Deep within the sealed cave there rested the mighty Storm Dragon Veldora, though now known as Veldora Tempest. Before him was a small slime, albeit one with power far exceeding all other slimes. Having formed a pact of friendship and with Veldora having given the slime the name Rimuru, they prepared to take the final step, albeit the first one to free Veldora.
"Are you ready then Veldora?"
"Wait Rimuru. Before we do this I forgot to mention..."
"Yes? What is it?"
"You recall how I mentioned there was another otherworlder I met not too long ago?"
"Yeah? What about them?"
"Well you see, they've been visiting me somewhat frequently, and I feel like abandoning them without notice might not be the best thing..."
"So would you like to wait? I've been in this cave for who knows how long already, I don't mind a bit of a wait."
"No, no. It's impossible to know when she'll come back. For all I know it could be tomorrow or it could be over a month from now, I couldn't ask you to stay. Though if you meet a demon named Tanya, know that she is a friend of mine, as well as a fellow otherworlder."
"I see, I'll be sure to remember that! Is that all then? Ready to get in my stomach?"
"Kyahahaha! Let's do this, friend!"
With that the slime, Rimuru, utilized his skill Predator to devour Veldora along with his Unlimited Imprisonment which had sealed him there for 300 years. After a few moments the cave went silent, Veldora's aura disappeared, and the world as a whole would begin to shift in more ways than one.
A strange presence suddenly fell across the forest, or rather it was the lack of a presence that was the problem. Veldora's aura had made the forest relatively peaceful. There were a number of monsters and beasts, but none of them were rouge enough to go after more than their needed prey. Now, without Veldora's aura pressuring them, who knows what havok will be caused. It's best if I remain vigilant.
However what concerns me more is how he vanished. Veldora was supposedly, as his aura seemed to suggest, one of the strongest beings in this World. For him to disappear, and so suddenly too, something must have happened. He mentioned that he was slowly running out of magicules within his Unlimited Imprisonment and would eventually run out and die, but I didn't expect that it could happen so soon, or so suddenly.
Frankly I would check out the cave to find out why, however.... If there turns out to be some entity stronger than Veldora that sought to destroy him, it's best if I stay away from it. Though what probably pisses me off the most is the loss of a valuable asset! Veldora was a True Dragon, which I found out are basically the equivalent of gods in this world, although since they don't incite worship I have little problem with it. As a True Dragon, he was basically the strongest ally I could ever get if I could find a way to get him out.
Now he's gone and I'm back at square one! Closest thing I have to an ally now is that demon Noir, however I can't quite judge his intentions. He contacted me again the next time I slept after becoming a Demon Peer, however that conversation didn't quite go too far considering I don't even know what happened. Regardless, not only should I have not evolved immediately to Demon Peer after being named, but I also have magical energy expected of a high end Arch Demon, not a Demon Peer. This meant that there was some vast quantity of magicules stored somewhere in my soul that is only gradually coming out. He claimed that given enough time, all of it will be released and I'd have power ranging from the average Demon Peer to supposedly a 'Devil Lord.' Course none of these terms mean much to me yet since I'm unfamiliar with this world.
It's been about a month since I arrived in this world, and after a bit of further digging into my soul, I believe I've found actual definitions for most of my skills, including the skills 'Illusion Master' and 'Magical Enhancement' which I seemed to get from my evolution.
[Extra Skill - Gravity Manipulation - Allows the user to manipulate gravity, especially on one's self, allowing for a number of maneuvers, including flight.] From my own personal experience, it's a bit tricky to control, however it's not too hard. However, going high speeds through this skill is near impossible to do, so it seems I need some other skill or ability to allow me to go fast with it.
[Extra Skill - Magic Manipulation - Allows the user to manipulate magic in their surrounding area, disrupting the flow of magic, magical signals, and other aspects] It seems to be a general magical control ability, allowing me to be able to control the magic around me and even disrupt the magic of others. For now, I've managed to use it to completely hide my aura
[Extra Skill - Multilayer Barrier - Allows the user to create numerous thin magical barriers to act as a protective magical shield] This is relatively self explanatory, however its taking a bit to learn how to use it most efficiently. For now it's easiest for me to recreate a barrier similar, although stronger, than the one from my last life.
[Extra Skill - Strengthen Body - Allows the user to enhance and strengthen their own body] The name and description says it all, and through the use of magic I'm seemingly able to enhance my own muscles and defenses much like I could as a mage.
[Extra Skill - Sage - Allows the user heightened thought power] Again, the description really says it all.
