"Is everyone here!? Alright, I have some rules for you so listen up!" The next day Mikaeru watched as Rimuru gathered the monsters for the sharing of some rules. He listened as he yelled them out. 1. Do not attack humans. 2. Do not fight amongst each other. 3. Do not look down on other species. Rule number 1 was a rule Mikaeru had thought about advising him against the first but ultimately decided against it. From what he could tell, there was a difference in this timeline. It wasn't guaranteed that the attack would even happen but he still played it safe. Was this how Chronoa felt whenever she encountered anomalies in the timeline? He sighed to himself.
He looked around as the monsters pondered these rules. Rigurt raised a hand. "Could I ask a question? Why are we not allowed to attack humans?"
Mikaeru looked at Rigurd as he gave his son a dirty look. "Simple: Because I like humans!"
"Ah! Very good. I understand." These guys would dive face first into Hell itself if Rimuru commanded. They were never going to question his logic.
However, Rimuru decided it was not enough to get that as the only confirmation of their understanding so he continued. "Humans live in groups. If you attack one of them, they may decide to retaliate with numbers. Even with our help, there's a chance a large enough number of them would be too much. That's why I prohibit inferring with them. It's not worth the risk."
Ransei, Ranga and Ranryo all nodded as they listened in. Mikaeru remembered this from the novel. It was likely they had lost pack members to humans.
"Is there anything else?" Rimuru asked.
The goblin named Gobzi stepped in, "What do you mean by 'do not look down on other races?' I imagine this has some sort of deeper reasoning."
Rimuru explained, "You guys just evolved. I would just like to recommend avoiding that getting into your head. As strong as you have become, there are always stronger people out there. You shouldn't wield your power irresponsibly because sooner or later, you might run into someone just as strong as you or worse."
The monsters seemed to understand. He asked if they had any other questions to no replies. "Alright, that's pretty much it. Stick to the rules as much as you can, alright?" He jumped off the stump.
Mikaeru followed behind Rimuru. "Rigurd, from now on, you'll hold the formal title of 'Goblin Lord,' do you understand. You'll be in charge of the village."
Rigurd immediately straightened, "Yes, Lord Rimuru! I shall devote my body and soul to this vital post!"
As a counterpart, Ransei would be responsible for the wolves, but that much was obvious after the first talk Mikaeru gave him. From here, it was only a matter of creating the designated roles. Chefs, hunters, gatherers, etc. Although that would have to wait until after another issue was settled. The living situation.
With the goblins having evolved, the old housing was now too small and reconstruction efforts were not going well. While larger, stronger and smarter than before, it wasn't like the increase to intelligence the goblins got would instantly give them knowledge of construction. That would have to be fixed.
Rimuru pointed this out directly as he said, "The construction isn't going very well, eh?"
Rigurd seemed downtrodden as he confirmed it. "It pains me to admit, Lord Rimuru, but we have no experience building such constructions."
"Yeah." Rimuru said, "You guys are bigger now. Not to mention clothing." He looked around before locking onto something nearby. Hey, that's Haruna!
"Looking at the goblina's chest, eh Rimuru?" Mikaeru called out loud enough to hear. As Haruna blushed with an excited smile, Rimuru jumped.
"D-don't say that!" The slime panicked as his counterpart laughed. "A-anyways, you guys are showing too much skin. We need to get more clothes as well. It'll just cause problems if we don't."
"Well, for our resident horny slime, maybe, but it probably won't be much of a problem for the others."
"Can you stop with the commentary!?"
"Sorry, sorry~." He sighed, "Being serious, there isn't much we can do at the moment. There aren't any tailors or construction workers among the people of this village so we'll have to look elsewhere for that."
Rigurd straightened, "Ah! Yes! Yes there are some people that we have had dealings with. Perhaps they could supply us with the materials we need."
"Any chance we can get some people to finish up the buildings as well?" Mikaeru asked aloud.
"I believe so." What a convenient connection.
"It wouldn't hurt to ask, I guess. What will we pay them with, though? Do you have money?"
