“An invitation to dinner?” Rimuru asked with a tilt of his body to the side. He had been staying in Ingrassia for around a month now, but even still he had no contacts or friends beyond those in the guild.

 

The boy sitting across from Rimuru nodded, “Yes, it's from a merchant named Mjollmile. He said the children could come along as well.” The boy was referring to the children he had taken on in Shizu’s stead, though that fact had nearly caused a big misunderstanding with the boy when they first met.

 

The boy’s name was Yuuki, and while Rimuru had come to respect him as a fellow otherworlder, something about his office that the two were currently in always threw him off. He had a strange instinctive feeling that something was watching him, even though Great Sage had failed to detect anything itself.

 

Rimuru knew it was all in his head, but that didn’t make him any less uncomfortable staying for too long in his office. Within it was a shelf filled with memorabilia of Japan and Earth. What he would’ve expected to fill him with nostalgia only seemed to fill him with an eerie feeling. Things like a motorcycle, a nutcracker, and a traditional Japanese-style statue were on it, yet he felt like something on it was watching him.

 

But just as always, he shrugged off the feeling. Perhaps the nostalgia for his past had turned negative somehow. Maybe there was some longing there that his body had turned into spite. Whatever the case, Rimuru knew he couldn’t dwell on it any longer.

 

“Just why is this guy inviting me, though?” Rimuru asked, confused.

 

“He said some mysterious blue-haired warrior saved him yesterday. It was you who defeated the Sky Dragon, wasn’t it?” Yuuki asked as Rimuru simply made a smug expression on his slimy face.

 

Rimuru began, “Was it now? So this myo… Myu… Mii?”

 

“Mjollmile.” Yuuki clarified.

 

“Right, this Mjollmile. Is he trustworthy?” Rimuru asked.

 

“I’ve done a background check and all seems good. He’s got official merchant certification from the Free Guild and Blumund so it all checks out. I believe he can be trusted.” Yuuki explained, flipping through some papers as he did.

 

Rimuru nodded, “I see… I suppose I have no reason to refuse. The dinner is planned for today, right? Send the details to my room, I need to get to class soon.”

 

Yuuki nodded, “I understand, good luck with your class.”

 

Rimuru nodded and bounced up, returning to his human appearance as he waved and left the office.

 

After a few moments, the boy’s smile faded as he looked up at the shelf above.

 

“That slime is more observant than he looks.” A deep, masculine voice echoed from the shelf above. Looking upwards, Yuuki saw the eyes of the nutcracker placed on it moving to look toward the door.

 

“I assume you plan to do something with him?” Yuuki questioned, folding his arms as he leaned back in his chair.

 

“There is no doubt. He is an ally of the devil, so he must be dealt with. Whether he is destroyed or merely delayed or distracted I do not care. He must not be allowed to help the demon.” The voice stated, looking now at Yuuki.

 

“You have a plan, yes? I don’t know the full extent of his skills but it's pretty obvious he’s quite strong as he is now.” Yuuki asked.

 

“The accurate term would be I had a plan. Unfortunately, I chose not to take a direct hand in influencing one of my potential pawns and it seems she acted on her own prematurely. As a result, she’s become an asset of the demon instead.”

 

Yuuki gazed unimpressed at the nutcracker, “That just sounds like an oversight on your part.”

 

“Perhaps. I had hoped for her to build up animosity toward Tanya over time as her economic influence expanded into Rosso territory. I had no idea she would be so overconfident as to go right to Tanya herself.”

 

Yuuki nodded as he gradually began to understand, “I see, so she was your plan? She was always overconfident, I wouldn’t consider her your best option.”

 

The nutcracker seemed annoyed at his statement, but remained calm nonetheless, “I don’t suppose you have your own idea?”

 

“As a matter of fact, I might. You handle the demon and I’ll handle the slime. All I need to do is whisper a few things into the right ear and the problem will solve itself.” Yuuki muttered confidently.

 

“Unfortunately I’m out of alternatives, so I will leave this matter to you.” The voice echoed, its eyes narrowing onto Yuuki, “You will do well not to disappoint me.”

