Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 34: Prelude to the Festival
- Felix -
The Reception Ceremony should start sometime tomorrow, after that the Festival will officially begin so we have some time to explore and mess around then.
"Come on Felix! Let's go!" Said an overexcited Milim.
I sighed. "Do you even know where you're going?"
Milim paused for a moment before turning to look at me. "Where are we going again Felix?"
I sighed even louder this time. This girl is seriously a handful.
"Why don't we check out Veldora's Takoyaki stand, I'm sure his stand is ready by now. He seemed to be taking it super seriously too so it should be good."
Milim nodded. "Mhm, okay!"
I looked to the side to see what Raiden and Kurumi thought.
"That sounds wonderful Master." Said Raiden.
"Yup!" Said Kurumi.
As we were making our way to where I sensed Veldora I felt Kurumi in her fox form hop onto my shoulder, something I didn't protest as the Festival has not technically started yet.
Might as well let her do what she wants today since tomorrow she will be forced to mingle a bit.
Once we were within range I heard someone shouting. "Takoyaki! Come try the amazing Veldora's Takoyaki!"
Heh, that's one method of advertising.
It didn't take him long to notice us. "Ah! Felix come try my Takoyaki! You too Milim!"
Veldora then looked at Raiden, ah I don't think he has actually had an introduction to Raiden before.
"Ah, a Dragon huh? Well you can come try some too! You as well Fox!"
I gave Veldora a wave. "Sup Veldora. I don't think I've introduced you to these two before, the Dragon is Raiden my maid, and the Nine Tailed Fox is Kurumi."
Veldora looked at Raiden with slight interest. "You are quite strong hmm? As expected of one of my brother's indirect descendants! You're quite strong too Fox. As expected of my second brother Felix!"
Eh? What does that mean?
"What do you mean by indirect descendant Veldora?" I asked.
Milim chose this opportunity to interrupt. "What kind of food are you making Veldora?!"
Ah, right. She probably doesn't want to talk or hear much about her pet, since all Dragons are descended from her pet. I assume that Veldanava is related to her pet then somehow.
"Oh! You need to try my Takoyaki! I guarantee it's the best you will ever have!"
Veldora is really embodying the shady salesman.
I decided to help him out. "He's right you know, Takoyaki is quite good."
"I'll try it then!" Said Milim.
"Great, then Veldora can you make enough for me, Milim, Raiden and Kurumi?"
He looked determined. "Yes! I guarantee this will be worth it!"
"I'm sure it will Veldora."
The four of us munched on Veldora's Takoyaki. It was actually quite good, I can tell he has been practicing.
Milim quickly finished hers. "Mmm, Veldora can make some good stuff!"
I nodded. "Right, who knew?"
I looked to the side and saw a now humanoid Kurumi and Raiden also enjoying it quite a bit.
I can tell Veldora's shop will be quite successful. Though I imagine he will be in a disguise so no one knows he is a True Dragon. No one wants to buy food from a True Dragon, they would probably be far too terrified.
I also ended up asking Veldora for another serving to store in my Infinity Space, I can give it to Velzard whenever we meet next, I'm sure she would like to try her little brother's cooking.
All of a sudden I sensed two Auras erupt in the arena. Hmm, it seems Carrion is fighting someone, is that Gabiru?
What the fuck is going on?
"Ooh! Let's go watch that fight Felix!" Yelled Milim.
I nodded, I was also quite interested in how this fight started. "Yeah sure." I snapped my fingers teleporting us into the VIP Spectators area of the arena.
The arena is where Rimuru is going to be holding the tournament so it is quite sturdy.
I could sense Suphia, Albis, and Phobio down below in the common spectators area.
I sent Suphia a Thought Communication.
"Hey Suphia, how did this fight start?"
"Ah! Boss, uhm that Dragonewt challenged Lord Carrion, he said he wanted to test himself against an Ex Demon Lord so that he could see just how far he still has to go."
"I see, thank you."
I cut the Thought Communication. Is this guy still aiming for Raiden? I can admire the sheer grit he has but someone needs to talk to this guy.
Though from what I'm sensing he can actually match Carrion temporarily if he uses all of his Skills.
'Dragon Body is an Intrinsic Skill rarely possessed by Dragonewts. The Skill allows the user to enter a temporary battle transformation which greatly increases their combat capabilities similar to its Lycanthrope counterpart.'
'Intriguing, how does that work?'
Answer. By absorbing the Magicules surrounding them to supercharge their body. This results in a large offensive and defensive power increase.'
- Carrion -
He stared down the Dragonewt that challenged him to a fight. He was quite surprised at first but he welcomed all challenges, even back in his territory if someone wanted to fight him and overthrow him he welcomed them.
Though such people should expect a swift punishment upon defeat.
However before their fight could truly start they were interrupted.
"What the hell are you two doing?!" Yelled Rimuru.
Before he could answer he sensed Felix appear next to him.
"Calm down Rimuru, they were just having a friendly spar no?"
Carrion nodded seeing the look he was getting from Felix.
