Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Goblins and Bears, and wolves, Oh my!
Naturally, everyone gets their just deserts. After teasing Rubellia for a minute, a sharp tug came for my ear, a pair of pinches moved to the flesh on both of my sides, and a set of pouting glares tried to nail me in place.
Despite lacking any actual strength or intent, I still used [Shunpo] to flash away from their grasps. That seemed to be their intent as Treyni quickly pulled Rubellia into their horde of women, and began lecturing her on the evil wiles of men while walking back to their tent.
I smiled sheepishly, hearing her sharp, but not inaccurate statements. I watched as the rest of the village stirred into motion and continued their work. To keep a good pace, I ordered everyone to bring their belongings to training grounds so that I could absorb them and carry them within my storage space.
While the women went to take care of their belongings, Mia returned quickly with a small pouch and stood beside me, watching the others gathering their few belongings as well as the remainder of the material we had accumulated inside of the storage room.
"Everything has changed ever since you've come here, Orion," Mia Spoke after a few moments.
"Mmm…Does that bother you, Mia?" I asked, agreeing that things had changed a lot. Even if these guys were still quite weak in my eyes, many of the goblins have managed to train their parameters beyond their race's rank, exceeding the standards for the race.
Mia was about to shake her head to deny it, but then something crossed her mind, and she lowered her head. "…It's not bad; it just isn't how I would have imagined things a week ago…" she replied quietly.
I was self-aware enough to understand what bothered her. Still, the feelings in the back of my mind that I barely understood were unphased by such issues.
Mia and I had a complicated relationship, not just because of what I had done to her and Rou, but also because I don't fully understand why.
I easily understand why I killed Rou, he was a threat, one specifically pointed out by the system, and I stood to benefit a lot myself against these people or monsters I knew nothing about.
As a monster, all of us understood the concepts 'Might makes Right,' and, 'Survival of the Fittest.' But what happened afterward when dealing with Mia and Kishin doesn't make sense to me.
There was an inexplicable draw I felt towards both of them after eating that variant hobgoblin as well as the village itself, though, it was much more substantial with some individuals than others.
I didn't understand it, so I experimented with both Mia and Kishin in different ways. I named Kishin and made him my subordinate while I played with Mia and tried altering the connection between us.
They were arbitrary actions, but the strange feeling I got changed the more I interacted with them as such, and slowly it faded. Now, although still a battle-junkie, Kishin has become much more accepting of me ever since I completely defeated him. As for Mia, her feelings have become complicated, but unquestionably positive and desirable.
I tried asking Saul about it, but all it could tell me was something about taking on the bonds of fate that Rou had developed, which influenced both myself and others to some small degree.
I wasn't a fan of the idea of being influenced now any more than when Treyni was sent to do it, but Saul rightly pointed out that it did little to sway my decision. In reality, I was simply interested in Mia and therefore spared Kishin out of convenience.
"Mia, I want you to stay." I finally spoke, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She looked at me questioningly, so I continued, "After the sixth months are over, I would like you to stay here, with me and the others."
Her eyes widened slightly as she looked up at me, but instead of answering, she hugged me and buried her head in my chest. I suppose that was a sort of answer in of itself. I pat her head with my free hand, and we stayed like that for a minute before Mia left to see if any help was needed to bring things from the storage room.
Likely, she didn't want to get dragged off by Treyni, who seemed to have a sixth sense for when another girl got close to me. Now that I think about, maybe after imprinting on me, she does have a sort of sixth sense due to our connection?
Once everything was packed up, I used [Celestial Devourer] to gather everything up, and then contacted Ranga, the direwolf I named the other day.
He had faithfully pledged his loyalty to me, and it added him to my [Followers] tab in the system. With a thought, I was connected to Ranga (Can you hear me? I have an import job for you, Ranga.)
(Master??? Is that you?) he asked confusedly while looking around him. (Are you here, I can't find your scent anywhere.)
(I'm not there, Ranga. I need you to do something for me, though, then we will meet up afterward.)
(Of course, master. Your will is my command!)
Ranga seemed quite happy to receive my commands. So I explained to him about my moving plans and gave him directions to locate it so that he and his pack could lead the others there.
Next up, I called over Benimaru. "Come here. I have a job for you, Benimaru."
Benimaru quickly arrived and kneeled before me, "My lord!" he greeted.
