Arthur Leywin
The Queen Snarler let out a deafening roar as it crashed into the far wall, rubble and dust scattering everywhere. I tightened my grip on the hilt of Dawn’s Ballad, its teal-blue blade glowing faintly in the dim light of the dungeon. The beast writhed, regaining its footing as its malevolent red eyes locked onto me.
'Well, I certainly didn’t think a D-rank dungeon would escalate to this point', I mused, my eyes scanning the chaos around me. 'Even Professor Glory and the top students are struggling to handle this.'
I had known that I would encounter my old friends eventually, but I hadn’t expected it to be like this. I’d come to this dungeon on my own for another reason entirely—to investigate one of the marked locations on my map. 'I should have informed Cynthia about the location… no, I only met her yesterday, so the timing wouldn’t have matched.'
My gaze shifted to Tessia, just for a moment. It had been more than half a year since we last saw each other. Her eyes, wide with a mix of fear and relief, met mine. She was hurt, clearly exhausted, and her lips parted as if she wanted to speak, but I couldn’t afford to get distracted.
“Arthur, is that really you?” Professor Glory’s voice broke through the tension, shaky yet laced with hope.
“Yeah, it’s me, Professor.” I kept my eyes on the Queen Snarler, which was preparing to charge again. “But we don’t have time to chat. I’ve reopened the entrance. Get yourself and the students out of here.”
“What? I can’t just leave you behind!” she protested, incredulous.
I shook my head, my voice firm. “I’m not a student anymore, Professor Glory. I’m an adventurer—and an S-rank one at that.” I quickly pulled out my adventurer’s permit from my dimension ring and held it up for her to see. “I was supposed to be AA-rank back when I was known as Note, but when I reinstated, Guild Leader kaspian bumped me up. I’ve been operating solo since, so I requested the guild to keep any news of me hidden.”
“This is an order,” I said, channeling mana to enhance my voice with sound magic, my tone leaving no room for argument. “Take everyone and retreat. Now.”
The Queen Snarler bellowed, charging at me once more. I barely spared it a glance as I activated a combination of wind and gravity magic, launching another strike that sent the beast sprawling backward, buying us precious seconds.
“Curtis!” I called out, my eyes locking on the Lance. “Take Princess Tessia on your bond and head to the entrance.”
Curtis hesitated, his gaze flickering between me and the retreating students. “Arthur, I—”
“No time for arguments!” I cut him off, my voice sharp. “Get her out of here!”
Claire, who had been fending off several snarlers with precise thrusts of her rapier, glanced at me as well. “Arthur, I don’t want to leave you behind, but…” Her voice faltered, emotions swirling in her eyes. “With my strength, I’d only get in your way. We all have so much to say to you. Just… come back alive, okay?”
I nodded, feeling a brief pang of something I didn’t have time to process. “I’ll be fine. Just go!”
She nodded reluctantly, then turned, leading the remaining students towards the reopened entrance.
As Curtis lifted a wounded Tessia onto his bond and Claire guided the others through the narrow passage, I noticed Lucas among the students. Our eyes met briefly, his expression twisted with clear disdain and anger. 'So, he probably heard that I was the adventurer ‘Note.’ Memories of our past encounters flashed through my mind. 'Well, I’ll deal with him later.'
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Tbate: Resurgence
Fanfiction"Every decision I make could send out ripples that would topple continents or end timelines. I'd seen it over and over again through Fate" -Arthur Leywin What if one such decision to reveal a certain 'Truth' leads to a outcome beyond one imagined? ...