Now, however, onto the interesting skills...
[Unique Skill - Merciless - Allows the user to seize the life of anyone who has lost their will to resist in face of the user no matter how long has passed since and even if the target has recovered their will] Now this can be useful. It basically lets me just kill anyone I can intimidate enough, even if I let them go. Theoretically I can use this to control people, threatening to kill them at any moment if they disobey me. The possibilities this skill has...
[Unique Skill - Oberst - Provides a number of subskills which enhance the user's capability to lead while also providing strength to their subordinates so long as they do not disobey orders] This would be useful... If I had subordinates.
[Unique Skill - Transcending Eye - Allows the user to analyze living things and certain magical items to look at their properties and skills (in the case of living things). The skill can override any sort of defensive or resistant skills that try to stop it from 'looking' so long as the user is stronger] This will be good for gathering information, however I've yet to see whether or not something like that is truly vital or not.
[Unique Skill - Divine Nullification - Allows the user to disrupt the flow of spiritrons within a certain range around them, allowing the user to completely nullify any Holy Magic they desire] This skill... This skill right here... Is the pinnacle of all of them, the icing on top, if Being X returns, it can be assumed he'll be using Holy Magic, and it will do nothing at all!
[Unique Skill - Illusion Master - Allows the user to create visual illusions at the cost of their own magicules. These illusions are non-collidable, and cannot physically interact with anything, however considering its magical nature, it can fool skills such as Magic Sense] This is fairly simple really, it seems to again be another recreation of an old ability I had as a mage, specifically Illusion magic. Illusion magic has always proven useful, and I'm certain this will as well.
[Unique Skill - Magical Enhancement - Allows the user to run magicules through certain objects and items, enhancing their durability, strength, sharpness, and other such properties] This seems to be the equivalent of my enhancement from my past life, allowing me to enhance things ranging from knives to shovels. Course I don't have any physical weapons, but when I do this will come handy.
Now with a good understanding of all my skills, and with the monsters now causing havoc across the forest, I can finally put my strength to the test. After a short while I found a suitable subject, a large crab-like monster with many legs and large claws. In fact, it's basically just a large crab. It launches its claw down to the ground in an attempt to crush me however I quickly jump away.
Now several feet away from it, I quickly use Illusion Master to create numerous copies of myself as the monster spins around, confused. This proves my hypothesis that it could be used as a body double like before, however now to see how well I can move all of them.
Through the use of Sage, it turns out to not be too hard as I leap up with all of my copies, causing it to swipe its claws at a number of them, with each simply fuzzing away like television static. With that, and now a good bit in the air above it. I open my hand, causing a glowing red orb to form in it as I extend my hand downwards, the orb exploding into multiple streams which all crash into the crab, creating massive explosions with each separate impact.
I fall down, now behind the crab and with my body doubles fuzzing away as I turn to look at the crab again who turns to face me as well. Now, with him weakened, and with his shell cracked open and burned in several places, it was time to finish him off. Of course to do so I wanted to test something Noir had informed me about. As I extended and opened my right hand, I turned my fingers into long, black claws as Noir had informed me I could. With that, I lunged forward, swiping at the crab's left legs, cutting each of them off as it fell onto its side, screeching in pain.
With the crab barely moving, I use Merciless to end it, with the crab trembling before collapsing to the floor, dead after Merciless had killed it. With that, now I had dinner. I technically didn't need to eat or sleep, however old habits die hard, and I had found myself doing both on occasion, though my sleep schedule had become more and more spread out with less and less sleep.
After a bit of cooking, I ate some of the untouched portions of the crab. I was never a big fan of shellfish specifically, but this was arguably the best thing I had tasted since I came here, mostly since I have been eating basically monsters which usually tasted decent at best. I suppose it's probably because this is the first time I'm eating something that's actually similar to food from my old worlds rather than whatever the hell meat those monsters were made out of. You know, I really need to find more crabs. Maybe I could find one of those bulldeer I saw, though I haven't tried eating them yet, I'm sure it probably tastes like steak.
After that, I went to sleep
As she opened her eyes, she was again in Hell, or rather, the reflection of it Noir seemed to reside in when she dreamed. As she turned to face him, he was clapping his hands.
"Well done, little Tanya. Truly a show to behold."
"I feel like you're exaggerating it."
"Maybe, but it is true you've grown at an exceptional rate, though I presume you didn't request this meeting to discuss your skills."
"I wanted to know about where I should be heading. I want a weapon of sorts, or at least the ability to head into a civilized society rather than living in the forest."
