Chapter 9
The trip to the Jura Forest took us a week, and during this week we all got to know each other a little better.
Among the Kijin, Okimura specialized in hand-to-hand combat, and he greatly proved his skill during the nights we camped so that the humans, elves, and Mermen and Mermaids could sleep. Apparently, when they evolved into Kijin, Okimura and his siblings didn't need to sleep as often, so we used to get away from the group a bit and practice with our swords.
Okimura's sister Hiroka, specialized in espionage and exploration, and she also knew how to use Concealment and "Shadow Motioning". Although she preferred intelligence gathering jobs, she was also very good at the art of assassination. Her favorite weapon was poison needles. She was, frankly, terrifying.
The youngest of the Kijin, Yoshi, however, was not good at close combat, and specialized in ranged magic, though he said that he preferred research and study to battle. He was especially good with Fire Magic and Healing Magic. His Healing Magic would be very useful to us in the village, since only he and Tuatha possessed it, and we didn't have any other way to heal wounds.
From the human girls I learned that Lara, the oldest of them, had been a teacher until she married and went to live with her husband. I immediately asked her if she would be interested in a teaching job as soon as we got back to the village, to which she was delighted to accept. Although the level of study of the Dark Elves was not terribly bad, since most of them knew how to read and write, their knowledge in other areas such as mathematics, arts and other subjects of great need to be able to carry out specialized work, was much lower. So, one of the projects that I planned to do when we returned to the village was to build a school where everyone could go to learn, and now I already had a teacher. With Lara's basic knowledge and the books from Ingrasia's Library that I had copied into my head thanks to the Librarian, it should be enough to be able to start classes as soon as the school was built.
Anne, on the other hand, had been raised on a farm all her life and thanks to this she had great knowledge of agronomy and livestock, which would also be useful to us.
Triton and his family promised to fish for us, something that I was very grateful for, as I had found out in Ingrasia, fish was considered a delicacy that only the rich could afford, due to the difficulty of transporting it without spoiling it, and the dangers facing fishing boats with sea monsters. If we could find a way to keep the fish fresh, we would have control of a good market that would provide a good income for the village.
Elves were no slouch in the skill department. Dorian was a blacksmith who studied under the supervision of Kaijin, one of the most famous blacksmiths of the Armed Nation of Dwargon, before returning to his village in the Forest of Jura and falling into the hands of the slaver. He would be a great addition to our village.
The two Elven women, Riannan and Mab, used to run an inn in their home village, and were good at distilling alcohol and wine.
When I asked Thorny what she was good at, she told me she was good at torturing people… after that I didn't ask her again.
A week after our hasty departure from Ingrasia, we reached the border of the Great Forest of Jura, after flying over the Kingdom of Blumund. As we flew over the forest, our attention was drawn to what appeared to be a half-built city in the middle of the forest.
"Okimura, do you know anything about this?" – I asked the Kijin, using "Thought Communication".
"No, Master Rogan. That city wasn't there when our village still existed." – Okimura replied, as surprised as I was.
"We should go investigate. In that city there might be survivors from our village." - Hiroka commented calmly.
"Alright, listen everyone! Let's land and go investigate the city. Hold on tight!" – I warned them, and I went to the closest clearing to the city.
They dismounted, and I returned to my Dark Elf form. For some reason, when I showed this form to my companions, Okimura looked at me like I was his new best friend… Is it because we both only have one eye?
Once we were all ready, we started our way to the city. With only a few meters to go, our path was blocked by a man riding a giant wolf. The man would look quite human, were it not for his green skin and the fangs protruding from his mouth. He had a red bandanna on his head and was dressed in fur and leather. A little analysis of the Librarian told me that the man was a Hobgoblin and his mount was a Tempest Wolf, a rare evolution of Direwolf when evolved with the Storm element. Is that Tempest Wolf a member of Rogue's old pack? These were my thoughts when the hobgoblin spoke.
"Good morning, could you tell me who you are and what is your business so close to our city?" - asked the hobgoblin very politely.
"Hello. My name is Rogan, and these are my companions. We saw this city and came to ask if anyone here has any information about the ogre village that was attacked" – I answered sincerely.
"Oh. You should follow me, then. I'm sure Miss Shuna will want to talk to you. My name is Rigur, and I am the Head of Security for the city up ahead." – He told us and signaled for us to follow him.
"Are you a named monster? I thought it was very rare? – I asked.
"Yes! The name Rigur was given to me by our great leader, Lord Rimuru." – Rigur answered, very proud of his name and his leader. "And not just me. Lord Rimuru granted us all the honor of having a name."
"When you say all, you mean…"
"Yes, yes. Our entire village and over four hundred goblins from other villages! We all decided to follow him immediately."
