Rimuru meeting the dryad's, and a few monsters you may or may not know of reacting to Veldora's dissapearance.
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Veldora: Let me be honest with you, my knowledge regarding various things is... Limited, simply because it's been an extremely long time since I've actually used any magic.
The dragon sits on it Bu-
(Ahem)
On the ground, crossing his arms as he starts off an explanation to the Majin Infront of him.
Veldora: However, there are a few key factors that you must know, and I am more then certain that I am correct.
The Majin, now Rimuru, nods, sitting in a cross legged position Infront of Veldora.
Veldora: Firstly, Ultimate Skills.
The dragon starts off.
Veldora: Ultimate Skills are the absolute power in the world, ones which have no limit and grant the user extreme prowess. Ofcourse, just because it has no limits, doesn't mean the user has none too. It's reliability and use relies on how the person using it fares with it. As such, if you were to steal an Ultimate Skill somehow, you could not properly adjust to it as you didn't achieve it, but only stole it. An Ultimate Skill isn't something that is given randomly, it is rather born from the desire of a person in extreme lengths. The main point of one, is that it grants the user Authority over a certain aspect. In your case, the Lord of Covenants, Uriel, grants you authority over vows. As such, you have the ability to alter Law itself as you please.
The Majin raises his hand.
Rimuru: Is this seriously limited knowledge?
The dragon deadpans.
Veldora: I'm certain it's more complex then that, but this should be enough of the basics.
The dragon does a cough on purpose, readying itself to tell the next part.
Veldora: Now, Ultimate Skills also come in categories, that is something you should also know. Ultimate Skills themselves are divided into many types, but there are two main ones. The Virtue and the Sin Series.
Rimuru has a look of realization hit his face.
Veldora: Exactly, you hold a skill from the Virtue Series, and you must be careful no matter what.
Rimuru tilts his head in confusion, asking why he should be careful if no one would even know his skill.
Veldora: The skills from the sin series are infact, free. They cannot be controlled by anyone, unless they wish to accept them. You could say they somewhat have... Egos, I suppose. However, Virtue series aren't the same, for they can actually be controlled.
Rimuru widens his eyes in a little shock.
Veldora: They are all prone to be controlled by an Ultimate Skill, Justice King Michael. You could say that skill has been appointed as the mediator of the Virtues, and can control anyone who has them. In your case, if you go to the current wielder of Justice King Michael, who was given the skill by my brother himself, he won't hesitate to control you.
Rimuru sweatdrops at the position he is in, one wrong move, and he will be a puppet forever.
Veldora: Worry not, he can only tell you have one if you get close to him. If your out of his sights, then your safe and sound.
Veldora reassure Rimuru, who leads out a sigh of relief.
Rimuru: So all I have to do, is stay out of this man's sights and I'll be fine?
Rimuru reconfirms with the dragon, who nods at his words before sharing one final piece.
...
Veldora: Right... There is one more thing I'd like you to do before you devour me.
Veldora looks at the Majin, who places his hand on the barrier and gets ready to devour it.
Rimuru: Hm?
The Majin hums in response, asking the question.
Veldora: My most trusted companions, the dryad's, they won't remain long.
Rimuru tilts his head in confusion.
Veldora: It's because I haven't given them physical bodies, and since they are spiritual bodies, they will soon return to the Dwelling of Spirits.
Rimuru opens his mouth to ask why, but is stopped by Veldora.
Veldora: You need a body inorder to stay in the overworld, but even that body is temporary. Inorder to make it permanent, a name must be given. I have only given a name, not a body.
Rimuru realizes what Veldora means.
Rimuru: So you wish for me to create suitable bodies for them?
Veldora nods.
Rimuru: Very well, I'll do it, they are needed more now that you'll dissapear.
Rimuru lightly pushes the barrier, readying to devour it whole.
Rimuru: Gluttony!
...
Rimuru scouts the entire perimeter of the forest, searching each and every inch of the forest whilst soaring the sky with two wings protuding from his back. The wings resemble Veldora's own, except they appear smooth rather then scaly, and are much smaller then Veldora's own. Currently, it is night time as he prefers it the best time for him to scout. After all, he has the ability to perfectly see in the dark, and absolutely no one could find him unless they looked hard enough at the sky.