"Still so close to the Festival?! You two better cut it out, if you want to fight then you can both participate in the tournament."
Felix looked interested. "That sounds like it will be a fun show to watch? What do you two think?"
Carrion nodded. "I would not mind that."
"Neither would I Lord Rimuru, Lord Felix." Responded the Dragonewt.
Rimuru nodded in satisfaction. "Good, though you will have to wear a disguise Carrion, having an Ex Demon Lord fight in my tournament might scare some off."
He nodded. "Very well."
- Felix -
With that taken care of I looked to Rimuru with a pout. "You're such a party pooper."
Rimuru looked annoyed. "Me? A party pooper? Hah!"
Milim chose this moment to appear. "Eh! That looked like it could have been fun to watch!"
"Don't worry Milim, the fight was just postponed, we can watch it at the tournament, along with that I bet there will be a few other interesting fights."
Rimuru nodded along with me.
"Ah! Really?! Then I'll look forward to it." Said Milim.
The Unique Skill: Tuner was analyzed.
Ah, that must be Gabiru's Unique Skill.
This is an odd Skill.
The first sub-skill, Unexpected Effects allows the user to boost attack power only through unintentional action. It acted based on the user's mood — they gain more strength when excited and driven and vice versa.
While the second sub-skill, Change Destiny is quite honestly bullshit. It alters the user's own fate to the point of preventing certain death. It can only be used once a day on each target which means that the user can use it once a day for each different target. It cannot be activated intentionally.
Of course this is not quite as good as Saeko's Cook but it is still quite broken.
Fucking Unique Skills man. This world is seriously full of hax abilities.
Though it seems there are more Unique Skills to analyze in Tempest so I'll have to get that done during the Festival.
After all, if I can then why shouldn't I analyze all the Skills I can? The data can only help me after all.
Rimuru's Uriel, Lord of Vows was made with the combination of all of Rimuru's subordinates abilities but a lot of those abilities were left out due to them not meshing well with Uriel's general capabilities, so Odin is not able to gather data on every single one of Rimuru's subordinates Skills.
Odin wanted to go off on her own to go analyze all the Skills she can but I rejected her, after all this is the Cardinal World, you never know what can happen.
One thing I did learn though is that Odin is just as eager for more data on Skills as I am if not more.
I guess she inherited that from me.
"What about Frey?" I asked.
"Ah, we were discussing something about how she wanted me to rebuild her territory."
I nodded. "I see, but I was asking where she was."
Rimuru's eyes widened. "Crap! I teleported here as soon as I could so I left her in my office. I'll see you guys later." Rimuru said as he teleported away.
Well that happened.
I looked towards Carrion. "Well you heard him, you can have your fight during the tournament."
"Got it Boss."
Carrion then left with Suphia, Albis, and Phobeo. Though Suphia sent me a Thought Communication saying goodbye.
Now that the fight was postponed I noticed multiple Orcs and High Orcs resume their work, it seems they were busy reinforcing the arena when Carrion and Gabiru began releasing their Auras in preparation.
Noticing I was looking at him, Geld gave me a quick bow before resuming his work.
I'd already analyzed his Unique Skills a while back. The Unique Skill: Guardian has three sub-skills. Grant Protection which allows Geld to increase the defensive capabilities of others, Substitute which allows him to receive the damage others would take, and Iron Wall which boosts his defensive ability and durability.
A solid Skill.
Then his other Unique Skill: Gourmet is just a reskinned Gluttony, though it has a bit more restrictions.
It suits a High Orc like him.
"Alright, let's move on so the Orcs can finish whatever they were doing."
Milim nodded excitedly. "Let's go try some more food!"
What a glutton.
- Rimuru Tempest -
He gave his name at the reception desk for the Free Guild and requested to meet with Yuuki.
The guy at the desk thankfully quickly directed him to Yuuki, status was quite useful sometimes.
"Heh, Rimuru long time no see! You've gone through a lot of interesting things since we last met huh?" This bastard.
Rimuru controlled his expression to make sure he gave nothing away. He gave Yuuki a friendly smile.
He sighed. "It was far more than just interesting, getting surprise attacked by Hinata, then Falmuth's invasion, I even became a Demon Lord. Everything was super chaotic for the last few months."
"Ah, well you came out on top huh Rimuru? That's just like you." Yuuki responded playfully. It seems he was going to pretend that he wasn't responsible for Hinata's attack.
Even Raphael was not completely certain if he was behind it but Yuuki was the most suspicious.
He just couldn't look at his former friend the same with that suspicion in the back of his mind.
"At least I made up with Hinata so all turned out well."
Yuuki nodded. "That must have been difficult, I know how she can be."
Rimuru imagined it would have been quite difficult if Felix didn't convince him to just directly contact Luminous to sort everything out.
With Hinata's brash personality they likely would have ended up fighting.
"Yeah, she didn't listen at all to what I was saying, but she is loyal to a fault." He made sure not to give away too much information, like the fact that Felix was beati-training Hinata.
"Ah, you're here to pick me up for the Festival though right? I've been desperately finishing my work just to attend you know?" Asked Yuuki.
