The lizardmen were not dumb but with a deity next door, these were more into religion and superstition than many other creatures. Not to mention that Var Agus' group was quite literally made of the ones still willing to support their hydra god.
Then again, things weren't that simple. The main reason behind Var Agus' fear was the ancestral tales surrounding the cavern. So far, they had found plenty of food and apart from the place being dark and damp, it would make for a nice living space.
That was only a facade though, the place was simply too dangerous and equally mysterious. While Var had never personally investigated the matter, one didn't have to make mistakes themselves to learn from them.
"Oh mysterious one…?" Var reiterated in questioning. One could never be too careful!
W who could not understand the lizardmen had become well aware through their actions and expressions that they were anxiously waiting for him to continue.
'I am not your enemy, I am in front of you all' W transmitted as he stepped out from behind Bloody and walked over to Var Agus.
"This…" Var was left dumbfounded as he looked up at the creature. Not only did it not give off a mysterious aura, but the creature looked completely unimpressive. While it had a humanoid figure, it looked rather feeble. It looked like it was made of dirt and had a bunch of mushrooms growing on its body.
"How… How should we address you?" But just because the creature seemed unassuming didn't mean it was. The ability to talk to directly to someone's mind was something not even included in his fables.
Unfortunately, this ability was a one-way channel. Advancement in the future might be able to resolve this, but W was not in the future. This meant that his only other option was to teach these lizardmen his language.
'Wait… Do mushrooms even have a language?' He did have the skill at level 1 since it was on his consciousness but it was a bit ridiculous, no?
'I can't understand you' W decided to be frank for now. He would leave everything else to the lizardmen's imagination, and they did imagine plenty.
"Can't understand us…?" Var Agus was quite perplexed by this revelation. Could the weird mushroom monster really not understand them?
"I guess it doesn't speak our language…" One of the other lizardmen muttered looking at W.
"That can't be right" Var Agus said dismissing the notion. He started to think back to the rumors of old and the exact meaning of failing to understand. It could mean to quite literally not understand their language or to not understand their actions, emotions, etc.
"It can't understand why we are here" Var Agus said enlightened. The tales of a mushroom god residing in the mysterious cavern had to be true, therefore, this had to be a sub-body it used to circulate its domain.
The red blob? Why that was obviously a divine guardian. If there did exist a mushroom god, it would no doubt need to show its prowess through bringing an entourage. But there was only one…
This brief thought made Var Agus hold a tinge of fear. The bloodthirsty aura on the creature for which Korz was questioned was not imagined by the previous lizardman, Var could feel it too in fact. The creature was not one to be easily trifled with. At the very least, one would be in for a sticky situation.
"Does that make sense…?" Some of the other lizardmen were starting to think that was a bit of a stretch but most attributed it to their lacking knowledge and wisdom.
After watching the lizardmen argue back and forth with one another W decided to ask another question.
'Do you all know the way out?' This had been W's purpose and a yes or no answer was very hard to misinterpret.
"Ah! You were right Var, it even wants to lead us out now!" A lizardman said he too was joining the enlightened. The deity couldn't understand why they were there and now it wanted to lead them out, what a humble deity!
"We do… But the way out was blocked" Var said coupled with a small nod, a near-universal indicator of assent.1 But the lizardman's expression told W that the matter wasn't so simple.
'Lead me there' Whatever the case, W first needed to see the exit before being able to determine whether they could leave. Bloody was not really listening to W without the command sub-skill so there was no other choice.
While Ed had commanded it to take him there, he had not specified time or speed. That meant that Bloody could lead him there haphazardly. How it had decided to follow the lizardman without his consent was a perfect example.
His words were once again misinterpreted, however.
"""Thank you!""" The lizardmen were touched beyond words. Indeed, the mushroom god turned out to be a benevolent god.
After expressing its confusion about their trespassing on its territory, it asked if they knew the way out. After they said yes but told it the situation was difficult, it clearly expressed its intention to open the way out!
