A/N: I waited about a week and felt like that was long enough for an update. Still feeling really well when writing for this story, its very refreshing for me compared to my other works. This is by far the most I've written in more than a year. Hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter, I'll probably let this one sit for a week before I decide to work on the next one. Thanks for reading guys! I'll see you in the next chapter!
"Hey, Rimuru..." You communicated to your slime buddy with your thoughts as the two of you were stood in front of all the goblins, examining the fighting force you two had.
"Yeah...?" Rimuru responded as the two of you had slightly concerned looks on your faces.
"They don't...really seem like they would stand a chance in a fight..." You commented on how scrawny, shrimpy, and just incapable they looked as fighters.
"Hmm...Looks like we shouldn't expect to find many who can fight Direwolves." Rimuru spoke with his thoughts as you two scanned your sight among all the goblins. "They all look to scrawny and beat-up. Talk about pressure..." You raised your tail to scratch your head in contemplation, but ended up scratching Rimuru's head instead as he sat atop of you. "Everyone, do you understand our situation?" Rimuru asked the goblins.
"Yes! We are prepared for a life-or-death battle!" The son of the village elder said with a salute as they all stood as tall and determined as they could.
"No need to get all worked up. Just relax. Think only about doing the best you can." Rimuru unintentionally spoke in a cool tone that the goblins were amazed by, as you looked up at him with a smug grin.
"Heeeeeeh~? Did reincarnating also give you the skill of being some big shot?" You teased while gently poking him with your tail as he blushed and wriggled around on your head.
"I didn't mean to sound that cool..." Rimuru muttered to where only you could hear him before he cleared 'throat', wherever that was in his slime body, and turned back to the villagers. "Ahem...But first, take me to where the wounded are." Rimuru asked as the village elder came forward.
"This way." The goblin elder said as he walked off to another hut, and you followed him with your slime buddy riding on your head.
After walking a few feet from the center of the village, you three entered the tent to find 14 goblins lying on some thin tree mats as they were unconcious or in severe pain. Bandages covered whatever wounds were serious, while their scratches and scrapes were left exposed to the air.
"We did all we could for them, but..." The elder couldn't muster any more words as his worries and fear for his people silenced his voice as you and Rimuru closely examined their wounds.
"Those claw marks go deeper than I would have guessed. These Direwolves must have some mean fangs and claws." You said in examination of the goblin closest to you.
"Let me down, Y/N." Rimuru said as he rolled off your snout and onto the floor as you backed up from him. "Well, might as well try it..." Rimuru thought as you and the elder watched in confusion of what he was going to do when suddenly, Rimuru swallowed the injured goblin whole.
"W-What are you doing!?" The elder asked in shock and worry as Rimuru sat in a big blob state for a few seconds before spitting out the goblin.
"Whoa-OUCH!" You cried out when the goblin landed on top of you.
"S-Sorry!" The goblin said before realizing something felt completely different. "H-Huh? I'm..." The goblin couldn't believe that all his pain was gone, and the elder stood wide-eyed when he saw his wounds were all healed as well.
"Jeez...Warn me next time you spit a goblin out at me." You grumbled while shaking some dirt off of you that stuck from the ground. "Hm? Did you use the healing potions you have stored in your stomach?" You asked after seeing the healed goblin stand before you.
"Y-Your wounds..." The elder was in a loss for words as the goblins outside peeked into the hut and were stunned.
"They're healed!" The once injured goblin said in shock.
"Wow! I guess it never hurts to try! I never thought eating him and throwing all those potions in my body at him would be so affective! These healing potions really work!" Rimuru spoke to you with Thought Communication as you picked up on something he said in that sentence.
"Hm? Then you ate him without knowing if he would be healed or digested by your insides?" You asked as Rimuru suddenly began to nervously try and whistle while avoiding eye contact. "Really?" You looked at him with a questionable look.
"A-AHHHH!! Look! Another goblin I can cure! Better get to it!" Rimuru quickly leaped his way out of that conversation as he swallowed goblin after goblin. "Next! And next! Since I ate all those hipokute herbs, I've got plenty to spare! I'll heal 'em all!" Rimuru communicated to you as your head went back and forth watching him swallow and spit out the goblins, effectively healing them of all their wounds and damage.
"Y-You are magnificent, Great Rimuru!" The village elder said in gratefulness as he and the others bowed their heads to him.
"That's the last of the wounded." Rimuru said as he spat out the last injured goblin before turning back to the rest of the goblins. "Now, then...We'll build a fence. Fortify the village's defenses!" Rimuru ordered the goblins.
"Right." The elder and the other goblins accepted the order as you walked out the hut.
"I'll help you gather wood and show you how to set it up. This is a bit more up my alley than healing." You said to them as the goblins walked out the hut following you.
You walked over to the nearby tree line and turned to see many workers with axes and knives ready to cut down trees for their wood. Feeling like that would take too long and would be a hassle of sorts, you walked over to one of the trees and faced down the row of trees with your tail raised.
"Take this first set of wood and use it for the base foundation of the fence. This should be enough to make it." You said as you wound up your tail behind you.
In one swift motion, you swung your tail down against the base of the tree in front of you as the wood split and almost exploded from the impact. The amount of power was so great, the shockwave that hit the tree continued down the row and knocked down almost the entire first row of trees in the tree line of the forest. The goblins had their jaws to the ground in shock of your stunning power as you hummed a tune while walking over and grabbing a log with your mouth and another with your tail. After spending the day fortifying the defenses of the village, the blanket of night had fallen and howls in the distance signaled that the Direwolves were making their move. With your extremely well-tuned hearing, your ears twitched as the sound of multiple paws pounding against the ground rapidly grew closer and closer as you stood outside of the the fence with Rimuru on your head, waiting for the enemy to arrive. A few meters away you saw a large wolf beast slide to a stop upon coming into eyesight of you two and the village as the rest of its pack also arrived and waited behind their leader.
