Chapter 105 - Bloodletting
Hours earlier Ed was reading a segment on dungeons and digesting his findings.
A dungeon. It’s an entity. It is a monster in its own right. A blessing and a curse.
This was how Ed would summarize dungeons. He based it on the few pages the encyclopedia dedicated to them.
As a monster, they can become a calamity. But they can also become a valuable resource. This did not include things found in chests. What could really make them a resource is the environment or the mobs.
Blurak’s cavern was a perfect example. It was filled with veins of elemental crystals of myriad colors. Just like Vorgarag had done, humans used them to make magical devices.
Unfortunately, the book had no blueprints on how to make any of the examples it had provided. The humans’ technology was naturally much more developed and advanced than that of the orcs making them very attractive for Ed. But… it was what it was, he moved on.
The next point was monster drops. These were the most valuable resource. Why? Unlimited! Renewable resources, especially ones as exotic as monster drops, were extremely enticing for organizations.
This was also a curse. Based on the encyclopedia, an organization had at one time tried to maintain a monopoly over a dungeon that contained a rare magic metal. The magic metal was dropped by the first boss so they had completely neglected the other floors.
Once the dungeon inevitably broke out, the lower floors were flooded with higher level monsters. The organization was effectively wiped out by the unprecedented amount of monsters and the surroundings had to clean up after them.
But when handled correctly, the lives of many could be drastically improved. Many magic devices required specific boss drops or monster parts. If a dungeon that provided these things never existed, who knew how long it would take for alternatives to arise?
As cities prospered, and its people prospered, education prospered. Education also propagated.
Ed closed the book after reading over it a second time. There wasn’t much he could use and apply to his current scenario. The only thing he learned was how abnormal this dungeon was. None of the infamous examples of dungeons mentioned back to back bosses.
[A trespasser has entered your floor]
This was the third time this message appeared. Ed wasn’t confused since the previous one also indicated just one person coming across which was… odd. He was, therefore, expecting more to come.
‘Although the way they are spaced out is a bit… questionable?’ This was the only thing that confused him but Ed decided not to mind it. Should he? Definitely not!
‘I’ll just thank whoever is to blame for this’ Ed thought gratefully.
He left Vorgarag’s home and placed the encyclopedia in the system space. He didn’t know how the battle would turn out so it was a good idea to keep anything valuable in a transferable space.
He then immediately headed towards Duma’s cabin. There he spotted Duma and Vorgarag conversing as they made their way out.
“Oh, Ed. We were considering scouting out the area using goblins.” Said Vorgarag after noticing the approaching Ed. Duma only nodded slightly affirming Vorgarag’s words.
“That seems like a great idea” Ed said in return. He didn’t know how trustworthy these goblins were but sending them out was still better than nothing. Even if only half of the sent goblins returned they would have a lot to gain.
It was entirely possible for all of the goblins to be slaughtered but the goblins weren’t offering much combat power to begin with. It was an acceptable loss. If they had the resources Ed wouldn’t mind training them to help but he had no time or means for the moment.
“I don’t think we will get much out of it…” Vorgarag murmured still unconvinced.
“Let’s move that aside, did you guys send someone to contact the thunder cry tribe?” Ed shifted the topic to something more pressing. The distance between both locations was at least two hours so it was important to immediately dispatch someone.
“We were going to do that right now” Answered Duma matter of factly. The bunch then discussed a couple of more things for a good minute.
Vorgarag would wake up Sharog and start setting some arrays with her help. There was a surplus of crystals that they could use at the moment. As for the potions… it was the opposite.
They had barely discussed the matter yesterday! Not only that but even magical herbs needed more than a single day to grow.
The current supply of Alivio herbs would probably not be enough to alleviate everyone from the thunder cry tribe. Thus it was decided that Ed would function as a blood bank for a bit. They would use up all of the current supply and then have the thunder cry tribe scout ahead alongside the goblins. Why?
