"Man…" Issei sighed, realising now he'd be a massive douche if he suddenly bailed on Veldora. 300 years of isolation and when the Dragon first made a friend, they bailed on him? Issei didn't want to do him dirty like that, and in truth he still felt like he owed him for giving him his sight back. He had to do something for the hidden pervert that was the Storm Dragon before him.
"What's the matter?" Veldora inquired, leaning down curious to know what was bothering his new friend. "I-Is it time for you to leave already?" His voice was shaky as he asked, he really didn't want him to leave.
"No, not quite yet." Issei told him. "There is one more thing I want to do before I head off." The dragon seemed somewhat relieved but downtrodden as well as he knew it was inevitable for the red slime to leave eventually. "Given that you've been locked up in there for three hundred years, you've probably not found a way to escape huh?"
"Unfortunately not, the skills used to create my imprisonments are absolute, with my powers fading over the centuries there is little I can do to break free, even at my prime I couldn't." Veldora explained. "Why do you ask?"
"Just trying to think of a way for us to break the Unlimited Imprisonment is all." Issei informed. "I won't leave until we've figured out that much." He concluded surprising the Dragon.
"Y-you…" The waterworks almost started again and Issei quickly looked away from the puppy dog stare, seriously this Dragon relied too much on that, did he spend the last 300 years perfecting it or something!? "Do you have a means to undo my imprisonment?"
"Maybe, I'm guessing that this Summoned hero had a unique Skill to imprison you like this." Issei mused aloud.
"Very observant of you, the Unlimited Imprisonment was a Unique Skill, only a skill of high calibre could confine Veldora the Storm Dragon!" If Issei had eyes he would have rolled them, instead he just mentally cleared his throat to get Veldora's attention. "Please, continue." Veldora hastily added.
"I have a unique Skill of my own, maybe it'll work?" Moving towards Veldora, Issei reached out with a tendril and touched the barrier surrounding the Dragon.
[Predating Unique Skill [Unlimited Imprisonment] with Unique Skill [Predator]… Failed]
"Guess that would have been to easy."
[Answer. A part of Unique Skill [Unlimited Imprisonment]'s analysis is complete. Prompting escape methods: ...] Issei listened to Great Sage's solution to the situation, prompting him to ask his own questions regarding it, leaving Veldora out of the loop and the Dragon started to become quite agitated at being ignored.
"Hey! Don't just keep talking to your own skill!" Velodra roared, finally having enough of the treatment he was getting from a mere slime! Issei turned back to Veldora, the Dragon eagerly waiting for the answer. "Well?"
"Alright listen up! This may not be a sure fire thing, and I wanted you to know that before we proceeded! Can't have you going in and risking it all if you didn't know what you were getting yourself into, I'm not some kind of ass hat to do that to a new friend." Issei declared causing Veldora to look down at him with a smirk.
"Proceed."
"If we can analyze Unlimited Imprisonment from the inside and out, we might be able to remove it." He said and before Veldora could respond, Issei continued. "I know that you're sealed, and due to that probably all of your skills are sealed too."
"Correct."
"Through my Unique Skill, you can give me the data, then I can analyze the data out here." Veldora tapped his chin for a moment. "Only one catch."
"Oh? And what's that?"
"I've gotta… kinda… eat you?" Veldora blinked a few times before looking down at Issei. "I'll use my skills Great Sage and Predator to analyze Unlimited Imprisonment while you try to destroy it from the inside; you'll be safe in my Predator storage, so you won't disappear." He explained. This was the best that he, and Great Sage could think of. "So, big guy, what's the decision?" After a moment's pause, Veldora suddenly burst out laughing.
"This plan sounds interesting, let's do it! It's better than staying here for the rest of my days just wasting away! You have my consent!" Issei sweat dropped at the wording, not exactly the consent he was after.
"Before I begin… you're not secretly some hot babe or loli right? Because if you are, I'd do everything in my power to do this as fast as possible. That voice isn't just for show?"
"I'm male!" Veldora roared as Issei laughed getting a grin from Veldora as Issei reached forward to activate his predator skill. "Wait!"
"Second thoughts?" Issei pondered.
"No, nothing like that." Veldora shook his head. "Before we start, I'll give you a name and you will give me one." Had he the ability to do so, he would have raised an eyebrow.
"I already have a name, Issei Hyoudou, it's the name I was born with. I told you that already."