Rimuru nodded. "You and the kids."
Yuuki smirked. "I'm sure they will be happy to see their Rimuru-sensei again."
Rimuru smiled fondly at remembering his students. His true purpose for coming here after all was to take the kids to Tempest.
"Ah, I'll introduce you to my assistant as well Rimuru." Yuuki pressed a button under his desk.
Rimuru prepared for an attack just in case, after all Yuuki no longer had his trust. He was a Demon Lord now, he ought to be prepared for these sorts of things.
Thankfully no attack took place.
The door opened and in came a beautiful looking Elf.
Damn bastard, having an Elf secretary. Both Yuuki and Felix are traitors, he wants some Elf subordinates too!
Rimuru did rescue a few Elves from Jura who were enslaved but they weren't really his subordinates, they were more like citizens of his territory.
"This is my assistant Kagali, she has taken up the role of my Deputy Guild Master." Yuuki said, introducing me to that woman. She had the classic secretary look, a nice suit with unique designs, neatly combed hair, navy blue eyes, and blonde hair tied in a bun.
Then there was her more attractive feature.
Her pointed ears.
Bastard.
"If you ever want to meet me and I am not available you will be directed to her." Said Yuuki.
Rimuru nodded in response.
The Elf, Kagali gave a quick bow. "Greetings Demon Lord Rimuru, my name is Kagali, it is an honor to meet you."
He gave her a smile. "It is nice to meet you as well Kagali."
They quickly finished their conversation and then left the room. Yuuki had to get his bag full of his daily necessities since he will be leaving for a few days.
Rimuru made his way to the familiar school building. He didn't send a letter in advance since he wanted to surprise them. He hoped they didn't look at him differently due to him being a Demon Lord now.
Thanks to the pass he got from Yuuki he was able to easily get through the Freedom Academy and make his way to where the kids were.
- Yuuki Kagurazaka -
While Rimuru was meeting with the children he took the chance to hear what Kagali had to say.
"So what do you think?" He asked.
He saw Kagali shiver slightly. "It felt like I was constantly being watched, as if one wrong move would result in my death." She whispered.
Yuuki nodded in response. "Rimuru seems to be a bonafide Demon Lord, far stronger than he was when he was a mere Slime. We can't underestimate him or his friend."
Kagali nodded.
"Make sure Laplace is ready when the time comes." He ordered.
"Got it Boss."
- Rimuru Tempest -
Rimuru opened the door to the classroom. "Hey kids, I hope you guys have been studying hard!"
Before he could continue though he was tackled by Chloe who hit him like a bullet.
She looked up at him with a pout. "You said you'd visit sensei!"
He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well you se-"
"Yeah! I thought you'd forgotten about us!"
"Gale is right! You should have come to play with us!
He was quite busy with everything that has been going on but he knew such an excuse wouldn't work on the kids.
"Haha, sorry about that, but how about to make up for it why don't you come visit my country? We are holding a big Festival where you can all have a ton of fun!"
"Eh! Sensei's country?!" Yelled Alice.
He nodded with a smirk. "Yup! My country is pretty awesome, I can even introduce you to my best friend!"
"You have a best friend Sensei?" Asked Chloe with a curious hint to her voice.
He nodded. "Yup! His name is Felix!"
All of their eyes widened. "You mean the Demon Lord Felix White?!" Yelled Kenya.
"Woah! We can meet a real Demon Lord?!"
Seriously guys? He was a Demon Lord too!
Whatever, as long as they're happy.
"Yes, I'm sure Felix would love to meet you." Felix had mentioned that he wanted to meet the students he taught at some point, the Festival was a good opportunity for that.
"Yipee!" Shouted Kenya.
Man they really didn't take him as a Demon Lord seriously huh? Well maybe they were too familiar with him to see him like that.
He noticed the teacher standing to the side watching with a surprised expression, though he was smiling.
"Alright why don't you kids go get ready."
They all nodded and ran off to get what they needed.
"Ah, what a surprise, they don't treat me with as much affection." Said the teacher.
He decided to comfort him. "Haha, don't worry about it, before I came here they wouldn't tolerate any other teachers so they do like you."
"Aha, that's true, but it does make sense that they don't take me very seriously. The strength of those kids…"
Eh? Were they really that strong?
"Ah, I haven't introduced myself, my name is Rimuru, I was their substitute teacher before."
The teacher shook his head. "There is no need for introduction, those kids won't stop talking about you and Yuuki has already informed me about you. My name is Clouse by the way."
"Nice to meet you Clouse." He responded.
Clouse said he was an A- Rank Adventurer and he was 50 years old.
If they could rival an A- Rank Adventurer when they are so young then those kids have a ton of potential.
Especially Kenya and Chloe, according to his Elemental of Light he had the potential to become a True Hero, a being opposite to the True Demon Lords. And then Chloe was Blessed and Contracted to that mysterious Spirit, one that Great Sage said had an immeasurable amount of power.
Yuuki walked through the doors with a large duffel bag.