 

The voice vanished as the nutcracker seemed to return to normal, causing Yuuki to sigh. He wasn’t lying when he said he had a plan, and while he was confident in it, to say he was completely confident would’ve easily been an overstatement.

 

‘No matter. I still don’t know how much I trust this voice, but it seems our interests are aligned… For now.’

 

[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]

 

Rimuru silently took a sip of wine from the glass as he savored the taste. He wasn’t able to get drunk, for better or for worse, but if anything it meant he could drink all he wanted without issue. The food in front of him was quite high quality as well, and the children sitting below him nearby seemed to enjoy it just as much as he did.

 

The merchant, a man named Mjollmile with a jolly outgoing appearance smiled, “Well, how is it?”

 

Rimuru smiled and hummed, “Yes it's quite good.”

 

Mjollmile made a satisfied grin, “Yes, yes, of course it is! Pour him some more!”

 

The beautiful servant to Rimuru’s right gently poured more of the red wine into the glass of which he happily took another sip.

 

‘I had no intention of being recognized yesterday, but I suppose I’ll savor this hospitality. Haven’t had a meal this nice since I was in Tempest. It really goes to show just how good our food is there’ Rimuru thought as he continued his drinking.

 

“Are you sure you’re fine feeding the children as well?” Rimuru asked with a subtle glance to where they were eating.

 

“Of course! I owe you my life, after all.” Mjollmile responded happily.

 

Rimuru made a smug grin, “Whatever do you mean?”

 

Mjollmile leaned in with an equally smug expression, “I have connections all over the place, even with a different appearance I can tell it's you.”

 

“You must have some connections then, huh,” Rimuru commented.

 

‘I don’t remember ever using that form. I suppose someone who knows of Gluttony might be able to put two and two together.’

 

Mjollmile leaned back in his chair, muttering, “Let's just say a little demon told me about you.”

 

Rimuru stopped his drinking, silently muttering, “A little… demon..?”

 

‘It’s Tanya, isn’t it?’

 

“You’re not the most subtle with your skills, Rimuru,” A familiar voice muttered from behind Rimuru.

 

Rimuru didn’t even need to look up to tell that Tanya was leaning against his chair with a smug grin on her face. Notably, however, she had a far more human appearance with blonde hair and blue eyes in contrast to its normal more demonic coloration.

 

Rimuru had seen her take such an appearance a dozen times before, but it had been a while since he last saw it. Rolling his eyes, Rimuru muttered “What are you doing here Tanya? Aren’t you supposed to be running Tempest? You can’t be in two places at once.”

 

“As a matter of fact, I can, but that’s beyond the point. I thought you had come over here to be an adventurer after hearing of you registering with the guild in Blumund. Seems being a teacher was more your calling, huh?”

 

“These are Shizu’s students, I’m looking for a way to stop their magicules from combusting within them. Do you have any ideas on how to stop that?” Rimuru asked. He had planned to speak with Tanya about it soon, knowing that if anyone could devise a solution to the problem, it was probably Tanya and her small army of researchers.

 

Tanya rubbed her chin and thought for a moment, gazing over to the students as her Transcending Eye skill allowed her to analyze each one. “I don’t quite have a permanent solution in mind, but I may be able to perform some procedures or use some tools to delay their deaths if nothing else. Giving them Computation Jewels might help stabilize them. It won’t stop it, but it will give them more time as well as allow them to use that excess power more effectively.”

 

“How long do you think that will give them?” Rimuru asked, already having Great Sage create models for the children within his stomach.

 

Tanya thought for a moment, running a few calculations in her head before answering, “About a year, give or take. Had you given it to them a few years back you may have had a few extra years, but that’s not the case anymore. You’ll need a permanent solution eventually, but specially-calibrated computation jewels should help.”

 

Turning back to Mjollmile, Rimuru questioned, “If I may ask, what’s your relation to Tanya?”

 

Mjollmile chuckled, “Me and her are good friends in the business world. She helped me out a bit in Blumund and I did the same for her. She has quite the economic empire, you should know.”

