After a short walk back from my house I arrive back at the village. At first glance someone wouldn't notice that anything's off but I notice that there are a little too many goblins in the village.
{Confirmed- More Goblins confirmed to be in the area.}
Now that I think about it there was a group or two of Goblins that moved into the village in the original. It's not that weird I guess.
Moving on I use [Sage's Link] to locate Rimuru and head off in his direction. He's fighting against someone. It doesn't seem very serious though. I figure he's just sparring with someone and continue to head off in his direction with my hands in my sweater pocket.
I almost arrive when I hear an overly enthusiastic voice yell, "Lord Migeru! You're back!"
I turn around and say, "Oh, hey Rigurd. I'm just here to see what's going on. I've been gone working on a personal project for a couple days so I figured now that I'm done I should spend some time here you know. I'll also gladly help with preparing for the Orc Invasion situation we have right now so don't be shy about asking for help."
He burst into tears, "Such generosity! We deeply appreciate your consideration, Lord Migeru."
I deadpan. All I said was I'd be glad to help out. It's not like I'm sacrificing something to help you all. "Uh, yeah. Anyways, I'm going to go talk to Rimuru for a bit. I have a skill that can sense where he is so I know where he is. See you later."
"Understood, Lord Migeru."
They're treating me just like Rimuru. It's kinda surreal to see that happening. As I get closer I can make out that Rimuru isn't fighting one person, but 4. Focusing more on them I can guess who they are.
I poke around a tree to finally see them and, Yup. Rimuru is currently fighting Hakurou, Souei, Benimaru, and Shion all at once. The fight itself is ending and doesn't seem very even. Rimuru doesn't look tired at all while the rest except Hakurou look exhausted. Getting closer as the fight ends I ask, "You guys practicing?"
My appearance catches Rimuru off guard as he says, "Oh. Migeru, you're back. How have you been?"
I smile as I say, "Not bad." I turn to the Kijin, "Looks like you really did a number on them."
Benimaru and Souei are sitting on nearby rocks catching their breath, Shion is lying down, while Hakurou is standing with his back against a tree.
"Hakurou, you really are skilled aren't ya?"
He bows and says, "I appreciate your praise Lorm Migeru."
I turn to Benimaru, Souei and Shion and pull out some Full Potions, throwing them onto the 3. "Can't let Rimuru have all the fun, can you go against me? I haven't had much action recently. It's mostly just been a bunch of construction. Last time we fought you were Ogres, I want to see how you've progressed."
The four immediately accept and we head over to the training ground. They all get ready as I get into a fighting stance.
This time I won't use [Genius] though. It's a really broken skill to use when fighting because it allows me to optimize my fighting style to [Great Sage] levels. On top of that it even contains a huge trump card. One of [Genius's] subskills is [Zero Time]. An ability that allows me to think in zero time. Really strong in a high speed fight. Too bad time freezes for me when I use it so I can't actively use it in a fight like [Thought Acceleration] which is why I use it more.
Even with [Genius] deactivated the fight proves to be really one sided. I'm weaker than Rimuru due to not having [Degenerate] and not being directly linked to Veldora. I can access Veldora's Magicule supply but that's through [Sage's Link]. It's not a direct connection like Rimuru.
Moving on from that side tangent. I am weaker than Rimuru but I highly doubt he could actually beat me in a fight. I'm far too skilled thanks to [Genius] acquired fighting knowledge. As I weave through the Kijin's attacks like they are nothing I look at Rimuru. He looks really impressed. Hakurou takes full advantage of my loss of attention for that split second as he trips me up and almost lands a clean slice across my left shoulder. However, that is thwarted by [Great Sage].
{Notice- Optimal defense has been calculated.
Deploying optimal defense.}
A plate of [Body Armor] appears on my shoulder stopping the blade as I kick Hakurou away. It's crazy how 5 copied and optimized fighting styles in Hakurou can still catch me off guard.
The one sided fight ends quickly after with none of the Kijin landing a single solid hit on me for the entire duration.
