Leon continued trying to force the pill into Noah’s stomach. But slowly, his eyelids grew heavy. His fingers turned stiff. His movements were becoming slower by the second. His thoughts were distorting.

Finally...

He collapsed beside Noah.

The boy and the girl stood motionless in the distance. They were watching Leon’s every move until now. They were skeptical about the two strangers lying before them. But after some time had passed, the girl finally spoke.

"We should help them. Maybe they aren’t Harold’s men. Let’s go."

The boy nodded and quietly followed behind her. They walked toward Noah and Leon at an unhurried pace.

"Let’s take them to the cave."

The boy suggested. The girl gave a silent nod in response. They carried Leon and Noah and started walking toward a particular direction.

They finally arrived in front of a cave after one hour. The two placed Noah and Leon down on the cold ground carefully.

"This one only passed out from the cold."

The girl said after checking Leon briefly. She looked at Noah then.

"But this one..."

Her expression turned serious as she examined his injuries.

"He’s badly wounded. Without treatment, he might die within the next two or three hours... perhaps even sooner."

"What?! Then what are we supposed to do? Our magic doesn’t work here... otherwise you could’ve just used healing magic to save him!"

The girl didn’t answer immediately. Instead... She continued to examining Noah’s body in silence.

Suddenly....

She remembered something and looked at Noah’s head.

"He was trying to feed him something before collapsing... Maybe it’s some kind of first-aid medicine."

She turned toward the boy.

"Sol, bring the water pot and the backpack where we stored the materials."

"On it."

The boy immediately went deeper into the cave. He returned with a clay pot filled with water and a worn leather backpack within minutes.

The girl brought out the pill from Noah’s mouth. She was surprised to see the pill. Strangely, it hadn’t dissolved yet.

"I hope this works."

She carefully crushed it between two stones. The pill turned into powder. She mixed the powder into water and stirred it properly.

"Now what? He is still unconscious and can’t drink it."

Sol asked worriedly.

The girl remained calm. She searched through the materials they gathered. She soon found a hollow tube like thing that seemed to be made from beast bone, and a needle-like thorn from a plant.

"We’ll force it directly into his bloodstream."

She said quietly. Sol’s eyes widened.

"You can do that?"

"I’ve seen it once."

The girl replied.

"It’s a basic skill taught in the military training camp."

She then took a thin cloth and tied it around Noah’s arm. His veins beneath the pale skin became visible.

Then...

Psshk!

She pushed the sharp thorn into his vein.

Sol instinctively flinched. The girl’s hands remained steady. She fixed the hollow tube carefully before lifting the pot higher. She tied the pot with a rope in a extended portion of the cave wall.

Drop...

Drop...

The liquid medicine began to flow. Soon it was mixed in Noah’s bloodstream.

The cave fell silent afterward. Only the faint sound of dripping liquid echoed softly in the darkness. The girl wiped the sweat from her forehead and stared at Noah quietly. "Now..." she whispered softly, "whether he lives or dies depends on what kind of medicine that was."

The medicine, now diluted within the water, slowly flowed into Noah’s bloodstream through the hollow tube. The effects weren’t immediate. But little by little, Noah’s complexion began improving at a visible rate.

The girl’s eyes widened slightly in shock.

So did the boy’s.

"That pill..." he muttered. "It must’ve cost a fortune. Yet he was willing to use it for his comrade." His gaze drifted toward Leon’s unconscious figure. "I really don’t think they’re with Harold anymore."

The girl remained silent for a while before finally giving a small nod.

After that, the cave fell quiet. The two of them lit a fire near the entrance and began roasting chunks of meat over the flames. Judging from its size and smell, it was most likely meat harvested from one of the beasts roaming inside the dungeon. Thanks to the fire, the freezing cold became slightly more bearable.

Even Leon’s pale complexion was gradually improving.

Two hours passed slowly — each minute stretching like an eternity.

Then...

Leon’s eyes suddenly snapped open. The first thing he saw was the familiar translucent panel floating before him.

[The Host is being exposed to extreme cold.]

[Cold Resistance has increased slightly.]

[Cold Resistance: 5.89%]

Leon immediately pushed himself upright into a sitting position, breathing heavily as he looked around in confusion.

’A cave?’ He didn’t remember entering one.

Then his eyes quickly landed on Noah lying in the distance. Nearby, a fire crackled softly, casting flickering orange light across the rocky walls. Two unfamiliar figures — a boy and a girl sat beside the flames.

At the same time, the rich smell of roasted meat drifted through the air and entered Leon’s nostrils.

Grrr!

His stomach growled loudly. The sound itself was faint, but in the silent cave, it was more than enough for the boy and girl to notice that Leon had finally woken up.

Leon slowly stood up, his body still stiff from the cold.

"Who are you two? And where am I?" he asked cautiously while scanning the cave.

"Does it matter who we are?" the girl replied calmly. "You should be more worried about your friend instead."

Her gaze shifted toward Noah. Leon immediately followed her line of sight and hurried toward him. The moment he got closer, he noticed Noah’s condition had clearly improved. Then his eyes landed on the strange setup beside him — a cloudy liquid slowly flowing through a hollow tube into Noah’s vein.

"What’s that?" Leon asked instinctively.

"The medicine you were trying to feed him."

Leon froze for a moment before looking back at the girl. "You guys... saved him?"

The girl glanced at him briefly. "What does it look like?" she answered in the same plain tone as before.

Leon instantly felt awkward. He realized he had behaved very rudely just now. Clearly those two had saved him and Noah. And if the two truly had ulterior motives, they could have already done whatever they wanted while he was unconscious.

"I... I’m sorry for my rude behavior," Leon said this time with genuine sincerity. "And thank you. Really... thank you for saving him."

The girl merely gave a small nod, her expression remaining as indifferent as ever.

"What’s your name?" the boy suddenly asked. "And how did you end up here? Were there others with you before you got separated?"