"Hah! What good will such a flimsy fence do?" You heard the pack leader of the Direwolves mock the fence as you felt offended.
"Eh!? Flimsy!?" You turned around to inspect the fence that you were proud of, only now feeling doubt come over you. "Hey, it's not that flimsy, right?" You asked with a tear in your eye Rimuru as he just shrugged with his tiny slime arms.
"Father..." You heard another Direwolf speak as you turned back around to see a different wolf standing next to the pack leader, and they were staring at you two.
"A slime and lizard?" The pack said in confusion of seeing different monsters on the side of the goblins as you stepped forward and held your head high for Rimuru to speak.
"Turn back now, and we won't take any action. Leave this place at once!" Rimuru ordered the Direwolves.
"Insolence! No mere slime can order around us Direwolves! Trample down that fence! Spill the blood of those lowly Goblins!" The pack leader howled as his troop all rushed towards the fence while his son remained by his side and he watched with confidence.
That confidence soon left his face though when his Direwolves suddenly began to fall and die to some invisible force that cut down those who made it near the fence. Meanwhile the goblins were not standing by, instead taking action from long range with their bows as they shot down a few Direwolves themselves. What the pack leader couldn't understand though was why his wolves were being cut down by something just moments before reaching the fence. However, the moon soon shed light upon the land and revealed a bloody and deadly trap laid out for them.
"Threads?" The pack leader was stunned to see threads dripping with blood strung in front of the fence.
"That's my skill, Steel Thread." Rimuru responded to the pack leader.
"This is your doing?" The Head Direwolf spoke with anger in his tone.
"That's right!" Rimuru lightly bounced before nearly tumbling over when you suddenly raised your head when you saw three Direwolves get caught in the threads.
"Alright! Time to unleash one of my skills!" You roared and opened your mouth as the spines on your back began to shine and flash blue. "Skill: Atomic Smoke Rings!" A ring of blue smoke began forming in front of your mouth before you fired at three Direwolves.
The Atomic Smoke Ring suddenly split into three rings and flew quickly around the threads before reaching the trapped Direwolves. The rings of deadly smoke went over the heads of the Direwolves and settled around their necks as it began to shrink and burn through their flesh. The cries of the Direwolves quickly fell silent when the rings closed into their necks before exploding and vaporizing the bodies. The pack leader was left stunned by the gruesome sight as Rimuru wriggled around in shock.
"H-Hey! When did you learn that skill!?" Rimuru asked as you scratched your snout from a slight itch.
"I figured it out back in Veldora's cave while you were eating some minerals we found." You answered him as the Direwolf leader was greatly angered.
"Fodder monsters of the likes of you dares do this?! I will squash you both!" The pack leader growled as he took off in a fit of rage towards you.
"Father!" The leader's Direwolf son called for him in worry, but his call fell on deaf ears as the leader continued to charge ahead, biting through the threads his comrades couldn't get pass as he dove towards you two.
"Great Rimuru! Great Y/N!" The goblin elder yelled with worry as the goblins watched in fear of you two getting attacked.
Just before he could reach you two, the Direwolf leader was suddenly entangled and ensnared by threads Rimuru had set up beforehand. No matter how much he struggled or writhed around, he couldn't not break free of the threads that bound him. Unable to escape, he could only watch as you walked up to him with Rimuru.
"That's Sticky Thread." Rimuru informed his captive of this other type of thread he had, while the Direwolf leader continued to struggle.
"This won't hold me!" The pack leader said as he showed no signs of stopping there, leaving only one thing left to do.
"I wish it didn't have to be this way..." You said to him before lowering your head to give Rimuru good aim. "Finish it." You said as Rimuru prepared his skill.
"Skill: Water Blade!" Rimuru fired a blade of water at the Direwolf.
In an instant, the blade sliced clean through the pack leader's neck and sent blood spewing into the air as his movements ceased. After a few moments, the blood spewing from the Direwolf's neck stopped as well and his head slid off and landed on the ground for all to see. The rest of the Direwolves were completely frozen in shock of their leader being killed so easily as you walked up to the head of their leader and leaned down for Rimuru to roll off your head. The aforementioned slime shuffled closer to the head as he undid the sticky threads around his body and lowered it to the ground as the Direwolves all began to growl in anger, ready to avenge their fallen pack leader.
"Hear me, Direwolves! Your boss is dead! I'll give you a choice, submit or die!" Rimuru spoke the ultimatum the Direwolves had to choose between, but silence remained in the air as the wolves didn't answer. "Yikes...What if they go the 'We'd rather die than submit' route and attack all at once?" Rimuru whispered as he turned around to you. "I wish they'd just turn tail and run..." He said.
"Maybe you could mimic the leader? I think that's a thing in packs of wolves, if leader is defeated by a stronger wolf, they submit to him." You said as this sounded like a good idea to Rimuru.
"Oh! Predator!" Rimuru wasted no time engulfing and beginning to absorb the dead leader's body into his own as the Direwolves were in disbelief of what they were seeing. "Right!" Rimuru psyched himself up before a black smoke engulfed him and he transformed into a mimic of their pack leader, further shocking the direwolves. "Ku~ku~ku~ku~...Hear me! I will let you go just this once. If you refuse to yield to me, I will allow you to leave this place!" Rimuru said as he opened his mouth and unleashed his newly acquired skill, 'Menace', and let out a terrifying howl of dominance that blew an air pressure throughout the area, making them and even the goblnis struggle to hold their ground.