 

Rimuru turned to Tanya with an eyebrow raised, “Is this what you’ve been doing in the human nations since I met you?”

 

Tanya nodded, “Yep. Soon enough my business will serve as Tempest’s conduit into the western nations. Right now, it’s mostly laying the foundations for global industrialization and capitalism.”

 

“I see… Honestly, I expected as much knowing you. But Tempest is still fine, right?” Rimuru asked.

 

“Everything is running normally. I’ve also created the state of Kusha and integrated the Tengu tribes into the Federation while you were away.”

 

“Really?! Just how much have you been doing?” Rimuru asked, surprised.

 

“Oh, that’s about all, really. It's a lot easier when Hakurou apparently had a child with the Tengu leader.”

 

“Wha-?”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Tanya muttered.

 

The rest of the dinner went off without issue. Tanya didn’t participate in eating, not needing to eat much like Rimuru. Instead, she spent much of the time leaning against the wall glancing at the children. Rimuru initially assumed it to be kind of weird but then realized she was probably analyzing their conditions to find a solution. He appreciated Tanya for the help, but it seemed she had yet to devise any plans just yet.

 

With dinner finished everyone headed outside as they prepared to leave. Folding her arms, Tanya mentions, “I plan to recruit Mjollmile to serve as Economic Minister within Tempest once he’s done helping me get established in Ingrassia. I assume that this appointment is alright with you?”

 

Rimuru nodded, though he was visibly surprised, “I have no problems with it, I’m just shocked that you would ever hand over such a position to anyone. I assumed the role would remain in limbo as you managed it yourself forever. I suppose that says a lot about how much you trust him, huh.”

 

Tanya shook her head, “I had no intention to hold the position forever. In truth, I want to minimize my workload, especially since you’ve dumped yours onto me. I was simply waiting to meet someone whose ideals aligned with my own.”

 

Mjollmile let out a hearty laugh, “Tanya certainly has some interesting ideas! She’s quite bright too, I look forward to serving under you two.” Mjollmile held out his hand as Rimuru happily shook it. 

 

‘It's good to have more capable subordinates working for Tempest. Also glad to see Tanya made actual friends, even if it was mostly for economic interests.’

 

As Rimuru turned to leave he heard the servant of Mjollmile, a tall blond-haired woman, speak to the children, “May the blessing of the Queen of Spirits safeguard these children.”

 

One of the children, a black-haired girl named Chloe looked up confused at the woman, “Is that a magic spell?”

 

The woman shook her head and leaned down, explaining, “No it's a prayer we say in my homeland. It means the Queen of Spirits who resides within the Dwelling of Spirits will protect you.”

 

Rimuru couldn’t ignore the mention of those two terms, the ‘Queen of Spirits’ and the ‘Dwelling of Spirits’. In his search to find a solution to the children’s blaring magical combustion issue caused by an incomplete otherworlder summoning, he had deduced that a spirit may prove capable of stabilizing their souls.

 

The problem then became that he had no spirit to use to do so. The solution then became to find the Dwelling and Queen of Spirits, yet that proved harder than expected as even Treyni knew not where her current home was. Apparently, there was supposed to be one in Tempest ‘soon’, but Treyni didn’t know when.

 

If this woman had even the slightest clue where the Queen of Spirits resided, he needed to know.

 

“Wait, miss!” Rimuru shouted, rushing over quickly. The woman turned, looking confused, “You mentioned the Dwelling of Spirits, would you happen to know where that is?”

 

The lady looked confused at his franticness, but responded regardless, “Why yes, I come from a village near there…”

 

At the cost of a quick bribe, the woman happily told Rimuru just where to go. If she was right, it could mean the problem would soon be solved, but it was too early to get his hopes up just yet.

 

Resisting the urge to excitedly skip away happily, he led the children back to their homes as he made plans for them to leave the next morning.

 

Tanya stared as Rimuru left, confused as she turned to the servant asking, “What did Rimuru ask you about?”

 

The lady simply responded, “He seemed quite eager to know where the Dwelling of Spirits and the Queen of Spirits is, so I simply told him. He didn’t tell me why he wanted to go there though.”

