Rimuru's POV

I opened the door to the girls' bathroom, putting on a smile despite my sour mood. "I came back after class, just like I said."

"You're back, Rimuru." The ghost girl was sitting up on the sinks and looked oddly calm. "I was looking around the room, but I still can't find anything new."

"Ah, that's too bad." I sighed softly, I was hoping I could help her. However, I wasn't too sure if I wanted her to actually go to death. If anything, I may give her another offer.

"Still, I've always been interested in these sinks. I was standing in front of them when I died, and I feel like they might have something to do with how that happened." She hopped off the sinks and got down on the floor to try and look under them.

"You know, sinks like this are a bit weird? Attached to a pillar in the center of a big circular room. A bit inefficient for a bathroom, if I do say so myself." I would definitely not approve it for a contracting job myself. "Maybe it's structural?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe you could figure it out? You might be able to use magic to; since I'm dead, I can't."

"Uh, yeah, sure. I guess I could try something." I walked over and kneeled down next to her, before noticing a faint enchantment in the stones of the sink-pillar. Particularly on the heads of the snake decorations.

It seemed like a simple spell to move stone, so it caught my interest. "Let me try this." I placed my hand onto the snake head, so it kinda looked like I was petting it, then I used some magicules to cause the spell to activate.

Immediately, the whole freaking pillar started to shift, along with the stone bricks of the floor. I just took a step back and watched the magic happen.

The sinks retracted, the pillar sunk into the floor, and the floor itself opened into an ominous spiral staircase down into the dark unknown.

"Alright then, you stay here. Might be dangerous down there." So then I hopped down into the mysterious hole in the floor a moment later.

"HEY WAIT! This is the most interesting thing to happen since I died!" She flew down after me, despite me telling her not to. I hoped that whatever killed her didn't go for a sequel.

"Are you sure? Whatever killed you is probably down there."

"Which is exactly why I should come along!"

Once we got to the bottom of the stairs, I ended up falling into a cave shortly after. It seemed like part of a long dried-up artificial stream, and as I slid down, I found myself falling onto a pile of bones.

Looked like a few deer, and a lot of unnaturally-large rats. Kinda gross, but nothing that bothered me.

"This place is quite spooky," Myrtle commented, looking at the bone pile with disgust.

"Pretty sure your body would look worse by now." I found myself making a comment that might've been a little bit too much.

"That's rude! I'm probably just as cute as the day I died!"

"Mhm. I take it back. That wasn't too much." I lifted myself out of the pile of bones and looked around the dimly lit place.

I pumped a bit more power into magic sense to compensate and saw very clearly a monster on the other side of a few walls. It kinda looked cute, to be honest. Curled up and sleeping, resting its head on itself. "Huh, that little guy might be D+ rank."

"What do you mean by little guy?"

"A baby snake, that's all."

"A baby snake? Wait, a snake! Like a live one?!"

"Yeah."

"I remember what those eyes looked like now… They looked like snake eyes! But I definitely wouldn't call them little or cute!" She seemed exasperated by what I said. "It must not be what we are looking for."

I smiled. "I actually think it is… Well, follow me I guess." I walked for a few moments through the odd-looking tunnels, until I came face to face with a door that had a statue of a face built around it.

"Ah, a boss door," I mused.

The little snake wasn't really much of a boss in my eyes, but I guess the people in this world were like, level negative six.

I walked up to the door, and examined the enchantment on it for a few moments, before replicating the trick I used on the bathroom sink. "You know, using the same spell twice doesn't really stop someone who could've gotten through the first door." I sighed softly at the incompetence of the security here. It wasn't even a challenge to break, even with my current limitations.

"What are you doing to open these doors? You aren't even chanting or using your wand."

Myrtle had been watching me intensely, but I suppose she wasn't able to tell what I was doing.

"No problem for me, maybe I'll explain it later." I waited a few moments for the door to open, before walking through another tunnel that seemed to have a small pond of brown water in the middle. "Gross, a pet should have a cleaner water dish."

"A pet?"

"Ignore that for now." I did think whoever owned the snake must've taken care of it badly. Then again, they were probably dead, seeing as the snake was around fifty feet long.

"Well, if whatever it is kills you, you can live in the bathroom with me. This place doesn't seem too great to haunt."

"Thanks, but I don't plan on dying again anytime soon."

I followed my magic sense into the little alcove where the snake was hiding.

Its yellow eyes opened immediately as it struck out at me.

However, I decided not to play nice. So I caught it by the snout with both my hands, finding myself straining against the weight for a moment. So I had to put all my strength into stopping them. After that, I held their jaws closed, and their head to the floor.

Is this how adventurers feel? I'm a bit winded now…

After that, it made direct eye contact with me desperately, so I stared back, even in my exhaustion. Seemed like whatever it was trying to do wouldn't work on me.

