It did not take long for quite a few people. orcs and dwarves alike, to start requesting a symbiote.

  Mafu had ordered Benoit to go around town and spread the benefits of the symbiote and simply speak the truth. After all, it did not have any clear negative effects.

  The fact that Mafu got a "foothold" inside of your body was more of a neutral point. The people who lived in the town had trust in him and were already eating his mushrooms and drinking water provided through his mycelium.

  What issue would there be in getting even closer to him? At least, that is what most people thought.

  Of course there were a few people who refused, saying that they don't trust anyone enough to go through with the implanting. That was fine; it was not a forced choice after all.

  Mafu knew that free will was something to be cherished, and even though he had been overusing Taressa's ability to invade minds, especially early on in his mushroom life, he never truly wanted to.

  The symbiotes implanted could still have one skill attached to them, and Mafu had thought about it more deeply since he gave the symbiote to Benoit.

  If an orc warrior got the symbiote, Mafu would implant the symbiote with the skill [Fungal Shroud]. It was a skill he had gotten early on and then completely disregarded.

  It made the user disappear from sight for three minutes. It was not perfect, however, and if an enemy with high perception was present, it would do very little.

  It was basically a lower form of either Oran's or Benoit's stealth skills. But in the hands of a warrior, turning invisible could be a huge tactical advantage.

  Especially if an entire platoon of warriors suddenly disappeared.

  The warriors would still be able to be heard, so Parek and Jod had both started training their soldiers to move silently even when armored and carrying their armaments. It was unnatural for most of them, but Otek was very helpful in helping with the training as well.

  As a [Mirage Warrior], he was used to using stealth, illusions, and other deception to fight. Mafu had thought that orc warriors would look down on Otek for using such tactics, as the warrior culture was quite strong among the orcs.

  But they never did; instead, they often praised Otek for his mind games. For the orcs, Mafu learned, what was important was fighting strong opponents and winning. There was no code of honor or male bravado that hindered them from using cheap tricks.

  It was just that most of the orc warriors were unfortunately not very innovative with their fighting style. It was understandable, as they had previously fought for survival against a dangerous but ultimately simple enemy.

  The Hollow only started using strategy at the end of their time in this world. So the orc warriors needed remedial training, as their attacks were too straightforward.

  Mafu had also talked to Jenna about creating a real school. A while ago, simple life skills and survival skills were taught in a tent by Jenna and invited guest teachers. It had since then evolved to take place outside in one of the plazas in the orc settlement.

  And now that the town had truly been built, being outside made little sense. But if a building was to be used, Mafu wanted an actual school.

  After all, since the orc ban on having kids was finally over, the town would soon be teeming with little ones needing guidance. Not only children benefitted from education, of course, and in general both the dwarves and orcs were very open to learning.

  The few humans who were here, the initial refugees and the few that had been sent over by Mikaela, were not as open to it. Mafu thought it was because the town was mainly orcs and dwarves, and the humans were unsure of their position.

  Speaking of, it had only been a month since Mikaela had returned to the old world, but she had quickly started setting up a new organization dedicated to this new mission. Few results had been achieved, but the speed at which she had progressed was impressive.

  Jod had asked Benoit about Mikaela, and Mafu had listened in, as he was interested.

  "Where'd you find this woman?" Jod asked.

  "Well, my father trained me to be an assassin, and he mentioned a few characters off-handedly that were dangerous or useful."

  "So you just went off that?"

  "No, I forged a letter from my father and sent it to her."

  Jod paused for a few seconds and then continued.

  "But... what would you do if she noticed?"

  "Well, not much. But I am quite good at forging letters, and I know my father's handwriting quite well. After all, it is how we communicated most of the time." Benoit did not look sad; he had more of a nostalgic look to him.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Jod decided that he would leave that subject be and moved on.

  Getting back to it, the school plan Mafu had talked to Jenna and a few of the dwarven builders about. It would have a preschool building. A large one, for obvious reasons.

  Then he wanted three buildings in another location that would be very similar but separated.

  He would use the school system he was used to back from Earth. It would be a 9-year education separated into three parts. After that, Mafu planned to create vocational schools, but that was further off in the future.

  He could not use the same classes as on Earth. It would undoubtedly be more practical classes, focused on survival and personal growth through the system. However, some classes would be useful even in this world.

  A lot of the sciences were very useful. Biology, physics, and chemistry were all useful in many classes. Mafu also thought that the more the kids learned about the world, the more diverse classes they would get.

  There was, of course, no one with a scientist class among the orcs or dwarves. The closest one was Ula, who had gained the [Inventor] class. But having such classes would strengthen the kingdom as a whole. And Mafu wanted them.

  Another important subject would be magic. Or rather, the uses and characteristics of mana. On this topic, however, the only ones knowledgeable enough to teach were Toqlan and, to some extent, Jod. But their knowledge was shallow, as neither knew much past the basics.

