Chapter Text
Rimuru excited the cave happily. It had been a while since he'd seen the sun. The dragon he'd met inside had told him a lot about this world already. He tried freeing him with [Predator] but it failed. It never occurred to him he could have had Great Sage analyse it. So with the promise to return later, he left the dragon and ventured into the cave. After destroying the metal door with predator and [Water Blade], he got closer to the exit where he met more and more monsters that obstructed his path and were eaten by him, gaining some new skills.
The poor dragon had been sealed 200 years ago after destroying a city. That was such a long time... When he thought of a way to free him, he'd definitely try it!
He bounced through the forest happily, ready to explore the unknown world. On his way, after a few weeks, he saw a group of what he thought were adventurers. Turns out they weren't. Four of the five people were 'escorts'. The little girl who was maybe ten was being escorted by them. After killing and eating the monster chasing them, the four, without any regards to the girl, fled as fast as they could.
What assholes! Turning to the girl who had been injured somewhat and was on the verge of death, he had been about to give her some of the healing liquid he had. She flat out refused. It turned out, 600 years ago there were with hunts and her village had grown overly paranoid over magic because of it. She discovered she had an aptitude for it by accident and they chased her out. The escorts were there to make sure she was far enough in to not get out herself.
Thinking about this, he wondered just how horrible the people in this world were. The girl, sounding wiser than her age, told him that even if he saved her now, she would not make it out of the forest and that she couldn't survive alone. She didn't even know if other villages would chase her out as well. So she asked a single thing of him, to make sure her life had at least helped someone. Having seen him eat the monster earlier, she told him that he could use her body as food.
He argued against it. He didn't need food and he wasn't going to eat a human most of all. But she begged him with her last strength and instead asked him to eat her if only so she wouldn't end up as random food for the mindless monsters. It made him question why she was even trusting him. He was a monster as well.
Her eyes closed slowly but not fully as her life faded out. Damnit! He should have just given her the medicine! What the hell was he even doing!?
Reluctantly, he encased her body and devoured it. If anything, he'd use the mimic of this body and become powerful and when he was strong enough, he'd make sure to find her village and show them magic wasn't all that bad and that 600 year old stories aren't a reason to leave people to die.
Gathering some leaves and using the sticky thread he acquired from a spider in the cave, he made some makeshift clothes for his new human form. This way, at least the important areas were covered… not that there was anything to see. It would have been dangerous though, a ten year old looking kid, running around in a random forest naked.
He had to find a lake later though, he really wanted to see what he looked like. Besides, now that he had this body, he had to make sure he acted according to his shown age. But he didn't know if he looked ten or younger or older.
After wandering around for a bit, while he didn't find a lake, he found several large puddles as it had rained a few days ago. Straight blue hair just beyond his shoulder, beautiful golden eyes and a slim build. He looked ten as well. He looked a bit too… feminine though. Could he change that? The answer is 'Yes'. Great Sage told him how it worked. But he stopped. It looked a bit, how to say it? Weird. So he kept up the child act.
The next problem was actual clothes. Could he skin some of the animals in the forest? Surely, besides he had Great Sage to help him with the process! Wait… he could just process it into clothes! He was a genius.
Hunting and eating monsters that seemed to make suitable ingredients he made himself some fine clothes and got a lot of skills to boot! Satisfied, he kept walking around and even met some intelligent monsters he could talk with. At the marshes were the lizardmen. He only stayed a day or two but what he learned was interesting. For example, it was Veldora who ruled over this land. The Demon Lords had a nonaggression treaty when it came to the forest which was known as the 'Great Forest of Jura'. He also learned about naming when the lizardmen found out he was a named monster.
To think giving names was so dangerous…
He also heard about the different races in the forest from them. What interested him most were the Ogres. Apparently, there was a savant among them that used a sword. All in all not surprising, they were mercenaries but this one seemed well known. Maybe he should see of he could take sword lessons from him. With that in mind he asked for directions and left.
The ogre village was in the southwest, so it wasn't too far away from where he currently was. He arrived after a few weeks of leisurely strolling about. The ogre were very different from the ones he knew in the games of his world but damn that old savant was strong. He couldn't hit the man even once! Coming was the right decision.
A year later, he was cleared by him as ready. Honestly, that training was hell incarnate but worth it. Nobody could beat him now! No, wait, he shouldn't get too confident. No setting up flags.
The closest Kingdom to where he was, was Brumund. There he registered in the Adventurers Cooperation Union to earn some money. As this, the next year was spent earning money and visiting the Storm Dragon that he found out was really an actual bigshot. Was this guy really defeated by a human?
