Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

In the crypt, Ed was ruminating over the results of his experiments. There was a success, but even this success counted as a failure.

[Failed]

Trying to use spirit insert in reverse on the humans resulted in a failed message which meant it might be possible. However, Ed was unsure how it was possible or just when it would be possible.

So far, the words of the system turned out to be a lie.

'I can't actually get a soul right now can I?' The problem was that although the system might be a troll, it was not a liar.

'Trying to put them in the inventory just doesn't work' Not that he expected it to as Ed had learned very early on that he couldn't store living things directly.

The problem was that these were the two main methods Ed had to extract consciousness. As none of them had worked, all the other things Ed tried were purely nonsensical.

Ed tried to use spirit insert inside the system space in order to extract the souls from literal nowhere. He figured maybe thought manifestation would work its magic. Obviously, that wasn't the case.

The new and best option Ed figured was to perform a sacrificial ritual. Basically, the human would be put through a ritual alive and their soul would be forced to go to the dungeon upon death.

'For this isolating, the soul or consciousness would be necessary' But Ed didn't know how to do that. He believed the goblin Prild might have a method, the only issue was that communicating with Prild was more than just a bit tough.

'Looks like I'll have to postpone this until I return to the plains then' Ed could link with Prild and communicate that way if needed.

After settling the matter of getting a soul, Ed now felt it was truly time to go.

'Dungeon, please get me out of here' Ed transmitted kindly. Well, he didn't have transmission but the system would probably pass on his words. All Ed had to do now was chill and wait for the good news.

'Oh right' Ed suddenly remembered promising to let go of the humans if the experiments were successful.

'This wasn't a success but…' It wasn't like Ed could keep them either. He would have to feed them, make sure they got their bathroom breaks, maybe even take them for a walk to make sure they didn't atrophy.

'Too much responsibility' Ed decided to let them go. He entered the system space and checked out his storeroom for junk to give the adventurers.

'There was...  One magician, three warriors' Ed found some B-class normal weapons and brought them out of the system space.

From the weapons, Ed grabbed and brandished a sword. He then pointed it at a bound warrior causing them to break into a cold sweat.

"I- I'm sorry for intruding! Please spare me!" The adventurer cried out. Up until now, all the skeleton had done was place their hands on them which sounded wrong, but that was really all it had done!  The true torture was finally starting!

Ed lifted the sword in spite of the protest and with keen eye sockets, he slashed down.

"AAAAH!" The adventurer screamed. The octocrawler thread ropes broke at the same time and they were now let loose.

"AAAAAAH!" But they continued to scream in a fit of panic. Were they bleeding!?! Had they lost their arm? They did not dare look!

"Hey, he let you go!" Their adventuring partner said causing the wailing man to finally stop his cries. It turns out their arm was still attached. Though there was bleeding, in the form of a shallow cut.

'Looks like my sword skills are still not excellent' Ed thought. A true swordsman should have left no mark at all. The feat shouldn't be that hard either considering the octocrawler rope was quite thick.

Ed then walked over to another adventurer wishing to retry. He lifted his sword and swung down. 

"Ouch!" Another rope was cut.

He tossed the magician girl a magic staff and moved onto another target- ahem, adventurer. He repeated the move, his sword cut through the air.

[Swordsmanship has leveled up]

'Hm…' There was no cut on the adventurer this time but the swing didn't manage to cut the rope either. There was a large and deep gash on it but some threads were still connected.

Ed decided to just grab the rope and tear it manually. He did the same for the final adventurer before tossing all the warriors the 3 remaining weapons. That included the sword Ed was using to cut their ropes.

"You were all lucky, be on your way" Ed said to them using mana communication. The adventurers trembled after hearing the cold hoarse voice. This fear was suddenly replaced with joy. 

On our way? Our way is the way out! The adventurers all scrammed without hesitation. Only after moving over 100 rooms over did they dare stop to converse.

