A Glimmer of Hope

Without realising it, the prince broke out of the forest first getting enveloped by the light they had been running towards.

When Arthur finally saw what was waiting for them outside the forest, his heart sank. It was nothing like what he had in mind.

Perhaps because they were in a place that he still thought wasn't entirely real, he'd expected the light to be some sort of doorway to waking up in reality.

But it wasn't.

Instead, the forest broke hundred of metres before a towering domineering wall of an unassailable barren mountain with no peak in sight and no other way to escape.

Trapped in this same place were several other monsters and a scattering of First Year students.

The ground was still shaking and the wind still howled from the great forest he'd emerged from… and yet, there was nowhere left to run.

The prince whipped around and faced the forest, his heart beating a frightening rhythm. Neither Darius nor Leo had broken through the forest yet.

"NOW! Donnie," Arthur heard a command from one side of the clearing and gave a short glance to witness and group of six First years bringing down a lone demon bear, whether it was the same one Arthur had seen on his way here or not, he could not tell.

Donnie brought his large mace down on the creature's skull and bashed it with all the force he could muster… which was far more than Arthur had expected from a human.

But then again, Donnie's weapon could have been enchanted to get ridiculously heavier when he activated its abilities or something in a similar manner.

Whichever way the human accomplished this task, the demon bear caved under the crushing force dealt by the enchanted hammer, a crack running along its skull before it burst into a swirl of ash and runes.

There were a few goblins and other low-level creatures that were being decimated by the remaining First Years either through lone duels or coordinated attacks.

Arthur didn't have much time to analyse his surroundings. Taking his eyes off a talented female archer who was single-handedly vanquishing a gathering of goblins with pinpoint accuracy to the eyes, Arthur searched the meagre clearing and found a spot that was somewhat empty.

Here, he let Momo down gently near the indomitable rising wall that served as a cage holding them in the same place as the Behemoth. What was worse was the curve the wall made on both sides.

They were caved in with only one way out which rumbled with the sound of thundering footsteps. "Are you okay?" Arthur asked the girl.

Momo tested her foot once more and winced, though not as much as she had earlier that morning. How long had they been running? He could only wonder.

"Still can't walk… but I'm fine."

Arthur partly heard what she said. His mind battled the emotions connected to his two male friends. He'd only just met Leo but could tell that the boy was a very reliable, loyal and skilled swordsman.

Darius… his year-old best friend.

The most frustrating part was that Arthur couldn't remember when it was that he'd lost sight of them. He'd simply kept running…

"I'm going back for…"

"No, Arthur. You've already done enough," Momo cut him off.

"What's that supposed to mean? Our friends are still out there," Arthur replied.

"So is the behemoth. Think about it, Arthur. It's coming here. That means if you go out there, you'll just get decimated along with them and that won't help anyone.

Even if you somehow managed to rescue them, you'd end up using up all your energy for when the Behemoth did get here. You need to rest now," Momo argued, keeping eye contact with the prince.

Arthur whipped his attention back to the forest. The frustrating bit was that Momo's words made so much sense. Going back into the forest was suicide at this point.

They had all the proof while running. Every creature they ran by never reappeared. If it was a tired panther, that was trying to rest, it was never seen again regardless of its superior speed.

'Come on, Dar. This is not the end for you… Not yet,' Arthur ground his teeth impatiently before he started pacing to distract himself.

Just when Arthur was about to accept the matter, Darius and Leo broke through the cover of the trees, albeit in dishevelled states.

Leo looked like he could pass out at any point while Darius… well, Darius collapsed on the ground panting the moment he was beside Momo.

The prince rushed up to them and got his spear from Darius and watched his dishevelled gang of friends try to catch their breath.

"You made it!"

"Did you doubt us…?" Leo panted, "And… what the hell do you eat?"

Arthur chuckled, "You just need a bit more training… well, a lot more training but you'll handle that later. We need to come up with some sort of plan."

"What?!? Are you crazy or something? That's a behemoth," Leo shrieked.

"I know what it is… but we're not exactly going to let it devour us without a fight now, are we?" Arthur replied, "Did I not hear you say you're a Vanguard?"

Leo stared shocked at the white-haired boy's outrageous statement.

Arthur was not done, "Do you want to die, Leo?"

"No! What kind of question is that?" Leo argued, starting to sound pissed off.

"Then what other option is there but to fight? Running clearly hasn't worked," Arthur replied.

"I know, but…"

"But what, Leo? Outside the Wall, anything is possible. There is no guarantee that you will only find lower-level monsters when you're out there even when the experts have said so.

