"So, Umbra, about that, tell me what transpired after my last message to you." Lucien's voice held a quiet current of curiosity, a slight impatience to bridge the gap of time and silence. He leaned forward, a shadow of a question in his eyes.
"Well, it's like this, Master... No, forgive me, that's wrong. I mean, Lucien-niisan."
With a torrent of emotion, a wave that surged and retreated within him, Umbra began recounting his ordeal to Lucien. It started with the harrowing near-death experience, or perhaps the slow, maddening descent into despair brought on by his inability to feel the corridors of his Master's soul—or rather, the soul of the one he now hesitantly called niisan.
"So, what is the deal with that body of yours? Is that what this is? A Homunculus? Tell me I'm right," Lucien pressed, his voice a complex mix of firm conviction and genuine curiosity.
"Lucien-niisan is right! This is a Homunculus body, one I crafted all by myself. Hehe... Isn't Umbra amazing?" A smile, wide and utterly childlike, spread across his face as he looked at Lucien, clearly fishing for a compliment.
Watching his antics, a faint smile touched Lucien's lips, and he affectionately ruffled the hair atop Umbra's head.
"You brat. Yes, yes, Umbra is brilliant. But weren't you incapable of performing research back then? I was the one who usually handled all the analysis and data processing. How did you manage to pull this off?"
"Hee-hee... Unique Skill: Mad Scientist." Umbra placed his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest with an almost comical air of pride as he showed off his newfound ability.
Lucien had already suspected as much; there had to be something amiss with the boy. It was simply unthinkable that a fabricated being, one utterly dependent on its master, could suddenly devise such a brilliant scheme on its own.
Argus, explain the functionality of this Skill to me, Lucien commanded internally.
This Unique Skill is the very embodiment of the user's intense desire to transcend natural limitations through radical analysis, experimentation, and creation.
1. Analysis & Hypothesis:
The user can perform a detailed, instantaneous analysis of the structure of any magic, material, or phenomenon. Based on this data, they can rapidly form scientific or magical hypotheses regarding how the object can be altered, manipulated, or combined. This ability grants highly accurate predictions regarding the outcome of any prospective experiment.
2. Material Reconstruction:
This is the ability to act upon those hypotheses. The user can manipulate and reconstruct both magical energy and physical matter. This allows for the creation of entirely new substances, unconventional tools, or the formulation of magic with never-before-seen components.
3. Anomaly Creation:
The user can create entities—such as artificial monsters or mechanical gimmicks—or spells that actively violate known natural laws or the fundamental principles of ordinary magic, often leading to utterly unpredictable results.
4. Skill Injection:
Grants the capability to isolate, modify, and implant the analyzed components of other Skills into creatures or devices. This enables the user to create drastically modified experimental subjects or craft weapons with temporarily injected abilities.
A silent, massive question mark loomed in Lucien's mind. Wasn't that simply too absurd? he lamented inwardly, a deep furrow appearing between his brows.
"I see. You were truly fortunate and worked incredibly hard, Umbra." Lucien paused, the casual warmth in his voice quickly shifting to a serious edge. "So, what happened to the Great Jura Forest afterward? Did the chaos simply persist?"
"Lucien-niisan's plan failed. The Dryads banded together, using their magic to halt the ensuing chaos." Umbra paused, gathering his thoughts. "But recently, the scouts I deployed have been sending back new intelligence. There's a strange Majin currently roaming the Jura Forest, going around and offering name"
"I don't know what it's planning, but judging from the patterns and data I've collected, I'm certain that Majin intends to sow further discord in the forest."
A Majin? Is it Gelmud? Lucien mused internally. So, we've already reached the Orc Disaster stage, then? Perhaps it's time I paid Rimuru a visit. He let a sly smile cross his lips. What a coincidence. I happen to be in dire need of copying the Predator and Starved Skills.
"Do your scouts have any up-to-the-minute reports? Are there any major movements or specific events currently unfolding within the Jura Forest?" Lucien's tone was sharp, betraying his sudden shift to strategic thinking.