 

Tanya listened as a grin appeared on her face, “The Dwelling of Spirits huh? Hehehe…”

 

Mjollmile gave a quick glance of concern at Tanya’s face before looking over at Rimuru in the far distance now, “I know what that smile means. I have a strange feeling Rimuru might not like the result of whatever you’re planning…”

 

[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]

 

Rimuru stood with the children deep within the thick forests that surrounded the Dwelling of Spirits. Before him was a giant door that would lead inside. He didn’t know what to expect going into here, but he was confident in his own abilities, and with Ranga at his side, he trusted that the children would be well protected.

 

The door made a loud creak as he forced it open, all of them walking inside as it shut behind them. Around them were towering columns that reached far above their heads to the roof, an eerie silence filling the seemingly endless hallway as they began to walk down it.

 

Through Magic Sense alone Rimuru could tell that what he was in was made as some sort of ‘labyrinth’, using magic to make anyone limited to just normal human senses end up lost or confused, possibly for eternity.

 

Turning to the children and Ranga he explained, “Don’t stray too far. Stay close.”

 

The group continued onward for a minute longer before he held up his hand, stopping them. Around them, giggling began to echo through the hall, though it had no clear origin or direction. Instead, it seemed to be a product of telepathy, though again from where Rimuru couldn’t tell.

 

“Yes, be scared! Feel more fear!” A voice echoed out amidst the giggling. The voice was young, almost on the verge of being childish as Rimuru held firm, ignoring her request for fear.

 

“We need to find some Superior Spirits. Can you show us to them without impeding us?” Rimuru assumed it wouldn’t be so easy, but there was no harm in asking, he reckoned.

 

“What an amusing thing to say! Don’t worry, I’ll show you to them…” The voice began.

 

‘There’s always a but….’ Rimuru mused.

 

“But you’ll need to fulfill a challenge of mine first!” The voice exclaimed happily.

 

Rimuru had expected as much, assuming this wasn’t going to be as simple as he had hoped. Looking forward he noticed his surroundings change, a bright glowing path before him clearly as an invitation to go forward.

 

Continuing onward, Rimuru and the children walked along until they reached the end of the path, at which point their surroundings changed yet again, now turned into an arena with no exit as before them stood what seemed to be someone kneeling.

 

Closer inspection revealed it not to be a person but some sort of mechanical robot. Holding his hand out for the others to step back, he looked as he saw this robot slowly stand up, two red eyes glowing as it appeared to take a feminine appearance with long hair behind its mechanical face.

 

As the children and Ranga backed up, a cylindrical barrier suddenly appeared between them, isolating Rimuru and the robot together into one room.

 

“Master!” Ranga called out, only stopping as Rimuru held up his hand.

 

“It’s fine, Ranga. This is probably part of the challenge. It's best if we don’t go against it.”

 

The robot looked up at Rimuru, making a polite bow as it spoke in a feminine yet robotic voice, “It is a pleasure to face such a powerful opponent. My name is Beretta, I will be your opponent.”

 

Beretta crossed her arms across her body before throwing them rapidly to her sides as two glowing red blades of pure mana and magicules extended from her wrists outward. Her eyes glowed brightly as she eyed her prey, Rimuru unsheathing his katana as he readied to fight.

 

‘Great Sage, appraisal.’

 

«The individual ‘Beretta’ appears to be a mechanical construct employing numerous weapon systems along with more conventional magic. Its outer shell is made up of an alloy of Magisteel and Gold. Its inner mechanics cannot be calculated at this time.»

 

‘How would it fare against an attack like Hell Flare?’

 

«Current estimates state that it will sustain heavy damage. It is unlikely to be completely destroyed, however it would secure a quick victory nonetheless»

 

‘I suppose I was worried for nothing’

 

Assuming her opponent was ready, Beretta launched forward, Rimuru responding quickly with a Hell Flare, engulfing his opponent with swirling black flames. As he stood and watched, Rimuru heard Great Sage again.