"Oh! I wanna join!" You said in excitement as you firmly stepped next to Rimuru.
You also unleashed a powerful roar that this time pierced the ears and trembled the earth making the Direwolves mewl and bark in pain. Almost all the Direwolves were digging their claws into the ground to try and hold on for their lives, but the son of their dead leader actually had enough strength to muster a few steps towards you two. You and Rimuru were surprised by this action from this fighter, but after the two of you finally ceased your roars, you weren't expecting all the Direwolves to bow their heads to you, especially not the son of the leader you just killed.
"Our pack yields to you." The son of the leader along with the rest of the pack of Direwolves spoke in unison as this caught you two off guard.
"Huh? They could have just run away..." Rimuru whispered in surprise.
"W-Well, funny how things work out sometimes, huh?" You let out an awkward chuckle.
"U-Um..." The son of the goblin elder chimed in as best as he could in this strange scenario.
"D-Did we win?" The goblin elder asked as Rimuru reverted back to his slime form, keeping the Direwolf ears and tail, and took his place back on top of your head.
"Yeah, looks that way. It's good that there's no need for fighting anymore. Yep, yep. Nothing beats peace." Rimuru said as you nodded for yourself and him as the goblins cheered in joy of survival.
"Looks like we can sleep tonight with ease. Hey, Rimuru, got anything stored in your belly to eat?" You asked while heading to the fence that was now opened as the pack of Direwolves followed you two inside.
"Ehhh? You're seriously hungry?" Rimuru asked in disbelief.
"We worked all day, of course." You countered back to him as the two of you continued your little discussion of food, meanwhile and unknown shadow in the woods could be seen looming behind a tree, staring at you all from a distance.
"Incredible..." The one in the shadows muttered before they suddenly gently laid down behind some bushes and the sound of dirt being shuffled slowly disappeared into the forest.
After making sure nothing bad would happen between the Direwolves and Goblins during the night, even getting a promise from the Direwolf who was the son of their previous leader that nothing bad would happen during the night and they would even protect them, morning arrived with a strange scenario for you and Rimuru to tackle. Rimuru was sat on a tree stump and you were laying on the ground behind him as the Goblin elder stood beside you two and you were facing all the Goblins and Direwolves who patiently waited for the discussion to begin.
"Hey, what do we do?" You leaned your head up next to Rimuru for only him to hear. "I know we were gonna roll with the Goblins, but I feel like we're taking in a bunch of stray pups with no preparation. I feel like regardless of what world we're in, taking in a bunch of pups like this is no easy thing to do." You whispered as he nodded in agreement as you two were sat there nervous.
"Well, it can't be all that bad. If you look roughly, I guess their numbers are about the same. Then..." Rimuru was about to begin the discussion as you lowered your head. "Okay, listen up!" Rimuru spoke loud enough for everyone as the attention of all monsters were locked on him. "So, I'm going to have you all pair up and live together!" He said as a confused look befell all the monsters.
"Pair...up?" The Goblins and Direwolves were unanimously confused by this statement.
"Do you understand?" Rimuru asked them as the Goblin elder chimed in.
"Great Rimuru, what does 'pair' mean, exactly?" The elder asked his new lord in wonder.
"It means that everyone is going to form groups of two individuals with one another." You made it easier to understand as the Goblins and Direwolves stared at one another.
"Groups...?" One goblin said as his mind struggled to wrap around it completely.
"...of two?" A direwolf was also not following what was going on in this discussion.
"H-Hey, we can figure that one out later. Let's move on to the next topic." You suggested to Rimuru as your slime friend nodded and cleared his throat.
"Right! Good! Yesterday's enemy is today's friend! You're all to work together and get along as friends from now on! Got it?" Rimuru asked of them.
"Yes, sir!" They all responded immediately to his request of working together.
"We're going to be one big family now, so make sure to be nice to one another and show the same amount of respect to someone that you expect to receive for yourself. We take care of each other no matter what, understood?" You asked the group of monsters.
"Yes, sir!" They all responded once again in an instant as you smiled happily and tapped the ground with your tail.
"What's going to be important now is food, shelter, and clothing. We should form teams to hunt for food, build houses, and strengthen the village defenses." Rimuru said as he looked among the group of monsters. "We'll start with..." Rimuru had his sight locked on the Goblin elder's son, but came to a road block in his thought process as he used a small arm to signal you to come close to him for whispering talk. "Hey, what was the village elder's son's name?" Rimuru asked as you tried to remember.
"Hmmm?" You looked at the aforementioned son, but then an important detail came to mind. "Oh, the son we're looking at isn't the one that we heard was named. It was the other son that died before we showed up." You reminded Rimuru had to think of what to do.
"Hey, what are all of your names, anyway?" Rimuru asked them.
"We monsters do not normally have names. Even without names, we can still communicate our thoughts to one another." The Goblin elder explained.
"Oh, really?" Rimuru said as he turned back towards the group of monsters. "But it's more convenient to have names, so I'd like to name you all. Is that okay?" Rimuru asked while you were about to fall asleep from this somewhat boring discussion, only be to surprised when they all burst out in shock.
"N-Name us? A-Are you certain?" The village elder asked in disbelief.
