Stuck as a Dungeon Mob - Chapter 564: Quality Warriors

Uncertain of the future, Ed and the elves waited at the bottom of the tunnel. There was an exit door into the Bloodhaven but they all stood by as Ed carefully pondered their options.

“Hmm… I think I’ll have to go alone” Ed wanted to bring the elves for additional assistance but seeing how precarious the place was, it was nigh impossible to leave with zero casualties.

The eyes of the elves all glittered radiating extreme hope.

“But that would defeat the purpose of bringing you all here…” Ed didn’t want the elves to make a wasted trip.

“What!?! We don’t mind at all!” An elf shouted without a tinge of shame.

Ed shot the elf a glance as if seriously considering the matter before shaking his head with a sigh.

“No, no, it’s not right at all. Let’s do this, some of you will stay behind here to tidy the place up” The stairwell Ed created was nothing more than a stairwell, Ed couldn’t be bothered to make any rooms.

“The water mages are especially excluded, I’ll leave Sudryal in charge of you guys.” Ed said addressing the group of mages.

“Create a resting ground where we can bathe off the stench of flesh and blood.” Ed then added. He continued to then also split off some earthen mages from the group of explorers to cooperate with the water mages.

This was precisely why Ed never had a specific plan in mind, things were subject to change. Since Ed knew little information, he simply tried to cover his bases as much as possible.

The same principle applied for the impromptu base he had just instructed them to make, it was very well possible that they would need to move it elsewhere or even abandon it altogether.

To begin with, Ed didn’t know what he was searching for in the Bloodhaven. He would be happy to get any clues in regards to the dungeon and the next floor given the high-profile nature of the place however.

“That leaves the rest of you with me” Ed then said before fully carving out a way into the blood haven causing the elves to gulp audibly. What stood before them was a large hill of flesh blocking visage onto what one could only assume was danger.

They had seen it from atop the precipice but now at the bottom, this hill seemed incredibly imposing.

“Alolvi and I will take the lead” Ed said prompting Alolvi to immediately stand beside him.

“But first, we will need to guarantee our equipment is up to par” Ed said glancing at the elves and their near-naked appearances.

‘With all the poison and blood I can’t let them go out like this’ Ed immediately made a hasty retreat into his mind and waded through his storeroom for weapons and armor.

The elves waited and looked at one another nervously. They looked forward to the greater equipment but were more than just a bit hesitant to step out from the temporary refuge Ed had granted them.

Against the wishes of the elves, Ed returned from the system space quickly having only picked out rudimentary equipment.

“Since it will probably be your first time wearing armor, I went for light things” Ed said as he started to hand over pieces of leather armor and the like.

“Also have these spears” He wanted the elves to maintain their distance from the creatures of the wasteland as much as possible.

Ed took a final glance at the elves before singling out one of them.

“You” Ed then tossed over what appeared to be a bow at the unsuspecting elf.

“Use that, and this” He also didn’t forget to toss the poor elf a quiver.

“Alright, suit up and get ready to walk out” Ed said not explaining anything to the elves.

In about a minute, everyone was ready to go. Seeing this, Ed took the lead and stepped out onto the red flesh.

“It’s a mystery how something can smell so putrid and seem so fresh” Ed commented after pressing down a foot on the squishy ground.

“This is also surprisingly firm” Ed added taking everything about the blood haven in. On the note of taking everything in, Ed activated his sixth sense.

“Argh… Disgusting…” An elf said.

“Definitely” “Agreed” Some others echoed as they also stepped out of the safety of the stairwell.

Once everyone was out, an earthen mage immediately shut the hole closed not wasting a single second. Of course, that mage didn’t forget to let out a relieved sigh as they did so.

Ed narrowed his eyes and started to move forward, the elves had no option but to follow closely behind. Their hearts were beating wildly as they walked slowly uphill on the uneven terrain.

Meanwhile, Ed held a grim expression not visible to those behind them. That was because he was still using his sixth sense.

‘It’s all blue’ As it turned out, the Bloodhaven was alive. The extent of its mental or spiritual faculties was still up in the air but it was already a significant tidbit to know it was alive.

