This is the beginning of the rewrite.
Chapter 2: Waking Up In The New World
There was an endless sea of darkness in every direction. It was motionless and devoid of anything to indicate direction, not knowing how much time passed the soul continued to wander aimlessly through the void. Then suddenly, as if an incredible pressure came into being, it felt itself being pulled in a direction. The pull was powerful and inescapable.
Then a voice devoid of all emotion began to speak. "Now commencing analysis of subject Tanya Von Degurechaff, complete."
"Subject has incompatible magic formulas, attempting to recreate such abilities, complete."
"Flight Formula, converted to Flight Magic, complete."
"Explosive abilities and fire abilities, Explosive Formula, Artillery Formula and Napalm Formula, converted into Fire Control Skill and Explosion Control Skill Complete."
"Penetration Formula cannot be replicated, it shall be replaced with Holy Magic attribute, complete."
"Optical Formula, converted to Holy Magic, Holy Ray, complete."
"Homing Cluster Shot Formula, Guidance Formula, Analgesic Formula, and Observation Formula, converted into Unique skill Combat Expert, complete."
"Optical Decoy Formula, converted into Illusion Magic, complete."
"Medical Formula, converted into skill Self Regeneration, complete."
"Magic Interference, shall become skill Magic Interference."
"Diffusive Magical Explosion Formula, converted into Nuclear Strike Magic, Nuclear Canon, complete."
"Magic Blade cannot remain attribute neutral, Holy attribute added to Holy Blade, complete."
"Construction of a new body, complete." Tanya could barely comprehend what was happening, when it was all over.
She groaned as she opened her eyes for the first time. The sun shined through the thick forest in small beams of light. The sounds of birds chirping and water in a small creek entered her ears. It was a peaceful scenery, one she thought wasn't possible. Getting to her feet she noticed she was now in her dress uniform. All of her medals were pinned to her chest. The Silver Wings Assault Badge with Oak Leaves being the largest and most valuable.
Tanya noticed that she had become shorter, about the same height as when she first joined the Imperial Armed Forces. Though it seemed that her clothes were adjusted to fit her. The officers cap sat perfectly on her head, no longer being too big for her. Then she noticed that she could feel her hair being parted by her ears. They felt much longer than normal.
Reaching up, she was stunned when she felt long pointy ears with her fingers. What the hell is this? Her hair was also much longer than before. It reached to her lower back now. What the hell is going on? Don't tell me Being X did all this to me? But he said he was done with me. And that voice I heard earlier, that didn't sound anything like him. Maybe I was pulled by something else?
Tanya shook her head and decided that those questions would wait for another time. If she really did reincarnate into yet another world, then she should be on guard. Who knows what malicious things lay ahead, after all Tanya learned her lesson with Being X.
As she walked through the forest slowly, she made sure to keep her eyes moving around for any movement. She also realized that something had definitely changed within her as well. It wasn't only her appearance that had changed but her magic too. As if it had been carved into her very soul, she knew exactly what powers she had. It was basically the same things as her old world, but also different. Her Fire Control was definitely one such thing, she instinctively knew that with that power she could control fire itself. This was not possible in her old world. So she spent a while thinking about her new, yet old abilities.
She continued like this for about an hour before she came across a road. It was very wide, almost like a highway. It seemed like the road was in the process of being constructed. Tanya decided to follow the developed side of the road. She remained hidden in the forest as she walked. Tanya wasn't stupid enough walk out in the open. Just looking at the state of the road and the stones being used to construct it, she knew that this world's technology was at best in the era of the horse drawn carriage, to the early automobile age. If so, she hoped to get her hands on a firearm to protect herself. What was the saying? "God made man, Sam Colt made them equals." Truly these are wise words. Even if they use the word God.
Tanya crouched down as she came across a group of beasts, or monsters. They were large humanoid creatures with pig heads. They worked silently as if all of them knew exactly what the other was doing. They are truly competent workers, if I say so.
