the age of a sixth grader between the alleyways of the city. Along with the man were his colleagues right behind him, wielding knives unskillfully, but they were still dangerous.
The one being chased was a silver haired boy with red eyes. He weaved through the alleyways as if it was his garden. After a few or more so turns, the boy succeeded on losing the chasing men.
"You little brat!! Just wait until we get our hands on you!!"
Before he was able to escape though, the leading man shouted a threat towards the boy while holding his weapon high.
'Pfffttt… What the heck is that pose?'
The boy stifled a chuckle before jumping inside a portal which he generated.
********
~ First Person POV ~
Few days earlier…
"Gah!?"
When I came to, I wasn't inside my dungeon house with the terrifying minotaur, but in a dark alleyway. Judging from the light coming from the ends of the alleys, it was close to dusk.
"What happened?"
I searched my memories, only to realize that after I met the minotaur, all that was left was fuzzy memories. I tried harder, but then something strange happened.
"What the… Whose memories is this…?"
My name is Drake Wota… No… It is Gren… I lived on Earth… No… I lived on Andeght…
"What the hell…?"
My mind was in a jumble of confusion. Memories of two different people were merging inside my head. I held my head, reeling in the non-existent pain of this phenomenon.
"Wait… Didn't I die…?"
Finally, probably after the merge was completed, both the memories of the two people became clear. Drake died after getting his head chopped off from a ghastly strike from a minotaur. Just remembering the feeling of getting my head chopped off gives me shivers.
Next was Gren's memories. A child who lived in the slums of a frontier city named Garjo. Gren died of starvation inside this very alley after running away from a local gang that terrorized the slums.
"But then… Why is this happening…?"
When I looked down, what I saw was a kid's body. Skinny arms, small hands, and ribs were clear through the skin. A perfect sign of malnourishment.
*Grumble*
"…"
First things first, if I don't settle my hunger, I might just die another time…
"[Dungeon Portal]"
Recalling my memories as Drake, I tried creating a [Dungeon Portal] inside this inconspicuous alley. After a moment, a portal really did form, making my eyes bulge out. Because of the memories from Drake, I didn't feel all that surprised, but Greg's memories served as a reason for me to be surprised.
Without hesitation, I head inside and was brought to a house where Drake used to live. Well, Drake was only able to sleep a night here, so this place probably doesn't count. What's more, because the dungeon can still be used, the minotaur didn't destroy the core. But because of hunger, I didn't mind the state of the house, nor the dungeon.
"[Dungeon Menu]"
Calling the [Dungeon Menu] which Drake familiarized, I was greeted by the same holographic screen Drake saw in his memories. When I checked the top right screen, the value of MP was 1035.
Judging from Drake's memory, the defense failed, but the MP increased due to the killed enemy monsters inside the dungeon.
"Well then…"
Eating spree… Here I come…
*******
After an hour of eating my heart out, I was finally full. It took a full 100 MP just to satisfy my body. After eating, my troubled mind became calm, and now, the more I think about this situation, the more I find it confusing.
"Why is this happening…?"
My earlier question still goes unanswered, and will probably be for a long, long, time.
"Firstly, in the memories of the two people, both of them died. But then, why am I here…? What's more, in the body of the boy…?"
There maybe many reasons, but first is why I was in the boy's body instead of the man is maybe because of the condition. The man's head was lopped off, while the boy's body stopped functioning because of the lack of nutrients so cross that one out.
Next is who I am. I have no memories except for the two, so I can deduce that I am either of the two who dies, but why does it matter? Since I am living in the body of the boy, I'll just call myself Gren. Drake lives within me so I can say that both of them is living within this body.
Last is why I was brought back. Because of some unknown circumstances, I am alive and kicking right now. I also have the ability to manipulate a dungeon because of Drake. Is there something going on in which I do not know about…?
After pondering for quite a while, I shelved the questions for later and went out back into the alley. I don't want people learning about me having this kind of ability. Because of Gren's memories, I know what kind of people live here in the slums.
Also, the reason why Gren died from starvation was because of the gang members. They stole his money and food worth 5 days, while saying things like "Useless brat!!"
"But Mari…"
In Gren's memories, there was a girl who always accompanied Gren. Both of them went their separate ways earlier this morning because of a job given to them by the local gang. Mari was supposed to serve as a prostitute for the brothel this evening, by the way, Gren's age is 12 while Mari's was 11. While Gren was to stay in this alley and watch if any suspicious people pass and report them to the official gang members. Although Gren didn't want to because of the stealing of food and money, he had no choice lest he dies right then and there.
Regarding child prostitution in this day and age, where Drake came from, this was uncommon, but it was still done, but not so much by the children who had no choice but to. While here, in the world of Andeght, just to survive the slums, you have to be prepared to do anything. Mari already resolved herself 3 years ago. Gren didn't forgive the bastard who took her virginity.
He was one of the official gang members. Thanks to that, Gren and Mari had no problem about food for a week, but after that, you can guess.
"I will get you out of here, I promise…"
A promise made 4 years ago by Gren.
"I will make them pay… And then, probably, we could start a new life together…"
The love Gren had for Mari still didn't fade…