I am Rimuru Tempest (Another Version)

Arriving on Shion's floor, he saw countless of the Amethyst Guards all gathered together, hard at work, as they continued to train. Some were split into different groups fighting each other, yet they all held determined expressions.

Rimuru couldn't help but grimace slightly as he saw them. They were… ruthless with each other. Through their determination, they continued to fight each other with paralyzing daggers and poisons.

Shion was standing to the side, overseeing everyone with a slight smile. Yet, as Rimuru arrived, her smile widened. She sent him a small nod of acknowledgment before she slammed her sword against the ground, gathering everyone's attention. The moment they noticed Rimuru, they all stopped fighting each other and bowed before gathering around them.

"Gotaro, bring me the plans." Shion commanded an extremely buff Ogre, who had just been a Hobgoblin a few months back.

As he ran off, she approached Rimuru with a smile.

"Lord Rimuru!" She shouted with excitement. "You will love what we have all been working on."

"I've told you before, just Rimuru is fine." Rimuru said with a smile as he saw Gotaro return holding a large set of plans.

As Rimuru began to read the plans, he couldn't help but frown.

"Shion... isn't this a bit too much?" Rimuru asked, glancing over at the Amethyst Guards, who appeared to be excitedly nodding along.

What he saw could only be described as a torturous gauntlet of extreme measures. Shion's vision included rooms filled with acid, poison, environments that alternated between freezing and burning temperatures, and more… each more terrifying than the last. Saws, spikes, and every imaginable threat were present in her design.

Rimuru understood the idea behind it. 

One could develop resistances and immunities by experiencing that specific type of damage repeatedly. By following the plans, if they managed to endure the mental strain, they would all grow significantly.

Physical, magical, and even attacks weren't off the table. A recipe for creating unkillable monsters, but… still… he could already picture the Amethyst Guards' minds breaking if they weren't careful.

It was… definitely too much.

"Shion… I don't know about this." Rimuru began before feeling Veldora's hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"No, no, let her cook." Veldora muttered as he inspected the plans with a gleam of excitement in his eyes. "If they can survive this, they'd become practically unkillable! You could even try to get them Infinite Regeneration, or at least Ultraspeed Regeneration. I bet I could even blast them with my Lightning, and they'd live through it!"

Shion's ears perked up, completely ignoring the rest of his sentence and focusing only on the one thing she had heard. 

"You want me to cook for you?" She asked, her face lighting up with a wide smile. "I'd love that! Rimuru's the only one who enjoys my food without complaining. I can see why you're his brother now."

"That's… umm… Rimuru, help me out here." Veldora, realizing his mistake, quickly retreated behind Rimuru.

Rimuru chuckled, patting Veldora's shoulder. 

"You'd be surprised, Veldora. Her food actually tastes pretty good now." Rimuru said with a smile. Shion beamed with pride as she heard him, her radiant smile lighting up the room. Yet that only made Veldora's bad feelings grow.

To be fair, her cooking still looked horrendous, but thanks to her Cook Skill, she could alter the taste of her dishes to whatever flavor she wanted. She could make a rock taste like a steak. It might not win any beauty contests, but the food had become undeniably edible. In fact, it was more than just edible. It was delicious! 

"Wait, no, we are getting off track. Shion, I'm sorry, but this is too much. This is just straight-up torture." Rimuru said.

Shion's expression became complicated as she shook her head.

"No, it's not. It's training." Shion answered. "We need this if we are going to be strong enough to protect you and Lady Shuna."

Rimuru was about to argue back when one of the Amethyst Guards stepped forward. Kneeling down on the ground and lowering his head.

"My lord… I am sorry to interrupt. But Lady Shion is right. We need this." The guard, Gio, spoke up. Raising his head with a complicated expression. "My lord… I was one of the members protecting Lady Shuna. And when the Undead Swordsman attacked, I was not able to react. If it wasn't for Sir Hakuro, Lady Shuna would have taken a fatal wound."

Then, another guard moved forward and knelt along Gio.

"My Lord, during the ambush in the mountains, I was struck by a paralysis arrow. I was left to lay on the ground. I only survived thanks to my fellow knights watching my back as I recovered. I do not wish to experience such uselessness again. No matter the challenge, I am ready to grow. I don't want to fail Tempest, not again."

One after the other, the Amethyst Guards continued to step forward and kneel. Telling their own stories and showcasing their determination.

"Lord— no… Rimuru." Shion spoke softly, looking at Rimuru with determination. "We know it will be hard. We all know it will hurt. But we all have made our decision. None of us are being forced. We are doing this because we want to protect you and Shuna. To protect Tempest." 

Shion turned, giving a proud smile to all the kneeling knights, before continuing.

