Fear was etched in the hearts of the knights. The crystals which Ed had placed around him allowed them to recall the tragic events that had placed them in their current predicament.
After a brief moment of silent and fearful stares, a soft murmur was heard amongst the knights. It was a chant.
Lightning then arced forward and struck at the crystals covertly on the ground.
[You've been dealt explosive damage. -252 hp]
The crystals nearest to the attack were ignited into a fierce explosion that shook Ed's body. The pain that assaulted Ed was enough to make him scream but not enough to be heard. The explosions were yet to be over.
[You've been dealt explosive damage. 156 hp]
How could it be described? The experience of having his limbs torn apart by the explosions and the briefness of it all.
[You've been dealt explosive damage. 156 hp]
[You've died]
[Recalling Champion's Soul]
The speedy death caused Ed to black out, his thoughts had drifted away long before he was recalled. Yet, there was some lingering regret from the exact moment he saw the lightning arc forward.
By the time he reappeared in the boundless void Ed's memories of his defeat resurfaced and this lingering regret was still lingering.
'I didn't hide them well enough' To be fair, the crystals shone quite brightly. Then again, it was all the more reason to dig them into the dirt rather than lightly pad it with some dirt. Even if the explosion was slightly dampened, he would at least be alive long enough to lure the knights.
But he had died. This was the second time as an orc.
'I wonder what my drop item is…' He only had the privilege to hold his own drop item once. As a beginner alchemist, he was tempted to go steal himself away from the humans. His first orc drop item was likely stashed away by the dungeon.
'Sigh… Dungeon, what now?' So whether he could or could not retrieve the item, it all depended on the dungeon. This was a dependency he wanted to at least relax and Ed believed that Spiritual Mark might be the key to this.
'For now, I'm stuck with you' But any tests would have to wait until after he was released.
[The system has observed your actions up until this point, selecting a suitable reward...]
'Huh? A reward?' Ed's previous words were starting to seem a bit harsh now. Should he apologize-?
[Acquired nothing]
Ed's thoughts froze, he got nothing at all? Was this supposed to be some sort of funny prank on behalf of the dungeon?
'Sigh… I sighed again... ' But how could he not? To get nothing as a reward was better than being punished by a long shot but did it have to mess with his expectations like that?
[10 minutes before respawning]
'Looks like I'm going into my Skeleton or mushroom body' Unless he had slept for a long while, the dungeon would still be needed to reconstruct his orc body. The bits of pieces of himself were hardly salvageable that much was certain.
Ed had to come up with some plans to lure more humans, or to find the location of Eon.
***
The atmosphere in the swampy marsh was heated. An age of war and strife had been initiated by the Reeds Tribe. They had gone around trampling tribe after tribe sparing no one.
Join the tribe or die was the choice they were given and most chose the former over the latter. With the constant expansion of the tribe, they could no longer be described as mere reeds. The name had always been quite derogatory, no?
The mensch tribe was a better fit for their upstanding tribe. They were lizardmen of honor and valor after all.
While these statements were highly debatable, Kurgher seemed to think so. He was currently back in his tent thinking about this very thing.
They had given their captives a choice and they won quite easily leaving most of the annexed tribes with a liveable environment. With the support of their Deity of Space Eon, their honor and strength were a god-given right. So yeah, they were quite honorable and stand-up.
While Kurgher basked in his victories and delusions, a lizardman approached the Chief's tent.
"War chief Kurgher, have you appointed a Shaman for our great deity yet?" The lizardman asked from outside of Kurgher's tent.
Kurgher who had been having a good time in his head was forced to stop and frowned deeply. This matter of a Shaman had been bothering him for quite a while now.
Many of the annexed tribes were pushing either their own Shaman or a disciple of their Shaman to take on the position but Kurgher in fact wanted none of them.
'Why do I need to share my power with anyone?' What was the point of a Shaman? They passed on knowledge from generation to generation, but so what?
Kurgher didn't need any of that knowledge. His current position was acquired without a shaman so why would he need one now?
"I have not appointed a Shaman… And I will not" Kurgher replied from within his tent with a cold voice. The lizardman outside froze briefly sensing that something was wrong.
