The Bosque kingdom was stirred following the news of the tragic death of more than forty adventurers inside of a relatively new dungeon. The dungeon immediately went from unknown to a national phenomenon.
The news of the mana forge potion was already putting it at the forefront of the entire nation and even the continent yet the news of the danger was even more wildly spread. This was to cause chaos.
"It's done!" Azrael said with a bright smile after getting a report on the latest news. Death! Lots of deaths! For some reason, it just filled him with joy!
"Hahaha! There's just a certain thrill to it isn't there?" Azrael laughed and asked his subordinate with a creepy wide grin.
"Y- Yes" The reporting assassin replied with evident unease.
"Sigh… It's too bad I can't do this too often" Azrael said with lament. He was under orders of others so it couldn't be helped.
As an underground organization, it wouldn't do to cause too much trouble for the kingdom and its people. Otherwise, he would be quickly smacked down by the hammer of justice. An unfortunate fact.
"I'll just stay as a hidden power in the shadows for now…" It was cool in its own way, no?
"Azrael" A voice then jolted Azrael out of his lamenting stupor. It was a calm voice but Azrael still straightened himself. It was an instinctive reaction formed by his subconscious fear.
"Yeah?" Nevertheless, Azrael played it cool, he dismissed the reporting assassin and turned to look behind him where a man stood. He was slim and had a graceful appearance, unlike the more extravagantly edgy-looking Azrael.
"There is another task for you" The man told Azrael.
"Ummm, let's hear it" Azrael said with some reluctance, he didn't like being bossed around. He especially didn't like the man in front of him though so he had no choice but to obey.
The strong rule over the weak was a basic law that while not always holding truth, was mostly correct. It also depended on the basis used to test the strength of either party.
Azrael for example used to be nothing more than a poor sob, his heart more brittle than glass. That was a weakness, one that could be exploited and lead him to demise, and it was exploited. The man in front of him and his organization had made good use of his body.
"Poison this person" The thin man said and passed him a small portrait which Azrael grabbed to glance over.
For what did they use his body? For an experiment of course! How he willingly fell victim to this was all due to his weakness.
Azrael was always living in the shadows of others, particularly in the shadows of Clarys. She was both intelligent and talented, she had a bright future. But… what did he have?
He had devout parents and… that was all. Their devotion had never given him any sorts of skills, their devotion didn't get him an education either. Their devotion brought nothing more than bread to the table. That wasn't enough! That wasn't enough to raise a child!
It made him into nothing more than a slightly better duplicate of his parent's sad situation. While he was studying hard under his dad to take over his humble job, Clarys was being praised by the church for performing miracles. The larger she shone, the larger his shadow.
In his eyes, she had it all. While Clarys didn't have parents, the entirety of the church took her as her daughter. Though Clarys also started without an education, there were many willing to teach her!
But if there was one thing that Clarys didn't have that he did it was… luck. He was lucky enough to get in touch with the shady part of the world and volunteer for a dubious experiment all for a chance at grasping power.
Though that sounded unlucky, and it was the biggest gamble Azrael had ever taken part in, it was a successful gamble.
The living couldn't harness the powers of the dead, that was a rule known to all. The dead couldn't harness the power of the living, which was also often foretold. Yet, liches could use any different attributes as long as they had a matching core.
A core. That was the key. Azrael was granted a core that could house death.
"Th- This... This is my target?!?" Azrael asked continuously scanning over the picture on his hand wanting to verify whether he had perhaps made a mistake.
"That's correct, try to get it done within the next two weeks" The man said before starting to retreat into the shadows of the angels of death's1 hideout
"W- Wait Judas!" Azrael yelled trying to get an explanation from the man but unfortunately, he was long gone.
"Sigh… it sucks to be under others… but this is fine too." Azrael thought with a wide grin. Poisoning the king, wouldn't that be much more thrilling than killing useless commoners?
Azrael was once more reassured of his decision to work under these people. How else could he get such monumental tasks?