"S-Sure." Rimuru hesitantly said with a question mark formed on his body before you jumped in surprise when they all suddenly burst out into joy of being named, even the village elder going hog wild next to you two. "Why are they so excited over something as simple as getting a name?" Rimuru whispered to you as you looked at them all with a strange look on your face.
"Beats me..." You said as you left this whole debacle to Rimuru as he watched them all line up in excitement.
"Okay, we'll start with you." Rimuru said as he faced the Goblin elder first. "Hmm, let's see...What did you call the son you had who died in battle?" He asked him.
"Rigur." The village elder answered.
"Rigur, huh? Then you'll be Rigurd. Rigurd!" Rimuru named the Goblin elder as a sparkly light shined upon the old one.
"Thank you so much! Rigurd! I am so moved!" Rigurd was now on the verge of tears as Rimuru nervously backed up from how excited he was.
"R-Really?" Rimuru said before he turned away in a fluster as pink hues appeared around his cheeks.
"You just picked it because it sounded the same." You said while staring at Rimuru with a deadpan look.
"S-Shut up!" Rimuru waved around his tiny arm in your face before turning to face Rigurd's son. "You'll inherit your brother's name: Rigur." He said as the newly named Rigur sparkled with excitement.
"Yes, sir!" Rigur said with pride and joy as his father was in tears next to him.
"I'm so grateful that my son has been allowed to inherit Rigur's name!" Rigurd said before the two of them jumped down and bowed their heads to him. "Thank you so much!" They thanked Rimuru.
"Well, as long as they're happy, I guess there's nothing to worry about." You muttered to Rimuru as he just nodded and you watched as he continued the process of naming everyone.
Rimuru would go down the entire line of Goblins first passing down names that he thought fit the personality of each Goblin. Names like Gobta, Gobchi, Gobtsu...Gobte.......Gobzo........well after naming so many of the Goblins it was only natural that his mind began to go off track a little and his naming process became more and more careless. While he was naming the Goblins, you were just napping behind him in peace as he was finally getting around to being wrapped up giving the last group of Goblins names, and was approached by Rigurd and Rigur.
"Um...We truly do appreciate you giving us all names, but..." Rigurd spoke to Rimuru as their slime leader turned towards him in confusion. "We are aware that your magical power is immense, but are you sure it's all right to give all of us names at once?" He asked.
"Well, I don't see any problem." Rimuru said with genuinity.
"Well, if you are certain..." Rigurd chose to believe in his master's assurance of himself as Rimuru turned around and named the last Goblin.
"You'll be...Haruna!" Rimuru named a young girl Goblin.
"Okay!" The newly named Haruna said with joy as she sparkled in front of Rimuru.
After naming the last group of Goblins, Rimuru was finally halfway through the process of naming everyone. Now all that was left was to name the Direwolves.
"That takes care of all the Goblins. Next is..." Rimuru turned around to face the Direwolves as the son of their last leader was first in line. "He's the son of the Direwolf boss, isn't he? I wonder he holds a grudge against us...Actually..." His thoughts slowly drifted as he noticed that strangely enough, all the Direwolves were wagging their tails in excitement. "They don't seem to be holding any grudges at all." He thought as the son of the Direwolf boss walked up to receive his name. "Wolf, fangs..." Rimuru thought while he was in the process of coming up with a good name for the Direwolf before him. "Wind...Storm...I know. I'll give him my family name. Tempest...Tempest Fang...Storm Fang..." He was firing off names in his head to see which one sounded best, before he reached one that seemed to fit. "Ranga...Oh! Ranga! I like that!" He made his decision as spoke up to his Direwolf. "All right! Your name is Ranga!" Rimuru named him as Ranga sparkled with light.
"Ranga." Ranga repeated his name seemingly in joy as his tail wagged around excitedly.
"I think he likes it." Rimuru thought before a strange tired feeling came over him all at once and he began to melt. "W-What's going on? My body..." Rimuru couldn't think straight as Ranga stood up in worry.
"Great Rimuru?!" Ranga called in worry as everyone looked in confusion and shock as you yawned and opened one eye.
"Hmmmm...What's up? Finished naming them already?" You asked before something slimy and wet fell on your face and blocked your vision. "AH! WHAT THE!? THE SUN SUDDENLY WENT OUT! WHERE IS EVERYONE!?!" You asked in panic of being blinded as your slime buddy had melted and stretched out on your face.
"Everything...is getting...dark..." Rimuru's voice was getting even more quieter and tired.
"Rimuru!? What's wrong?! Are you okay!? Is this you on my face!?" You asked while trying to collect him back together in his original form, but he was melting through the openings between your claws.
Everyone gathered around in worry as you managed to scrape him off your face and form him into a small pudgy slime ball in your hands. Looking down at your friend, you saw with Magic Sense that he was almost drained of all his magicules. Just then, his form began to lose its hold as you panicked and began yelling when Rimuru began melting in your hands again.
"AHHH!! RIMURU! HANG IN THERE!" You were stomping the ground with your feet and tail as you tried to think of what to do, before an idea popped in your head. "H-Hey! Bring me a cloth and something for him to sit on!" You asked as the Goblins ran around in a panic trying to search for such things.
After a moments of more panic and unease, you let out a sigh of relief as you rested Rimuru on a pillow and wrapped him in a cloth that helped keep his shape as best it could. Checking with Magic Sense again, you were even more relieved when you saw that his magicules began to recharge and refill in his body. You wiped the sweat off your head with your tail as you turned around to everyone behind you.
"It looks like he's going to be okay. The worst is over." You announced to everyone as they all sighed and sat in relief.
"Ahhh...This was what I was worried about most. Because he had named so many of us at once..." Rigurd said as you looked towards him.
