Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

Just half an hour past noon, in the Sanctuary Town hall, the council was having a meeting. There were orcs seated in two separate long tables. There were only a few missing spots considering the short notice. All the orcs were all looking towards a small stage waiting for someone.

That was when a frighteningly strong looking orc appeared on the stage. They scrutinized the room the moment they entered causing some lazier orcs to sit up right.

The orc seemed very strong. Their muscles were not bulging, their muscles were on the leaner side in fact, but the orc's expression was fierce by default. They seemed to have a naturally intimidating demeanor in spite of not necessarily having an intimidating figure.

Needless to say, the orcs had a reason to be terrified by the orc's scrutiny. There was also their position to consider.

"""Welcome, Chieftain!""" The seated orcs stood up and shouted.

"Oh wow…" Ed muttered not expecting such a welcome.

"Did you tell them to do this?" Ed looked back and asked someone behind him. He was talking to an orc woman wearing robes and a bright innocent smile.

"Don't you like it?" Sharog said with a bit of a tease. Ed simply shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. He was certain Sharog wanted to mess with him, she should know he wasn't the type to actively seek attention.

"Just say Ed next time ok everyone?" Ed informed the seated orcs. Apart from the few on friendly terms with Ed, like Dakgu and Shel, everyone took Ed's words as a threat and nodded fervently in understanding.

Ed twitched seeing their reaction.

'What is Sharog teaching them?' Ed would have to stick around to find out but he had 3 bodies and not enough time.

"Anyway, let's get started. Anyone carrying an important role please give me a brief report of what happened in my absence!" Ed didn't want to make things too formal, but the ship had sailed the moment he called for a Sanctuary meeting.

The first to stand up was… a goblin!?!

'Hm? Why did I miss this goblin when I first entered?' Ed asked himself. He narrowed his eyes for a batter look and…! Pipsqueak!?!

Noticing Ed's stare, Pipsqueak quickly avoided his eyes. Why did he feel like a criminal!?

"Argh!" Pipsqueak squealed having stubbed his toe on the small stage stairs. That Ed fella was nothing but bad luck!

Pipsqueak who previous looked scared of Ed suddenly appeared as though he was unafraid. He was glaring daggers at the chief of Sanctuary, how brave! The orcs silently moved their evaluation of Pipsqueak up a notch in their mind.

Having newfound respect for the goblin, all the orcs waited patiently for his words of wisdom.

"I taught gobs orc tongue" Pipsqueak said in the correct language much to Ed's surprise. While the words were lacking some context they were without a doubt pronounced correctly.

More importantly, Pipsqueak was teaching the language to others! Ed was waiting expectantly to find out how the goblins used this newfound power of communication.

...

"Eh, that's it?" Ed muttered audibly.

Pipsqueak began sweating profusely while staring at his hand behind the podium. The orc fruit ink he inscribed with his speech became fussy thanks to his sweaty palms! He could only look at the audience nervously secretly asking for a way out.

"Ahem, let me continue on his behalf" Sharog suddenly said interjecting from her seat in the audience.

Pipsqueak was sidelined as she began to explain the integration of goblins into orc society. After learning basic communication skills, they could ask to join any workforce or even start their own business.

Most of the goblins including the ones Ed modified decided to join an existing workforce. One of the few exceptions was actually Guts, Prild's disciple, who… opened a family business?!

"Wait… with whose family!?" Ed asked taken aback.

"His… His own…?" Sharog while looking at Ed as if he were weird. Whose family was he supposed to steal?

Ed still could not believe that the dumb Guts could get a girl. Still, once Sharog started saying the names of the children Ed could only accept the reality.

"There is… Gats, Gets, Gits, Gots, Guts Jr., Gutsie, Gutsita…" Sharog continued to list enough names to make up two baseball teams. They were all named just as narcissistically as the last. That was how Ed knew all was right in the world.

After the short distraction, Sharog segued directly into a conclusive statement.

"Apart from noise complaints from neighbors at night, the goblins have integrated perfectly into Sanctuary" They worked jobs, built families, and lived happily. It was definitely a perfect integration into Sanctuary.

Ed began clapping with a nod of approval causing many other orcs to mimic his behavior.