Rimuru: Another night, another point to scout.
He soars high above the ground, scouting the entire area made up of sand and sand dunes.
Rimuru: (From what I see, there are bunch of scorpion looking men. The bottom of their body resembles scorpions, and their upper parts are of that of humans. If I were to guess, these are known as Aqrabuamelu...)
Rimuru saves the species image in his mind using {Great Sage}, adding it into his memory of species he has located in the entire forest by now.
Rimuru: Let's see... That is a total of... 13 species.
Aqrabuamelu, Scorpion men well versed in hunting and gathering. Intelligent, work in squad and live together in settlements. Are capable of understanding language from what he's seen, and are usually kind natured but will retailiate if you attack them. They inhabit the desert regions of Jura.
Gorgon's, same as the scorpion men but are woman with snake bodies instead of scorpion bodies. Look into their eyes, and you say goodbye to your physical body. Ruthless and somewhat intelligent, but dumb in most aspects. Will attack in sight for no reason. They inhabit the caverns of Jura.
Lizardmen, they possess reptilian like bodies covered with scales, and utilize weapons as a warring race who has attempted to expand their forces and land. They are mediocrely intelligent and inhabit the Marshlands.
Kappas, not to be mistakened with Lizardmen, these are much different then them. They appeared mysteriously with no origin, and inhabit the Marshlands aswell. They possess no intelligence and are vile creatures which go as far as raping and eating people.
Goblins, extremely large in number but are unintelligent. They inhabit the forest region of Jura, and are cowardly unless in groups.
Direwolves, wolf creatures who's soft fur is actually a sort of armor. They are Vicious, and only follow the orders of their alpha for life. They inhabit the plain regions of Jura and intend to expand their territory.
Ogres, a warring race that enjoys war, but aswell as piece. They have caught Rimuru's attention, as the houses and weaponry they have is all Japanese styled. They inhabit the forest region of Jura.
Orcs, giant boar looking creatures who boast great brute strength but little to no intelligence. They inhabit the desert regions of Jura, and are constantly battling the Aqrabuamelu to expand their territories.
Griffions, he thought he could tame one, but remaining hidden comes first until he finds the dryad's. They have claws that can shread anything, and feathers that are as hard as steel. They inhabit the sky islands that float in Jura.
Cyclops, they are about as unintelligent as Goblins, but they even but the orcs brute strength to shame. They inhabit the mountain regions of Jura.
The Tengu's, although he doesn't understand much about them... They appear to be a peaceful race in the snowy mountains. They boast incredible might and prowess, but they are by far one of the lowest in number.
The Gozu and Mezu tribe who have been at war for a long time. The Gozu and Mezu represent mintotaurs and Centaurs respectively, and inhabit the forest regions of Jura.
Rimuru: That's about it... Though I may add them.
He looks underneath the forest he returned to, looking at the various groups of vampires scouting the perimeter.
Rimuru: (They appear aware of my existence... But they haven't done anything, so I'll let them go.)
Rimuru soars to a certain direction, intending to finally meet Veldora's most trusted subordinates.
Rimuru: (I'll focus on the dryad's first, vampires come second.)
Rimuru lands down in an wide area, looking through the illusion spell casted in the perimeter to hide the passageway into the dryad's domain.
Rimuru: Time to meet them...
He walks into the cave, his figure gradually dissapearing from the outsides view...
???: Naruhodo, so he's the one Veldora assigned...
An man in his twenties stands in the entrance, having white hair and glowing red eyes as he stares into the Majin in the cave.
???: I look forward to his growth...
What's most noticeable are his fangs which appear out of his mouth, indicating he is a vampire.
???: Perhaps we will meet each other again... kehehehe...
The vampire blitzes into the air and runs away, intending to stop his spying on the Majin for now.
Meanwhile.
Rimuru turns around and faces the start of the cave again, glaring at it.
Rimuru: (I think I heard someone whisper due to my enhanced senses... Someone was following me, and the air movement only confirms that...)
Rimuru stays on his guard, putting his hand on his flesh made katana and readying himself.
Rimuru: (It appears he left, but I will need to be more careful. If he was spying on me without my senses being able to detect him, he must be dangerous.)