 

«Warning: Dodge»

 

Quickly dashing to the side he watched as Beretta launched out of the flames, seemingly unphased as her mana blades attempted to slash at where Rimuru was.

 

‘I thought that was supposed to damage her!’

 

«Notice: The use of Magical Barriers across the individual’s body seems to have resisted the effects of Hell Flare»

 

‘Barriers?! Like mine or like Tanya’s?!’

 

«It appears to have elements of both, making it a more unique style compared to both.»

 

Beretta didn’t give Rimuru a single second to relax, launching forward as she slashed her blades against Rimuru’s, failing to cut through the tough metal that made up Rimuru’s katana.

 

Taking the initiative, Rimuru pushed his strength upward, knocking off Beretta’s blades from his own before slashing down, causing Beretta to dash backward to make distance.

 

Extending his hand outward, Rimuru entrapped Beretta with dozens of tight and durable strings as he dashed past. In seconds, however, Beretta raised her arms, slashing through them as her blades seemed to be vibrating as they did so.

 

Rushing forward again, Rimuru’s body seemed to multiply into several though only one truly remained strong. Beretta stepped forward, beginning to slash at the fake projections before the real Rimuru snuck behind her, stabbing his blade into her back before she realized and quickly slashed her arm behind her, forcing him off.

 

“So that is how you wish to play.” Beretta commented as she jumped to the edge of the barrier, numerous illusions of herself appearing around the arena before launching at Rimuru standing in the center.

 

Rimuru quickly launched Black Lightning in all directions, most of the bolts simply going through what were mere illusions as the true Beretta held one of her left hand and blade forward, funneling the magical energy. Suddenly her right hand retracted its blade as the hand retracted as well, completely transforming into a cannon that rapidly began to glow.

 

Realizing what his Black Lightning was doing, Rimuru stopped his attack only for Beretta to raise her right arm and launch a powerful beam of magical energy. Rimuru dodged out of the way quickly, however still lost his right arm from the blast. While it fully regenerated after only a few seconds, the point was made that Beretta had some serious firepower.

 

As Beretta stood across the arena from Rimuru, two machine guns formed on her shoulders, the barrels glowing as they began to rapidly fire bullets at Rimuru. Raising his hand, Rimuru quickly began devouring them with Gluttony as Beretta didn’t relent in her barrage. As Beretta kept firing, the bullets continued to have no effect, however, that wasn’t what she was going for. As Rimuru was distracted, the canon in her right hand glowed brighter and brighter.

 

As Beretta stopped her barrage and Rimuru lowered his Gluttony, he barely jumped out of the way of the massive beam that engulfed half of his body as he escaped. Rimuru jumped on one leg for a second as his other half again regenerated.

 

Reacting fast, Rimuru launched another Black Lightning at Beretta. Again beginning to absorb it with the mana blade on her left hand, Rimuru dashed forward before she could react, engulfing his own sword in black flame as he sliced upward, cutting off her left arm. His sword then sliced to the left, hitting her right arm parallel to it, causing the cannon to explode, launching the two back as Beretta slammed against the glowing barrier wall.

 

With both arms destroyed in the fight, Beretta resorted to the final option. Looking around Rimuru suddenly took note of numerous small orbs in the sky which glowed brighter and brighter. Before he could react, the voice returned again.

 

“Stop! Stop! STOP!”

 

The orbs all around the battlefield suddenly vanished as Beretta quickly knelt, “My apologies, Lady Ramiris, I got carried away.”

 

The barrier around them retracted as a small fairy hovered down with her arms at her sides, scolding the robot, “Do you know what would’ve happened if you killed him?! She would’ve killed both of us! Where did you even learn nuclear physics magic anyways?!”

 

The fairy sighed as she looked over at Rimuru, realizing that he was right there. “O-Oh… Right… You’re still here…” the fairy coughed, placing her hands on her hips again, “I am one of the Eleven Great Demon Lords! Ramiris of the Labyrinth!”

 

Rimuru’s hand came down in a chop against Ramiris’ head as she was flung backward “Ow! The hell was that?!”

