My name is Deon Rice, and I'm already 23 years old. I grew up in the northern kingdom of Skydore. In our world, there are a huge number of monsters that are in the dungeons, and every time they break out of them, trouble happens. They destroy and capture villages, towns, settlements. Ordinary people can't resist monsters, so there are people who are called awakened. Awakened ones are divided into 3 types: Warrior, Magician, Speaker. The usual awakening occurs at the age of 12, and not for everyone. At the age of 9, when my "Chi" awakened, I was considered a real talent, because I was a commoner who grew up in an orphanage. But I had another talent, I could copy a person's movements only after seeing them once, which made me ten heads taller than my peers. At the age of 15, I graduated from the Awakened Academy with an A+ grade. And he started going to the dungeons as a hunter, gathering units in guilds. By itself, hunting in dungeons is a profitable business, because you can get "chi stones" from a killed monster, the larger the chi stone and the higher the quality, the more expensive it is. That's how I spent another 7 years of my life. Until one day, when going to an A-class dungeon, "This" happened.
-Hey, Deon, finish off that fire demon faster. The others have already finished. - said my friend, with whom I have been going to the dungeons for the last 5 years.
-Okay, Hardy, you get the others ready for the exit. - Grinning, I said, taking out my sword.
Wrapping my sword in chi energy, I approached the last fire, the demon whose legs I had already chopped off. Even without legs, it was impossible to relax with him, because fire demons had the ability to ignite their bodies. I raised my sword over the demon's head to finish it off, but suddenly I lost control of my body and it felt like my spirit was leaving my body. I lowered my sword, unable to hold it, and the last thing I heard was my friend Hardy screaming.
- DEON!
.....
Slowly opening my eyes, I saw a white ceiling, I was lying on a soft bed, I was in... The hospital? In less than a second, I felt a burning pain in my legs, as if boiling water had been splashed on them.
Unable to withstand the pain, a scream came out of me. - AAAAGH.
- DOCTOR, HE'S AWAKE. I heard Hardy's voice.
-Right now." - the woman answered him and came up to me.
After giving me a painkiller potion, she started treating me with chi energy.
-B-buddy, what happened, how did this demon catch you off guard? - Hardy said in a trembling voice.
Remembering what happened, I told how it was.
- It's strange, this is the first time I've heard of something like this.- The female healer muttered.
Seeing my sad friend, I tried to defuse the situation. I smiled and started talking. - Come on, in any case, everything doesn't look so serious, I've received wounds and more serious than minor burns on my legs.
- I'm sorry. - the healer said, lowering her eyes.
- Sorry, w-what are you talking about?"- I said in disbelief.
I looked at Hardy. He stood with his fists clenched, his eyes downcast, and biting his lip as if he were angry.
They told me that the demon had torn my Achilles tendon.
- B-b-but it's treatable, right? - I spoke with a trembling voice.
- It would have been treated if this demon hadn't burned the tendons to the ground. I'm sorry, but your life as a hunter is over, - the healer said, closing her eyes.
At that moment, I froze, tears welled up in my eyes, and I looked away, filled with despair, to the window. I had nothing to say, I knew that now I wouldn't even be able to walk normally.
- Deo.. - Hardy wanted to say, but the doctor stopped him and shook her head and said. - It's better to leave him now.
Another year has passed, and now I am 23 years old, since I was informed that my life as a hunter was over, I started working as a blacksmith. It was easy to learn blacksmithing, and thanks to my talent for copying other people's movements, I went to many blacksmiths and copied their work. I've signed contracts with guilds. I'm giving them a portion of my profits in exchange for chi stones from monsters. Half a year ago, I was informed that Hardy died on another trip to the dungeon. The rest of my teammates rarely come to see me, but no more. The seizures that I suffered from haven't ended yet, it's been going on for a whole year, and every time it seems to be getting worse, and more than one healer has never heard of it. They happen in different ways, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, thanks to a year of working as a blacksmith, I was able to create an exoskeleton for myself, thanks to which I can walk now, but even so it is difficult. Tired of another day of work, I lay down on the bed and wanted to forget myself and fall asleep. But suddenly the unknown attack started again. But this time it was different.
The only thing I could think about was this.
"Is that it again? But this time it's really different, it's like I let my soul out of my body because I saw my own body a meter from below me, the pupils went behind the eyelid, leaving only a whitewash and my mouth was open, after a while I began to separate and abruptly my consciousness swam, as if I was in space, I was moving at great speed to something. And suddenly...."
....
-...
-....
-....
- Where..
- Where am I?" I asked the question without waiting for an answer.
"It's so dark in here.... It was like I was in water, but it was like I was rising to something, I didn't feel anything else... Peace of mind? But why, I just died...Yes? When I was lying there on the bed, I expired... But then what's next heaven, hell? I wasn't much of a believer, but in any case, it doesn't look like heaven or hell, at least that's what the books described. But the higher my body rises, I see the light more clearly.... Stop the body? But I can't feel my body, it's like I don't have a shell.....Damn, the light is getting brighter and brighter."
....
-....
I opened my eyes and thought.
"Heh, it was a dream, maybe I should spend more time resting, but why is it so dark, even at night, my room is a little brighter, and... Why am I lying on the floor? At least it's warm at least."
Bracing my arms a little, I pushed myself up, but my body felt lighter than usual and..... less than usual, my vision was already more or less accustomed to the darkness and I looked at my hands....
"Damn it, why are they childish?" - I didn't have time to think, as there was a rustle from behind, which was made by something.
- W-where am I?" And W-who's here? - Because of the moving figures in the dark, I was scared, and it wasn't even the movement, but the size, it was something huge.
- Hi child, my name is Sylvia.