"For the love of the spirits. There are two idiots who like to go around naming the masses." - Thorny muttered, but as always, I ignored her. Luckily Rigur didn't seem to hear her. Wow, disaster averted.
"Rimuru must be very powerful then." – I commented.
"Oh yeah. Very powerful. Such is his power that the Dryad Treyni, one of the guardians of the Forest of Jura, came to seek his help to destroy the Orc Lord who attacked the Ogre village." – Rigur commented as we arrived at the entrance of the city.
"That uptight woman deigned herself to ask for help? I can't believe it!" - Thorny commented.
"Do you know Mrs. Treyni?" - Rigur asked.
"Of course. She is my older sister, but we don't get along since, according to her, I allowed myself to be "corrupted". It is a great irony that the Queen of the Spirits that we both used to serve was also a corrupted being." - Thorny scoffed.
As we walked through the city, we could see that, although it was still under construction, it would be a formidable city in the future. This kind of progress was what I wanted for my village. To turn it into a prosperous city, where my friends could live happily and safely.
Rigur led us through the city, to a large house made of wood and bricks. Then he ushered us in and seated us at a large polished wood table in front of an elegant fireplace. The architecture of the house seemed familiar to me, as if it were from my previous world.
While we waited for this Shuna to arrive, some young Goblinas served us a delicious tea. Whoever this Rimuru character was, he sure knew how to pick his personal. The service was impeccable.
A few moments later, a young pink-haired girl, a Kijin the Librarian told me, entered the room. Upon seeing her, the three Kijin who were now my companions rose from thier seats and knelt before her.
"Princess! I feel very happy to see that you're well." - Okimura said. His posture had relaxed, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"Oh! It's you! I'm so glad you guys survived!" – The Kijin, Shuna I guessed, commented. "You've even evolved into Kijins! We have a lot to tell each other."
We all sat down again, and drank our tea, while Shuna told us her story. Apparently, she was not the only survivor, which made my companions very happy. Her brother, now named Benimaru, had also survived the attack, along with four other ogres, who were also now Kijins, named Shion, Souei, Hakurou, and Kurobe. They had all been named by this mysterious Rimuru, who turned out to be an especially powerful slime.
Really? a slime? I know it shouldn't surprise me, since I started out as a Ghost, but a slime that powerful? This world was incredibly broken.
Once Shuna finished telling us her story, Okimura told her their story until the moment they met me and I named them.
"I thank you very much for saving my friends." - Shuna told me.
"Ha, ha, ha, it was nothing." – I said, feeling my cheeks blush.
"Miss Shuna, where are the others? We didn't see them when we arrived." - Yoshi asks.
"A few days ago, the Dryad Treyni, visited Lord Rimuru and asked him to destroy the Orc Lord that attacked our village. Lord Rimuru gathered his strongest warriors, including my brother, Shion, Hakurou and Souei, to face the Orcs army and defeat that threat once and for all. By now they must have reached the Lizardman's lake, where the final battle will take place." - Shuna replied.
"Master Rogan. Please let us go help our former comrades." - Okimura asked me.
"Please, Master Rogan. Our fallen comrades cry out for revenge." - Hiroka seconded.
"Please, Master Rogan." - Yoshi joined.
"Very well. Shuna, do you think some of my companions can stay in the city, while we go join the battle?" – I asked the Kijin.
"Of course. They'll be our guests." - Shuna said.
"Then the Kijins and I will go. You must stay here and wait for us." – I told the humans, Elves and Triton and his family. "Thorny, your job is to protect them in case something happens."
"Leave it to me!" - Thorny accepted.
Once we were all ready, we said goodbye to Shuna and the others and headed towards the area that Shuna had indicated to us, Lake Sis which was apparently the old home of Triton's family. I took my Wind Dragon form again and when everyone was on my back, we headed that way.
Only a few hours had passed when we spotted the great Lake Sis in the distance. As we got closer it could be seen that the battle against the Orc's army had already begun and that Rimuru and his Kijins didn't need much help. Thanks to my "Magic Sense" I could see that the red-haired Kijin, Benimaru according to Shuna's description, created large explosions of black flames that eliminated several dozen Orcs each. A violet-haired Kijin wielded a great sword with such force that the ground split where it hit, this one must be Shion. A serious Kijin with dark blue hair, wielded threads so thin that I couldn't have seen them if it wasn't for "Magic Sense" and used them to cut through Orcs as if they were made of air, that one must be Souei. And lastly, a white-haired old man wielding a short katana slashed through the Orc army leaving a bloodbath in his wake. These were the Kijin of the slime Rimuru. They were incredibly powerfull. And as if the Kijin weren't enough, I could see a large black-furred wolf with two large horns on its forehead, shooting black bolts everywhere.
