True God In Another World (Tensura x Tbate)

Chapter 81 - Fall and Discovery

Arthur Leywin POV

Darkness pressed in from all sides, heavy and thick, with only a dull thrum pulsing in my ears. My body felt like it was floating, caught somewhere between being awake and passed out. The unsettling flip-flop in my stomach suggested this wasn't just another post-training nap. When I tried opening my eyes, the world decided to do some interesting spinning tricks, so I quickly shut them again.

Second attempt at consciousness went marginally better. Dim light filtered through the gloom, and the cave around me smelled like wet earth mixed with blood. Not exactly the scents you want to wake up to. Panic kicked in as I tried sitting up, but my body immediately vetoed that decision with a lovely burst of pain.

"Easy there, little troublemaker!" A familiar cheerful voice cut through my mental fog.

I turned my head slowly - because apparently, that was the only speed available right now - and found big sis Alea sitting beside me. Those light blue eyes of hers held that specific mix of worry and relief I'd seen countless times growing up. The same look she'd given me when I'd fallen into the creek trying to catch fish with bare hands at age five, or when she'd found me practicing sword forms way past bedtime.

"What happened?" My voice sounded like I'd been eating gravel.

"I should be asking you that," she said, leaning closer to check me over. Her movements were careful, practiced - the same way she'd always handled my childhood injuries. "I saw you fall from above. That was quite the entrance, even for you."

"Oh. I see." I made another valiant attempt at sitting up.

"Don't 'oh I see' me!" The sharp flick to my forehead was so nostalgic it almost made me laugh. Almost. "Do you have any idea how worried I was when I saw you dropping from the ceiling? It was like watching that time you tried to jump off the training tower all over again!"

Despite feeling like I'd been used as Grandpa Virion's personal punching bag, I couldn't help but smile. nine years since she'd first started looking after me, and she still treated me like that same four-year-old kid who used to follow her around during training.

"Sorry, big sis. Wasn't exactly planning on taking the express route down here."

She tried maintaining her stern expression - the same one she'd used when catching me sneaking extra desserts - but I caught the slight smile she couldn't quite hide. "Well, you're lucky I was around to catch you. Though I have to say, your landing technique needs serious work. What happened to all those falling drills we practiced?"

My aching muscles had some choice words about those drills right now. Every part of me felt like it had gone ten rounds with an angry bear. "How long was I out?"

"Not too long. Maybe fifteen minutes?" Her armor clinked as she shifted position, probably trying to hide how closely she was watching me. "Want to explain why you were falling through the ceiling of an A-class dungeon? And don't even think about giving me one of your 'it's complicated' answers."

I tried organizing the mess of recent events into something that wouldn't make her flick my forehead again. "Training exercise gone wrong. Very wrong. We had two snarler queens show up instead of one, then one ate the other and... well, you saw how that turned out."

"Two queens?" Her eyebrows shot up toward her hairline, just like when I'd first shown her I could use wind magic. "That's not normal.... something's definitely off here."

"Tell me about it." I managed to prop myself up on my elbows, taking in our surroundings properly for the first time. "Where exactly are we?"

"This is the Hell's Jaws Dungeon, an A-Class Dungeon." She helped me to my feet with that gentle firmness she'd perfected over years of dealing with my stubbornness. Her hand stayed steady on my shoulder, ready to catch me if I wobbled. "The council sent me to investigate some anomalies, and I found this passage that connects to where we are now."