"Nice try, little fella, but you're not gonna win this one."

Soon after, it went limp and seemed to accept death.

"Eh, isn't that a little morbid? I'm not here to kill you."

The snake nodded gingerly and receded back before I heard a pretty grainy voice. "I have… Not spoken since… Master's descendant left… excuse my… lack of tact…"

"It's alright, but first and foremost, you have someone to apologize to." I looked over at Myrtle.

She seemed absolutely frozen in fear, despite not really being in much danger at this point.

"Ah… Maybe you should've heeded my warning." I used a simple spell to touch spiritual and astral lifeforms and had her lay down, before looking back at the snake. "Now what about you?"

"You do not… wish to kill me?"

"I said I wouldn't before. Explain what you are."

"They call my kind… a basilisk… I heard tales… of others… from the walls…" The snake gestured up with its head.

"Ah, well that's neat. So you can understand humans too?"

"I have… learned… In the last thousand years… it was simple." The snake curled back up, it still seemed afraid despite putting up a calm front a moment before.

"Do you know what I am?"

"I heard you… talking to the ghost… You are a noble dragon… However… You certainly look stronger than… the hatchlings they fight…" The basilisk put its head down. "I was… unaware of… any of your kind… still being alive…"

"So were you just in the walls or something?"

"There are… many hidden tunnels… within the castle… They also carry… sound… far." She seemed fairly proud of herself about having managed to eavesdrop without me noticing.

I wondered why they'd design a school with a bunch of secret tunnels big enough for a basilisk. It sounded really dumb for safety reasons. Maybe that was on purpose, considering the doors to this place though. A child murderer or something, the man behind the slaughter.

I considered how I should respond to the other part that bothered me, but decided it wasn't important right now. "As for my kind, I wouldn't know anything about that. I'm just here to make sure you stop killing kids."

"You… will need to prove… you are a more worthy… master." The basilisk put its head up, seeming to actually try to get threatening again.

I sighed. "If that's what you want." Ciel? Can I use dragon eye for this?

[[You may use it once, if you wish.]]

I glared harshly, before activating my skill. With it I examined the soul of the basilisk closely and intentionally made sure the basilisk was aware. I even made it a bit painful, being a little careless in how I controlled the skill.

The basilisk recoiled as expected.

However, I found myself falling to the ground with a crippling headache. My eyes were definitely burnt out, I could feel the liquids inside drip onto the ground.

Maybe that wasn't the best idea… Am I really that weak in this body?

It didn't take more than a few minutes for them to grow back, but it wasn't pleasant either. After the ordeal, I was left breathing heavily, even if I still didn't need to do that much.

"This body's really not up to par." I could now clearly see the black goopy mess left on the ground, that must've been the eyes. It seemed like they'd mutated into some kind of toxic sludge because of my magicules.

So I quickly stomped it out, just to make sure it wasn't alive.

I stayed kneeled down on the ground though, and thought about what was up. I was able to use quite a bit more power before. So I decided to ask Ciel.

However, she seemed to catch my thoughts and respond first. [[The degree to which this body is limited has increased substantially since you arrived. I concluded you wouldn't have fun with the original parameters. However, I couldn't weaken you this much immediately, otherwise, you may have found yourself paralyzed for several weeks.]]

I guess doing it slowly is fine… But this is weak enough, alright?

[[Understood. I wasn't planning to weaken you much more regardless. Consider any skill above mid-unique grade off limits. I will create a copy of [Lesser Gluttony], for your story use. It will inherit the magicule cloud of Gluttony, as this is the skill you replicated before. However, it is more similar in power to [Predator] in its earlier stages.]]

Thanks…

I kind of thought it would've been nice if she told me earlier, but Ciel tends not to do that stuff. So, I decided to get back up. "Sorry about that."

"You are… worthy… I apologize… for doubting you… I will… stop interacting with… students…" The basilisk had her head down and seemed to still be twitching in pain.

"Don't worry about it. Say... Can you turn off that whole petrifying thing?" I took a minute to stretch since I noticed I felt a bit stiff, but was otherwise unaffected from its use on me. However, I still did feel the effects of magicule poisoning on this body, and not to a minor degree.

"Well… No?... No basilisk can control their gaze… They can only use it…" She seemed a little disappointed she couldn't actually carry out my first order.

"Tsk. Of course, this world's magic sucks. Alright then, I might be able to help. Would you accept a name from me? This body should be restrained enough not to kill ya."

"What are you… talking about?"

"I lied about not being from this world when I was talking to that ghost. Where I come from, naming a magical creature makes them strong. Just unfortunate that if it is too much, it can also kill them." The last time I named something personally was my own child, so that was a bit of a special case. Definitely couldn't name anything else with my main body at this point.