"We used to have two hundred fifty-two. Now our numbers are only one hundred seventy-five. The Amethyst Guards who did not feel comfortable taking this step have all stepped down and are now working under Hakurou. All of us are prepared. I am prepared. Even if it means having Lord Veldora send his lightning at me."

Rimuru couldn't help but freeze slightly as he saw the concern and determination in her eyes. The determination of all around him.

"Shion…." Rimuru muttered, unable to hide his worry. It was one thing to see something on paper, and it was another to live it.

"No, don't give me that face." Shion responded instantly as some frustration showed on her face. "Don't think I haven't noticed. Even you know I am not strong enough to protect you. You asked me to run, but I can't do that. Give us… give me… the chance to improve. The chance to protect you."

Though she was asking for permission, her eyes made it clear she wouldn't take no for an answer. She and all of the guards next to her were determined, determined to protect Tempest.

Looking at everyone, Rimuru couldn't help but sigh before his expression became serious.

"Alright. I will build those rooms." Rimuru answered before his voice grew loud enough to address everyone. "Amethyst Guards, all of you here are choosing to make a sacrifice and train in a way no one else has before. But now that I can see you all, and I respect you all for your choice."

The expressions of everyone gathered lit up as they raised their heads to look at him, excitement filling their eyes as he continued.

"Know that I will not look down on any of you if you choose to step down. So, if it ever becomes too much, you have my approval and my earnest request to step down." Rimuru announced. "But for any who are able to endure, I will make sure to reward you all appropriately. As king of Tempest, I sincerely thank you for your service."

He had to give them at least this much, and if he was being honest, he actually admired their determination. Just looking at the plans was enough to call them off, but all of them here had chosen to stay, even knowing what was ahead.

Shion let out a bright smile, unable to hide her excitement as she shouted out.

"Guards!"

At her word, they all stood up and slammed their fist on their chest.

"At ease! You all have made me proud." Shion shouted, turning to Rimuru before whispering a sincere "Thank you."

As the guards began to separate, Rimuru opened the plans to take a deeper look.

Ramiris, still nestled in Rimuru's hair, poked her head out to inspect the plans. After a brief glance, she spoke up.

"I don't know if we can sustain those environments with all these requirements… it would take way too many magicules. We're already pushing Veldora pretty hard. If we do this, he wouldn't be able to leave the Labyrinth without it shutting down."

[Notice. Elemental Dragons can be used to create the environments. If captured and Evolved, the Dragons would be able to maintain the areas around them, reducing the magicule consumption in the long run.] Raphael instantly chimed in the moment Ramiris brought up a problem. Yet Rimuru could sense a small hint of urgency in her voice.

'Oh? You want these training rooms to be built. Don't you?' Rimuru thought, unsure whether to feel nervous or to tease her.

[...]

[Would you like a map with the locations where dragons from each element can be found and captured?] Raphael asked, avoiding the question.

'Yes.'

"There is a way to make them work. But it's going to take some time." Rimuru interrupted as Shion and Ramiris started to discuss any way to make it work. "We could use Dragons."

As he spoke, Rimuru made a map appear in his hand.

"Dragons…" Ramiris muttered before her eyes lit up. "Dragons! You are a genius! That should work!"

Shion looked at the map in Rimuru's hands, frowning slightly.

"Do you want us to prepare some expeditions? I'm sure I could send my team to capture a few." Shion suggested. "We could send someone who can build a teleportation circle with them to bring the dragons back. It would be good training."

[Chances of success are set at 89.864531…% with a fatality rate of 0.451…% with appropriate usage of potions.]

"Alright. Just tell them not to hesitate to use potions." Rimuru instructed.

He spent some more time with Shion sorting out the details before giving one final speech to the Guards and continuing onto the next floors.

Most were relatively simple, though essential. There was an absolutely massive floor meant for the evacuation of all of Tempest in case of an emergency. Similar evacuation floors had also been designed for Fulbrosia, Jistav, and Falmuth, each tailored to hold the populations of their respective regions.

Among the floors they passed, one of the most crucial was the storage floor located next to Veldora's room. It was an enormous, plain space. It was essentially a gigantic box. But it was packed to the brim with various materials: metals, wood, gems, and even rare plants. All of them were slowly evolving as they absorbed Veldora's magicules.

Finally, they moved to the next floor, which was meant to be the new Dwelling of Spirits.

The moment they entered, they were greeted by a massive field with countless gigantic branches sprouting from the ground and leading off in different directions, forming a circle.

At the top of each branch floated enormous wooden platforms where the Spirits of each element would gather. Five platforms hovered gracefully in the air, each designated for one of the core elements, with the exception of the elementals of Light and Darkness, who preferred to roam freely across the Labyrinth and world without settling in one location.

In the middle, there was what appeared to be a gigantic lake. However, rather than water, it appeared to be made out of space itself. There were small stars floating inside of it, and Elementals from all locations could come in and out as they could in the previous version of the Dwelling.