All of this was overseen from the sky by a little silver-haired girl who floated above the battlefield. Although, according to Shuna, her appearance looked like that of a girl, this was none other than Rimuru the Slime, who seemed to have a skill to transform, much like the one I had.
We only had a few minutes left to get to where Rimuru was, when I noticed a group of Orcs fleeing from the battlefield in the direction of the city where Shuna was.
"Guys, a group of a hundred Orcs is heading towards the city." - I spoke to my Kijins with "Thought Communication". "We must intercept them. Prepare to land!" – I told them and began to swoop down.
The Kijins understood immediately and jumped as I neared the ground, before transforming into my Dark Elf form. A few seconds later we meet the Orcs. They were very different from the Orcs I had seen in movies and video games in my original world. These looked like large, corpulent, pig-headed humanoids, wearing armor.
As soon as the Orcs saw us on their way, they attacked us.
The Kijin set out to meet them, working like a good team. Okimura was in the lead, using his sword to cut down his enemies and using a new skill he had developed on his own during our journey to Jura, "Kamaitachi's Wind". It turns out that Okimura had inherited my Wind element, and also my Extra Skill "Wind Manipulation". Then, combining "Wind Manipulation" with his own magic and his sword, it allowed him to create the Extra Skill: "Kamaitachi's Wind", which allowed him to surround his sword with a strong current of pressurized air and when Okimura slashed with his sword, the air was released creating great blasts of cutting air that shredded his enemies.
Hiroka followed closely behind his brother, throwing his poisoned needles. But just like Okimura, she had also inherited one of my skills, "Spatial Manipulation" which she had refined into a terrible weapon. What she did was create small space portals connected to each other, near herself and her enemies, and then she would launch her needles towards the portals near her and they would come out through the portals near her enemies, always hitting a vital point. Like I said before… She was terrifying!
Yoshi, on the other hand, stayed by my side. His specialty was Healing Magic, so keeping him safe was top priority, but that didn't mean he couldn't fight. From his position beside me he repeatedly cast the high-level Fire Magic Spell "Napalm Burst" towards the enemies. The terrifying thing about this spell was that it clung to any surface it touched and burned the oxygen in that area, causing those nearby to suffocate if they weren't annihilated by the flames first.
With little effort, the Kijin wiped out the hundred Orcs, and with each of their kills, I could feel their souls entering my body, thanks to "Soul Consumption". But I noticed that the souls of the Orcs were somehow… weaker than that of humans. When I asked the Librarian about this, his response was…
Received.
Monster souls are much weaker than human souls, because monsters use the energy stored in their souls to evolve, while humans, unable to evolve, continue to store the energy.
And if the calculations made by the Librarian were correct, these one hundred Orcs would be equivalent to only ten human souls.
Once the Kijin had dealt with the Orcs, we quickly returned to the battlefield.
Our help didn't seem to be needed, as we found out when we arrived. Rimuru's forces had wiped out half of the Orc army, and Rimuru himself was facing the Orc Lord directly, who had now evolved into an Orc Disaster, according to the Librarian.
As the massive Orc tried to shake him off, a silvery substance with bluish glints covered him from head to toe. It was quite an intimidating image. Little by little, the body of the Orc Disaster was decomposing within the giant mass of slime, until it was only bones, and even those disappeared under Rimuru's crushing predation.
Warning.
The user has witnessed the death of the target. Conditions for acquiring the Unique Skill "Starved" through Unique Skill "Grave Robber" have been met. Do you want to activate the Unique Skill "Grave Robber"?
Yes
No
Oh… I guess so?
It was the first time I had used that Unique Skill for something other than consuming souls…
Warning.
The user has obtained the Unique Skill "Starved" but the skill is incompatible with the user's will...
Unique Skill "Starved" has been downgraded to Extra Skills "Food Chain" and "Chaos Eater"
The Librarian informed me of the effects of "Starved" and how my moral compass prevented me from using that skill. So, being incompatible with me, the skill disintegrated into two less powerful, but more compatible skills.
When I asked for a more thorough explanation, the Librarian informed me that unique skills were based on the will and wishes of their wielders, and that if the conditions for obtaining a unique skill were against a person's wishes, then it would be impossible for that person to obtain said unique skill.
That meant that it didn't matter if I had a skill that allowed me to gain other creatures' skills, if said skills were completely incompatible with me, then I wouldn't be able to obtain them. It was something to consider.
Once Rimuru had finished consuming the Orc Disaster, he reverted to his human form. That was the moment he noticed our presence.