The battle was over.
That opponent had been seriously dangerous.
If his evolution had been fully complete... there probably would've been no way to take him down.
It was only because of the timing that I won.
If I'm being greedy, I could say it would've been a cakewalk before the evolution! — but that's about the extent of it.
I wasn't lucky on that front, but being able to defeat him at all was fortunate.
And above all!
That's right — I got it. A Unique Skill!
Not the Unique Skill "Famine" itself, but I had inherited its abilities.
Actually, my own "Predator" had also transformed, becoming "Glutton."
I ran an analysis of the abilities, then quietly closed the interface.
No, no. This was an incredibly dangerous ability.
Then, from around me, I heard voices:
"Hmm? It feels like power is surging through me..."
"My wounds are healing fast! My stamina's fully restored!"
"Now that you mention it..."
It seemed there was no mistaking it.
The abilities of the Unique Skill "Glutton."
They were as follows:
[Analysis. Additional effects gained through transformation into the Unique Skill "Glutton"...
Decay: Corrodes the target. Inflicts a decay effect. Corrodes living organisms.
Upon absorbing parts of a monster's corpse, there is a possibility of acquiring part of its abilities. (※Random)
Supply: Can bestow portions of one's abilities upon monsters under one's influence or those with a soul connection. (※Acquisition limits exist based on the target's Magicule count)
Food Chain: Can acquire abilities gained by monsters under one's influence. (※All targets)
The above three abilities have been integrated and added.]
Something like that. The five abilities of Predator remained intact, with three new abilities tacked on.
On top of that, my stomach capacity had more than doubled, it seemed.
Did this mean I could now use the evolved abilities of
[Analysis. That is correct.]
Seriously?
It appeared that when my abilities were enhanced, my subordinates were also enhanced — and the reverse phenomenon occurred as well.
This had become an absolutely terrifying ability.
Of course, I couldn't share knowledge or transmit magic or anything like that.
Naturally, I still had to raise my own skills through hard work. Daily effort was important.
But still — what an incredible ability I'd acquired.
As expected of the Orc Demon Lord.
I'd been disappointed that
And better yet, I'd been lucky enough to inherit it and learn Flight-type Magic!
In my case, no incantation was necessary. I could fly at will now.
Well, I'd start by practicing slow flight and eventually work my way up to supersonic speeds.
Not only had I acquired a new Unique Skill, but thanks to the Great Sage's optimization, all my abilities had been properly integrated.
I'd originally thought I couldn't use Mimicry for all forms simultaneously, but apparently I could.
On top of that, if I thought "Demonification," I could now transition to my most powerful humanoid form.
I'd need to research these new capabilities at my leisure going forward.
Anyway — the battle had drawn to a close.
Joy, sorrow, and despair swirled across the battlefield like a maelstrom.
Now then.
As I always think, the cleanup after a battle is far tougher than the fighting itself...
---
The day after the Orc Demon Lord's defeat.
Representatives from each race had gathered in a makeshift tent at the center of the wetlands.
Our side consisted of myself, Benimaru,
I was in slime form, nestled on Shion's lap.
In the first place, when we'd defeated the Orc Demon Lord, my true identity had been completely exposed, so there was no point in hiding anymore.
From the Lizardman Tribe, there was the chief, the captain of the royal guard, and the vice-captain.
He was an idiot, but he had his amusing side too. There hadn't been a good moment to speak up on his behalf, so there was nothing to be done.
From the Orc Tribe, there was the last surviving Orc Commander and the ten great chieftains representing the tribal coalition.
All of them were pale-faced, heads bowed with gloomy expressions.
The Orc Tribe had been the root cause of this entire upheaval.
No matter how much they claimed to have been manipulated by the Orc Disaster, it didn't absolve them of responsibility.
They understood that perfectly well — which was exactly why their expressions were so grim.
The fact that their food supplies were nearly exhausted was another factor.
According to Souei's report, they hadn't prepared much in the way of provisions.
Under the influence of the Unique Skill, they'd been able to keep marching while starving thanks to cannibalism — that's all it was. Once outside the skill's influence, cannibalism wasn't an option.
