Chapter 3: Forked Road

: Going back to the lake I saw before, I consulted Great Sage regarding which direction [Hydraulic Propulsion] could have flung Rimuru for him to meet Veldora.

«Answer──At present, I lack sufficient information about the whereabouts of Storm Dragon Veldora to pinpoint his coordinates.»

𝘏𝘮𝘮… 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦 [𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦] 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴?

Since monsters avoided Veldora because of the magicules that leaked out from 『Infinity Prison』, determining the highest concentration of magicule density should point me in the right direction.

«Answer──[Magic Sense] can be used together with [Great Sage] to measure magicule concentration. Need to enable it»

(YES/NO)

Given that Veldora was the only reason I'm still in this cave right now; 𝘠𝘌𝘚.

«Scanning... Scan complete ──

The highest possible concentration detected is 87 meters to your left»

𝘓𝘦𝘧𝘵? I used [Sticky Thread] to swing over the lake, and for general mobility.

"Spider-Slime, Spider-Slime. Squirts and sticks all the time. Covers walls, ceilings too. Eats your monsters with gooey goo. Watch out, here comes the Spider-Slime."

Those jingles were the first words said with my [Ultrasonic Waves]. Sometimes I wonder what my talent to make rhymes is for.

"Oh yeah. Great Sage, when I absorb Veldora and the 『Infinity Prison』, make sure to suppress my magicules."

«Understood»

A little while later and some more Spider-Man parody jingles, I arrived.

"Can you hear me? Little one."

Before long I had already located Veldora's soon-to-be tomb if I didn't get him out of here. Reading it from the pages of a book is one thing, but actually standing before it is another matter entirely.

This enormous body that shone with the luster of obsidian made me awe with fear, like looking at the peak of a mountain when you're at the base.

There are six fingers, which formed claws that looked sharp enough to tear through anything. On the back are two pairs of wings, one big one small, the front ends are sharp like a sword.

𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵. 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

"Oi──! You should be able to hear? Hurry up and answer me!"

𝘖𝘩 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯! 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵.

"Hoho. You actually dare to call me old man… You really have some guts!! And I had thought that I shouldn't be rude to a guest which I haven't had in a long time, but it seems that you have a death wish!"

Wait, what the hell? Shouldn't『Great Sage』prevent my deep psyche from being interfered with?

«Answer──Mental interference is detected. Need to enable mental barriers?»

(YES/NO)

𝘚𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴? 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵.

"So sorry to disturb the great Storm Dragon's tomb. Perhaps I should leave if I'm unwelcome?"

I was careful not to poke his ego too hard. If I said something like "I guess I should leave", I was afraid that he would be too prideful to ask me to stay.

But by presenting it as a Yes or No question, I'm giving him the decision to make me stay or leave. Instead of forcing him to ask me to stay.

Although the appearance is this scary, and his aura is menacing. This dragon is undoubtedly approacheble and chatty.

"So you are a reincarnated person from a different world."

"Umu! One second I was having the time of my life, and in another second my legs were crushed."

"Fascinating. This type of Reincarnation is very rare. occasionally people of this world will Reincarnate and occasionally Otherworlders will also cross into this world. But from my knowledge there aren't many cases of reincarnating here from a different world whilst also retaining your ego."

As I'd hoped, he seems to be very happy about being able to talk with someone, and would answer in a detailed fashion no matter what I asked.

I asked him about the Hero that sealed him, Hero Chronoa. To which he replied in great detail. How powerful the Hero was. Her snow-white skin. Small red lips. Silver-black hair, tied into a braid. Not very tall, slender and even a little petite.

"Although a mask was worn, but it was unquestionably a beauty," he commented.

"Oooh, that's some pretty astute observation. You were watching pretty closely weren't you~~?" I asked teasingly.