I smile at them, "You're all really good."
All of them thank me for the compliment as I hand them some Full Potions to heal themselves.
After a short talk I go to reunite with a certain overgrown puppy. I left Ranryo with Ranga and part of the pack during my construction of the lab due to complications with him being with me during that process. A wolf as big as him would have been a problem suddenly jumping out of my shadow in the middle of a construction site. He already knows [Shadow Movement] so from now on I'll tell him he can stay in my shadow if he wants.
I say my goodbyes to the people at the training site as I sprout large Phoenix wings from my back. They are white with a noticeable orange glow on the ends of the feathers themselves. I flap them and scan around the area for Ranryo. I locate the wolf pack and see Ranryo in the middle of the pack. After spotting him I immediately descend, landing on the edge of the wolf pack.
Ranryo immediately spots me and yells, "Master!"
"Hey, Ranryo. I came to pick you up. I'm finally finished with my project. Considering you have [Shadow Movement] you should be able to stay in my shadow if you want. You can stay there if you want."
"Understood, Master!" He immediately runs at me, licks me with his huge tongue covering me in saliva and then jumps into my shadow.
With the Ranryo thing complete I think about what else I came here for. Oh, yeah! I came here to make myself a sword. The skills I copied from Benimaru, Hakurou, and most importantly Shizue as she is the basis of my fighting style all involve swords. Without one a lot of my techniques have been unusable to me. Today is the day I fix that. I walk into Kaijins forgery where I also find Kurobe.
Kaijin is hard at work so he isn't even able to look up at me for very long as he says, "Hello, Lord Migeru. What brings you here?"
"Nothing much, I just want to make a sword. I know how to make one, I just don't have the correct equipment. Mind if I use your tools?"
He cheerfully says, "Of course you can! Just, why not ask me or Kurobe to make it?" I turn to Kurobe who is listening in on the conversation on the side.
"I just want to make it myself, you know. There's not much else."
"I see. I understand, go ahead."
I thank him as I get ready to make the sword. It takes a few days as I want to make sure I get it right as I mix in some magic stones to increase its power. By the end I have a pure Magisteel sword that's noticeably better than the swords Kurobe and Kaijin have made.
Kaijin says, "That's quite the sword you've made."
"Thanks."
I marvel at the sword for a bit before suddenly hearing a loud scream off in the distance. "What the?" I walk outside as I hear another loud scream. "God damnit." It 's Gabiru.
I never liked Gabiru very much. He's a bit too loud for me. I've always been on the more serious side so he doesn't mesh too well with me. He's already threatening people as well. I walk up to their confrontation. At the same time Ranryo pops out of my shadow as well. I turn to Rimuru in his slime form in Shions arms, "What's goin on?"
He explains, "These Lizardmen appeared offering to become our new protectors in exchange for becoming our new leaders. When we refused to ask if we could forge an equal alliance instead they started insulting us."
I look around. Benimaru looks likes he's ready to commit mass murder. After a nonsensical argument involving Ranryo and Ranga almost grabbing each of his arms and pulling them both off, Gobta shows up. "Yo, Gobta, do me a favor and go fight that Lizardman for me."
The rest of the monsters here hear me say this and all begin to agree, sending Gobta into the fight with Gabiru. I look at Rimuru in his Slime form. He looks so comfortable. Maybe I should try that.
I revert back to my Slime form and immediately relax only to see Shion look at me with the eyes of a predator. Oh, shit! I instantly revert back into my Human form to her disappointment. She looks like the guy from that one clip, what was it again, "My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined," or something like that.
Unfortunately during this little skit I lose focus on the fight and miss Gabiru getting his ass kicked by Gobta. By the time I revert to my Human form, Gabiru is already on the floor completely unconscious. Damn, I really wanted to see that.
The Gabiru fan club instantly rush to his aid, picking him up and running away yelling that they will be back.
Thinking this is over I prepare to walk away when I hear something that catches me off guard. Rimuru yells, "Hey, Migeru. Do you want some of Shion's cooking? It's really good!"