"This is unlike the rumors…" The mushroom god of fables was not benevolent. It was a tyrannical existence that forcibly took control of one's mind to make it do its bidding. The unfortunate captured creatures were dubbed the blighted.
"What was that your greatness, Var?" One of the more devout believers asked.
"Nothing…" The mushroom god must have gained wisdom now and moved past its savagery. Var Agus would not reveal its poor past, that was no way to repay a favor.
"Please follow me excellent one" Var stood up straight and said with lots of respect. If… If he could start again… he would not become a shaman disciple for the Hydra god. But unfortunately, his life was now forever tied to the hydra.
W understood clearly Var's intention and followed after the latter. Bloody did so too, though with hints of disappointment. Was there no more blood for it?
***
In the orc plains, things had progressed smoothly and the necessary potions were crafted speedily by Ed and Sharog.
[Endurance Potion]
[Bulk Up Potion]
[Stamina Mushroom]
Sharog was working on making the Endurance potion while Ed tried to create some new recipes. Once he got the hang of them he would teach them to Sharog. This method worked surprisingly well as they managed to amass a good number of potions.
Ed felt that these were the right consumables for the job.The purpose was to ensure the orcs could last as long as possible after all and each one worked towards this goal in some form.
The endurance potion allowed one's muscles and body to better endure both force and strain. That meant decreased knockback and perhaps even better stamina. The potion also had little to no side effects.
That made it perfect to combat the new Bulk Up potion which boosted muscle tissue growth putting a heavy strain on them. This was especially evident after the potion's effect wore off and the consumer was left painfully sore.
Finally, the stamina mushroom was simply high on calories and carbs while taking a good bit to exit one's system. As could be guessed, the mushroom was not made in a cauldron.
Ed had in fact combined a mushroom with the healing supplement to create the stamina mushroom. The reason why he didn't simply give healing supplements was that they were more for healing than stamina. That was to say, Ed added in things like boar meat to make this mushroom.
'I'll grow this back in the mushroom caverns' The mysterious location was to be dubbed as such in his mind. The ogre cavern was connected to it but the ogre cavern would always be a separate location in Ed's heart.
'We went through so much together Blurak' It was a pity Ed didn't like any of the things he went through with Blurak. If it were not for its blood- for a boss, the need of a boss, Ed would sleep soundly at night knowing it was gone.
'Maybe that's too harsh' Either way, it was time for them to set out. The night was fast approaching. The orcs weren't used to staying up too late but that went both ways. A speedy approach as they slept was the most ideal.
"Dakgu, do you know if they have any goblins?" Ed asked Dakgu. As soon as he and Sharog were done, he stored everything and ran over to the settlement center. This was where the war preparation was being gathered and the orcs were being trained.
"Ummm… Yeah, they did. I think a couple might have died by now though" Dakgu answered after doing a bit of thinking.
"Died?" Ed asked back noticing the curious point.
"Yeah, Romarod… He is a particular one" While bullying goblins was a common trait of many orcs, some tribes took it beyond just bullying. They were practically animals waiting to be slaughtered at Romarod's tribe.
"It looks like we have the moral high ground…" Ed muttered to himself causing Dakgu to arch an eyebrow.
"Never mind that, gather everyone. Tell them to wear their armor. It's showtime" Ed said perhaps looking towards a non-existent camera. If there were one, surely it'd be the best pan out in the history of pan-
"What's a show again…?" Dakgu asked with a mix of concussion and embarrassment. It was showtime but he didn't even know what a show was! Ah, how stupid of him!
"Never mind… just gather everyone" Ed said somewhat dejected. Dakgu no longer dared to say a thing, he promptly dashed off.
As for shaking your head, didn't research it too deeply but apparently babies usually shake their head trying to get away from the breast when they don't want any milk....? Seems quite reasonable but also a bit farfetched in my opinion.