Covering the entire air were the small floating orbs of different colors. All of them resembled fireflies that gave the Dwelling an enchanting look.

Rimuru was planning on using Spirits to strengthen his army. But it wasn't as simple as simply fusing Elementals and Warriors by force as he had done with the kids. For the best results, one would come to the Dwelling and pray for a Spirit like usual. Then, they would be able to form a contract with them.

A single Spirit could hold multiple contracts at once, allowing it to support several people. If the compatibility was perfect, the Spirit would join with the user, becoming a part of them, much like a symbiotic partner.

While Rimuru could forcibly fuse Spirits with his soldiers, he knew it would limit their growth and potential. The artificial Spirits he had created for the children and Shizue lacked true consciousness, making them little more than tools controlled entirely by their users. 

This was useful when guiding children or those unaccustomed to handling Elementals, but it restricted the true power and potential of a natural bond with a Spirit.

Through a natural connection, the user would be able to bring forth the Elemental's true power and have an ally by their side on whom they can rely rather than just their own wit.

Right now, Rimuru has sent a few people to act as Envoys with a country known as the Republic of Ulgracia. It was a country in which practically all of the users were Shamans, people who used Elementals and Elemental Magic.

They had perfected the craft of Elemental Magic, so using their knowledge would make all future Elemental users drastically stronger.

In emergencies, he would be willing to bend the rule of creating Elementals with artificial minds, but for now, he wanted to give the people of Tempest a chance to try to connect with the Spirits personally without his intervention.

After taking a moment to soak in the view, Rimuru turned to Veldora. He was sitting hunched over a pile of rocks, tossing them aside absentmindedly. He had been following behind them, releasing magicules whenever necessary, but now seemed to have lost interest in the process.

"Do you want to take a break?" Rimuru asked

"Huh?" Veldora blinked, lifting a small rock. "Ah, no, man, I'm just hanging out. Here, take a look at this one. It kinda looks like you." He tossed the rock toward Rimuru, who caught it, only to find it was just an ordinary rock.

"Hehe... get it?" Veldora laughed at his own joke, but after a few moments, he sighed. "Yeah, I'm kinda bored. It stops being cool after the first few rooms. Honestly, I just wanna go back and keep working on my floor."

"What floor is this again?" Veldora asked as he stood up and stretched his arms. "I like the vibe."

"The one for my Elementals." Ramiris answered.

Veldora paused for a moment, scratching the back of his head before a wide grin spread across his face. 

"Elementals!" He shouted.

With a sudden burst of energy, he ran to Rimuru before he wrapped his arm around RImuru's shoulder, chuckling to himself.

"Bro… I need a favor." Veldora asked with a grin. 

Rimuru rolled his eyes at Veldora's expression, but he played along and nodded.

"What is it?" 

"Could you let Ifrit and the Light Elemental out of your stomach? I could use a few more lackeys— I mean, disciples for my sect." Veldora asked, doing his best puppy eyes. "Do you have any more of them metal bodies you are making for the Daemons? You could pop 'em into them."

"Eh? The Elementals? Since when—" Rimuru began before Raphael interrupted.

[Notice. They were provided as a reward for Veldora's efforts to act as company to him while he was trapped inside the Unlimited Imprisonment. They are currently playing a game of chess inside of the space in your Stomach. Would you like to release them?]

[There are currently 12 artificial bodies in storage.]

"Ah…. well… yeah, I can let them out." Rimuru spoke up. "I should have a couple extra bodies from the samples I gave to Emiya."

"Wait, Light Elemental? Since when?" Ramiris asked in confusion before suddenly shouting out. "Wait, wait, that one time! It wasn't an accident?! I knew something was fishy." 

Ramiris pulled Rimuru's hair as hard as she could, though he could hardly feel it.

"You can't mess with Light or Dark Elementals! They are important!" She shouted in frustration. "Spit him out right now!"

"Sorry, sorry." Rimuru said with a chuckle. "Coming right up."

'Raphael, if you could.' Rimuru requested.

[Understood.] She answered instantly.

The countless crimson-red floating lights instantly swarmed around Rimuru and got consumed by Beelzebuth. Since Rimuru had used Ifrit's body as a base for Shizue's Elemental, all that had been left of Ifrit had been his consciousness. He had to create a new one.

Though with the body he was giving them, he would be able to incarnate, it would leave him severely crippled to not have the Spiritual Body of a Greater Elemental.

[Starting Synthesis…. The synthesis process is complete. Greater Fire Elemental has been created. Synthesising Ifrit's consciousness with the Greater Elemental.]

[Starting Synthesis…. The synthesis process is complete. Light Elemental and Fire Elemental successfully bonded with the Vessel Bodies.]