Their desperate, dead-end situation was what filled the room with that heavy atmosphere.
Even if someone tried to hold them accountable for the war, there wasn't much they could do about it, and they had no capacity to pay reparations.
More than that, the very fact that they'd been unable to feed their own people was the root cause of the war.
Regardless, reduced numbers or not, there were still 150,000 soldiers. There simply wasn't enough food to feed them all.
The fact that they had that many soldiers but lacked the ability to continue fighting — that was what proved just how cornered the Orc Tribe had become.
Without the Unique Skill "Famine," they would have literally starved to death.
Those 150,000 soldiers included women, young people, and children. The entire tribe had come as one.
---
The cause was a great famine.
The Demon Continent side was rich in resources, a safe haven under the protection of the Demon Lord.
Even if powerful magical beasts or monsters ran amok, the Demon Lord's demon generals kept the peace.
But naturally, there was a price for that: heavy taxes.
To live on that bountiful land, one had to surrender large quantities of harvested crops.
The fast-breeding Orc Tribe was needed by the Demon Lord as labor — both for the mines and the farmlands.
However, those who failed to pay their taxes were given one answer: death!
The Demon Lord wouldn't lift a finger personally.
The Demon Continent was a dangerous place. Countless monsters descended upon it, drawn by its abundant resources.
The Demon Lord wouldn't bother protecting those who failed to pay the taxes that funded their defense against those monsters.
Naturally, those areas became death zones.
For orcs with their high reproductive rate, even if the majority perished, the population would quickly bounce back to the required numbers.
If they grew too large, culling was necessary — but even leaving them alone posed no problem.
They had failed to pay sufficient taxes due to the great famine.
As a result, the Demon Lord had abandoned the orcs' protection, and they had been forced to flee their safe homeland.
Amidst the encroaching hunger, the Orc Disaster had been born — but it was still weak, unable to stand against the monsters.
They wandered until they reached the outskirts of Jura Forest.
It was then that Gelmud had extended a hand to them.
Blind to Gelmud's true intentions, they had grasped that hand.
And so, with Gelmud's support, the orc uprising had begun.
---
The meeting began under a somber atmosphere.
Hakuro served as the moderator.
I'd initially asked the Lizardman royal guard captain to take on that role, but he'd flatly declined.
"That is far too great a responsibility for me!"
He'd been quite firm about it.
We couldn't very well ask the losing side to moderate, so I'd pushed the role onto Hakuro — or rather, humbly asked him.
After Hakuro declared the meeting open, not a single person spoke.
They all just stared at me.
What a hassle. I honestly hated meetings.
There was no helping it.
"Before we start, I want to share the information I've gathered. Listen up!"
I opened with that, and everyone straightened up and turned toward me.
In response, I relayed everything I knew about the Orc Disaster along with the intelligence Souei had uncovered — the reason the Orc Tribe had resorted to armed revolt, and the current situation.
The Orc representatives clearly hadn't expected me to bring this up. They stared at me in surprise.
As my explanation progressed, some of them began to shed tears. They must have assumed they'd be killed without even being allowed to explain themselves.
When I finished, I glanced at Hakuro and gestured for him to carry on.
"Ahem! Then let us first confirm the damages sustained during this orc invasion!"
And so the meeting got underway.
The Lizardman chief reported their losses.
The orc representatives hung their heads in silence.
"Then, Chief — do you have any demands of the Orc Tribe?"
From confirming damages, the discussion naturally moved to demands for compensation.
I'd never experienced a real war myself, so I couldn't say for certain, but I assumed the winning side always held the advantage.
Running a meeting like this was completely beyond me.
"None, really. This victory was not ours to claim. It was only achieved with Lord Rimuru's help!"
The chief essentially waived all compensation.
Though I suspected there wasn't much they could have demanded anyway.
Now then. Time to hear from the Orc side. I turned to look at the orc chieftains—
"I beg your pardon to speak! For this matter, please allow me to atone with my life!
I know it's not enough, but my people have nothing else to give!"
The Orc Commander shouted desperately, pleading toward me.
He wore a look of sheer desperation, insisting that as a B-rank monster, he had a considerable amount of Magicules, and he wanted everyone forgiven in exchange for his life.
