Ed followed after the confident Vorgargag. They made their way back to the settlement entrance where all of the other orcs were gathered and waiting. Ed wasn't sure if he should continue behind him after seeing him step in front of the crowd. Vorgarag noticed his hesitation and simply motioned for him to stay there.
"ARE WE ALL READY?" He yelled.
"YEAH!!!" The gathered orcs resolutely replied. Their loud cheers could be heard for miles to come.
Ed was simply looking on a bit amazed by the fact that such simple words were able to rile up the crowd of orcs. He must have underestimated an orcs thirst for battle. Still, it wasn't as if Vorgarag's charisma was lacking either. His yell alone managed to resonate throughout the whole settlement emanating a sense of power and security.
'I wonder if I can defeat him...' He quickly removed the notion, he was afraid of fighting regular orcs would he dare fight against Vorgarag? Obviously no.
'I need to get stronger. Status!' He hadn't checked it in a while.
[Name: Edw#&!]
Type: Orc
Health: 600/600
Vitality: 2
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Constitution: 1
Dexterity: 1
Mana: 10
~Skills~
[Transmission lvl. 1] -Show info-
[Mental Fortitude lvl. 3] -Show info-
[Deduction lvl. 7] -Show info-
[Assimilation lvl. 3] -Show info-
[Thought Manifestation lvl. 0] -Show info-
[Language lvl. 1] -Show info-
[System Link lvl. 0]
Passive: Your connection with the system is strengthened.
Active: User may enter system space to more freely interact with the system.
[Instinct lvl. 1]
Reflexive reaction to outside stimuli.
Ed was stunned to find that the question marks were replaced by an actual skill this time. He wondered what could have possibly changed from now to when he first received the skill. Nevertheless, he was far more interested in finding out how it worked.
'A system space huh...' Ed tried his best to picture what that might be like.
'I don't see any cooldown either...' With that thought in mind Ed no longer hesitated. He moved away from the crowd before preparing to activate the skill.
He looked around a couple of times to make sure no one was paying attention to him. Sure enough, there was no one. Ed just wanted to make sure that if he fell asleep after going into the system space no one would make a fuzz. Being recalled did exactly that after all.
'Here we go!' Ed said inside his mind with a touch of excitement as he activated the skill.
[System link activated, connecting to host user]
Ed's vision became faded yet he could still make out the words in front of him. To be exact, it felt more like it was a projection inside of his head as if the system was directly inside of it. His body went limp soon after and he found himself inside of a vast white space.
'This... this is it?' Ed couldn't help but feel doubtful. All that build-up for this?
As if the space mirrored his thoughts, the vast white space started to softly rumble. The vibrations eventually strengthened and then the empty white ground in front of Ed started to slowly rise. The rising ground revealed ethereal pillars that were supporting the ground, no, the ceiling. Pristine white steps also rose out of the ground, the whole scene exuded great grandeur. The ethereal white temple looked clean and divine.
Ed's excitement was through the roof as he took in the sight in front of him. A temple! If this didn't signify good things then what did? The sight was truly something. Well... if you ignore how everything is needlessly white at least.
'Now what?' Ed tried to examine his body. Naturally, he didn't have one. What was the point of having steps if he couldn't even walk?
[Consciousness beings can move freely inside of mind spaces]
The ever so elusive system responded to his thoughts. Ed tried to digest what the system meant before quickly forming a conjecture.
'Why would it be any different than activating skills?' He felt rather stupid for worrying about such a trivial matter.
The ball of light that was Ed began to slowly float about. He then picked up speed before becoming entirely accustomed to his new bod- or rather finally becoming accustomed to his body.
Ed then realized that he could do much more than that. Ed started to recall his human memories, his height, his weight, his characteristics. His consciousness body then started to take the shape of a human. He sprouted legs. He sprouted arms. The small ball of light that was Ed slowly took the form of a child. A child with blurry facial features mind you.
While there was no mirror anywhere inside of the boundless white space, Ed had complete control over his body. He could picture every detail inside of his mind, not missing a single piece.
'I still can't remember me.' If his features were more defined he would have a bitter smile.
Nevertheless, he was momentarily stunned as he flailed around his news arms and ran around with his new legs. The feeling was natural. The foreign bodies had polluted his mind. The body, although small, fit perfectly like a glove.
'Enough of that' He stopped messing around and looked at the dignified temple that stood imposingly in front of him.
'Wait it didn't look so big before...' Ed then realized that he was much taller when he was floating about. Even the steps that laid in front of him suddenly seemed too big.
[User is advised to take care of matters with haste]
'Hm?' He didn't expect more "advice" from the system. Or is it the dungeon?
'It's probably the system' The difference between the two was as clear as night and day. Quite literally. The endless black void and the vast white space, It made for two clear contrasting images.