"Yes, but doing this will engrave it onto our souls the fact that we are equal." He explained. "It'll be what humans call a 'family name', but the name I give you will grant you divine protection." Divine protection? He knew divinity was a bad ass thing, it meant god's right? Didn't Yuuma say something about gods or sacred something or other? Either way it sent a chill through him. "You are still nameless, so you'll become a monster with a name."
"A monster with a name, I guess that works, it'd be a pain in the ass to not have a recognized name here. Wait is a mob monster supposed to have a name? Now that I Think about it, aren't we a little bit out of the ordinary, a dragon and a slime being friends?"
"You're overthinking things." Veldora waved it off, Issei really didn't think he was. "Now give me a cool name, something worthy of me."
"Alight lets me see here..." Issei began to wrap his name around the word storm in Veldora's name. "Storm, what's another word for storm?" his 'eyes' widened. "Tempest! What do you think of Tempest?"
"What!" His sudden yelling made the slime jump back, maybe he had been way too quick to think of a name, he should have gone with twister or tornado something along those lines, hell even 'Thunder Bandit' could have worked here! "What kind of name is that!?"
"Eh?"
"It sounds fantastic!" Veldora exclaimed proudly hitting his chest with a closed claw. "As of today I am, Veldora Tempest!" He declared.
"Don't scare me like that ya jerk!" Issei shouted as Veldora grinned and leaned down to Issei's level.
"And now I shall grant you the name, Issei, Ise for friends such as I." Veldora grinned as Issei nodded. "From now on you will be, Issei Tempest!" It was in that moment did the inside on Issei's body glow a vibrant green, and his body was filled with a new found power.
"Alright, I'm going to eat you now." Issei declared causing Veldora to recoil slightly in surprise. [Unique Skill: Predator!] Issei's body expanded, surrounding and covering the entire barrier that surrounded the massive Dragon. Moments later it all began to compact within his outstretched body until Issei had fully consumed the entirety of it all and he had resumed his small form of a red slime with a green centre.
[Would you like to analyze the unique skill Unlimited Imprisonment? YES/NO]
"Yes." He said. "Hey Great Sage, how's the analysis on Boost coming along?"
[Answer: Still Analyzing.]
"Keep up the good work!" Issei Declared. "Man, I can't wait to figure out what that skill does." He mused as he looked around the now empty cave, feeling a tad lonely now that the only person he had to talk to was gone. "Time to find me some way out of this cave."
The time that passed, whether it has been days or weeks Issei truly didn't know. The reincarnated Slime didn't want to ask Great Sage because she would have told him precisely how much time had passed and it would have probably depressed him to know just how long he was wandering around lost for. But his time hadn't been wasted in his search for an exit.
More Hipokte grass was eaten, along with Magistone ore. He wasn't about to let all that good stuff go to waste. He was starting to think he was becoming a hoarder with the collection in his storage was rising every time he absorbed something new. He also mastered his [Hydraulic Propulsion] skill, allowing him to gently glide over the surface of water instead of hurtling across it like some ignorant moron with a death wish on MTV.
But that's not all, just recently he had discovered that he didn't need to be afraid as a Slime! Not as long as he had water!
He had discovered it the first time he had used his [Water propulsion] skill, how fast he had been shot off due to the excessive water he had in taken and proceeded to expel. Now if he could just use that in short bursts but with the same force, it would definitely be useful. He had spent a lot of time at the underground lake discovering what he could do with water, and he had unlocked a few skills! He was totally going to kick ass when he got out of this cave!
People would fear the slime!
The first skill he unlocked was [Water Bullet] testing over and over again how to get the right amount to be useful if he came across something less than friendly then Valdora. He could shoot a single hole all the way through a large rock without destroying the rock, he figured that would be useful.
Then he figured why not and continued to create a cutting attack, which resulted in him acquiring [Water Blade] in no way was this because he was envisioning ripping a girls clothes apart little by little until there was nothing left! Well… he'd by lying if he said he hadn't thought about it, and with the tests on the Hipokte grass was anything to go by, by all accounts it should work. Further tests would be needed.
By his messing around with water and just moving about his body within the water's depths, he unlocked [Water Current Movement] it seemed once you gained a few abilities of the same element you received a mastery of some kind as after some time he received something else.
[By acquiring Skills [Hydraulic Propulsion] [Water Current Movement] [Water Bullet] and [Water Blade], it has evolved into Extra Skill] [Water Manipulation]
Now he could freely do as he liked with water as long as he had some to play with. But after playing with water and feeling embarrassed for acting like some kind of kid, he decided to move along with thoughts of wet t-shirts. Which led him to his first encounter with a not so friendly monster.
