After a period of short silence, Sharog finally gave Gurln an answer, even if it wasn't necessarily what he was hoping for.
"I don't know…" She plainly admitted. That also got her thinking though, if she were to ask was there a chance she would receive an answer? Well… something told her the answer to that question was also no…
"But, I will one day." She would make it so. Gurln ignored her mutter and after a short pause finally said some words.
"...I see" Gurln was disappointed. He expected a rigorous workout routine like… 100 Push-Ups, 100 Sit-Ups, 100 Squats, 10KM Running, or something else of the sort. Still, he wasn't entirely willing to give up just yet.
"Then… I can change my favor, right?" Gurln was left yearning. There was something in front of him just out of reach, that was power. He knew that these foreign orcs had power.
"Let's hear it" Her previous answer had been less than satisfactory.
"Can you, teach me magic?" Gurln said facing the ground while still holding onto his sister. It was a bit of an awkward request to make. He was more interested in learning from Ed but that seemed like a pipe dream, especially considering how busy he was. He would have to settle for Sharog who he was already acquainted with as well as more comfortable.
As for Sharog who was unaware of this… she was shocked. She had never even thought of getting a disciple. For one, she was still young! She wasn't a teenager or anything but... was it really time to consider a disciple?
Her second issue was… she was unqualified. She had never expected to be asked by someone to teach. She knew like three spells apart from basic wind manipulation. Plus, what if Gurln and her weren't compatible?
"I- I can try" Sharog said somewhat absentmindedly. She felt a bit overwhelmed by the turn of events. Receiving a positive response, Gurln clenched his fists in success.
As for Ed who had long since sprinted up ahead, he was busy planning things as he hopped over the sacred tribe's walls. What was he planning?
'I need to start by learning how to increase my craftsmanship' The skill was left collecting dust yet Ed was really desperate to see it level up. Increasing it might help him kit out the skeletons in the crypt.
'I also need to get back there' He felt as though things had been left somewhat unfinished. Pioneer and the others who had received mana cores were not sufficiently smart and although Iron had reached a higher stage Ed was met with a dead end.
'Do I need to improve his armor from now on?' An unnatural death knight like Iron would probably not need much else.
'Argh whatever' He needed to focus on getting the sanctuary orcs back with him. Thus, Ed disappeared into the thick canopy with hurried steps.
***
Back in Sanctuary, Shel was worried and afraid. She was worried that things had gone wrong and afraid she had been abandoned. If things had gone wrong she wouldn't know what to do, it left her exasperated. As for the latter, she took it as an almost certain fact.
'Ed must have forgotten about me…' Those were the thought that entered her mind each and every hour that passed. But it made complete sense.
While Ed may or may not have been trying to enamor her during their first encounter, it was a certain fact that by now such feelings had worn off.
'I'm not strong enough…' Shel inspected her scarred and ripped arms. She was without a doubt the strongest orc woman in the settlement. She had no doubts that were the case yet… It was still insufficient!
A strong orc man needed a strong orc woman and Ed was at a level far too high to reach. Ed could even return from the dead! What did she have to entice such a strong man?
'Nothing…' She had nothing. Not brains, not brawn, not beauty. At this rate, she was afraid that Sharog could take Ed for himself. She qualified for at least two of the three requisites.
She felt lacking.
"Shel, come eat some of this boar" One of the orc men invited her to eat something for breakfast but Shel shook her head. Such actions reminded her of Ed as she often invited Ed to eat after a workout.
That also reminded her how quickly Ed grew up. He turned into a powerful force in a matter of weeks. Shel had never experienced anything like that.
After a couple of more hours of idle rest, Shel headed to eat something. This was her lazy routine following both Ed's first departure and her injury.
"I think they are dead" A nearby orc said flat out while talking to another.
"What? No way." The other responded. Shel had obviously spread the news of Ed having passed by. Still, she was worried because after nearly a day without news people started to suspect she was making things up.
"Psst, why else would they be taking so long?" The orc even rolled his eyes as he completely denied the possibility of them having survived. The main reason was prejudice. This particular orc was undoubtedly against Sharog's leadership and one of the settlement's original inhabitants.
Shel simply nibbled at her boar meat as if their words had nothing to do with her when suddenly...
"Ed- Ed is here!!!" An orc barged over and yelled with obvious excitement.
Before even registering what the orc had said Shel had already stood up from the chair she had been lethargically sitting on.
Many of the orcs in the settlement got this same exact message and they all ran towards a plaza located in the middle of the settlement with evident anticipation.
