Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

The hydra deity was… Well, in terms of power it was a beast, but in terms of hospitality it was also a beast. The hydra's complete disregard for its subjects would of course cost it their loyalty when someone much better came along.

It was unfair that the hydra never asked to be worshiped and would now suffer consequences. Yet it was still to blame. Those in a position of power should always be open to the possibility of conflict. 

The only problem was that sometimes, even when aware of potential conflict, those in a position of power believed themselves too powerful.

Eon knew this well and used it against the prideful hydra. He had lived for many years and could be said to be one of the few experts of worldly conflict.

Human life was too short. By the time you gained worldly wisdom, you were already halfway through your life. But that wasn't to say you'd be a sage, there was always more to learn. At times, you could even repeat the same mistakes.

Eon had lived long enough that he seldom misstep. He had earned the title of sage.

"SILENCE!!!!!" Eon suddenly shouted. Because he had earned the title of sage, he also learned when he should speak up or shut up, now was the time to interrupt the lizardmen.

The lizardmen gathered around the stage instantly quietened. Their voices turned to whispers and then to silence, their eyes were glued onto Eon's figure.

"It's disrespectful to treat a guardian so poorly" Eon chastised, causing the lizardmen to be taken aback. Their confusion and shock was well warranted, Eon had incited them after all.

"Or do you wish to see yourselves becoming the very thing you are chanting to destroy?!" Eon screamed, causing the lizardmen's enthusiasm to be thoroughly doused.

This effect was seen doubly on none other than Kurgher. He was acting as a tyrannical war chief, increasingly drunk on his position and power. While his actions were not yet depraved, he had grown conceited.

What would it take for him to commit something heinous!?! He couldn't see the future! But he could analyze the past and present and say that he was walking down the wrong path. Kurgher's legs started to tremble.

His mouth quivered before forming a helpless smile. His legs gave out. Kurgher dropped to his knees with a plop. That one plop in the silence caused all heads to turn towards the origin.

There they saw not any lizardman, but the chief, dropped on his knees looking at the ground absentmindedly. His face, only a face a mother could love, was now twisted between grief and relief.

"Your divinity, I have sinned!!!" Kurgher screamed before banging his head on the ground. His arrogance was about to give bloom to evil. That caused him great sorrow, but this sorrow was equal to his feelings of relieve.

This relief came from having someone to depend on. He was skeptical of Eon's intentions when Eon first appeared, but the shameful display of their hydra god caused him to open his heart to Eon.

The more he stayed with Eon and the more they conquered with his help, the more these doubts were buried by his feelings of awe and respect. Yet, he had never let go of these doubts, they were waiting for a moment to resurface.

It would take just one screw up for Kurgher to come to his senses.

It never came, however. In fact, Eon showed something surprising, Vulnerability, but not through a screw-up, he did it willingly. He came to them and exposed his injuries, his weakness. Eon was previously suffering silently, only watching them grow and teaching them his divine language.

Weakness was not a sin, the lizardmen didn't hold this view and Eon's vulnerability only made him more relatable. Not just that, it also showed he had unparalleled character. Kurgher's doubts were entirely eradicated by respect.

The scene before Eon then turned into more and more lizardman dropping to their knees and looking down at the ground reverently. They put themselves in a vulnerable spot too for their divine guardian.

"I will not lead you- Cough astray. I promise to live to up your expectations" Eon said in response to the lizardmen's display of faith in him.

'They probably expect me to try and defeat the hydra now and want to help' Eon had made them set up this expectation. There was a high chance of some not mimicking this feeling due to his quieting of the lizardmen. Yet, Eon did not care.

'Faith is a good trade off' If they believed in him, it didn't matter if they didn't want to do something. They would convince themselves it was something that had to be done and that yes, they did actually want such a thing to happen or that yes, it made sense for things to happen that way.

Eon was turning the lizardmen into sheep, which he could then herd and guide towards the dangerous Hydra.