"Brennan Bosque" He wasn't a bad king. The king of bosque was not particularly strong but his intelligence was not bad. While he didn't bring his kingdom endless riches, he had at least maintained the status quo and done even a little more. Still, his fate had been sealed.
***
Ed did not have an answer to most of the questions he himself proposed but he didn't really need to. Knowing how far he was from the truth was in itself a type of knowledge. He could digest the little and vague things and make them work.
[Mana Manipulation has leveled up]
That on its own had been enough to get him to the next level, of mana manipulation to be specific.
Ed immediately put this knowledge to use as he manipulated the mana around him and made it aid him as he ran through the long winding tunnel. He used the wind to improve his air resistance and imbued his legs with the solid strength of the earth.
In no time at all, he managed to make his way back to the entrance of the hidden chamber and climb out into the lab. From there it was as simple as placing the wooden desk onto its usual indiscrete position.
'I should switch it with something else' The conspicuous desk made it easy for what was now his secret to be uncovered.
'Well, I guess it doesn't really matter now' Most people would be curious as to what was down there but once they made the trip they'd be met with a giant block of ice. It would be disappointing and at most any orc would ask themselves what could have possibly caused it before going about their usual business.
'For the sake of potential thieves I need to get Vorgarag to work on this' Wouldn't it be sad if intruders weren't even able to catch a glimpse of Ed's coveted knowledge?
As for how to entice Vorgarag… it was a no brainer.
'The knowledge itself is enticing enough' Vorgarag wouldn't be in any way opposed to uncovering the knowledge hidden deep within the ice. Ed suspected he would even be just as excited as him if not more.
Vorgarag had always shown admiration towards the orc ancestors after all. He would certainly be over the moon at the chance to grasp some of their long lost knowledge as well as reclaim a piece of their history.
Ed thus hurried out of the lab planning to beeline over to Sharog to ask her about Vorgarag's whereabouts. He didn't need to head that far however since he managed to catch a glimpse of Vorgarag while passing the medical room.
"Nag…" Vorgarag muttered under his breath while inspecting the sleeping Nag. It was at that moment that Ed made his way inside.
"Hey" Ed said making Vorgarag turn to look at him. This allowed Ed to get a good glimpse at Vorgarag's body which was actually Herewaruk's causing him to feel a hint of incongruency. Nonetheless, Vorgarag's current state was his handiwork so he tossed those feelings aside.
"Is there really nothing you can do for Nag… like maybe…." Vorgarag didn't need to finish his words for Ed to know what he was insinuating.
"I can, but do you want that?" Ed replied honestly. Switching bodies wasn't a simple matter unless Ed decided to let the whole tribe know of it and have it become a norm.
"I suppose not" Vorgarag said in return while glancing back at Nag. It was the same familiar face that he had seen grow up alongside him, it was also the same face that regularly interrupted him while he conducted his brief experiments. It would be a pity to see it change.
Ed didn't have any qualms with revealing his capabilities but unless it granted him immediate tangible benefits he wouldn't jump the gun at the opportunity. If Vorgarag were to ask however he wouldn't say no.
Seeing that the body change was out of the question, Ed started to rummage through his mind for other possibilities. That was when he finally remembered a particularly promising option.
"There is a potential other solution though" Ed told the mildly disillusioned Vorgarag.
"Really?" Vorgarag looked at him and asked curiously.
Any other option from Ed had a high chance of success. As the orc who had made it his job to listen to his suggestion in his past body, he knew this well. He perked up his ears and listened.
"We just have to get the blood of the cave monster, of the Ogre Blurak" Ed suggested to Vorgarag. The high vitality blood of Blurak would make him an ideal replacement for himself.
The botany garden left behind by the sacred tribe chieftess also had modified herbs of all kinds. While Ed hadn't gone there himself, Sharog's information was enough for him to understand that there was a high chance he could make a much higher quality potion.
Whether his alchemy skills could bring it into existence was another matter.