Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

Later at night, the elven people were all gathered under shining moonlight. The brightness of the sandy buildings helped those present get a good glimpse at the dark expressions of the unfortunate few. 

The unlucky souls selected by Alolvi to take a trip to their death all held this dark expression.

Well, all but one who cracked a macabre joke.

"Hahaha, don't worry about anything honey. I'll be back in two pieces!" A refined and mature elf shouted boisterously to his loving partner in an act that seemed crazy and out of character. 

His wife burst into tears the moment her head fully processed the intricacies of the joke.

"Hey hey! It's better than multiple pieces please calm down honey!" Jokes were often used to break the tension and lighten the atmosphere but this elven husband's words only helped to further deepen it.

Alolvi who was obviously present had a frighteningly serious expression as begging eyes began to fall upon his figure.

It was then that Alolvi felt the tension well at his throat as he struggled to gulp in dryly.

He was responsible for these begging individuals. He was selected to be their leader yet… 

A sudden sense of powerlessness befell Alolvi. He felt his knees almost buckle at the pressure as he struggled to open his mouth and try to let loose the tension that welled at his throat accompanied by something else. 

This 'something else' could only be one thing… Apologetic words.

Alolvi wanted to apologize as he couldn't meet the expectations of the begging elven people for whom he had been given responsibility.

"Ed" Alolvi said after managing to swallow his words of apology and shook off the burden of the guilt his inability brought about.

"Please reconsider" Aiolvi couldn't meet the expectations of the begging elven people, but it wasn't that he was unwilling to try.

"Please reconsider this trip" Alolvi this time making sure to look in the eye the only individual that stood above him.

Ed who was obviously present at the scene and had been quietly observing the reaction and atmosphere of the elves gave Alolvi his full attention and looked him straight in the eyes.

'Hollow eyes' Ed commented inwardly. Alolvi's eyes were devoid of hope but illuminated by a courageous fire.

"No" Nonetheless, Ed turned down Alolvi's request missing only a beat.

"Trust in me" Ed then added a puzzling sentence which the current Alolvi could hardly fathom. Although Alovli did not react to Ed's rejection, he was somewhat taken aback by the follow-up.

To have faith in the lich that had enslaved his civilization seemed a bit much but at the same time… The elves were now living under the sun and currently basking in glorious moonlight.

The people were well fed and even had the privilege to try out some new food and learn new things. Overall, Ed's request to trust in him seemed like a trifling matter. 

In fact, Alolvi now reckoned that it was ridiculous to even ask for their faith. After all, only someone who was both blind and deaf could remain oblivious to Ed's goodwill.

So… why was Alolvi unable to formulate any sort of acknowledgment to Ed's words? Why exactly were they puzzling to him?

Prejudice.

It had to be prejudice.

Alolvi's mind was instantly enlightened.

"I have a prejudice…" He quietly whispered. The reason why his mind rejected the very notion of trusting in Ed was his prejudice.

Alolvi was a brave arid elf warrior, he hid well his emotions and after what felt like a short while to the spectators, Alolvi nodded with some hesitance.

Still, Alolvi had to also make a counteroffer.

"Allow me to accompany you then" For the leader to leave the home was not advisable yet, Ed did not immediately disagree with Alolvi's new appeal.

"Alright" Alolvi was an elven warrior before a leader as Ed himself had before stated. Ed figured that, for Alolvi, the best way to lead was by example.

Confused glances were then exchanged as everyone present felt they had missed some sort of secret communication between Ed and Alolvi.

"It's night, but it is the best time to depart. Alolvi, since you insist on going please take the lead" Ed simply ignored their confusion and asked Alolvi to start their march towards the bloodhaven.

"Will do" Alolvi had no objections. The hot sun would rise in the morning and cause their trip to become tortuous and tiring. If they went at night however they only needed to fight their exhaustion and weary minds imploring for sleep.

While both sounded miserable Alolvi still thought it to be a lesser evil than the prospect of marching under the scorching sun. Given that it was how the elves got to the city, Alolvi and the others knew very well how bad it could be.

Without any further ado, Alolvi organized his group. These individuals numbered no more than 15 including Alolvi and Ed themselves.

"Isn't this too few people?" Ed asked curiously.

"No… This should probably be enough" The elder water mage Sudryal said with some skepticism.

"Probably?" Ed keenly noticed his doubt.

"Yes, we haven't been there for a long time now. The situation could have deteriorated or gotten better, we have no way to know" Sudryal had other considerations when he answered probably enough but he chose not to voice them. Sudryal remained quiet after saying these two cents.

Ed wouldn't let him off so easily though. After all, this concerned the safety of not just him but also the elves he forced to accompany him.

"Elder, no, advisor" Ed said addressing Sudryal. He put some real emphasis on the position he gave him causing Sud's expression to darken.

"What is your advice?" Ed said causing Sudryal steps to falter slowly. Anyone with some slight intellect could note the keenly veiled threat Ed hid when he asked for Sud's advice. Being an individual with some wisdom and intellect, Sud was shaken to his core.

"Well… We should continue with these few people. If there is anything you can't handle, then there will be fewer sacrifices" Sudryal said grimly with a hint of irritation. Ed narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything.

'This elder is also rather courageous' Ed was well aware of Alolvi's brave spirit but Sudryal also seemed to be quite bold. Of course, different from Alolvi's courage, Sudryal's bravery was more akin to audacity.

'Which might be expected thanks to his old age but…' Ed had some apprehensions. Was it possible that Sudryal learned a lot more during his one trip than he let on? Or was he simply too distrustful of the poor elder causing him this irritation?

Ed's honest thoughts were leaning towards an odd mix of both. He couldn't be certain towards which side was favored by this odd mix but if he had to take a guess it would be towards plain irritation.

'The inhabitants of the dungeons don't know all that much' Ed thought to himself as he walked beside Sudryal. While this thought could come off as an insult Ed did not mean it in such a way, he just believed most dungeon-spawned mobs to be unknowingly ignorant.

'They don't know the nature of their home' And Ed could not even blame them. From the scorching desert to the putrid bloodhaven… Nothing about the dungeon made any sense.

'If I had been a dungeon mob from the start I would also live mostly unaware' One could be smart and ignorant, or dumb and ignorant. Either way one would still be ignorant.

This being said, Ed couldn't chalk Sudryal's behavior to malice or bad intentions, or at least it shouldn't be his prime suspect.

The quiet nighttime march continued all the way until morning without any breaks, Ed had to commend Alolvi's choice of individuals. The people selected were neither too young nor too old, they were almost at a golden age.

But, most of the merit had to go to the individuals themselves. An appropriate age alone was not enough to allow them to withstand walking on the desert sand for hours on end. No, this came about from their racial traits and personal training.

Indeed, all of the people with the exception of Sudryal and another water mage that was made to tag along were all arid elves. Their adaptability and lifetime of training made them a group of experienced elites.

"Let's take a break… Huff…" Still, they were living organisms. Their racial ability brought about by both their arid and elven characteristics could only go so far before a break was necessary.

"We will only take a short break, we need to take advantage of the cold morning breeze if we want to make fast progress" The sun was already emitting its harsh rays but as the ground became hotter and hotter their physical and mental condition could only fall.

"Actually, we can just take a normal break" Ed said before smiling and closing his eyes. These were all hard-working individuals who willingly or unwillingly were marching towards danger and thus they needed to be rewarded.

'I can make something to make this trip less tortuous' Ed had many methods but he wanted to do something special and fairly unique this time in the system space.

'Let's make a structure' If Ed could summon a comfortable housing structure for them to rest and recover from the harsh outdoors… There was no loss.