The sky was clear and the sun shone brightly. It illuminated the faces of the orcs below it. Literally, not figuratively. A good portion of them had a stern expression.
The situation in Sanctuary kept on changing for the better with the help of Ed but that didn't mean this came without its prices. Ed's presence in their lives had attracted trouble plenty of times.
While in some situations they were bound to be eliminated, the previous attack on Sanctuary was almost entirely the fault of Ed. This was of course not known. So why was it an issue?
"It was much simpler before y'know" An orc complained. Some orcs were developing feelings that led them closer to these truths.
"Ha, if those humans came back then we would be dead" Another who happened to be passing by snorted and said.
"But hey hey hey! Think about it! Ed came, humans came!" The orc said causing the other to pause. That- That was true!
With rumors like this, the atmosphere in Sanctuary was only growing more uninviting. This became especially true when they heard that the humans were not done with them just yet.
This turn of event was against the will of the leaders of Sanctuary so obviously they had tried to keep it under wraps. Even more clearly they had failed to do so.
Dakgu had kept his mouth shut after hearing Ed's transmission but Shel hadn't been as careful. The members of the captured tribes were not very tight-lipped so a PR nightmare formed. Sharog's beautiful appearance was starting to take a hit from stress.
Fortunately, the plantation array was working better than intended as the mana imbued some rejuvenating properties into the plants produce. Other than that, the weaponsmithing was also going smoothly.
After returning, Shel also got to work on making some real armor. It was not the hunk of metal she made for Ed before. While the quality would not match Ed's anytime soon, the product was not half bad. It was at least enough for the new entries to the settlement.
Which speaking of...
[Summoning Dungeon Champion]
The latest entry to the floor as a whole was Ed. He was just spawned into a carbon copy of his previous orc body following his death as was custom. As was also custom, he seemed to be surrounded by trees and located in an unknown place.
'Wow, that wasn't fun' But Ed's mind was elsewhere. It turned out his body was not ready even after he was recalled so he waited an extra hour doing nothing. He did manage to come up with a couple of plans of action as a result though.
Of course the first part of any of his plans was to first find out where he was. Ed stood up from the ground he found himself on. He then looked around but apart from lots of trees, there was nothing to observe.
That being the case, Ed wanted to get a higher look. He started to raise the ground underneath his feet until it turned into a pillar that surpassed the canopy of trees.
His vision expanded further and further out onto the horizon as his height continued to elevate. Eventually, he was able to catch a glimpse of a distant clearing.
'Looks like a settlement…' Ed thought to himself before making the pillar recede back into the ground. He also made sure to run off towards the direction of the clearing.
Using his mana manipulation and spells, Ed shot forward rapidly. He reached the settlement clearing in no more than 10 minutes. As the clearing opened and the settlement came well into view, Ed realized he recognized the area.
'This is Sanctuary' To be exact, this was where he wanted to go!
'I must have gotten lucky' The dungeon hated spawning him where he was needed after all.
'I'm in the settlement and coming in, expect me' Knowing that he was home, Ed transmitted a message to Sharog, Shel, and Dakgu. It was a good idea to let them know in advance.
Without further ado, Ed rushed over to the settlement. The walls were being guarded by a mix of goblins and orcs. Prild had some of his goblins take on the duty.
As soon as Ed entered the area, both the goblin and the orc were shocked to see Ed's figure. One of the orcs was tasked with telling someone to open the gate but before he had a chance… Ed had already scaled it!
Ed sprinted upwards. It only sounded unbelievable as Ed merely climbed up the vine walls with speed and coordination unlike that of an orc. Which was impressive but not unbelievable for him.
This meant the orc was dumbfounded for only a moment. He quickly regained his calm and made an excited expression.
"Ed! You are back!" They said feeling happy about his return. The atmosphere without Ed was always odd to say the least. It was as if bad things only happened when he was not around or he magically resolved them.
"Anything happened in my absence?" Ed asked while inspecting the houses and orcs down below. They were pretty far but Ed could still see them quite well.
"Nothing has happened! I've made sure to keep my eyes peeled!" The orc said with confidence.
Ed nodded briefly before bidding farewell and rapidly making his way down. He now ran over to Sharog's usual location, her home. Some also considered that particular building to be her office as she frequently did her thinking there.
'Sharog, I'm heading to your home' Ed transmitted. If she wasn't there before, she was bound to start heading there now.
But it didn't come to that. Minutes later, Ed found Sharog waiting for him at the door with a reproachful look.
"I can't believe you dismissed me and got yourself killed" Sharog said disappointed by Ed's actions. He however did nothing than smile wryly in response.
"It doesn't mean much to me at this point" Having died so many times, he was immune to the trauma that the word death might cause in some. In fact, dying was just another factor that Ed could at times even use for strategies.
"But Shel and I still worry! What if you really die… Plus Dakgu doesn't even know you can revive!" Sharog was not too happy with Ed acting by himself so often. What was the point of having them around then? Managing the settlement?
Ed didn't respond to this. He, too, was afraid that he might not revive someday if he kept pushing the dungeon's buttons but… he didn't have a choice on it anyway. He had thought about it before and given his situation, no matter where he ended up he would find the result acceptable.
'Some people find dying for a cause they support to be worth it' The dungeon being unreasonable had nothing to do with him. If it killed him it killed him, and if it didn't all was good.
"I don't think that'll happen but that just means you need to get stronger" Ed said after a short while.
Sharog nodded but her expression suggested she was still opposed to his recklessness. She was definitely willing to grow stronger there was just no opportunity. For the time being, she'd be relying on Ed.
"There is only one problem with making you all stronger…" Ed said pensively.
Sharog suddenly froze feeling something was off. She said nothing believing the words Ed spoke were encouragement but it turned out he had a plan! The despondence she had left as if it was never there and Sharog's eyes gleamed with expectation.
"What's the problem? I can handle any side effects!" Sharog declared leaving no room for doubt.
"The method could turn you into a puppet in the future" Ed said greatly exaggerating the truth. He did so in a way that didn't benefit him and was instead likely to put off Sharog.
Yet while Sharog's eyes did waver, she quickly regained her enthusiasm and willingness.
"I don't mind it at all" She said causing Ed to be taken aback. How could she say he was reckless? He didn't trust himself so why did she trust him so much!?
"Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be a puppet. But if it's only a possibility then I am willing to trust you" Sharog said clarifying her thoughts. Yet to Ed, the recklessness of agreeing to have her consciousness taken out of her and into the system was not lessened.
'I don't think she understands' In the future, Ed might be able to use commands to force her to do things. The government they were constantly interrupted in the midst of creating would be a formality ran by him solely if they all agreed to grow stronger through it.
Ed couldn't guarantee that future Ed would be nice or at what point in the future that would happen. Would it be right before his true death? Or was the event that could send him spiraling down right around the corner?
"Thank you" Sharog's words managed to enlighten him Why worry about the future when there was so much to do in the present? Plus, if he was worried about these things his moral compass was for now in the right place.
"Since you trust me I won't dally" Ed said approaching Sharog. She immediately became quite flustered especially after Ed reached out towards her.
Nonetheless, all Ed did was press his hands against her head causing her to blank. It was that or the spirit insertion pulling out her consciousness that caused it.. Either way, it was time to improve the orcs.