Thirty days had passed since I ate Veldara.
What had I been doing all this time?
Honestly—nothing dramatic. Mostly, I was trying to find my way out of this damn cave.
Now I finally understood why, in canon, Rimuru took so long to leave.
This cave was absurdly huge.
At the same time, I kept myself busy by munching on Hipokute Herbs and chunks of magic ore formed deep within the cavern. You know—the stuff that grows where magicules are ridiculously dense, just like Veldara mentioned.
The vegetation I gathered was mostly Hipokute Herbs. There were other plants rich in magicules, but nothing as practical or valuable. As expected.
Thanks to that, my stock of restorative potions had grown nicely.
As for the magic ore, I refined it into magic steel—another task I'd already completed.
Harder than ordinary steel, yet flexible enough to work with, it was unquestionably high-grade material.
…Sure, I knew that orichalcum, hihiirokane, and other legendary metals existed in this world. But I didn't know how to make them.
Those materials were absurdly rare anyway.
I was just being greedy.
That was what I told myself while chewing on questionable-tasting weeds and literal rocks.
---
I also spent a good amount of time at the underground lake, testing my [Water Manipulation] skill.
Just as I'd imagined back when I was blind, the lake was enormous.
But even more surprising than its size was its atmosphere.
It was tranquil. Almost sacred.
There was no sign of life—no fish, no insects, nothing. Despite the water being saturated with magical energy, not a single living creature inhabited it.
An example of pristine, uncorrupted nature.
Beautiful, really.
That said—
Because I hadn't practiced before, I still sucked at actually shooting water with any real control.
When my "mouth" opening was too large, the jet pressure went completely overboard.
So this time, I imagined a water pistol.
Like filling my mouth with water and spitting out just a tiny bit.
…Nothing came out.
Too small?
I increased it slightly.
Water shot out with decent force.
I aimed at a nearby boulder and soaked it.
Alright. That worked.
Next, I widened the opening—combat application.
Keeping the boulder as my target, I slowly increased output.
Okay. I was getting the hang of it.
Still, even if this hit someone, it would hurt—but it wasn't a finisher.
So how do I improve it…?
While thinking that over, I slipped into the lake.
It felt more like a bath than anything.
No—this wasn't just me playing around.
Using [Magic Sense], I observed how my body floated and sank.
Like a jellyfish.
…Wait.
If I made my "face" oscillate, could I generate a current?
I reached into the magicules around my face and forced a rhythmic oscillation.
Pyoon… pyoon… pyyyyoooon…
Ripples formed.
Then—movement.
Success.
Delighted, I experimented further.
Before I knew it, I could freely control depth, direction, and speed.
And if necessary, I could accelerate instantly using [Water Manipulation].
Considering I didn't need to breathe, underwater combat—or escape—would actually be pretty viable.
Satisfied, I climbed back out of the lake.
Break time was over.
---
Now came the part where I needed real combat experience.
This detour wasn't a waste. I'd learned to use [Water Manipulation] properly—and while Big Sis Veldara had already taught me absurdly powerful magic, this skill was still fun.
Being a water bender had its charm.
Still, I needed more power.
This time, I imagined compressing water inside a cylinder, then firing it out.
By adjusting pressure and aperture, I could regulate output—the same principle as water currents.
Shuuu.
The shot flew straight and sharp, striking the boulder and leaving a small crater.
…Success?
Not forgetting that sensation, I kept practicing.
Carefully regulating pressure. Aperture. Flow.
Then I tried something else.
Rotation.
Instead of widening the opening, I thinned the water stream.
The idea was simple.
Cutting water.
Bishun!
The water blade cleaved straight through the boulder.
Even I was stunned.
A week of practice—lol—had finally paid off.
And I'd done it without relying on Great Sage.
She made things absurdly easy—but this?
This was mine.
Just mastering an extra skill took this much effort.
The gap between extra skills and innate or unique skills was enormous.
And ultimate skills?
I couldn't even imagine the effort needed to wield those at full efficiency.
Still—
I had found my way to fight.
---
And with that, I was ready.
At last.
Since the moment I reincarnated by this underground lake, one hundred days had passed.
The journey away from my first home was about to begin.
I was nervous.
I didn't say it out loud—partly because I couldn't.