"We have some currency that we confiscated from traveling adventurers, but it's in storage." There probably wasn't enough either. "Instead we have obtained materials via barter or occasional work." They didn't exactly come off as your typical paycheck to paycheck worker but hey, Mikaeru couldn't judge.
"So, who are these guys?" Rimuru asked.
"They are known as dwarves." Rigurd said.
Yes. None other than the dwarves of Dwargon. Mikaeru stopped to think. With the faster travel time through the cave, leaving tomorrow would mean they would arrive in 4 to 5 days. That day would be 2 full months before the day they originally went there.
Vesta's bullshit wouldn't have happened by that time. Mikaeru would have to go with Rimuru. Kaijin wasn't having a good time with Vesta even before the ridiculous order he dumped on him. With some negotiation, he could still get the dwarf to join up. The problem was more so just getting to him in the first place. He thought for a bit. There was one way to set up that attack. He would have to get his hands dirty though and he would need Ranryo to master [Shadow Movement] within the upcoming 4 days to avoid the eyes of the shadows Gazel had across the city.
As Mikaeru worked on his conspiracy, Rimuru jumped in excitement. Dwarves! The legendary smithing race! This was finally starting to look like a fantasy. "I'll need to visit them," he said, feigning calm. "Can you make arrangements for me, Rigurd?"
"Of course, Lord Rimuru! I shall have everything ready for your journey by tomorrow!"
"Thanks, Rigurd!" Watching as Rigurd ran off, Mikaeru snapped out of his thoughts.
"So, we're heading off to meet some dwarves?"
"Yup!" He jumped, "Hopefully there'll be elves too!"
"Don't drag me into your elf fetish." Mikaeru said.
"Wha-I don't have an elf fetish!" He yelled out.
Mikaeru laughed as he bounced away. From there, went moved over to Ranryo where he told him, "Follow me. I'm going to need you for an expedition."
Ranryo nodded in acknowledgement, letting Mikaeru jump on his back as he led him outside the village. Mikaeru had already told Rimuru about his plan in advance, giving the excuse that he was going to chart the nearby forest for his reason to leave. However, there was more to that plan than just that. After entering the forest, Mikaeru pushed [Magic Sense] to its full potential and lowered his own magicule output, advising Ranryo to do the same.
From there, he got to work on attacking any nearby monster he could find. The first three he found were all small fry, being killed immediately with a single water blade. Those being the charger boar, giant ant and vanishing songbird. All yielding the skills [Thick Skinned], [Pheromone Detection], [Hive Mind] and [Camouflage]. From there, things went quiet as they scoured the area for more monsters. At least until they found the next target. Mikaeru told Ranryo to stop as he sensed something up above. A flaming bird.
{Notice- Wandering Phoenix has been spotted}
[Great Sage] gave him a full explanation as to what it was directly to his brain. Wandering Phoenix's were powerful A-Rank majin spawned from incarnated fire spirits in the body of powerful birds. A big catch?
Mikaeru jumped off of Ranryo and sent a [Water Blade] at the thing. Before connecting, a brilliant white flame shot out from the bird, evaporating the blade instantly. "Wow! You're a strong one, aren't you!?"
Mikaeru landed back on Ranryo who jumped into the forest in response to the bird's eagle-like cries. Diving down, into the forest, it began spraying the area in white hot fire. "Ranryo! Hide in the shadows that are left! Don't worry. I've got this!" Ranryo seemed reluctant to hide at first but eventually did as he was told.
This phoenix was likely strong enough to give Ranryo some pretty nasty wounds. Not worth the risk. As for Mikaeru though. Swinging through the forest with [Steel Thread], Mikaeru flew behind the bird and wrapped it up with more [Steel Thread]. In response, the bird increased the temperature, melting through its prison in less than a second. "You're strong!"
The bird opened its mouth and blasted him with a shot of pure flames. "Hahahaha!" Mikaeru charged straight through. "That's not gonna work on me!"