"Ah I see. I'm no expert, however I have seen the world in my observations of... another person of interest. I believe if you want a weapon, a good and close option would probably be Dwargon. I'm sure you can see the large mountain far in the distance when you wake up, that's Dwargon there. It's a land of dwarves, so they're known for their weaponsmiths especially. Though of course everything comes at a price, the Magic Ore in that cave you were in should prove highly valuable."
"Magic Ore? You mean those glowing rainbow rocks? How valuable are they?"
"Considering the purity that Magic Ore has from being in a cave with Veldora, probably highly. If you're able, you should be able to make a bag of sorts with the skin of some animals and be able to carry a bagful. Dwargon is a much more accepting place, however... You should probably find a way to hide your demonic features, or at the very least your eyes really."
"Alright, I can do that. I now have the skill Illusion Master which I'm sure you saw, so I should be able to recreate my old appearance."
"Brilliant. I'll be watching over you still, I am curious what kind of weapon you desire to create, I have the feeling you're not the sword type of person."
"You'll just have to wait and see then."
"Well then, if that's all, I suppose I will meet you again."
"Yes, thank you for the information, Noir."
"It has been my pleasure, though be sure to tell me if you find anything that might help answer my questions."
"Of course."
With that, Tanya woke up again.
First order of business was getting a bag, though that was actually quite simple. I simply finally hunted down one of those bulldeer, killed it, ate it, and made a bag out of its skin. It did, as suspected, taste like steak, although slightly different. That difference was likely akin to deer meat, however I had never had deer so I couldn't tell.
Now with a bag roughly the size of a regular backpack from my old world, I headed back into the cave. It had been a few good weeks since Veldora disappeared, so I'd imagine the cave is probably a bit hectic with how much magicules there are, though I shouldn't need to go too deep in order to find some magicules.
I had also successfully recreated my former appearance, my black hair now blond and my black and yellow eyes now a regular blue and white. I was keeping it on for the time being so that I could make sure I can easily maintain this for a long period of time, which of course I seemed capable of doing considering how little of my magicules it used.
Then in the cave I gathered enough ores to easily fill up my bag. It was likely heavy but I hardly felt it at all as I noticed a group of people speaking from a bit outside of the cave. They were a bit far out, but with Magic Sense I could sense them. Ultimately I hid my presence completely, using illusion magic to hide myself behind the cover of a fake rock.
There were three of them it seemed, and as they approached the closed door I also noticed what seemed to be a generic fantasy slime approach the door as well and hide behind a rock. Now I had seen a slime before, not many times of course, but once or twice certainly. What was concerning was how large this one's aura was. I was certainly stronger than it, but for a slime to have that much aura, it must be a different creature entirely disguising itself as a slime to hide from the humans perhaps.
The main reason of course that I hadn't just snuck out of the cave was that I wanted to see the general scale of power I had to humans, and as the three entered I realized something quite interesting.
They're barely stronger than mages in my old world.
While in comparison to my old world if the average human was the equivalent to an average mage that would be significant, however compared to me and infinitely more so compared to Veldora, they were nothing. I'm sure there's stronger humans, however considering this is Veldora's cave, even with Veldora gone, you'd have to send at least competent people to go in. They did seem like generic fantasy adventurers, which in truth sucked because it confirmed what Noir had told me, that this world is medieval in nature.
The question that now remained was how the hell did they not notice the slime? That thing's aura is huge compared to everything around it. Those humans aren't hiding some massive aura either, so what gives? They do seem to have some sort of invisibility skill, however my magic sense really just overrides that. Almost immediately after they go invisible I just watch as the slime hops away and out of the cave.
A bit confused and with that whole situation only partially answering my questions, albeit adding a few more, I headed out once the adventurers were well into the cave. If they were truly adventurers they were likely sent by some fantasy guild to investigate Veldora's disappearance. Veldora's aura covered the entire forest after all, I'd imagine that's probably what prevented any nations from trying to colonize it. Even still, considering how many monsters are here, it's probably going to be another several years before they can expand into the forest beyond the immediate outskirts.
Now with my large quantities of Magic Ore I head out for Dwargon. I flew for the first half of the trip, eventually landing as I got close, beginning to move up to the gate and standing in line. The line went by quickly and after a brief bag inspection causing the Dwarf running the gate to give me a shocked look I headed inside, although not before I found out information on where a good smith was from him.