Tanya silently made her way around the group of workers. She would prefer to avoid any encounters with the local wildlife, intelligent or not. So she snuck passed them with ease and moved on following the road. Perhaps the humans were using these creatures as workers? Or slaves. Well I'll find out once I get to the end of this road, hopefully.
It took nearly an hour to finally see a glimpse of civilization. In the distance, Tanya could see a small town. Silhouettes of humans walking in the distance made her heart race. She hoped she had found what she was looking for.
Tanya heard in the distance a twig snap. Diving into a bush and clamping down on her magic, Tanya waited. She hoped that magic in this world was still familiar enough that it was possible to make your magic signature disappear. She turned out to be right, a group of green humanoid creatures emerged from the woods. Tanya watched as they walked past her, they had spears in their hands.
Tanya was about to continue past the patrol when her body was suddenly trapped. A mass of thin silver thread quickly wrapped around her. She struggled against the threads but realized they were much stronger than they looked. She prepared to form a mage blade, now called a Holy Blade, much to her displeasure.
Tanya was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a blue-haired 's forehead was occupied by a single long horn. Tanya glared at the creature while trying to think of a way to escape. "If you do not resist then no harm shall befall upon you." The creature said. Tanya blinked at the strange language. She wasn't sure what it had just said but it didn't seem to be attacking yet.
Souei used a thread of Sticky Steel to notify Rimuru that a suspicious person had been captured trying to sneak past patrols. The reply was almost immediate "bring them in".
Souei grabbed the small elf he had caught and Shadow Stepped back to the town. He held her shoulder and waited for Rimuru to appear.
Rimuru transformed into his human form and walked to the guest area of his growing capital building. When he entered he saw Souei standing next to a small elf who couldn't be older than 8 or 9. Oi, did he really just capture a small child. I think I need to clarify what a threat is.
"Souei let her go, I wish to speak to her." Rimuru said. With a wave of his hand Souei vanished from the room.
Sitting down on the couch across from the elf, Rimuru began his questioning. "So what brings you to my town?" He asked, he wasn't really the interrogator type.
Tanya tilted her head in confusion. "I don't understand anything you are saying." She said.
Rimuru nodded in understanding, Magic Sense had translated the girl's language for him. Raising his hand with his palm up he pushed some magicules to start moving. He pointed at his palm to try and tell the girl to focus on it.
Tanya glanced at the palm of the blue-haired girl and noticed the magic particles moving just above the outstretched hand. Suddenly her sense of magic began to expand. She could feel magic energy surrounding her. This was completely different from her old world where only mages had mana.
"Extra Skill Magic Sense, acquired." The same voice she heard before echoed in her head. "What the hell? Extra Skill? What is that?" Tanya whispered, as she held her head.
"Ah, so you can understand me now." The blue-haired girl said. Tanya slowly nodded her head. "I guess I can understand you now." She said. Her face gave nothing away.
"I'm Rimuru, welcome to the Jura Tempest Federation. I'm the king of this nation." He said. Reaching his hand out, he waited for the elf to shake his hand. Tanya immediately straightened up, she was in the presence of a king. Even if his nation was small, a slight insult could result in catastrophic consequences. She grabbed his hand and shook it firmly, making sure to show absolute respect.
"So what's your name elf?" Rimuru said, he glanced down at her clothing. He hadn't brought it up but that was definitely a World War Two German uniform. Oi I hope she just found those clothes and thought they looked cool. But they fit her perfectly, I don't remember hearing about the Germans conscripting anyone this young.
Tanya stood up, her posture perfect and according to military regulations. "Imperial commander of the Salamander Kampfgruppe, and the 203rd Arial Mage Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Tanya Von Degurechaff. Your Majesty."
Rimuru blinked for a few times as he processed what she had just said. This girl is a Lieutenant Colonel? Whoa, whoa, whoa, that's insane. Should I address her by her rank then? I'll be safe and call her by her rank.
