On the way to pick herbs, Ed made sure not to lose out on his assimilation skill for a second longer. He assimilated a tree, well, a tree branch.
[Vitality +2]
[Constitution +2]
[Assimilation has leveled up]
And to his surprise, it leveled up! Ed couldn't even remember when the last level up had occurred, it became plainly obvious that assimilation did not affect itself, as disappointing as that was.
'It could also be that I need to start assimilating more exotic items' Assimilating the same things over and over again yielded less experience.
Ed had discovered such was the case for assessment previously deduction, and it also likely applied to assimilation. It wouldn't be too farfetched for the skill to eventually reach a standstill given that was likely the case.
'Now that I think about it, I should probably check my status' He had yet to do so in the orc plains, although as the scriptures had told him, he was actually in the orc thicket.
[Name: Edw#&!]
Type: Orc
Health: 1600/1600
Mana: 271
Vitality: 12
Strength: 6
Agility: 2
Constitution: 14
Dexterity: 5
~Skills~
[Transmission lvl. 4] -Show info-
[Mental Fortitude lvl. 6] -Show info-
[Assessment lvl. 2] -Show info-
[Assimilation lvl. 6] -Show info-
[Thought Manifestation lvl. 1] -Show info-
[Language lvl. 1] -Show info-
[System Link lvl. 2] -Show info-
[Instinct lvl. 5] -Show info-
[Adept Throwing lvl. 1] -Show info-
[Mana Manipulation lvl. 7] -Show info-
[Axemanship lvl. 5] -Show info-
[Eloquence lvl. 4] -Show info-
[Craftsperson lvl. 0] -Show info-
Ed's skills were listed out and he made sure to pay each close attention.
'I can't go into the system space just yet' He needed to first settle things down following the tribal war. He continued to scan his way down the list.
'I need to work on the craftsperson skill' Ed had already noticed the benefits of good equipment after equipping himself with good items.
'In-game or reality, pay to win is a viable strategy' Great equipment required great resources as well as a great effort. Either of those things was quite costly, although in Ed's case he would only be paying out time to grind the skill.
After formulating his thoughts for a bit, Ed reached the ogre caverns. Needless to say, it had changed a lot from his previous visit. For one, there were more herbs. He and Vorgarag had planted seeds in their last visit. The orcs were also tasked with tending to them and delivering the plants back to the settlement.
Occasionally, he would spot a wilting herb. For plants with enormous vitality, that was rather odd. He thus briefly entered the cave to assess how crystal excavation might have affected things.
'Those orcs do quick work' There were traces of mining and digging. Small shards of crystals were littered about and there were also a handful of carts waiting to be filled.
Overall, the cavern had received an unwanted overhaul and much of the mana in the air had diminished. Of course, with the abundance of crystals, the mana was still substantial. It was just a bit less appropriate for the herbs which used to flourish without outside interference.
'I'll have to arrange to surround the farm with crystals' Sanctuary already picked the entrance clean of crystals, they wouldn't need more for a good while.
'Let me do the last mining though' Ed still needed to pickpock- rightfully gather some more crystals for his own consumption. Only after doing that did he start to pick some herbs.
On his way back to the sacred tribe, Ed seriously pondered on the matter of relocation.
'The current settlement is still too far from the cave' The cave was where they planted the herbs as well as where they mined the crystal. The boss was also located there, It made for the safest and most ideal spot.
'Luckily, Blurak can't escape his boss area' Otherwise getting as far away from it as possible would be truly the most ideal.
Nonetheless, apart from how troublesome it was to move again, Ed saw no downsides to taking over the sacred tribe's settlement. He would also need some time to decipher the boulders of knowledge and secretly experiment on his foes' bodies.
'I'll take it up with Sharog then' She had been acting as the deputy leader, her opinion would be valuable.
Ed's trip back and forth was no less than an hour. A surprisingly short time compared to what it could otherwise be.
"Here" Ed popped out of nowhere and handed Sharog a handful of herbs.
"Ah! Ed!" Sharog who had been waiting by the barrack entrance was given a good shock. It was especially so because Ed had even started to apply the herbs himself.
"Wh-"
"Alivio Herbs, they can help even without being turned into a potion" Ed was afraid that if he delayed the healing of Sharog and the others that they would be left with nasty scars or even a medical problem.
"I- I know that but-" Sharog replied but stopped to look down at her arm where she felt some tingly sensations.
