Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

Back in the Elven City, Ed had spent his days planning. One might think that all he needed to do now was wait for the scouts to return with information but Ed knew that such a thing would be a giant waste of valuable time.

'If what I've seen from the humans is all they have to show then this dungeon, and all dungeons, breaking out is a matter of time' The question became when.

'Nevertheless, whether or not I am a part of that future in which this particular dungeon breaks…' Ed did not want to leave that to chance. He needed to be in control of his future and if that meant controlling the world then he would do just that.

That was why he had planned to turn some of the humans to his side and prop them up as heroes for mankind. He had not had a chat with the girl Kimani who he had linked up with previously however.

'That's because I haven't initiated the communication' As to why… It was because he had no method to improve her status just yet or rather he hadn't prepared the method. Towards that goal, Ed would hold a special lecture.

"Welcome everyone" In Azalea's chamber, all of the residents were gathered. Ed welcomed them from where he stood, next to Azalia's trunk. 

The time the elves spent together with Ed meant that they now trusted Ed and were in fact looking forward to what he had to say. More often than not would be huge but positive overall.

"First of all, mark this day on your calendars because this will be the start of something" The elves hearing this were left surprised. What is a calendar?!?

When they lived underground, it was hard to know when the sun rose and settled. As such, very few kept track of what day it was, never mind what month or year it had become.

Of course, they had a vague sense for it but nothing concrete. At least that was true for the majority. Those who formed the elder council did in fact know what a calendar was. It just didn't serve them any good to share that information with the common elves.

Ed did not know this but he did know that Azalia would be kept busy after this.

"Starting now, some of you may stop working on the chamber's garden." This garden had been a daily work routine for the elves since the renewed inception of the city. While Ed didn't say they all could, the fact that some of them would be moved onto something else had many… worried and they put away any thoughts about what a calendar was.

It was true that the elves looked forward to what Ed had to say but that was only because they believed him to say more good things than bad things. But bad things still existed, and this… this seemed bad.

"A select few of you will get the privilege of working with Azalia here" Ed followed up and said, causing some to let out a sigh of relief and others' eyes to twinkle with expectation.

While Ed never reintroduced the divine tree as a religious object he did care for it often and emphasized its importance. The residents of the city grew a natural respect for the tree and maybe due to their elvish nature were drawn to it.

As such, the opportunity to work with the tree seemed, well, divine.

"You will be tapping the divine tree and extracting its divine sap. Those of you working with formation ink will learn of its value" Thanks to Ed's loving care, Azalia was producing sap. She was a healthy tree, unbelievably so, no doubt thanks to him passing vitality to it via link. 

""""Tapping?""" "What is that?" The elves had no idea what tapping was. This time they made sure to voice their lack of knowledge however as they all wanted to work with the tree.

"The process is very simple, you make a hole in the tree's trunk and collect the sap that comes out" Ed said before approaching Azalia with a drill-like object.

'This might sting, but don't worry I'll reward you plenty' Ed made sure to communicate with Azalia so she wasn't caught off guard and then inevitably drilled into her trunk.

'Ouch!' Azalia was evidently hurt but Ed could feel that she wasn't significantly harmed. Though it should be of no surprise, drilling a small hole would not pose a risk to its health.

'At least as long as it is done in moderation' But unfortunately Ed could not show moderation to Azalia if his plans were to be reliable.

Ed then snapped out of his thoughts and continued speaking with the elves.

"You will drill into the trunk with this device and collect the sap, which you can see oozing out right now." Ed said as he watched the sap slowly drip down Azalia's trunk. 

The sap looked golden and alluring, somewhat unlike the one he collected from the leaves outside the city. He imagined it had to do with the freshness of the sap. Regardless, this sap seemed divine for certain.

'Hey wait, why is there so much of it?!?' Ed couldn't help but yell internally as he watched the sap continue to drop down Azalia's trunk.

Without haste, he started to send the sap into the system space.

'I always wondered how they made so many formations with just one tree' Ed assumed it was that the city had a long history but it also seemed that Azalia was just naturally gifted.

It took a while but once the flow of sap lessened, Ed sent over some vitality to Azalia and watched as the small hole he made rapidly regenerated.

[Link is on cooldown]

[Link has leveled up]

As an additional boon, his link skill leveled up. His persistent use of the skill was paying off. It's low level also meant that he had more levels to look forward to.

'Since I'll need to keep sending vitality to Azalia, that'll be an easy task' While Ed once again became preoccupied in his own thoughts the elves nearby couldn't but feel entranced by the sap.

For them, there was an indescribable appeal. Of course, this meant they were disappointed to see the hole regenerate and Ed keep all the sap for himself.

"So, any questions?" The elves all immediately started to clamor with excitement.

"Please pick me!" "How can I be picked?" "Can I have some?" "Please share it with us on this momentous occasion!" All sorts of words were shot at Ed, overwhelming his ears completely.

"Quiet!" Ed yelled. The crowd abided.

"I will now explain who has been selected…" For the sake of his future, Ed made sure to observe the workers and already made his selection.

"Lenna, Hagmar, Aeson, and Soliana. Please come forward" Ed listed out four elves. Two men and women parted from the crowd and approached Ed with evident excitement.

"Your work has impressed me." Ed told them, causing their already brilliant smiles to widen.

"I will explain more details of the job later but for now just know that you will receive paid time off and only two of you will be working with Azalia at any given day. The others will be backed up but receive the same benefits" Ed's words caused the group of four to immediately fall to their knees.

Paid time off? They weren't sure if it meant exactly what they thought it meant but if it did… This was a person worth revering! They would treat Azalia better than they would their own children for sure.

"Good for nothing bastard…" Some of them weren't deserving of any attention anyway. The thought of her children made Lenna grumble. 

One of her sons who was in the crowd didn't quite make out what she said but made a wrong expression.

With all formal procedures out of the way, Ed dispersed the crowd. To commemorate Azalia's official recovery. The day became a holiday and no one who worked for Ed had to work that day and were still paid in full.

For the elves who had branched out and ran their own businesses this was both a boon and a curse. Those who had workers would no doubt have to offer a similar benefit if they wanted to have any employees by the time Ed was finally done creating new jobs.

'You won't have to wait much longer Kimani, it's almost time for you to prove your worth' Ed transmitted via his link to her.

'Was that a little harsh? Eh, I'm sure it was just the right amount of threatening' Ed thought to himself afterward. He wasn't sure if he was nailing the carrot and stick thing just yet but he would get the hang of it eventually.

'Well, I'm sure she isn't suffering too much'

***

In Arbor Academy, morning classes had just finished. Kimani who was shuffling through the halls headed towards her first afternoon class jumped in surprise.

She somehow managed to muffle her own scream before rapidly disappearing from the crowd of students and into a nearby bathroom teary eyed.

The peaceful student life had made her forget about the demonic being who held her life hostage that grim reminder scaring her out of her wits.