That Time a Bookworm Got Ascended in Tensura

Ch.25 A Tree?

(AN: At the beginning of the chapter? Impossible. I have decided to change the change to Myne's haircolor, it will now stay the same. Instead her face will simply change to be slightly sharper, more similar to Ferdinand's or Sylvester's essentially.) 

Rimuru's pov: 

Riding in a carriage has gotten increasingly uncomfortable for me, I could still bear it. It simply felt too slow and as if I was wasting my time, often. The inability to sleep added to it, of course this is only the case if it's a path I've already seen. The path to Blumund is one I had seen many times, and there was very little new to see. My impulse to simply use [Spatial Domination] to move ourselves there immediately was large. Despite it only taking a little more than 7 hours with the speed of Tempest wolves, leaving Sylvester and Ferdinand quite surprised. "That was painfully slow." I finally commented once we had entered Blumund. 

At this point the Temepest wolves were a common sight to the guards inside Blumund, though they were still unnerved by them. Once they saw me we were immediately let inside, no questions asked. It really was quite refreshing after all the trouble with Hinata over the past several weeks. 

"You say that as if anyone can simply disappear to somewhere half way across a continent." Ferdinand was still serious in tone, though his expression had been lighter since the night before. 

"He uses teleportation circles like they are cheap candy, so he probably thinks they can." Sylvester commented in a joking tone, while making a soft jab in my direction. 

I sighed softly, when looked out the window. "I may be slightly privileged." I had a lot to do in Blumund, so it was good was good it was only past half day. 

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Leaving Blumund after the long day of meetings had left me a little burnt out. Though I was happy to see that they were already ready to leave, accepting my offer to take the journey to Ehrenfest over night as I was all the protection they really needed.  Over the process of the day I had met with Mjöllmile to procure his becoming an executive inside Tempest, which he quickly accepted. As his first task he'd be managing the founding festival's finances as our financial director. Additionally I met with Fuze and the King of Blumund, to discuss an invitation for the festival, which I had brought personally. I had already planned to invite them, but coming here gave me an excuse to talk to the friendly pudge-ball of a king. 

Finally, on the road again. A conversation quickly started to pass the time. "I can have the wolves enter my shadow before we get to a city, and use an anti-perception barrier if we pass by any towns." I said casually to a Sylvester's questioning it, the fact he had allowed me to switch to the wolves before he knew I had a plan was disappointing. 

"Good, good. I knew you had something in mind already." Sylvester said with his face giving away he was lying through his teeth. Even adding a small insecure chuckle to the end of the sentence. 

Ferdinand seemed to glare at Sylvester visibly while making a small cough to get my attention. "The people of Ehrenfest are very traditional, and have a great fear of strong monsters. This means you may need to disguise yourself further. I have already heard the mask you allowed Myne to use last night was an important part of your disguise?" He seemed to focus on making me look human to make traveling in the city easier. 

"I can just make my magicules imperceptible. As long as someone lacks an Ultimate skill of their own, they won't be able to tell me apart from a human." I demonstrated by concealing my magicules completely to Ferdinand. I knew this would not work against the other octogram members, traveling through Ehrenfest though it should be more than sufficient. 

At this Ferdinand's eyes widen just a small amount, though he was quick to reset his expression. "Why do you ever leave any of your magicules exposed? Surely hiding them entirely would prove more effective at laying low. You appear as an A+ ranked monster most of the time." He raised an eyebrow just a small amount while saying this. 

I smiled a bit devilishly at this. "It is a technique I stole from Guy Crimson. Showing off an untrained and weak aura all the time is an effective way to deceive people. It hides the fact I possess Ultimate skills and makes me seem far less threatening to more cautious individuals." I explained my reasoning succinctly, luckily this is something I came up without Raphael's help. So I was very proud of it. 

After pondering this for a few moments Ferdinand nodded. "I see, I suppose that is more effective when you don't need to worry about anyone on the level you display." He looked out the window of the carriage and seemed to release a small sigh. "It will take another few hours for us to arrive, really these wolves are far too fast." He had already judged from where we were how long our arrival would take. 

I smiled a bit, then sensed something with [Universal Perception]. A strong monster at least of special rank A. I sighed softly, realizing I'd likely need to deal with it. Though I wasn't exactly sure what it was, and it seemed to be getting stronger as I kept tabs on it. I finally made a comment, "I believe there is a strong monster rampaging in the forest." I said calmly while asking for the wolves to stop the carriage with [Thought Communication]. 

<Range of detection approximately 3.1 kilometers. Distance too far to collect biographical data.> Raphael said in my head, while sounding, annoyed? It seems the last night had an effect on her inflections. 

"Are you sure? I don't feel anything. How far away is it?" Ferdinand seemed to be confused, and was not able to sense it with [Magic Sense]. I concluded it was far out of even his peripheral range. 

"3.1 kilometers." I said casually while opening the door and hopping out of the carriage. I then used [Beelzebub] to replace my noble outfit with my adventuring outfit. Though I did have to request Raphael make it larger to accommodate my new height. Afterward I slipped Shizu's mask onto my face. 