"Naming monsters eats up one's magicules?" You asked him as he nodded.
"Yes. That's why it's uncommon for us monsters to have names." Rigurd said as you looked back at your sleeping slime pal.
"Had I known I would've named some of you guys myself...Sorry, partner..." You apologized while patting the sleeping Rimuru on his head as you turned back around to the Direwolves. "Alright, we might as well finish naming you guys." You were about to start naming them, but Ranga stepped forward.
"Please no, Master Y/N." Ranga said as you were surprised by his decline. "I do not wish for you to burden such a task as well and fall into a similar state as Great Rimuru. There is no longer need for us to be named." Ranga said as you were unsure about this.
"Eh? Really, I don't think it'll be a problem. I'm still running plenty full on magicules." You offered again, but he shook his head.
"Thank you very much, but there is no longer and need to name us. All of us Direwolves are as one. Our brethren are all connected. Therefore, my name has become our clan's name." Ranga explained his reasoning for declining the offer as you decided not to push on with it.
"A-All right, if that's what you want." You said as you looked back at Rimuru for a moment before looking back to Ranga. "When he wakes up, make sure to be right there for him when it happens, got it?" You asked him as he bowed his head.
"Of course, Master Y/N!" Ranga answered as you patted him on the head gently.
After making sure that everyone was going to be okay to fulfill their duties for the village while Rimuru was asleep, you were helping the team that was assigned to fetch food as you tapped on a tree with your tail to make its fruit fall from the branches. You dropped a few pieces of fruit into the basket of one of you helpers as you checked on everyone's progress. All the goblins and their Direwolf companions were gathering fruit at a faster pace than you had expected and their baskets filled quickly to the brim with different types of edible delights. The sun was beginning to set and it seemed that there was no need to search for more food for now with how much had already gathered at the time today. You were leading the team back to the village, but on your way back, there was a tiny presence that you were able to pick up on somewhere slightly ahead of you. Stopping to try and pinpoint its location, Haruna looked at you with confusion as she popped her head out from behind you.
"Is something the matter, Great Y/N?" Haruna asked as you began to sniff the air.
"Hmmm...There's another monster ahead of us. Not a Direwolf or Goblin." You informed her as she looked down the path in wonder. "It's probably nothing, but tell all the Direwolves to be on guard." You ordered as Haruna went back to fulfill your order while you walked ahead of the group.
Walking further and further, you could see yourself growing closer to the presence that was only a few feet ahead now. You were about to continue towards it, but stopped when you felt something get stuck on your body. Looking down you saw your legs had come into contact with some form of silky web that was sticky and scattered all across the ground and trees. Seeing these strange webs, you readied yourself for battle as you anticipated it to be some sort of spider monster that was roaming the area. Something shifted in a bush ahead of you and this put you on edge as you slowly approached and began charging your skill: Atomic Smoke Rings, as your spines began to glow blue. Deciding to not the assumed spider no time to react, you spun around and tail whipped the bush as it was sent flying and aimed your blue smoke ring at the monster.
"AHHHHH!!! WAIT!! WAIT!! WAIT!! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!" A feminine tone shrieked in fear as you were surprised to see not a spider, but a caterpillar wriggling around in front of you in a panic.
"Eh? You're not a spider?" You asked while blinking your eyes in surprise as the caterpillar shook her head side to side quickly and Haruna came forward.
"Eh? A Silk Moth Caterpillar? Why are you all the way out here?" Haruna asked the young caterpillar as she showed you and Haruna her blue irises that looked scared.
"Eh? Is it strange to see one in this part of the forest?" You asked as Haruna shook her head.
"No, it's strange to see on in the Forest of Jura at all..." Haruna explained her confusion as you two looked to the caterpillar.
"I was just wandering the forest to find a home when I wound up around your village. I saw what this great lizards and great slime had done during the night of the battle, and I felt that if I could ask you two, you could let make a home nearby..." The smaller caterpillar explained as you dissipated your skill.
"Is there anyone else with you?" You asked as the caterpillar turned away slightly.
"No...I've been alone for a long time now...The only reason I felt brave enough to enter the Great Jura Forest was because the Storm Dragon Veldora and the other incredibly powerful presence that resided in the forest had disappeared." The caterpillar explained as you contemplated the thought for a few moments.
"Do you have any desire to kill the goblins?" You asked as the caterpillar looked to you. "I don't know if you have any plans on attacking us or not. Depending on how you answer, I may have to consider you a foe." You said as the caterpillar suddenly bowed herself before you.
"I would never think of causing harm to either you or the members of your village! I saw what you and your slime friend were capable of! I would never think of angering either of you! I am not fond of violence in the first place, and only wish to live my life in peace! " The caterpillar answered as you could tell how sincere she was and even saw a few tears beginning to well in her eyes.
"I see..." Was all she heard before feeling something gently touch the top of her head as she looked up to see you petting her. "My name is Y/N, and my slime friend is Rimuru. Make sure to do your part and contribute well to the village. If you do that, you're more than welcome to live with the rest of us." You said as the caterpillar was on the verge of tears.
"Yes! I will do my best to help the village, Lord Y/N!" The caterpillar said with joy as you then thought of something.
"Hmm...Now that you are a part of our big family, you'll need a name..." You said as this surprised the caterpillar. "Hmm...Now that I look at her, there's definitely a resemblance to the kaiju character 'Mothra' from our world!" You imagined the two caterpillars together and how similar they were as you felt even more pressure about this naming process. "It'd feel too weird to name her after something from our world, and my mother from this world had her own name as well...I better be sure to give her one that suits her...Then, how about..." You were deep in thought for a few moments before trying the name that sounded best in your head. "How does Mai sound?" You asked Haruna as the Goblin girl smiled at the name.
