Son of the Storm Dragon

by ashtonkaslana

“I, Ren Daisuke, thought my unconventional life would end after years of working in Special Forces and the CIA, so imagine my surprise when I died only to be a DRAGON of all creatures in a new world filled with magic and monsters under the new name, Rimuru Tempest. This the story of my adventures in the greatest journey of all time.” Tensura AU

18. Training in Canaat

Day 6 - Canaat Mountains

It's been six days since Ranga, Zegion, and I arrived in the Canaat Mountains for our training trip. And thus far things had been sailing smoothly. It didn't take us long to find a suitable spot to train within the Canaat Mountain range, so we quickly settled. It was an open plain with a good deal of space that I could use to practice even my more dangerous and destructive abilities.

I was rather surprised at first when no Dragons attacked or approached us despite us being in their territory. That was until [Great Sage] explained that the surrounding Dragons in the area had most likely been driven away by my aura. I was a bit disappointed by that, but it also worked out quite well for us. It meant that we could use this spot for our training and go undisturbed. And so that's what the three of us had been doing over the last few days.

My main focus over the last week has been getting greater control over my [Storm Magic] Intrinsic Skill. When not channeling that affinity into other skills like [black flame] , [Black Lightning] or [Black Wind] , it became a lot more volatile and destructive. As a result, I hadn't really had the chance to practice since the incident that occurred in the forest the first time I attempted to do so.

Even with [Great Sage] helping by analyzing and breaking down this ability, it took me two whole days before I had some semblance of control over [Storm Magic] in its raw form, a testament to just how volatile True Dragon Magic was.

According to the analysis done by [Great Sage] , [Storm Magic] functioned in a manner similar to the black variant of my Elemental Skills in that it functioned purely on my internal Magicules without input from those in the atmosphere. I simply had to convert my Magicules into this form of Magic and release it without channeling it through other skills in order to release [Storm Magic] in its most raw and potent form, and not by diluting it with element based skills. [Great Sage] revealed that the reason I hadn't awakened this skill at birth was because I wasn't strong enough at the time, but upon being named and evolving my body grew strong enough that I could safely channel [Storm Magic] without risking damage to myself.

The problem came with controlling such a powerful ability. When it came to the elemental variants such as [Black Flame] , I had [Flame Manipulation] to help with controlling the more powerful flame. Though it was harder to restrain the black fire when compared to ordinary flames. The same could be said for the lightning and wind variants as well. The ability to manipulate the natural elements also transferred to their stronger variants to some extent.

However, I didn't have a skill that could help me control [Storm Magic] as it was, and as a result I had to practice the old fashion way just to get some results. Even with [Thought Acceleration] and [Great Sage] running multiple calculations to help improve, it still took us two days before we were able to get results. It was far from perfect, but I was able to use [Storm Magic] without blowing up the surrounding area, and so the next four days were spent testing how I could implement this ability in combat, as well as improving my control over it.

At first, I focused on being able to integrate this volatile magic into my fighting style, which I'd finally gotten around to naming. I called it the [Ryujin Style], which translated to 'Dragon God Style'. The name in itself sounded a bit ambitious, but it wasn't like a lot of people in this world understood Japanese anyway, so I felt I could get away with it. Besides, who cares what others think? It was a simple but badass name and I was keeping it.

Back on topic, the first thing I did was try adding [Storm Magic] to my Dragon Claw technique. Said technique was purely physical art due to the fact that it was made entirely out of my aura, but by adding [Storm Magic] , it would become a [Mystic Art] , a technique that dealt both physical and magical damage. This was useful for opponents that may have a resistance to one thing but vulnerable to the other.

Putting the idea into practice was easier said than done. Managing the flow of magic, channeling my aura, condensing it around my hand and shaping it, all of that initially took more time than I was comfortable with. In a real fight, I would have been dead before the attack was ready. And so I practiced, in order to get a better grasp of channeling [Storm Magic] to different parts of my body, I also started working on a variant of Dragon Claw. A technique called Dragon Talon, which was basically the same except I was channeling my aura and magic to my feet. This way, I was practicing with all four of my limbs, basically my whole body.

Aside from that, I was also practicing projecting [Storm Magic] outward, though naturally that was proving to be tougher than I thought. The first technique I came up with was simple enough in practice but harder to control in terms of output. I called it Storm Blast, the idea was to release a condensed beam of [Storm Magic] from the palm of my hand that would strike the target and explode on impact. I got the release part down, but the technique was unrefined, as the beam was not condensed to a satisfactory level and was thus using more magicules than it should.

The second projection technique I was working on was called [Laser Arrows]. It was inspired by the 'Storm Release: Laser Circus' from Naruto. The idea was to release numerous beams of smaller but highly condensed arrow shaped beams of storm magic. The end goal of this technique was to improve its aim and accuracy to the point of being able to change the trajectory mid-attack. This would also serve as a means of measuring my progress with my control over [Storm Magic] .

Aside from that, I did continue to practice and refine my [Ryujin Style], sparring against some body doubles as [Great Sage] continued to analyze it in action. Making sure to detect and correct any flaws that she detected. I also made sure to get some sword practice everyday using the same method, the last thing I needed was to get rusty. I wouldn't hear the end of it from Hakurou if I let my blade skills diminish.

And that was how I spent the first six days of this training trip. Aside from my own training, I also made sure to check up on Ranga and Zegion, occasionally advising them and watching them when they sparred.

For Ranga, I decided to have him focus on his lightning based skills for the time being, improving their efficiency and power output. With any luck, it would also help his Magicule reserves increase through the strain of it all. His efforts definitely paid off, because on the fourth day he managed to get the extra skill [lightning manipulation] , greatly improving his skills. With his new extra skill, I decided that Ranga was just about ready to learn a new pokemon move. Thus far, the skills he had were [Thunderbolt], [Discharge] and [Wild Charge], those were three skills that were merged to form [lightning manipulation]. Next, I decided that Ranga needed a close quarters skill, one that would allow him to deal greater physical damage when fighting up close and personal.

Naturally, if that were the case, then his weapons would be his claws and fangs, meaning whatever skill he learned next would have to involve the use of his natural weapons. So we tried having him channel his lightning to his claws, in a manner similar to my Dragon Claw, and to his fangs. The progress was slower with Ranga, but he had successfully managed to acquire the skill [Thunder Fang]. The claw technique was still a work in progress, but Ranga had made considerable headway so it was just a matter of time.

Zegion had also made a lot of headway in his training. Initially, I was a bit lost as to how I was going to go about his training. At first, I planned to let him do his own thing as he had been doing in the forest, but after some thought, I decided against it. Helping Ranga out and neglecting Zegion would make me a pretty shady master, one could even see it as blatant favoritism.

And so upon our arrival in Canaat, I took the time to have a proper chat with the beetle about what he was hoping to achieve by the time this trip was over. He quickly responded by saying he wanted to be strong enough to be of more use to me, and thus he would grow in whatever way I saw best.

I was a bit stumped when I heard that, I responded by telling him the pursuit for power was an individual journey, I couldn't decide the best way he should grow, otherwise he wouldn't grow. And so I told him to train as he always had for two days, whilst thinking about what he really wanted out of this trip objectively. He had to work with a personal goal in mind, not just to appease me, otherwise he would achieve nothing by the end of it all.

And so, for the next two days Zegion trained on his own, and I couldn't help but notice that his training was purely physical. He wasn't practicing any magic or arts, it was actually kind of surprising. But it did also give me some ideas on how to further improve his training, as well as some potential Pokemon inspired arts that I felt he would benefit from.

To be honest, referencing Pokemon was probably the best option when it came to Zegion. The guy was literally a giant beetle, heck he almost reminded me of the Pokemon Heracross, unfortunately his arms and legs were still too short for hand to hand use unlike the Pokemon itself, meaning we'd have to improvise on that front.

Within two days, Zegion returned and I asked him once more what he was hoping to achieve by the end of this training trip. His answer this time was a lot more satisfactory than the last.

'I wish to use this opportunity to further cultivate my mind and body. To grow stronger physically and use the gifts you gave me to surpass my current limitations.'

Those had been the words Zegion said to me. And given the conviction behind them, I couldn't help but actually be proud, he was driven and his warrior spirit would not allow him to become complacent. I had a feeling that Zegion would grow to become one of my most reliable subjects in the coming future, and the fact that [Great Sage] agreed only solidified that belief.

Fortunately, I had already suspected that Zegion would choose to focus on his already impressive physical abilities. Despite his size and form, Zegion already possessed impressive strength that was second to Shion's when it came to pure might. He could easily topple down many trees in Jura just by flying through them. So I supported his idea of refining his strength, and [Great Sage] devised the optimal training regime that would help him achieve his desired outcome.

Aside from that, I also wanted to help Zegion increase his repertoire of techniques. Given his goal, I decided to focus on increasing his Battlewill capabilities. I had a feeling that Zegion would benefit more from Aura-based training rather than magic or skills. And so, using Pokemon as a reference, I came up with three beginner skills that I felt would suit Zegion and would be easy enough for him to learn. Naturally, [Great Sage] helped me convert these Pokemon moves into a manner that used this world's system.

The first was an Art called [Iron Head] . Much like the Pokemon variant, the goal was to have Zegion focus his Aura into his horn, to the point of it glowing with power. He would then charge forward and bust through whatever stood in his path.

The second was [Agility] , a simple technique in which Zegion would focus on lightening and relaxing his body before using his Aura to propel himself forward, allowing him to significantly boost his speed and evasive capabilities. It was basically similar to [Flash Step] but also usable whilst flying.