Ferdinand visibly paled at the statement I had made, then regained his composure. "I wasn't aware your perception range was that large. Can we accompany you?" Ferdinand while saying this grabbed a set of rings from the cubby beside his seat. 

Sylvester seemed to get the memo, and grabbed a few rings of his own. "Are you sure this is something you can deal with alone?" He seemed to have a vague idea of what it may be. However he did not have any doubt in his eyes as he himself got out of the carriage. 

I nodded while putting the carriage inside my [Stomach], then allowed the wolves to enter my shadows. I looked over to the two knights and decided to bring them as well. They had no chance to help, but they may learn something. "Everyone stand near me, I will use a teleportation circle to get us all there." I said while softly tapping my foot to the ground for a bit of theatrics, causing a small blue and yellow magic circle to appear on the ground. 

Once each of them had entered the circle, I was quick to activate it. What was in front of us soon, was a massive crater in the ground with a large tubular tree in the middle. It lacked leaves and appeared to be absorbing magicules from the surrounding area. It had utterly devastated the forest around it as a result, the crater being approximately 150 meters across. Though it seemed a group of knights were already here, attacking the tree. 

"A trombe, as I thought." It was Sylvester, he didn't give further details. Was I already supposed to know what one was? From what I could tell they did not exist in the Jura forest. I assumed that may have been due to the dryads though, they put a lot of effort into maintaining the forest. 

'Raphael?' I thought to her as I kept my outward composure, though something about the tree disturbed me. 

<A trombe is a foreign species of plantoid monster. It is of unknown origins, however it is known to inhabit the forested areas surrounding Ehrenfest. They all are capable of draining magicules from the surrounding environment. They are highly dangerous if left unchecked, and have on several occasions required interference from the dryads of the Jura forest. Further observation is recommended.>  

I took in everything Raphael said while in a state of [Thought Acceleration]. Afterward I was about to take to the skies with my wings, and hover to watch it, though I decided abandoning the others would be unwise. I wasn't alone. 

"We need to help them, I doubt they can handle one of that size." Ferdinand stated with a calm tone, though his tone was laced with just a bit of worry. He seemed to be more than ready to intervene, his sword changing into the shape of a bow. Afterward it turned a dark black color, following a gentle prayer from him. 

"Wait a moment. It isn't a threat quite yet. I wish to observe a bit longer." I stated while putting a barrier around the five of us. Afterward I made a solid floor on the barrier and made it float into the air, discretely for a better vantage point to watch it with. 

"That is unwise, these plants grow incredibly quickly. If even a single knight gets taken it will grow much larger." Ferdinand seemed insistent, now growing a small frown on his face. Though it quickly shifted to a slight smile, which was quite unpleasant. The barrier was far too powerful for him to do anything about though. 

I sighed a bit. "Just watch, I will intervene before that happens. Personally." I gave him some assurance. It was really just curiosity, I was really curious how they had fought off something like this all this time. As well I wouldn't mind stealing that skill. 

At this he nodded reluctantly, and looked forward. Keeping an intent gaze on the knights who were all riding flying magicule powered beast. It seemed as if they were statues which were operated by the magicules flowing into them from the knights themselves. It was a very ingenious way to use magicules, however it did split the potential across two individuals. 

The knights initially started their attack with a barrage of arrows, similar to the black ones Ferdinand had used before. It seemed they simply annihilated double the amount of magicules the knights put into them, as their magicules serving for the cost. Though I could sense there was more to it, as there was a spatial effect occurring on the extra half of magicules being annihilated. 

This seemed to alert the trombe, as it immediately began to thrash out at the knights with it's massive limbs. Though it was unable to reach them yet. Once it pulled very long roots from the ground, it was able to swipe at a few of them, successfully damaging a few of the statue beast. 

Once this attack pattern began, the knights were quick to begin charging into the outstretched roots and branches. Cutting into them with their halberds and swords which were enchanted the same way as the arrows. It seemed as if it was a war of attrition, so I could understand the fear of knights being captured and used now. After a first volley of strikes, they circled back to a further distance to recollect and make a quick headcount. I quite liked strategies that aimed for no losses, personally. Often giving the order to die under no circumstances myself, as a top priority. 

It seemed the trombe had attempted to grab onto some of the knights who retreated last, however they were covered by volleys of arrows from the first. Once the trombe has come to this, it began hiding it's roots more effectively under the ground. This allowed for it to make surprise attacks and catch the knights unawares. 

Realizing the disappearance of many of the longest roots, the knights held back and used volleys of arrows. However the ineffectiveness of this led them to make a desperate charge eventually. Really they did the best they could, cutting through each root as it ascended from the earth to attempt to ensure them. However, a large root slammed into the spearhead directly. This knocked him off of the beast statue he was riding. 

"I suppose that it is time." I said, and lowered the barrier into the ground. Afterward I used a teleportation circle on each human within my perception range and placed them into the ground on my barrier. Ensuring they would not get involved in the fight. "I'll take it from here." I said as I grew my dark black bat-like wings from my back and flew off in the direction of the Trombe. 