I had no intention of doing anything like that, and besides, the problem wasn't there.
Meetings really were a pain.
Forget it. I'd just do things my own way.
"Wait! Lord Rimuru has something to say!"
Hakuro stepped in to smooth things over.
The Orc Commander fell silent and looked at me.
Everyone else was staring at me too. I really wasn't comfortable with this kind of atmosphere.
"Um, this is my first time in a meeting like this, and I'm not good at it. So I'm just going to say what I think.
After that, I'd like everyone to discuss it together."
With that preamble, I laid out my thoughts.
First: I had no intention of punishing the Orc Tribe.
Second: I wanted to form an alliance with the Lizardman Tribe.
Third: I wanted the Orc Tribe to join that alliance as well.
"That's my thinking. I know everyone has their own feelings, but I will not carry out punishment against the orcs.
Because that was my promise to the Orc Disaster.
I'll take on the sins of all the orcs. If you have a problem with that — take it up with me!"
I declared.
The orcs stared at me in shock.
The Lizardman chief spoke up:
"We have no objection to that. However, there is something I wish to ask..."
"What is it?"
"The war is over. So why form an alliance?"
"Ah, that. Let me explain..."
And so I laid out my vision: the Great Alliance of Jura Forest.
If I simply declared no punishment and disbanded here, the surviving orcs would just starve to death.
Without leadership, they'd individually attack Lizardman and Goblin villages.
After all, the root cause was that they had no food and nowhere to live. Without solving that, nothing was accomplished.
That's where the alliance came in.
From the Lizardman: quality water resources and food like fish.
From the Goblins: well, not much to expect there.
From our town: processed goods.
And from the Orcs: quality labor.
Their new home would be past the wetlands — the territory formerly held by the Ogre Tribe.
It was a forest stretching along the foothills of mountains, a place that looked rich in resources.
In terms of space, housing 150,000 all at once was impossible, but by distributing them across the mountain regions, foothills, riverbanks, and forest interior, there was plenty of room.
For the clan-based orcs, dividing them by region should work.
We'd provide technical support for building homes — though we'd be putting them to work, of course!
After all, our own town was far too understaffed, with loads left undone.
I wanted to seize this opportunity to gain a massive labor force all at once.
I explained all of this to the assembled representatives.
Everyone listened intently.
Unlike before, an unusual excitement radiated from them like heat.
It was as though anxiety had been swept away and hope had been kindled in their hearts.
I couldn't quite understand why Shion was puffing out her chest smugly and going "Hmph!" while cradling me, though.
Well, her chest was pressing against me. *Boing.*
I'll let it slide. I'm generous like that.
"C-Could we... be allowed to participate as well?"
The Orc Commander asked timidly.
"You'd better work hard. Slacking off won't be tolerated."
"O-Of course! We'll work with our lives on the line!!!"
The orcs burst into tears, trembling with emotion.
"We have no objections. On the contrary, we would very much like to cooperate!"
The Lizardman chief nodded firmly, clearly eager to join the plan.
With everyone's agreement, the Great Alliance of Jura Forest could begin moving forward.
But there was still a problem.
A very big, very troublesome problem!
I hated to interrupt the excitement, but I had to lay it on the table.
"Calm down. Now that we're all in agreement, we need to solve the biggest problem!
That is... the food issue!
We need to keep 150,000 surviving orcs from starving!
I need everyone's help on this!"
The final hurdle.
The food problem. The orcs' remaining food supply lasted three days.
Even if we started growing crops now, it would be too late. And if we fished, we'd deplete the stocks entirely.
This was a genuinely thorny problem.
The Lizardman had reserve food for 10,000 people to last six months.
Even releasing all of it, it would only feed 150,000 for about twelve days.
What to do...
With this problem thrown at them, everyone racked their brains.
Then—
"Apologies for interrupting the meeting! A messenger has arrived, insisting on an audience!"
A Lizardman messenger burst in, clearly in a panic.
I signaled Hakuro, who gave the response:
"Let them in!"
The messenger dashed back out.
A messenger? From where?