The lizardmen spent their time kneeling for a very long time. This was their only method to repent for their sin of lacking faith.

In the end, they all went home. Eon prepared a date in his head for when he would stage a play, but kept it to himself. It wasn't that he distrusted the lizardmen but rather that they still needed some more mental molding.

***

Speaking of molding, everyone's favorite fungi was currently expanding his territory.

The barren tunnel where Ed had been summoned was now illuminated with mesmerizing hues of red, blue, gray, and some more. The mushroom were prettifying the environment.

This meant that the environment was more eye catching.

'But there are still no mobs coming to see me' There were fortunately still small bugs around and even some small critters to sustain the network, but it was a pressing issue.

'Looks like there is only one option, bait' If he made some bait, all the mobs would have no choice but to come over, right?

Thinking this far, Ed entered the system space. He would need to make a powerful bait according to his previous recipe. This much was a piece of cake. The spirit smith did learn from the things he made, after all.

'The only thing left now is…' Ed always gave the bait a consciousness to aid in its survival. Should he split a part of himself?

'Hmm…. It's a tough choice' Ed would prefer if all split parts of himself had two skills. There was of course transmission, and now the other was spiritual mark.

Currently, spiritual mark did not have a high enough level to give a theoretical split called A even level 0. Ed decided to let go of the idea for now.

This was also when Ed finally felt subtle vibrations through his roots and put his entire body on alert. What mob would he first encounter in the new yet foreign place?

Surprisingly, the mob he encountered was not a new threat, but a familiar one.

<"This-!"> A lizardman scouting the area exclaimed. Mushrooms growing near their homes would in their eyes be bad. Lizardmen didn't eat them, but the mushrooms might eat them! The mushrooms had shown time and time again that they couldn't be trifled with.

The alerted lizardman wanted to immediately return to their base and report, but a message suddenly entered its head.

'Tell Var Agus I am alright' Ed transmitted a message to the lizardmen before the lizardmen could think to go back.

<"Tell Var…? Mushrooms god!!!"> The lizardman was slow on the uptake, but they were soon enlightened. The mushroom god was alive and well.

All the mushrooms like the doom shroom, the water shroom, the sling shroom, poison turret shroom, and others etc. had quite the unique visuals. It was hard to mistake them for just run-of-the-mill mushrooms, so the lizardman didn't fail to notice them upon a closer look.

The lizardman quickly ran through a couple of probabilities in their head before forming a wide grin and sprinting off. The mushroom God could bring them many benefits just when they were being plagued by a problem!

Much later, at the lizardmen's cavern base, the scout returned with the news of the mushroom God.

Var Agus was currently sitting on stone furniture as he listened to the report.

"This is indeed good news" Var said to the scout.

Recently there had been more and more sightings of Kurgher's people nearing the cavern. There were actually rumors of someone even seeing his people enter the cavern!

That was horrible news for Var Agus and his people. They were still not entirely united under his banner, and his number of lizardmen was lower than Kurgher's. This meant they were not Kurgher's opponent at all.

But with the mushroom god things were different. First, the mushroom had natural defenses. These attacking fungi were not necessarily able to kill a lizardmen but they could slow their advances.

They were planning to set some common traps, but if the mushroom god helped, it might be possible to do more than just set up some traps.

After careful consideration, Var Agus dismissed the scout.

"You may go" He told them, who nodded and left promptly.

He stood up and grabbed a staff, a plain staff without magic. He got it recently made by a skilled lizardmen sculptor. The staff did not have anything crazy like a hidden knife in it. The fact that it was essentially a rod made of solid stone was enough to give some people permanent rest.

The lizardmen who saw Var walk out of his stone building shot curious glances before focusing back on their work. They cared less of Var's antics.

"I will be leaving to meet the mushroom god" Was all Var said as a response to the silent he received.. He needed to negotiate terms with the mushroom god.