"No need for all of that. I have added everyone here to a single party. I want you to lead them through the forest to the place where we met, but don't enter the clearing. I don't think these guys can handle that yet.
This is a chance for me to see your leadership capabilities, so don't let me down. Treat this as a military exercise in which you have full command in this operation. We will be meeting up with the village from before, so make sure these guys don't attack them, too."
"Understood, Lord Orion. I shall strive to live up to your expectations." He said, bowing slightly before leaving to handle his new duties.
After handling the coordination with Ranga and Benimaru, I turned to see that the human women and Treyni had all returned. They were all smiling and laughing while discussing various things.
I was glad to see that Rubellia was no worse for wear and was happily conversing with the others. I withdrew the Zankensouki manual from my storage and handed it over to her. "Here, take this and use it before we leave, it may help you some while we are moving to the new location."
Her happy countenance bloomed even further as she eagerly took hold of the book. Treyni, Mia, and I all winced slightly watching the golden lights emerge, though, none of the women noticed as they were all seemingly fascinated by the sight.
In the next moment, the golden lights infiltrated her mind, and Rubellia grunted from the pain. "Endure it, Ruby. It may be painful, but this will be important for your growth." I spoke slowly and clearly, and hearing me, she nodded and gritted her teeth.
Considering that many goblins collapsed to the ground screaming, I was impressed by her willpower to say nothing else. She continued enduring for the next five minutes, and when it was over, she nearly collapsed, but I caught her first.
She was drenched in sweat, and her face was slightly pale, but her grips on the lapel of my robe was strong. After a moment of calming her breathing and looking through the new information printed in her mind, she looked up at me and smiled weakly.
"What do you think?" I asked as I proudly watched over her.
"It sucks… It really sucks. But, this won't stop me from reaching my goal!" she boasted.
"Pfft! Hahaha, I meant about the technique, Ruby. What do you think about the technique?" I chuckled and helped her stand.
Rubellia blushed, "Of course, I knew that! What can I even say about something that was magically imprinted in my mind? Of course, it's amazing, but…"
"It seems bland to you, right?" I smirked. The sword and hand-to-hand techniques may seem basic, but they serve as an excellent foundation for a practical, well-trained warrior. It even earned Hakurou's seal of approval.
She hesitantly nodded, but then thought of something. "In comparison, aren't the spells and movement techniques way to incredible? I've never even heard of techniques that use spiritual energy before, only skills for special Job-Classes!"
Hearing her, I laughed and nodded. "That may indeed be the case. The swordsmanship skills in this manual were all fundamental techniques, studied and developed to their pinnacle over thousands of years.
The reason they were all very general and basic was that the swordsmen that created this manual used swords that all shared the same primary state, but would change and grow along with the user, sometimes becoming completely different weapons."
"Hmm~ Isn't that pretty amazing, Orion? Is it really okay for you to share this with everyone?" she asked worriedly.
"Ah, well, those people don't exist in this world, so it doesn't really matter. As long as you promise not to share the techniques without my permission, I don't mind teaching you." I spoke nonchalantly.
Surprisingly, Rubellia decided to make a heavenly oath in response. "I, Rubellia Walline, do swear to the heavens never to share the techniques given to me without Orion's permission."
With that, golden chains materialized and entered her body near her heart. All of us stopped and gawked at the proudly smiling warrior.
"You…Hey, what were you thinking, Rubellia! Don't you know what will happen if you break your vow!?" Emily berated her.
Still, Rubellia smiled and shook her head. I won't break it, so it doesn't matter, right?"
I frowned, I hadn't intended for her to do something so serious, just a verbal promise, so that she knew not to share these things. Instead, if she breaks this vow, her soul will be crushed, and she won't even get a chance to reincarnate ever again. That was how serious it was.
There would no doubt be people who wanted to steal our techniques, so I thought for a moment before chopping Rubellia's head.
"O-owowow! What was that for, Orion?" She exclaimed while holding her head.
"For being foolish," I said. "I only wanted you to understand that this wasn't something for you to share carelessly. Why would you treat your life with so little value?" I continued to scold her.
Hearing me, she frowned, though. "I'm not taking my life lightly, Orion! I want you to understand how serious I am about this! With that, don't think you can throw me aside." she said while blushing.
My brow twitched, seeing her once again trying to use this opportunity, but I quickly refuted her. "I don't know what you're talking about… Anyways, it seems that Hakurou will need to work you extra hard. Hopefully he can knock some sense into you."
