Elijah was still trying to wrap his head around what had happened in the tutorial grounds when he turned to the system for answers. "What happened here?" he asked, his voice shaking with a mixture of fear and confusion. The system responded in a cold, monotone voice, "This is the tutorial grounds. It is designed to help you become stronger and prepare you for what is to come. A word of advice, host: never let your guard down. In this place, only the most cunning can survive."
Feeling lost and overwhelmed, Elijah turned to the goblins who had survived the brutal attack. They were dragging the bodies of their fallen comrades and Elijah knew that he needed to do something to help. Without a second thought, he grabbed a dusty shovel and started digging graves for the fallen goblins.
The surviving goblins saw what he was doing and immediately tried to take the shovel from him, insisting that they should do it themselves. But Elijah was determined to show them that he was committed to helping them in any way he could. And so, he dug six graves and slowly filled them with soil.
As he stood over the freshly dug graves, Elijah made a promise to himself that he would do everything in his power to prevent any more deaths like this. He set up a simple tombstone for the fallen goblins, and since they didn't have names yet, he wrote
"In fields of war, they bravely fought,
For freedom, justice, and what they sought,
Their sacrifice, we cannot forget,
For their honor, we owe a debt.
Rest in peace, dear fallen heroes,
Your courage and valor, forever glows,
May your legacy live on, ever strong,
For your sacrifice, we forever long."
on it.
After the funeral, Elijah kneeled in front of the remaining goblins and apologized. "I'm sorry," he said, "I was just a kid and I didn't know anything. But I still need your help and I promise to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again."
The goblins looked at him with a mixture of sadness and respect. One of them spoke up, "You may be young, but you have a good heart. We will help you, but you must promise us that you will not act recklessly like before. We cannot afford to lose any more of our kin."
Elijah nodded solemnly, "I promise. I won't let you down." And with that, he knew that he had gained the trust and loyalty of the goblins. Together, they would face whatever challenges lay ahead in the tutorial grounds and beyond.