Perhaps it was because the place was living that it didn’t take long for a loud and obnoxious screech to pierce the ears of those present. The squishy ground reverberated as a group skeletal beings rushed down from the hilltop while making incessant noise.

“How did they notice us?” Alolvi questioned seriously before taking on a combat stance. The other elves behind him followed suit but some ended up faltering and splashing blood over their personage.

“Tsk” Ed immediately recognized his mistake of not giving the warriors enough time to acclimate to the new terrain and equipment.

‘Luckily we haven’t walked far from the base at all’ Though the hole was sealed, it would only take a second to open it again.

‘But we can’t retreat’ Ed thought before falling back himself.

“Hey!” “What!?!” The elves’ eyes bulged. What the hell was their safety doing retreating?!

As Ed knew it was impossible to leave with no casualties, he had no plan to go easy on the elves. Plus, it wasn’t like it was undeserved. The majority of them still had things to atone for.

Of course, it was a bit presumptuous of Ed to think it was his duty to make them atone. After all, he himself had done things that one could argue- No, that were immoral.

Still, this was perhaps his way to cope and justify what he expected to be a massacre as the undead beasts started to grow nearer to their position on the hill.

“Aaaah!” The wretched sight of the mutilated beasts charging full speed toward them caused one of the elves to stumble back and drop their spear. They in their desperation tried to pick it back up but only managed to grip firm flesh. With bloody hands, the elf gave into their cowardice and ran.

The elves beside the runner also lost their composure but only their mind lost firmness as they stood rooted in place. Was it fear that froze them…?

“Don’t lose focus, prepare for battle!” It didn’t matter what it was, Alolvi’s shout allowed the elves to regain their clarity.

The first foul beast charged toward the only elf front and center.

“Alolvi!” An elf shouted with worry. But the elven leader was a skilled combatant, he was not one to worry about.

Alolvi’s spear swept away the dog-like skeletal beast causing it to crash onto another pouncing monster. His hands trembled from the recoil but Alolvi dug his feet into the flesh and stabilized his emotions.

“Don’t let them near!” He shouted before firmly gripping the spear shaft and going for another strike anew. The sound of breaking bones entered the ears of those present.

“Aaah!” The wave of monsters then began to rain down on those beside and behind Alolvi. They all tried their best to maintain their distance per Alolvi’s instruction but there were simply too many.

“Urgh!” It started with one elf falling on the fleshy ground but it didn’t take very long for others to fall into the same predicament.

“Aaaaargh!!!” Green vile exited the mouth of one of these skeletal beasts as it opened its maw to take a bite out of the pinned-down elf.

Luckily one of their comrades didn’t miss their cue to help and managed to crack the bones of the creature.

“These spears are good!” He commented before performing another strike. Their eyes widened however as their strike managed to enter the skeletal figure without piercing or damaging a single bone.

Before they could catastrophize [1]about their end, the previously pinned person barely regained their bearings and managed to perform a flimsy downwards slash at the beast keeping it temporarily in place.

“We can win this!” An arid warrior shouted before taking a step forward. The wave of beasts was starting to slow and the warriors began to regain some lost ground.

Ed who continued to watch with no intention to help out was left pleasantly surprised.

‘This is what I wanted to see’ There was only one deserter among the elves and from the look of things, no serious casualties just yet.

Amongst the elves, the one that shone the brightest was expectedly Alolvi. His strong back slowly growing distant to those still at the back inspired confidence into their hearts allowing them to push forward in an attempt to chase after him.

“Argh- Urgh!” Still, there were some that fell and received injuries.

“Scram!” An elf screamed as they quickly tried to help a friend that was pressed down.

“Damn, it got my arm…” The elf winced as they gripped their hurting arm. But the pain was temporary, they regained their wits and tried to launch themselves back into combat.

They firmly grabbed hold of their spear with one arm and attempted to break it in half by pressing it down on their leg.

“Ouch! Argh! Why did I do that?!?” Their intention was to comfortably hold a spear with a shorter shaft but they were instead shafted.

‘I only provide quality stolen goods’ Ed commented with a wry smile.

[1] catastrophize verb

ca·​tas·​tro·​phize

: to imagine the worst possible outcome of an action or event : to think about a situation or event as being a catastrophe or having a potentially catastrophic outcome