But before Umbra could finish, whether by pure coincidence or the guiding hand of fate, a sudden jolt of information surged through his consciousness.
"Wait—just now, my scout sent word that an Orc Army, tens of thousands strong, is marching and devouring everything in its path. And this report contains a crucial detail: The Orc Lord has been born among them and is now leading the horde!"
"Ha... hahahahaha!"
A regal, almost gleeful roar of laughter echoed through the throne room. The three subordinates—Kouga, Argenta, and Caelus—could only exchange confused glances, utterly bewildered by their master's sudden, booming mirth.
So, it begins, doesn't it? Lucien thought, the realization settling deep in his mind. The long wait was finally over; the story was officially underway. He wasn't sure if his presence would cause chaos or trigger a butterfly effect on the original narrative. It hardly matters, he mused, but I will try my best not to completely screw things up. He couldn't predict whether this world would ultimately shatter, as the web novel suggested, or follow the path of the light novel, given that the true ending remained unknown to him.
"By the way, Kouga, would you like to revisit your village?" Lucien asked, his tone deceptively casual, yet carrying an underlying question about the subordinate's true desires.
His master's words immediately jolted Kouga from his reverie.
"Is Lucien-sama planning to go to the Jura Forest?" he asked, a sudden spark of hope igniting in his eyes.
Lucien knew exactly what his subordinate was thinking, but he kept silent, however cruel the omission might be. Changing the fate of the Ogre Village now would be tantamount to shattering the main storyline, or rather, destroying the essential path that Rimuru was meant to traverse.
Forgive me, Kouga, Lucien lamented internally.
He met his subordinate's gaze. "Yes, we will be heading to the Jura Forest in a few days."
Immediately after, Lucien sent a mental communication to Umbra.
"Umbra, keep this confidential from everyone else. If you receive any more detailed intelligence regarding the Ogre Village, notify me immediately."
"Understood, Lucien-niisan," Umbra's reply echoed back instantaneously.
"Say, Umbra, what exactly are you poring over? You look like you've stumbled onto something monumental. Is it… something truly amazing?" Lucien couldn't help but ask, the curiosity practically vibrating in his voice. He hoped it was. Lately, everything felt stagnant, and a spark of the marvelous was exactly what they needed.
Umbra simply offered a mischievous, almost childlike grin. "Hehe, try to guess?" he challenged, his small face lighting up with the playful game. That innocent audacity immediately rubbed Lucien the wrong way. A surge of affectionate annoyance hit him, and he promptly reached out, giving the boy a gentle tap on the head—a familiar, soft knuckle-knock, a gesture that said, 'Stop being an infuriating brat, even if I adore your spirit.'
Umbra rubbed his lightly thumped head, a genuine smile replacing the mischief. "Hehe, sorry, Lucien-niisan. I was just messing with you," he admitted quickly.
Then, his playful tone dissolved into pure, raw excitement, his eyes blazing with triumph. "I finally did it! I've managed to construct a Vessel capable of carrying our entire base of operations!… Ha! Finally! We can go anywhere, and there's no one who can stop us now!"
The three subordinates kneeling nearby exchanged nervous, confused glances, clearly having no idea what Umbra was raving about. Lucien, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes, processing the monumental claim. He paused for a heartbeat, his voice tinged with distinct skepticism before he finally spoke.
"A Vessel? Do you mean… a ship in the way I understand it?"
Umbra rolled his eyes at the literal interpretation. "I call it a 'Vessel' for convenience, Lucien-niisan," he clarified, his voice laced with patronizing pride. "What I mean is, I've successfully engineered a fully mobile fortress that can go anywhere!"
Lucien simply blinked, the skepticism fading to utter astonishment. A full, mobile fortress? The sheer scale of the engineering alone was staggering.
"A… mobile fortress," he repeated slowly, tasting the words. He glanced at the three subordinates. Their faces, previously etched with confusion, were now a perfect mirror of his own stunned disbelief. "Umbra, are you saying we can pick up this entire mountain base and just… sail it across the continent?"