"I- I understand chief" The lizardman said before promptly scampering off.
Eon who observed this all was very satisfied. His subtle brainwashing of the savage monsters was progressing smoothly. By now, he had taught them some basic communication skills so whenever he made a decree they were being carried out more faithfully.
The Mensch tribe conquering the other tribes was obviously part of his plan and happened under his orders. There were some small hiccups, however.
Some members of certain tribes were able to flee due to the Reed tribe's incompetence. Fortunately, by the time Kurgher's ego inflated and the tribe became the mensch tribe, there were little to no mishaps.
Eon could have tied those loose ends if he wasn't at risk of losing more and more vitality as a result. Tens of lizardmen couldn't do enough damage to merit such an action however.
'If it's like this my suffering won't last long…' He could use the lizardmen as cannon fodder soon enough and push to the bottom of the marsh lake where he presumed the entry to the next floor was situated.
What he would discover there and how to deal with it... That... that was a matter for the future him.
In the far-off distance, these loose ends were running further and further away from the Mensch tribe and any of its affiliate tribes.
This group totaled no more than 40. These were the numbers of lizardmen from over 16 tribes that were able to escape successfully and miraculously reunite while fleeing
Magically was not too right a word either though… What they were searching for all coincided. The caverns.
The cavern was, first of all, a dangerous place. This meant that most lizardmen were unwilling to approach it. Those that were, had to be in an extreme situation like themselves or be ill-informed.
The point was, this was a safe haven for all of these refugees.
"It- It's sealed!" A lizardman said despairingly. After walking for miles upon miles they had reached a cavern entrance but it had been sealed shut by rocks!
"What will we do?!?" The lizardmen were starting to panic and show signs of unrest. Their ragtag group was made from a group of defeated tribes. It was impossible to say that some of them weren't living their worst moments.
Under such pressure and strain, the group could easily fall apart. They were brought together by hardship but that very hardship could bring them apart.
"Let's split up and find new ones!" This was a cavern system with an expansive and diverse world inside. It was impossible for that one hole to be the only entrance.
"We'll leave someone here to report if anything" Amongst the lizardmen, there was always one that spoke the loudest. Stickler was such a lizardman. His suggestion seemed to ring true as the other lizardmen nodded. Thus, quickly settling the unrest.
Much later...
"I wish we could be as close as the rock sealing this cavern…" A younger lizardman muttered observing the boulders move. The breaking away of his tribe had put him in a sour mood.
"Hm? Boulders don't move?" The lizardman quickly noticed the peculiarity of the situation and before they could try and report it to the other lizardmen, the cavern's entrance was blown away.
Rock flew off from the epicenter and dust covered the immediate surrounding. As soon as the dust settled, what was revealed was a large red blob. This large red blob seemed to be very angry based on its thirst for blood making the lizardman frightened.
Slowly but surely, figures passed through the cloudy dust. By the time the dust settled everyone was neatly lined up in front of this unknown lizardman. W was also amongst them and the mushroom puppet stood out quite a bit making the youth stare for a moment.
"You, what brings you here?" Var Agus asked the young lizardman who appeared to be snared by W's bizarre appearance. But they regained their wits rather promptly.
"We wanted refuge" The lizardman said speaking truthfully. He was outnumbered so he had to speak truthfully.
"Refuge…?" Var Agus asked back. As the two parties continued to ramble, W who could not understand them switched gears.
He was trying to figure out how long it would take him to create a mushroom path to the surface. Unfortunately, all his calculations came out to quite a while.
"Mushroom Deity?" The young man asked back. The two had conversed about their experiences and Var made sure to give W's part of the story a lot of exposure.
"Yes, it is a magnanimous one too" As the situation devolved into him receiving weird stares, W decided to make a transmission
'I will be leaving' W told Var Agus and his group. His final goal was just to find the exit and with the help of his lizard comrades, he had managed to pull it off in record time.
'It beats fumbling around with this hungry thing…' W grumbled shooting Bloody a quick glance. The creature was even now fooling about ruining W's divine image.
"WHAT?!" But Var Agus was unwilling. Who said we won't go back in with you?