As if answering my question, a single figure was escorted into the tent.
A Dryad.
A beautiful girl with lustrous green hair. Nordic, one might say — fair skin, with sharply defined features.
Plump lips and blue eyes that suited her beautifully. She looked to be about sixteen to eighteen in human years.
She was the guardian spirit of the Treants, a superior race of the forest. Among monsters, she was apparently at the upper tier of A-rank.
Gasps of surprise echoed through the meeting room.
Well, no wonder — I'd heard later that a Dryad hadn't shown herself in several hundred years.
With their extraordinarily long lifespans — some said they were truly immortal — they rarely left their sacred dwelling.
The messenger's panic now made perfect sense.
The Dryad entered, surveyed the room, and fixed her gaze on me:
"How do you do, everyone!
My name is
I came here today with the intent of subduing the Orc Disaster...
But it seems that's already been accomplished.
I was about to leave, but I thought I should at least introduce myself.
When I arrived, I noticed you appeared to be in some difficulty, so I thought I'd offer my assistance!"
She delivered this with a bright smile.
Her manner of speaking was surprisingly composed for her appearance.
She continued:
"I hear you're running short on food? I believe I may be able to help.
However... my condition is that the Treant Tribe, whom I protect, must also be permitted to join this alliance!"
We had no reason to refuse. If anything, this was exactly what we'd been hoping for.
However—
"Um, thank you for the offer, but why would you want to join this alliance?"
I asked on behalf of everyone.
She replied:
"The Treant Tribe is a species that cannot move on its own.
As such, they don't have much interaction with other races.
If they were ever attacked by an outside enemy or a natural disaster struck, there would be nothing they could do on their own.
We Dryads can venture outside to some extent, but there are so few of us...
If we joined the alliance, you would help us in times of need, correct?"
She said this with a pure, innocent smile.
Could it be — she actually believed it?
In the goodwill of others.
Did she genuinely, wholeheartedly trust other beings? Because she'd never interacted with them, she'd never learned to suspect?
I couldn't read any hidden agenda in her smile.
I had no intention of betraying her, nor any reason to.
Still, I felt a certain vulnerability in how easily she placed her trust in strangers...
"Of course! If you're ever in trouble, our Lord Rimuru will take care of it!"
"Hmph!" Shion declared, entirely of her own accord.
There were things I could do and things I absolutely could not! What was this girl saying!
I panicked, but it was already too late.
"Oh my! So it's as I hoped!
Then, please take care of us from now on as well!"
The deal was sealed with a smile.
Um... why was my input never consulted at the decisive moment? Well, whatever.
I suppose this called for a resigned "Oh well!"
And so, the Great Alliance of Jura Forest was formally established.
The participating races were:
Rimuru and friends,
The Goblin Tribe,
The Lizardman Tribe,
The Orc Tribe,
And the Treant Tribe.
I ended up becoming the alliance's leader by default.
On this day, my name was etched into history for the first time.
Status:
Name: Rimuru (Disaster) = Tempest
Blessing: Seal of Storms
Title: "One Who Commands Monsters"
Magic: Aura Combat, Flight-type Magic
Skills: Slime Intrinsic Skills — Dissolve, Absorb, Self-Regeneration EX
Unique Skill "Great Sage" — Thought Acceleration, Analytical Appraisal, Parallel Processing, Chant Annulment, All of Creation
"Glutton" — Predation, Analysis, Stomach, Mimicry, Isolation, Decay, Supply, Food Chain
"Morpher" — Fusion, Separation
Extra Skills — Molecular Manipulation, Black Flame, Black Lightning, Barrier, Shadow Movement
Common Skills — Magic Sense, Heat Source Detection, Ultrasonic Sense, Super Sense of Smell, Intimidation, Strengthen
Combat Skills — Poison-Paralysis-Corrosive Breath, Full Body Armor, Sticky Steel Thread, Telepathy, Shadow Clone, Demonification, Flame Transformation
Mimicry: Flame Giant, Black Wolf, Black Snake, Centipede, Spider, Bat, Lizard, Goblin, Orc
Resistances:
Heat Fluctuation Resistance EX
Physical Attack Resistance