Gripping two trees with thread, Mikaeru launched himself forward, landing right on top of the bird. "[Predator]!" Expanding into a massive blob, he completely engulfed the bird and immediately got to work on digesting the prey. As it turned out, the bird was a glass cannon. It was completely helpless when it got caught, quickly succumbing to Mikaeru.
He landed on the ground, watching as Ranryo jumped out to confirm his master's safety.
{Notice- Analysis of Wandering Phoenix has been completed. The ability to mimic Wandering Phoenix has been obtained. Skills [Combustion], [Phoenix Fire] and [Fire Manipulation] have been obtained}
Mikaeru could only laugh at the haul. "The white flames must have been from [Phoenix Fire]." He looked around. The forest had been on fire after the fight with the bird, but after the fight ended, the fire went out with it. On top of that, nothing that was on fire looked burnt, as if there was never any fire there at all. That was [Phoenix Fire]. It was a fire that only burned the intended target and went out on command.
He smirked internally. Now that was a good find. The rest of the day passed with a few more finds. Giant Monitor, Night Panther, Megabat and Stoneworm were the next finds after that, yielding the skills [Poison Fangs], [Retractable Claws], [Night Vision], [Enhanced Hearing] and [Tunneling] from the absorption.
Not bad, but not exactly good either. The area around the village didn't seem to have very many strong monsters, which he guessed was a good thing. Of the finds, not including the phoenix, he figured the best find was [Tunneling] which allowed for incredibly fast movement underground. It was basically the ground equivalent of [Water Current Movement].
As for the others. [Thick Skinned] could be stacked with [Body Armor], [Camouflage] was a situational stealth skill as it only hid your body and not your magicules and a few of them increased perception.
Not much beyond that. From there, it was time to head back. However, before that he had something to do first. Telling Ranryo to walk back instead of run, Mikaeru sensed the area. Over the course of the expedition, he had felt the presence again. It was being more cautious than before, avoiding him more often than originally, but he was still able to catch it.
Even as they made their way back, Mikaeru caught glimpses of it. They were still there. He flinched. "Oh, shi…" From out of the bushes, something jumped out, aiming straight for Mikaeru. Ranryo jumped, barely avoiding as the massive creature flew past.
The thing that just attacked them. It was stronger than the phoenix. "Ranryo! Separate! We need to attack this thing from different angles!"
Ranryo nodded, letting Mikaeru jump away as they both entered opposite sides of the forest.
Swinging through the trees with [Steel Thread] the sound of a [Black Lightning] echoed as Ranryo attacked it. "[Great Sage], what the hell is that thing!?"
{Answer- The monster has been confirmed as A-Rank monster, Armed Flying Snake}
A snake? He felt as above, a giant presence dove down at him. Weaving through, he attached a group of [Steel Thread] to the snake and some more to the trees nearby, forcing the snake to turn back before transforming into a phoenix and flying up. "[Phoenix Fire]!" A massive wave of white flames shot down landing a direct hit as a [Black Lightning] from Ranryo only added to the resulting explosion. Covered in flames, the snake screeched, filling the area with an earsplitting scream. Still on fire, the snake used a skill to shoot a gust of wind in all directions, filling the area with dust. Mikaeru landed on the ground. "Left!" He dived out of the way as a rock shot past.
"Was that…" He turned. "[Black Lightning]!" A black bolt of electricity shot down, stunning the snake in mid air as Ranryo ran behind and added another bolt.
The screeches grew ever louder as the snake, now critically wounded, dove back into the forest. 1, 2, 3. It flew back out, aiming straight at Ranryo's neck in a last ditch effort to at least take one of them down.
Then, just as it was about to bite, a loud metallic sound was heard, followed by the sound of a sword entering its sheath. Time seemed to stop, almost as if the new arrival had ordered time itself to slow.
Microseconds later the snake collapsed, having been sliced into millions of tiny cubes. The scent of iron filled the air as the ground soaked in blood.
Mikaeru jumped over to the remains and used [Predator], eating the entire thing all at once.
