Overture

Ed and Shel entered the settlement in a hurry and made their way towards a particular corner of the settlement. There had supposedly been some construction going on in that area and Vorgarag was also spending a lot of his time there lately. Few of the orcs in the settlement knew what Vorgarag was up to but they also weren't too interested. Apart from a few of Vorgarag's confidants, nobody cared or knew about Vorgarag's breeding experiment.

As they made their way over, Ed noticed that the area was not particularly hidden. As a matter of fact, although it was at the edge of the settlement the area was actually quite popular. He asked Shel and her reply was that they never moved the boars meaning that the orcs were used to heading there for fresh boar meat. The construction was nothing more than some remodeling. Vorgarag basically designated an area for breeding the boars near the building nothing more.

They soon after made it to one of the largest buildings or rather the largest cottage in the settlement, it was the boar butchery. The butchery also worked as an impromptu restaurant as some of the orcs created fire pits near it to cook the fresh meat as soon as they received it.

Shel then entered the building with Ed, "Vorgarag!" She yelled.

Hearing her shout, an orc entered the cottage from the back door of the building. It was the orc that often informed Vorgarag of matters in the village.

"Nag, Ed spotted some goblins near the settlement. I think that b*tch Murbol was scouting the area!" Shel informed Nag in an angry voice, not giving the orc a second to process what was going on.

"ah? ah...!" Nag who was initially confused then let out a small gasp in surprise. His eyes then widened and he hurried back through the back door to fetch Vorgarag.

Just as Ed was about to ask Shel some questions, although he already had an idea, Vorgarag pushed open the door and entered the butchery with Nag following right behind him. He looked at Ed with a solemn expression and asked him a question, "...Did you really see a goblin?"

Ed nodded with a similarly solemn expression as he managed to understand several things after the few exchanges he had with Shel and how the situation had unfolded thus far. He had discerned that the tribes likely captured goblins to use as scouts during warfare as they were much smaller and nimble than orcs. Ed remembered the well-hydrated goblin he first met and how it was creeping around by itself in the tall grass...

'maybe that was why that first goblin reacted so strongly?' Maybe it had managed to slip under the orcs' radar until it met Ed and was afraid it would be captured.

"We might be in trouble..." Vorgarag seemed quite dejected and not in any way optimistic. It seemed he had judged their current strength to be insufficient.

"As if! Let's show them who not to mess with!" Vorgarag's tepid response angered the lively Shel, she brandished her broken axe in a demonstration of strength. she was an orc woman to the bone and was therefore quick to anger. But her words fell on deaf ears as Vorgarag had already entered his own world. He was used to solving problems by himself so he never even considered listening to Shel first.

"Maybe if I adjust my array..." Vorgarag muttered, his words trailing off.

"Hey!" Shel tried to approach Vorgarag but was stopped midway by the burly Nag who could be said to be Vorgarag's most trusted aide and was also quite used to dealing with him.

"Give him some time" Nag said simply. Although he was a very slow-witted orc, if there was one good, or bad, quality about him was that he always put his trust in Vorgarag and his plans no matter the circumstance. He therefore knew better than to interrupt his brainstorming.

Shel was incensed by Vorgarag's disregard but she also calmed down after realizing she had been too fiery, it was a tradition in their village to follow the orders of the shaman in charge. It was also a common belief that warrior orcs were not too bright and prone to act impulsively. Shel herself knew this, her earlier fury was perfect proof.

"Ed, what do you think we should do?" Vorgarag stopped his brainstorming and asked Ed for a change.

[Assimilation is off cooldown]

"Me?" Ed ignored the alert and instead sent Vorgarag a questioning gaze.

"Yeah, what do you think?" Vorgarag asked confidently. He had acknowledged that he could sometimes overlook things and that Ed, although a bit reserved, was capable of seeing things from a different perspective.

Ed who was just put on the spot didn't know how to answer back.

"Maybe if I can hear out your ideas first I might be able to pitch in...?" Ed asked unsurely.