"A pleasure to meet you Lieutenant Colonel Degurechaff. May I ask you what your world was like?" Rimuru asked. The German Empire in his world had fallen before those uniforms were introduced, he was pretty sure. So he asked her to tell him about her world. It was obvious she was reincarnated to him.
Tanya felt a punch in the gut as Rimuru asked his question. She knew she would get found out. But to be discovered as a reincarnated person this fast was shocking. She thought that he would assume she was lying about her rank before thinking she was reincarnated.
Rimuru smiled as he saw the young girl's face pale slightly. He decided he would tell her, his status as a otherworlder. Hopefully this would get her to open up. "Relax Colonel Degurechaff. I too reincarnated to this world, as a slime." This made Tanya's eyes widen in shock. She stared at Rimuru like he was insane. So he got up from the couch and transformed back into his spherical shape. Jumping over to Tanya, he landed on her lap. "See I'm just a friendly old slime."
Tanya curiously poked at the slime on her lap. There was too much information coming out that she wasn't sure what to say. So Rimuru decided to go back to the original question.
"Now that you know I'm from another world too. I would like you to tell me your story." He said, taking a seat back on the couch. Tanya decided she would first tell him about her life in The Empire. She wanted to find out how he had reincarnated before telling him about his life on earth.
"As you wish your majesty." She said. Tanya had learned as a cadet how to treat nobles and royalty. Then she began her story, she changed a few things to make her decision to join the armed forces make sense in the new context. She also emphasized strongly to Rimuru that she had been correct about the Republic escaping to the southern continent.
Rimuru sat back and listened the whole time. When she was done he closed his eyes, while scratching his chin.
"Notice, there is a high chance that the individual Tanya Von Degurechaff has withheld information. After analyzing small inconsistencies and deliberate vague wording in the story." The Great Sage said. Rimuru didn't outwardly react to the report. He would try and get Tanya to trust him first.
"Well since I've heard your story Colonel-" he was interrupted by Tanya.
"Your majesty, you don't have to address me by my old rank. Tanya is just fine." Tanya knew that her rank was worthless here, so why cling onto it. "Very well, Tanya. But in exchange, call me Rimuru."
Tanya found it strange that he didn't wish to be shown the respect his position entitles him, but agreed nonetheless.
"Well then, since I have heard your story. Allow me to tell you mine. I worked as a contractor in my old world. I lived in the nation of Japan, an island nation to the far east." As he began he noticed that Tanya looked absolutely shocked. Rimuru decided to try and pry some information from Tanya. "Is something wrong Tanya?"
Tanya cleared her suddenly dry throat. "Ah nothing's wrong Rimuru, it's just that I might have excluded some information from you." She said softly. "You see, when I was born in The Empire. That wasn't my first life. I was also Japanese and I worked as a Human Resources Manager."
After telling her whole story Tanya gauged Rimuru's reaction. He smiled broadly at her. So she was once a Japanese person. But for some HR manager to become a Lieutenant Colonel in the army, earn their highest award and kill so many people without a second thought. She's definitely dangerous. Probably more of a warmonger than Shion.
Rimuru pulled out a barrel of his personal stash of Brandywine. He poured himself a glass and gave Tanya a quick glance. Well technically she is old enough to drink. Deciding that the celebration of finding another fellow countrymen was more important, he poured Tanya a glass.
Tanya for her part wasn't going to deny the drink. The only thing that had stopped her in The Empire was the law. Since Rimuru was basically the law in this nation. If he offered her a glass of alcohol, she wouldn't say a word.
So the two raised their glasses and tapped them together. Rimuru drank the whole glass like water, since he couldn't get drunk. Tanya on the other hand regretted drinking the whole glass like Rimuru. Her throat and the back of her nose burned. She could feel the heat slowly making its way down. This was not a good idea. I'm not a grown man anymore. I'm going to regret this.