The moment they came across one another, Issei knew it wasn't going to end well for one of them, and considering he hadn't lived up do his dying wish as a human to lose his virginity, it wasn't going to be him!
What stood before him was a large serpent which had a jet-black body with thorned scales and tough looking skin. To him as a small slime it was giant, in truth since Veldora he couldn't very well question how large he actually was as a slime, he'd ask Great Sage about it later. For right now he had a life and death battle on his hands and his virginity was at stake! If he died, he'd die, end of story but if he lived he could move on and take that step to adulthood!
*Kisha–!* It was not friendly from the get go. Issei in truth wasn't a fan of snakes, but he had just spent time with a freaking Dragon so he was managing his freak out best he could. As far as Issei could tell as he observed the Serpent, other than it's thorned scales, it didn't have much of a defense, was it letting its guard down because he was just a slime?
Grinning to himself, he reached inward for the pool of water that was housed within his [Predator Storage] and shot it forth in a wide arc, representing a blade thrust at heightened speed.
Issei had to blink in surprise as the blade met no resistance, he hadn't missed that was for sure and he slowly watched as the head of the snake fell from the rest of the body, blood spurting into the air as the rest of the body fell to the ground wiggling for a while before falling silent.
"I'm going to need a ton more practice with that before I try and rip a girls clothes to shreds with it, don't want to kill some hottie." Issei shivered at the thought, he was not into guro, he was into some weird shit but not that. Looking at the now deceased snake, coming to realise that he had been worried over nothing, he approached it.
[Query: Would you like to use [Predator] to absorb the Black Snake? YES/NO] Issei would have shrugged but instead approached the snake and aloud the Predator skill to completely absorb his first monster kill.
[Analysis complete:
Mimicry of Black Serpent obtained.
Inherent skill [Heat Detection]… the ability to see nearby heat sources. Furthermore, camouflage skills are nullified.
Inherent skill [Noxious Mist Breath]… the ability to release a powerful toxic (corrosive) breath. Released at 120 degrees for a distance of 7 meters.]
"So thanks to Predator, whatever monster I consume, I obtain that monsters skills? Man that's useful as hell!" Issei grinned. "It's almost like a cheat! This is what I'm talking about! Easy life here I come!"
As Issei left his first battle behind, there were several more that he had between his first battle and finding the exit to the Cave. From the freaky insects like the Evil Centipede and the Giant Spider towards other creatures such as the Giant Bat to even a Carapaced Lizard. Great Sage was great in giving him the names of the creatures that he took down in his venture for the exit. Undoubtedly, upon defeating each adversary that he came up against, he used Predator to eat them to gain their abilities, gaining a useful arsenal in the progress.
Each monster he defeated and used Predator on gave him a unique skill and the ability to mimic each creature.
Evil Centipede [Paralysis Breath]
Giant Spider [Sticky Thread, Steel Thread]
Giant Bat [Vampirism, Ultrasound Waves]
Carapaced Lizard [Body Armor]
However, the most useful of any of the abilities that he had gained from eating the monsters had to be the [Ultrasound Waves] For now he was able to speak, or at the very least mimic speech. By mimicking the organ of the Giant Bat that could radiate Ultrasound Waves, he could speak.
"Veldora's a Dere, a Tsun Tsun Dere~" Issei sang happily as he proceeded through the cave happy now that he could actually communicate with anyone that he might cross paths with.
As time passed, Issei began to notice the changes around himself. No longer was he in just a cave, there was evidence of craftsmanship beginning to show and he was now on a path of some kind, leading him through the winding of the caverns. This had to be close to the way out right?
Then, there it was. A giant gate had appeared before the small red and green slime. If Issei had eyes he'd probably cry. Other then the random ruins he crossed from time to time this was the first man-made structure that was still in one piece. It's massive form towered over the small slime to the point it was daunting but honestly, Issei was just happy to see it.
"Time to leave this nightmare infested cave and find me some action elsewhere! My life as a slime is just beginning!" Bouncing towards the door, readying the water deep within his storage to blast it full force at the door, seeing no other way to open it. His Magic Sense alerted him to the sudden creaking noise that came from the door. Issei halted his advance as the door itself began to shift, century old dust being disturbed for the first time.