 

“A chop? Look if you’re going to lie at least make it believable. I know two Demon Lords and you don’t even come close in strength to either of them.” Rimuru simply stared at the now pouting fairy as she fluttered back up.

 

“Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! ID-I-OT! Don’t you compare me to those two monsters! Milim is a chaotic calamity that is known as the strongest Demon Lord, and Tanya creates crazy powerful spells and weapons for fun!” Ramiris shouted, wings fluttering with anger as Rimuru just stared.

 

“Wait, you know Tanya? And Milim?” Rimuru tilted his head in confusion.

 

“Of course I know Tanya, she’s right there!” Ramiris pointed behind her to reveal a demon leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

 

Rimuru gave a dead stare at Tanya as she simply waved at the annoyed slime. “How long have you been standing there, Tanya?”

 

“I’ve been here the entire time, I just used illusions so you wouldn’t notice me.”

 

Rimuru sighed, placing his face in his hands, “I suppose if you’re friends with Tanya then you must be a Demon Lord.”

 

Ramiris pointed at Rimuru and pouted, “See Tanya! Your friend didn’t believe I was a Demon Lord! See! See!”

 

Tanya rolled her eyes, “I didn’t fully believe you were a Demon Lord the first time I saw you either, to be fair.”

 

Rimuru looked over at Beretta who seemed to be attempting repairs on herself, “If you were involved here then it certainly explains a lot in regards to Beretta.”

 

Beretta made a polite bow, “I am a Demon that was summoned by Tanya to inhabit this body using a core she devised. Though Tanya was no doubt a major contributor to much of my body, Lady Ramiris played an equal part in my construction.”

 

“I see… So you’re an engineer as well, Ramiris? I can see why Tanya became friends with you in that case.” Rimuru muttered as he looked to see the fairy making a proud grin. “If you don’t mind though, could you show us to some superior spirits?”

 

Ramiris sighed, “Alright… I suppose you did beat Beretta… Tanya already informed me of your situation so I understand your intentions, at least.”

 

“Uuh… Rimuru-sensei, how did you regenerate your body like that?” Rimuru turned as he heard one of his students, Kenya, ask him a fairly reasonable question.

 

Realizing he never told them he shrugged, “Oh yeah, forgot to tell you all this, but I’m a slime!”

 

“A slime?!” The children asked with a mixture of shock and surprise among them.

 

Bouncing into slime form he was caught by Chloe as the other children all stared at him.

 

“That’s how it is,” Rimuru muttered as the children all expressed their surprise at his form.

 

“But what's with the lady with the scary eyes?” Chloe asked, confused.

 

“Hm?” Rimuru looked to where they were staring as his expression turned from confusion to annoyance.

 

{ Tanya, why aren’t you hiding your appearance?! } Rimuru shouted at Tanya through their communication ring. He could easily use normal Thought Communication, but this proved to be much easier.

 

{ Ah right, that’s my fault. I suppose I forgot the children were here. } Tanya muttered through the ring.

 

“That’s Tanya, she’s a close friend of mine. They only look like that because they’re a demon. Don’t worry though, she’s a good demon… Sometimes.” Rimuru explained as the children all looked in awe at the demon that was their sensei’s apparent friend.

 

“If any of you want to learn how to shoot a gun, I’ll gladly teach you,” Tanya said with a smirk.

 

“You will not-!” Rimuru shouted, being interrupted by his own students.

 

“I want to shoot a gun like in all those cool mangas!” Kenya shouted with excitement.

 

“There were a lot of guns in the country where I’m from, so I certainly wouldn’t mind learning,” Gale muttered as well.

 

Tanya looked at Rimuru with a smirk as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh, “Just because you went to war at the ripe age of nine doesn’t mean they should too.”

 

Tanya shook her head, “Self-defense is needed regardless of age, Rimuru. You’ll find a gun will always beat a sword.”

 

“We’re in a world of magic swords, Tanya…” Rimuru muttered.

 

“Then you simply need a magic gun,” Tanya smirked.

 

Rimuru gave up, sighing, “Fine, we can worry about this later, we need to focus on getting those spirits now.”

