Dragon Across the Multiverse (Si-WC) (Patreon)

Chapter 49: Foundations of Tempest

Walking out of Veldora’s cave while carefully avoiding Elyun Grimwald and her two bodyguards, we soon found ourselves standing in the Great Jura Forest.

The local Veldora was now safely tucked away inside my Imaginary Space, where our own Veldora was already hard at work corrupting his counterpart with the wonders of video games, light novels, manga, and anime.

“Hah, it feels nice being in a forest again. Reminds me of Konoha,” Kushina said with a small, nostalgic smile as she took in the surroundings. “It even feels somewhat similar with all the natural energy I can sense here.”

“What are you talking about? Konoha was nowhere near this full of life energy,” Izumi replied, shaking her head as her eyes wandered around in a more relaxed manner. “No wonder the beings in this world are so strong.”

“Yep. Combine that with the Voice of the World and the evolutionary paths available to every race, and you get a place where true monsters can be born,” I said with a calm nod. Then I shook my head and started walking in a specific direction.

“Anyway, we should move on and find the goblins so I can recruit them and get them started on building a place for us to stay while we’re here,” I muttered, unconcerned, already heading toward the presence I had sensed.

“Wait for us!”

They caught up quickly, forced to pick up the pace because of my longer strides. Only a short while later, we came across a group of terrified goblins standing in our path.

The leader, the one who would eventually become Rigur, stood at the front, trembling along with his companions from the small amount of magicules I was deliberately releasing. In a place like this, showing any weakness was basically asking to get fucked with, just like the original Rimuru had been.

“What can I do for you fellas?” I asked calmly, a smile on my face.

“Oh, great one! We wish to ask for a favor. Would you please follow us back to our village?” The future Rigur dropped to his knees, and the rest of the goblins quickly followed suit as they pleaded.

“Sure, lead the way. By the way, my name is Akari Tempest, and these are my companions,” I said with a nod. They looked surprised for a moment at how quickly I agreed, then their faces lit up with clear relief and happiness.

“Thank you, Akari-sama! If you would please follow us!”

As they led the way and we followed behind, Kushina came up beside me and whispered into my ear.

“Not to sound rude, but they’re kind of ugly, huh?” she said softly.

I snorted in amusement at her blunt honesty and whispered back, “Yep. Good news is, once they evolve into Hobgoblins or Goblinas, they take on a more human appearance.”

“That’s a relief,” Kushina said, even letting her shoulders slump a little, which only made me shake my head in amusement.

Then, tired of the silence, Kushina boldly stepped forward and started chatting up the goblins. They were startled at first, but her cheerful personality quickly put them at ease.

“Hah, she never changes, I swear,” Izumi quietly grumbled as she walked closer and wrapped her arms around my left arm.

“Heh, she wouldn’t be Kushina otherwise,” I said with a smile, leaning down to kiss the side of her head. She hummed pleasantly at the affection.

“I suppose that’s true,” Izumi muttered, then let out a soft sigh and snuggled more firmly against my arm. “…I missed this.”

“Me too. And don’t worry, I have no plans to travel anywhere for the next several months at least. This world is dangerous enough that it needs my full attention,” I reassured her in the same quiet tone.

“Is this world really that dangerous? I mean, you have all the True Dragons on your side, including an extra Veldora, and then there’s you. Is there really anything here that can threaten us?” Izumi asked, sounding a little skeptical.

“Yes. Having Velzard, Velgrynd, and Veldora with us makes things easier, but there’s still danger if we’re not careful. Some of the beings in this world are just that ridiculous,” I said seriously, thinking of the monsters that could rival True Dragons… and the entire mess with Veldanava waiting further down the line.

Our conversation had to be put on hold then, because we had reached the shoddy-looking goblin village.

As we stood before it, Izumi turned to me with pleading eyes. “Please tell me we won’t be staying here?” she asked quietly.

“Wahaha, no, don’t worry,” I laughed in amusement. “Once we deal with the mess they’re in, I’ll create a proper house for us to stay in for the evening. Tomorrow we’ll move somewhere better that can actually accommodate everyone who’ll be joining us.”