The last Art was [Iron Defense] , this skill took advantage of Zegion's exoskeleton which was made of Magisteel. Basically, he channeled his Magicules and Aura to significantly boost his endurance, increasing his resistance to magical and physical attacks.

These three techniques would serve as a good starting place, and so the four days that followed were spent helping Zegion learn those techniques whenever I wasn't doing my own training. I explained the mechanics of what I wanted to teach him and he started putting it into practice. As expected, Zegion was a dedicated individual, and always put heart and soul into training, eager to master these arts. I was surprised when by the fourth day he had fully mastered [Iron Head] and [Agility] . [Iron Defense] wasn't quite up to par yet, but he had made a lot of progress on it as well. It was just a matter of time.

~~~

And so here we were on our seventh day, moving deeper into the mountains in search for some Dragons to fight. I was using Shizue's mask to suppress all of my aura since that seemed to scare off the weaker Dragons. While I wouldn't mind fighting the ones that dared approach me, I had to also ensure that Ranga and Zegion got some fighting done too so they could test their strength.

I was confident that Zegion and Ranga could at least handle medium class Dragons, which were of the same rank as them, but Arch Dragons going up would be too much, as those were usually special A-rank monsters. And lastly were the Dragon Lords, that ranged from S-Rank to Special S-rank, making them quite formidable.

With me having just broken through to S-rank, I doubted I could beat a Dragon Lord when it came to raw strength alone. Fortunately, I had a wide range of Skills and Arts at my disposal as well, meaning there was a chance of winning against Dragon Lords of the same rank, but those that had grown to the point of Special S-rank were beyond my ability to match. Hopefully, I wasn't unfortunate enough to encounter one.

'I just jinxed myself, didn't I?' I couldn't help but think with a sweatdrop. I'd just have to be careful on this trip.

《Notice: Two targets detected.》

The alert from [Great Sage] caused me to turn my head towards a cave where I could feel two decently strong magical signatures, I could only assume that they were Dragons, and judging by their magical energy, they were mid to high A-rank. What I did find strange though was the cave's close proximity to the lower levels of the mountain range. Aren't Dragons supposed to build their nests on higher ground so they aren't easily accessible?

"Ranga, Zegion, we're going in that cave. There are two potential targets in there so make sure to stay on guard." I warned them.

"Yes master!" Ranga responded passionately while Zegion gave an affirmative nod and hum. With that, we proceeded toward the cave entrance.

The three of us entered the cave, and quickly spotted two relatively large Dragons that had brown earthlike scales sleeping, eyes closed and even breathing. They seemed to be completely unaware of our presence, something which I found hard to believe given that Dragons naturally had keen senses.

'[Great Sage]...'

《Confirmed: The Dragons may be trying to lay a trap for the three of you. Caution is advised.》

'I thought so…' I felt like a fool for not realizing it sooner. Just as I was about to warn Ranga and Zegion, the ground beneath us began to shift. The cave exit was suddenly shut as an earth wall rose from the ground and blocked out the exit, also blocking the only source of light. Fortunately, being in the dark didn't render me blind with my Dragon eyes, and I'm pretty sure the same rang true for Ranga whose species preferred to hunt at night, I wasn't sure about Zegion though.

《Notice: There is no need for concern. The individual Zegion has compound eyes made of thousands of lenses especially suited for detecting the smallest amount of light in dim environments.》

In simpler terms, Zegion could see just fine. In the end, the only things these Dragons had really achieved by locking us in here was trapping themselves and not the other way around. There'd be no escape for them.

*Foolish Human, entering our den with your pets. You shall suffer the wrath of us Dragons!* One of the dragons said, voice projected in my mind probably telepathy or [Thought Communication] , as they both rose from their previous 'sleeping' positions. Human? Shizue's mask really was effective if these Dragons couldn't even tell I was one of them. The other Dragon merely growled at us, guess it wasn't the chatty type. *Now die!!*

The Dragons launched themselves at us, fangs bared and claws prepared to tear through us. As they converged on us, I leapt to the left whilst Ranga and Zegion took the right, the Dragons effectively splitting up and pursuing us.

"Master!" Ranga called out in slight concern.

"I'll be fine Ranga, you and Zegion take care of the other one whilst I play here." While I would have preferred Ranga and Zegion face these Dragons one on one, it appeared that I was the target for their ire. Perhaps they assumed if they split me from the two then I would be disadvantaged, being a 'human' and all.

"Right!!" Ranga responded as he turned and joined Zegion, who'd been keeping an eye on their opponent. While it wasn't what I initially hoped for, given the current environment the matchups were probably for the best.

Both Ranga and Zegion worked best in open spaces rather than enclosed spaces like this cave. Zegion's main method of movement was flight, which required space for maneuverability and speed. Ranga wasn't as impaired, but given the size of the Dragons his full size would have been of better use for him, but him growing to full size in this confined space would only serve to restrict his movement. It was a shame, but that was the situation we found ourselves in. For that reason, I was willing to let them fight a Dragon two on one, not to mention this was their first encounter, so I could afford to be a bit lax with them.

*Foolish human, do you truly think you can defeat me?* I turned my attention back towards the Dragon in front of me, it seemed I'd gotten the chatty one of the two. The fact that I could hear his voice directly in my head was pretty annoying, too.

"Perhaps I'm not the one being foolish." I taunted with a grin, despite not being the smartest of creatures, the Dragon was smart enough to know that I was insulting it.

*Why you!!* It charged at me once more, slashing at me with its claws, but I easily evaded its attacks. It continued its assault, attempting to bite or tear me apart, but I was too small and nimble for it to land a hit.

I leapt back, avoiding another attempt to bite me, its large jaws snapping shut with a loud snap. Not wasting a moment, I charged back in, my fist being coated in [Storm Magic] before delivering a punch in the beast's nose. The impact pushed the large Dragon back, its claws digging into the ground as it tried to hold its position.

*Damn youuu!!*

I felt magic stir in the ground beneath me and swiftly jumped out of the way. And just in time too, as several stone spikes shot out of the ground I'd been standing on.

'That definitely wouldn't have been comfortable.' While I doubt it would have killed me, I'd rather not test the limits of my regeneration. Plus, I may not feel pain, but being impaled was bound to feel all kinds of weird. 'Still, I wonder what other earth related skills it has?'

Given how one of the Dragons had sealed the cave entrance, I could only imagine one of them had [Earth Manipulation] or something similar. Either way I wanted that skill, Earth was the only standard Elemental Manipulation skill I was lacking in my repertoire at the moment, might as well complete the collection.

I brought my hands together in front of me, aimed at the Dragon in front of me, a black halo of [Storm Magic] surrounding my wrists as I focused my energy. Within a second, I unleashed the charged up energy, numerous black arrow shaped beams were unleashed from the halo and fired towards my target. This was my [Laser Arrows] technique, I still had a ways to go before I achieved the desired level of control and flexible accuracy, but for now this would do.

Obviously, I had underestimated my own strength, or maybe overestimated my foe. The Dragon had no idea what hit him, the attack striking him before he could mount a defense, not only that but the dark beams pierced right through the Dragon's scales and going all the way out the the other side, and exploding upon impacting the ground or wall.

It took a few seconds for the dust to clear, when it did what remained in front of me could only be called a gory mess. The now dead Dragon was sporting multiple holes all over its body, its flesh and blood all over the floor around it.

《...》

'...I think I may have overdone it.' To be honest, I thought I'd lowered the power enough that the Earth Dragon would be able to tank it.

《Notice: the power of True Dragon Magic was simply too much for the target. So despite restraining your power, the potency of the attack still proved too much for the target.》

Once more, I was reminded just how powerful my Mother's magic was. No wonder it had been so hard to control. If this was what I could do when holding back so I didn't bring the cave down on us, I didn't want to imagine what it would be like if I really let loose. I'd really have to be careful about when and where I used this form of magic.

"Well there's only one thing left to do now." I said with a sigh as I stepped towards the mutilated corpse. "[Apex Predator]!!" The gory corpse was devoured by my skill. Quickly being analyzed and assimilated.

《Analysis complete: You have gained the skills [Earth Spikes] and [Seismic Sense] from the medium class: Earth Dragon.》

'Two skills only?'

《Notice: Most skills, such as intrinsic skills, have already been acquired. The target is also of lower tier and thus does not possess many abilities.》

'Ouch, ruthless much? But I guess it checks out.' Guess that means I'd have to kill more Dragons of the same class or higher if I wanted to get more skills. 'What does [Seismic Sense] do?' I had a rough idea but I decided to double check. [Earth Spikes] was pretty obvious considering I'd been on the receiving end of it.

《Seismic Sense: This skill enables the to detect vibrations in the ground to perceive objects, people, and other aspects of their environment, essentially acting as sonar, but through earth and metal.》

'So I was right, another sensory skill.' It was good to know that my perception was only going to get better and better. It meant even if one of my sensory skills failed me, I could always rely on the other ones. Of course, the information overload of dealing with all of them would be rather troublesome.

《Notice: It is not a problem, I will handle everything.》

Just like that my worries were eased, sure enough [Magic Sense] was already a skill in which I couldn't process the information on my own and had to rely on [Great Sage] , [Keen Sense] was more connected to my physical body so I could handle that myself, but [Seismic Sense] was similar to [Magic Sense] in that it simultaneously analyzed detailed information over a wide area and transmitted that data back to the user.

Perhaps it was the fact that [Great Sage] was a Unique Skill that specialized in analysis and processing that it was able to take in all this data for me on top of being available for me in every situation. Still, I realized how fortunate I was to have it with me in this new journey of mine.

'Thanks partner, I'll be counting on you.'

《...understood.》

*Brother!!* I was brought out of my thoughts when a loud and distraught feminine voice shouted in my head. I traced the origins of the telepathy to the other Earth Dragon that was fighting Ranga and Zegion.

To think it was actually female, this was the first time it had 'spoken' so I'd just assumed. Guess you can't guess the gender of a Dragon based on its appearance.

The remaining Dragon charged towards me in anger and fury, ignoring Ranga who it had been clashing with seconds ago. I suppose that hatred was fair considering I'd just killed and devoured her brother, not even leaving a corpse. I was prepared to retaliate but it seemed my intervention was not even needed.

Just as the Dragon leapt towards me, bearing its claws and fangs to inflict its revenge against me, it was suddenly stuck in the left side with considerable force. The impact was so strong that the giant lizard was launched completely off course and into the sidewall of the cave. When I turned to the one responsible, I was surprised to see none other than Zegion hovering where the Dragon had been a second ago, his horn glowing white, an indicator of the [Iron Head] Art he'd been practicing.

"Nicely done…" I couldn't help but mutter as I turned to Zegion in mild surprise. I knew Zegion was physically capable, despite his appearance seemingly implying otherwise, but to see him literally launch a Dragon several times larger than himself was still surprising. The attack had been well timed and executed in a soft and vulnerable spot, specifically the underside, using the Dragon's distraction and blind rage against it. Since it had been so focused on the death of its brother and avenging him, the Dragon made no effort to block Zegion, taking the full brunt of his attack.

"I'm not worthy of your praise, I still have much room for growth." Zegion responded modestly, though I could feel his elation at the praise. I decided to leave it there, since going back and forth would prove pointless.

"You did a good job as well Ranga, looks like all that training is paying off." I praised the Tempest Wolf leader as he approached me, his tail wagging excitedly at the praise.

"Thank you master! I'll keep working hard and do better next time!" Ranga responded enthusiastically.

One thing I was quickly learning about monsters, or maybe it was just my subordinates, was that they loved to be praised for their deeds and efforts. At first, I thought it was just the goblins and the confidence issues they initially had, and perhaps the Tempest Wolves and their dog-like mentality, but then Zegion and Apito were of the same mentality, and with time I noticed that the Ogres had been the same, even though they were better at hiding it behind their mannerisms.

I wasn't sure why that was, but I had a feeling it had to do with the whole 'might makes right' concept that Monsters had adopted. The strong ruled the weak, and so the weak tried to curry favor with the strong. It had become a natural instinct at this point that I doubt any of them realized it. But that also meant I had to be careful about what I said to them. If they looked up to me that much then my words could either make or break them.

…in other words it was just another layer of pressure as a leader.

Anyways back to the moment, I'd been watching the fight between Ranga, Zegion and the female Dragon with my [Magic Sense] , both of them had handled themselves well given the environment and matchup. Even with the elemental disadvantage, something Ranga discovered mid-battle, Ranga had still performed admirably.

Though both of them had taken a few hits, it was nothing serious, and they were in far better condition than the Earth Dragon. So much so that Zegion's recent attack served as the final nail in the coffin. Not that it killed the Dragon, but in that the large monster no longer had the strength to fight.

I walked up to the downed Dragon, its form limp on the ground as it took labored breaths. It was bleeding from the side where Zegion had struck it, the pool of blood slowly increasing. It obviously didn't have much time left. Still, despite its current state, it managed to fix me with a glare as I approached it.

*What…are you? That magic you used against my brother, no ordinary human could wield such dark powers.* It asked with a glare.

It was only when this question was asked that I realized I was still wearing Shizue's mask. Therefore, these Dragons had still been under the assumption I was human the whole time we fought. It was almost laughable.

I reached up and removed the mask from the side of my head, storing it in my [Stomach] for safekeeping, and almost immediately my aura flowed out like a torrent as the Dragon's eyes widened in alarm, fear, and even a sense of familiarity.

*Y-you're a…* It had more than likely picked up on the Draconic nature of my Aura and deduced my true nature.

"That's right, I'm not Human, but a Dragon like you." I confirmed.

*Why…?*

"'Why?' You and your brother trapped and attacked us first, regardless of your reasons." I answered coldly, deliberately leaving out the fact that we had come here to kill them anyway. She didn't need to know that. "Your lives were forfeit the moment you took action against us. 'Survival of the fittest', the law of monsters, that's the first thing my Mother taught me."

That first lesson was the reason I was willing to go such lengths to get stronger. If it meant killing other Dragons to become stronger then so be it, but I'd do it in moderation. I wasn't looking to wipe out Dragonkind or make enemies of the Dragon Lords, who by the way were said to be on par with Demon Lords.

"Heh…we never…stood a chance." Those were the Dragon's last words before it let out its last breath, its head falling limp with a thud.

"..." I silently walked up to the Dragon corpse, placing my hand on its large nostril. "...no, you didn't." With that I activated [Apex Predator] devouring the Dragon in a matter of seconds. It wasn't long before I got the results.

《Notice: Analysis and Assimilation, successful. Acquisition of the Common Skills [Earth Wall] and [Burrow] has been confirmed.

[Earth wall] - allows the user to erect a barrier of stone from the ground. The density and durability of this technique depends on the magicules invested.

[Burrow] - allows the user to easily dig through and earth-like material and tunnel underground.》

《Notice: Through the unification of the skills [Burrow] , [Earth Spikes] and [Earth Wall] , the Extra Skill [Earth Manipulation] has been successfully acquired.》

And with that I now had five elemental manipulation extra skills. Flame, water, wind, lightning and now earth. While I was comfortable with the fact that I had variety, I knew I'd have to choose some to specialize in and others for secondary. I didn't want to be a jack of all trades but a master of nothing after all.

My Magicules and strength had increased slightly from devouring the Dragons, but given I was low S-rank, their overall power had a minimum effect. I'd told [Great Sage] to notify me if my power increased by 10% or higher as a result of using [Apex Predator], given the amount of hunting we planned to do I felt anything less wasn't worth mentioning. I'm sure the Arch Dragons and Elemental Dragons would provide more power and better skills for me. And if I devoured enough of them, I may become strong enough to even face a Dragon Lord.

I turned around and walked back towards Ranga and Zegion, I wasn't as bothered about killing Dragons as I thought I would be. But the more I thought about it the more it made sense to me, I'd killed plenty of people in my previous life despite being Human myself. This was no different, besides, in a place like this, I bet Dragons killed each other all the time for one reason or another, I was just another player stepping onto the board.

"Come on, let's go." I said as I made my way between the two and towards the sealed entrance. A burst of magic was all it took to break down the Earth Wall that had been used to trap us here, sunlight bursting in and filling the cave once more.

Ranga and Zegion eagerly followed behind me. These two Dragons would be the first of many kills in the pursuit for greater power. The Dragons that followed would all be stronger and of various elements, and in the days that followed I would devour them all, gaining various skills, mostly Common elemental skills based on the element of the dragon. It seemed I already had any dragon related skills, and if I was hoping for something new I'd have to fight a being higher than my current self…

…in other words if I wanted some powerful skills I'd need to fight a Dragon Lord.

