Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

In the plains of Bosque, the army which had set up camp finally started to move anew. The soldiers all wore solemn expressions as they packed up their tents and supplies. In the midst of this preparation for departure, there was a young man with yellow hair.

The young man was Mite Volcan, he was overseeing the preparations. He stood near his tent observing patiently while simultaneously deep in thought.

"Shade" He then whispered.

"At your disposal my lord" A voice replied from what would appear to be nowhere.

"Did you find anything?" Mite's spy network was one of the best and they had infiltrated all sorts of places. The death element was the thing that made this all happen. Since it was a taboo element, most places could not open experiment with it.

The end result was that they could not come up with countermeasures when someone brave enough to use the element did appear. Added onto that, even if they were experimenting with it in secrecy, the risk of discovery would still delay the research or at the very least weigh on the mind of the researchers.

"We might have found something" Came the reply.

"I see, what did you find?" Mite said before taking a sip of hot chocolate.

"The Galeburst dynasty's suspicious lack of movements most likely have to do with a dungeon" This information, which may or may not be reliable, brought a smile onto Mite's face.

"So they've disregarded us for a dungeon huh" The feeling of disregard was not good but on another hand, this was an opportunity.

"Investigate more thoroughly, I want to know what gives them the confidence" The things in the dungeon must have been enough to turn the table in their minds. But could they really beat his trump card and master, a dragon?

This was something Mite was not willing to sit around and find out. He went over to where Pyre rested. The location was behind his tent where the sun shone down on the dragon's body.

The sun's brilliance falling on the resting dragon made an almost mystical scene. Despite this mystical scene, the dragon's vicinity was clear of people and animals alike. They all feared retribution on the occasion that the dragon's rest was interrupted.

"Pyre…" Mite said after he approached the sleeping dragon.

"What is it?" The dragon asked back. It appeared as though even when resting the dragon remained awake.

"Do you think there's anything that can defeat you with ease?" The young Mite believed that the only way to get rid of Pyre for good was to kill him instantly or incapacitate him instantly. The Galeburst dynasty had to be counting on something of that sort.

If the method the Galeburst dynasty found in the dungeon took too much time he and his army could very easily assist the dragon in a way that would make the battle almost one-sided.

"Hahahaha…" Pyre laughed disheartened.

"I don't know anymore" The dragon's confidence did not take a huge hit but the fact that a human could take so many of its blows certainly did affect his image of himself and the world.

"Even I, a mighty dragon, cannot and have not seen all there is to see" The world was full of mystery that even he as a dragon could never hope to find out.

"But…" Nevertheless, Pyre was going to provide an answer.

"Only a much stronger dragon or monster would be able to" Pyre's response sounded like nothing conclusive and indeed, the emperor was a bit disappointed. Still, Pyre's answer was somewhat reassuring. What could be stronger than a dragon?

"Definitely a god" Pyre unexpectedly continued and now provided a more satisfying answer but Mite did not know what to make of it.

"Did the Galeburst dynasty find a god in the dungeon?" Mite asked himself an almost nonsensical question. Why himself? He did not think Pyre would even answer such a stupid question.

"Anything can happen in a dungeon" But the dragon did not brush aside his foolish muttering.

"I wouldn't dare enter one" The dragon revealed a surprising tid bit of information.

"Maybe that's why you humans can grow so strong" The willingness to explore and take risks even at the expense of the lives of thousands. Human life was everywhere, they could afford the loses.

A dragon would mostly live their life in loneliness. 

***

At Sanctuary, everyone was seated inside the town hall. There was no meeting currently going on, it was more of a get together. The lizardmen were conversing with Reid as he explained to them the customs and culture of Sanctuary.

"Which is why wearing a rag over your crotch is a spiritual activity" The things he told them weren't necessarily accurate, however. While it was true that some orcs wore things with a bit more… freedom…

It was just what was available at the time. All of this meant that A had his work cut out for him.

"Sigh… That's not right…" A said as he interjected with a tired sigh. Was the head of tourism making things up as he went along?

Minutes later, the lizardmen finally learned enough from Reid who was satisfied seeing them converse excitedly amongst themselves.

"Teaching is so gratifying" He thought.

"Maybe I should teach at the academy" Reid continued causing A's eyes to widen. Was it possible to be this oblivious?

'Let's get down to business with Sharog' Ed transmitted to A who nodded silently. Ed could see that W was still moving forward and meeting him at or near the portal would be beneficial.

Reid, A carrying Ed, and Sharog all entered a side room while the orcs kept watch over the lizardmen. There were important matters to discuss so Ed and A could only trust no one would cause trouble.

Once inside the room, Ed instructed A on what exactly it was that he wished to say. That didn't mean A didn't offer his own input but realistically it didn't matter since Reid had to translate everything meaning much would be lost.

"First, let's talk about the lizardmen and Sanctuary" A began by explaining Ed's intention to create commerce between the lizardmen and the orcs. He recommended that they should send over some orcs to the marshlands in order to begin relations.

"Both sides have things to offer so this would be very beneficial" A's words were both eloquent and confident.

<"Both ummm… sides be happy, this is good"> Much of the eloquence and confidence was removed. Nevertheless, Sharog was a smart individual. She was able to infer much from the broken orcish Reid made use of.

In her personal opinion, the trading would likely be beneficial. While it didn't sound like there was much the lizardmen could offer at first glance, that was far from the truth.

They had lots of unique monsters and their parts could come in handy for smithing. Not just that but they also had lots of weird fruits and mushrooms that could help with the alchemy of Sanctuary.

<"Sounds good"> Sharog therefore replied amicably to this suggestion. Selecting who would go might be different since no one would be excited to visit a backwater marsh. The settlements of the lizardmen might have seemed more advanced before Ed's appearance, but definitely wasn't the case now.

The next matter was the rescue of W which didn't need to be explained in detail. They just asked for an escort group.

"If Dakgu could help that'd be great" Ed and A had no idea in what form W would appear or with whom, a small team of elites would be the most ideal.

Reid passed this message onto Sharog who found this request a bit odd. Still, she didn't think there was an issue with it.

<"How about I join too?"> Since they needed a small team of elites, she was the most qualified orc mage in Sanctuary. There were some new recruits from conquered tribes that also knew magic but she was still the authority on it.

It wasn't that the others were weak, but more like their strong were usually killed when suppressing them. This was done out of helplessness but also out of caution. The strong might hold grudges and they might very well have the means to take revenge.

"Second in command Sharog wants to participate…" Reid didn't forget to relay her intentions though he felt a bit confused. Why mettle in the weird things? Didn't Sanctuary have everything they'd need?

Ed's first instinct was to decline but thinking about it again if he continued to deny Sharog's request she might grow dissatisfied. Meeting W couldn't be too dangerous either way.

'The odds of him returning with a brigade of adventurers is slim for example' There was therefore no real danger with bringing Sharog along. The only worrying part was that he was currently a mushroom.

Would he be able to safe anyone in this form?

All answers led towards no.

'We must get there early then' If he prepared a mushroom field the answer might be different.

'Let's create transportation' The idea of raising boars to pull carts was a nice one but it would take too long.

'Let's use undead' The orcs might not look kindly upon them so Ed was hesitant to use them. Not to mention that the undead could only grow with his influence making them inconvenient as mounts for the many orcs of Sanctuary.

This was an emergency situation however so making a few undead mount to deliver this elite team should be more than fine.