"The small one, you say?"
No matter how I thought about it, that had to be referring to me.
It wasn't so much a voice as a direct recognition of will within my mind. After all, I had no ears, so I couldn't hear sound.
(Hey! Can you hear me? Respond!)
I can hear you!
But the problem was—I had no throat, so there was no way to answer.
As an experiment, I thought: (Shut up, baldy!)
Well, there was no way that would come through, so it should be fine. But how was I supposed to answer…?
(…H-Ho-Hohh! You dare call me bald? You've got some nerve! I thought I'd be polite since you're the first visitor I've had in ages, but it seems you have a death wish!)
Oh no. It actually got through.
Wait—so if I think it, it becomes a response?! If you'd told me that first, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to make the other party angry!
On top of that, I had absolutely no idea what kind of being I was dealing with.
Nothing I could do. I was helpless.
I decided to just apologize honestly.
(Sorry! I didn't know how to respond, so I just tried thinking whatever came to mind. I'm really sorry!
Also, I can't see anything right now, so I can't even see what you look like.)
Would that get through?
Well, when you can't see the other person, calling them "baldy" doesn't really make sense. If they were actually bald, it'd be natural to be furious.
I should restrain myself from making thoughtless remarks.
(Fufufu. Fuhaha. Fuhahahahahahaha!)
A sudden explosion of laughter.
A textbook three-stage laugh progression. Magnificent.
Was the anger gone?
(Interesting. I thought you'd said that after seeing my appearance, but you can't see? Slimes are low-level monsters that basically just absorb, divide, and regenerate without even thinking. They rarely venture outside their own territory.)
They've started monologuing?
Curiosity overtaking anger…?
Well, whatever the case, this was my first contact. The very first conversation of my new life.
I wanted to handle this diplomatically and keep things friendly.
And get them to teach me all sorts of things.
(That slime charging at me was what made me curious. Its regeneration speed is abnormally fast—could it be a Named Monster, or perhaps a Unique Monster?)
Named? Unique? I had no idea what those meant.
(Sorry. I don't really understand those terms. Actually, I was only born here ninety days ago…)
(Hmm. The fact that you have a ego at all is something impossible for a normal slime. Monsters given a "name" are called Named Ones, but being only ninety days old makes that unlikely. So, could it be Unique?)
(What do you mean by Unique?)
(A Unique Monster refers to an individual born with abnormally powerful abilities, as if from a sudden mutation. They can occasionally be born in places with high concentrations of Magicules… Ah, so that's it—you were born from a mass of Magicules that leaked from me!)
Hmm? What were they saying?
I mobilized everything from my previous life to think it through.
So this old man (assumption) had been leaking Magicules, and the surrounding area was dense with them.
And a monster born from those accumulated Magicules was a slime—me?
(Hmm. For the past three hundred years, not a single monster has been able to approach me. If you were born from the source of my power, it makes sense that you can touch me!)
(Hohh… So does that mean you're like my parent?)
(Not a parent… but anyway, I don't have reproductive capacity. Monsters vary widely—some have it, some don't.)
(Normally, wouldn't they have it? Wait—if monsters can be born from masses of Magicules, then is reproduction even necessary?)
(…You're remarkably intelligent. Most monsters can barely even think. The only ones with true intelligence are the Demonfolk…
Well, fine. I'll answer that question.
There are some low-level species that do possess reproductive ability. Goblins, Orcs, Lizardmen, and the like. These beings are special among monsters—they're called Demi-Humans.
Some Demi-Humans side with "humans." Elves, Halflings, Dwarves—those sorts of fairy folk.
To put it simply, Demi-Humans who side with the "Demonfolk" are called monsters, while Demi-Humans who side with "humans" are recognized as part of the humanoid races.
Reproductive ability among monsters is primarily found among these Demi-Humans. To me, they're barely worth acknowledging!
Next, the "Demonfolk."
This is a general term for beings born from Magicules, sudden mutations of monsters, creatures evolved from animals or magical beasts, and so on.
Their defining traits are intelligence and reproductive ability. Though some of them differ quite a bit from humans in that regard.
Among them are sudden-mutation variants of the highest Demonfolk class—the most diverse and chaotic of all.
Finally, there are the long-lived high Demonfolk races: Giants, Vampires, Demons.
They do possess reproductive ability, but they rarely exercise it. Overwhelming magical power, bodies that never deteriorate.
There's no need to leave descendants. Unless their numbers are reduced by war or some other extraordinary reason.
These beings are genuinely powerful. I've fought them on several occasions, and when they came in numbers, I couldn't defeat them.
They'd make perfect sparring partners!
All of these beings together are collectively called the "Demon Race."
Intelligent, possessing reproductive ability, and hostile to humanity—that's the Demon Race.
As for why I don't have reproductive ability… it's because I don't need it.