Rimuru turns around and starts making way into the cave once more, walking in the path before...
Rimuru: (How nice... A fucking maze.)
Ofcourse, if someone were to find this area, the dryad's wouldn't allow them to be found so easily. Worse, he can sense the movement of various creatures in the area.
Rimuru: (... I'd burst through these walls... But I don't wish to be seen as a threat to the dryad's.)
Rimuru sighs and decides to use his senses to navigate the maze, but little does he know what it holds in for him.
...
Footsteps are heard in the way too quite maze, echoing the area as the stone is tapped on by the person's slippers.
Rimuru: (It's awfully quite... It makes me too anxious...)
Rimuru navigates through the walls, anxiousness building up in his body as he stares at the skeletons that lay on the ground. For some reason, he stops near these corpses and silently joins his hands to pray for them, just a habit for him....
Rimuru: (I can't sense any movement of the magicules from before, they just dissapeared...)
Rimuru had unsheathed his sword the moment he entered, Incase any of the monsters in here attacked him. However, the magicules he sensed were slowly diminishing. Worse, he couldn't detect what was causing the dissapearances of these monsters.
Rimuru: (I'd rather still navigate my way, I don't want to appear as an enemy to the dryad's...)
Rimuru slows down his pace, now silently walking to make sure he doesn't attract the attention of whatever caused the dissapearances from before.
Rimuru: (Those beasts we're pretty high leveled... If they got wiped out so easily, then even I might have trouble with whatever massacred them.)
Rimuru sighs, not wanting to get in a fight so early on.
Sadly for him... Sighing was a fatal mistake, for even the lowest of noises can easily be heard by the Progenitor of Gorgon's.
Rimuru: Hm?
He turns around, staring silently into the darkness.
Rimuru: (Did the cave just... Rumble?)
Rimuru gasps in shock, keeping his balance as the entire cave system begins to shake violently, tremors are heard in the distance.
Rimuru: (SOMETHINGS HEADING THIS WAY AND ITS BIG!)
Rimuru's instinct is to jump, and when your guts tell you something inorder to avoid what seems like imminent danger, you fucking take it.
Rimuru: What the hell...
Rimuru activates Thought Acceleration and quickly jumps, narrowly avoiding large fangs that aim towards him to gobble him whole.
Rimuru: A serpent?
Rimuru ducks physics and stops on a wall, glueing himself to the ceiling and eyeing the monster that just attacked him.
Rimuru: No, it seems much more deadly...
Rimuru looks at the serpent directly in the eyes, which causes a sense of dread and fear course through him. The moment he looks in the eyes, the screams of various people are heard, as if the world itself trembles at the existence of this thing. It is purely on instinct, that Rimuru realizes and dreads what his current enemy is.
Rimuru: (Medusa...)
The Gorgon's snakes hiss at him, readying themselves to lunge at him.
Medusa: Ho? You dodged... This will be fun, fufufufu...
...
The woman lunges at him, opening her mouth once more to eat him whole. Rimuru meanwhile, stands still at the spot with widened eyes, unable to move due to immense fear.
Rimuru: (Why can't I move... Why do I fear her? I have no reason to... Move.)
The snake closes in incredibly quick, despite having Thought Acceleration activated by a thousand times.
Rimuru: (Move...)
Rimuru grits his teeth, his eyes immediately widening in despair as he finally moves his legs.
Rimuru: (FUCKING MOVE DAMMIT!)
Rimuru side steps and narrowly dodges the Gorgon's teeth, but they manage to graze his leg and inject some poison.
Rimuru: (Fuck fuck fuck fuck! That hurts, even though I have Pain Nullification! Why, why does it hurt?!)
Rimuru lands on his feet, immediately examining the poison and finding out a way to nullify it. He immediately finds a cure using his {Great Sage}, and begins to produce antibodies in his slime cells to counter the poison.
Rimuru: (Whilst one may think poison may not have any effect on me... That's not true, each and every slime cell is connected in me and acts as a muscle, nerve and other cells. If even one gets infected, then all the cells linked together may start getting infected too, thus weakening me severely.)
Rimuru turns around and faces the Gorgon, nullifying his fear and readying his sword.
[Confirmed, Individual has achieved Poison Nullification.]
