That name…
The moment Veldara Tempest declared herself my Big Sister, something deep within my soul quivered.
And then—
Nani!? Big sister?!
Hold on—
Hold on just a moment!!
So she was a she?!
It wasn't a pronunciation trick?!
Everything suddenly made too much sense!
My soul practically did a backflip.
I needed to breathe—oh wait, I don't have lungs.
Still, deep breaths! Imaginary ones! Huuuuu—
Alright. Calm. Calm. Peace.
When I finally got myself under control, nothing about my body felt different… but my soul definitely did.
A warm weight—like a soft mark—had been etched into me.
A proof of family.
Her family.
…Honestly, that was something worth telling her later.
And so, I have become family with her—or would it be more appropriate to call her Big Sis?
Veldara was humming happily—well, her version of humming—when I asked:
(Oh, and before I go, I wanted to ask. Is there nothing you can do about that seal?)
Her tone immediately dropped.
(Not with my power. Were it a unique skill like that of a hero, then perhaps… but as I am now, no.)
I sighed internally.
This dragon girl… she's one of the Four True Dragons.
If she'd even bothered trying to analyze the barrier for, say, half of the last 300 years, she probably would've broken it long ago.
But no.
She just accepted it.
Classic Veldara.
(You do not possess any unique skills?)
(I do. But once the seal was placed, I could no longer use any. I barely managed to retain my telepathy…)
That part was odd.
Infinite Prison shouldn't allow any interference…
Yet here she was, chatting, thinking, sensing the outside world.
The skill should be absolute, but the cracks in its logic were obvious.
Something about Veldara herself just didn't fit the rules.
Both of us noticed it.
Which is why I said—
(Alright. There's something I want to try...)
I reached my slime-body out and touched her scales.
A bright flash.
Then—
> Attempting to predate unique skill [Infinite Prison] via unique skill [Predator]... Failure
Well, that was expected. I'll have to use the method from the anime. For but a second, interference with the hero's skill released a blinding light, but then it returned to normal.
It seems that for a brief moment, a seam opened in this endless prison, but it quickly restored itself. Anyway, this "since it's a unique skill, something'll happen" type of thinking will only lead to trouble.
"Great Sage," I thought, "any leads on how to solve this issue?"
>Answer. Unique skill [Infinite Prison] has been partly analyzed. I shall present the escape method. It is impossible for flesh to escape.
The chance of destroying the prison via physical damage is 0%. With regards to the imaginary space escape method—the analysis proved impossible. Analysis in an identical situation—imprisonment in an [Infinite Prison]—is necessary for analysis.
Therefore, this is currently impossible. The chance of releasing a spiritual body is 1%. Should one prepare a host for the spirit ahead of time and move there in the process, the success rate increases to 3%.
At the moment, this process is similar to reincarnation. Should the affinity with the host be poor, memories and skills will all be reset. End of report on escape methods>
…Fumu. The chances are far too low. It doesn't look any tougher than a flimsy film, this [Infinite Prison] skill. But for it to be impervious to physical damage… there must be some weakness to this absolute defense.
("Did the hero take any damage? Any wounds or something?") I asked.
("Well asked! Our blows were well-watched, and I have landed a few direct hits! But there was no effect. 'Death Calling Winds,' 'Black Lightning,' and even 'Storm of Destruction.' All are skills that cannot be evaded, and yet no effect! I gave up! It was laughable!!!") Her response ended in a loud, booming laugh that echoed through the cave.
I'll have to learn all this magic from her. I've decided that the original time Rimuru wasted wandering in the cave, I will use to learn magic and other arts from Veldora. Anyway, the unique skill [Infinite Prison] was definitely used to cover her body. If all outside interference is negated, no shield is necessary.
What a useful skill! Unique skill [Absolute Severance] and unique skill [Infinite Prison]. If you combine these two, wouldn't you be essentially invincible? I definitely want to meet her someday…
She should have passed away by now if she was a normal hero, but not a time-traveling True Hero. Without a question, she belonged in the strongest class.
※In reality, Veldora was also in the strongest class, but she was just rampaging when she was sealed by Chloe before Veldara had the opportunity to know that she was going to be sealed.
Anyway, the escape-to-host method, huh?
("To escape, a host to transfer the soul to seems to be necessary. It is also possible to escape in a spiritual body, but the success chance is low.") I didn't really see the reason to mention the percentages. If Veldora's desire to escape decreases, so could the chances…
("Mu? There was an escape method! Actually, after some 100 years, my magical energy reserves will hit empty! Probably since I didn't stop the flow of magical energy…")
SHE DIDN'T EVEN TURN OFF THE MANA LEAK?!
