Lesson on StarCraft

"Hello Kurobe. I hope I am not intruding"

A red-haired Kijin, whom I remembered to be Benimaru, spoke to Kurobe, though his eyes were still directed at myself.

Inspecting his face, posture, tone, eyes, and SOUL, I came to the conclusion that he was cautious of me.

Hmm. I do not recall anything except the duel with Hakurou which could mark me as potentially dangerous. Or does he think I am a spy?

Though the latter is unlikely the case, since he decided to confront me rather than watch me covertly from the sidelines.

I skimmed through the possible causes of his suspicion, to arrive at the most probable cause. It could be that he could not sense me as I teleported to Rimuru, as I had sealed my Aura in my body perfectly, or that his instincts told him that I was dangerous.

Either way, he does not seem to hold a violent stand yet, so I can let it pass. I would prefer if conflict is avoided.

I could tell he was agitated, but something seemed to hold him back. Looking deeper, I found that a skill, a Unique at that, was stabilizing his mentality to an extent, allowing him to remain calm.

Hmm. That would explain why he seems so controlled despite his soul possessing such a fiery personality. I should take a look at that Unique Skill later. I didn't expect them to be this common in this era. I wonder what Guy is doing.

"Of course not. Though please do forgive me for this mess"

Kurobe looked around the shaken construction, the pillars barely hanging on.

"There is no need to, it is alright. Accidents may happen in forging so it's not that great of a deal"

"So, what can I help you with?"

"Nothing as of yet, thank you. I, along with Gabiru, just came here to take a look at the newcomer. We can wait for a while until you finish"

Benimaru's eyes diverted from me, and to Kurobe, for the first time he had entered the workshop, no matter how in shambles it seemed.

Hearing that, I turned to the blacksmith, who did so as well. I nodded, before turning to Benimaru and the Dragonewt, Gabiru. I was pleasantly surprised, after all, a new race such as this did interest me, having traces of my own essence, so I could, in a way, call them my descendants.

Heh. Never thought this day would ever come.

"I will not take too long, hope you can wait, child"

Their eyes widened for a bit, but nodded nonetheless. I had also noticed that Gobta had already reached Rimuru, so it wouldn't be long till his back.

Usually, I would have used 『Universal Sense』 to do that. However, I now had a new way of doing so, one I was eager to try, which I ended up using this time.

『Unique Skill: Watcher』, is one of the two Unique Skills I had accidentally acquired after my reincarnation. Born from my desire to watch over my daughter and brother, it was a fairly useful skill due to its ease of usage.

It sported 3 sub-skills in its arsenal, namely 『All of Creation』, 『Spatial Manipulation』 and 『Watcher of the Deep』.

The first, 'All of Creation' was nothing special, and my eyes and senses already gave me higher authority to comprehend any phenomenon that it did.

The second, 'Spatial Motion', was a lesser variation of my prior Authority over Space. However, it did not matter much since I had already advanced it to 『Spatial Domination』, which could even rival my prior authority in the manipulation of Space. Though, it was likely due to my comprehension of it, my connection to the Grand Spirit of Space, and maybe due to my tempering with it with my innate ability.

The third, 'Watcher of the Deep', however, was the chief essence of the skill. Born from my desire to watch over the ones I cared about, it allowed me to view any and every place I had ever visited, all at the same time, even better than 'Universal Sense', allowing me to observe even other dimensions and world, had I even once been to them. This was also the one I used to spot Rimuru this time.

Seeing that Rimuru was getting ready to teleport here, I turned to Kurobe and transformed Starheart to the same exact state it was before, now sitting as a black stone, with an enigmatic glimmer.

SWOOSH.

In an immediate flash of light, Rimuru teleported right behind me, Gobta beside him.

"Hmm? Ve…Nova, did you need something?"

"Yes actually"

I said without looking at him, waving him to come closer, to which he readily complied. Coming beside me, he gazed at the lump of Starheart before me, as his eyes gleamed a faint momentary spark, it seemed he tried to appraise it with 『Raphael』.

"You can't appraise it without earning its recognition, Rimuru"

"Hmm"

Rimuru nodded, though I feel he did so for 'Raphael' rather than me.

"This is Starheart, a material I want to make a weapon for you with"

Rimuru raised his eyebrow but refrained from uttering a word.

"For now, just know that it's the only piece there is in this world that has not been forged into a weapon. Take this as a gift from myself"

"Okay, I guess?"