"Yes! That sounds like a wonderful and cute name for her!" Haruna said as the caterpillar looked back and forth between you two before you looked down at her.
"Okay, from today forward, you're name will be Mai." You said as the newly named caterpillar sparkled after receiving her new name.
"Mai...! I love it! Thank you so much, my Lord!" Mai thanked you as you smiled at her, but a few moments after naming her, a wave of dizziness hit you like that truck did in your previous life as you collapsed to one knee.
"W-Whoa..." You muttered as Haruna and Mai came closer to you in worry.
"Are you okay, Great Y/N?" Haruna asked with worry.
"My Lord!" Mai spoke with worry as she raised the top of her body to your head level to try and see what was wrong with you.
"Did naming her really use that much magicules? I really don't like this feeling..." You thought as you struggled to your feet. "Better save naming others for those who I feel really deserve it..." You made sure from this point onward that you'd only name monsters who you deemed were a close ally and were worthy for such a thing. "I-I'm all right, I think I'll just nap when we get back." You said as they stared at you with worry. "L-Let's go, everyone!" You said with a weak smile as you took one step, but the moment your foot touched the ground, you fell forward and began snoring with a snot bubble inflating and deflating from your snout.
"Great Y/N!!!" The Goblins and Direwolves with the food team yelled with worry as you were out like a light for the rest of the trip back.
After collapsing and falling asleep, the food team had to struggle to carry you back along with the rest of the food as you weighed so much that the Goblins constantly struggled to keep you up in their arms. After finally making it back to the village, you were laid down next to Rimuru as the two of you were sound asleep recovering your magicules, while your allies were making sure to follow the responsibilities you left them with. Three days had passed since Rimuru fell asleep, and now he suddenly bounced up and regained shape as he finally regained all his bright blue color as his consciousness completely returned and he sparkled brightly.
"Full recovery--OUCH!" Rimuru yelled with excitement before grunting when a tail smacked down on top of him.
"You're too loud, Rimuru..." You grumbled as you were laid behind him, only to realize that you had smacked your friend who had just woken up with your tail. "Wait a minute! Rimuru!" You looked up with excitement only to grow shocked when you saw Rimuru flat like a pancake due to your tail. "AAAAHHH!!! RIMURU!!!! SORRY!!" You yelled as he weakly put up a thumbs up trying to signal that it was all good as you panicked trying to shape him back into his usual shape.
"Oh, Great Rimuru! Good morning!" Another voice spoke as Rimuru turned around in your hands to see a Goblin he hadn't seen before.
"Y-Yeah..." Rimuru said nervously as he had no idea who this girl was.
"You seem to be all better." This Goblin beauty said while patting him on the head.
"Who's this?" Was all Rimuru could think as the girl stood up and head towards the exit of the hut.
"I'll go get Elder Rigurd." The beautiful goblin said as she left you two in the hut.
"Uh, okay." Was all Rimuru said as she walked out and he turned to look up at you. "Did this village have a girl that cute in it?" He asked you with a question mark on his head as you chuckled nervously.
"Ahaha...Well, the thing is..." You were just about to explain to him the current situation of things, when suddenly a boisterous and excited voice blared at the entrance of the hut, and Rimuru assumed this was Rigurd like the girl said.
"Great Rimuru! Have you awakened!?" Rimuru was surprised by the sudden intrusion, but welcomed it. "Oh, Rigurd! That woman who... was... just..." Rimuru's excited voice slowly turned quiet as his gaze went higher and higher upon seeing not some scrawny old Goblin, but an absolute unit of one. "WHO ARE YOU!?" Rimuru yelled as he bared witness to a newly formed Rigurd.
"I am Rigurd." Rigurd answered with a big smile on his face to his master.
"What happened in the last three days!?" Rimuru grabbed you by your head with his slime arms that he extended up to you.
"It's because you gave us names!" Rigurd answered as Rimuru turned around with an exclamation mark on his head in shock.
"Just from that!?" Rimuru was in disbelief that they would change so much from just receiving such a simple name from him as Rigurd began striking many different flexing poses.
"Becoming a monster with a name raises one's rank as a monster and causes one to evolve!" Rigurd explained the system of naming as he struck another flex poses and showed a toothy grin with his sparkling white pearls of teeth.
"I-I see...So that's why you were all so happy just to be getting names. No wonder that sucked my magicules dry..." Rimuru said as he was beginning to adjust his mindset to ready himself for the big changes he was about to witness, but that was all interrupted when the entrance of the hut was blown up and in came a newly evolved Ranga who sported a horn atop his head.
"Master, allow me to express my utmost joy at your recovery!" Ranga expressed his utmost joy at Rimuru's recovery as his explosive entrance knocked over Rigurd and put you on your back with your leg and tail twitching from shock as Rimuru awkwardly stared up at his Direwolf companion.
"That horn...The start on your forehead...You're Ranga, right?" Rimuru asked for confirmation as Ranga was wagging his tail excitedly.
"Yes!" Ranga answered as his tail wagging grew faster and faster to the point the strength of the winds he was creating created a wind tunnel and sucked you three up as Rimuru yelled and the roof of the hut blew apart and you three were sent flying.