“Thank goodness,” Izumi whispered, her shoulders slumping a little in relief.

It seemed I had managed to spoil her during our time together. With Mokuton I could create a comfortable house on the spot, or failing that we could simply hop into the Demiplane for the night.

“Akari! Izumi! Hurry up, you slowpokes!” Kushina’s voice rang out. We looked up to see her waving at us from the middle of the village, completely uncaring of the looks the goblins were giving her.

“Coming!” I yelled back. Grabbing Izumi’s hand, I pulled her along as we quickly caught up.

Future Rigur then led us to the best-looking tent in the place, where a feeble old goblin with a cane was already waiting on his knees, bowing to us.

“Alright, let me work my magic,” I said with a smile as I stepped forward.

=====

A While Later

The old goblin — Rigurd — went on to explain what I already knew. Ever since Veldora’s disappearance, the races of the forest had been fighting over territory, and the goblins themselves were being hunted by a pack of Direwolves. They had already lost their strongest warrior, the original Rigur, who was the chief’s son.

Throwing all caution to the wind, the old goblin dropped onto his hands and knees along with every other goblin in the village, pleading for my protection and willing to do anything for it.

They waited with bated breath as silence filled the small hut. Kushina and Izumi both turned to me with expectant looks.

“I’m not a good enough guy to just help you out of the kindness of my heart…” I started, somehow making the atmosphere even more tense, before I smiled and continued.

“However, if you were to become my subordinates and pledge yourselves to me, then I would be forced to help you, since you’d be my people.”

I barely finished speaking before both goblins somehow bowed even deeper, their heads pressed to the ground.

“Then from today forward, we offer you our loyalty, Akari-sama! Please grant us your protection!” the old goblin declared passionately.

“Please!” the others echoed.

“I accept. I, Akari Tempest, will grant your wish. Now rise,” I said, standing up from the temporary chairs I had made. Sitting on the dirty ground of the goblin village at this stage simply wasn’t happening.

Tears in their eyes, they followed my instruction while thanking me over and over.

Once they informed the rest of the village and the endless stream of thanks finally died down, I had them take me to their injured. I quickly healed everyone with Holy Magic, deciding that using Full Potions would be a waste.

From there, I had the chief gather everyone and announced that I would be giving them all names. After a moment of stunned silence and confirmation that I was serious, the goblins became overjoyed, jumping around excitedly as they lined up.

One by one, I took the time to name them all, perfectly remembering each face thanks to Rimuru’s memories.

‘Try to keep their evolutions contained to just Hobgoblins for now, Ciel,’ I instructed mentally.

“Was already planning on doing so,” she replied.

With everyone named, the next order of business was dealing with the Direwolves and making them submit as well, especially since best boy Ranga was among them.

“Do you want me to take care of them, Akari-kun?” Kushina asked with a confident grin, playfully flexing one arm.

“That won’t be necessary,” I said with a shake of my head, confusing both her and the goblins around us. “I plan to make the Direwolves my subordinates as well.”

Kushina blinked at me. Turning back to the goblins, I continued, “Rigurd, I want you to get everyone ready. After dealing with the Direwolves, we’ll be moving to a new place first thing tomorrow.”

“As you command, Akari-sama!” Rigurd nodded resolutely. He already looked more full of life despite not having evolved into a Hobgoblin yet, and immediately began giving orders.

“And now we wait,” I said with a small sigh, before thinking of something and turning to Kushina and Izumi. “Actually, would you two mind going around and hunting for something edible while I make our temporary house?”

At the mention of food, both of them got starry-eyed looks. Kushina even started drooling a little.

“You’re cooking, Akari-kun?” she asked in a desperate tone, already shaking me back and forth.

“It’s been so long since we tried your cooking,” Izumi seconded, shooting me a pleading look.

“Sure, sure. I’ll cook,” I laughed in amusement.

The moment I confirmed it, Kushina shot forward, gave me a brief kiss, and disappeared in a blur. Izumi followed right after her.

