The road to the mountains was long.
Rimuru advanced with genuine curiosity, absorbing every detail of the landscape. There was no arrogance in his movements—only an intense, child-like focus. Rigurd led the goblins with practiced care, maintaining simple formations, while Gobta… well, Gobta tried his best not to trip over his own feet.
Eryon walked beside the slime, his eyes scanning the horizon.
"We're approaching the Armed Nation of Dwargon," Eryon noted. "Dwarves. Masters of the forge and engineering."
Rimuru reacted instantly. "Wait, so all of this isn't natural?"
Ahead, the road had become too wide, too level, with clear marks of intentional stonework.
"No," Eryon replied. "This is civilization."
Gobta's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "They… they reshaped the mountain?!"
"Reshaped and fortified it," Eryon corrected.
Rimuru felt a flicker of nerves. Okay… first official contact with a foreign nation. No pressure at all.
[Observation: Emotional tension detected.]
Not helping, Great Sage.
Before they reached the main gates, a building caught their eye. Warm light spilled from its windows, accompanied by music and the sound of boisterous laughter.
"A bar?" Rimuru asked.
"Neutral ground," Eryon explained. "Dwargon usually tests visitors here before anything official happens."
"Tests them? How?"
Eryon shrugged. "By observing."
When they stepped inside, the room fell silent for a heartbeat. A slime. A group of goblins. And a strange human. Then, the elves behind the counter beamed.
"Welcome~!"
Gobta froze, his face turning bright red. "E-ELVES?! They're talking to me," he whispered, overcome with emotion. "I actually exist!"
Rimuru watched with fascination. "So monsters aren't automatically kicked out here?"
"Not if they're useful," Eryon replied.
As they drank, calculating eyes fell upon them. Not hostile, but analytical. Eventually, a group of dwarves approached.
"You're from the Jura Forest, right?" said one with a thick, braided beard. "I'm Kaijin."
"Rimuru Tempest," the slime replied. "First time out of the woods."
Kaijin frowned. "First time…?"
Eryon spoke before the doubt could settle. "He isn't lying."
Kaijin studied Rimuru for a long moment. "Then you've come a long way for beginners."
Before another word could be said, another dwarf stumbled and fell to his knees, coughing violently.
"Garm!" Kaijin turned. "The sickness got worse?!"
Rimuru moved instinctively. "Sickness?"
"Slow poisoning," Kaijin said bitterly. "A cave herb. We tried to use it to forge better blades… but it demands a price."
Rimuru went silent for a moment. Then, he felt a spark of an idea. "I think I can help."
The cave was dark and stifling. Rimuru carefully absorbed the herb, his internal processes whirring.
[Identification complete. Toxic elements can be neutralized.]
"I can turn this into a medicine," Rimuru announced.
"Impossible," Dord muttered.
"Probably," Rimuru replied. "But let's try anyway."
The potion was ready hours later. When Garm drank it, the effect was instantaneous.
"I… I can breathe!"
The dwarves were stunned. "This changes everything…" Kaijin whispered.
"So," Rimuru said, his tone turning eager. "Want to try something bigger?"
The forge of Dwargon roared to life. Blades began to emerge, reinforced by dwarven knowledge and the slime's unconventional skills.
"I've never seen metal react like this," Myrd grunted.
"I'm just helping the mana flow," Rimuru said. "It's nothing major."
Eryon watched from the shadows. "You build bonds incredibly fast," he commented.
"If it works, it works."
When the last sword was finished, Kaijin turned to Rimuru with a look of newfound resolve. "I want to follow you."
"Huh?"
"Dwargon is great… but it has its limits," the dwarf said. "You offer something new. A chance to create without chains."
Garm, Dord, and Myrd nodded in unison. Rimuru looked genuinely surprised. "I… I don't even have a kingdom yet."
"Yet," Kaijin answered firmly.
When they left Dwargon, the massive gates groaned shut behind them. Four master dwarves now walked alongside a slime, a group of goblins, and a reincarnated human.