"WOOOO!!!" "ROOOAR!!!" Others threw out battle cries having failed to read the atmosphere. Regardless, it could be seen and heard that Sharog's report was met with thunderous reception. It looked like everyone forgot it was originally Pipsqueak's.

Following her report, Dakgu went up to the stage. He was speaking as the leader of Sanctuary's subjugation force. As it turns out, Dakgu and Gurln had continued exploring the floor even with Ed's absence.

Dakgu spoke of the casualties and the gains made. There weren't many, there were only so many struggles they could get in given the short time frame. Once his report was over, it was time for the food sector to give their report.

This report was given by Gorgo, the ex-boar farmer and now successful chef. There was a surplus of fruits and other greens but the meat situation was not any better.

"I don't understand why God doesn't send us boars anymore…" Dakgu muttered from within the crowd. They had fought and won many battles, why had things changed?

Ed knew that the dungeon was just trying to conserve energy, but he chose not to comment. He wasn't too big a fan of antagonizing the dungeon after all the things they had both been true.

'Who am I kidding, it's about timing and purpose' If Ed was given a good reason and an opportunity he wouldn't hesitate to throw some dirt on the cheap skate dungeon!

'Hm? Are the system and dungeon related?' Because they were both cheap-*sses! Though for the record, Ed definitely did not hold any grudges.

By the time Ed's mind returned to reality, it was time for a new report.

"Now, the leader of tourism!" Sharog said introducing me to a totally new position. Leader of tourism?

The individual going up the stage was… a lizardman!?! Where were these other species hiding? How did Ed keep missing them?

"Hello! I be Reid. Awesome! Place is… Awesome!" A familiar lizardman was up on stage speaking eloquently and in detail about his great experiences in Sanctuary. Each word stirred the hearts of the listener, if it weren't for the fact that they lived in Sanctuary they'd definitely like to pay it a visit!

'As if... So this is how Sharog handled the lizardmen' She gave Reid a position in the council automatically qualifying him to be on Sanctuary's payroll. 

"Tasted new drinks, very good drinks!" Based on Reid's own words, the leader of tourism had a lot of free time… 

Nevertheless, giving Reid a position even if only symbolically was a lot better than having him and the other lizardman receiving free benefits.

"Loved art and stuff, houses are also clean" Plus judging by his speech, Reid did not spend his time at Sanctuary doing nothing but drinking. Reid learned lots of words in the local language.

'That means Reid has some talent as leader of tourism' It was a position where being able to adapt to new cultures and speak their languages was a necessity.

After Reid, there were a couple of orcs that went up to give their reports.

"Having received approval, we built…" Yerghug being one of them. He went over what projects he completed or oversaw recently.

The final orc to give their briefing was… Sharog. She handled most of the important matters of Sanctuary, it was only right to give her ample time.

She mainly talked about the finances of Sanctuary before speaking about her personal experiments. Her final notice caught Ed's attention, however.

"The schooling of the Sanctuary children is still scheduled to be discussed tomorrow" Was what Sharog said.

'Hmm… The sacred tribe orcs left us many children... I almost forgot about them' If they weren't taught properly they could become hidden dangers. Though with what Ed heard about the goblins and their reproductive abilities teaching the goblins properly was also a clear necessity that would have to be tackled.

'When is it too early to talk about sex-ed with goblins?' Ed wondered with a pensive look before noticing the room had gone quiet.

Ed thus promptly stood up and went up to the stage.

"That's it everyone, thanks for coming" The reports had been detailed and helpful. The improvements that were made in his absence really shocked Ed. Still, what he felt the most was pride.

'I only did some small things and allowed Sharog to take the reign' She assigned people to tasks and carried out his orders faithfully. What became of Sanctuary was no more his success than it was Sharog's.

Ed's words and thoughts suggested they were the only two main contributors, however. That was obviously not the case.

Dakgu and Gurln's recent military endeavors, Yerghug and previously Bulwud's architectural and managerial skills, not to mention Shel's handiwork in the smithy… Everyone played a big role, even the orcs or goblins he didn't know personally had a hand in say the plaza's liveliness.

'I'm a step closer to the ideal future I envisioned' It was now just a matter of time.