'Enough of that, I need to hurry' He shook away the useless matters and climbed the steps. He climbed them in every sense of the meaning.
Ed spent double the amount of time and effort that he would have otherwise if he simply floated. Still, the natural feeling that his human body had brought him was simply too hard to pass. Even the struggles became worth it.
He was finally in front of the real entrance to the temple. There was no door so he simply walked on in. It was a rather grand hallway, he was starting to become tired of those. Regardless, he continued walking forward while looking side to side. No decorations of any sort could be seen, only locked doors.
Now that the struggle was over, Ed realized that no sounds could be heard. Not even echoing footsteps.
'It is quite uncanny, to say the least' His thoughts were forced to a halt however as he found himself unable to take another step.
He tried a couple more times before promptly giving up. It wouldn't be the first time he was stopped by some sort of magical barrier or interference. He then heard an opening door beside him which naturally took his attention. He didn't have to think about it for long though...
[Storeroom unlocked]
'Wow really?' Although his reaction was quite weak Ed was actually really excited.
'I can bring my books back!' It was something that greatly troubled him. How was he supposed to keep any belongings if the dungeon moved him about so casually? It was as if he was simply a tool for the dungeon to put to use. The feeling was obviously not a great one.
Ed then entered the small room expectantly. He took a simple glance around before quickly getting bored of it. It was an empty room after all, there wasn't much he could do with it at the moment.
'How do I get out of h-'
[Expelling user]
That didn't take him long to figure out...
But unlike being kicked out of the dungeon which made him feel like being sucked up by a vacuum, leaving the system space was more akin to waking up.
When Ed opened his eyes he was already back in the real world. He seemed slightly dazed as he took in his surroundings. He was still right where he left off. He noticed that the orcs were now getting ready to go, the large gates of the settlement started to open and Vorgarag was leading them out. Ed didn't spend much time inside of the system space so it was no surprise that the orcs were just finishing their rally.
Ed hastily stood up and dusted himself a couple of times. He then walked towards the leaving group. Vorgarag who was leading at the front was sending a couple of glances here and there obviously looking for him.
"I'm here" Ed said simply after catching up. Vorgarag sent him a curious look which Ed directly ignored. Vorgarag then chose not to pry and instead decided to better inform the orc he swindl- the orc that volunteered to help.
"You might have noticed but not a single person was left behind for this expedition" Vorgarag sent a cursory glance towards the crowd and Ed nodded in acknowledgment. It was glaringly obvious when he was able to so easily find a hiding spot.
"The reason is quite simple, the younger orcs are tasked with hunting the boars while we will be defending them. It is also to prevent others from attacking the settlement while we are gone. The buildings can always be replaced but not the lives." Ed paid close attention to Vorgarag's words and looked at him with a hint of admiration.
"That aside, defending isn't that simple. We can't let the boars escape our encirclement either nearly as much as we can't let enemy tribes enter it. Losing a single boar could make the difference between waging another battle or not" Vorgarag then paused to recollect his thoughts, Ed took advantage of the opportunity to ask a question.
"Since you say waging another war I take it that the involved tribes have some sort of tacit agreement?" Ever since he heard the horn signifying the end of the battle yesterday he was meaning to ask that question.
It was quite obvious that this was arranged by both tribes so it seemed quite weird to him. He understood it was for the blessing but he wanted to know what were its requirements as the orcs knew just when to stop. Vorgarag thought about the question a bit more and then replied.
"The god is magnanimous, he won't let us surpass a certain balance." It was an answer without an ounce of reverence and instead uttered simply. Like reading from a book.
Ed decided to forego asking for clarification.
"Oh! By the way, I noticed you don't have a weapon. Is that your style or...?" He asked inquisitively.
"No it isn't, I would like a weapon if at all possible" Ed wasn't polite when it came to this matter. Last time he had to tank a heavy swing to his shoulder, it wasn't fun to say the least.
'Now that I think about it I don't feel much discomfort' He put the thought aside as Vorgarag wasn't done talking.
The two got better acquainted after walking for nearly ten minutes. That was how long it took for them to reach the desired destination. Vorgarag separated himself from Ed and walked in front of the group once again.
"It is time to start the hunt!" The orcs that heard his shout all let out loud cheers. Some even released thunderous battle cries.
'They sure are pumped.' Ed examined the battle axe that Vorgarag had someone hand him. He tightened his grip on it and mentally prepared himself for battle.
He roused his pitiful 10 mana and made it course throughout his entire body. The element-less mana ran rampant inside of his body while simultaneously giving him a refreshing sensation.
'This is different' Ed finally knew what it was like to have mana course through one's body and couldn't hide his satisfied smile.
For the second time during his life of a dungeon mob, things were looking up.