Ashan saw Finn coming out of the dungeon carrying a backpack and rushed to help him since he barely could continue walking.
"Are you okay, man?" He asked and when he caught sight of the deep wound by Finn's side, he gasped. "Damn it! We need to head back immediately!"
But just as they were about to leave, many people surrounded them, they were the other players in the dungeon.
"What do you guys want?" Ashan asked them, noticing the murderous intent they were all emitting.
"Tell the boy to hand over all the treasures he stole from the dungeon or we will use force to do that for him!" One man with a long beard said.
"You got to be kidding me," Finn mumbled, looking at them in disdain. "There is no way in hell I'll let you touch my hard-earned treasure."
The bearded man sneered at Finn, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "You think you can defeat all of us?" he said, his voice dripping with contempt. "We have been inside the dungeon for days, some of us, weeks and we couldn't get anything. We can't just let a kid from nowhere get everything while we return empty-handed."
Ashan stepped forward, his eyes flashing with anger. "Back off, guys," he said. "Finn's not looking for trouble. He's been in there like the rest of you. That you weren't able to get anything is because of your incompetence and nothing more!"
The bearded man snorted. "Lack of imcompetence?" he repeated. "He's not going to be alive any more longer if he doesn't hand over that treasure."
Finn's eyes narrowed, his hand on the hilt of his own sword. "I'm not afraid of you," he said, his voice steady. "I've faced worse dangers in that dungeon than a bunch of thugs like you."
The bearded man's face turned red with rage, and he drew his sword. "You're going to regret saying that," he snarled.
The other players closed in, their swords drawn. Ashan stood his ground, his eyes fixed on Finn. "Get ready to defend yourself," he whispered.
"No, we aren't going to fight," Finn whispered back and Ashan turned to him in surprise and bafflement.
"What do you mean? Are you going to let them kill you?" He asked.
"Far from it," Finn smirked. "Leo, time for us to go home!" He said and Leo materialized next to him.
"It's a spirit wolf!" A man exclaimed from the crowd.
Even Ashan was surprised to see a beast close to Finn. He never knew Finn had a beast.
Leo's eyes gleamed with intelligence as he regarded the group of hostile players.
Without hesitation, Leo reached out with his mind and enveloped Finn and Ashan in a warm, comforting energy. The world around them began to blur and distort, and Finn felt himself being lifted out of his body.
The last thing he saw was the bearded man's angry face, his mouth open in a snarl of rage. And then, everything went white.
When Finn's vision cleared, he found himself standing in the middle of his own living room. Ashan was beside him, looking a bit dazed but otherwise unharmed.
Leo, still in his spirit wolf form, stood guard beside them, his eyes watchful and alert.
Finn let out a deep breath, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. "Thanks, Leo," he said, scratching the wolf behind the ears. "You are a good boy."
Ashan shook his head, still looking a bit stunned. "Dude, how did you do that?" he asked. "I've never seen anyone that was able to tame a spirit creature, not to talk of wolves."
Finn grinned, feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment well up inside him. "It's a long story," he said. "But let's just say that Leo and I have a special bond."
Ashan nodded, still looking impressed. "Well, whatever it is, it's definitely cool," he said.
Finn chuckled, feeling a sense of camaraderie with his friend. "Yeah, it's pretty handy to have a teleporting wolf on your side," he said and suddenly felt a warm sensation on his injured spot.
He looked and saw Leo's gaze on the place he had been injured. The good beast was healing his master.
"He also has a healing ability?" Ashan, surprised, asked.
"Even I forgot about that completely," Finn replied, scratching his head. "Thanks Leo."
After Leo was done healing his master, he returned to his domain and just then, Lily rushed in, together with Tim and Finn's salamander Lui who was on Tim's shoulder.
Seeing Tim with them, he was alarmed and rushed over to help him but the latter slapped away his hand which shocked him.
"What did I do?" He asked Tim. "Why did you slap my hands away?"
Tim didn't reply and walked past him. He sat down on the couch in the room and then began to look elsewhere, now willing to answer the questions.
"He woke up yesterday looking all over the place for you so I told him you went out in search of jobs. Since then, he has been like this," Lily complained. "He refused to take his medications and hasn't eaten properly."
"Now that is so foolish of you, Tim!" Finn said and walked over to his side. "I went out to make some money for you and everyone else here, shouldn't you be good and make me worry less? Look, she's been working tirelessly to save your life, you should be grateful to her and listen to her. Stop making things difficult for us, please."
Tim frowned. Finn was right after all, he had been acting stupid for no good reason. "Sorry," he muttered to both Finn and Lily who glanced at each other before sighing.
"You know what, I brought something for you," Finn said to lighten up Tim's mood.
"What's that?" Tim asked. As expected, his mood was brightened up immediately.
Finn heaved a sigh and dropped his backpack on the ground. He began to ransack it and after a while, he brought out a gold necklace with a diamond-stone pendant. "It's for you, Tim."
"Really?" Tim asked as he collected the beautiful necklace from Finn. "It's pretty. Can I sell it for more money?"
Finn shot him a glare and wanted to snatch the necklace from him but Tim was quick to hide it. "You better don't even dare to sell it!"
"But what if I'm in dire need of money someday?" Tim asked, a fake frown appearing on his face.
"Then just sell your manhood!" Finn replied and Lily's face turned red instantly.
"Can you stop talking nonsense? My sister is here, you know," Ashan said and the three boys glanced at Lily who was still blushing and then looked away, they trying to suppress their laughter.
Suddenly, after some time, Tim became emotional again.
"Thank you so much, guys for everything you have done for me," he said, staring at them one after the other. His eyes fell on Finn and he said. "You've made me realize what true friendship is and also made me feel loved again, I don't know how to repay you."
"Hey, you don't have to repay me," Finn replied with a slight frown on his face. "The only thing you will do for me... Not just me, but us is getting well. You need to get well soon so that we can go out there and shake the world!"
Tim forced out a smile. "Yeah, you are right. Absolutely right," he said. "We will become the strongest beast tamers Helios would never have imagined to have."