I immediately headed towards the smith the guard had told me about, supposedly a close friend or relative of the guard's. Course that meant there was some bias to it, but any smith would probably work so long as they're decent. Entering the shop I noticed a collection of weapons and armor all around, nothing that I was too interested in, but still a clear show of his skill.
After a few moments a dwarf walked in from a back room, he had goggles on his head with a large beard on his chin, although small, I'd expected dwarves to be smaller. Regardless I was likely slightly taller than him.
"Welcome! What can I do for you? Lookin' for a weapon? Some armor perhaps?"
"I was actually wondering if you take custom orders."
"I do, but those take time and a bit more money."
"I understand, you do also purchase resources correct?"
"Depends on what you've got to sell."
I placed the bag of Magic ore on the counter, opening it to reveal a cumped bag-full of pure magic ore. After putting on his goggles he looked into the bag, inspecting the ore before looking back up.
"This is a lot of magic ore! It's incredibly pure too! I can make quite a lot with this. I can easily fetch you a good price."
"You don't need to worry about paying me so long as you can make what I want. It's a bit strange though, so the extra money from this ore will likely make up for the additional costs of making this."
"What is it you want made?"
"Well it has many parts, do you have a paper? I can easily draw you the design."
The dwarf walks to the back again and returns with some paper and a pencil, which itself is a bit strange to see in a medieval world however I just opted not to question it for the time being. After drawing a few designs I handed it to him.
"Very strange indeed, it even has some wooden parts. I'm not sure I can fully make the wooden parts, but I can order it from a friend I have. You don't need to worry about it though, I'll handle the order. I'm also not entirely sure how these go together but I assume you do. You want this in Magisteel correct?"
"Yep, is the Magic Ore I have enough?"
"It should be more than enough to cover this, with the rest making up for any additional costs as you said. Are you sure you need a Magisteel shovel too though?"
"Yes."
"Alright then, I'm not one to question you. My name is Kaijin by the way, its a pleasure doing business."
He extends his hand to shake, I grasp it firmly to shake back. His grip is firm, but if I wanted I could easily break his hand so I'd say mine is certainly firmer.
"My name is Tanya, it's the same here."
With that, I headed out. He mentioned it would take about a week to make all of it, considering how strange a lot of the shapes were. Overall I was making 3 things, a rifle, a pistol, and a shovel.
A rifle was needed, and while I have no bullets, given my magical power I can easily just make bullets purely from my magic alone. Course that begs the question of why I need a rifle then, however not only can I amplify it more with Magical Enhancement, but it also functions as increased accuracy, better aiming, and numerous other aspects which simplify and amplify the whole process. The pistol was a luger, and was for much the same reason, albeit for less heavy-duty and more closer range shots. The shovel was just a necessity, shovels are the foundations of society, the best tool anyone can have. I have no need for a sword or anything when I have claws, however a shovel is versatile and can do numerous things. Having a magisteel shovel means I can amplify it much more efficiently with Magical Enhancement in case I need to use it for combat.
After a week I returned and was given all the parts as well as some leather holding parts that I had ordered as well. None of the parts were assembled of course, however I had taken apart and assembled my rifle so many times in my last life that doing so now was easy. Now with my rifle, Luger, and shovel, all of which were hidden under my black and red cape I went back out to the forest to test it.
In part I wanted to do two things, for one I wanted to test my new weapons, secondly I wanted to get more magic ore to sell for actual money so I can have at least some money built up in case I ever needed it. After a bit of travel, I stumbled upon a collection of large red ants. I had seen these before, and they were somewhat common, usually traveling in small pacts. They would make great targets. Immediately I pulled out my Luger, shooting the front ant three times in the head, the third shot being explosive and completely destroying their head. In truth the bullets were just the same as my magical attacks, however through the use of a gun, they were much more effective.
Putting the Luger away I grabbed my rifle, shooting at the ant in the back as the shot pierced through it in a beam, creating a hole a foot wide before exploding as well. As the last ant tried to attack me from the side, I pulled out my shovel, using Magical Enhancement on it as it began to glow as I dashed ahead of the ant, its head falling to the ground behind me as I cut off its head with the shovel.
With that I had proven the effectiveness of my equipment. While I would need to do some tests for a while to fully understand what I can do with it, for the time being it was effective, more so than me making such attacks without the rifle. Theoretically with enough practice I could do as much, however time trying to refine and perfect my attacks is time I could be spending amplifying its strength overall.
Now, finally with a proper weapon, a good grasp on my skills, and even a way to make a bit of money, I'm well on my way to securing a stable life in this world. At least I hope.