~~~

Day - 22: Ogre Village - Shuna's POV:

Three weeks had passed since Lord Rimuru left us to train at the Canaat Mountains, otherwise known as Dragon's Peak. Things in the Ogre Village had gotten a lot more quiet since his leave, but the change in the Ogre Village was still visible when compared to how life was before we met Lord Rimuru. Everyone was quickly settling into the roles they had been assigned.

Souei had been tasked with recruiting and creating a group of individuals with Skills similar to his own, and not just from Kijin and Ogres, but from other races involved within the current alliance. As a result, we rarely saw him at home anymore, he had decided the best place to train those under him would be the Goblin Village, given the larger training fields there and the fact that said village was between the Lizardmen settlement and Ogre Village.

He'd come home once every few days, and share stories of his progress with us. He seemed to be enjoying his new position quite a lot. Most likely because he had been given free reign to train those under him however he saw fit, as long as results were produced.

Next was Shion, she had not been assigned to any task by Lord Rimuru, but she had been investing a large amount into her training as of late. Out of the thirty-five Ogres that Lord Rimuru had named, she and Big Brother had shown the most growth. She had proudly declared that she would become Lord Rimuru's personal bodyguard, and had been training rigorously since then. Nobody had dared to tell her otherwise and for the most part let her be, unless she was needed elsewhere.

Next was Benimaru, my Big Brother, he too had become more dedicated in his training over the last three weeks. Lord Rimuru had granted him permission to use his old training ground, a piece of land which had been corrupted by his Magicules and had yet to recover, it was there that Big Brother would practice and refine his newly acquired skill [Black Flame] , a skill that relied on his internal Magicules to create powerful black flames that burned brighter than anything I'd ever seen. It was highly destructive, I'd seen Lord Rimuru use it a few times when training, so that must mean Big Brother inherited it from him upon being named.

Aside from his prowess, Big Brother was also becoming more involved in the village affairs, taking part in helping manage and oversee the joint military training of all three settlements under Lord Rimuru. It had been agreed by all three chiefs, with Lady Treyni serving as a witness, that Benimaru was most suited for the job. Lord Rimuru had spoken of how he had high hopes for Big Brother when he named him, as a result Big Brother was doing everything he could to improve all aspects of himself and meet our Lord's expectations.