  Toqlan would be an important character for the school system, of course, but as he was quite horrible at the actual teaching part, he would most likely be the principal and take on more of an advisory role.

  Mafu had thought a lot about what he learned from Jormun, and through some experimentations, he had succeeded in setting his mana aflame without using actual fire mana. It was just a matter of imagining the molecules moving faster and faster.

  But it was hard to control. Incredibly hard. Mafu likened the difficulty to riding a bicycle while seated backwards and blindfolded. Any loss of control would result in the mana "crashing" and fizzling out.

  This whole experiment was, of course, because Jormun had said that the system was not absolute, so therefore Mafu had theorized that magic could be used without the system. How else would people get the [Mage] class after all?

  Mafu continued with his plans, but elsewhere in the Amanita Kingdom another group was planning.

  ---

  Toqlan was sitting down in the temporary "town hall." It was quite the large meeting room, and many people were gathered around the long, rectangular table.

  Jod and all of the dukes were present, including the newest one, Gintla. Benoit was also there, as he had yet to leave with Kira for their next mission. Taressa was also present, without her royal guard for once, as they took up too much space.

  Two other people were present too, that Toqlan had not seen before. The first one was an old orc woman named Dyani. The other one was a rather young male dwarf, barely looking to be twenty, but Toqlan knew that dwarven ages were hard to guess. The dwarf was named Hald.

  Jod initiated the meeting.

  "So, the reason we are all here is because Toqlan has convinced Mafu of an idea." Jod instantly threw Toqlan to the wolves and then continued.

  "The idea is to create a religion around Mafu. Apparently, to win against any god, the removal of religion is necessary, and Mafu claims that if we have no religion to replace it with, that it will be impossible."

  Some of the people around the table nodded in agreement, and some others had furrowed brows.

  The first to speak up was, as usual, Parek.

  "Did we not win against the Hollow without religion?"

  "That is different, Parek; think for once!" came the chiding from Telim almost instantly.

  "Huh? Why?" Parek was confused.

  "The Hollow had no believers. They only had parasites. If there are people worshipping a god, I see the merit in having another god to replace him." Telim said, in a dry tone.

  Jod was continually surprised by the ability of Telim to see things from multiple perspectives. Telim had never had a god; in fact, they had not even known of the Hollow god Tarlyeeh before he showed himself at their doorstep. Yet still Telim could see the merit.

  "Putting that aside, creating a religion around someone we know is not a god, is that not just lying?" Tudain asked in a calm voice. Gintla nodded furiously next to him.

  The dwarves, ever the honest people, came with another argument.

  "Yes, it is lying if we claim he is divine," Toqlan answered.

  That drew the questioning looks from all around the table to Toqlan.

  "What I mean to say is, why would we need to put Mafu in the same league as the horrible gods we know of? If we claim he is a 'living god' of this world who opposes the evil gods of heaven, it is not a lie."

  The table fell silent as they all considered what Toqlan had said.

  Hald was looking down at the table with such an intense gaze that Jod thought the table would ignite.

  "Hald, you seem to have some thoughts about that." Jod said with a friendly voice and smile.

  He was the one who had invited both Hald and Dyani. Hald was a dwarven historian and had been recommended by Gintla, as he had said the meeting was about gods and religion.

  Dyani was a sort of storyteller; she had always pondered about the gods from the totem keepers' stories and woven together stories about the divine and the demonic. Bulok had recommended her to this meeting, as Jod had explained a little bit more about the subject matter of the meeting to him.

  Hald spoke up:

  "In our history, no god is mentioned by name. But one is prominent, and it is the god of survival who ruled this world. That is not the one I am interested in, though. Throughout our history, we dwarves have always revered the mountains."

  He took a breath and stood up as he continued speaking.

  "For us dwarves, the mountains especially, but also the forest, have always been revered. One cannot say that they are 'gods,' but they hold such a meaning. The mountain has always provided for us; thus, we revered it. Mafu is not a god, but does he not fill the same function as the mountain from our stories?"

  Hald looked to be at his limit, so he sat down on his chair quickly and turned his gaze on the table again.

  Now, more of the people were nodding around the table.

  "So, our plan is to make Mafu a 'living god' who provides for the people. Any other input?"

  Toqlan spoke up here as well.

  "Mafu does not only provide. Remember his plans; he plans to unseat Doloran. If we are making an origin story of a deity, we need more than just 'providing.' Let us strike while the iron is hot and create a more enrapturing story."

  Toqlan's normal way of speaking was calm, but he had now started speaking in an almost furious manner. He continued:

  "Let us call him a god-killer. The one who punishes the evil gods and decomposes them for the sustenance of the people. Let us call him 'Mafu, living god of decay.' All that is rotten is his prey, be it gods or people. Only the righteous and the kind can stand in his presence."

  Holy shit, Mafu thought as he was listening in.

  They are really milking this for all it is worth, aren't they?