Realizing how strong some beings in this world were, he started to mostly take on subjugation or hunting quests to earn more skills until he reached the [Advanced Rank]. The system in the world was rather bad and many died because of it. But he was in no position to change it.
After growing more and more powerful, he grew a bit. Probably because he ate many strong monsters. He looked about fourteen after that year, even his skill [Predator] had evolved into [Gluttony] after two years of use and endless devouring. It was... weird. It evolved right after he ate some strange monster.
A skill that could only be called terrifying. Together, this Skill and Great Sage made him an opponent to be feared. Wanting to learn even more and gain as much knowledge of his skills as possible to use them correctly, he journeyed to the Continent of Eternal Ice using [Flight Magic]. He had heard that because of the extreme cold, living there was impossible. He couldn't feel cold however, so he wouldn't have a problem.
Seeing it in the distance, he could make out why it was called uninhabitable. There was nothing to see except white. A truly terrible place. Was this like the poles in his world? Or was this caused by some sort of magic? If so, what magic could do something like this?
Landing carefully, he surveyed his surroundings. Yup, nothing but ice. Geez, he would feel cold from the thought alone if he could. He could but... he wasn't going to not use his skills here. He wasn't going to end up a frozen mummy.
Anyway, he now had a perfect place to practice with skills like [Law Manipulation] or similar ones. Skills that affected large areas or skills that he wasn't sure how good he could control them. Besides, it was daytime. The perfect time to test out the magic he devised. Using physics Magic, he developed a Magic for large scale attacks. With Great Sage's help, it was surely easy but he wanted great control of it regardless. The more one practices, the better. He could also learn to adjust output and scale like this. Maybe he can even learn to use it during the night, who knows?
At one point, with the help of a magic book he accidently discovered, he even learned the [Clone] Skill. With this, he had a sparring partner. The problem was that it was too easy, so he had Great Sage take control of it... yeah, he couldn't beat that. But exactly because of that, he kept using that method. It was an easy way to learn about skills as he could on one side use them and on the other observe them for himself. An all-out magic battle is what it became.
But looking back, this must have been what ratted him out to the continents residents he was unaware of.
Just a few days after he arrived, the ground behind him shook, causing him to stumble and fall. This presence…! It reminded him of Veldora on so many levels! Slowly turning his head to look behind him there was... nothing. What? Looking lower, he could actually see someone. A beautiful woman was coming towards him. Nothing he had something against but this was probably the source of the earlier presence, so... he was screwed.
"My, my. Who is this?" She was standing right behind him.
He turned around and stood up, taking in her appearance. Pure white hair and skin, blue diamond eyes and bright white lips. With the same presence as Veldora who was a True Dragon. Was she one of the four?
"Ah, my apologies." He bowed slightly, it was better not to show disrespect when meeting someone you didn't know "I'm Rimuru Tempest, Miss...?"
"Just call me Velzard." Definitely related "Where are you from? What are you doing here?" Geez, her voice was like ice.
"I'm from the Great Forest of Jura." He responded, did that location work? "I came here to learn to control my skills and magic better. Was I... disturbing you? I will go if I was."
"No, no, it's alright. I was just surprised. Nobody comes here because of the temperature and the fact that this is a Demon Lord's domain."
It was!? Nobody told him that! "Well, I have [Cold resistance], so the cold is not a problem." He hesitated and scratched his neck "And nobody told me this was a Demon Lord's domain, so... I really wasn't trying to intrude. …Can I ask you something?"
"Of course, what is it?" Her smile looked welcoming but he felt like he was treading on thin ice.
"Are you, perchance, one of the True Dragons?"
"That's correct. I am Velzard, the Ice Empress. My younger brother must be more well known for monsters from the main continent though."
Yup, definitely related to Veldora "Yes, I admit I only knew Veldora's name and that there are supposed to be four of his kind."
"Well, it's only normal for you to know his name." She still smiled pleasantly "You have the Storm Crest after all."
Ah, there it was, the reason he was so on edge through her smile. She knew about the Divine Protection of the Storm. Was that something anyone could feel or was this because she was his sister?
Better only talk the truth in front of her "Well, I was fortunate enough to be granted a name by him."
"Is that so? What did he call you then? If it's Veldora who knows what he came up with."
Hey, have some confidence in your brother! "I'm Rimuru Tempest."
She stared for a moment and then narrowed her eyes "That's a surprisingly good name for that child. Who would have thought?"
Well, he came up with half of it "Is that so? My thanks."
"What race are you from?"
This wasn't good. Slimes were pretty much the lowest. "I'm a slime, see?" Better proof it right away, too. He transformed into his actual appearance.
"Are you an unique? I've never seen a talking slime, much less one that thinks or transforms…"
"Well, I wouldn't say that." He admitted "You see, I died and when I woke I was a Slime and in a completely different world! That's when I met Veldora."
