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Just InCommunityForumMoreRegrets and Wishes: One More Chance by jnscrtm Anime » Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken/転生したらスライムだった件 Rated: T, English, Hurt/Comfort & Romance, [Rimuru T., Ciel], Words: 104k+, Favs: 190, Follows: 196, Published: May 20, 2022 Updated: Jun 13, 202221Chapter 4: 3 - To the Next Milestone

WARNING: This chapter contains theoretical physics and somewhat sci-fi stuff! Don't take it too seriously as it's only theoretical.

CHAPTER 3 – TO THE NEXT MILESTONE

In a vast space isolated deep in the midst of darkness occupying the Sealed Cave, lit only by the glittering stones scattered all around the place, a dragon is there, trapped all alone. A transparent barrier surrounding him has always been preventing him from ever touching the other side of it, let alone breaking free from it.

He is said to be one of the only four True Dragons—the highest existences and the most complete spiritual lifeforms known in the world—and yet he cannot do so much. Almost all of his abilities are sealed along with him.

Around three hundred years have passed since he was imprisoned by a hero. Within that long period of time, he lived a boring, monotonous life. There was no friend, not even a passer-by to talk with.

The unchanging boredom is so crushing; he's ready to welcome the coming oblivion.

It serves as a befitting penance for his misdeed, for having destroyed a town who had nothing to do with him. But in reality, he thought that what he did was just for fun. Never once did he seem to regret it. Not even in the tiniest bit.

Such personality is the very reason why he never gets a friend in the first place, and instead gets a lot of enemies. Even one of the biggest religions which the humans in the world are following has declared him as their enemy.

However, while it is quite understandable why no one bothers to visit him, not even a mindless monster dares to approach him. It is because he is constantly emitting aura. His aura is so rich and powerful, accompanied with a tremendous density of magicules. Very few can stand in his presence. Even in his currently-imprisoned state, a lower-level monster totally cannot approach near him.

One of the True Dragons, known for having been destroying lands as he pleases to relieve his boredom—he is none other than Veldora, the one who bears the title of the Storm Dragon.

⁂

Two silhouettes taking the form of humanoids, holding each other's hands can be seen from distance, walking a path straight to where he is sealed. He feels no aura coming from them, hinting that those figures perhaps are just ordinary humans.

But it doesn't make sense at all—so he thinks.

With the exception of some special individuals and those who have developed immunity, humans are generally susceptible to magicules. Being exposed to a high concentration of magicules for too long can fatally poison and kill them.

Yet, those figures seem not to show any special characteristics.

He was just about to try using his [Analysis and Appraisal] ability of his unique skill [Inquirer], but then he remembered that his skills are sealed and hence cannot be used. But he knows for sure that they are not ordinary fellows. The fact that they can walk normally near him without any hints of fear is very remarkable.

His fight with the hero of the past has changed him in a way. He is no longer one of those fools who would easily disregard those important details just because of their deceiving outer looks.

As they come closer with each step, their appearances become clearer to see.

Their petite statures, slender figures, snow-white skins, bewitching faces, silky silver hair with a faint shade of blue reaching their waists, and deep-crimson dainty lips—such ethereal, otherworldly beauties that no one has ever seen.

They both have an exact appearance from almost all aspects; one would actually believe it if told that they were twin sisters. Their eyes are the only things which are different. One of them has lustrous gold eyes, while the other one has gleaming red eyes.

In his view, they are far, far more beautiful than the hero who fought and sealed him. He keeps observing them, admiring their beauty as they're getting closer to him.

They finally stop several meters in front of his prison. Without lifting their heads, they stare at him in the eye as though seeing everything through his soul.

Veldora feels a chill spreading throughout his draconic body. It has been so long since the last time he felt a chill like this when he met one of his elder sisters. He cannot feel any harmful intentions coming from the two, hinting that they will not do anything like what his sister had done.

This might be the last day of my long-lasting boredom, he excitedly ponders to himself.

(Rimuru's Perspective)

After a quite dramatic walk from where [Space-Time Domination] had brought us, we've arrived at where he is currently sealed.

I noticed that he was, for some reason, observing us thoroughly, eyes fixed on us even when we were still practically far away. Oh, well...it doesn't matter.

We stare at him for a few seconds. He looks a bit anxious when we're doing so.