"Ah, are the kids already getting ready?"
Clouse nodded. "Indeed. While you are here Grandmaster I would like to make a request to both of you in fact."
Yuuki looked at him and he nodded in response.
"Very well Clause, what is it?" Asked Yuuki.
Clouse went on to say that the children's growth may be affected if they don't find a stronger teacher, after all they are already capable of rivaling him individually, soon enough they will be able to beat Clouse single handedly.
No student will respect a teacher that is weaker than them, at least normally. Children are just like that, oftentimes logic does not work on them, it doesn't matter if Clouse is more experienced and has more knowledge to pass on.
It seemed Clouse really valued the children and wanted them to succeed. It's good to know that there are still teachers like that out there.
Rimuru saw this opportunity to poach the kids and get them out of Yuuki's influence. If this plan works he won't need to use his other plan.
"Why don't they come stay in Tempest then? We have amazing teachers and they are all quite strong so it will be a long time before the kids outgrow them."
"Ah! Can we entrust them to you then Rimuru?" Asked Yuuki. It's good that he wasn't protesting.
He nodded. "Yes! Count on me!"
He can even have Hinata and the Holy Knights help train the kids so they could get a deeper understanding of their Elementals.
Rimuru looked down at the kids playing around fondly, this is the life they deserved to have, not one where they constantly worry about if they will make it to the next day.
Thankfully Yuuki didn't protest much about him taking them to the Festival, he had a plan for how to keep them in Tempest. He didn't trust Yuuki much due to his shady activities so it's best if he keeps the kids close.
Rimuru left them to their games while he continued to prepare for the Festival. He would introduce them to Felix a little later on, maybe when the Festival officially starts.
- Felix -
I looked down at the fallen form of Hinata. Since we had a couple hours until nightfall Hinata wanted to get a little bit more training in since we likely won't have as much time during the Festival which starts tomorrow.
Though I wasn't complaining I used this chance to try out some of my Soul Magic, basically Elemental Magic that is used by Elemental Souls like me.
Elemental Souls can naturally manipulate the Laws of the World concerning their respective Elements. This phenomena completely obeys the laws of physics, contrary to how regular Magic violates those laws. Since it obeys the laws of physics Elemental Souls can be used to fight when under an Anti-Magic Area or a Holy Barrier.
Since my Elemental Soul of Infinity is a combination of my Space and Time affinities I can quite casually manipulate both those aspects now, whereas before I struggled with manipulating Time partly due to fear of the Element itself and inexperience.
Soul Magic, if mastered enough, is capable of even rivaling an Ultimate Skill.
"You had enough yet?" I taunt.
"Gah, not yet!" She yelled as she quickly jumped up and charged at me.
I simply blocked her attack with my stick and then kicked her away at speeds she couldn't follow.
Before I could continue however I got a Thought Communication from Rimuru.
"You need something Rimuru?"
"Uhh, kinda? Are you busy right now?"
I looked towards Hinata who once again charged at me.
"Not really no, what's up?"
"Ah, you said you wanted to meet my students right, they're here now and then want to meet the great Demon Lord Felix White."
I smirked hearing the slight jealousy in Rimuru's tone.
"It seems they know who the real Demon Lord is."
"Huh?! What does that mean?! You wanna go?!"
"Now you just sound like Milim. Anyways I'll teleport over to you soon."
And with that I cut the Thought Communication.
Before Hinata could continue attacking me I interrupted her. "Alright I got something I need to do, actually why don't you come along with me. You are kinda famous in the Human World right? I'm sure those kids would like to meet you."
Hinata looked confused. "Those kids?"
I nodded. "Yeah Rimuru was teaching some kids at the Freedom Academy, he got them contracted Elementals and everything too."
Hinata nodded in understanding. "Very well, maybe I can see if some of those kids have potential."
Hearing her I nodded. After all they are kids taught by Rimuru so they can't be simple. They are otherworlders so that already puts them above the vast majority of the world.
"Alright let's go then." I gestured to Hinata to prepare herself for the teleportation. Some people just can't handle teleporting very well.
I snapped my fingers, teleporting us to where I sensed Rimuru.
I took a look around, it seems he has the kids staying at the Tempest School.
The School itself is quite nice, the teachers are also good from what I've seen. Hinata has stopped by here a few times and always had good things to say.
Though she did say the kids could be little shits.
I headed out back towards the play area, though some of the combat classes also trained out here since there were barriers up.
I noticed Hinata waving to some of the children, who knew the cold heroine had a heart.
"Felix!" I turned towards the voice and saw Rimuru waving at us with a group of kids behind him.
I sent him a wave and then gestured for Hinata to follow me.
My attention focused on two of Rimuru's students in particular, one an orange haired boy, and the other a black haired girl.
The boy was contracted to an Elemental of Light, if he gets his Elemental's Blessing all he would need is Ramiris' Blessing to gain a Hero's Egg.
While the girl was even more special. I could tell she was Blessed by Time. She even had a Hero's Egg somehow.
She had a Unique Skill as well.
'What does she have Odin?'