Except maybe a True Dragon, but there definitely weren't any True Dragons ready to be born. At least not yet. Couldn't say for sure there'd never be another.

"If there is a chan-"

"You won't die, don't worry about that."

"Very well…" She still seemed unsettled.

I spent a few moments going through a tiny list of names I immediately gravitated toward but decided on something familiar from my life in Japan. "Alright then, your new name is Hebi."

Now, I wasn't expecting it to work immediately, but it seemed like because of my advanced skills and authority, I still had access to the Voice of the World, even when traveling abroad. It may have also been my Wife's interference.

So I felt a pretty heavy draining sensation and a cloud of dark black magicules, with hints of gold, left my body and merged into the creature in front of me.

However, she didn't immediately evolve like I was used to. Instead, it seemed it would take her some time to properly reform. A little magic cocoon formed around her, and she seemed to be sleeping inside.

"Guess I'll come back down here later tonight, but first." I knelt down next to the sleeping ghost. "I should really send you somewhere else, but you'd probably want a choice in that."

It took a few more minutes for the little ghost to actually wake up. "Rimuru? What happened… I thought I died again."

"Eh, no. We did find what killed you, though." I felt a little awkward, not really sure how to explain naming Hebi, or how to explain what I wanted to ask her about.

"Rimuru… You're not human, are you? I suspected it before, but that… You can't be." She still seemed shaken. "You stopped that creature, with your hands… And then I met eyes with it… It really was what killed me…"

"Well, if you worked that out on your own, that'll make the next step easier."

Myrtle just stared at me curiously, likely waiting for me to explain.

"Now that you know how you died, are you satisfied?"

"Satisfied?"

"Is anything else holding you here as a ghost?"

"Wait, Rimuru, tell me what you are! I need to know!"

"I'm just someone that's here to help."

"You know that isn't what I mean…"

I sighed loudly. "You really are pushy. Alright, I'm not just anyone here to help. I'm a dragon, a very powerful dragon from… I guess I'll say it, it's just us two. From another world."

She'd be moving on from this world soon anyway, so letting it all out was no problem at all.

"Are you… serious? I can't sense that you're lying…"

I nodded softly. "Though you couldn't sense it even if I was, I'm definitely not now. This world has some things wrong with it, and while it may be a bit of a game to me, I'm here to help."

"A game…?"

"Don't worry about that, just something between me and my wife. How about we get you up? I have something important to ask you, and you'll be the first person from this world to get this offer."

"W-what's that?" She seemed shocked that I could actually touch her, as I helped her to her feet.

"Very simple. You can move on like every soul in this world has before, however barbaric that would be. Or, you could be the first soul to go to another world. To get another life. I'll even let you keep your memories like I got to my first time."

"So… I'd get to live again...?"

I nodded. "In the world I come from, since that'd be the easiest to do on such short notice. You can do whatever you want to leave nothing unfinished, though."

"...Can you promise me… That I won't be insulted… And ridiculed there?... That no one will treat me… Like I was?" She looked down pensively.

I tapped my chin softly. "I can't say I know how you were treated, but I can promise no one will hate you for being whatever you become."

Her eyes widened a bit. "Whatever I become? I won't be human?"

I thought about it for a few moments, it'd have to be Ciel to do all this, so I couldn't say for sure. Especially not once she is in the hands of the Voice of the World. "I can't really guarantee you will be, since I'd be more a guide than the person giving you a new life and all."

"So… You're like an angel?" She had a look of wonder in her eyes despite having said something incredibly annoying to me. Angels are terrible creatures, usually, and being compared to one wasn't a good thing.

I decided to nip that misguided idea right in the bud. "No. Angels are mindless, destructive creatures."

She looked down and seemed pensive again. "Oh… I thought they were like… A big deal, or something."

"You could say they are, and I have a subordinate who is one, but they are usually assholes." I let a bit too much slip. "Just… Make your decision, sorry for talking about that."

"I guess I wouldn't mind… Can I tell you in the morning though? This is a lot to think about." She looked back into my eyes.

I smiled softly. "Yeah, sure. So long as you don't tell anyone else about any of this. I need to come back here anyway. I guess I can wait till morning to check on Hebi."

Myrtle tilted her head and raised her eyebrow. "Hebi?"

I put my hand on the back of my neck, it felt awkward, knowing Hebi killed Myrtle. "The basilisk, I named her."

She seemed to frown deeply, and turned away. "Why? Isn't it a danger to everyone in the school?"

I sighed loudly, and clearly. "Won't be soon, but you don't need to worry about that. Just uh… come up with what you want your next life to be like. It'll be important." I gave her a glowing smile, to cheer her up, like I did for all my subjects.

She still looked pouty but with flushed cheeks. I didn't know ghosts could flush. "Oh… Okay." After that, she flew back up to the bathrooms.

A/N: Hebi is pronounced Heh-bee.