"Greetings, Storm Dragon Veldora. It's a pleasure to meet you in person," I greet. "Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself first." I put my right palm up in front of my chest. "My name is Rimuru Tempest"—I point at Ciel-san—"and this is Ciel, my partner."

He lets out a fake cough "It's quite rare to see any visitors. To think that humans like you would come and speak to me so audaciously, what is your purpose?"

He's actually aware that we're not humans, or at least, he's aware that we're not some kind of ordinary humans. But he's trying to play tough. Too bad it's very obvious to us.

"Our purpose, you ask? We just want to meet you."

"Kuahahaha...so you admire me so much that you've come to personally m—"

"No, we don't," Ciel-san cuts, visibly annoyed.

"WHAT?!" He seems to get upset by Ciel-san's reaction. Maybe this is the first time he—in this timeline—hears someone rejecting his words so fearlessly.

"Oh, please don't get the wrong idea," I continue Ciel-san's words. "We don't really admire you. In fact, we come here because we feel pity for you. You've been trapped here for a very long time, haven't you? For having been isolated from the outside world and being lonely for three hundred years. How awful is that..." I chuckle at the end.

"NO! I'M NOT FEELING LONELY!" He turns away his face with a slight blush on his scaled cheeks.

Sigh...this tsundere dragon...

"Now, now, Veldora, do you not want to get out of this annoying prison? How come Veldora the Storm Dragon, one of only four True Dragons who are said to be the highest existences and the strongest beings in the entire world, can't break free or inflict even a scratch to it?" I say with a playful tone.

"It's very easy for you to say so. This is no simple prison, you see. This prison was created with a unique skill, [Unlimited Imprisonment]. It seals even my skills along with me, so I can't access them. It can't be damaged by physical attack, either. On top of that, I keep losing more and more magicules over time."

"Hmm?" I put my right hand on my chin, appearing to be wondering deep in thought...which I really am.

I am actually interested in how [Unlimited Imprisonment] really works. Yes, it's true that I did once manage to analyse it, but I didn't try to understand what it really was at the time. "Borrowing" Ciel-san's [All of Creation] ability and using some knowledge of my own as the base of analysis, I try to uncover the mechanisms used by [Unlimited Imprisonment].

This is more or less what I get: [Unlimited Imprisonment] is a technique to hold the target captive in a complex number of spatial dimensions. And by "complex number", I mean like those numbers who would be generally written as something like 𝑎+𝑏𝑖.

𝑖 is what one would call imaginary number, a number where if it is squared, it gives negative one as the result. Because it is "imaginary", the prison simply doesn't coexist with the "real" world, thus preventing any contacts from both directions. Though, it should be noted that what are in the "imaginary" dimensions are just the prison's barrier(s), so the area inside the prison is still in "real" dimensions.

There is nothing that can escape the prison, nor is there anything that can enter it—or so it is supposed to be. Photons appear to be a special exception, most likely because they are massless objects, so as long as it isn't a physical barrier, they can just cut through it. So, without [Magic Perception], one will still be able see what are inside the prisons because light would still be able to cross the "imaginary" barrier.

Magicules have masses, so the magicules leaked by Veldora should've stayed inside the prison and not flowing outward. But that's not what's been happening.

Magicules are particles which carry a special type of energy within themselves, and are able to have causal effects on regular; physical matters and physical phenomena.

They—the magicules—are the basic building blocks of all magical or demonic life. These magicules are formed by an even smaller, subatomic-level particles called the spiritrons. And spiritrons, as far as I know and understand, are very weird matters.

They don't behave like the other subatomic particles like the well-known protons, neutrons, or electrons. There are noticeable deviations from the usual laws that govern physics—like the laws of Thermodynamics and the laws of Energy Conservation—to the extent of being outright broken. They ignore space-time as they move around, cutting straight through nearly any barrier. The only law they obey is the law of causality as described in the theory of relativity, causing them to never be able to reach the exact speed of light.

That would perfectly explain why magicules leaking from Veldora's body can spread freely outside the prison. That would also explain why we can converse with Veldora.

We're conversing with our actual voices, not through [Telepathy] or [Thought Communication]. Since all of us have [Magic Perception], what we're listening to is not the sound waves propagating through the physical air molecules, but instead the sound waves propagating through the disturbance of surrounding magicules.