'Unable to determine due to an unknown entity interfering with the scan. Odin was not able to completely analyze the Skill but was able to determine the Skill involves traveling through Time in some way.'
'So Time Travel then?'
'That is the most likely scenario.'
There is a lot to unpack there. For one who the fuck could interfere with Odin's scan? This girl doesn't have an Ultimate Skill, nor does she have Divinity. It must be that mysterious Blessing then.
Time travel sounds like a pain in the ass to consider. Has this girl already traveled to the past? Or maybe her future self will travel to the past and interfere with certain events. In that case the timeline I am currently in is most likely the already altered one.
Is this girl even as old as she looks? From my Milim Eye her soul doesn't tell me much as it seems to be as old as the girl herself is. But maybe the Blessing is interfering with that too.
I can't rely on Odin for this then huh?
'...'
'No need to pout Odin, I was relying on you too much anyways, I need to be able to do things on my own too.'
Still this is confusing.
I think it's best if I take a wait and see approach, I don't want to accidentally do something and erase myself out of existence.
Fucking time travel man.
The other kids also all had contracts with Greater Elementals, though the Elementals themselves were artificial. I bet Rimuru made them using his Unique Skill by fusing together a bunch of Lesser Elementals.
'Answer. That is correct, using the Unique Skill: Degenerate Rimuru Tempest was able to fuse the leftovers of multiple Elementals to create a Greater Elemental for each child.'
'Got it, thanks Odin.'
Still, Rimuru really has some rather absurd students huh? Two potential Heroes?
"These are my students Felix!" Rimuru then turned to look at the kids. "And this is my best friend Felix! If you guys ever need anything and I'm not around then you can go to him."
Best friend eh? Heh, I wouldn't disagree, both Milim and Rimuru have been the closest friends I've got in this life, maybe even my previous life.
"Sensei's best friend?" I heard the girl Blessed by Time whisper.
Weird.
Hearing Rimuru all the kids bowed and greeted me.
"Haha, no need to bow, your Rimuru's students so you can be more casual with me. Anyways I'm Felix and this is Hinata."
One of his students, a blond haired girl, looked at Hinata in surprise. "Hinata as in Hinata Sakaguchi the Hero?" Heh, it seems Hinata is quite famous like I expected.
I nodded. "That's her."
The kids all looked super excited.
"Why don't you introduce yourselves kids." Said Rimuru.
They nodded. "Yes Sensei!"
The orange haired kid Blessed by an Elemental of Light took the lead. "I'm Kenya!"
Then the rather large brown haired boy spoke up. "I'm Gale." He has an Artificial Greater Elemental of Earth.
The blonde girl who seemed to be enamored with Hinata said, "Alice."
Hmm, she's Blessed by an Artificial Greater Elemental of Space.
Then a rather shaggy looking black haired boy spoke up. "I'm Ryota."
Huh, he has an Artificial Greater Elemental of Water-Wind, basically a combination of multiple Elements.
I looked towards the girl Blessed by Time. She peeked out from behind Rimuru shyly. "Chloe Aubert."
I gave her a nod.
"You already know me but I'm Demon Lord Felix." I said giving a graceful bow.
"And I am Hinata Sakaguchi, it is nice to meet some promising individuals." Commented Hinata.
Everyone I brought to Tempest is currently off doing their own things, Raiden and Kurumi are chilling at my place in Tempest while Milim is off doing who knows what.
Sukuna is sparring with some of Rimuru's subordinates. He said that he has been enjoying sparring with new people so I left him to it.
Hinata ended up doing a quick training session with the kids at Rimuru's request.
"Those are some students you have." I commented.
Rimuru smiled proudly. "Yup!"
I smirked. "Not as good as mine though."
"Eh? What do you mean yours? Hinata doesn't count, you already got her when she was super powerful!"
"That sounds like something a loser would say. Face it, I have won the who has the best student competition without even trying. My greatness astounds me sometimes."
Rimuru just stared at me before finally opening his mouth. "Dick."
"Hah, that's the best you got?"
Rimuru and I continued insulting each other while watching Hinata spar with the kids.
"Ah, I forgot to ask how is your relationship with Shuna going?" I asked with a shit eating grin.
Rimuru gained a blush on his face. "Th-That's not your business!"
I looked at him offended. "Of course it is! I got you two together so it is now my duty to continue to observe this relationship of yours!"
Rimuru sighed. "Fine fine, it's going well. Shuna and I are taking our time to get to know each other more as partners and lovers rather than master and subordinate."
I nodded. "Yeah that's probably a good move." I don't think I need to do that seeing as I'm fine with the way my relationships are going now.
"Ah by the way I had an idea for The Dungeon."
This idea is based off of what Odin did in the Jujutsu Kaisen world, she was able to use the data from Small World to make basically leaderboards around the world detailing someone's strength.
Maybe Ramiris can do something similar in The Dungeon, after all strength is quite difficult to measure at the higher levels so having a way to tell how powerful someone is will be quite helpful later down the line.
