Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

The sun.

A bright ball of what one could only assume was hotness.

One couldn't look at it straight in the eye.

Not that it had any eyes. Though then again, perhaps its brilliance hid its more peculiar features.

It was difficult to determine what couldn't be seen. It made one's mind wander.

Maybe the sun was bright out of shame? It hid itself behind its light. Or maybe, that was just a result of a world at war in the sky. The explosions illuminate the world of those underneath. And what if… No, that was quite silly.

Perhaps, it was just the heat that made one's mind wander.

The wind blew coolly but it was also rather abrasive. It was hard to enjoy.

The sand shifted with the wind. Again.

Sometimes when looking back, Sanev would see his footsteps fade right before his eyes and the dunes which he traversed had been flattened or heightened. How terrifying.

Sanev swallowed, he was parched. He swept the sweat off his brow.

For a moment, the horizon far off in the distance seemed to stretch.

Sanev faltered.

He felt dizzy. Perhaps it was about time…

He didn't think for long, this signaled a break and Sanev sat down. The sand was scalding as usual.

Placing the box he carried on the ground and rummaging through its contents, Sanev managed to pull out something rather unique.

It was a plant. A water fruit plant attached to an array.

After inserting his mana, the array started to glow and whirl. The small plant quickly began to bear fruit.

This was Sanev's chosen method of sustenance. The provisions given to him by Ed would not last, he needed something renewable. This was that.

But this would not be enough for him to survive. When night came, the temperature dropped.

Sanev was now trembling as he trudged forth.

"You are not cold at all?" Sanev asked Venas who of course offered no response.

Sanev sighed.

His mind was melted by the heat and dulled by the cold. There was never a period of hospice. The desert was always unwelcoming.

Sanev had known this to be true. The trip to the city was unforgiving. Yet for some reason there was a tinge of nostalgia that threatened to overwhelm his emotions whenever he thought of it.

The difference? It was the solitude.

Venas was not a good talker.

"And that's how I managed to become one of the greatest prospects at the time" That didn't stop Sanev from telling tales to Venas over a fire. As one could guess, he had brought the necessities for a fire in his container.

As he was a water mage, he could not rely on an array.

As he was the only being alive for miles, he could not rely on company.

Multiple days passed in this manner. Sanev did his best to travel towards the points Ed had marked but lately his recollection of it was fuzzy.

He couldn't say he was still on course but he could be sure that no matter what happened, Venas would at least carry his body back to the city. With that in mind, Sanev had no worries.

There were no negative outcomes.

Death seemed like a respite from his ongoing plight. Lately, Sanev had begun to hallucinate.

He could see the city and its lights. He could hear the laughter of those inside but no matter how he ran towards it, the city never neared.

Previously, he could never imagine it. He who was a necessity for his Elven settlement, that he would ever be alone. His whole life, he was taught that he would be surrounded by others.

And maybe if it wasn't for Ed that would be true.

HE SHOULD FEEL RESENTFUL THEN!!!

Such thoughts had in fact overwhelmed Sanev at the start of his journey but as the sun continued its dance with the moon Sanev realized the futility of it all.

This would have likely been his fate.

If Ed were to disappear from the city, one day he would have likely faced expulsion all the same. That was true as long as he showed no intention to change his ways.

Though perhaps that was a perspective he was forcing onto himself to cope with the reality, that he should have been worth more.

Yet, Sanev knew that if Ed never brought him to the surface he would never be worth anymore.

Elves lived long lives. Sanev had peaked from the moment he was born a water mage in that settlement. There was no real upwards mobility, not unless the one older than you died. Sanev's skills and intelligence had little worth there.

The people had worshiped his beauty and the water which his mana conjured up but not himself as a character.

It was while having such internal monologues that Sanev found himself at his destination.

Climbing up one last hill, in a large ditch basically, Sanev was forced to doubt his eyes.

Before him stood structures of stone weathered by time yes but imposing and grand all the same.

Sanev quickly slid down into the ditch. He tumbled and rolled at the bottom but he immediately got on his feet and stepped onto the ruined ground.

A building not at all dissimilar to the temple of Azalea but adorned far more intricately. The pillars of the place itself seemed to hold magic runes.

What purpose could such a place have served?

Sanev was greatly curious. He was also delighted. Having reached his objective, he could finally take a proper break under some form of shelter and digest the findings slowly.

With that in mind, Sanev stepped into the ruins.

The place was mostly dark with shafts of light shining down from the cracked ceiling. Piles of sand also adorned certain corners of each section of the ruins.

Yes, section. What Sanev had seen and entered was but a section that somehow managed to dig itself out of the sand and function as an entrance. The rest was buried, some passageways even completely inaccessible.

"This will take some digging. Are you up for it?" Sanev said while looking at Venas.

Venas immediately traveled towards one of the sand locked passageways and began to dig. Sanev chuckled. The thing probably didn't listen to him and its action was just a coincidence but he had to admit he grew attached to it.

"I wonder if Ed will let me keep him" Sanev mumbled to himself.