He still seems unsure. But it does not matter much, "This will basically be the strongest weapon you have, at least for now"

"Thanks, but are you sure you want to talk about it here?"

Rimuru's eyes fleetingly glanced at the two who remained at the doorway.

"Fufu. No need to worry over that, what I am doing won't do any good for anyone even if the entire world knows about it"

This was true to a large extent. Starheart was a substance only I could create, for I knew that Milim did not understand, nor had enough insight over the power she inherited from me to make it. Not to mention, all the weapons I made from it were in the hands of strong individuals, so it was unlikely some human nations would fight over it.

"Well then, Let's begin"

As I said this, Rimuru and Kurobe stepped back.

Are they worried I will cause another explosion?

But now was not the time for this. I turned my attention to the chunk of Starheart before me and took it up in my hands.

Imagining a sword that could be used given his status as the #### ###### ####, I infused my will into it. As I did so, the metal shone a starry white, turning into a broad sword.

I could feel those amazed eyes on my back, however, I was not yet finished. The weapon I had crafted was now a greater weapon with durability unmatched, however, it lacked any enchantments whatsoever. It was now merely a semi-sentient tool which was sturdy beyond what was the norm, even among the rest of its kind.

Now, I imbued it with the Holy Attribute, establishing it as a 'Divine' weapon. However, I had made a slight error in my calculations.

This lump of Starheart was infused with a tint of my own essence, making it unsuitable for anyone other than me, or perhaps my daughter to wield, for it now was an extension of myself, and would not recognize anyone other.

The finished weapon was not what I had imagined, but it was still a finished product now, bonded to me. The broad sword had a golden handle and a metal silver blade that glimmered with an astral shine, loaded with a tint of small sapphire light balls, resembling stars.

(Illustration)

Sigh.

It was not what I had envisioned, but partly a success anyway.

I turned to the group, who seemed uncomfortable.

Hmm?... Oh right.

The holy power my newly forged sword radiated was seemingly far too much for monsters it seems. I swiftly stopped it and put it in my subspace, after which they seemed more comfortable.

"Well, I made a mistake and ended up crafting the wrong weapon"

"…"

Sigh.

"What was that?"

Rimuru voiced out, somewhat anxious.

"I enchanted the blade with the Holy attribute and my own essence, so it inadvertently turned out to be a little too powerful"

"That… was magnificent", Hmm? I turned to Kurobe, "What do you mean?"

"Crafting a blade with your will alone, enchanting a weapon with the holy attribute with such ease despite being a monster, you truly are an unbelievable craftsman"

"Thank you Kurobe", Even if I am not exactly one.

"Well, I guess I'll have to make you a new one"

I once again turned to Rimuru, as the other 2 which had been left out did not seem to show any intention of speaking up.

"No no, you don't have t—"

"I insist"

"… Fine"

I smirk made its way to my face, as I ignored the peeping Veldora was watching us from afar. Not that I mind it, he just becomes shy sometimes… at least that has not changed over the years.

I thought sadly as I reminisced about the past where Veldora was far different… far more cheerful than he was after losing much of his personality due to his continual reincarnations.

But that was a story for another time. I had to focus on creating another sword now.

I lifted my hand, as a bright light suddenly flashed from it. Dying out after a few seconds, now lying in my hand, was another chuck of Starheart, ready to be used, and not having my essence this time, making it suitable for it to be used by others.

However, I had also noticed Rimuru's reaction earlier. He was not suitable for a holy weapon of that degree…yet. So I needed to make a weapon with the Demonic attribute, it would do pretty well with his demonic attribute.

Now, shaping the Starheart into a thin blade that was seemingly similar to a rapier and katana, I enchanted it with a Demonic property, that enhanced his power to an enormous degree. The effects were kept sealed, as I intended for it to be a surprise. Not to mention, there was one more thing missing.

As far as I knew, I held the highest power and affinity towards the Holy and Demonic attributes in this room. This could end up with this weapon choosing me as well.

"Rimuru"

"Yeah?"

"Give me a piece of your flesh"

He seemed skeptical at first, and I could sense the rising hostility within the red-haired Kijin, however, that did not matter to me in the slightest now.

After a second of hesitation, Rimuru cut off his finger and passed it to me, which he instantly regenerated.

As the finger fell into my hand, I used my innate ability. A part of which allowed me to separate and combine 'anything' or 'anyone' I wished, so separating his essence from this slime finger was a child's play.