It was due to their steps technique. It would be a waste to have them on the sidelines when they could have such an active role. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
Well, it all depended on whether they agreed. The scout position put them in significant risk after all. Not to mention they wouldn’t be able to uphold the original agreed-upon amount of potions so the risk was not worth taking.
They sent out Nag and some other orcs to head over to the tribe. In hindsight, they should have asked one of the Thunder Cry members to stay since they would do a much better job as a messenger.
Ed could only jot it down into his mental notes and start reluctantly making potions.
[A trespasser has entered your floor]
All throughout, the message had never stopped making its appearance. It happened at regular intervals. Ed was initially planning on keeping track of each one but ultimately gave up.
“Tzzz-!” The burning pain each slash made on his skin actually just made him lose count.
Ed crafted up a very large pot and with some helpers, they were making potions. The process was very simple so there was no problem.
Ed was also in charge of bottling and sealing each batch of potions. He took the opportunity to try out his craftsperson skill when sealing them. He made himself some tools and made some simple yet interesting designs. The cap was made of wood and a bottle of stone.
He doubted they were very good for preservation but these potions were essentially for immediate consumption. Plus, Ed had Vorgarag help him devise a basic freezer with an ice crystal.
“This is a great idea. Once we make it out of here we can preserve the boar meat with this.” Vorgarag praised after seeing his finished handiwork. It was pretty easy to set up but the thought hadn’t crossed his mind especially with everything that had been going on.
“Thanks for helping” Ed didn’t forget to thank him before sending him off and heading back to be tortured. Erm- make potions.
Two hours hadn’t even passed but they were already out of Alivio herbs. Ed could only leave the orcs to watch over the stored potions before heading to help out Vorgarag and Sharog. Shel had also volunteered to help watch over then so he left with even more ease.
“You are done?” Vorgarag asked while inscribing an array on a tree. They were currently a couple of minutes away from the settlement setting traps. Ed finding Vorgarag took a mix of luck and effort due to this.
“Yeah…” said Ed after taking another glance at his body full of cuts. A lot of the older wounds had already disappeared but one could still see he went through some stuff.
They didn’t talk for very long as they continued to place trap arrays. There were freeze traps, flame traps, plant traps, magically triggered pitfalls.
Some more alerts later and Durgash had finally returned alongside with some other warriors and his apprentice. By this point, the forest was already super deadly so the bunch left to meet them.
“Hey! This was much earlier than I thought!” That was the first thing Durgash loudly screamed at them.
“It was faster than we thought as well. Nevertheless, we don’t plan on skimping out on our deal. Follow me the potions are this way.” These were the almost premeditated words of Duma. For some reason whenever a third party appeared he acted as if he was actually in charge of things…
Nobody commented on this though and simply watched as Durgash and his men examined and tried the potions.
“Woah!” One exclaimed in surprise. He moved his leg a bit but felt no discomfort. This was outside of his expectations, it was so quick and effective!
Soon the others followed suit and Durgash himself was no exception. As a matter of fact…
“HAHAHA! THIS IS GREAT!!!” Durgash yelled out of excitement as he raced around the settlement. His feet were enveloped by blueish lightning as he raced across the dirt.
Ed took the opportunity to verify that the scouting plan would be feasible. Durgash was quite fast but he felt that he was capable of catching up using wind alone.
‘Some of the adventurers are still far faster…’ Ed thought back on when Samuel basically teleported to him on the bone fortress. At least that was how it felt. Things just went by too quickly.
Still, it was much better than goblins. He could only place his hopes on the orcs agreeing and then not facing anyone too dangerous.
“WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING!?!? MOVE AROUND A BIT!!!” Durgash yelled to the other excited orcs who were holding back.
‘Well if they are this enthusiastic the former might not be a problem…’ Ed thought as he watched the others also join.. They were kicking up real dust and creating a large ruckus but instead of reprimanding them, some of the orcs cheered on the side.