Chapter 650 The Grand Healer

"Whoa!" Manny stumbled out of the warp gate with the noises of the forest surrounding him. He took a moment to catch his breath, looking around. A large blue and white Dark Matter energy gate was to his left. "It's… so big." Fire Foxes moved out of the warp gate, lining up as Manny studied the gate. There were plenty of media surrounding dungeon gates. From the outside, it could alter its look depending on the rank level, but on the inside, it was a whole 'nother thing.

"Whoa, that was quick." Liz spun around, stepping away from the blue and white warp gate. "So, this is what it feels like to warp around in the dungeon. It's kinda – Is that the dungeon entrance?"

"Yup." Manny responded. Ritsuka came out next followed by Olivia and lastly, Keng. They all gasped at the sight of the Dark Matter energy existing as a gateway from the dungeon to their world.

"Have you tried to go out yet?" Keng asked.

"I do that, the dungeon timer starts." Manny replied. "You have seventy-two hours to collect whatever is in this place. If you don't collect the valuables in these dungeons, you'll be losing profit."

"So do we contact someone?" Keng asked.

"My… Tracker triggers a response… for Gathers to come…" Lisa weakly answered between coughs.

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"That takes that." Olivia nodded.

"Let's do our job then." Manny addressed the group. "Let's get Lisa and the others to the Academy quick!"

Team Zephyr moved into the Dark Matter Dungeon Gate. It felt like they were walking through some sort of liquid-goo amalgamation. The Midwest Winter wind was the first to greet them as they all stepped out. The Fire Foxes passed through, morphing and growing through the gate as they stepped out. Olivia turned to look at the Foxes and noticed the size difference.

"Were they that big?" Olivia pointed. Keng turned to look and noticed they had indeed gotten bigger.

"No, they were big enough to hold a human." Keng answered. The Foxes were large enough to hold two humans inside of them. They reminded Keng of the large Direwolves he fought. Before he could do anything more, a loud chirping noise came from the tracker bangle Lisa had given Liz.

"Dungeon Collapse Timer activated! Response system triggered! Marking map! Please make your way to the nearest telepad." The bangle spoke. A map appeared in between Liz and Manny. It was a very detailed map of the Sector they were in, along with strange moving dots.

"This tracks the Elves, too?" Liz asked. Manny tapped the map, blowing it up even more.

"Let's find the nearest telepad, yeah? We're going on time here." Manny began to scroll, coordinating with his map on his issued Academy watch while Lisa lifted herself up. She could sit up, head half sticking out of the Fox as the cold winter air brushed against her warm skin.

"There's a healer in this town… Take us to them." Lisa instructed. "They'll be able to stave off as much of the poison until we get back."

"Where are they?" Manny asked.

"Give me the… tracker." Lisa coughed. Liz turned and handed Lisa it. She clipped the bangle on, and the map immediately moved without her doing anything.

"Adventure grade gear is cool." Ritsuka gushed. "I wish we could have this stuff as Academy students."

"In time you'll get it." Lisa reassured them. She covered her coughs as the map stopped, marking a spot North of their location. "Link with me, student." She looked at Manny, whom she assumed to be the leader of the group.

Manny extended his arm, allowing her to touch her bangle to his watch. In a matter of milli-seconds, Manny and the rest of the group got a ping. Keng pulled the map up and a dotted line grew on the map. With the dotted line, came an updated map. The land, the town, and even the people appeared on the map.

"Wow. How do you even get the people on the map?" Keng asked.

"Prior knowledge you can pull off the Guild's database." Lisa told them. The group turned to their leader who was just as surprised. Lisa held her coughs as she covered her mouth. "For now… Get to the healer…"

The group followed the path and ended up in a spot Keng and Manny both knew. The road went on ahead, suddenly stopping and turning to snow. They stopped in front of the house with a large hole in it. Elves were quickly making work of it as Lisa lifted herself up.

"It's not this house, but the one next to it." Lisa coughed. She pointed to the next house and a strange weight lifted off of Manny and Keng's chests.

"Thank god." Manny whispered. He led the group over, catching glimpses of Elves looking at them. Manny strolled straight up to the door and rang the doorbell.