I landed in front of the tree, causing a crater to appear on the ground as I did so. I simply stared at the tree and waited for it to respond. Realizing it never would, I pushed the mask aside and realized a sizable aura to attract it's attention. 

Upon the release of the aura, hundreds of roots and branches shot forth from the ground and toward me. Each of them was quick to make contact, wrapping around the entirety of my form and attempting to steal my magicules. 

However, [Absolute Defense] from [Uriel: King of Covenants] completely blocked that affect, as well as the damage of the branches and roots themselves. It confirmed to me the utility of the skill, it acted as a form of barrier that could deny any type of attack I have a complete understanding of the nature of. However it could be penetrated by other Ultimate skills. 

I could sense the uneasiness in the crowd as they watched this exchange go down, they seemed quite worried I may have made the problem worse. 

I almost chuckled to myself, before activating [Flare Circle] on myself. It caused my pupils to turn a deep orange. Additionally it caused a massive flare of flames to shoot up from directly below me, taking a moment, but still burning all the branches and roots around me to a crisp. Ifrit's skill really came in handy from time to time. Plus it couldn't hurt me with my thermal fluctuation nullification. It seemed the trombe had a certain level of fire resistance though, so I'd likely need to turn up the heat if I wanted to damage it further. 

The trombe tried to attack me with more of it's largest branches and roots. However I just nimbly dodged each while getting a little bored. 'Raphael-sensei, could we spice this fight up a bit?' I thought to her while taking a moment to activate [Thought Acceleration]. 

<Additional magicules could be fed to the trombe willingly to increase it's combat strength, and to test the full power of Master's skills.> 

The idea seemed terrible, though if I really did want this to be a controlled test. I create an orb of pure magicules in my hand out of my aura, and intentionally shot it into the trombe. It immediately grew several times in size, and appeared to gain several intrinsic skills as a result of the donation. I smiled happily at the result. 

Once the trombe started it's attacks, they appeared to now be infused with several intrinsic skills, along with a ton of magicules. Just enough to penetrate once [Absolute Defense] was disabled, as intended. It was able to make small scrapes on me as it attacked, however it was still unable to steal more magicules from me. 

I began happily using [Hell Flare]s on the trombe as I got more invested into the fight. Several domes of barriers surrounded the larger roots and branches of the trombe, then shortly afterward filled with an incredibly hot black flame. I pulled out my sword as well, and began cutting into the branches and roots. I felled most of them promptly. "Really, this had been fun. Thank you for testing the limits of my skills. I have one more test for you though." I talked to the tree as if it could understand me, then held up my hand. 

The tree took the chance while I had stopped moving to make an all out attack with it's remaining branches and roots. 

"[Beelzebub]!" I shouted as a dense black and purple cloud of mist shot forth from my raised hand. It was quick to surround the entirety of the trombe, and slowly collapse on it. It shrunk ever so slowly, but as I pumped my power into it, the effect accelerated. Soon enough I had fully absorbed the trombe. 

{Notice: Intrinsic skill [Magicule Absorption] acquired. Due to similarity, it has been added as a subskill of [Beelzebub: King of Gluttony]} 

'Can't I already do that?' I wondered to myself. 

<While this was already possible through the use of  [Beelzebub: King of Gluttony], it appears the new subskill allows for an enhanced version that is far more effective against targets with a will, increasing performance.> Raphael explained how it was actually an improvement prompty after my question. 

'I suppose that is quick useful then.' I though as I admired the new upgrade to my skill. Once I was finished admiring myself, I was quick to slip the mask back on. Then I flew with my wings back to the barrier. "Sorry that took so long, got carried away." I stated briskly as I landed. All my wounds had already healed completely, along with my clothing. 

"Who are you exactly? That wasn't some simple feat. Why did the trombe get significantly stronger before you killed it as well?" It was the spearhead knight. He had taken off his helmet at this point, he had a mustache with reddish brown hair. A square jaw, and blue eyes. The cut of his hair was a simple short-cut to keep his hair close to his head. He seemed calm, if a little shaken. 

I gave a light chuckle to this, and decided to simply  reveal myself. I really didn't mind at the moment, especially since this could help me in the long run. I took off the mask and switched to my demon lord outfit. "I would be the demon lord of the Jura-Temepest Federation, Rimuru Tempest." I was smiling politely with the introduction, and promptly released them from the barrier. "To answer your question, the trombe got stronger so I could have a bit of fun." Standing there at my full height was still sorta unimpressive as I still looked like an early teen, though it seemed my recent defeating the trombe made that still intimidating to the knights. 

"Please excuse Sir Karstedt's rudeness!" It was Ferdinand, trying to save face for how Karstedt had addressed me. I suppose he still had more to learn about me. 

"No problem at all. I wasn't exactly forthright with who I was before this. Do any of you need healing potions?" I kept my incredibly casual tone while taking a quick look around the group. It seemed as if it was simply a group of knights with a single priest in a blue robe. None of them seemed badly hurt, however a few of them did have wounds. 

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--3100 words-- 

--Initial Trombe EP: 240,202--

--Enhanced Trombe EP: 730,403-- 

(AN: Just comment your criticisms and suggestions.)