I'm not sure when, but Hakurou has become an astonishingly effective threat. I think his course will become a mandatory part of everyone's education upon arrival or birth.
"Uh, h-hey, Orion, let's talk about this like civilized people, I'm sure we can work something out, right?" she pleaded as her ruddy expression blanched.
"Ah, sorry. In the first place, I am a monster." I denied her.
Rubellia's shoulders slouched, and the other women giggled. The tense air dissipated, and everyone resumed their joking and teasing.
Treyni locked walked beside me, gently holding my arm. (Are you okay, h-honey?) she asked shyly through our private chat.
Due to our connection, she could feel both the anger and concern I felt earlier much more clearly than the others, and it caused her no small amount of concern.
I loosened my arm and wrapped it around her waist. (I'm fine, I just lost control of my emotions a bit there. Sorry for worrying you.)
(These girls have been through a lot, but they're stronger than you think. Rubellia, in particular, has grown quite fond of you. Her feelings are even stronger than Mia's. Did something happen last night while I was gone?) she asked more curious than jealous.
(Hmm… maybe…) I explained to her what happened with Spinel and how I admitted the truth about what had happened the night they were nearly accosted.
Treyni sighed and nodded, (I see, you really can't help yourself, can you?)
(What do you mean?)
(What do you think would happen when a knight in shining armor comes to save a damsel in distress? Furthermore, you even admitted the truth they already knew, despite knowing it would tarnish your reputation with them. Don't you think all of that is the perfect setup to steal a maiden's heart?)
(Er… That may be true, but weren't you the one that pushed me off onto them?) I contested.
(That's why I sighed, Orion. I knew it wasn't a good idea, but it seemed to be the best way to help console and care for those girls.)
(Wait, so I was a sacrifice?)
(Pfft! What sacrifice? Not only did you benefit, but I didn't sacrifice you at all. You're still mine, after all, aren't you?) she smiled beautifully while looking up at me.
I sighed and smiled at her, then moving my hand down her back and squeezing her ass slightly. "Ah!" She unconsciously yelped, not expecting such a response.
We were also the rear-guard, so none of the others could see the magnificent sight of my fingers sinking into her succulent cheeks. The other women looked back due to the strange noise, but all they could see was that we were particularly close and that Treyni was fiercely blushing.
Convinced we were just flirting again, they quickly returned to their conversations while Rubellia worked with the nearby goblins to take down the weaker monsters around us.
I looked towards Treyni and kissed her pouting lips, which seemed to appease her embarrassment with a happy smile.
I took one last squeeze before moving my hand back to her shoulder, she wrapped her hand around my shoulder and pinched my waist slightly, but the beautiful smile on her face was unphased.
For the remainder of the trip, I watched over my forces that cut their way through the forest. Benimaru worked hard leading this unorganized bunch, but he had the help of Kishin, who lead the frontline, Mia, who controlled the ranged fighters, and the previous generation's hobgoblin mage who instructed the mages how to support the others.
It was a fascinating sight to watch from the rear where Shion and Shuna led the backlines. Shuna led a small group of mages in the backline while Shion led the goblins to protect the supporters and healers.
It wasn't what I would call a well-oiled machine or anything, but it was clear to see that everyone was falling into place and slowly growing used to their role.
Although there were a few injuries, it wasn't anything that my full recovery potions couldn't handle. I passed several to each captain when we left and told them to use it only for injuries that couldn't be treated with normal healing magic.
Thanks to that, we arrived at our destination with no severe injuries, though, everyone was quite tired afterward.
I only had a single chance to shine during the whole event. Along the way, we passed through the territory of a group of hindbears.
They were B-plus ranked monsters that were only about as intelligent as a normal bear, despite their massive mana capacity that went towards strengthening themselves.
The only exception was the leader, a variant monster with red fur, and could breathe fire. It also seemed to have elemental resistances making magic a poor matchup for the monster.
I could feel Lilith salivating upon sensing the monsters, so I naturally called dibs on the big guy. Shion, Benimaru, Mia, and Kishin all called dibs on fighting the other three.
In the meantime, Souei lead the rest of the goblins to form an encirclement around us to keep away any opportunistic monsters.
Benimaru used this chance to test his improved [Fire Manipulation] skill against the monsters elemental resistant hide.