"Are those the humans that attacked us?" An Ice Elf whispered. "What're they doing at the Healer's home?"

"What are those fiery beasts? Who could conjure such a strong beast?" Another Elf asked. They continued to whisper these things until the door opened. A young girl stood at the door's threshold.

"Hello? Who are you?" The little Elf asked.

"Rosie." Lisa waved at her. Rosie's eyes lit up, understanding what was happening and turned to look behind her. "Where's your grandma?"

"Grandmother!" Rosie shouted. "That human girl is back! She's with some young-looking humans!" She turned, leaving the door wide open as she ran into the home.

"Miss Lisa is here with some guests?" A female voice asked.

"Yes, Grandmother. Look!" Rosie pointed at the group as she walked hand in hand with a tall Elven woman. She had platinum white hair that was in a bun. She didn't seem old like a grandmother, rather young like a woman in her thirties. She wore grandma-like glasses that were linked and tucked behind her ears and left to dangle around her neck.

"Ah, Miss Lisa!" Grandmother greeted her.

"Can you let me out, please?" Lisa asked Keng. Keng nodded. The Fire Fox lowered itself so Lisa could stand and pulled away. The Fire Fox trotted over to Keng, who petted it and watched it vanish. A Fox rune appeared on his hand as Grandmother watched amazed. "Grand Healer, I'm sorry to do this but…" Lisa coughed up blood. Manny turned to look; naturally worried Lisa would fall over.

He moved out of the way and stood next to her as Lisa looked at the Grand Healer.

"The humans I was looking for, along with some of their people and mines, were poisoned by the Acidic Ant Queen. I was wondering if you had any remedies to stall enough time for the students and I to make it back to human society." Lisa asked. The Grand Healer looked at the students and rested her eyes onto Keng.

"All's not as they seem, hm?" The Grand Healer asked.

"Ex-excuse me… Grand—" Lisa coughed more. Blood spilled onto the ground beneath her as Grand Healer sighed.

"Bring her inside, children. Let's get all of the poisoned humans in here. Please don't destroy or burn anything. There was enough ruckus with you guys already." The Grand Healer instructed. She turned and led Rosie further inside. Manny helped Liz in while the Foxes lined up and looked at Keng.

"Come." Keng waved his hand. The fiery energy flew into the rune, creating more images of Foxes within the rune as he held the floating bodies up. Keng motioned for the bodies to go in and followed them.

The house seemed very dated. Wallpaper and popcorn ceilings with odd items around the home. Even Ice Elves seemed to have some sort of affinity to the nature around them. Snow globes of actual snow falling with strange winter flora none of them had seen before filled the space ten feet into the home.

Keng followed Manny, noticing Rosie standing in the living room.

"The rest of you may stay in the living room with my granddaughter. The two human boys with the poisoned humans may follow me." The Grand Healer instructed. The Grand Healer led them down to the basement where the strange time capsule home suddenly switched to a large hospital-like basement. Medical equipment and flora of all kinds were neatly put away. There were plenty of reclining benches for patients.

"Put Miss Lisa in that one." The Grand Healer pointed. "As for you, you can set them from the next spot onwards." Keng and Manny followed directions, setting their persons in the reclining medical chairs. After all was done, Manny and Keng turned to see the Grand Healer wasn't checking the poisoned humans. She was already working to make something.

"You don't need to check them, Grand Healer?" Manny asked.

"I've been studying their conditions, even yours, since I came to see you at the front door." The Grand Healer explained. She didn't look up as she plucked an assortment of flora at her side.

"A natural remedy to stave off the poison?" Manny asked. The Grand Healer looked up and noticed Manny was watching what she was doing. He was one of the few humans she had come across that was genuinely interested in what she was doing.

"Yes. I take it you're familiar with such things?" The Grand Healer asked.

"Yes, ma'am." Manny nodded.

'He can be polite.' Keng thought.

"My father's a scientist and my sister is his assistant. My sister's into plants and natural remedies so I naturally learned." Manny told the Grand Healer. The Grand Healer nodded, intrigued that a human had a fascination for Mother Nature and her remedies.

"And what about you, Fox? Are you interested in such things?" The Grand Healer looked at him.