Hell maybe Rimuru can make it available to everyone, after all visibly seeing your strength go up is bound to be good motivation.
It also fits with the whole MMORPG thing Rimuru has going on in The Dungeon.
Hmm, but Rimuru will have to make sure to keep his subordinates and his own strength level as secret as possible, after all if someone knows exactly how strong Rimuru is it could give others with untoward intentions towards Tempest more information.
In this world information often decides the fate of battles between two equal parties, that's why Odin is so broken, she can easily gather information.
Once Rimuru heard my idea he looked thoughtful.
"Hmm, it would fit the theme of The Dungeon, and it might motivate adventurers to work harder as they see their ranking go up."
I nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought too."
"It can also be a good way to measure progress, if someone sets a goal to reach a certain level they just need to find someone at a similar level as their goal, then they can tell how close or far away they are from their goal. Something that increases motivation even more. It can also be used to rank exactly how strong a Floor Boss is, letting people know just how strong they will need to be to beat a Boss. I'll have to talk to Ramiris about it. Thanks Felix!"
I nodded. "Heh, I wonder where I'll be placed."
Rimuru snorted. "I don't plan to have any of us listed on the leaderboard if Ramiris can make this a thing. Hell I probably won't even have our strong subordinates on the leaderboard."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. The difference between even an A Rank adventurer and someone like Saeko or Benimaru is incredibly vast."
Rimuru nodded. "Umu!"
All of Rimuru's subordinates got a lot stronger after his Harvest Festival, the gifts from the Harvest Festival aren't a joke. A good chunk of Rimuru's subordinates gained Unique Skills off of that, Unique Skills that I of course analyzed.
There is Kurobe's DIvine Craftsmen and Researcher, Shuna's Analyst and Manufacturer.
Then there is Benimaru's Commander, the ideal Skill for a General like him. It lets him sense the flow of a battle along with reading his chances for victory. It also boosts his army's power and lets him instantly send them orders.
Hakurou's Martial Master is, as it sounds, a Skill ideal for Martial Arts. Its first sub-skill Heavenly Eye gives Hakurou senses far greater than what Magic Sense. It also allows the user not only the ability to visually see Magicules and other spiritual matter, but also the ability to tell how much force is behind it, with its user even being able to distinguish the type of Magic being used before it's even activated.
It's a skill that has the potential to surpass not only the performance level of a normal Extra Skill, but is even able to surpass the performance of most Unique Skills in the right hands. And Hakurou is the right hands.
With that alone his Skill is already fairly impressive.
It also has Thought Acceleration and Ultra Acceleration which allows him to increase the momentum of anything. It can also predict the future along with some other useful abilities.
While Souei also has a Unique Skill of his own called Shadow Stalker. Its sub-skills include Thought Acceleration, Ultra Acceleration, Insta Kill which reinforces the user's attacks allowing the user to directly damage the Spiritual Body, and Espionage which conceals the user and their presence.
Rimuru's pet Wolf, Ranga also got a Unique Skill ideal for being the Alpha of his pack.
All around Rimuru's subordinates are incredibly powerful, some even at the Demon Lord Seed level, though of course Diablo is far beyond even that.
Man, True Demon Lords really are so high up in the food chain compared to most in this world, when each True Demon Lord has multiple Demon Lord Seed level subordinates it's kinda understandable why the majority of the world is shit scared of even the peaceful Demon Lords.
Just knowing there is an individual out there with such a vast amount of power would make the majority paranoid, let alone the nobles and rulers who wish to cling to their political power and position.
Rimuru is definitely going to have a hard time with his dream to make peace with Humans.
But he's already made significant progress, an alliance with both Dwargon and Sarion shows the world that those two superpowers approve of Tempest.
"Ah by the way you should probably know that Yuuki is here." Said Rimuru.
"That's the guy you suspect of being the one to instigate Hinata and Falmuth?" I asked, my tone even.
Rimuru nodded. "Mhmm."
So the guy who I may or may not kill is finally here huh? I'm not one to let go of grudges after all, if I'm able to confirm if he is behind Saeko's death….
Well safe to say I'm going to kill him and devour his soul.
Though I'm not quite sure how I can do that without directly controlling him, and he is the Guildmaster of the Adventurers Guild of this world, I'm sure he has protection against such a thing like mind control.
I don't want to ruin Rimuru's relationship with someone so important on a hunch. Either way if he is responsible I will find out eventually, no lie or trickery stays hidden for long.
Though I also need to consider what if he is responsible? How am I going to deal with him without anyone that I don't want learning about it. After all, Yuuki is an important figure in the Human world. If they find out that I am responsible for it for one they may attack my territory which isn't a big deal since I can just have all the attackers wiped out.
The issue is what if they use that as an excuse to not establish relations with Tempest? I don't want to ruin the chances of my Best Friend's dream over something like revenge.
I need to take my time and plan everything out if I want to kill Yuuki, I'm sure an opportunity to strike will appear at some point. I just need to make sure to be patient.
Who knew that even at my level I would have to play politics. Rimuru better appreciate what I'm doing.