The moment the process finished, a dark swirling storm appeared in front of them, from which Ifrit and the Light Elemental appeared. Their magicules were significantly stronger than before they were consumed, partially due to soaking in Veldora's magicules, and partially due to their physical incarnation.

"Woah…. I'm free? Ifrit! I'm free!" The Light Elemental shouted with excitement, floating up into the air and doing a few spins before his eyes locked onto Rimurus. "Ah! Ifrit we gotta run to—" He began before suddenly freezing in place with a panicked look. "She's still here…. What do we do?" He finished in a whisper.

Ifrit gave a side glance to the Light Elemental, shaking his head slightly before turning to the group.

"Lord Veldora, thank you for not forgetting about us. And Lord Rimuru, thank you for sparing me. You had no need to keep my consciousness after what I had done to Shizue." Ifrit began, placing a hand on his chest.

"Thanks to the guidance you have provided me, and through the time I spent with Lord Veldora, I have finally understood that I was in the wrong. If possible, I would like to apologize to Shizue in the future. Our relationship was not what Lord— I mean, Leon had wished upon us." He finished, speaking from the heart.

Rimuru couldn't help but admire the change in Ifrit's behavior. Though he hadn't met him in this world, he remembered the complete and single-minded desire to burn he had in the original.

'Was this you? He's thanking me for my guidance.'

[Yes. However, the assistance provided was minimal.] Raphael answered plainly.

"I'm sure Shizue would love to meet you in the future and work things out." Rimuru finally answered with a small smile. Shizue might have a few strong words at first, but knowing her, he was sure they could work it out. Especially with the way he was behaving now.

Ifrit nodded in thanks before he turned to the Light Elemental, who was still hiding behind Ifrit.

"Come on, I can't be the only one who is getting threatened here. Can't I?" He asked reluctantly, stepping out from behind Ifrit.

[...]

"Geez Ramiris… Why'd you have to make this guy our king?" The Light Elemental said reluctantly before vanishing and appearing behind Veldora. "As a disciple of the Tempest Sect, I am under the protection of Veldora. So you can't eat me again… I don't wanna end up like that dude."

"Bwuahahahahaa, that's right! But you gotta remember that my brother here is an Elder. So you better give him some respect." Veldora said after a burst of laughter, giving the Light Elemental a few pats on the back and sending him stumbling forward.

"Yo, bro, speaking off. Could you give me another favor? Could you help me name them? You're kinda the expert. It would be really embarrassing if I accidentally got sick from giving too many magicules away." Veldora asked.

"Sounds good." Rimuru answered, and without him even having to ask, Raphael began to follow along.

[Connection through Soul Bridge established… He may proceed.] 

"Alright, let's start with you…" Veldora muttered after feeling the connection, looking at Ifrit. "Fire… what's a good name for fire? Agni? Nah, how about Ignis? Yeah, let's go with that." He muttered before finally settling on a name.

Instantly, Ignis' body began to glow, his muscles bulging out before compacting back to his normal size. His crimson hair took on a darker hue, while the flames he emitted became black, influenced by the Storm attribute. 

Veldora let out a few nods of approval as he saw the change.

"Come up with any new recipes?" Veldora asked in a joking tone before shaking his head. "Nevermind, now, how about you?" He continued, turning to the Light Elemental. "Light? Nah, it's too basic. Lux? Eh, it's alright. Sol? Wanna be named after the sun?" Veldora asked, scratching his chin as he thought.

"Screw it, Sol it is." 

The moment Veldora spoke the words, Sol's body glowed for a moment, cracking as if he was made from glass before exploiting into small bundles of light that then reformed back into a slightly older version of the Elemental.

His blonde hair almost reached the floor, and the blue markings that had been on his body before had spread to cover the majority of his torso and part of his face.

With their namings, the Elementals had evolved into a Flame Lord and a Lightbringer, respectively. Both of their strengths had exploded into wild levels almost reaching the level of an Awakened. 

In an instant, they had become one of the strongest beings in Tempest, yet they were still both loyal and somewhat fearful, in Sol's case, to Veldora and Rimuru.

After receiving their names, the two of them bowed to Veldora in thanks, with Sol still giving Rimuru the occasional side-eye before getting smacked in the back of the head by Ignis.

"Well… this is everything that there was to do in the Labyrinth for now, wasn't it?" Veldora asked, eager to take his two new Disciples to his floor to begin their first lesson.

Rimuru was about to nod before he suddenly remembered something he had been wanting to do for some time.

"Actually, there is one thing…. Do you remember Charybdis?"

— — —

Special Thanks to my Beta Readers/Editors: The one, the only, the amazing @Basilisk, and @Kiyan Tribe (FF.net/AO3/QQ/WN) | kiyan_tribe( Discord)

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