Umbra shook his head quickly, the proud smile still plastered across his lips. "No, not just sailing across the continent, Lucien-niisan. That's far too primitive," he said, his tone shifting immediately, becoming serious and deeply meaningful. His right hand rose, performing a circular motion in the air as if grasping something invisible.
"Think about this," Umbra pressed on, his eyes blazing with excitement. "If a fortress only moves on the surface, it can still be seen. It can still be detected. It can still be stopped by a powerful individual, an unforeseen Skill, or even a creature on the level of a Demon Lord."
He took a step closer to Lucien, pure, vibrant exhilaration radiating from his entire being.
"This fortress, which I've dubbed 'The Void Strider'—it doesn't move on the surface. I've designed it to utilize the dimension gap as our exclusive travel lane."
Lucien simply stared at him, astonishment clearly etched on his face. The three subordinates kneeling behind them now looked genuinely deathly pale.
"The dimension gap?" Lucien repeated, his voice choked. "Umbra, what are you talking about? That's the void between different dimensions, a place filled with incredibly unknown and corrosive energy, a place even a Demon Lord would hesitate to reside in."
Umbra let out a laugh—a laugh brimming with the thrill of a mad discovery. "Exactly! And that's what makes it perfect!"
He explained with quick, energetic gestures: "Inside that gap, there are no stable natural laws. No magic works. And most importantly, there's no detection system that can reach it."
"I've coated the entire fortress with a new material I fabricated—Chrono-Spatial Alloy—and installed a specialized Engine. When the Engine activates, it creates a Spatial Nullity Bubble around us. This allows us to…"
Umbra snapped his fingers right in front of Lucien's face, "...slip directly into the dimension gap, using it as our express highway."
He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a thrilling, conspiratorial whisper.
"Out there, between the dimensions, we are truly invisible. Not just hidden, but our very existence is nulled from the reality's detection grid. Even the highest-level Analysis Skill or the eye of a Demon Lord will only see void, because we're occupying a space that shouldn't be able to hold an object of this size."
"We can exit the gap wherever we want, whenever we want, as if we merely blinked from one side of the world to the other. No trace, no warning. We can appear in the heart of enemy territory and vanish again without anyone knowing we were ever there. Nothing can stop or track what they can't detect, Lucien-niisan!"
This lunatic brat, Lucien grumbled internally. Seriously, the sheer audacity of thinking something like that was utterly incomprehensible. It had only been a little over a century since he'd left Umbra to his devices, yet look at this. Just give the boy a millennium, he mused darkly. He'd probably manage to kick off a world-ending catastrophe just to see if the pieces would settle neatly.
Lucien stared, the shock finally giving way to sharp, almost jealous respect.
"When did you even start brainstorming an idea like that? Was it only in the last few years?" Lucien demanded, shaking his head. He let out a low, disbelieving laugh. "If that's the case, then I'll officially confirm that you, Umbra, are nothing short of a monster among the world's top researchers."
Umbra's face softened slightly, a complex blend of loyalty and quiet reproach in his eyes.
"I started thinking about this the very moment I lost contact with you," he confessed. "I knew you were forced to remain here, hiding in this base because you weren't as strong then as you are now. You became so excessively cautious that I could feel you changing, fading, over time, turning into a shadow of yourself. Yet, I still carried out every one of your orders, niisama, even though I knew deep down they weren't your true wishes."
Umbra's words struck a nerve, an unexpected blow. Lucien's gaze drifted away, lost in the sharp clarity of memory. He was immediately transported back to the darkest moments of his past—the agonizing period when he had nearly lost himself entirely to the corrosive influence of one of his own Skills.
Lucien let out a slow, controlled breath, the memories receding, yet leaving a profound weight behind. He met Umbra's intense gaze, his voice now stripped of all previous skepticism and annoyance, replaced only by quiet acceptance and depth of feeling.
"So that's it, then?" he murmured, his tone barely a whisper. A genuine, soft smile finally touched his lips—a rare sight. "Thank you, Umbra."