And once more, it dawned on him that he was a Slime. Veldora was one thing, in the end they were both 'Monsters' but here, with the potential to meet a human and he being a mob monster, yeah the odds of that didn't sit well with the former human. If he was seeing a mob monster, he'd kill it just for the XP. Quickly searching the layout before the gate he ducked off the side of the path behind a few rocks to observe the situation. Finally voices began to reach him.
"Finally, took its sweet time in opening. The lock was totally rusted on that door…" The voice of the man spoke as Issei saw a man with a tall and strong build. His has brown hair which is cut short and has a goatee, whereas his cheeks have distinct depressions. He wore seemingly very plain attire that Issei observed.
"Come on now shouldn't we have expected as much? They say that no one has entered here in over three hundred years, right? Meaning no maintenance." Following after the first was another, A young man with medium length hair, seemingly in his prime.
"Still, isn't it a bit too reckless for the Guild Master to actually send someone to investigate the sealed cave?" Instantly Issei's attention averted from the other two to the final member of the trio. It was a girl! Blonde hair with a cute face! She wore a blue ribbon in her hair and had red marks under her eyes.
Instantly Issei focused his magic perception onto her physique, while not stacked like some of the girls back at Kuoh. she was certainly lacking but he wasn't judging here!
"The hell you thinking Issei? You're not some creeper!" Issei paused in his thoughts. "Fine. I'm a creeper but I'm no molester! Plus, I promised Veldora I wouldn't jump the first pair of tits I saw." Issei looked on longingly behind the rock as the trio began to move away from the entrance of the cave, leaving the entrance wide open.
"Don't worry, even if they say that there's a dragon, it's probably just some overgrown Lizard or Basilisk. You know how folktales get around." Issei listened to them argue for a few moments before beginning to lose interest.
"Those guys weren't speaking Japanese were they? I was never any good at language so how the Hell was I able to understand them clear as day? Great Sage, you're up."
[Answer: In cases where intentions are vocalized, [Magic Perception] converts them to appropriate words and transmits them to the brain.]
"Man, where were you in English Class?" Issei sighed as he exited the cave, entering into a world he knew next to nothing about.
"Hmm… I'm all alone again." Veldora mused, however being alone didn't bother him now that he had spent centuries on his lonesome. Instead he felt better, knowing that Issei was close, or more so he was inside of Issei. And he knew that the Unlimited Imprisonment would one day be broken by his new friends unique skills. "I wonder if Ise is doing fine, he didn't seem to know how to get out of that Cave, I hope he is doing well. Surely now that he's been properly named, nothing in the cave should be much of a challenge, and he seems resourceful."
"He's too occupied with breasts to be much of a use."
"I did get the sense he had an unnaturally obsession towards breasts, I do hope he sees more than a woman's chest when he meets people." Veldora replied, it took a few moments to sink in that he was once more having a conversation with someone.
Flames burst all around him, not burning the Storm Dragon, it was seemingly only a visual effect but as he turned he swallowed nervously. Not much could rile up that of a Legendary Dragon such as himself, but the Dragon that was before him made Veldora look like a gecko.
"It's odd is it not?" The massive red dragon leered down at him. "His obsession with breasts could very well be his downfall. Yet all he does is obsess over them everyday! I don't see the point! We Dragon's don't have such a pathetic mannerisms!" Veldora had to wonder just how long this red dragon had all this bottled up inside. "What a pathetic host I have."
"Who are you?" Veldora asked causing the massive red dragon to blink in surprise before sheepishly grinning.
"Sorry, I tend to ramble on when Issei's involved, I have so many complaints and this is the first time I've had to share them." He told the other Dragon before rearing back, spreading his wings wide showing a great deal of showmanship as he roared the flames around them seemingly glowing brighter. "I am one of the Two Heavenly Dragons, the Welsh Dragon, Ddraig!"
"Ise didn't mention you." Veldora stated, why would Issei not tell him he already knew a dragon? It's not like it bothered him that Issei knew another Dragon or anything.
"Probably because he has no idea I exist." Ddraig commented offhandedly. "It seems, whatever caused Issei to reincarnate into this world, forced me to come along with him. Currently my power is being analysed not unlike your imprisonment. No doubt once the analysis has been completed, Issei will become aware of me and be able to use my power." Ddraig finished.
"So we're here together until I'm released from my imprisonment?" Veldora questioned.
"It would seem so…" Ddraig trailed off. "Do you know any good jokes? It's quite boring not being able to talk to my host or do anything."
"I know how you feel, friend." Veldora laughed as Ddraig laughed along side his fellow dragon.