"Looks like they are quite effective raw. How were things while I was gone?" Ed then proceeded to ask as he controlled the earth to form a large cauldron. He was going to immediately start making the potions.
"The surrendered orcs are in prison and the unconscious ones were also locked up" By unconscious ones Sharog meant the one that had their consciousness taken. Since their body was still alive, it was a normal assumption to make. No matter how faint their breathing had become they were still alive.
"Good" Ed would probably cry if they burned the unconscious orcs while he left or something like that.
"Since you didn't kill them I figured you had a use for them" Sharog also didn't miss how Ed absorbed some of them into nothingness only to stop for no apparent reason.
"Thank you" Ed definitely made a correct decision when he decided to not only spare her but also bring her to his side. Even with all her failures, she was still much better than the likes of Duma.
'I wonder where he went…' Ed didn't know if Duma had run away or if he had died in battle. If it was the latter then he had to thank the cowardly orc for mustering up the courage to participate in the hectic battle.
'There are lots of hidden heroes among these orcs' Ed even felt some guilt for sacrificing the first captives he rescued. Sarul, Duma's close aide, was one such lost hero.
Ed was forced out of his thoughts by the sizzling cauldron as well as Sharog's continued report.
"Ummm… after that everyone just took a nap. Well, some searched around for something to eat" Sharog then sat down on the floor signaling some exhaustion of her own.
"You should go to sleep as well" Ed said before cutting a large wound on his arm. His blood flooded into the earthen cauldron. Ed then created an earth rod and reinforced it to start stirring the potion.
Seeing the whole process, Sharog who was about to agree suddenly felt she wasn't doing enough.
"No, it's ok, I can help" Ed had mentioned her stopping the injured from getting help previously and she had yet to make up for that.
"Suit yourself" Ed said casually as he continued to stir the cauldron. His blood would occasionally bubble creating a sizzling noise. It was the only noise they could hear during that silent night making for a peaceful atmosphere.
The potion was soon done and Ed made sure to rapidly conjure up some containers.
"Drink some" Sharog's entire body was more likely than not in pain now that so much time had passed since the battle. Adrenaline might have kept her blind to it previously but by now reality had to have set in.
Sharog didn't decline although she felt a bit sheepish at the thought of drinking something with Ed's blood inside of it.
She chugged down the whole thing and immediately felt much more comfortable. The potion tasted like a bitter tea mixed with iron. Nevertheless, it's healing properties made for a cool sensation.
"Where are the injured?" Ed asked as he grabbed many of the containers himself. It would not have been a bad idea to concoct the potions there but perhaps having gotten caught in conversation he didn't think of that.
"Follow me, I'll show you" Sharog replied immediately picking up some herself. She lead Ed away into the barracks.
They eventually came to a dormitory area where the warriors likely slept on a regular basis. All things considered, the sacred tribe was unlike any of the other tribes Ed had seen so far. Their rule almost seemed militaristic.
"Let's start with the more severe ones" Ed told Sharog before promptly acting on those words. He scanned a couple of the orcs to find their status.
[Rolfish (Bleeding internally)]
[Nag (Crippled)]
[Agrob (Resting)]
The quick assessments gave Ed the exact information he needed to put his words into action. He hurried over to the orc woman called Rolfish, she seemed to be unconscious. He gave her the potion making her break out into a coughing fit.
"Urgh…" She even spat out a mouthful of blood.
[Rolfish (Seriously Injured)]
The state changed to seriously injured. Ed wasn't sure if that meant things had become better but he proceeded to administer the potions to others.
"Nag…" Ed obviously remembered the slow orc. His status mentioned being crippled giving him quite a fright. Upon further look, it became evident that he injured his spine.
"This might be beyond my abilities…" Ed muttered dejectedly.
The potions weren't all-powerful. For one thing, it worked better when healing tissue than bones, Ed didn't know if that also extended to nerves.
Unless he made Nag a new body, he would remain crippled. Of course, he could also just use one of the enemies.
'But do I want to keep all of my orcs in tip-top shape?' The answer was obviously yes but at what cost? Would he force his subordinates to constantly switch bodies? Would he bring back from the dead those who died a valiant death? Those who were resigned to their destiny that might even feel better dead than alive?
'We'll have to see' The future was hard to predict, Ed couldn't guarantee he would always be the same person.