He only needed to get rid of all potential threats. The main ones being tribes that knew magic or ones that had any sort of secret inheritance. He hanged out with his village's chief as the most likely to inherit so he knew very well the danger that inheritances could pose. But before he could identify those threats he would need some allies, and the famine created a perfect pretext for a temporary alliance. The first thing he did once he finally became chief was to propose an alliance to some desperate tribal leaders.

From that point on it would be easy cruising. He would organize battles between his subordinates in order to acquire food and reap all the benefits. He might join every now and then to intimidate the others but overall, there would only be peace for him. He could get any girl he wanted, and eat whenever he wanted. He would become a pinnacle existence.

"AAAAAARGH!" So why is it that he was currently screaming his heart out? Why was his chiseled body dealing with so much muscle tearing pain? His eyes bloodshot and his mind dazed?

Slug's mind was jolted awake by the excruciating pain and he came to a short moment of lucidity. He knew the direction the battle was now headed and he knew how badly his plans had derailed. At this point, his dreams were nothing but that, a dream.

But he wasn't willing to just die off as a simple n.o.body, nor was he willing to become a stepping stone for anybody else. If he couldn't win he would withdraw or disable the enemy. His heart was then filled with conviction, he would not die like this, not like a loser.

He had forgotten about a very crucial detail, the jolting pain.

"Aaargh!" He let out another bloodcurdling scream before grabbing hold of the stake like object and viciously pulling it out.

"AAAARGH!!!" He screamed much louder than before, he then glared at Ed who was getting ready to follow up his attack. Slug realized his thoughts were easier said than done. His vision on his right eye was gone for good and his muscles could self-destruct at any moment. The opponent before him might not fall any sooner than himself if they got into a slugfest.

Slug's ugly blood-soaked head turned around and looked at Vorgarag in the distance, Duma was on the verge of defeat at that very moment.

Ed punched out towards the distracted Slug, but to his surprise, it was a miss! Slug dodged to the side and for that brief moment, Ed was able to stare into Slug's eyes. Although his eyes were lightless they no longer seemed bloodshot or exuded an aura of danger.

Those weren't the eyes of a madman! They were the eyes of someone with nothing left to lose...

'But that won't change anything!' Ed was just about ready to perform a kick but... Slug was gone!

The battlefield was littered with the corpses of both sides, their weapons laid on the cold ground waiting to be used. Slug had moved away from Ed to pick up a weapon!

'You are not the onl- Eh?' Ed was caught off guard by Slug's next action. Slug mustered his strength and with a running start launched the mace.

'He threw the weapon!' Ed's heart skipped a beat once he saw the trajectory of the mace. It was going towards Vorgarag!

The influx of orcs had eventually returned and were helping Duma lockdown Vorgarag's movements, Vorgarag could no longer afford to watch over the entire battlefield. It meant that he probably had no idea what was coming towards him!

The hurled mace darted towards the distant Vorgarag, its speed unbelievably quick. But as if that wasn't enough, Slug himself was darting towards Vorgarag. Even if Vorgarag managed to dodge the preemptive strike he wouldn't be able to deal with the current Slug. Ed immediately ran after him but the distance was only growing as more time pa.s.sed.

While Vorgarag might not be able to oversee the entire battlefield, he was still extremely alert. Once the mace entered his general vicinity, his eyes widened before quickly taking action. His chunk of the earth crystal had already been depleted and he was currently making use of the water crystal.

A loud splash.

Vorgarag tried to push himself out of the trajectory whilst simultaneously cus.h.i.+oning the damage by encircling himself with a large amount of water. Although it was cast just as hasty as Pascal's previous water s.h.i.+eld, it held up much better as Vorgarag depleted the entirety of the crystal to create a quick yet strong cus.h.i.+on of water.

Nonetheless, the speed at which it traveled coupled with how long it took Vorgarag to notice made it an impossible feat to come out unscathed.

"Urgh...!" Vorgarag felt the mace fly behind him while creating a nasty scar. The pain he felt was rather intense but the real danger had yet to come.

'F*ck! I won't make it!' Ed's eyes darted around the battlefield as he scoured for any possible solution. His mind became turbulent and his thoughts muddled. He then decided to feel out his remaining mana to come up with any possible drastic measures but ultimately came to a conclusion...

It wouldn't work! He couldn't employ the previous strategy! In the first place, the dual casting had happened on a whim, on instinct! He couldn't rely on that to safe Vorgarag. So he came to a different answer instead...

'If he can abuse his body like that, why can't I do the same?' With that thought in mind, Ed looked towards slug's fleeting body.

Slug was mustering the last of his strength on one arm, his momentum focused on letting out a singular and incredibly powerful strike. Ed continued to run after him but he also then closed his eyes. His mind became focused on one thing and one thing only, his mana.

He had at least one-quarter of his mana remaining, a decent portion was of the wind element as he had no wind spells to use it on. He roused all of it, including the remaining four elements as well, and reinforced his legs. His legs shone explosively with different colors. the red, blue, brown, and green lights clashed against each other creating visible sparks.

A quarter may sound like a small amount, especially when spell casting, but when it came to reinforcing one's body it was a different matter. Having so many volatile substances run amok in one's body was not wise. Even with an affinity for multiple elements, it was impossible to condense such a large amount of mana into a single portion of the body without some sort of conflict. Ed had his level 5 mana manipulation to thank for not having his legs instantly blown off.

With explosive momentum, Ed dashed forward quickly closing the distance between Slug and himself.

Slug had already reached Vorgarag however, his figure imposing and cruel. Slug's bulging muscles contracted as he transferred his momentum into his arm. His arm shot forward towards the unprepared Vorgarag who had run out of crystals.

Ed managed to shorten the distance to a few steps but it was still too far, he wouldn't make it even though it seemed like he could touch Slug's bulky body. He had to ultimately give up on the idea of stopping Slug as he would not have made it in time to stop such a quick and deadly strike. He instead ignored his aching legs and manipulated whatever pittance remained to perform a couple of steps distance s.p.a.ce hop.

His limited knowledge made it an extremely unstable maneuver but he felt that he had no other option than to give it a try. In what felt like a fraction of a second, Ed's mana turned hyperactive as it transformed into a higher state. Ed's body felt surprisingly out of touch with his surroundings before his vision disappeared and his senses dulled. Before he knew it, he found himself in front of Vorgarag standing before Slug's relentless attack.

[Mana Manipulation has leveled up]

'I did it!' He had somehow managed to breakthrough and manipulate his mana beyond his real capacity, it even resulted in an additional level up.

The ruthless attack finally happened and blood splattered as Slug's fist went right through unhindered. Ed's vitality quickly dropped and the remaining momentum of Slug's insane dash made all three of them tumble together for a few seconds before coming to a stop on the ground a short distance away.

[You've been dealt a deadly blow, -500 hp]

Ed's consciousness started to waver, he spat out a bunch of blood before his vision started to darken. Shortly after he caught a glimpse of Slug's torn muscles and b.l.o.o.d.y appearance, he knew that they had won the battle.

'All they have to do is camp out inside...' Ed thought, revealing an accomplished smile.

[Recalling Champion's Soul]

His vision returned and he found himself inside of the endless dark, nothing had really changed. It was still dark and vast.

[Deliberating...]

The dungeon was deciding on how to punish or reward Ed's actions.

'You are as kind as ever dungeon' He thought nonchalantly.