Though it's probably best if I keep my plan to myself from now, Rimuru is soft like that, I could see him not wanting to kill Yuuki.
I shook my head, clearing away those thoughts. I have time to think about all that at a later time.
Rimuru was looking at me curiously but ended up keeping quiet.
I turned my head slightly looking in the direction I sensed the King of Dwargon, it seems he was arriving in a carriage, probably for political reasons.
It wasn't too surprising that he was basically the first guest to arrive, Tempest's relations with Dwargon are quite close after all.
"The King of Dwarves should be here soon." I told Rimuru.
Rimuru nodded. "Alright, thanks for letting me know, I'll go prepare for his arrival. Do you mind keeping an eye on the kids?"
I nodded. "Sure, I don't have much else to do."
Right about now I'm sure everyone is getting changed into the outfits we all tried on yesterday before coming to Tempest.
Hearing me Rimuru nodded and walked off.
I noticed one of the kids, Chloe, approaching me.
"Chloe right?" I asked.
She nodded shyly.
"Aren't you supposed to be training with Hinata?"
She shook her head. "Big sis Hinata said that she was just getting a general basis of all our abilities."
I nodded. "I see so once she does that she'll begin training you in earnest."
Chloe nodded though I noticed she kept looking towards the direction Rimuru left in.
I gave her a pat on the head. "Don't worry kid, he'll be fine. I'm sure Rimuru will spend some more time with you guys after the Festival, this Festival is quite important for him after all."
Chloe nodded with a blush creeping up on her face.
I have an amazing idea. Why don't I… just ask her about her Skill? Truly, my genius astounds me.
"Hey Chloe, mind if I ask a question about your Unique Skill?"
Chloe looked at me confused. "Unique Skill?" But behind that confused expression I could see astonishment and fear. Almost no one can hide their expressions from a Skill like Odin.
There was a chance she did not know about her Skill, her Unique Skill likely involves traveling through Time, such an ability is far beyond the bounds of a mere Unique Skill. There is a high likelihood that her Skill has some sort of condition to activate, and until that condition is met she might not know she even has the Skill.
But it seems that my theory is incorrect, or at least partially incorrect as it seems Chloe at least has some idea of her ability.
Now how to deal with this? I don't want to interfere too much, mostly due to the fear of messing things up, I'm not all knowing after all. If I push too hard certain events might change resulting in a different future. That future could be good or bad.
Man I don't think I've ever felt this helpless before. Who knew for all my power I could still feel helpless.
I always heard from various fictional works that time travelers are a pain in the ass, but I never imagined I'd experience what they had for myself. I can now confidently say, yes, time travelers are a pain in the ass.
Fuck it, she has a Hero's Egg, she can't be that bad right? I might be making a foolish decision here, but hey, if I die, it'll be due to a choice I made. I can accept that. I'll place my faith in Rimuru's student for once. I doubt I'll die anyway, I can always just jump worlds after all in the worst case scenario and bring everyone I care for with me.
I shook my head. "Nevermind." Chloe looked at me confused but nodded nonetheless.
"Why don't you tell me about your favorite times with Rimuru when he was teaching you?"
Chloe nodded eagerly and began telling me about her first meeting with Rimuru.
One thought I had in my mind at the time was that it's nice to just relax like this sometimes.
Rimuru was currently meeting the King and Queen of Blumund who had just arrived earlier. Rimuru left me with Gazel who had arrived just earlier, and seeing as I thought that Arcueid could possibly want to build a more secure connection with Gazel, I called her over.
I was currently sitting across from Gazel, the King of Dwargon. He was dressed in a nice black suit with embroidered designs. Though I did notice his gaze shift to Arcueid occasionally. Could he perhaps know who she really is?
Reports of the Lake Shore Dyed Red Incident have been spread around, along with that came the description of the Daemon who did it. A Daemon with white hair and blood red eyes.
Either way I don't really care, he is strong but not strong enough to pose an issue if he wants to cause me trouble. Besides from what I've seen he has a reasonable personality so I doubt he would want to cause any trouble.
After all, any gain that Tempest makes Dwargon makes as well.
Gazel of course had a Unique Skill as a Saint. His Unique Skill: Tyrant is one that I'm sure helps him in his duties as a ruler.
It allows him to read the thoughts of the target and enrich their energy once the Skill is fully mastered. It also allows the user to integrate their energy and sublime it into an attack, enhancing its power.
I'm sure Gazel used this ability to read Rimuru's intentions when they first met, it's likely why they were completely fine with entering an alliance with a Monster Nation.
Though that Skill won't work on Rimuru anymore.
Along with that ironically I was able to copy Hero's Haki, the counterpart to my own Demon Lord's Haki. Along with the normal effects of Haki, Hero's Haki imbues the user's Aura with a Spiritual Interference effect that allows them to bend others to their will and turn others into allies.
Demon Lord's Haki is primarily for intimidation along with being used to kill fodder, while Hero's Haki is more focused on defeating others without killing them. Something that suits the Hero theme.
Then Gazel's final Extra Skill might be his most useful Skill, more useful than his Unique Skill.