But why can't he regather the magicules? It is because [Unlimited Imprisonment] is not just a simple complex-dimensional prison. It seems to also have a special attribute which seals almost any skills of those trapped inside, and allows only unidirectional flows of magicules, preventing them from flowing inwards.

"This is awful, truly awful indeed. Then, how about we help you to break free from this prison, Veldora?" Enough playing, I state our true purpose.

"Ohoo, so you two can break this prison?" He leans his head towards us, with eyes like those of a puppy.

"It's but a simple matter for us," I answer. "Though, you'd have to agree to some certain conditions."

"What are those conditions?"

You better agree to them. Or else, just stay still there 'til you welcome your upcoming death... "Very simple. You become our friend, then you stay inside our [Imaginary Space] for at least two years. Such simple conditions, right?"

"WHAT?! I, this mighty and feared Storm Dragon, become a friend with lowly hum—"

"If you don't want to," I cut his sentence in a deadpan tone, "then never mind. Farewell." I turn around then start walking away without a care. "Come on, Ciel-san. Let's go out of this cave."

"Yes, Master."

"W-wait, wait, wait! I was just joking!" Veldora is panicking. "Kuahahaha...okay! I'll become your friends."

"Great." I stop my steps. "Then, it's been decided. To engrave the fact that we are equal and as a symbol of our friendship"—I turn back—"you can adopt my surname, 'Tempest', meaning 'storm'. You're the Storm Dragon, so surely it suits you very well, no?"

"Kuahahaha. Very suitable, indeed. Then from today onwards, I shall be feared under the name Veldora Tempest, the Storm Dragon."

"Ciel-san," I call, "break the prison."

"As you wish." She turns around then walks towards the Veldora. She puts her right hand up, palm touching the prison's transparent barrier. She closes her eyes for a moment.

As we already have the data of [Unlimited Imprisonment] that we got from the previous timeline, the process of Ciel-san's [Analysis and Appraisal] seems to work much faster than it usually does, which is already unimaginably fast.

When Ciel-san opens her eyes, the [Unlimited Imprisonment] has already broken down and scattered.

Using [God of Void, Azathoth], I devour all of its residues.

"Kuahahaha...I didn't expect that you'd break this supposedly-unbreakable prison as easily as raising your hand. It seems my earlier suspicion is true."

"Now," I say, "we need you to stay inside our [Imaginary Space] for at least two years."

"What is this [Imaginary Space] thingy?"

"To put it simply, it is our personal subspace."

"Ohhh...so you also have that sort of thing? Kuahahaha...neat! And why does it have to be two years?"

Good question, Veldora. "Because we've calculated that two years will be the best time for you to announce your resurrection to the world."

"Kuahahaha...I see, I see... Interesting...very interesting, indeed! Very well, then I shall do as you say."

The moment he expresses his agreement to the final condition, I immediately predate his huge body with [Azathoth] and isolate his spiritual body in a place that we've prepared for him in [Imaginary Space].

The huge dragon is no more in front of us, leaving me and Ciel-san all alone.

The reason why I choose not to bring Veldora since the beginning of our journey is that: the world will eventually know that we are the ones who've freed Veldora even if he tried to hide one hundred percent of his aura.

The world knowing Veldora's liberation is not a problem in itself, but the real problem is when the world knows it too quickly.

Unplanned major changes would be inevitable.

I am aware that even if we try to match up this timeline with the previous timeline, changes are still unavoidable.

I mean, in this timeline I will be physically together with Ciel, who was supposed to be just [Great Sage] in the previous timeline. We'll also save some people who had originally been not saved.

So, expecting that there'd be no changes at all is just pure ignorance.

What I want is not to completely avoid changes, but to avoid getting unexpected, unplanned major changes as much as possible so that they can still be handled quite easily.

Though, if the condition forced me, I wouldn't hesitate to actually do it and take full responsibility.

So...what now?

Looking from my previous timeline, I am supposed to meet those goblins in around...thirty to forty days.

I do want to save him—the first named goblin in that village. But I don't know when and where the battle between his group and the direwolves will take place.

If I have to guess, it would be around three weeks from now.

There are two logical considerations that I take.

The first is about Veldora.

Because he is the guardian deity of the Forest of Jura, there will surely be several days of confusion and disbelief right after he unexpectedly disappeared without a trace.