There, all of the orcs got to see Ed's imposing figure watching over the increasingly larger crowd as if waiting. Ed also managed to spot Shel joining the crowd but didn't address her.
He instead waited for the orcs to finally settle into place before opening his mouth to speak.
"I think everyone is here so I'll start" Ed needed to tell them all of the latest happenings.
"First of all… Come here Dakgu" Ed called over the young tribal leader whose role was shortlived. Dakgu who was previously standing a couple of meters behind Ed walked next to him briskly while holding a solemn and pained expression.
Ed had found the youngster still at his settlement rebuilding it without purpose from the ground up. Naturally, he couldn't just leave him there doing something so pointless.
"The thunder cry tribe was annihilated from the attack of a distant tribe" Ed announced after a couple of seconds and as soon as Ed said this, the crowd was left stunned. At the same time, Dakgu's expression twisted as he held something in.
"The reinforcements from our Sanctuary didn't get there in time and once they did they too faced near annihilation" Ed didn't care for their reactions and continued with a solemn tone. It was a serious matter after all.
"They captured some members of the thundery cry and many of our own and attempted to sacrifice them to God!" Ed's tone now seemed to turn fervent with anger as he delivered another shocking piece of news.
"They beheaded one of our own right in front of my eyes after I gave chase! They were audacious!" The crowd seemed rather curious at the beginning but now… they all seemed angry or incensed. Even those that weren't with Sharog were starting to feel as if they were humiliated. Some of their own brothers and sisters were there!
"But…! I defeated them! I killed all who witnessed that gruesome moment and avenged our fellow tribe members!" Ed made another astounding declaration. These strong statements one after the other left many of the orcs agape unsure of which of these statements to take in and react to.
"Huh?" One even said subconsciously blinking awkwardly. They had been riled up by Ed's short words previously but… but what were they supposed to feel now if not speechless?
"But the battle was not over just yet…" Ed continued and started going into detail about his encounters with the sacred tribe. He spoke of the unjust conditions under which the captives were held and how valiant both the thunder cry and those of their own were when he asked if they would help.
He did this to create a sense of kinship between both tribes. He would be stupid to let Dakgu wander off randomly. He had to poach him as a subordinate and leaving the thunder cry tribe as simple losers of war would not leave them a good image.
After this epic retelling, most of the orcs present broke out into cheers. Most of them were too simple to consider if Ed was telling the truth. But it didn't really matter too much to them either. They already knew Ed was strong.
'This is going well' Ed smiled faintly as he observed the rowdy crowd. He made sure to glorify himself in that retelling. Realistically he didn't exaggerate things. He had indeed done what he had done. He just further exaggerated the already grand moments.
Ed allowed the cheery atmosphere to continue for a good bit but as he was on schedule he needed to keep things moving.
"Settle down!" Ed said causing the lively orcs to immediately quiet down and listen, Ed had already become a sort of unreachable idol in their minds.
"Dakgu will be joining us from here on. But that's not all, we will be moving to the sacred tribe's settlement." At first, everyone found Ed's words to reasonable, Dakgu did need a place to stay but the latter part caught them off guard.
"What?!" A strong orc at the front, one of the original settlers under Duma, exclaimed.
The attentively listening orcs got a fright from the sudden exclamation. Ed expected this reaction and came up with a simple remark.
"What? Isn't it natural we take over the spoils of war?" How could they take advantage of the things they won from such a ridiculous distance? But this orc didn't buy into this.
"B*llshit!" He yelled loud enough to be heard by all in the silent plaza.
Some of the orcs were still unwilling to cave in especially when it suddenly involved leaving their home. Ed found this to be normal but it didn't mean he condoned it.
"How do we know you didn't sell out to the enemy huh!?" The angry orc exclaimed throwing out a wild accusation.
Ed's previously solemn expression turned into a glare, it seemed he needed to set an example. So he took a step forward.
All of the orcs jumped up in response having felt a vibration on the ground.
Then came another step. The earth trembled once more.
These slow yet steady steps continued heading one direction shaking the ground as they did.
The orc who called Ed out was paralyzed in shock as soon as he noticed the direction Ed was slowly heading towards. It was his own!
The other orcs that were next to him also noticed this and immediately separated themselves from him.
The earth-shaking steps continued until he was face to face with the pale orc. To be exact Ed was actually looking down on him.
"And what would I have to gain from that?" With his overwhelming strength, what did the enemies have to give him?
In retrospect, the orc felt very stupid now but… to move!? And by the orders of an outsider to boot! As soon as he looked up at Ed however any of such thoughts instantly vanished.
Shel who watched from among the crowd was perhaps the most shellshocked. She had really overestimated her own strength!