The Extra Skill: Fusion allows Gazel to physically merge with allies that he has a strong relationship with, increasing the unified being's total strength. Gazel has a contract with an Elemental Lord of Earth, a being that on its own is on par with a True Demon Lord. Gazel himself is also around the same level, when he merges with his Elemental Lord it's safe to say he becomes a formidable force.
I can see why he is so widely respected and worshiped as a Hero King, he has the power for it.
Arcueid is the one who starts the conversation. "So you are the so-called Hero King hmm?"
Gazel's gaze shifted to Arcueid. His gaze alone could make those of weaker will shiver but Arcueid just met it head on.
"That is one of my titles." He responded.
She smiled. "Interesting." With that out of the way Arcueid quickly began discussing the alliance Azeroth has with Dwargon, ours is far less close than the one Dwargon has with Tempest but that is understandable.
Those two went on for a little while as I continued to listen in. I'm sure I could become an expert negotiator with the help of Odin but there is no reason to bother if I have Arcueid.
She enjoys doing it so why take it away from her?
While they were talking I reached for the donuts on the center table, both Gazel and Arcueid looked at me curiously.
"You should try one." I commented as I took a bite.
No matter how unhealthy donuts are, they are so good, and now that I can eat whatever I want with no consequence you can bet that I am going to eat whatever the hell I want.
As a Divine Being my body is made up of energy, all the food I eat is turned into energy resulting in no waste.
That's also one of the reasons I can't have children, I have no functioning genetics or DNA to pass on.
If I ever do want kids though I'm sure I can figure something out. Hell I could create a kid if I want, who said the kid needs to be born the normal way.
Both Arcueid and Gazel reached for a donut and took a bite.
"Mmm, this is quite delicious My Lord."
I nodded. "Yeah, Raiden made these so I'm sure she will make you some if you ask.."
Arcueid nodded. "I will in the future."
Gazel joined in. "Indeed, this is quite incredible, I haven't tasted anything like it anywhere else. And you said one of your subordinates made them."
I nodded.
"I see." Gazel said while looking thoughtful.
Arcueid and Gazel quickly resumed their negotiation but I noticed that Gazel was focusing more on the food culture of Azeroth now.
We heard a knock on the door. Gazel looked at both me and Arcueid, asking for permission to allow others in. We both nodded seeing as Arcueid's negotiations were almost done.
"Come in." Said Gazel.
The one who entered was Rimuru followed by that Adventurer, Youm I think his name was and that Majin that Clayman was controlling.
Gazel stood up. "Rimuru!"
"Gazel!"
They both greeted each other with a hand shake.
Gazel then looked behind Rimuru to Youm and the Majin. Youm was dressed in quite the fancy outfit, though that makes sense seeing as Rimuru made him king of the now defunct Falmuth.
I hear Youm was being called a Hero King like Gazel. He was considered a Champion in his own right due to Diablo's manipulations, though Youm himself was weak.
I could sense Youm's guardian escort outside, he seemed to be a Lycanthrope.
The Majin gave a curtsy to the three of us. "It is an honor to meet you again, Lord Rimuru, Lord Felix, King Gazel."
"Haha, Mjurran resembles a Queen far more than you do Youm!" Rimuru teased.
Youm looked to the side with a slight blush. "Well, that's because unlike me she has refinement." Oh? So those two got married huh?
"I have experience since Clayman was at least a man of manners, he made sure that I knew the proper etiquette."
That makes sense, Clayman was definitely a rather posh guy.
After Youm finished talking with Rimuru he confidently turned to me causing me to raise a brow.
"Lord Felix, it is a pleasure to meet you once again." Heh, well at least he's confident.
"It's nice to see you as well Youm." I said.
He smiled hearing me respond to his greeting.
He then turned to Arcueid who was sitting next to me.
He kneeled in front of her and held his hand out.
"It is an honor to be in the presence of such a beautiful lady."
Arcueid looked amused as she extended her hand which Youm gave a light kiss.
"Ara ara. What an interesting little King." She said.
I rolled my eyes. "Go easy on the guy Arcueid."
She giggled lightly. "Very well My Lord." She then looked down at the still kneeling Youm. "Well met King of Farmenas." Hearing that Youm gave a smile and quickly rose up.
Youm nodded and discreetly let out a sigh of relief. He then turned to Gazel and greeted him.
At the very least Gazel seems to approve of him.
Arcueid turned to me. "So that is the one that Lord Rimuru made into a King?"
I nodded. "Yup. Even Gazel approved of him so he isn't bad."
"Indeed. He seems to be someone who can prove useful to you My Lord."
Hearing her I nodded. "Do whatever you feel is best."
Arcueid nodded. "Very well My Lord."
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Author's Note:
Sup guys, this chapter we get to see Felix analyze some more Skills and we get to hear a bit about how OP Rimuru's subordinates are. Next chapter the festival should start in earnest. I know its taken a while, but I underestimated the amount of stuff to do before the festival really starts
Anyways, thanks for reading, peace!
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