The second is about the direwolves themselves.

Influenced orcs could take travel from their former territory near the Demon Lords' lands to the marshlands of Lake Siss in approximately one month.

They did walk continuously for 24 hours, but their movements were rather slow because they were walking, not running.

While the direwolves will take an even longer route—from the vast plains near the Eastern Empire to the Sealed Cave—they are innately gifted with their high speed.

I mean, they are literally wolves, except that they are much stronger than the ones in my first "Earth" due to them being magical beings—or in other words: monsters. Even in their unevolved state, they can maintain an average speed of fifty kilometres per hour for at least two hours before finally deprived of their magical energy and need to rest for some time.

Of course, the ones that will attack the named warrior and his party are merely a scout sent by the main pack. The main pack cannot move recklessly, after all, so they will need to constantly gather information.

So...what can we do in three weeks?

...

"Ciel-san," I call, turning my head to her.

"Yes, Master?"

"How about we search for the way out of the cave by walking?"

"Why not using [Space-Time Domination], if I may ask?"

"Nothing. I just kinda feel like wanting to spend the remaining time we have before we jump into our first real business."

"Understood. Then I shall agree to it."

Smiling, I hold her left hand with my right hand and start walking. "Let's go."

Not until a minute later, we can already see a small lake in front of us. This really brings back memories...

I recall the first days of my second life in my original timeline. I overdramatically thought to myself that I was gonna die for sure when I was sinking to that lake. Just a few seconds later, I realized that I didn't feel suffocated at all, then further realized that I wasn't even breathing to begin with.

It really is a silly memory, but even just recalling it in a time and a condition like this actually gives me a glimpse of joy. I unintentionally let out a chuckle.

"Why are you suddenly chuckling, Master?" she asks, tilting her head.

"I'm just...reminiscing my 'past'."

With the help of my [Universal Perception], I can perfectly picture out the map of the cave paths, so we won't get lost.

Because we completely turn our aura off, some unsuspecting cave monsters will try to attack us, only to be easily cut and killed by my sword or magic.

This sword of mine, Sword of Tempest as I named it, has always been accompanying me since the practically the start of my original past.

It's a long, straight sword, with jet-black-coloured blade. Not too long, not too short—truly an ideal length for me.

It started off as a "nameless", Rare-class sword forged by the best blacksmith I know.

As time passed by, it gradually got stronger, developing into Unique-class, Legendary class, and then finally Mythical-class during my evolution into an Ultimate Slime.

With [True Dragon Core Transformation: Scorch-Storm], it can temporarily reach the power far surpassing even the highest of Mythical-class as long as one or both True Dragons give me their consent.

I used it for a short time against the True Chaos Dragon, but even so, it couldn't slice through True Chaos Dragon's body.

Maybe, not only because the real Veldanava was one of True Dragons like his siblings, it was also because the real Veldanava was the creator of this world and many other worlds, so perhaps it shouldn't be too surprising if his body would be a lot stronger than Mythical-class, just like my sword.

Of course, now my sword's been back into a Mythical-class sword. I've practically lost both my [True Dragon Core Release] and [True Dragon Core Transformation] abilities since my [Soul Corridor] had completely been cut off; and I haven't reformed my [Soul Corridor] with Veldora.

But even as a Mythical-class sword, it has a terrifying power. If I really intend to release all the power it holds, I can easily obliterate several mountains at once with one swing—without accounting the power of [Turn Null] that I might imbue in it.

We keep walking, seeking for the way out. We're talking along the way; from one topic to another, from a serious to a silly one.

Within those times, we almost never let go of each other's hands.

⁂

After around fifteen days, we finally make it to the exit gate. Lies in front of our eyes the view of the outside world.

It's late morning. We can hear the sounds of birds chirping and breeze gently blowing through the leaves.

I stop walking, then followed by Ciel-san.

"Master?" She looks puzzled.

"There'll be many things waiting for us from now on," I say, tightening my hold on Ciel-san's hand. "I hope we can achieve what we really desire."

"I hope so, Master."

I turn my head to her. "Then, let's get started, shall we?"

"Yes, Master," she answers with a beautiful smile.

I take a deep breath before finally we continue walking towards the outside world. From the first milestone, to the next one will we jump.

~TO BE CONTINUED~

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