This woman—
This dragon— This absolute disaster of a Big sister—
She really didn't use her brain sometimes.
But she was still cute.
In a chaotic, explosive, world-ending way.
("I see… that would be the reason why the magical energy concentration around here is so high.")
("Ay. The truly strong monsters also avoid this area. Grass also hardly grows underground. Only some rare vegetation are able to grow in these caves!")
Ah, I remembered about the Hipokute Herbs. In this case, they're pretty valuable medicine after all.
("Well… since that's the case, will you attempt to escape? If you had a place to transfer to, the chances would be higher… and also, what's considered a good host?")
("Hmm. The thing is, I don't really need a core… oh, and keep this secret? I am a 'being perfect as one.' Especially durable. A special being. I am a spiritual life-form, and thus have no particular physical form to speak of. I merely responded to the belief of those around me and the like when forming it.")
Again with that incomprehensible stuff. And so we spoke until I understood. The result: gather the magical energy with one's mind, and then form the flesh.
At the moment, the flesh being bound is beyond question, but the mind also cannot affect the surrounding magical energy. That's the situation. So I asked if she could leave as a spirit.
("That is impossible. I would require something as a vessel,") she said.
If she were to leave in this way, she would scatter with the magical energy and cease to exist. And somewhere else, another "Storm Dragon" would be born. That is one means of escape, but it would have no meaning if it meant becoming a different person.
I would have been at a loss for what to do… but now I know what to do. Wouldn't eating Veldora with [Predator] be the better alternative? Place her into [Predator]'s stomach, analyze [Infinite Prison]'s effects at depth, and eliminate just them… This is the method that will work.
>Answer. Target: Veldora can be absorbed with the unique skill [Predator].
It's possible, alright. I'll explain it; she'll consent, I think? If this goes on, after a hundred years of isolation, disappearing would be her fate.
And so, I explained to Veldora the [Predator] ability and how I thought to use it. This would be impossible, however, without the [Great Sage]'s ability correction.
("Wahahahaha! Interesting!!! Of course, I'll try it. To you, I'll entrust my everything!")
("Should you be trusting me so easily?")
(Of course! Rather than waiting 100 years alone, breaking the prison from inside you sounds MUCH more amusing!)
She was lonely.
More than anything, she didn't want to be alone again.
And honestly?
I didn't want her to be alone either.
With [Great Sage] and [Predator], I'll continue analysis and seek to free Veldora from her imprisonment. And in this stomach, there is no fear of scattering and disappearing.
But before that—
(Big sis Veldara… teach me magic first!)
I tried to sound as adorable as a slime can.
Her reaction was priceless.
I swear I saw her spiritual form squeal like a teenage girl about to hug a plushie.
After 2 Months.....
Okay! The last two months had been, undoubtedly, the most growth I could have had. Learning so many battle arts and magic from Big Sis Velda was super cool and fun. Now it was time to say goodbye for some period of time… Sigh, I will miss her.
After this
I made my decision.
(Alright. I'll eat you now, try to break out of [Infinite Prison], okay?)
(Kukuku! Leave it to me! Don't wait, I'll pause it for you!!!)
I touch Veldara, and begin Predation.
In a second, the giant Veldara disappeared from my view.
That was too quick.
She was speaking up until a second ago.
Having disappeared so suddenly... makes me lonely.
The silence that followed was painfully loud.
I didn't expect it to feel so empty without her voice echoing around the cave.
The skill highly depends on the target's resistance to being absorbed, but as expected of Veldara–no resistance what so ever.
Must say, I'm surprised I could absorb that huge body.
It seems that at the moment, my stomach is 25% occupied...
Just how big of a space have I got in there?
And...
I beg you!
As if in a prayer, I accepted.
.....
Status
Name: Rimuru Tempest
Species: Slime
Divine Protection: the Storm Crest
Title: Reincarnated one, Otherworlder, Little Brother of Strom dragon Veldara.
Magic: «Strom Magic», «Death Calling Winds», «Black Lighting», «Storm of Destruction», etc
Unique Skill : [Great Sage],[Predator],[Dimensional Gacha]
Intrinsic Skill : [Dissolve], [Absorb], [Regeneration]
Extra skill : [Water Manipulation], [Magic Sense]
Resistances Skill: Thermal Fluctuation Resistance , Physical Damage Resistance, Piercing Resistance, Pain Resistance, Electricity Resistance, Paralysis Resistance.