"A reincarnated Otherworlder? That's the first I hear of it but it's not impossible. But certainly hard to imagine. It explains how you can posses skills and think."
"Veldora said a similar thing."
"Well, he's an idiot but not stupid." What?
Were they on bad terms or something? "Well, he's good company. By the way, if you're his sister, aren't you concerned? He's sealed away and might die if it goes on too long."
"He brought that upon himself. It's not like freeing him is impossible but this might stop his will to rampage a bit. It's in his nature, so it's not like he'll stop completely but... it's always so annoying. This is all because of Velgrynd spoiling him…"
So Velgrynd must be another of the True Dragons, noted.
She suddenly picked him up "Come with me, I'll introduce you to someone."
"What, why? Who?"
"To the ruler of this land. How about staying with us? If he accepts of course. I would like to hear a lot about the other world as well."
"But I have to go back to Veldora! I promised him to visit from time to time! Besides, why would I stay with anyone? Where's the fun in that? And I can tell you about the other world even without that."
He turned back into a human, hoping it would be easier to get out of her grip somehow. Nope, no change. Now he was just dangling there. Great.
"There's no problem with visiting my little brother, especially if it's because of a promise. I just think you would be a great addition to our forces, especially with the amount of skills you displayed earlier. Better than being a danger."
Addition? He wasn't going to serve anyone! He would do as he pleased. "No!"
"Resistance is futile." She transformed into a dragon, holding him in one of her claws and took off. She was fast, very fast. Not long after they arrived at a palace that looked like it was made out of ice.
"That's the Palace of White Ice." She informed while turning back and trapping him between her arms again "Its Lord is the 'Lord of Darkness', Demon Lord Guy Crimson."
That didn't sound good, not at all. He thought so while she walked through the halls with him still in her arms.
"Who do you have there?" They stopped suddenly and he looked up. There was a man with crimson hair and eyes in front of them. It was a neutral beauty.
She held him up, like a doll. "Something really interesting. A reincarnated Otherworlder that my little brother recognized. His name is Rimuru Tempest, a slime."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously!" Rimuru shot back and then stilled. He had just done something bad. He hoped this wasn't the Demon Lord.
"Ahahahaha! Oh Wow! To think that could happen! No wonder you take a human form despite being a monster. That's an impressive mimicry you have there but this explains the reason behind your fixation."
He could instantly see that it was [Mimicry], huh? Dangerous. Would he be able to name his other skills, too, if he saw them?
He looked at Velzard "Named, too. What is your little brother thinking?"
"I wish I knew." She sighed softly and resigned. 'Oi, be nicer to your brother' is what Rimuru wanted to say "Anyway," she continued "How about we keep him?"
He wasn't a pet, thank you very much! He looked at her annoyed.
"I don't think he likes the idea."
"Who cares?"
He did! "I do!"
"Then how about this?" Guy proposed "Fight against one of my underlings. If you win, you can go. If you lose, you will serve under me but can otherwise still do what you want."
"How would that help you?"
"Not much. But I have nothing to do anyway. Besides, that way, if I need to do anything I can just ask you to do it instead. Demons are easily recognized but you're a normal monster, you will have easier access to any place."
"That is true." Demons were generally not liked and if they are known to serve under a Demon Lord, people are far more likely to be wary. Not that he intended to lose "Got it, let's do that!"
"Alright." He grinned and called someone over before they all went outside "This is one of the two Demon Nobles we have here, Mizari. I want you to try beating her, unless you already give up?"
A named Demon of the Demon Duke class. He had heard about it as a legendary existence that wasn't recorded anywhere. Could he beat that? He wasn't sure "No, I have to try at least."
If it got close, he'd rely on Great Sage.
"Alright, start!"
What, like right now?!
He narrowly dodged an incoming strike. Fastest wins or what? He jumped backwards, he needed distance "Hell Flare!"
An unnatural element ability. Question was if the demon had a resistance against it. A natural element resistance for sure, so he would only try that if he really had to.
It did next to nothing but it seems like there was no resistance skill. He blocked her strikes with his sword and stretched his hand out, using [Paralysis Breath] but it was evaded.
Alright, he needed to be faster. No, what was more important was information. Using [Clone], he created around three clones of himself. One to attack and two to defend so he could watch and get a grasp on movement pattern and skills. Barely two minutes in, all three were destroyed. What terrifying power! But the demon took quite a few hits, too.
If he used [Gluttony] on a part of her, would that work? It worked on parts of monsters corpses if he was lucky. If he ate something, wouldn't that part be considered dead? He had to try.
'I'll leave this to you, Great Sage!'