"N, nonsense! I was just admiring the human's strength!" He replied in a rush, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Admiration, eh? There once was a dragon named Veldora. Who saw a hero so fair, he could adore her. His gaze was awestruck, as he watched her luck. But alas, 'twas only admiration, nothing more," I said, expecting to get an embarrassed and flustered reaction again, instead…

"Kuhahahahahaha!!" Instead, he was ecstatic. "To think that a slime could entertain me so much!"

Everything was going exactly as I hoped, and the situation is even better than I planned. I wanted to get Veldora in high spirits so he would consider me a friend and Name me.

"Could you.....uhm, wou, would you be willing to.... ahem──"

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶!? I yelled at myself.

𝘚𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵! 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵! 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥!

I tried suppressing my inner embarrassment, and what came out was not nearly intelligible enough.

"caN You beComE FrIENds WiTh me?"

Though, thankfully, he was too surprised himself to notice my shameful attempt at a request.

"Wh, what!? A mere slime, actually wants to become friends with the dignified Storm Dragon Veldora!?"

I then pretended to change my mind, seeing that he didn't seem to want it. Veldora became tsundere, yadda, yadda, "It's not like I didn't want to, baka!", or something like that anyways.

"Ah right, I should give you a name, you think of one for me too," Veldora suggested.

There it is, the moment I had been anticipating.

"I'm sure it's different in your world, but it's to embed the same symbol into our souls. In humans, this seemed to be referred to as a last name. The name that I'll give would also have a [Blessing] effect, since you don't have a name yet. With a name, you'll be able to become one of the named demons."

I was eager to obtain my name, because in that case, my existence will have completely overridden [Satoru Mikami]. Cementing myself as the protagonist of this world through the name 'Rimuru Tempest.'

"Since it's 'storm', then let's call you [Tempest]…. How is that?"

I thought about changing the name 'Tempest' to something different from canon, perhaps 'Zephyr', but 'Rimuru Zephyr' doesn't have the same ring to it.

"Brilliant! This name has a really nice ring to it! Then my name will be Veldora Tempest starting from today!"

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Now, about you…"

𝘈𝘩 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 '𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳' 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 '𝘙𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘶', 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦! 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭. 𝘔𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯; 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦. 𝘔𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦; 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴.

𝘚𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘔𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘙𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘶 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦──!

"Zarasu," Veldora stated.

──𝘌𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘰…?

"I will give you the name [Zarasu]. From today onwards, you will be Zarasu Tempest!!"

──────────

«Notice──Start analysis of Unique Skill『Infinity Prison』?»

"Please do so. As fast as you can, Great Sage."

After telling Veldora about the plan of breaking him out of『Infinity Prison』, I used『Predator』to swallow the entire jail to be analyzed within my stomach.

𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘣𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺.

I felt kind of bad for thinking Veldora as just a battery for when I go on my mass naming sprees.

"If only I could absorb the magicules in this cave. I'd probably jump to the same level as Charybdis in terms of magicule capacity. Too bad I'd need『Gluttony』for that."

Given that I had already predated the monsters in this cave and found the exit door when looking for Veldora, I could leave right away after absorbing Veldora without having to wander for a month.

𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘌𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!

With my powerful slime body and the guidance of Great Sage, I knew that I was more than capable of facing whatever dangers and obstacles lay ahead, and I pressed on with renewed purpose and energy, ready to tackle whatever lay ahead on my journey.

────────────────────────

Name: Zarasu Tempest

Race: Slime

Divine Protection: Storm Crest

Title: None

EP: 81,100 (A Class)

Magic: None

Battlewill: None

Mystic Arts: None

Unique Skills: 『Great Sage』『Predator』『???』

Extra Skills: [Magic Sense], [Sense Heat Source]

Common Skills: [Steel Thread], [Sticky Thread], [Poisonous Breath], [Thermal Regulation], [Paralyzing Breath], [Body Armor], [Drain], [Ultrasonic Waves]

Intrinsic Skills: [Absorb], [Dissolve], [Self-Regeneration]

Resistance: Pain Nullification, Thermal Fluctuation Resistance, Paralysis Resistance, Electricity Resistance, Physical Attack Resistance