High-level monsters can attack at any time for whatever reasons they feel like. And when that time ever comes, will you look down at your feet and abandon your role as the Vanguard?"

Leo wouldn't look Arthur in the eye but the prince knew he'd made his point.

The swordsman was both defeated and awed by the prince's tenacity. Everything about his words was plain insanity.

They were first years… No, scratch that. They were not even officially students taking the Hunter course yet. What business do they have facing off against behemoths and high-level monsters? This was complete and utter madness.

And yet there was this look in Arthur's eye that Leo couldn't shake. When everything was impossible and there was absolutely no hope for them.

This white-haired boy covered in dirt and grim, dressed in a tattered shirt that was filthy with dried blood from wounds across his chest, actually shone with a glimmer of hope in his eye.

"A good Vanguard protects the scout when they've returned from their missions. Protects the healers and non-combatants. I'm sure when you said that, you were telling Momo that you would protect her too," Arthur added, long after he'd convinced the boy to join him in this fight.

"Yeah, she never seemed to notice though," Leo gave a sheepish chuckle.

"I did," the small girl replied with a giggle, "Leo loves to play the hero. I think it suits him."

Leo's cheeks flushed red.

"Momo will have to back us up with her arrows. Leo and I will be a part of the Vanguard… and Darius, you're back up," Arthur replied.

"I don't follow. Don't you think I can handle myself in a fight? I've been practising, you know? I can…"

"Hold on…" Arthur held his hand up for his friend to keep quiet. The trembling sound of Behemoth was reducing, slowing down to a stop. Arthur didn't like it.

"It's not chasing anymore."

"Shouldn't we have seen it already?" Momo asked, worry laced in her voice.

"That's what I thought as well. It was so close to catching up to us. At least that is what I heard," he thought to himself. Arthur turned his attention to Darius, his friend.

"Don't ignore me. Why am I being assigned 'back up'?" Darius snapped at the prince.

Why had Arthur felt like keeping Darius out of this fight? The answer to this question proved harder than he would have liked.

"Every day… did you do practice with the lance every day?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, I did. I never missed a day and I've been getting better. It's becoming much more like a part of me now," the dark-haired boy replied.

'What more do I need? I can see the fire in his eyes. He wants to help. Could learning how to use a lance be that easy for humans though?'

Arthur had been alive for decades, practising to use the lance… Was that what kept him from believing in Darius's skill… or was it something much simpler?

"I think I know what's going on," Leo intervened, "You're okay with me facing the enemy but not 'Lanky' over here."

"Leo, you know that's not…"

"No no, Darius. Leo is right," Arthur sighed

"What?" Darius turned to his friend. He didn't know whether to feel honoured that Arthur cared for him or to be angered by how easily he admitted to throwing Leo under the bus…

"I've watched Leo swing his sword. And he's the one that finished off the demon bear that almost killed me. I don't know how much you've improved, Dar. So when I have to make the choice on who gets to fight the behemoth or not, I can't help but worry."

"So you just want me to prove myself, is that it?" Darius argued.

"No, that won't be necessary. I doubt you could have made it this far without fighting a single monster. Let me think," Arthur closed his eyes and leaned against the mountain wall.

"Leo, do you know what team fighting is?" Arthur asked.

A wicked smile graced the young man's face, "Who doesn't know what that is? When done well enough, it exponentially increases the attack power of a single squad," Leo replied excitedly.

"Then that's what we shall do? The three of us together… That way, I can fight and protect at the same time. It goes without saying that you'll all be doing the same," Arthur replied.

This plan had various kinks Arthur intentionally left out for their own good.

'Perhaps we'll get a chance to better understand that fighting style once we start at Barthlorn,' the prince sighed.

Darius stared back at the forest, wondering what the beast was waiting for to attack.

Surrounding them in the small clearing were piles of ash belonging to the beasts that had run away from the Behemoth only to fall to the blades of the first years.

The First Years that were still alive were all battered and beaten.

Surprisingly, some wore armour that was in bad shape by now while others had their clothes in tatters. A handful of them was still dressed smartly with barely a scratch on them.

"If it isn't White," a snarky voice called out to Arthur, "I'm surprised you're still alive. Did the goblins take pity on you? I know the Behemoth couldn't catch those cowardly legs of yours, so I won't praise you for that…"

Arthur rolled his eyes, 'Why now of all places?'

Turning, he came face to face with the one human that seemed most interested in him since coming to Barthlorn… and not in a good way.