"You held your own well, for newbies," Friona commented as Leander was healing the scratches on Morris's throat. The flesh was knitting slowly. But the blood had stopped, for which Leander was grateful.

"Leander took down the mamma rat," Morris said, his speech coming easier.

"If it wasn't for Morris and Dorian, the rat would have eaten me in one gulp," Leander stated. His nerves were a wreck. He knew that he needed to check up on Dorian next. But there was a slight problem.

The normal dose per day of any potion was just three dosses. And he had drank all of them. If he took even a sip of either Morris's or Dorian's mana potions, he was going to faint and wake up God knew when.

"Well, it was impressive that the three of you managed to last as long as you did, before you got cornered," Friona continued. This mission finally got paid for in full, and its rank had gone up to A because of the big rat.

So, imagine her surprise when she had come to see a D rank party, with two F ranks, fighting for their lives with the big boss mob already a bloody mess.

"Say, you all look too banged up for your healer to handle. No offense, you seem competent and all, but ready to drop at any minute," Leander shrugged. He had heard worse. "So, I was thinking that Greg and I can guard you until the wagon comes. I already sent the distress call. The wagon should be here in three hours. With how close we are to Huergaz."

"Thank you. We appreciate it," Dorian was sitting and waiting for his turn to be treated. He felt kind of bad, knowing that Leander would look after him before he did so about himself. But such was the healer code.

"So, kiddos, details. How did you manage to bring down the big rat?" The three turned to look at Friona with raised eyebrows.

"Kiddos?" Croaked Morris, insulted.

"Don't try to speak," chastised Leander, his own voice growing weak.

"Well, you are all teenagers, right? I mean, your faces look all child-like," Friona chuckled when three glares were her answer.

"Don't tease," came from Greg. The dwarf was fletching arrows before their eyes. Seeming not to pay them much attention.

"Sorry, it is just that, I have a baby brother your age. And he always gets riled up when I call him a child," Greg snickered at that, and Friona heard three huffs. Honestly, these three were like a herd of bunnies in her eyes. Bunnies that could take down a boss mob, but adorable creatures in need of protecting, all the same.

"Ok, this is as far as I can go with my current knowledge. Let me just bandage you up, and I'll look at Dorian," Leander pulled out bandages and began wrapping Morris's throat with them. The wound couldn't be allowed to be infected and, while Leander had closed it, he hadn't managed to make the skin regrow.

Morris looked like he wanted to say something, but he kept his silence. Dorian stood and went to Leander to save him the trip on his broken leg.

"Save your mana. A bit of cleaning will be fine," Leander frowned up at him, but pulled out the medical alcohol and the cotton all the same.

"I'll finish with mana. And I better not hear you argue," Dorian sighed and sat down. After Leander was done with him, Leander slumped on the ground and closed his eyes.

"Is the wagon close?" Dorian looked from Leander, whose face was red, and Morris, who had a hand on his bandaged throat.

"Should be. Hey, are you the guys who stumbled on the new slime dungeon?" Friona asked.

"It is a hamster dungeon," Leander corrected. The small core had been the most original one in the world. True, it was now under contract, but it had done something different, for once.

"Hamster? Really? So, a healer could have really taken the core," Greg murmured and then shook his head. He raised his head to look at Leander and nodded in approval. "You don't think that that dungeon was beneath you, do you?"

"All dungeons are dangerous," Leander answered, gritting his teeth through the pain. "And that one had the potential to be great."

"How so?" The dwarf tilted his head to the side, examining Leander's beaten up body. Yes, some healers were fat. But they worked in clinics, not in the field. For this healer to want to party with two warriors meant that he had the adventurer's spirit.

"Well, it managed to breed a hamster. I checked after I returned it. Pumpkin was male. So, the dungeon core must have used an artificial womb for the hamsters. Not to mention, it forced them to grow up. But, instead of making them all big, it focused on the original hamster. Knowing full well that it would take more than one hit and, therefore, it was a good investment," Leander finished with a groan and his hand went to his broken leg.

It was throbbing with pain, and he had no mana left for it.  He tried not to think about what would happen during the wagon ride. Of how every bump in the road, and there were many on the dirt road leading to the farm, was going to be pure torture.

"Sounds like an underdog," Greg agreed. "I bet it would run away and return to the sewers of Huergaz soon."

Leander nodded. They were using the core to create more mobs. Bigger than hamsters, stronger too. And, even if they then got the animals to a butcher and away from the core, they were going to forget to harvest the small pearl one day. And, then, it will go home.

"Don't be like that, Greg! Believe in our dungeon containment facilities!" Friona chided and Greg smirked at her.

"Remember the Bloody Wells core? It ran after a day-long stay," Friona rubbed the back of her head.

"You have a point there," she admitted, and they heard the noise of wheels from outside. The wagon had come.