 

Tanya turned to Ramiris as she nodded in response, the environment around them changing as they were once more on a glowing magical path. Following it they quickly saw a small mountain of magical crystals which the path curved around up to the top of it.

 

As they walked, Ramiris explained, “Here all you need to do is pray and the spirits will choose whether or not to come to you.”

 

“And what if a superior spirit doesn’t come to you?” Rimuru asked.

 

Ramiris shrugged, “You can always use some energy to make a Superior Spirit.”

 

Arriving at the top of the mountain of crystals, Gale went first, kneeling down and beginning to pray as countless little dots of yellow and orange all began to glow around him. Despite this, no Superior Spirit emerged, all lesser ones, not enough to stabilize him on their own.

 

Rimuru extended his hand as he began devouring the spirits, using Great Sage as he began to fuse them into one.

 

“Hey! You ate it! How could you do that?!” Ramiris shouted as Rimuru walked forward, placing his hand on Gale’s head.

 

“Shush, watch.” Rimuru stated as he fused the spirits into one superior spirit, placing it within Gale to stabilize him.

 

«Notice: Operation Successful»

 

Rimuru nodded and retracted his hand, appraising the boy as his rampant magicules immediately began to stabilize to sustainable levels.

 

With the success of Gale, the other children were next. Rimuru would create a space spirit for Alice and a fusion of water and wind spirits for Ryota. As Kenya stepped up to pray, he was immediately met with a wave of golden lights before he could even begin.

 

Instantly these lights congregated and took a humanoid form as a Superior Spirit of light appeared before him.

 

“Ey! What are you doing here?!” Ramiris shouted, pouting as she fluttered up to the spirit of light.

 

“Just a whim. I’m a Superior Spirit of Light, nice to meet you!” The spirit proclaimed with a smile, mostly ignoring the angry fairy.

 

“W-What's happening?” Kenya asked with confusion.

 

“It seems you summoned a Superior Spirit of Light, Kenya,” Rimuru explained.

 

“Your name’s Kenya, huh? I’ll call you Ken! I’ll watch over you from now on, you could even become a hero!”

 

Kenya stood even more confused than before as Rimuru just went along with it. Without any further hesitation, the spirit took up habitation inside Kenya, stabilizing him just as all the other spirits had, the only difference being Rimuru didn’t artificially make this one.

 

Finally, Chloe stepped up to begin praying, kneeling down as an instant pressure was felt by everyone in the room. Looking around, Tanya, Rimuru, and Ramiris all felt something was coming as all three readied themselves.

 

Suddenly a glow manifested in front of Chloe, forming into a tall and mature-looking woman, one whose features seemed to in some ways mimic Chloe’s. The figure floated above the ground, soaring forth as it stopped at Rimuru, kissing the startled slime on the lips before continuing onward.

 

The entity stopped before Tanya whose hand now rested on her rifle, already calculating ways to either escape or attack should the situation demand it. Instead of attacking, however, the entity just seemed confused at Tanya, as if it was surprised to see her. Yet after a moment, it gave a gentle smile and a nod of understanding. An understanding of what exactly was unclear.

 

The entity moved past regardless, soaring by Tanya as it moved toward Chloe. Ramiris, still startled, quickly flew to block her path, “No way! I’m not letting you do what you want!”

 

“Huh? What is it?” Rimuru asked, turning with confusion.

 

“Why does it matter?! It’s clearly dangerous! Look I-” Before Ramiris could explain the entity flew right through them, inhabiting Chloe as Ramiris just stared, flabbergasted.

 

“Uugh!” Ramiris yelled in frustration, “Don’t blame me if anything happens!”

 

“Just what was that thing though? Tanya, surely your skill saw something.” Rimuru asked, looking at Tanya who gave an equally confused expression.

 

“Transcending Eye? That only works on beings of equal or weaker strength than me. Sometimes I can do limited analysis on beings stronger than me, but it's limited, especially if they’re intentionally stopping me.”

 

Rimuru looked slightly worried, “So that thing was…?”