Rimuru: (Welp, that sure is handy and easy to obtain...)
Rimuru prepares a stance, ignoring his fear and facing the gorgon, although the dread still remains.
Rimuru: Hollow Style: Whispers of Death!
Rimuru lunges forward and unleashes a diagonal 90 degree cut, slashing and damaging the Gorgon's upper body. The cut unleashed has skulls following around it, although it's only part of Rimuru's imagination and not real.
Medusa: GAH!
Medusa shouts in pain, not expecting Rimuru's sword to pierce her scales and damage her.
Rimuru: Hollow Style: Rising Soul Taker!
Rimuru follows his initial attack with 14 consecutive, swift hits which strike the Gorgon's weak points, specifically it's organs.
Medusa: DAMN YOU, JUST DIE!
The gorgon attempts to smash him by using it's tail, but Rimuru swiftly dodges by doing a kip-up and effectively moving back. At the same time, he aims his legs to hit the gorgon on the face and deal additional damage aswell as to buy time.
Rimuru: Gluttony!
He fires a vortex at her, attempting to devour her and end the fight. However, to his shock.
Rimuru: (Wha-)
The gorgon appears right before him, aiming a punch at him
Rimuru: (I couldn't sense her?! And she's fast!)
The punch lands on his stomach, sending a shockwave throughout the area and even causing a bit of pain to him. Finally, he launches backwards from the sheer force of the attack and crashes through several walls.
Rimuru: Augh....
Rimuru groans whilst holding his stomach, feeling the pain seers through him.
Rimuru: (Her attacks... They directly attack the spiritual body, all of them. It's why I felt pain...)
Rimuru looks up and stares at the gorgon, glaring at her.
Rimuru: Well...
But Rimuru doesn't hesitate, he actually enjoys this... He thought he was perhaps the strongest in this forest by the time Veldora dissapeared, but now he knows that there are equals in this forest.
Rimuru: I apologize for not using all of my abilities back there... Let's fight more fairly, shall we?
Rimuru stands up and looks at her, his glare is no where present and a smile is on his face. But the gorgon doesn't see a normal smile, she sees the smile of a madman, a sadistic madman...
Rimuru: Mirror World!
The expanse around Rimuru changes, and a maze no longer holds in the place.
...
Rimuru: What do you think?
A world of complete snow with a few trees encompasses, the mindset of Rimuru Tempest has been brought to reality. A harsh blizzard follows wherever you look, blinding anyones vision completely.
Rimuru: It's a world encompassing alot of snow, perfect for what my mind is made up of... I barely remember my past as an otherworlder, I only remember what happened in just the past 50 years of that life... The rest is blurry, like a blizzard, I can never see it.
Rimuru walks towards the Gorgon, his sword gaining a glint of purple in it. Meanwhile the gorgon frantically looks around, confused and frightened by the neat change of pace.
Rimuru: The snow... It represents death, end, sorrow, and many more. I may not remember my past life much, but I will never forget the grief and sorrow I had faced back then... How many sacrifices I made to defeat him.
Rimuru stops a distance away from the gorgon, readying his blade.
Rimuru: Sorry... I ranted too much, let's dance.
Rimuru charges at the creature, clutching his blade tightly and preparing an attack. The gorgon is unable to react due to not paying attention.
Rimuru: Feel the shadows course through you!
Rimuru stops before the Gorgon, unleashing a horizontal slash.
Rimuru: Hollow Style: Life's end!
...
Rimuru: Dangit, she got away...
The gorgon managed to survive his attack and ran away, cursing at him whilst she did so. Rimuru decided to not bother giving chase, as he earns nothing from doing so.
Rimuru: (Time to meet the dryad's, and this time with no interferences...)
Rimuru turns around and starts walking towards a green light, ready to meet the auras on the other side who appears to be on the defensive.
Rimuru: (I don't need to use Uriel... Otherwise...)
Veldora shares a last piece in the end.
Veldora: The more you use Uriel, the more you reveal yourself to Michael. Only use it when needed.
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The concept regarding the Unique Skill {Mirror World} wasn't taken from Domain Expansions, but from Reality Marbles. I just thought it'd be a neat idea tbh, and i figured it'd make y'all more interested as you could start brainstorming what this new Rimuru's past is.