"That'll work, but we need to hurry. If they are scouting then they can't be too far behind." Vorgarag said pensively. He was a bit reluctant to reveal the use of his array to others as his plans could be considered blasphemous in their eyes.

"Ed, follow me back to my teacher's cottage." Vorgarag decided that it was best for him to only share the matter with Ed back at the cottage.

"Let me get something from the house first" Ed was a bit hesitant but he agreed in the end. He didn't think he was fit to lead like Vorgarag but all he needed to do in this case was probably make a couple of suggestions here and there. He also couldn't deny that having a say in certain matters especially when pertaining to oneself was definitely a good thing.

"Alright, but make sure to hurry. I will be waiting for you there." Vorgarag didn't disagree although he did find it a bit curious as to why Ed needed to grab something right at this moment.

What Vorgarag didn't know was that after hearing his faint mutter about the array, Ed deduced that his plan might involve magic and after receiving the alert from the system he found that his books might prove useful.

They each went their own separate ways with the exception of the dejected Shel who sought fresh boar meat to comfort herself, she would put it under Vorgarag's food share.

***

It was a cold night, Samuel was reading a book in his living room with an angry expression. Why? He was quite simply frustrated and thought that reading could calm him down. He just couldn't seem to surpass his current limits no matter how hard he trained! It was really starting to irk him.

"What are you doing?" His wife Maya asked reproachfully.

"What?" Replied Samuel as he put down his book and angrily rubbed his eyes. He then looked at his wife annoyingly.

"You think you can just sit there right after training and stink up the place? And what's with your expression? Who reads like that?" She critiqued holding nothing back.

"I- I-" Well who actually does read like that? He stuttered and found himself unable to refute her.

He then heard his wife giggle childishly, "Get up and take a calming bath. Reading that is doing you no good." Samuel looked at her apologetically. He got up and left to clean himself but just as he passed by the front door of his house he heard a knock.

"...Oh?" He stopped walking and curiously glanced back at the door. He normally then opened the door and was greeted by none other than Miller.

"Hello" Samuel casually waved. He bore no grudge against Miller and Khal. He was almost quite thankful actually as he got to train to his heart's content. Still... it wasn't going well so maybe it didn't make a real difference.

"Sorry to interrupt you Mr. Samuel, I came to inform you about the next expedition to the dungeon." Miller forewent most formalities and went straight to the point.

"Oh? You guys sure act quickly." He would be lying if he said that he wasn't angry at being demoted but... maybe it was the right choice after all.

"We will be departing in two days and we want you, as an A-class adventurer and one of the few people to exit the dungeon alive, to lead it. If you want to dec-" Miller was cut off by Samuel.

"That won't be necessary." He said matter of factly.

He couldn't let the dungeon off after all he went through. Plus, who knows? Maybe the breakthrough he was hoping for could be found in the dungeon. He was sure that he had heard somewhere about getting rid of the demons in your heart first or something like that to advance.

"Your attitude is good but I must ask you to reel it in a bit." He sent Samuel a sharp glance as he spoke, "Our main priority will be to monitor the progress of the dungeon. The fact that it can summon such a high-level being is quite worrying. If it were to break out things would be dire. As the leader I expect you to prioritize your goal."

Samuel wanted to scoff at Miller's words solely for the fact that he knew what Miller was implying, but he had no such intentions. Still, he simply replied with, "Of course." He wore a smile that suggested it went without saying.

"Since we aren't going to rush towards the last floor, the expedition might take a while. Please take care of any personal matters during that time. Stay safe, and good night. Send my regards to the rest of your family." Miller performed a soft bow and promptly left.

Samuel stood by the open door taking in the cold autumn breeze. He looked up at the glittering night sky for no reason whatsoever before letting out a sigh and closing the door.

"Take a bath already!" Yelled his son Sam from the top of the stairs.

"Hey! Who taught you to scold your father!" Samuel said in an angry yet playful manner.

Sam blew a raspberry in response and ran

"Alright, then you spoiled brat!" Samuel ran up the stairs and chased after the fleeing Sam.