Hakurou had also left for the Goblin Village, helping both Souei and Big Brother as an Instructor. I almost pitied those under his tutelage, ever since evolving and regaining his youth, Hakurou had also become much tougher in his teachings. That much was made apparent when he was helping the newly evolved Kijin adjust to their increase in strength. His training with the other species had been just as brutal and merciless, and yet one couldn't deny the results.

Father and Mother had more or less continued their daily routines. The only differences being that father's duties also involved keeping in touch with the other chiefs for trade as well as security reasons. As for Mother, she had once more started practicing magic since she regained her power and further evolved after being named. Given that she lost her power after bringing me into the world, I'd never gotten the chance to see why she was revered as the 'Flame Empress', thus I was amazed whenever she displayed her talent in spars, her power having grown further than ever due to her evolution. The fact that she had acquired the Extra Skill [Chant Annulment] after evolving, which allowed her to cast spells without need for chanting, meant she could use spells faster and with greater ease, taking her natural talent even further.

Then lastly there was me…Shuna Hattori, formerly known as the 'Ogre Princess'. Honestly speaking, I felt as though not much had changed in my life since Lord Rimuru left. I still practiced my magic, still attended to all the duties I did before, and for the most part, I was still treated the same way despite having grown much stronger. Even though I was the only one to awaken a Unique Skill among the currently named, people still saw me as someone who was fragile and in need of protection.

Just for once, I wish people would view me as something more than someone in need of protection. I also wanted others to rely on me the same way I relied on them. And just like everyone else, I also wanted to be of use to Lord Rimuru.

And so I had spoken to Father, Mother, and Big Brother about my desire to help, I let them know of the feelings that I'd buried deep within me for a long time now and how I couldn't stand idly by while everyone else was stepping into their new roles at Lord Rimuru's side. They were initially shocked, but more than that, they were supportive and proud that I was taking an initiative towards my own future. And so we had a long discussion about what I wanted to pursue and where my talents lied.

In the end I settled for administrative work. The reason being that Father had shared with us the fact that Lord Rimuru eventually plans to establish a nation within Jura, a nation of Monsters from various tribes and races within the forest. If such a thing were to come to fruition, I felt I would be of more use to Lord Rimuru politically than raw strength. Not that I had any intention of letting myself become weak, but this is where I felt my true strength lied.

And so, I began to help my Father with his work as Village Chief. Much of it were things I was already used to, such as tending to the villagers' needs and solving disputes. Then there were other new things like paperwork that involved various aspects of village affairs, such as the recent trade system, level of production and resource acquisition in the village, various reports from our scouts and hunting parties regarding the surrounding landscape and other things that needed tending to. Surprisingly, my Father also allowed me to start attending the council meetings and would even let me have a say in matters! Normally, women weren't allowed to have leadership positions in the village, it was just tradition, so I knew my Father was bending some rules for my sake, so I would be better groomed and prepared.

All this was just for the management of a village, I needed to be able to handle this much if I wanted to be of use to Lord Rimuru as he built his nation.

"Shuna." I hear my Brother call me from behind, bringing me out my thoughts as I turn towards his approaching figure. I was currently taking a break from my duties as I watched some Ogre children playing in the fields. "Mother and Father are calling for us, apparently they have something they wish to discuss with us."

"Did they say what?" I asked as I stood from the spot on the ground I was seated on and dusted myself. Benimaru shook his head sideways in response.

"They only said that it was important." Benimaru said with a shrug. There were many reasons, so wondering why was pointless.

"Then let's not keep them waiting." I said with a nod, one Big Brother returned. With that, the two of us made our way back towards Father's office.

Soon enough we arrived. My Brother announced our presence, our Father called for us to enter from the other side of the door, and thus we entered the room. Mother and Father were waiting for us by the table, Big Brother and I took our seats on the opposite side.

"Thank you for coming on short notice, your Mother and I have something we wish to discuss with the both of you." Father said as he cast a glance towards Mother, who nodded her head in agreement and support. "As you both know, our home has undergone a drastic change since Lord Rimuru started living among us, even before we officially swore our loyalty to him."

"Yes, even before we knew of his lineage, he was quick to earn the respect and admiration of our people. His strength was something to behold and yet he never abused it or tried to take advantage of us. Everyone, from the village children to the elderly, came to hold him in high regard." I said with a small smile on my face as I thought of the numerous ways Lord Rimuru had positively affected our people. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Mother giving Father a knowing look.

"That's right, it's as you said, Shuna. He has impacted many lives in this village in one way or another, but even among us, there are those he has impacted and connected with more than others. Specifically the two of you, Souei, and Shion. Hakurou, your Mother, and I may have connected with him as well, but not as much as the four of you." Father said as he looked at Brother and I with something akin to pride. "And you in turn have given him something valuable without even knowing, companionship." I couldn't help but wonder where it was that Father was going with all this.

"Father, what is it you're trying to say?" Big Brother asked, unknowingly voicing my own thoughts. Father sighed before speaking once more.

"Because we were the first to encounter Lord Rimuru after his awakening, I'm confident in the fact that our people have the strongest ties with him at the current moment. And as I've said, his strongest relationships lay within this village." Father said, his gaze shifting between my Brother and I, though I could have sworn his eyes seemed to linger on me a moment longer before he turned away. "However, even as we speak, the Dryads are spreading word of his existence, and it's only a matter of time before Lord Rimuru leaves our village in pursuit of his own ambitions, to create a nation."

I couldn't help but frown once my Father mentioned that. I hadn't really considered the fact that Lord Rimuru would no longer be staying here once he began to seriously pursue his goals. But it made sense, the most suitable location for him to settle would be the Goblin Village. It was the best place for him to build the capital of his nation.

"It's for that reason that I'm considering further cementing our loyalty and alliance with Lord Rimuru, and relocating our people to the Goblin Village." Father said much to the shock of my Brother and I.

"Father, what are you saying?! This is our ancestral home!" Brother shouted both in shock and slight offense at the idea.

While I wouldn't have been as crude about it, I was rather shocked that Father was willing to leave behind the home we had been building for generations. And to join a village occupied by a weaker race no less. While I was more or less impartial, I didn't think many people in our village would be supportive of the idea, and I could only assume that my Father hadn't brought this topic up with the Council, either.

"I have my reasons. The first being that the two of you have chosen to walk paths that will undoubtedly place you close to Lord Rimuru, seeing the conviction and dedication in which you're doing this, your Mother and I would never dare to stand in your way." Father said with a proud smile, Mother nodding her head with a similar expression. "The same rings true for Souei, Shion, and Hakurou."

"But…"

"The second reason." Father said, silencing me with a raised hand. "As I said earlier, our people share the closest connection with Lord Rimuru due to how long he has stayed in our village, and therefore I feel we should continue to stand by his side as a people, rather than just the few closest to him." He explained. "And lastly is for our people to maintain relations or be as close to him as possible, even as he expands his influence and takes in more tribes and races from all over Jura under his rule. We earned his favor by welcoming him and giving him the closest thing to a home, it wouldn't bode well to lose that connection to other races who will also be seeking his favor."

"Still, it won't be easy to get everyone to agree with such a big decision." Big Brother pointed out. I agreed with him, this decision would change their entire way of life depending on several factors, and not many people were fond of change, especially when it came with uncertainty. People liked knowing what direction their life was headed.

"I don't expect them to agree easily, but we still have some time before Lord Rimuru is scheduled to return, so I can ease them into it." Father said, he sounded confident but I could see a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. He'd be asking his people to leave behind everything they knew, I couldn't imagine being in his position. His eyes then turned towards me. "But before I can do that, there is one more matter to discuss, something that may help convince our people to go along with the idea of relocating."

"Earlier you said something about further cementing our loyalty and alliance with Lord Rimuru, does that have something to do with it?" I asked curiously.

"Correct." Father said before his eyes met mine with reluctance and guilt. "Shuna, I have something important I need to ask of you. Something your Mother and I agreed to never force upon you, but right now I want to keep all my options open."

"O-okay? What is it?" Given how upset he was about whatever he wanted to ask me, I couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous myself. Father took a deep breath as if gathering his own resolve, before finally speaking again.

"My daughter, would you consider marrying Lord Rimuru?" Father asked with a serious expression.

"P-pardon?" I couldn't help but ask, voice tinged with shock as my eyes widened, as I felt my cheeks warm up and my face become red from embarrassment. Surely I hadn't just heard what I think I heard?! I took a moment to digest what my Father had just said, the full weight of his words finally settling down on me.

"In order to properly unite our community with that of the Goblins, who were the first to fall under him, I wanted to extend this offer to Lord Rimuru." Father continued to speak, though his voice was firm but carrying some empathy in it now, probably due to the guilt he felt. "Hakurou, your Mother, and I have judged him to be of good character. While I can't speak for the future, for now his ambitions seem well-placed and level headed, and he is strong as well, with the capability to protect not just our people, but this entire forest."

"Given his status, it's more than likely that he will receive similar proposals from other races or tribes in the future." Mother spoke up for the first time since we came in, a teasing smile on her face. "Who knows, maybe the Lizardmen have already made a move, given that Chief Abiru has a daughter and their kind's pride in their Dragon heritage. Regardless, chances are high that you won't be his only wife, but if you act fast, you may just claim the position of first wife."

"Wait! This is rather sudden, and Shuna is still young." Big Brother argued. Most likely because I was too deep in thought, trying to digest everything that had been said as my Father's proposal to even speak for myself at the moment.

