The words "provisional S-Rank designation" echoed in the chamber, each syllable a hammer blow against Arjun's fragile psyche. His brain, already running on fumes and terror, simply shut down. The world turned into a blurry, buzzing mess.
S-Rank? The letter itself was a myth. S-Rankers were the titans of the world, individuals whose names were whispered in the same breath as kings and natural disasters. They were the ones who wrestled krakens, negotiated with dragons, and single-handedly ended wars. Arjun was someone who once got stuck in a turnstile for twenty minutes because he was too scared to ask for help.
His vision tunneled. The faces of Seraphina and Eirlys swam before him. Seraphina's expression was a complex storm of disbelief, burning ambition, and a grudging, infuriating respect. Eirlys looked at him with the pure, unadulterated awe a pilgrim might reserve for a divine relic.
"P-Proctor Sorran," Seraphina stammered, finding her voice first. "S-Rank... without a single documented mission? The Guild Council will—"
"The Guild Council will thank me," Sorran cut her off, his eyes still locked on Arjun with the intensity of a zealot. "Did you not see the crystal? Did you not feel the air in this place? We didn't just witness power; we witnessed an event. To classify him as anything less would be an insult to reality itself."
He gestured around the chamber at the slumbering high-level monsters. "These are Curse-Wraiths. A Shadow Ogre. Creatures that would require an entire A-Rank party and weeks of planning to subdue. He neutralized them as an afterthought while 'lost'. What would you call that, if not S-Rank?"
Arjun wanted to scream. It was an accident! A really, really big accident! The wall was rotted! I'm good at falling! But his tongue was a lead weight in his mouth.
He swayed on his feet, feeling lightheaded. He looked down at the evil-looking dagger, Soulfang, which suddenly felt ten times heavier. His grip loosened, and the dagger slipped from his sweaty fingers, clattering onto the stone floor.
CLANG!
The sound broke the spell. Eirlys rushed forward instinctively, her priestess's training taking over. "Sir Arjun, are you alright? The spiritual backlash from such a monumental feat must be taking its toll on your body!"
She reached out, her hands glowing with a soft, healing light, and gently took his arm to steady him. Her touch was cool and soothing.
Arjun flinched like he'd been electrocuted. A girl was touching him! A beautiful, glowing girl! He stumbled backward, pulling his arm away, his face turning a shade of crimson that would have made Seraphina's hair jealous.
"N-No, I'm fine! Please, don't worry about me!" he stammered, waving his hands defensively.
Eirlys froze, her hand hovering in the air. Her eyes widened, a profound understanding dawning on her face. He had refused her healing. He wasn't weak from the exertion; he was so powerful that mortal healing arts were an insult to his regenerative capabilities. Or perhaps… he was teaching her something. A lesson in humility.
He wishes for me to understand that he needs no aid, she thought, her heart fluttering. He is self-sufficient. A perfect, closed circle of power. So humble, yet so absolute.
Arjun, meanwhile, was mentally calculating how far he could run before they caught him. The exit was blocked by the proctor. Maybe he could squeeze past the sleeping ogre? It looked kind of squishy.
"We must leave this place," Sorran announced, his mind made up. "The energy signature from your... arrival... will have alerted every power, benevolent and malevolent, within a hundred-mile radius. We need to get you back to the Guild Hall. Securely."
Securely? Arjun's blood ran cold. That sounded suspiciously like a prison.
"I will take point," Seraphina declared, hefting her spear. She shot a challenging glare at Arjun. "Sir Arjun, as the highest-ranking member of this party, your orders?"
The question hit Arjun like a physical blow.
My… orders?
All three of them were looking at him. Sorran, the grizzled veteran. Seraphina, the prodigy knight. Eirlys, the holy priestess. They were all waiting. Expecting.
Panic, pure and unadulterated, surged through him. His mind was a blank slate of terror. He didn't have a plan. He didn't have a strategy. He just wanted to go home and hide under his bed for a week.
He opened his mouth, and the first thought that popped into his head tumbled out.
"Um..." he squeaked. "It's... it's very dark in here."
Silence.
Arjun felt his soul shriveling up. What did I just say?! That's the stupidest thing anyone has ever said in the history of things being said!
But then, something miraculous happened.
Sorran's eyes lit up with comprehension. "Of course! Genius! Utter genius!"
Arjun blinked. Huh?
Sorran turned to the two women, his voice filled with excitement. "Don't you see? It's not a complaint; it's a tactical observation! He's not talking about the ambient light. He's referring to the nature of this place. 'It's dark in here.' He's warning us that even though the primary curse is lifted, the inherent darkness of the Shadow Tyrant's magic remains. We are still vulnerable to ambushes from creatures of shadow!"
Seraphina's eyes widened. She scanned the corners of the room, her spear held at the ready. "He saw a threat we completely missed. His senses are on another level."
Eirlys nodded, her staff glowing brighter. "A simple phrase, yet it conveys a world of meaning. He is reminding us not to become complacent in the face of victory. A true leader."
They were all looking at him again, their faces alight with admiration. Arjun felt a dizzying sense of vertigo. He had stated the painfully obvious, and they had somehow twisted it into a stroke of tactical brilliance.
This was his chance. He had to keep them moving before they asked him another impossible question.
He pointed a trembling finger towards the hole he'd made in the wall. It was the only way out he knew.
"We... go... that way," he managed, his voice barely a whisper. "Now."
Sorran slapped his gauntlet against his breastplate in a crisp salute. "A decisive command! No hesitation!"
Seraphina nodded sharply. "We move!"
She took the lead, spear first, moving with renewed caution. Eirlys fell in beside Arjun, her glowing staff illuminating the path, her presence a protective ward. Sorran took up the rear, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, his eyes constantly scanning their backs.
They had formed a perfect tactical escort around him.
Arjun simply shuffled forward, caught in the middle of a misunderstanding that was rapidly spiraling into a legend. He glanced back at the slumbering monsters, the dark altar, and the forgotten dagger lying on the floor.
He was leaving it all behind. He was free.
Then, as he stepped back out into the dim light of the forest, Eirlys gently pressed something cool and metallic into his hand.
"You almost forgot this, Sir Arjun," she said, her voice soft as silk.
He looked down.
It was the dagger. Soulfang. She had picked it up for him.
Arjun's heart sank into his boots. He wasn't free. He wasn't escaping.
This was only the beginning.