Eryon looked back at the mountain. "You just disrupted the economy and politics of an entire nation."
Rimuru blinked. "I just wanted to help some sick guys."
[Report: Event of international impact detected.]
Great Sage… you really didn't have to say it like that.
The return to the Jura Forest felt different. The group was larger, and the air was thick with the excitement of the dwarves discussing new mineral possibilities.
When they reached the northern region, the group halted.
"So," Rimuru said, turning to Eryon. "Want to stay here?"
Eryon shook his head. "My part of the forest is further south."
Rimuru hesitated. "You can visit whenever you want, okay? The village isn't closed off."
"I know."
The two looked at each other for a brief, silent moment.
"Good luck with your… nation-building," Eryon said.
"Good luck with…" Rimuru made a vague gesture. "Whatever it is you're building."
Eryon smiled faintly. "I'll let you know when I find out."
He vanished into the trees, the southern forest swallowing him in silence. His clearing was exactly as he had left it: stable, organized, almost patient.
Eryon sat near his shelter and closed his eyes. The mana responded—not as a call to arms, but as a constant, quiet presence.
"Great Sage…" he murmured, remembering the voice within Rimuru. "A skill that observes, analyzes, organizes."
He opened his eyes. "It isn't brute power. It's structure."
He extended his hand. He didn't pull mana. He just felt it.
"To analyze… one needs a reference," he thought. "Concepts. Comparison. An 'I' that observes and something that is observed."
The mana rippled, curious.
"Rimuru didn't create the Great Sage. He received it. But I…" Eryon slowly closed his fist. "I need to understand before I mold."
He started small. Not a skill. Not an entity. But a role.
"An archetype," he whispered. "Something that represents companionship without dependency. Observation without judgment."
He sat in silence for a long time, remembering the other world. The loneliness after death. Waking up in a strange land and remaining alone.
To the north, the forest hummed with Rimuru's progress. Laughter. Movement. Purpose.
"He has subordinates," Eryon thought. "Bonds. Voices."
The mana around him thickened.
"I don't want followers," Eryon said firmly. "I don't want to give orders. I just… want someone who can think with me."
Nothing happened. And yet, everything shifted.
The mana began to organize into clearer patterns, like invisible lines of logic. Not a voice. Not an answer. But a space. A place where thoughts could be structured and held.
"Not yet," Eryon whispered, looking toward the north. "But one day."
The southern clearing fell into a deep, meditative silence. Eryon remained motionless, becoming a part of the landscape.
When he formulated a thought, the mana reacted with a microscopic pulse, as if registering his intent. Ideas didn't dissipate; they held their shape. Comparisons became sharper. It wasn't a skill yet. It was a "mental environment."
"Interesting..."
He tried to observe the mana without shaping it. For a moment, nothing. Then, the flows began to align themselves—not out of obedience, but out of a shared coherence with his presence.
Eryon felt it. Not as power, but as a silent companionship.
In the north, Rimuru suddenly stopped moving.
"…That's weird."
Rigurd turned immediately. "Lord Rimuru? Is something wrong?"
"No," he replied after a second. "I just… felt something."
Inside him, the Great Sage flickered.
[Warning.] What now? [Detection of an unusual mana concentration in the southern region of the Jura Forest.]
Rimuru's expression hardened. "Unusual like… unstable?"
[Negative. Mana shows no signs of hostility or loss of control.] So… organized? [Confirmation. Spontaneous organization detected.]
Rimuru felt a chill run through his core. "That doesn't just happen on its own."
He looked south. Rigurd followed his gaze. "Did something happen in that area?"
"Maybe," Rimuru said evasively. "It doesn't feel like a threat. But it definitely isn't normal."
[Recommendation: Maintain passive observation.]
"Yeah… let's leave it at that for now." Rimuru forced a smile. "The forest is full of surprises, right?"
But internally, Rimuru was alert. Whatever that is… it's evolving.
In the south, the clearing remained calm. No outward show of force. Just a silent, imperceptible echo. Something new had begun. Unannounced. Unnamed. And Jura, as always, kept the secret.