"Technically she's of age, though admittedly on the younger side but she is of age to marry. We've even received a few marriage proposals from other prominent families within the village." Mother responded much to my surprise. Why hadn't I been made aware of that?!

"And why are we only hearing of this now?" Big Brother asked with a slight frown, being curious I also turned to Mother expectantly.

"As your Father said before, we didn't want to force or arrange a marriage for our daughter. We wanted her to meet someone she'd love and marry of her own accord. And so we rejected the proposals that came in." Mother explained. Hearing that explanation calmed me a bit, I was glad to see that they were being respectful of my wishes. "The same rings true in this case as well. Your Father and I won't force anything on you if you don't wish to marry." Mother said as she turned to meet my eyes, her expression gentle and reassuring, it helped calm my frantic heart and helped me properly collect my thoughts.

"I…" With my mind becoming clear and collected, I thought about the words that had been exchanged here.

I understood what my Father was trying to achieve through this union. He wanted our people to remain as close to Lord Rimuru as possible even as his influence grew. And he also hoped to use our union to convince our people to relocate for the same reasons. And if I married Lord Rimuru and became his first wife, I would be the equivalent of a Queen, ruling at his side if he permitted it. Which in turn would serve to boost our people's standing.

Despite the numerous advantages that came with marrying me to Lord Rimuru, he was still willing to give me the choice. Because they valued my own happiness over any political ambition. I could only assume that they hadn't brought this idea to anyone else, deciding to speak with us first in order to avoid outside influence and pressure. While that did make me happy, it also meant that I had a big decision to make, one that would heavily impact my future and that of my people.

All things considered, I wasn't against the idea of being betrothed to Lord Rimuru, if anything the thought made me extremely happy and my heart fluttered.

Lord Rimuru was someone I greatly respected and admired. He was strong, kind, selfless, and protective of the things he held dear. Every moment I'd spent with him had been nothing but joyous for me and always made me look forward to the next time we could spend together. Every time he was away, such as now, I'd always find my thoughts wandering back to him, be it out of concern for his well-being or a longing for his company, I just knew that I wanted to be as close to him as I could.

I wasn't quite sure when it was that I had developed feelings for Lord Rimuru, or when it was that they had developed to this extent, but I did have feelings for him. Was this love? It had to be, there was nothing else that could describe how I felt strongly for him. I found myself wanting to be my best whenever I was around him, be it in appearance or behavior, just so he would notice me more. It was because of him that I was striving to be the best version of myself now. It was thanks to him that I had gained the courage to face my previous insecurities and weakness and was now aiming to be better, stronger. My feelings for him had turned me into a better person, he had turned me into a better person.

How could I not love someone like that? How could I not want to stand by their side and support them? And so when an opportunity such as this presented itself, there was only one answer I could give…

"I'll do it. I will offer myself to Lord Rimuru… And should he accept me, I will do my best to support him as his wife." I declared with a resolute expression, before bowing my head both in respect and acceptance. Mother and Father both smiled in approval before nodding their heads accepting my choice, Big Brother looked like he had something he wanted to say but otherwise wasn't opposed to it.