After finding your bearings from being swept away by Ranga's powerful tail wagging winds, everyone in the village gathered around in celebration of Rimuru's reawakening as they tossed him up and down happily with joy. Whilst he was being joyfully thrown in the air, he took this time to really process the evolution of all the Goblins and Direwolves, surprised by how much stronger and healthier everyone seemed to be just after three days of being named. You smiled while watching your friend being cheered for, when you heard a voice speak up from behind you.
"Lord Rimuru has awakened I heard. What great news!" You turned around to see the newly evolved Mai, who was now a Silk Moth, as she hovered in the air next to you.
This newly evolved Mai was about the same size as before, just a bit shorter with her abdomen, had four legs with soft fur around each ankle, and the same color fur on and below her head as an orange stripe ran down the middle of her head. Her blue eyes seemed to shine even brighter and she had incredibly beautiful curly antenna's on top of her head, but the most eye catching sight about her was her wings. She had two large upper wings that were orange with black accenting fur towards the ends and in the black spots on the ends were red orange and orange circles that made a stunning target pattern on the black fur spots, and two smaller supporting wings on her lower back with black stripes towards the ends of those wings. She floated next to you as the two of you watched the Goblins and Direwolves cheer for Rimuru.
"Shall I fetch some food for a celebratory feast?" Mai asked.
"No, not right now. There's something we need to discuss with everyone. After that we'll see what we plan to do. Just join the others." You said as you walked over be beside Rimuru.
"Yes, my Lord." Mai responded as she floated over to hover next to Haruna as the two shared happy looks at one another.
"Having fun?" You asked as after walking over next to Rimuru as he turned towards you.
"The Goblins evolved into Hobgoblins and Goblinas? Looks like a big step up from their previous forms." Rimuru said as you nodded. "Who's that Moth over there?" He asked referring to Mai.
"Oh, while you were asleep we found her wandering around the village. I offered her to be a part of us since she was alone and didn't wanna cause any trouble with us. I named her Mai." You explained as he looked at you with surprise.
"You named her? Did you fall asleep also?" Rimuru asked as you nodded to him.
"Yeah, but only for about a day. She's the only one I named and I she's been a big help with gathering food." You said as you waved to her and she seemed to be happy from your gesture. "Okay, I think we better get this started." You said you picked Rimuru up and sat him atop your head to let him look over all the villagers.
After letting everyone get those last few laughs and bits of joy out of their system, you were sat on a tree stump with Rimuru on your head as Rigurd stood next to you and Ranga was sat behind you. A few more moments passed before they all finally quieted down and were paying attention to you both as Rimuru made a fake white mustache to try and act mature as he sighed, making the mustache flutter a bit.
"Right, it took five minutes for all of you to quiet down." Rimuru tried speaking a lower toned voice as the villagers were all just confused by what he meant.
"Hey, you really tried that lame joke on them?" You used thought communication to Rimuru as the slime was beyond shocked and embarrassed.
"They didn't get my best joke!?" Rimuru was in a nervous sweat as Rigurd looked at him in confusion.
"Great Rimuru, what did you mean by that?" Rigurd asked as pink hues appeared on Rimuru's cheeks and he spat off the fake mustache to quit while he still could.
"F-Forget about it." Rimuru said as he tried his best to quickly maintain whatever seriousness he had left for him. "As you can see, we're a huge family now. So to avoid problems, I think we should set some rules." Rimuru suggested as this was something the monsters were left with wonder of.
"Rules?" They all asked as Rimuru held up a small slime hand with three fingers held up.
"There are three rules. I'd like you to uphold them, at the very least." Rimuru asked as he raised one finger at a time now for each rule. "First, no attacking humans. Second, no fighting amongst yourselves. Third, no belittling other races. That's it." He laid out the rules as everyone was intrigued by them.
"Sir!" Rigur raised his hand as you two turned to him.
"Yes, Rigur-kun!" Rimuru called on the young hobgoblin.
"Why aren't we allowed to attack humans?" Rigur asked in curiousity.
"H-Hey! Rigur!" Rigurd tried set his son straight about the topic of questioning their masters.
"It's all right." Rimuru waved off Rigurd to calm him down as the slime looked down at you. "Y/N, can you explain this part?" He asked.
"Yeah." You answered before looking back to Rigur. "It's really something you don't have to think too hard about. Me and Rimuru like the humans, that's all." You said as this answer more than satisfied Rigur.
"I see! Now I understand!" Rigur said with a pumped fist as you two were surprised by how fast he accepted that answer.
"Huh? You...understand? Really?" Rimuru asked as Rigur just gave you two a assuring smile that made you both bashful. "Um, so, listen...Humans live in groups. If you mess with them, they could retaliate in a big way. And if they came after us in earnest, I doubt we could handle them. Besides, getting along benefits us in lots of ways, anyway." Rimuru tried explaining it to them as everyone was seeming to get it more and more in their heads. "Any other questions?" Rimuru asked as another hand shot up, this time from the 'evolved' Gobta...who really didn't evolve much in terms of looks since he still looked scrawny and dopey like before...
"Gobta-kun!" Rimuru pointed at him with his slime hand.
"What did you mean by "no belittling other races?" Gobta asked about third rule they had to follow.
"Well, you've all gotten stronger by evolving, right? It means you shouldn't let that get to your heads and push weaker races around. Don't make the mistake of thinking you're better than them. you don't want them getting stronger themselves and retaliating someday, do you?" Rimuru explained as this made sense to everyone now.
"Got it, sir!" Gobta said in joy of understanding the rule now as everyone nodded in agreement.
"That's about it. Do your best to follow those rules." Rimuru said as all the villagers were fired up.
"Yes, sir!" They all said as you two turned to Rigurd.