I can almost see an evil smile on his blobby body. He definitely wants to prank me or something. Too bad he doesn't know I already know the terror of Shion's cooking. He must think I'll respond with, "Sure," like I always do when asked similar questions.
Not gonna lie, I am interested in just how bad Shion's cooking is. Herrm, just this once. I'll try her food just once. Hopefully I don't die.
{Notice- This is a bad idea.}
I know [Great Sage]. Smiling I say, "Sure. If you eat some with me."
He starts panicking, yelling, "Uh, uh, uh, I'm already…"
Shion jumps for joy, yelling, "Really!? I'll go prepare some food right now! Get ready you two!" She hands Rimuru to Benimaru who looks like he's about to throw up and runs off into the town.
{Notice- Unique Skill [Sage's Link] has been activated.}
"That's what you get Rimuru. You're not going to trick me that easily. That's a life or death situation you just threw me into."
"Eh! You knew."
"Of course I knew. I'm not an idiot."
{Notice- Unique Skill [Sage's Link] has been deactivated.}
Rimuru slumps down after our short talk as he mentally prepares himself for the food. Well, I guess it can't even be called food, more like poison.
A few hours later Benimaru, Rimuru and I wait for Shion's cooking to finish.
Benimaru panicked asks, "Uh, how did I get sucked into this!?"
I pity him as I say, "I guess you were standing a bit too close I guess."
Soon Shion arrives with the plates full of acidic mush. The smell. Oh, my fucking god! The smell. It's awful! I can't even describe how bad it smells. The food itself isn't any worse. It looks like it might jump at me and grab me like a fucking facehugger! I was curious at first but now I deeply regret my decisions.
Benimaru and Rimuru shakily grab a spoon and pick up part of the food. The metal spoon they are holding begins to melt as the food sits there. My god! I look down at my plate. Welp, here goes nothing.
Are you ready to see me again, giant glowing light blue figure?
A white flash appears in my vision again, blinding me a bit.
"Augh."
Shion worriedly asks, "Are you okay, Lord Migeru?"
"I'm fine. Just a little pain I guess." Rimuru looks a little confused as he knows both of us can't feel pain. He then looks at the food and looks at me like I'm trying to manipulate her. He probably thinks I'm trying to get out of this.
"Oh, in that case then eating might help. Go ahead."
No Shion. No it won't. It'll only make it much worse.
My hand shakes as I grab the spoon, pick up some food and get ready to eat it. Almost crying I mutter, "Please, god, help me!" There's no use, I have to eat it.
As I put the food in my mouth I feel as the Slime that composes the inside of my mouth begins to break down into a full on liquid. It's literally melting the inside of my mouth. I feel like I'm choking even though I don't need to breathe.
{Emergency- Looking for optimal solutions.
Solution found. Deploying optimal solution.}
[Great Sage] manipulates my body to make a hole appear from my mouth straight down to the floor. This causes the food to fall to the floor where it starts eating through the floor. Before any gas can alert them of what happened [Great Sage] manipulates my body again to cover it up. I "eat"the food when in reality it's falling straight to the floor and as I finish [Great Sage] covers the hole in the floor with wood as my body goes back to normal. Luckily no one noticed. Sadly, Rimuru didn't figure this out so I watch him suffer.
Recently, I started thinking of him more as my brother so watching him do this is actually a little hard. I'm quickly snapped out of my sadness when Shion asks if I want seconds which I quickly deny. She looks sad but I don't care.
After Rimuru finishes his last bite everyone is finished. I look at the aftermath. Benimaru looks like he dropped dead and Rimuru can barely hold his Human form together. After a little bit he finally collapses and melts on the ground. He ends up looking like melted ice cream on the floor.
Seeing how I'm the only one that made it out without collapsing Shion asks, "So how was it?" With the most innocent smile I've ever seen.
"Uh, haha, it was great!" Sorry Rimuru but I can't tell her the truth.