After listening to Rimuru talk about his nation and the plans he had for it, Tanya could predict with certainty that the Jura Tempest Federation was going to become a powerhouse. It had already formed an alliance with the Armed Nation of Dwargon, a powerhouse in its own right. The one thing that made her worry, was that the Jura Forest lay between the Eastern Empire, the Demon Lord territories to the south and the Western Nations. While this was great for trade, it made security an absolute nightmare.
"Your country will certainly prosper as you envision. But have you considered the potential danger of being bordered by multiple nations and territories?" Rimuru was silent for a moment.
"I can see the problem. But I don't understand why they would attack when we have not done anything to them." Rimuru said.
"That is naive. If your country becomes a major trading power, it will have significant weight on the geopolitical stage. Should a kingdom feel their position is being threatened, they will face two choices. They can either declare war, to keep the status quo, sending a message to other countries. Or they can allow a new power to take charge. Most nations would rather fight than to allow their position to fall." Tanya explained.
"The only way you are going to get a nation to accept losing weight on the geopolitical stage, is to have an overwhelming military might or have alliances with many powerful nations."
Rimuru listened to Tanya's impromptu speech with interest. "So I should expect other countries to take an interest in the Jura Tempest Federation over the course of time. And to prepare accordingly?" Tanya nodded her head.
"Yes you should prepare for an attack. I know from experience that once a nation becomes a threat to the major players on the continent, then expect armed conflict soon." Tanya believed this to be a universal rule. Her time on the frontlines had forged an obsession with assessing the potential threats around her and what response the enemy could be expected to give. On a national level this mentality could still be applied. Take all the potential threats of the nation into account and plan accordingly.
"I recommend focusing on improving your nation's military power. Do you have a general staff?" Tanya asked. Rimuru shook his head. "Benimaru is in charge of the military. I don't know anything about leading an army so I left the task up to him."
"Well I recommend you take a lesson from history. Form a general staff and war college. Begin training officers that can command small units in the battlefield. Find a space for large scale military exercises to employ new tactics that the general staff comes up with. Do all this and your nation will be more than prepared for any threat. Especially with the military doctrine of this world. I'm sure most of the armed forces of the counties surrounding the Jura Forest don't have anything I am recommending." Tanya smiled as she finished her recommendations. Rimuru looked completely convinced. She was sure he would take her advice to heart.
Rimuru on the other hand was seriously considering everything Tanya had said. After all, the girl had years of experience as a soldier and officer. So he decided that he would have Benimaru meet Tanya tomorrow to discuss the future of the armed forces.
"This is all very interesting, I shall have Benimaru meet you tomorrow, to discuss the details." Rimuru said. As he glanced over to Tanya he noticed that her cheeks were now red, her eyes had glazed over and she swayed in her seat. Ah right I gave her Brandywine. She's probably feeling it now.
Getting up, Rimuru walked over to Tanya and offered his hand. Tanya slowly grabbed it with a stupid grin on her face. Rimuru guided her out of the room and down the hall. He spotted Shuna down the hall and waved to get her attention. Shuna quickly walked over. "Rimuru-sama, you called for me?"
"I need you to take Tanya to the guest room of my house. Treat her well, she is my guest after all." Shuna bowed deeply and gently put Tanya on her back. Tanya quickly fell asleep as her body processed the Brandywine she had drank half an hour ago.
Rimuru made his way outside and told Rigurd to find Benimaru and tell him that there was a very important meeting in the morning.
As he made his way home, Rimuru looked at the darkening sky. He had made up his mind as soon as Tanya had talked about geopolitics, but now he was completely sure. He would invite her to run the military. There was no one else he believed would do a better job at this point. Especially since Tanya had experience and future knowledge. So he prepared himself to ask the big question tomorrow.
And that's the end of chapter two. I am basing Tanya's military uniform from the Light Novels. Also I think I found a good way to have Tanya be in the story without making it seem forced. Let me know what you all think about this rewrite. I don't take offense to constructive criticism. The alcohol stuff was mostly because in Youjo Senki Restaurant, Tanya seems to really want to be able to sip on some wine again, like an adult. So I granted her wish.