"Now then..." You turned to the Elder of the village as you and Rimuru looked at him with promising looks. "Elder Rigurd, I and Rimuru discussed this, and we declare you as the Goblin Lord. Lord of the Goblins!" You said as he was beyond shocked to receive such a title from you two.
"Lord!?" Rigurd thought as it felt like he was struck by lightning and was stunned from this promotion.
"Lead your village well." Rimuru said as Rigurd was left in tears of joy.
"Yes, sir! I, Rigurd, accept this responsibility on pain of death!" Rigurd accepted the job gratefully.
"We're glad to hear. Me and Rimuru are counting on you." You said with a confident look on your face while had a small bead of sweat on his slime body.
"Phew. He accepted the job. I didn't really wanna be in that role." Rimuru communicated with your thoughts as you kept your poker face.
"Yeah, me either. To think he'd be so moved by it." You responded as the two of you continued to act the part.
After having that brief meeting, Rimuru dipped his hand into the pot to further optimize the teams responsible for different jobs. There was a team responsible for keeping watch of the surrounding area, and the team to gather food was fortified with more hands to help, making sure the village wouldn't run out of food. After some minor shifts on jobs between everyone, it seemed like there was little to worry about with those groups, the real problem though came from the team responsible for building homes for everyone and the team responsible for clothing. Right now Ranga was cuddling with Rimuru while Haruna was petting you two as you both stared at the shoddy structure the hobgoblins had built.
"I wouldn't call that a house." Rimuru said as Rigurd and his son both felt embarrassed by their lack luster work.
"Um, I'd step back from that if I were you guys." You said to the workers as they did as you said, and moments later, the entire hut came crumbling down in pieces. "Yeah...I figured this would be a bit of a problem." You sighed, but felt relief and relaxation as Haruna hugged you, pressing her jiggly chest against your cheek as you hummed in bliss with a pink hue on your face, even though she was just trying to cuddle you and nothing more.
"This is most embarrassing." Rigurd said said while scratching the back of his head.
"Forgive us." Rigur asked as he felt defeated by the current task in front of him.
"And as for your clothes..." Rimuru looked over to Haruna, only to grow an irked face when he saw how much fun you were having with a loosely, unintentionally too revealing, clothed Haruna.
"Hiya!" Rimuru suddenly brought his slime hand down between you two and separated Haruna from you as he looked at her bashfully annoyed. "I-I think they're a little too revealing!" He said as he couldn't help but look at the cute goblina who's chest bounced care free behind her thin cloth top. "That's not necessarily a bad thing, but..." Rimuru couldn't help but stare until you barged in his face.
"Why you! I was enjoying cuddle time with her and you had to ruin it?!" You used Thought Communication as he made an mockful face at you. "You little slime!!!" You screamed with your thoughts while smacking the ground aggressively with your tail.
"There is no one here with the skill to make them." Rigur said as you two looked over to him and Rigurd in surprise.
"Huh? I-If you can't make them, couldn't you get some from somewhere?" Rimuru asked Rigurd put his hand to his chin to ponder the thought.
"Hmmm? There are some with whom we have attempted to trade a few times. Aside from clothing, they are also quite skilled, so they may know how to build houses, too." Rigurd said as this was something for you two to think about.
"Hmm...Well, we're getting no where this way, so maybe we should go see them. Who, and where, are they?" Rimuru asked.
"They are the Dwarves, and they live in Dwargon." Rigurd answered as this shocked you and Rimuru.
"Dwarves!?" You two looked at each other in excitement before turning back to Rigurd. "You mean the famous masters of metalworking?!" He asked as you two could imagine how awesome they looked.
"I've got to see them for myself now! This could be a once in a life time opportunity!" You said as you wagged your tail in circles of excitement.
"We'll try going to Dwargon. Rigurd, can you look after the village while we're away?" Rimuru asked.
"Yes, sir! Leave everything to me!" Rigurd said as he struck a confident flex for you two.
After finding out about the existence of Dwarves, you and Rimuru quickly announced the departure of your adventure as you two readied yourselves along with a Rigur, Gobta, and a few other goblins who would accompany you two on the journey to Dwargon. Everyone was gathered at the entrance of the village as Direwolves were prepared for everyone to ride atop of during the duration of the trip. Rimuru was waiting to make sure everyone was set to head off, but there was a slight problem with you...
"Um..." You spoke up as everyone turned to see you riding atop a Direwolf, but it was struggling beyond belief to stand with shaky legs and his eyes almost about to pop out of his head. "N-No need to push yourself..." You said to him.
"T-T-T-THIS IS NOTHING!!! I AM M-M-MORE THAN CAPABLE OF CARRYING YOUR GRACEFULNESS, GREAT Y/N!!" The Direwolf tried putting on a tough act, only to yelp when his legs finally gave out and he was crushed under your weight.
"I-I'll just run on my own..." You said with an awkward and bashful look as you got off and the Direwolf was completely exhausted and gasping for all his air back.
"A-All right, We'll see you later!" Rimuru said as everyone who was staying behind gave you loving sendoffs.
"Goodbye! Safe travels!" Rigurd yelled.
"Come back soon!" Haruna called out.
After bidding farewell for now, you and Rimuru set off on your journey to Dwargon with the rest of your traveling allies as you ran as fast as Ranga to stay side by side with your buddy. You two were informed of how large the city of Dwargon was, and that it even had a king who ruled over it. While running along the side of your buddy, you two exchanged glances before growing excited pink hues on your faces as you continued ahead to eager meet these Dwarves, as you raced through the lands on your first actual adventure in this new world.