"We… We survived?" What a surreal experience. These adventurers cherished life more than ever before, that was for sure. Their eyes also gleamed, the weapons on their hands were of nice quality!

The magician in the group was the only that did not look at their new staff. They were more preoccupied with another thought.

"Bob Burgesr… he was right..." The author of the book Mobsunderstood, Bob Burgesr, wrote of the misunderstood mobs in the cave of myths. He wrote of their intelligence and their very nice liquor.

Of course, for the sake of drama, Bob dramatized a lot of the things. He also overplayed his involvement in any of the problems he set up and resolved in the novel Mobsunderstood.

It was a fantasy book with a hint of truth but for this naive girl, it was no longer a fantasy, The novel was a reality!

***

In Sanctuary, the plaza was filled with a bustle of orcs. Goe's Tavern was filled to the brim today.

"Goe, when are you expanding?" Someone inside the tavern asked with a hint of irritation. There were just too many people for them to enjoy themselves anymore!

"Just waiting for approval from the council" Goe replied. The business building was filled to the brim but Goe still had the leisure to talk. This was all thanks to Goe hiring some goblins to bartend and serve the guests.

They weren't always good at their jobs but they had the potential thanks to their agility and small frame allowing them to squeeze past customers on busy days.

"Hahaha! This is why our system of ruling is much better!" The customer wailed with a burst of boisterous laughter. Goe could only roll his eyes.

"When are y'all going back to your land anyway?" Goe would be more than happy to see this lizardman and his more silent partner in crime out of the establishment and back to their lands.

"Hm? Maybe it is time to return to the marshlands…" They definitely overstayed their welcome. Not that they cared, but Kurgher might be angry.

"I mean, we could also… not..." Kurgher would just have to assume they died. What could the old war chief do anyway? Send some new lizardmen? After the newcomers experienced life in Sanctuary they too would act dead!

Eventually, Kurgher would get the hint that the place was just too dangerous and stop sending his lizardmen. What a genius he and his bro were!

"Wait… Shouldn't they have sent someone after us by now?" The other lizardman said, the toxins from the alcohol instantly left their body.

"Did something happen to our chief?" The other added. What a horrible prospect!

"We need to go! We need to go!" The lizardman that was originally talking to Goe said. They stood up from their stool in a hurry. They looked around sharply as they attempted to break and push through the waves upon waves of alcoholics to finally leave the establishment.

It took them nearly 10 minutes just to leave the building. They ended up sweating from the intense workout. Their partner was however lost in the waves at some point.

"Ah, I can't abandon him" The lizardman thought. Regretfully, they would have to stay a little longer until they appeared.

It was at this point that Ed appeared at the plaza. He had been recalled and summoned by the dungeon just as he had requested. He inspected the place for changes and instantly noticed one of his 'guests'

'I forgot there were lizardmen here' It was all fine in the name of diversity Ed supposed.

'How are they maintaining themselves anyway?' They had to have a job and earn money if they wanted anything remotely good.

'I'll have to ask Sharog about their status' The other thing Ed had to ask about was the goblins.

'Why are there suddenly so many running around!?!' They were unfamiliar little goblins too! That could only mean one thing… children!

The problem was how mature some of these unfamiliar faces were already. At most, they were a goblin teenager but their numbers were certainly impressive given the short timeframe.

'I guess previously they couldn't even try to reproduce due to predators' Now that they were being supported by Ed and Sanctuary however they had the luxury to have children.

'If I am not careful Sanctuary could turn into a sanctuary for goblins…' The goblins reproduced fast enough that this could be considered a semi-urgent threat.

'Well… actually why bother?' It wasn't actually an issue if Sanctuary was mainly inhabited by goblins. Apart from Ed needing to do more city planning for expansion, laws to limit goblin reproduction were far from being necessary.

What Sanctuary was always lacking was manpower, with enough goblins they could fill any gap.