I tried reproducing vocal cords using my body, but so far, no luck.
Guess I'd have to rely on telepathy until I met those bats.
I considered staying longer to train.
But no.
Nothing would change if I lingered.
Right now, I wanted to see the outside world.
Not just see it—experience it.
Learn new magic. Meet new beings.
Live.
There was no reaction from Veldara.
But I knew she hadn't disappeared.
We made a promise.
That when we met again, I'd have plenty of strange, funny stories to tell her.
And so—from that familiar, wide chamber—I chose the path leading upward.
Toward a world I had yet to see.
A world full of possibility.
And with that longing in my heart, I began to move.
No time like the present.
——————————————————————-
At the bottom of a deep, deep heart of darkness—
A place where no one could ever visit, where even hope itself seemed to erode into silence—
Veldara spent yet another day alone.
Amidst despair.
---
Calamity-Class Storm Dragon Veldara.
Special S-Class Monster.
Both monsters and adventurers were classified from Rank F to Rank A.
Those especially strong had a "+" attached to their rank. Those slightly weaker bore a "–".
This system had been proposed by an Otherworlder—Kagurazaka Yuuki, the Grand Master of the Free Guild.
Before that, rankings had been far more crude:
Novice → Beginner → Intermediate → Advanced.
A simple four-step system that looked easy to understand, yet caused countless unnecessary deaths.
In the current system:
Advanced corresponded to C-rank and above
Intermediate to D-rank
Beginner to E-rank
Novice to F-rank
Thanks to this change, the number of adventurers dying to monsters stronger than expected had dropped dramatically.
Monsters and adventurers of the same rank could generally match one another in a one-on-one fight.
Forming parties further increased survival rates.
Above A-rank existed the realm of the Demon Lord–class, designated as S-rank.
And beyond even that…
Stood those who were no longer measured by ordinary standards.
Entities whose very existence rivaled natural disasters.
Calamity-Class. Special S-rank.
Abnormal beings that deviated entirely from the system.
At present, even a single A-class monster was capable of threatening the survival of a nation.
A power sufficient to induce despair.
And yet—
None of that mattered to Veldara.
---
Today, just like yesterday, her thoughts drifted.
Life is tedious.
Three hundred years had passed since her defeat at the hands of the Hero.
She remembered that battle countless times.
The bitterness lingered—but strangely, there was no hatred.
She had always lived on a whim.
Fought on a whim.
Those who dared cross her path were few.
Defeat itself was not unfamiliar.
But to lose one-on-one, under equal conditions—
That had been a first.
---
Pale skin.
Small crimson lips.
Long, jet-black hair.
A petite, slender figure—not particularly tall.
Her face had been hidden behind a mask, yet her movements betrayed her femininity.
A beautiful girl.
Her eyes had not been visible.
Because of that, Veldara could not read her emotions.
Perhaps that was why.
There had been no fear.
No hatred.
Only cold, dispassionate sword swings.
That… had been the most frustrating part of all.
If Veldara had broken free of this prison—
She sometimes wondered.
Would she seek revenge?
Even though she did not hate the Hero?
If given the chance, she wanted to fight her again.
Those were her honest feelings.
But not a battle against a machine.
Not a hollow clash of strength alone.
She wanted a fight where they bared their very identities.
A battle where the Hero acknowledged her existence—
And fought with everything she had.
That had become Veldara's single wish.
---
Human lifespans were short.
Too short.
She knew all too well that her wish would never be fulfilled.
And yet…
Her thoughts kept looping back to the same place.
Again.
And again.
How many years had passed like this?
---
Then, one day—
Gorogoro—ZUDON!!
Something rammed into her.
A light-blue body.
In this place, saturated by her overflowing magical energy, no ordinary life could exist.
Even high-class monsters would be annihilated merely by touching the condensed mass of magicules that was Veldara herself.
Amused, she observed the strange being.
And that moment—
Became the beginning of their encounter.
Before she realized it, to a dragon who had long since abandoned her will to live—
That bizarre existence had become her sole source of hope.
Such a meeting could not have been meaningless.
Veldara felt it.
A premonition she had never experienced before.
---
(Can you hear me… little one?)
Clinging to that faint belief—
Veldara called out.
.....
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.