Despite the suddenness of the proposal, I found myself hopeful and excited about this potential future and what it would hold. I knew I likely wouldn't be the only woman in Lord Rimuru's life, a man of his prowess was inevitably going to attract the attention of many women. But should he accept me, and allow me the position of first wife, then my place beside him would be indisputable. Even if he were to take on other wives, I wanted to be the one he relied upon the most.

~~~

Akatsuki's POV

While I was relieved to hear my daughter agree with the marriage proposal, a part of me couldn't help but also feel guilty for putting her in this kind of position. The only reason I had even brought it up was because my wife assured me that this was something that wouldn't bother Shuna at all, if anything it was something that would make her happy.

And looking at our daughter now, I couldn't help but agree with Sakura's thoughts. Shuna had been shocked by the proposal, yes, but at no point had she been upset. Aside from her earlier embarrassment, she carried herself with grace and dignity befitting the 'Princess' of our village, and yet even I could see the hope, joy, and determination that went through her eyes as she thought it through.

If Shuna truly did have feelings for Lord Rimuru as Sakura said, then this proposal was merely us supporting her and helping her get ahead of the curve. Still, her happiness was all that mattered to me in the end, if she had refused or accepted out of obligation, then I wouldn't have gone through with it. But it seemed Shuna's happiness lay with Lord Rimuru, and she wanted to get closer to him, so there was no conflict of interest.

"I'm glad to-"

"Sir Akatsuki!!"

Just as I was about to speak, the door to the office was suddenly slammed open. And a gray skinned Ogre with a single horn on his head came running in, a panicked expression on his face. He was one of the guards for the front gate.

"What is it?" I asked, my annoyance leaking out slightly at such an important discussion being disrupted in such a crude manner. But I knew this Ogre would not have done that unless something serious had happened. The panicked look on his face was evidence that there was something amiss.

"A Majin has appeared at our front gate, sir. He calls himself 'Lord Gelmude' and has come seeking the strongest warrior of our village." Almost immediately, the aura in the room shifted, my expression becoming more serious as my eyes narrowed. I turned to Benimaru, who also nodded his head upon meeting my gaze.

There was no mistaking that name, Lord Rimuru had ensured we were thoroughly warned about Gelmude and what he had done in the Lizardmen territory and how he deceived their heir. Lord Rimuru had warned us that Gelmude may return to the forest in his absence, it was the reason why we had been going to such lengths to strengthen our alliance with the Lizardmen and Goblins. So we could face whatever threat Gelmude brought with him when he planned to take over Jura.

But still, for him to come to our front gate, and alone from the sounds of it. There was only one possible reason he would do that. He might have come to seek our cooperation and loyalty for whatever his ambitions were. The fact that he specifically asked for our strongest warrior meant that he may use the same tactic as he did with the Lizardmen and Goblins, in other words he would use naming and power as a means to bargain. That likely meant he didn't know about our loyalty to Lord Rimuru, and that we had been named.

Perhaps there was a way that we could use this to our advantage? Yes, as long as the fact that we are named hadn't yet been revealed there was a chance at luring this Majin in and dealing with him. Either way, this was an opportunity we could not allow to pass, this Majin was an enemy to our Lord and therefore an enemy to us as well. Letting him slip through our fingers would be to fail Lord Rimuru.

"Father, what should we do?" Benimaru asked as he eagerly awaited my orders.

It seemed my son had also grown somewhat as a result of Lord Rimuru. Had it been before, he would have requested some men and declared that he would take care of the threat, but now he knew better.

"Let's go, I need to see this Majin for myself." I said. Benimaru nodded his head before we both stood up. I turned to my wife and daughter. "For the time being, both of you stay here. Our enemy's strength is unknown, if conflict breaks out, I'll entrust the evacuation and protection of women and children to the two of you."

Sakura frowned a little, ever since she had regained her strength and became even stronger upon evolving into a Kijin, she had also wanted the chance to show it off against an enemy. And given her prowess, I had no reason to stop her, but in this situation where a Majin was entering our gates, even she understood that the safety of our people came first. Which was why she nodded her head reluctantly. I could only nod and give an appreciative smile before Benimaru and I walked out the office, the guard following close behind.

Following the guard to the village gates, I noticed that a lot of our warriors were already gathered by it, mostly Ogres with six Kijin in sight, including Hakurou.

*Where are the other Kijin?* I asked Hakurou through [Thought Communication] as I approached the individual in front of him. The Majin was just as Lord Rimuru had described him. White coat, plague mask, small stature, and a cane. There was no doubt this was the Majin Lord Rimuru and the Dryads had been searching for.

*They left for the forest to train with Shion. I've already sent someone after them. Souei and two others are hidden and ready to act if need be* Hakurou reported back. I had to resist the frown that I was tempted to give. Given the enemy before us, I would have prefered to confront him with our full might. We would just have to do with the manpower that we had at the moment, the Ogres present were not weak either, just because they had not evolved yet didn't mean I could not count on their strength.

"Greetings Majin. I am the Chief of this village, please allow me to welcome you." I said with a short bow. It hurt my pride to bow to this scum, but if it would lure him into a false sense of security and help end him, then I would gladly swallow that pride. "May I ask how I should address you?" I asked.

"I am the great Lord Gelmude, and you… you're a Kijin, are you not?" Gelmude asked in minor shock as he looked at me, before looking at my son, Hakurou, and the few Kijin currently present. "To think there would be many of you, I heard that Kijin were rarely born from Ogres." He spoke with a small amount of awe.

As I suspected, he didn't know that we were named, and that our village is loyal to Lord Rimuru. Otherwise, he would have never come here.

"Compared to the rest of the village, the six you see before you are the only Kijin." I said, concealing our strength and might. "May I ask what it is that brings you to our humble village?"

Gelmude quickly regained his composure as he made eye contact with me. "I have been sent on behalf of my lord and master, a Demon Lord of great strength and influence, and I have come here to make an offer for your people. As I'm sure you're aware, the Storm Dragon has vanished, along with the protection it gave to these lands. There have been many whispers and talks about individuals who want to seize this opportunity to claim this land for themselves. With many nations surrounding this forest, it was an inevitable outcome. But rejoice, for my master has come to offer you salvation!" Gelmude said with a hand pressed to his chest and the other stretched out in an overly dramatic manner. As a leader, I was not impressed.

"And what exactly are you proposing?" I asked, though I could already tell where this conversation was heading, as this was the same proposal this fool made to the Lizardmen heir in his attempt to sway their people to his side. Playing on the uncertainty and tension since Lady Veredia's disappearance to build forces to conquer the forest by promising names, power, glory, and stability to those who would follow him, unaware that Lady Veredia had left Lord Rimuru to rule and protect the forest in her place.

"My master does not wish to see the forest fall into disarray given that it acts as a valued buffer between Human Nations and Demon Lord territories to keep the peace, but the non-aggression pact prevents him and his army from operating here. So he asked me to manage the forest in place of Lady Veredia." Gelmude arrogantly proclaimed, much to our internal disapproval, but we keep our composure. "Pledge yourselves to me and I will offer a name and power to your greatest warrior, so that they can aid me in managing and protecting the forest. With that, the future of your people will also be secured. A great opportunity, yes?"

To be honest, despite his strange behavior, this was a rather compelling argument. Had I not met Lord Rimuru and had it been a less suspicious individual, I may have actually agreed to the terms. But only if it had come from a sensible individual. Gelmude was clearly anything but sensible.

"Indeed, most would be foolish to turn down such a compelling offer." I said, to which Gelmude nodded his head smugly multiple times, probably assuming that I had already agreed. "But I must politely decline. For you see, our people already have a master. One whom we intend to serve for an eternity."

No sooner than I finished speaking, multiple strings of steel threads erupted from the ground around Gelmude and wrapped around the unsuspecting Majin faster than he could react. Before he knew it, his arms were tightly pressed against his body, and he was unable to move. His midsection was wrapped in multiple layers of threads, the threads were anchored to the ground which prevented him from moving around.

"Wh-what is the meaning of this?!" Gelmude asked as he struggled against the threads. "Do you know who I am?! Who my master is?! If you release me and prostrate yourselves, I may just forgive you!"

"Our village only acknowledges and serves one master." My son, Benimaru said as he stepped up beside me, "We serve the great Rimuru Tempest, ruler and guardian of the Great Forest of Jura."

"Guardian?" Gelmude muttered, there was a hint of recognition in his voice. Unfortunately, I could not see his face due to his mask and thus I was not able to enjoy the look I was sure he was making. "No, no, nononononononoooo! First he ruins my attempts to gather subordinates, then he foils my plan for the two Heroes, and now I find out he has powerful allies in the forest!" Gelmude rambled in distress, as he began to move more frantically in an attempt to escape. His Magicules erupted in that moment, while not extreme, it was still greater than that of anyone present, a significant threat indeed.

"Twice now you've escaped the wrath of our Lord. We will not let you escape a third!" I shouted as I swiftly drew my sword and charged at Gelmude. Intent on ending this with one strike, I'd cut his head right off while he was still vulnerable.

"It's a shame…" Gelmude said faintly as he stopped struggling. It was only thanks to years of experience and honed instincts that I was able to sense the danger before it even came.

I planted my feet firmly into the ground, halting my charge towards Gelmude before swiftly leaping back. And just in time too, a sudden pressure was unleashed by Gelmude, a dark aura unleashed with such force that it pushed back all that were within close proximity of him, forcing many of us to step back.

'As expected of a Majin who serves a Demon Lord…his Aura is quite formidable.' I couldn't help but think. Despite this, I could tell he was only slightly stronger than us Kijin, if we could overwhelm him with numbers then perhaps we could win without casualties. But that was only with Kijin, the Ogres wouldn't match up to this kind of power.

"To think you would dare to defy me! ME! The great Lord Gelmude!" Gelmude shouted as he began to laugh hysterically, the surge of power he was unleashing allowing him to break through the sticky steel thread that bound him with relative ease. A dark magic circle formed on the ground beneath him, an ominous aura emitting from it that instantly put everyone on edge. "You will suffer greatly for your insolence. Every single one of you shall perish, and your corpses shall serve as nourishment in the grand scheme of my plans! Now die, [Demon Summoning] !!"

Four smaller magic circles appeared in front of Gelmude and from them rose four Demons. Three Lesser Demons and a single Greater Demon, I could tell this much just by judging their aura alone. The Lesser Demons were stronger than our Ogre brethren but still significantly weaker than us Kijin, while the Greater Demon had a large amount of magicules, perhaps on par with my son, who had the largest magicule capacity of us Kijin.

"My offering to you is the lives and souls of all the monsters present! Kill them all but leave their bodies intact!" Gelmude commanded with the wave of his hand. I couldn't help but be confused with his wording.

This was the second time he had mentioned leaving behind our corpses. What did he intend to do? Was he truly so vile that he would desecrate the dead?! Whatever it was, he couldn't be allowed to achieve his goal!

"Father, look out!" Benimaru came in front of me and blocked the razor sharp and long claws of one of the Lesser Demons that had been aimed for my head. This immediately brought my focus back to the battlefield as I shook my head sideways.

'This is not the time to be distracted, I should know better.' I thought as I held onto my blade with both hands and assessed the situation, my people would be relying on my guidance as a leader.

The Lesser Demons had scattered and began attacking indiscriminately, but it seemed as though they were mainly targeting Ogres. Despite being entities of lesser ego, their natural instincts were still leading them to attack weaker prey. Fortunately, our larger numbers and the supporting groups were enough to hold the Demons back. Unfortunately, upon seeing their disadvantage at close range, those Demons switched to long range attacks, taking to the sky with their wings where they would be out of the reach of our weapons, truly a cowardly tactic.

Though truthfully speaking, I was more concerned with the Greater Demon that stood before me and my son. It hadn't moved an inch since being summoned by Gelmude and remained in front of the Majin the whole time, though from its posture one could surmise it wasn't protecting him. No, rather it was just observing the conflict around it with satisfied glee, something that its summoner didn't seem to appreciate.

"Hey you, what do you think you're standing around for?! Kill those monsters already!" Gelmude shouted at the Greater Demon, the Majin seemed to be a bit out of breath. Though given that he had managed to summon four Demons, it was most likely a case of Magicule deficiency.

'This is our chance to attack while he's weak and vulnerable!' I thought, my eyes locked with that of my son, a silent message passing between us before we nodded our heads and dashed forward, blades drawn.

The Demon turned its attention towards us and smirked, a dark yet excited look in its eye as it stretched its left hand towards us. Black energy condensed around his hand before a dark beam was unleashed towards us. Benimaru and I dodged to opposing sides, the attack slipping between us and causing a sizable explosion behind us, fortunately there had been no one there, otherwise they may have been critically injured or worse.

We pressed forward, eager to close the gap and claim the advantage of close quarter combat, preferably before our opponent decided to fly into the sky like his minions. If this particular Demon was allowed to get an aerial angle then we would be in big trouble, its magic power was far greater and thus would be capable of more destruction.

The Demon launched another beam, except this time it aimed for the ground in front of us, rather than a direct attack. Once more we leapt out of the way, but the blast radius was enough to make me lose my balance, and thus my footing. I fell onto the ground, rolling a few times before rooting myself and turning back to the battle once more. I regained focus just in time to see my son about to throw a small black flame that seemed to be vividly dancing in the palm of his hand.

"Son, no!" He was still learning how to restrain his power, if he unleashed that kind of force here, there was no telling just how much damage he would do.

…unfortunately I was already too late.

"[Hell Flare] !!" The black ember was thrown at the Demon without hesitation. Despite the size of the initial flame, even the Demon seemed weary of the attack, or was it perhaps because of my reaction? Regardless, wings quickly sprouted from its back and it flew up to avoid the perceived danger.

"H-hey!" Gelmude shouted in panic as he swiftly followed after the Demon, and not a moment too soon.

Once it reached the area where the two enemies had been before, the black flame erupted into a large explosion that covered a large area. The explosion shook the ground and the intensity of the heat could be felt by all those around its large spherical shape, and yet beside that there was no damage done outside the black eruption of flames. Almost as though the pressure of the explosion was not being released outwards, but being used to further fan the flames within itself. This went on for a few seconds before the black flames vanished almost as quickly as they came, leaving nothing but a large scorching crater in its place.