-Understood. Initiating Auto-battle mode.-
Grinning, he surrendered control over his body. Great Sage took over, turning his eyes crimson red. Evading nearly all the demons strikes, the skill charged forward, sword drawn and ready to strike. Exchanging blows, she predicted the best moment to strike. Attacking sideways with a roll, she activated [Gluttony].
Maybe sensing the danger, the demon jumped away but not before a few strands of her hair were eaten. Was that [Spatial Travel]? [Multidimensional Barrier], too? Good. Two great abilities. Switching control again, he immediately began using both. Using [Spatial Travel] repeatedly was taking a toll on his energy but it wasn't something he couldn't handle.
Using it to strike at her, cladding his sword in unnatural element flames, he struck her time and time again. At the end, both were very exhausted. But... he couldn't fight anymore, he was by far, far more exhausted than her. He may still have his sword and a bit of energy but this was impossible. Against a demon with physical attack immunity that he couldn't cancel out, this was suicide. He didn't have enough energy to maintain the flames anymore.
He laughed "I give up!" He shook his head "Seriously though…"
"And you'd just been about to win, too…" Guy commented.
"I doubt that. I don't have enough energy anymore to wrap my sword in magic or even strike at her, I'm exhausted. She's nearly completely fine!"
"Well, if that's your choice." He picked him up "You're one of us now, then."
"Yup." He looked at the demon, he did get some hits in "Aren't you going to help her?"
"Hm?" He looked at her "She can regenerate herself. Why?"
"I just thought you would. You don't seem all that bad. I have a healing potion if that's faster?"
"If you had those, why didn't you use them?"
"Wouldn't that be kinda unfair? Besides, they only heal wounds as far as I'm aware, so it wouldn't do much for my energy."
"Where do you have them? I don't see any pockets."
"In the stomach of my Skill."
"The black one?"
"Yup. It's called [Gluttony]."
"If I saw correctly, you stole Mizari's skills with it, too."
"Ah." He chuckled nervously "I wasn't even sure if that would work. I can eat parts and have a 'chance' of obtaining a skill. I was relying on the chance that a disconnected body part would count as 'dead'..."
"Can you do more than just steal skills?"
"I can. The same thing works with magic. I can make copies of things I eat if I have enough materials, I can store anything as well. I can also isolate things completely. Processing works as well, that's how I made the medicine. I ate Hipokte Grass and turned it into medicine."
"Is it that easy?"
"Depends actually. It takes quite a while if I just use [Gluttony] but if I link it with my Skill [Great Sage] everything is analysed way faster. A few minutes or even only a few seconds!"
"Velzard picked up someone useful, who would have thought?"
"Is that an insult?" Velzard questioned.
He laughed "Not at all, you just don't usually go around or recruit people."
So he was a special case? Was that something to be happy about?
"Well," Guy started "I have nothing for you to do right now anyway. So just do what you want until I call you. Do you have any means of thought communication?"
"I do." He admitted "I'm not confident about the range though…"
"Then you can practice with Velzard if you want. She was the one who brought you after all." So he was just avoiding work?
Come to think of it, this carefree person was a Demon Lord. He imagined them… more evil. But this was good, too. For him especially.
"Shall we start then?" He asked Velzard as Guy let him down and left.
"Right now?" She tilted her head "There is no need to hurry. Rather than that, tell me about your world."
Well, he could play her game "Sure, what do you want to hear about?"
"Going out again?" Guy asked.
"Yeah, I received a report of something I want to check out. Want me to do something?"
"Not really, but do bring back some cake if you have the time."
Rimuru laughed "Sure thing!"
Rimuru left with a wave, heading towards Brumund Kingdom and into the forest of Jura to visit. He just had to visit Veldora before he went. But to think 50 years had passed since he arrived in this world…
Time flew fast. He had learned so much, both about this world and its occupants. There were so many superpowers and people you should never underestimate. But he also had a new goal. There was so much war in this world, couldn't it be stopped somewhat? Just a bit.
Maybe in another fifty years he could convince Guy to let him take control of the Great Forest of Jura, or at least a portion of it. He had Veldora at his side and the forest was his territory so there should be no problems. The dragon had already agreed to his plan. To form a pointer nation was their goal, one everyone could look at and follow its example.
On top of that, they might be able to stall for time with Emperor Rudra. Velzard had told him all about the two. He had no way to help him but the mans sanity must be thin by now, so if they just had enough time, they might be able to find a solution. That would be his main argument with Guy.
Furthermore, as he was only an indirect subordinate, the treaty concerning the forest had no power over him. So whatever he did, he could pass of as him 'doing what he pleased when not being ordered'. Even the Great Sage approved.
Soon it would be his time to shine.