{Notice- Analysis of Armed Flying Snake has been completed. The ability to mimic Armed Flying Snake has been acquired. Skills [Intimidating Hiss], [Wind Manipulation], [Wind Pulse] and [Controlled Airflow] have been obtained}
That was a good array of skills. "Too bad I can't enjoy them. Reveal yourself, mysterious admirer."
Behind the slime and wolf, an old man appeared, standing there as if he had been there the whole time. In a panic, Ranryo turned back and growled.
"Calm yourself. We'd already be dead if he was here to do us harm." This man was truly strong.
The old man smiled, "I would not say you would be dead that quickly. You are quite the strong one yourself after all. Do not sell yourself short."
"As if." Mikaeru growled. He was an old man with gray hair styled in a way that gave him a long bang on the right side of his face wearing nothing but traditional Japanese clothing and a sword. He recognized this man from the novel. He was the founder of the Hazy Style of swordplay and Hakurou's grandfather. What the hell was this swordmaster doing still alive?
He was supposed to be long dead. In the original story he had died 300 years prior to Rimuru's arrival, later to reincarnate as the demon Agera, one of Jaune's highest ranking subordinates. For Byakuya to have survived until modern day, there was only one thing he must have done in this timeline. "Awakened or Saint. Which one?" Mikaeru asked with a cautious tone.
Byakuya smirked, "Sharp senses for a monster." He walked over, "I am a saint, young man. That answer shall be your reward for managing to perceive me."
A saint. This man was dangerous. If played wrong, Mikaeru's life could easily end here in an instant. "You serve the ogre tribe, right? Why is a saint like you following a slime like me? Don't tell me you were ordered to come spy on us?"
"You need not worry about that." The man warned. "I was not sent here by my lords. Rather I am here to satisfy a personal curiosity. Nothing more."
"Personal?" Mikaeru questioned.
"I wished to see whether or not you were beneficial to the health of this world that is already teetering on the brink."
"Is that so? Did you find your answer?"
Byakuya went silent for a bit as if holding onto his answer for the perfect moment. Then, with a silent gust of wind, he said, "You are worthy. The cooperation I saw you coordinate with your companion. That was the final showing that convinced me of that."
They both didn't say what would have happened had they failed but Mikaeru processed it in his mind. Had they failed, Byakuya would have killed everyone in the village including Rimuru. They had just unknowingly just barely avoided the chaos timeline.
Mikaeru asked, "Is that all you wanted to say?"
Byakuya put his arms behind his back, "Yes, at the very least for now I shall not speak of the near future. However, I believe you have by now pieced together what is to come so it is not likely you needed it."
The Orc Lord. He was talking about the Orc Lord. That much Mikaeru could tell. So it will still happen. "The ogre tribe won't help, won't they?" He asked.
Byakuya smiled, "A threat of such a caliber will not be enough to pose a viable threat to my students. I see no reason to get involved." He looked at the slime, "But, I shall still give you some aid. If you wish, I am willing to send some of my students to cooperate with your village…After the threat is dealt with, of course."
Mikaeru let out a breath. Benimaru, Shuna, Shion, Souei, Hakurou and Kurobe. They wouldn't wander into the village. He doubted they were stronger than Byakuya, but they were definitely stronger in this timeline. There wouldn't be an attack. The Orc Lord would be dead in seconds if he attacked Byakuya.
"I see." Mikaeru said with a sigh. The man vanished, leaving him alone with Ranryo. His form devolved into a puddle on the ground. "What just happened?"
Without question Byakuya had the ability to become a saint. The man was a talent so monstrous that even Hinata struggled to reach his realm of swordsmanship. But, he never did in the original story because he chose to settle down and have a family, ultimately leading to him dying of old age. Something changed. Something or someone inspired Byakuya to train and as a result, he was still alive thanks to a saint's longer lifespan.
Mikaeru jumped on top of Ranryo, "Let's go back to the village. Don't tell anyone what happened, not even Rimuru." Ranryo silently said yes. Who was it? What happened? More importantly, how was he going to get the ogres to fully serve Tempest now? Who was going to keep that idiot Jaune from blowing up Tempest!?