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The young man shuffled up with a nervous look as Molly held the door open for him. The healer waved at him to hurry up. "Come on. Is it really that much harder to walk in her front door instead of crawling in through her window?"

Ernesto's face flushed as he picked up his pace to get in the front door. He looked around nervously for anything around a Kobold’s height. Then he jumped and turned around with his fists clenched as Molly slammed the door shut behind him and crossed her arms.

“Miss Deslover doesn't feel like coming all the way up here just to talk to you. If you want to make your case to her. You’re going to have to trust me enough to follow me down into her creepy basement then down to the dungeon. If you aren't willing to do that, then you can go right back out that door.” She pointed for emphases.

The large boy gulped and nodded.

Molly sighed and rubbed at her head. "So much for avoiding the moral dilemma." She looked up again. "Call her Miss Deslover until she tells you not to. It will make you sound professional and respectful instead of some child begging for forgiveness you haven't earned. Keep your distance from her so she doesn't flash back to you dragging her down there with your friend holding a knife on her. Now come on."

During all of this, Iris and Buttercup had cleared the room by killing all five squirrels and stood waiting in the middle of the room, facing the door and surrounded by furry little corpses. The old woman had even told her cat. “Don’t clean the blood off yourself Buttercup. I want him to know we're both dangerous in case he gets any ideas."

When Molly and the miner finished making their way down the steps, Iris looked the large boy in the eyes and took a step back over the halfway point. Activating four more squirrels for the two more people who had entered the room. "Show me if you're worth my time. Boy.'

Then she walked back to the upper landing of the far stairs, looking all impressive with her blood stained feet and hands. Only she, me, and the cat knew she had got the blood on her hands by pressing them against already kicked to death squirrels.

Her act was only marred by her having to glare at Molly and wave her back into the opposite landing they had come in from to leave Ernesto alone in the room.

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The boy stared her down and nodded before looking around. Seeing the half brick lying on the floor near the dead squirrels he quickly snatched it up. Just in time to straighten up as the squirrels came flying down at him from all two different directions.

I admit, he did well. He tore away the two that landed on him without hesitation even as they bit and scratched at his hands. He took a step back from the other two as they leaped down at him and dropped to the ground instead. Then he began running away from them until he got the other two off.

And… He grabbed one of the clubs I had made. Iris and Molly had picked them up in the past, but neither of them even tried to use them in a fight. Ernesto did. Either swinging the club low to catch the attacking beasts as they tried to close in on him, or swinging it down to flatten the ones he had already stunned.

He also kept moving, letting them get bunched up and running after him rather than letting them circle him because he stayed in one spot for too long. Really, while Iris had shown she was more skilled as a fighter than him, she had only learned how to deal with a bunch of smaller opponents over time in the dungeon, while this boy knew what to do from the start.

And I knew it wasn’t just because he was male. More men than women had the sheer aggression that was needed to get a warrior class. But no one got past Copper two without learning how to fight.

Well maybe a bit higher in the ranks at Copper, if you were cute enough and had an admirer willing to bleed for you.

I made that mistake with one of my first groups. It was bad for me and for Elana. I had to bleed and she never learned how to fight for her life when I couldn't get to her in time. She survived but the last I heard she had stuck with Copper two and had gone back to her hometown.

My next girlfriend poked me in the butt with the point of a dagger when I moved to defend her when she felt she didn’t need my help. That had really hurt my feelings, but I did end up getting her to marry me. So regardless of what she may claim, I won that argument.

Mainly because I never mentioned to her that I had won.

At last, the young man stood panting in the middle of the room. His pants splattered with blood and his club clenched in his hand.

The old woman nodded. “Passable.” His head jerked up in response. “But you aren't taking the hits for us if you’re running around like that. If you want it on this, you’re going to have to bleed.”

Ernesto snorted. “That’s nothing new for me, let’s do this again and I’ll stand here and take it if that’s what you want.

Iris mused over that. “I’ll keep it in mind. Right now…” She held up her hand and pointed down the steps with her thumb. “You’re on point for the new level. Grab a new club while you’re at it. They chip.”

The boy looked around and after a moment picked up the half brick and tucked it into a pocket on the side of his thigh, and grabbed one of the spiked clubs. Leaving the chipped more ax like one he started with back in the same alcove.

He headed down the steps, testing each step with the club before stepping on it. The two women let him get a little ahead of them before whispering to each other.

Molly started in first. “You know, people probably saw him come in. It might be hard to explain what happened to him if we let him die.”