"Rimuru, Gobta, and I were prisoners... Locked within a cold dark cell unlit by the suns grace with how we were so deep underground in the dwarven kingdom. Betrayed by our friends and followers we were left to rot on the dirty stone floor of the cell we were thrown upon."

"Shut up Jake! I know I messed up!" Rimuru yelled in embarrassment at my chuuni monologue. 

But the dwarves guarding us just chuckled as they took it as free entertainment. 

"The real question is... How the hell is Gobta already asleep. Did he fall asleep walking into the cell?" I asked with honest confusion at the goblin who was promptly snoring with a comical snot bubble growing and retracting with each breath he took.

Rimuru jiggled in a way that could only be a shrug and thus now for a long while we just relaxed until a loud banging noise rang out and the guards jumped to their feet with their hands on their weapons and only relaxed seeing it was another dwarf running in.

"Boss! A bunch of Armorsaurus in the mines!" The panicked dwarf yelled and I noticed how Rimuru popped their way through the bars of the cell as the chief guard demanded to know where the monster suppression forces were.

"They are en route. But there's a whole pack of them, and worse a lot of the miners got hurt, Captain Kaido." The runner spoke.

The chief of the guards apparently named Kaido took a breath and clearly looked pained as he muttered. "All the potions are in the war preparations stores... Well, go to the guilds and do whatever you need to do, to get healing potions! Those miners are like brothers to me!" He yelled and even as he yelled I could hear Rimuru cackling as they filled up the barrel they were carried into the cell via by with the glowing healing potion they were able to mass produce.

"Oi oi." Rimuru called out tapping the guard on his shoulder with a large slime tendril and when he looked back Rimuru gleefully showed off the barrel filled with high-quality healing potion and the chief guard... Didn't need much of any persuasion, as he just slammed the lid down on the barrel with a punch, threw it on his shoulder, and ran off with only a single line telling Rimuru to get back into their cell.

Then in the interim of time after that, Gobta... Still slept somehow, and Rimuru and I started messing around with Rimuru's steel thread manipulation.

As the slime could make highly detailed structures with the steel threads so we started playing chess and just talked while we waited for news.

"So, you miss your human body?" I asked quietly and Rimuru hummed before shrugging as they replied.

"Ehhh. Yeah at times I certainly do, but being a slime certainly has its bonuses. I don't need to worry about breathing, water, much if any food, and of course... You know, I will take on a human form when I... You know." Rimuru finished awkwardly and I nodded in understanding.

They could take a human form. When they inevitably vored someone. 

"There will be plenty of assholes in the world Rimuru." I said softly before sighing with a wry smile crossing my face as I looked at the slime. "Just don't eat me... My Yatagarasu blessing will give you heartburn. Or make you detonate like a nuke." I finished with some humor as Rimuru had wide eyes form on their slime body as they boggled at me.

"I would never eat you Jake! You are a good friend!" Rimuru said righteously and I chuckled as we continued playing chess though I had to call out Rimuru for cheating as his skill level would jump to insane levels at times letting me know that he was cheating with Greate Sage.

"What do you mean, 'I am cheating!' Its called tactics Jake! Tactics!" Rimuru whined as I reset the thread board.

"No that's you cheating, as I can with hindsight see how you planned that pincer for my queen more than twelve turns ago using more than a dozen pieces involved in moving my queen to that position..." I leaned in towards the suddenly sweating slime as I said bluntly. "Rimuru, you are a slime and even as a slime I heard you this morning saying how you are so glad you cannot forget to tie your shoes anymore." 

Rimuru slumped comically into a puddle of ooze while I snorted and popped my neck.

A while later, Kaido, the chief guard came back visibly happy with a wide smile as he unlocked our cage with a couple dwarves behind him. "We wanted to thank you in person for the healing potion, as well as let you guys go." He said with a wide smile and I stood up with a grunt as those two dwarves came and gave their thanks to Rimuru.

"Come, I got some good soup and fresh bread we can share for dinner." Kaido said welcomingly and I couldn't help a small mental chuckle as we left Gobta hanging in his hammock Rimuru string him up in.

Kaido led us into a sitting room with some nice couches and while I gratefully ate the first real, home-cooked meal since I came to this world that wasn't just grilled meat, Kaido talked about how great Rimuru's potion was. And of course it got around to how he could repay Rimuru for the 'obviously' expensive barrel of potions. 

"We really need skilled artisans and smiths to help our home village!" Rimuru said excitedly and Kaido just pumped his fist on his chest saying it was no big deal at all and that he would lead us to some of the best smiths in the area.

-

The following morning, with Gobta now stashed in a hotel away from trouble, we went on to doing business. But as Kaido led us through the steampunk, medieval fantasy city, I realized if canon was going to be followed. I needed to get my materials sooner, rather than later.

Cuz it would be very hard to get the stuff I needed... If like, we were banished after all.

"Rimuru, while you talk with the smiths. I am going to do my own shopping alright?" I spoke and Rimuru jiggled in agreement and gave me a 'slime' thumbs up.

"Alright, don't be long though!" Rimuru said cheerfully while they then popped out the magical materials I was going to sell for the local coinage.

So while Rimuru did his own thing in being a cheat who could mass-produce insane magical swords, I went into the city and after some investigation found the local market.

In order to elevate myself from a tier 9 Hunter to a Tier 8 Provoker, I needed a potion to act as a catalyst and thankfully it wasn't that expensive of a shopping list. All I needed was Distilled Liquor, Honey Suckle Extract, Powdered Grapevine, and some Aqua Vern. 

The Hunter Sequence focused on the survival aspects of the Red Priest Pathway and gave me ways to survive in the wild and the 'jungle' of cities as well. But the Provoker Sequence was all about the influence the user would have over other people. Which made sense with its potion being basically alcoholic and mind-altering chemicals.

With my main shopping done as I collected some materials for rituals and potions I could make back home. I went back to the smithy and caught Rimuru and the dwarves loudly chucking as they boasted about going to see some elves in the red light district.

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