Now, with the essence in hand, I infused it with the blade floating before me, which remained shimmering with a purple shine coating it like an aura.

(Illustration)

Just as it did, the sword immediately flew towards its new master, Rimuru. Rimuru was startled, same with the other 3 that got their guard up, but caught it nonetheless.

"How about it?"

Rimuru looked at the sword in his hands, which he swung around slowly, eyes not once leaving it. I guess Raphael is analyzing it, from the way his eyes look at it.

"I…I don't know what to say, but I do have a question"

"Hmm?"

"What's with these 2 words on it?"

Rimuru lifted 'his' sword, showing the blunt sides of the blade, one of which had the term 'Void' and the other side, 'Order'.

I put my finger to my lips, "That is for me to know and you to find out"

Seeing his eye twitch at my answer, I chuckled. But I was not going to give him an answer just yet, after all, I still needed to investigate the object I am sensing in this world, one which does not belong in this time, and somehow is connected with him.

}-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-{

Days passed, and the newcomer Nova, slowly but surely got assimilated into the Tempest as its unofficial resident, something no one seemed to have a problem with.

Well… almost no one.

Gabiru had already confronted the dragonewt Nova, receiving a satisfactory answer, he acknowledged the latter as his ancestor. After all, not just anyone can make a 'Unique Grade' Weapon on the spot, right? —Gabiru thought, unaware of the true nature of the 2 weapons crafted right before him.

Nova had now become a familiar member of the Rimuru City, known as the young-looking elder who seemed to have the answer to any question possible.

He had also retracted his horns, looking more like a human, as Rimuru had suggested in one of their earliest meetings.

It was peaceful, and Nova liked it. However, he almost always felt the gaze of a certain red-haired Kijin on him every time he went out of the inn, which he was allowed to stay in for free by Rimuru.

But Benimaru still had not tried to confront him since the day he had crafted Rimuru's weapon, not to mention, the time he spent watching over Nova also seemed to be declining.

Maybe he is getting more trusting, but it will still take confrontation with him to wipe the suspicion away it seems—Nova concluded, having been aware of Benimaru's worries and thoughts from the start.

But it was not too much of a hindrance for Nova. He was busy helping the people of the city, in many ways they had not thought of, improving the rate and quality of development far surpassing their beliefs.

He even gave lessons on swordsmanship, to the master Hakurou himself, whose skill with blades was now even higher, approaching the domain of the transcendent.

Rimuru himself felt amazed at this, and the techniques he had implemented.

He wondered why had Raphael not given him those suggestions, after all, Raphael seemed to have solutions for every situation possible.

However, "Raphael's highest priority is its master, it will work so accordingly", Veldanava enlightened him. Raphael was only focused on its master, everything else came second.

Kurobe on the other hand, was delighted to have Nova teach him more about forging weapons and crafting them with one's will alone, even if he was barely decent in the latter.

Nova and Veldora, however, were becoming more of a headache for the City's Ruler. Engrossed in reading manga, the two often shared their views on them.

Veldora focused on the enjoyment and finding the 'cool' moves in them, while asking his brother ways to imitate them in case he couldn't figure it out himself, something Veldanava happily obliged to help his younger brother with.

Veldanava, on the other hand, loved the diversity and differing views he found in them, finding a joy akin to the one he felt when observing his creations.

However, knowing the frustration Veldora caused Rimuru by reading in the latter's office, he relocated their spot to either the outskirts of the city or within his 'Grand Space'.

}-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-{

In the far, far west, beyond the Western Nations governed by the Western Holy Church. Within the capital of The Holy Void of Damargania, 'Heaven Tower', the country ruled by the Demon Lord Dagruel, lay a man with silver-purple hair, staring into nothingness, not one thought occupying his mind.

In short, he was sleeping.

However, suddenly his eyes opened up, as if never before had sleep known him. Instantly, he got up, and his entire clothing was now a coat of black, and a black cross on his forehead.

6 mesmerizing pairs of wings sprouted from his back, 3 of them white, making him seem like an Angel, that he was.

However, the other 3 pairs, exhibited a dark color, and anyone looking at them could instantly tell, that this was not just an Angel, but a Fallen Angel.

In a swift movement of wings, he took off to the sky, piercing through the roof without any resistance whatsoever, a big boom sounding across the capital as the Fallen burst out with unbelievable speed.

As he flew, to the east, his lips parted, uttering a single sentence—

"Are you really back…Master?"