I am "One who is All and yet Complete," one of only four beings of the "
The "Storm Dragon Veldora"—that is me!
I have neither lifespan nor physical body! I am a mass of Magicules, and as long as I have will, I am immutable!!!
Hoo-hahahahahahaha!!
…Well, having that played out as a triumphant laugh was something.
The gist was: no lifespan means no need to have children! Right?
It was a long-winded explanation, but some of what they said was hard to ignore.
"Storm Dragon Veldora"—a dragon?
Given that they had high Demonfolk as fighting buddies, wasn't this being insanely dangerous?
Despite appearances, I'd made it a point of pride to have consumed most manga, anime, and light novels in my previous life.
Drawing on that knowledge, I was certain the being before me—"Storm Dragon Veldora"—was incredibly powerful.
The fact that they were explaining things so politely was somehow unsettling.
Now, what should I do…
(Th-That's how it is! Thank you for the very clear explanation! Well then, I'll be taking my leave!)
I said that and tried to extract myself from the situation.
(Wait. I told you about myself. Now it's your turn, isn't it? Hmm?)
As expected, they had no intention of letting me go.
Hmm. They wanted me to talk about myself. If I said "I reincarnated from another world," would they actually believe me?
They seemed suspicious of my intelligence for a slime, so I doubted I could just say whatever and get away with it.
More importantly, failing to deceive them could equal a death flag.
Well, whatever.
If they didn't believe me, I'd deal with it then.
I made up my mind and decided to tell them everything that had happened.
· · · · · (So that's what happened! It was super rough!)
I kept my skills a secret and told them about being stabbed, waking up as a slime, and everything that had happened since.
It was strange—while telling the story myself, it didn't sound that bad. But it really had been tough.
The worst part was not being able to see.
From here on, even if I passed by cute girls or beautiful older women, I wouldn't be able to look at them.
Somehow, that made me sad.
(Hmm. So you really were a Reincarnator. You had an incredibly rare way of being born.)
(Eh? Rare? And—aren't you going to be skeptical or surprised about the "Reincarnator" part?)
What kind of reaction was this? Were Reincarnators not that unusual? They were acting like my method of birth was the surprising part!
(Hmph. Reincarnators appear from time to time. When the will is strong, memories are etched into the soul.
Some of them apparently remember everything from their previous life perfectly, but it's not that rare.
However, Reincarnators from another world are somewhat unusual.
Normally, you'd be reborn as a human. If you're a monster, that's one thing, but being born from Magicules—I've never heard of that.
Very few souls are strong enough to endure crossing between worlds. And if the destination is a monster, the soul fails to stabilize and dissipates.
You're something special.)
(Really? I wasn't aware. So Reincarrators from another world do exist.)
(Mmm. No one has successfully traveled to another world. But there are those who occasionally fall through from the other side.
They're called "Outsiders" or "Otherworlders," and they possess special knowledge. Moreover, they seem to acquire unique abilities during the process of crossing between worlds.
There are records of "Reincarnators" confirmed to possess knowledge equivalent to those beings. There were probably some who were never confirmed, as well.)
I see. I didn't know if the other world was the same Earth I'd come from, but it might be worth trying to meet them.
There might even be fellow Japanese people.
Since I had no particular goal, having at least one wouldn't hurt.
(I see! Then I'll try to find these Otherworlders. They might even be from the same place!)
(Wait. You can't see, can you?)
(Oh, right.)
So what if I couldn't see? It was inconvenient, but if I took things carefully and avoided dying, I'd meet them eventually. Probably.
(I'll give you sight.)
Huh? What?
Whoa, this old man—no, "Storm Dragon Veldora"—was actually a really good person (dragon)?
Was it okay to get my hopes up?
(Eh? Really?)
(Mmm. But there are conditions. So? What do you say?)
Conditions… suspicious, but— (What kind of conditions?)
I was willing to accept most conditions.
(Simple. Even after you gain sight, don't fear me. And come talk to me again. That's all. What do you say?)
That was it?
Actually… this dragon might have been lonely. The loneliness of the strong, perhaps?
No wonder they'd been so talkative. I was probably their first conversation partner in ages.
This dragon might be easy.
No, wait—maybe dragons weren't so tough after all. Maybe in this world, dragons weren't all that impressive…
Heh. This might be a pretty good deal (lol).
(That's really all?)
(Mmm. The truth is, I was sealed here three hundred years ago. Since then, I've been unbearably bored. So? What do you say?)
(If that's all it takes, then I'd be happy to!)
(Mmm. It's a promise—keep it!)
(Don't worry! Despite appearances, I'm a man you can trust! At least, that's what they said about me in my previous life!)
Of course, that was self-proclaimed!
(Very well. There's a skill called "Magic Sense." Can you use it?)
(No, I can't. What kind of skill is it?)