 

“Stronger than me? Yes. By a long shot. I think it may have some elemental attribute of time. Or something? I can’t really tell.” Tanya explained, returning her rifle to her back and folding her arms.

 

“I think that thing was born in the future… maybe? And I think it laid the foundation for its own rebirth..?” Ramiris muttered, scratching the back of her head.

 

“What are you talking about?” Rimuru asked.

 

“Ugh! I don’t know!” Ramiris shouted, frustrated.

 

“Well she seems to be stabilizing, and that absurd power is nowhere to be seen… So I suppose all’s well that ends well…” Rimuru muttered, folding his arms.

 

“Is this what you came out to do, Rimuru?” Tanya asked, arms still folded as she walked up to him.

 

Rimuru nodded, “Yep. Shizu’s lingering wish was to save these children, and now that I’ve done that I’ll be heading back to Tempest soon enough.”

 

Tanya looked over and questioned, “How soon? I have something that requires my full attention. Unfortunately, I can’t risk splitting up my body to be in two places at once. I’ll need my full strength. As such there’ll be about a week when I’m not in Tempest.”

 

Rimuru sighed, shaking his head, “Unfortunately I can’t leave immediately. I’ll need at least another week with the students before I can return. Would it be possible to delay whatever you’re doing?”

 

Tanya looked up with a sigh, “Possibly… But I’d rather not wait. Whatever, Tempest can survive without us for a week. They’ll spend the entire week preparing for your return, I’m sure.”

 

“Haha, you’re probably right. Just what are you planning anyway that needs your ‘full attention’?” Rimuru asked. Tanya’s eyes turned to stare at Rimuru as he sighed and muttered, “I don’t want to know, do I? At least avoid murdering anyone that's innocent.”

 

[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]

 

Argent has yet another friendly grin on her face as Guy again returns to hear more of the story. Fortunately for him, she enjoyed telling it. After all, spending so long in the void makes even the simple interactions much more pleasant than sitting and watching.

 

As he sat down, she simply smiled and asked, “Shall we begin?”

 

And with Guy responding with a subtle nod, she took it as her queue to begin, “Argent sought to push her creation skill to its absolute limits. She wanted to use it as best as she could, and so she tried to use the skill to upgrade itself. Delving into the very structure of the skill, she improved it, and before long she had created something new.

 

What she created was no longer on the level of ‘Unique Skills’ anymore, rather this was a step above. This was an Ultimate Skill. Her Unique Skill Creator had evolved into the Lord of Creation: Phanes.

 

This skill was once used by the Star Dragon Veldanava, the creator of the universe. After using it in unison with his own power and his other skills to create all the other skills in existence, he cast the skill away into the World System, allowing Argent to once more rebuild it from her own skill.

 

With this, she realized that her skills were not as limited as she once assumed, rather they stretched far beyond the mere ‘Unique’ level. Seeking to obtain more strength for the protection of herself and her country, she created more of these skills, pushing herself and her new Ultimate Skill to its limits until she was finally left with three.

 

The first, as mentioned, was Phanes; Lord of Creation. The next was evolved from Mathematician and Transcending Eye, becoming Fortuna; Lord of Odds. Lastly was evolved from another skill she had developed over time, Illusion Master, evolving it into Mephisto; Lord of Illusion.

 

With all these Ultimate Skills under her control, Argent was more confident than ever that she alone could subdue the Storm Dragon’s rampage, however, the truth of that fact remained to be seen.”

 

Guy placed his hand on his chin as the story ended, knowing there was more to come in his following visits. Despite this, the fact that his Argent had obtained Ultimate Skills, let alone so easily and so many all without undergoing a Harvest Festival showed truly the scale of this Argent he was dealing with.

 

But the question remained. ‘If this Argent was so powerful… What brought them down?’

 

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Thanks to various editors and helpers on the Discord who helped with things like plot decisions, grammatical errors, and other aspects of the chapter:

 

Dragon1008, Terraman60, Ultra

 

To join the discord for chatting, discussion, updates, or to apply to be one of the credited helpers, join the link below:

 

https://discord.gg/xcCvpSxmA7