Unfortunately it had missed its targets, both Gelmude and the Greater Demon hovering in the sky outside the blast range. From what I could tell they were both shocked and weary from Benimaru's display of power, something that brought a smirk to my face.

"Wh-what the heck?! Nobody told me there were monsters this strong within the forest." I heard Gelmude mutter, a hint of fear in his voice. While I would no doubt scold my foolish son for his actions later, I was proud of his ability to instill fear within the enemy. "What kind of flames were those? Even for a Kijin, it was abnormal! Could it be the effect of some special skill?"

"Hehehehe, how interesting…" the Greater Demon suddenly spoke for the first time since its summoning. I had assumed that it couldn't speak, much like the Lesser Demons, so I was shocked when I heard it. "To think there was such a powerful magic user in this pitiful village. I suppose I will be entertained after all." The Demon said as it eyed Benimaru in intrigue, smirking with its sharp crooked teeth, making me step up beside my son.

Numerous dark magical spheres then formed around the Demon as it spread its arms wide, each about the size of a head. My eyes widened in alarm, recognizing the wide range magical attack for what it was, and I turned to the warriors present.

"Everybody get back!" I warned out of panic, but it was already too late. The Demon's smirk grew a fraction wider, the glee and satisfaction in its eyes disgusting, before it launched the dark energy balls towards us.

The effect was instantaneous as numerous explosions erupted throughout our ranks, the energy balls literally raining down on us, the screams and cries of my warriors audible through those explosions. One of the explosions went off near Benimaru and I, but we were able to jump out of the way and avoid being injured. Dust and smoke filled the area and clouded our vision, forcing us to rely on our other senses.

"Look out, the Demons are attacking again!" Someone shouted, what followed was the sound of clashing weapons, pained grunts, and the occasional explosion.

"Protect the injured whilst they heal up, and treat those that cannot tend to themselves!" I commanded in frustration. We were fortunate that we had the Full Potions that we had been trading, I'd made it a point to ensure that each of my warriors carried at least one of these, regardless of their post. After all, they were just as vital as a weapon and could be used to heal even the most crippling of injuries.

"Struggle all you want, but it's useless before my might!" The Greater Demon shouted, with the dust clearing a bit, my eyes narrowed in concern when I saw a much larger sphere of dark magic hovering above the Demon, its hand stretched out towards it. "I'm curious if even you Kijin can survive this next attack!"

That wasn't good, the last attack had sent us into disarray and split us off, this dust cloud was limiting my people's vision and ability to collaborate and now the Lesser Demons had been thrown into the frey to take advantage of all this. An attack of this scale wouldn't be easily avoidable, judging by the energy alone, it would damage a decent portion of the village!

"Not so fast, Demon!" A loud, familiar, feminine voice echoed as a shadowed figure swiftly leapt out the nearby treeline and into the air towards the still-flying Greater Demon and Gelmude. Swiftly closing the gap and appearing between the unexpecting individuals.

"Shion!" My son shouted with a relieved smile. Indeed it was Shion, who had been absent this whole time along with many others. If she was here, then that meant the remaining Kijin were not far behind.

"What th-?!" The Greater Demon wasn't able to turn in time to intercept Shion, the purple haired raised her right leg high and swung it down on the defenseless Demon.

The strike was nothing short of incredible as the Greater Demon shot towards the ground faster than my eyes could see. The impact with the earth's surface was literally ground-shaking as a dust cloud formed on the crash site. Shion fell towards the ground, but not before casting a deadly glare towards Gelmude, who'd hovered away in shock and fear as soon as she struck the Greater Demon. She landed on the ground not too far from the Greater Demon.

"Another powerful Kijin?! What in the world is going on here?!" It seemed Gelmude was starting to panic, it was almost amusing to watch. But he seemed to calm down slightly, rambling to himself in hysteria. "No, no this is good! The stronger they are the stronger Geld will be! Yes, yes, they'll all serve as nothing more than fodder for my plans. But for now I must retreat, I'll have my revenge soon enough, the great Lord Gelmude shall not forget this insult!"

Before I or those present could even utter a word or react to stop him from leaving, the Majin shot into the sky vanishing in mere seconds.

"Curses…we failed." I couldn't help but swear with a scowl. I had hoped to put an end to all this today.

To be able to bring good news to Lord Rimuru and prove our worth to him as a warrior clan. But in the end, Gelmude had escaped us, despite our superior numbers and strength. Him summoning Demons wasn't something I had accounted for, and in the end, he used those Demons to escape whilst keeping us distracted. I shook my head to rid myself of such thoughts, despite the disappointment I couldn't dwell on his retreat, they were currently more pressing matters to be dealt with, namely the Demons still present.

The Greater Demon was still within the large crater that Shion had kicked into, immobilized for the time being, but I wouldn't be able to relax until it was sent back to the Demon Realm. That thing was currently the biggest threat present.

"Benimaru, this is all your fault!" Shion suddenly shouted out of the blue as she pointed her finger at my son, who was as perplexed by the sudden accusation as I was.

"What are you talking about? How did you reach that conclusion?!" Benimaru asked, taking slight offense to the accusation, I knew that he knew better than to take anything Shion said at face value, but even I would have taken some offense to that.

"You took too long to defeat that Demon over there!" Shion shouted as she pointed at the downed Greater Demon. "If you had done so quicker, then that Majin wouldn't have escaped!"

Ah, so that's what this was about. Shion was well aware that Benimaru was just as strong, if not stronger than the Greater Demon. But my son currently doesn't have full control over his power, and in such a crowded battlefield, not to mention within the walls of our own home, his power would have done far more harm than good.

Shion had a similar problem, but her lack of restraint was in her physical abilities. It was something Lord Rimuru had been helping her with before he left. Since evolving, her physical prowess had grown to the point of not being able to restrain herself appropriately. She had improved greatly though, to the point where only her target would suffer the brunt of her power.

For that reason, making a comparison between the two was not fair, especially given the current situation. Benimaru's attacks were wide range and highly destructive, while Shion was to focus on a single target and be equally destructive.

"Shion, Benimaru, enough. This is neither the time nor place." I said sternly after watching them go on for a moment. Honestly, kids these days, arguing in the middle of the battlefield... The two had the decency to at least be ashamed of their actions.

Despite the words exchanged, I could tell there was no real malice behind them, it was more of a squabble between friends and rivals than any true casting of blame. The two of them had been close friends for too long for something like this to break their bond.

Though I would never tell this to my son, Shion's father had once come offering her hand to him, back when they'd both reached the age of marriage. While we denied for the same reason we'd denied Shuna's suitors, I also had the feeling that Benimaru and Shion didn't and wouldn't see each other that way. Plus, I had a feeling pairing them together would not have ended well for the village. At the time, both of them were impulsive and tended to act before thinking. Then there was the fact that Shion's culinary skills back then still left a lot to be desired.

To be honest, I was more concerned about the words Gelmude had said just before he left. He seemed happy to know that there were many strong folk in our village, delighted even. And since the very beginning, he had emphasized leaving our bodies mostly intact, even if we were killed. I had a bad feeling that something terrible was coming our way, something far more dangerous than just Gelmude and these Demons. And the worst part is it was all part of Gelmude's plans. If we had caught him we could have questioned him, but we couldn't even manage that.

There was a storm brewing in the forest…and it wasn't the kind the residents of Jura associated with our guardian.

"Benimaru, look out!" Shion's sudden shout snapped me out of my thoughts as I turned my head just in time to see the Greater Demon from before rapidly charging towards my son who had turned his back to it at some point.

I couldn't help but let out another curse as I immediately ran forward, pushing myself as fast as I could, but I knew I wouldn't make it in time. However, before the Greater Demon could strike him from behind, he was suddenly pushed out of the way by none other than Shion herself. Unfortunately, in doing so she put herself in the Greater Demon's path, and the creature didn't seem to mind at all as it continued to charge towards the purple haired Kijin who was wide open.

"Hahahaha! While I would have preferred the redhead for his magic, your powerful body will do just as fine, girl!" The Greater Demon shouted as its body glowed red as it neared Shion. Its body then transformed into pure energy before engulfing Shion's entire form.

"Aahhh!" Shion screamed in pain as she suddenly clutched her head and fell to her knees, her body twitching slightly as the red aura that had surrounded her form started to turn black and darker in nature.

"Shion!" Benimaru shouted as he tried to approach her, only for Hakurou to suddenly appear in front of him and block his path with an outstretched arm.

"Don't get closer, the Greater Demon is attempting to possess her." Hakurou warned with a concerned expression.

"What?!" Benimaru shouted in alarm as he turned towards Shion, who seemed to be resisting the influence of the Greater Demon's attempts.

I had already figured as much when I saw the Greater Demon's aura suddenly envelope Shion. [Possess] , an Intrinsic Skill that all Demons, maybe all Spiritual-Lifeforms have. It was a skill that allowed a Spiritual Being without a material body to forcefully take over the material body of another being.

Normally, it was done by higher level Demons in an attempt to get bodies that would allow them to dwell in the physical world for longer durations. However, if the body they tried to take over already had a soul, then it basically became a battle of souls for the body. One would win and claim the body, and the other soul would be destroyed and forever lost.

The Greater Demon had been strong, in terms of magic power, but it hadn't expressed a strong ego aside from its desire to fight strong opponents. As for Shion, she may not be the sharpest amongst us but she was still strong, expressive, and very stubborn. Ideally she should be at an advantage.

The possession would most likely fail…

'I sincerely hope it fails.' I couldn't help but think. 'Should the Greater Demon take over… I'll have no other choice…' I'd have to put her down. The amount of power Shion possessed was much too dangerous to allow a Greater Demon to take over her body.

To my knowledge, her strength was surpassed only by Lord Rimuru and Benimaru, though only barely in the case of my son. Should the Demon successfully possess her, then our whole village would be at great risk. Logically speaking, it was better to cut her down now, whilst she was still vulnerable due to warring souls within her body. But…if there was a chance that Shion could prevail over the Greater Demon, then it was worth the risk to wait for the final outcome. Despite her quirks, she was a well loved member of our community, a close friend to both my children and more importantly to Lord Rimuru. For that reason alone, I was willing to gamble, and put my faith in the strength of her spirit.

And so Hakurou, Benimaru, Souei, and I could only watch as Shion writhed on her knees, the malevolent aura surrounding her body flickering on and off occasionally. During this time, the three Lesser Demons had been taken care of by the others, making their bodies vanish as they were forcefully returned to the Demon Realm. At this point, everyone was either watching the situation with Shion or tending to the wounded using potions.

I was glad to see that there had been no actual casualties on our end despite the onslaught of magic attacks from the Demons, most likely it was mainly thanks to the quick use of potions that prevented any injuries from being serious enough to become fatal. Even when he was not here, our Lord was still helping our people.

"Somethings happening." Souei suddenly said, bringing my attention back to Shion.

The black aura which had been surrounding her body vanished, and in its place exploded a dark purple aura. Its very presence was dark and malevolent, and it was slightly stronger than what Shion had beforehand. And yet it carried no hostility? Had she done it, had she managed to actually prevail and prevent the Greater Demon from possessing her?

"Shion?" As leader of the village I stepped up myself and slowly walked towards her, making sure to be cautious and keeping my hand on the hilt of my blade just in case. "Are you alright?" I asked after a few seconds.

She was panting, sweating and looked like she was about to collapse at any second. But this could be the result of Shion and the Greater Demon fighting for control over the body, I still had no idea who the actual winner of that internal conflict was. At least not until she shakily raised her head and her eyes met mine.

"Oh…h-hey Chief." Shion greeted me with an extremely weak and tired smile, and just like that all my worries were soothed. Shion was one of the few people in this village who addressed me so casually, even when using my former title, most likely as a result of her long friendship with my children and her free spirit.

But more than just that, despite the visible fatigue in her eyes, I could still pick out the child-like innocence in them, along with the pride and joy of her accomplishment. This assured me that it was Shion that was currently in control and that she had indeed emerged victorious. I turned towards my son and the others who had been watching nervously and gave them a nod, signaling that it was safe and that Shion was okay.

"You had us worried for a moment there, but I'm glad you managed to come back to us." I told the girl as I placed a hand on her shoulder. It was hard to believe just how fast these kids were growing up, I doubt even I or Hakurou would have had the willpower needed to defeat a Spiritual Lifeform in a battle of souls.

"Hehehe, that Greater Demon…didn't stand a chance. After all, I'm going to be…Lord Rimuru's…bodyguard." Shion said with a weak grin as she struggled to remain conscious.

'I see…so that is what's driving her.' I couldn't help but think with a smile, once more Lord Rimuru seemed to be the reason why my people were pushing themselves further and further.

Shion had mentioned it time and time again that the position of being Lord Rimuru's bodyguard would be hers in the future. Many people hadn't taken it seriously, but I'd seen the way she had been training. She was serious about this, and given her strength and close relationship to Lord Rimuru, she would more than likely get the position.

"I'm sure Lord Rimuru will gladly give you the role." I said with an amused smile, noting her increasing struggle to remain awake, I decided to relieve her. "Why don't you go ahead and rest now, you've done enough, the fight is over."

"I do feel a bit…yyaaaawwwnnn…sleepy." And just like that, she was out. Falling into slumber with a smile on her face.

I couldn't help but let out a sigh as I stood up and stepped back from Shion, allowing my son to pick her up and take her somewhere to rest. There was no doubt that a change had occurred within Shion's body, the Greater Demon had merged its energy with hers and despite the fact that Shion had come out on top, she seemed to have taken on some of its power judging by how much darker her presence seemed compared to before. It would be important to keep a close eye on her for the next few days. Just to ensure she hadn't been negatively impacted by this change.

'I sincerely hope that Lord Rimuru can complete his training and return soon. What Gelmude stated clearly indicates that something is coming, and it won't be good for us or the forest.' I thought in concern, while the rest of my villagers returned to their homes to rest. I would have to share this news with other members of the alliance as soon as possible. Whatever Gelmude was planning, whatever threat was coming, I had a feeling it would take all of us to come out on top.