(It's a skill that detects the Magicules in your surroundings. It's nothing special—just lets you perceive the ambient Magicules—so it's easy to learn.)
(Hohh. That sounds pretty simple!)
*It is absolutely not simple!
(Mmm. For someone like me, it's as natural as breathing, so I don't even have to think about it.)
(I see! And once I learn it, I'll be able to see?)
(Exactly. This world is covered in Magicules. Thicker in some places, thinner in others. Now, light and sound have the nature of waves—do you know that?)
(Yes, light waves and sound waves.)
(Knowledgeable. Is that from your otherworld? Well, yes, that's right.
So, you observe how those waves are disturbed by the Magicules, and from that data, you perform predictive calculations of your surroundings. Simple, right?)
Huh? What were they talking about?
This guy… was making an outrageous claim. There was nothing simple about it!
(I don't know—it seems kind of hard but also kind of not…)
(What? With this, you can keep fighting even if your eyes and ears are destroyed. Sneak attacks become impossible. It's an essential skill!)
(Never mind fighting for now—I just want to be able to see!)
(Mm… Fine. I'll help you learn it. And for the record, I don't know any other way!)
(C-Can you really do that? I'm a newborn beginner, you know!)
(Relax. Fortunately, you have memories from your previous life, right? At that time, you already knew about light and sound as concepts.
Without that knowledge, even I couldn't do it—but you're lucky!)
Right—explaining the sights of the world to someone who couldn't see would be incredibly difficult.
Making them understand was impossible for me alone.
Helen Keller had only been able to learn to speak because she'd already stored words in her memory before the age of two.
In other words, it was precisely because I had knowledge from my previous life that I could use "Magic Sense" as a substitute to pseudo-replicate sight and hearing…
There was no choice but to do it.
Not being able to see was far too inconvenient.
And, I'd almost forgotten—I had the Great Sage.
Surely it would help me out!
(Please, teach me!)
(No need to be so enthusiastic—it's simple. First, use the Magicules inside your body to move the external Magicules.)
This, I sort of understood. Shooting water out earlier had been a variation of this.
(Like this?)
I moved the Magicules while circulating them through my body to check.
(Hmm. You're doing it more fluently than expected. Now, can you tell the difference between the Magicules you're moving and the ones outside your body?)
This might be easy too.
Ever since being told I survived by absorbing Magicules, I'd been consciously trying to feel them.
(Oh, of course I can! It's like eating them to stay alive, right?)
(Kukuku. If you understand that much, the rest is simple. You just have to feel the movement of Magicules outside your body.)
That was the part I didn't understand.
Anyway, I did as told and tried to sense the Magicules outside.
I could feel them shimmering. Flowing, shifting…
That's right—Great Sage, activate!
《Confirmed. Extra Skill "Magic Sense" acquired… successfully.》 《Would you like to use Extra Skill "Magic Sense"? YES/NO》 Huh?
Had I really acquired it that easily?
Well, of course it was YES.
The Great Sage was just too reliable!
The instant I activated Extra Skill "Magic Sense," my brain was flooded with information.
An overwhelming volume of data that, as a human, I never could have processed.
The waves of light and sound, pushed and shifted by each tiny Magicule.
All of it grasped and converted into perceivable information.
As a human, my field of vision hadn't even covered 180 degrees ahead.
Now, I could "see" a full 360 degrees with zero blind spots.
I could perceive the scenery behind a boulder or a hundred meters away—as long as I directed my attention to it.
For a normal person, this volume of information would have burned out their brain and driven them insane.
But I was a slime! Every single cell was simultaneously muscle and brain cell!
I managed to endure it.
Then— 《Linking Unique Skill "Great Sage" to Extra Skill "Magic Sense"… successful.》 My vision cleared.
The sensation that had felt like my brain was being scorched vanished.
And, as naturally as if it had always been this way—something that was almost uncanny—the world became "visible."
The Great Sage might be an unfair ability.
Calling it cheating wouldn't be an overstatement.
If anyone else had it, I'd be filing complaints about how broken it was. But it was mine.
No problems there.
(Ah, it seems like it worked! Thank you!)
I said that and turned my "gaze" toward the presence before me.
There was a real dragon there.
Covered in scales that looked harder than blackened steel yet simultaneously flexible…
With an unmistakable aura of an evil dragon…
(G-Geeek! A DRAGON!!!!!!!)
An evil presence that far exceeded my expectations.
My inner scream erupted as an actual shriek.
Status Name: Mikami Satoru
Unique Skill "Predator"
Slime-Intrinsic Skills "Dissolve, Absorb, Self-Regeneration"
Skill "Water Jet Propulsion"
Extra Skill "Magic Sense"
Resistances: Thermal Fluctuation Resistance EX Physical Attack Resistance
When I couldn't see, even having conversations was inconvenient.