brother's retry (the beginning after the end)

widows crypt I

Waking up before everyone, as normal I got up and walked to Arthurs room to see if he was up. Cracking open the door I noticed Ellie was laying with him. I nodded knowing she was closer to him, it was better that way after all. I quickly but quietly moved to the bathroom.

After washing up, I made sure I had a few things I knew I would need. Ryan's dimension ring.... Dammit I meant my dimension ring, my mana gloves,

Walking downstairs, my nose picked up on the soft scent of a meaty soup. When I reached the kitchen, I spotted my parents and little sister sitting around the table, drowsiness still evident on their faces from being up early at dawn.

I walked down stairs and saw my father and mother speaking to a cook. "Hey, um, mom, dad." I said to grab their attention so I could tell them about breaking through. Once they turned they both gave tired smiles and greeted me back.

"goodmorning, ash." my father said as he yawned and walked to the table.

My mother walked up and gave me a hug "good morning, did you wake your brother yet?" she asked as she led me to the table as I sat across from them

"No, I just let them sleep a bit more. Oh, good morning as well. I just wanted you two to know I broke into the light yellow stage so I could hopefully ease you both a bit." I said as I glanced to my father.

His eyes widened and looked at me closer. "You, heh, that's amazing, son. I still don't want you getting over confident alright?" he smiled and shook his head.

My mother then glanced behind me and gave another tired smile "good to see you two up as well. Hope you don't mind. The chef is cooking breakfast for you two. We're probably going to go back to sleep after we see you off." My mother gave us a tired smile.

Art pulled up a chair and took a seat next to Ellie. "Not at all. In fact, you really didn't have to wake up and see us off."

"Be vigilant, no matter how easy you think the dungeon may be. It's called a dungeon because you never know of the dangers inside," my father warned us, his bedhead ablaze.

Looking at my mother, the strain on her face was hard not to notice as she struggled for the right words. "...Just, please be careful, Arthur. I know how strong you both are but I can't stand it every time I see one of you hurt, it's just that..." Her voice faded at the end.

"Hmm?" My mind flashed back to what my father had said in the hospital room back at Xyrus Academy; the event that made her unable to heal anyone seriously injured.

"It-It's nothing. Just be safe.... and keep your eyes on that girl, Tessia, as well. You have to protect her if things get tough, okay?" Giving Arthur a gentle smile that didn't seem to reach her eyes, she reached forward and patted our heads.

The house chef brought in our food at this time, which consisted of dry bread and a creamy soup that I assumed was used to dip my bread in. After Sylvie had a nibble on the bread, she whined and just curled up again. Jen declined out right saying she'd hunt in the beast glades, that way she could make sure nothing came into the dungeon with us. By the time Art and I had finished, the sun was starting to peek out from the mountains.

"Are you going to be coming home right after your dungeon excursion?" my father asked after giving me a hug.

"No, not right after. we'll be back for a whole week next week though, for break. There's some kind of special festival going on in the city, right?" Art answered as our father hugged him.

My professors had all announced it a few weeks in advance that once every ten years, there was a phenomenon that occurred. Supposedly, during that entire week, the mana density in this continent reached its peak, giving mages the resources to make breakthroughs and even allowing non-mages to experience what it's like to feel mana. For that week, classes were cancelled and students were allowed to either stay on campus or go back home to meditate and train as much as possible.