The result was the bear's arm becoming well charred and useless. Afterward, he used his improved control to cloak his katana in fire and battle the bear from close range.
Shion didn't put so much thought into her assault. She simply used her newfound strength to wage an onslaught against the bear with her bare hands.
Her wooden club quickly broke during the fight, though, not before shattering one of the bear's arms. This left her practicing her hand to hand techniques on the bear while also making use of the movement technique. Seeing her make good use of the techniques made me feel happy, even if I was a bit flummoxed seeing her grapple with a several-hundred-pound bear.
Mia and Kishin worked together to take on two bears, which proved to be quite efficient and inspiring for the other goblins and hobgoblins.
Kishin used his large shield to block the swipes of the bears while he batted the other one away. Mia supported him by sealing the bear's movements with Bakudo #62: Hundred Steps Fence, something she decided to learn after seeing me use it several times.
As a result, one of the bears was pinned down, and Kishin was able to focus his attacks on the bear he was clashing with. His impressive strength was already A-rank, and he excitedly used it to cleave his ax through the bear's defenses.
Unlike Kishin, who was cutting away at his prey one chunk at a time, Mia used her magic to empower her crossbow bolts and launched several precise strikes into the bear's eyes, ears, and mouth. It had become a rather fluffy pin cushion as it wheezed its last breaths.
For my fight, I spent a few moments dodging and parrying the red bear's attacks. The fire-breathing variant hindbear had a physical strength nearly equivalent to my own since I haven't done much hunting since my evolution.
For its part, this hindbear variant seemed to be on its third evolution, likely starting as an ordinary beast before becoming a magical beast and then evolving into its current state—an impressive feat for a mindless creature.
I observed the bears slow but powerful attacks while occasionally cutting a slice from the bears flank to whet Lilith's appetite.
With such a hearty opponent, there were multiple things I tested and tried, similar to Benimaru. I even used [Sagitta Magica: Glacias], launching it within the bear's jowls when he tried to use his flame breath on me. The first time, the monster melted through my attack, but the second time, I melded three ice arrows together in one massive attack that pierced through his breath attack and pierced through the back of its throat.
After that, its strong vitality kept it alive, but it was unable to use its fire breath anymore. Because of that, the bear entered an enraged state and began swinging wildly towards me. I used my defensive [Blut], but in my humanoid Mimic form, I was unable to bring out its full strength.
Thinking about it, this seemed as good of a time as any to reveal my true monster form to everyone.
I sheathed my sword and ordered everyone to brace themselves before releasing my mimic form. Two blade-like horns materialized from above my ears. Cuffs of soft, black fur also encase my wrists as my previous transformation was undone.
Back in my natural state, I cracked my neck, and an unknown tension was released from my body. Even though my human form was perfectly natural and comfortable to use, it was designed for my previous evolution and was a bit lacking compared to my true form.
It made no discernible difference aside from the efficacy of some skills, but there was something freeing about using my natural state of being in battle.
The bear noticed the obvious change and swiftly attacked with all its strength, but this time when I blocked, its claws couldn't even scratch me, thanks to my [Blut].
As I said before, the difference in efficacy was seemingly minuscule, but Hakurou has beaten into all of us to take every advantage we can get.
The bear seemed confused, so he swiped his claws again, but this time I grabbed its paw with one hand before charging a [Bala] with my other hand and launching it with my other fist.
The violet spiritual energy bullet charged forth burrowing into the bear's flesh and sending it barrelling through several trees and past the goblin fortifications. Thankfully, the trees slowed it down enough to give my forces time to evacuate the bear's trajectory.
When it finally came to a halt, the bear's breathing was shallow, and there was a large indentation in its chest where its ribs had caved in. The concave section was also shaved off all its tough fur.
It was an impressive test, but I didn't take any pleasure in torturing an opponent that could no longer fight back, even if it was a monster. I unsheathed my sword and cut off the bears head in a single fluid strike.
Instantly, I had felt the bears parameters slowly invigorate my flesh as well as Lilith's cheerful attitude. Her Shikai was now 92% unlocked, and I eagerly looked forward to seeing her true-form in the real world.
"Ahh, so good!" I spoke while enjoying the process of Lilith giving me the strength and abilities of the bear.
In my mind, I could hear the world's voice announcing several notifications.