~~~

Day 26: Rimuru POV - Cannat Mountains

It had been almost four weeks since I left Jura along with Ranga and Zegion, and a little over two weeks since we started fighting and hunting Dragons as means of training and growing stronger. Ever since our first encounter with those medium Earth Dragons, we had encountered dozens more Dragons of various sizes and elements.

Lesser Dragons, Arch Dragons and Elemental Dragons, we'd encountered them all. After they were killed, I would then go on to devour them of course, gaining multiple elemental skills in the process. Fire, earth, water, wind, ice, lightning, etc., the types of Dragons we encountered greatly varied, and the Skills I got from them also varied as a result.

I usually let Ranga and Zegion handle the lesser dragons seeing as they were of similar rank with the two, with some being weaker. With Arch Dragons, which ranged from high A-rank to low Special A-rank, I'd help out whenever I felt it was too much for the two to handle but for the most part I'd let them deal with it for the sake of learning to deal with slightly stronger foes. As for Elemental Dragons, which were the rarest of the lot, I usually handled those ones myself. This was so I would also have a means to test my own progression.

The amount of Magicules I'd gained from devouring all these Dragons was no small amount either. According to [Great Sage] , my total Magicule capacity had increased by 2.36 times of what it was when I first started this training camp. Though surprisingly, I was still on the lower end of S-rank despite my power increasing by over twice as much. This gave me a rough idea of how large the scale of S-rank was, my power would have to multiply several times over just to reach the peak of it.

Overall, I was satisfied with the progress I was making with my training, and felt I was making good use of my time. Using [Apex Predator] to grow swiftly may seem like a cheat, but in a world where the strong rule the weak, one had to play all the cards they had available to quickly rise to the top. So I felt no guilt with the methods I was using.

Aside from me, Zegion and Ranga had also made great strides in their own training, with Ranga having crossed into high A-rank and Zegion was at its peak and territory on the verge of crossing into Special A-Rank soon. Though finding Dragons to fight was getting trickier since it seemed some Dragons may have detected the power I exerted when I defeated those 2 Earth Dragons. I could sense the presence of other Dragons as we continued to explore and train, but even with Shizue's mask to help in suppressing my Magicules and Aura, these Dragons seemed to immediately retreat if I started to walk in their direction. It may be that they were communicating amongst themselves or something, but clearly word of our presence had gone round the area, and now they were avoiding us like the plague.

…which I had to admit was cowardly for Dragon species which were usually portrayed as powerful and prideful creatures.

'I guess we should have been more subtle and killed less Dragons. It's becoming hard to find, let alone approach one since they keep running off on us.' I thought with a sigh as Ranga, Zegion, and I watched three Arch Dragons flying away into the distant mountain range. They'd been flying our way seconds ago but seemed to turn around just as quickly, more than likely sensing Ranga and Zegion, since it was impossible to detect me with Shizue's mask. But if they were aware of my presence even without sensing me, then it made sense they would turn tail.

"What do we do now, my Lord?" Zegion asked, sounding both frustrated and annoyed. It seemed even he had had enough of the cowardice being displayed by these overgrown lizards.

"There's nothing to do but press forward." It was a gamble, the deeper into the mountains, the more dangers that would await us.

And so with that we made our way deeper into the hornet's nest. We kept on going for a few more hours with no Dragons in sight, surprisingly they all seemed to have vacated the current path leading to the mountain's summit, which was strange in itself.

…at least that's what I thought, until the reason why was made clear to me.

《Alert: Massive Magicule Presence detected.》

I felt it not a second later, the large and intense aura that was making a beeline right for us. Soon enough the entity responsible came into view, flying right above us and blocking our view of the sun.

It was a Dragon.

A very big dragon. Not as big as my mother of course, but definitely three times larger than the Elemental Dragons I had faced before. The power it was exuding truly was immense, definitely much greater than my own by a large margin.

'[Great Sage] ...is that what I think it is?' I couldn't help but ask as I watched the dragon fly past us before tilting sideways as it turned back towards us and hovered in mid air. Each flap of its wings created a mighty gust of wind that had Ranga digging his claws into the ground and Zegion struggling to stay in the air. Despite the wind, I was finally able to get a much clearer look at the Dragon.

The Dragon's body had lustrous scales that shimmer with various hues of purple, from deep royal tones to lighter lavender, creating an eye-catching palette that glistens in the light. It was no doubt female just by looking at its softer features and slender build.

Around her neck and along her spine, patches of soft, velvety fur add a unique texture, transitioning from a rich plum color at the tips to a lighter shade closer to her scales. This fur enhances her elegant silhouette and provides a striking contrast to her sleek, scaled body.

《Notice: Judging by the size and Magicule capacity this Dragon is most likely a Dragon Lord. It's magicule capacity is four times greater than your own, extreme caution is advised.》

"Ranga, take Zegion and hide in my shadow. This foe is too much for the both of you." I said as I steeled myself for the potential battle to come. This truly was the worst case scenario, I probably should have expected to draw the attention of a Dragon Lord with all the Dragon killing I'd done though.

"Master, I've already tried. But something is preventing me from entering the shadows." Ranga explained much to my shock, as I couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

《Notice: Spatial interference has been detected in the surrounding area. Teleportation or ranged movement techniques have been rendered unusable. Source of origin, the Dragon Lord.》

'Spatial Interference huh, that's a new one.' I couldn't help but think as I turned to glare at the Dragon, a bit of sweat going down my forehead. That meant we were more or less trapped. The Dragon smirked, almost as though it was picking up on my distress. 'Zegion and Ranga won't be able to touch this Dragon, if they interfere they'll be killed.'

The Dragon suddenly begins to glow, and instinctively I prepare myself for an attack of some kind, but instead I'm surprised when its enormous figure begins to shrink, becoming smaller and smaller and taking a feminine humanoid shape. Her hair bright purple with lavender tips, a reflection of the fur of her dragon form, her eyes violet with slights in the middle of her pupils. Her current form resembled that of a young woman in her mid twenties, with a well-shaped figure and slightly pale skin.

Upon completing her transformation, the now humanoid Dragon Lord turned towards us with a predatory grin, her eyes shining with something akin to predatory excitement.

《Alert: Hostile intent detected!》

"I am the Spatial Dragon Lord that rules these parts of the mountains. I hear you've caused quite the ruckus for my horde." Her aura flared and her eyes began to glow ominously. "I hope you don't mind playing with me next?" She said with a large grin on her, right hand on her hip.

'...well shit'