『New skills Acquired: [Peerless Heavy Strike], [Lord of the Mountains Piercing Roar], [Intimidating Glare], [Omni-Elemental Resistance], [Lord of the Mountain's Stout Hide], [Lord of the Mountain's Strong, Supple Muscles], [Consecutive Raging Strikes], [Tyranny of the Beast King], [Fire Immunity].』
『New Blessing Acquired: Blessing of the Demigod of Fire.』
Seeing the list of new abilities and the familiar blessing, I couldn't help but whistle in surprise.
'Hey, Saul! Some of these abilities are pretty similar. Is there any way to fuse them?' I asked after a moment.
『I'm sorry, Orion. I currently have no such ability.』
'Ah, don't worry about it, Saul. That just means I need to devour someone or something that does have that ability, that's all.'
Behind me, my demi-human and human followers all looked at me in astonishment. For most of them, they had never seen my actual appearance. I, of course, had my pheromones sealed away so as not to cause a commotion—leastwise, not one bigger than was already occurring.
Seeing me, Mia blushed and looked away while Treyni maintained her proud smile.
Shion and Shuna were both starstruck, and the other Kijin also looked impressed as well.
Despite their surprise, the human women seemed not to have any fear, but rather a degree of curiosity towards my transformation.
After the formation was restored and we resumed our march, the girls each took their chance to examine me.
"Hmm, they're quite different from the ogre's horns. In fact, they're a bit blade-like quality and seem like they could easily cut or pierce most defenses." was Emily's analysis of the changes.
"This fur is so fluffy and soft too. A coat lined with this stuff would sell wonderfully in Dwargon." the sisters added on.
Spinel adjusted her glasses while observing me. "Not a bad look, but why didn't you show us this before. We were having a hard time believing you were actually a monster. In fact, I'm struggling even more now to believe that you're in any way related to a slime."
"Hahaha, what can I say? I like to think I'm pretty unique. My body really is all slime on the inside, though. I don't have any blood or anything like that. I can even turn into a slime too!"
"""Oh? Can we see?""" They all asked simultaneously with a mixture of curiousness and excitement tinging their voice.
"Uh, sure. Just give me a moment…" I wearily agreed. Starting my transformation, my clothes turned into mist before retracting into my ring.
I swear, the was a brief instant that the girls' eyes widened before I completed my transformation, but they shouldn't have been able to see anything at that moment.
Soon I took on the blobby gelatinous form I was born with, now the size of a bowling ball. Perhaps because of the increase in the quality of my mana, I was in a much-reduced size.
Using [Magic Perception], I noticed the girls all fawning over me, and I could feel myself lifted up and into someone's embrace. Naturally, that person was Treyni, who garnered looks of envy? from the other women.
None of that really parsed, though, as I enjoyed the warmth of Treyni's bre—kohun—embrace.
Of course, my benevolent wife allowed the other women to hold me as well, and I was able to enjoy a great variety of breas—embraces. Today was indeed set to be a great day.
We made great time for the rest of the trek, but there was nothing much left for me to do, so I kept watch on our surroundings while the women took turns holding me in my slime form.
When we arrived on location, Ranga was there waiting for us. Several goblins and hobgoblins on our side began panicking when they saw the direwolve pack and the large and unidentified Ranga. Still, Benimaru's charisma and control over our men quickly allayed their concerns.
I also returned to my human form and greeted them, congratulating Ranga on achieving his mission. According to him, they ran into no significant issues on the way, and their side only received some minor injuries.
I had everyone set up camp outside the clearing for tonight and helped those lacking a tent. In doing so, I became even more skilled with my web-spinning arts. I can't help but wonder what uncle Ben would say…
With everyone settling in for the night, I had Ranga stand guard for the human women after reissuing my "Don't harass or harm the humans" orders.
After that, Treyni pulled me away, and we moved to her tree, where she had me build another platform just for us.
"Now that I have you all to myself, I think it's time for you to attend to your husbandly duties, Orion." Treyni blushed as she spoke slowly, removing her clothes, piece by piece for my enjoyment.
My jaw dropped, observing her incredible figure and seductive movements. When she finished, she looked at me, slightly embarrassed, "Aren't you going to join me, Orion?"
Authors Note: Hiya, everyone. Sorry for the delayed posts. Things have been a bit hectic getting ready to go back for my last year in college. Lots of work to do and just found out my cat needed to have 4 of his teeth pulled because he isn't taking care of them. 😭 Anyways here's a new chapter.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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