“Heh… they haven’t changed at all, huh?” I muttered fondly before shaking my head and getting to work on the house.

=====

Following Day

Looking at the gathered Hobgoblins and Tempest Wolves standing together without any fear or tension, I realized the situation had been resolved much faster than I first expected.

The moment the Direwolves arrived the previous evening, I had stood alone to face them, with Ranga’s father leading the pack.

He had been suspicious about why a Majin was protecting goblins, but he still planned to attack regardless. Sighing in annoyance, I released more of my aura and instantly forced every single one of them into submission.

Right in front of them, I then devoured their leader and released him again, already under the effects of my Shroud and completely loyal to me.

With his compliance, the rest of the Direwolves quickly followed suit. I took the time to name Ranga as the new leader, and named the previous leader Rango. It was the only name I could think of at the time, it just reminded me of that movie about the chameleon.

I didn’t bother naming the rest of the Direwolves. Since they functioned as a pack, once their leader was named, the others benefited automatically.

With the trouble taken care of, I was pulled to bed by Kushina and Izumi. Neither of them wasted a moment, and we spent the rest of the evening and early morning joined at the hips.

When I woke up, I was treated to the sight of every goblin having evolved overnight into Hobgoblins or Goblinas, while the Direwolves had become Tempest Wolves. Rigurd once again had the most shocking change, going from a decrepit-looking old goblin to towering over the rest of the Hobgoblins and being jacked as hell.

“Is everyone ready?” I asked. Receiving a positive response, I snapped my fingers. A magic circle spread out beneath everyone, and in the next moment we were teleported to a different part of the Jura Forest.

This was the exact location where the future country of Tempest would one day have its capital city.

As everyone else looked around in wonder, I cleared my throat and brought their attention back to me.

“Listen up, everyone. This will be our future home. Since none of you know anything about craftsmanship yet, I’ll now summon some of my subordinates to help prepare this place,” I declared, ignoring a few of their bashful looks.

I didn’t want to create trouble by summoning the High Elves from the Farming Life world, they would no doubt clash with Kushina and Izumi over my attention. So instead, I decided to summon the Dragonewts from the same world. They were hard workers, after all.

In a flash of light, dozens of Dragonewts appeared out of nowhere, startling the Hobgoblins and Tempest Wolves for a moment before they immediately dropped to one knee and greeted me.

“Akari-sama, what are your commands?” the one in charge asked as he looked up at me.

“I plan to build a town here, so for the time being I want all of you to start clearing the area of trees,” I instructed simply, receiving immediate agreement.

“Leave it to us, Akari-sama.”

“Good,” I nodded, pleased. “While you do that, please try to get along with the Hobgoblins and Wolves behind you, they are my subordinates too. Speak to Rigurd if you need anything.”

I coordinated them for a bit longer before I was finally satisfied.

“For the time being, use these to sleep,” I said, then tapped my foot on the ground.

A moment later the trees came alive, shifting and reshaping themselves into a neat row of houses, more than enough to comfortably fit everyone. The newcomers stared in surprise. Since I no longer needed to weave hand signs, I could simply will my chakra to do whatever I wanted, and this was the result.

“A-Amazing…” Rigurd muttered in awe as he looked at all the houses I had built in seconds. “I knew you were strong, Akari-sama, but to think you were even more amazing than I thought. Yosh! I, Rigurd, once more pledge my servitude to you!”

His announcement was quickly followed by the others. The Dragonewts, already somewhat used to my brand of nonsense, remained calmer but still looked pleased at the loyalty being shown.

“While all of you are busy, the girls and I — along with Ranga — will be going to Dwargon to see if some dwarves wish to come live here. So please work hard, everyone,” I stated with my hands on my hips, quite used to this sort of thing after my time in the Farming Life world.

“Of course. Count on us, Akari-sama!” came the immediate response from everyone.

Ranga barked in excitement and immediately started licking my face happily at being included, causing me to chuckle as I petted his head.

“There, there. Good boy, Ranga.” I smiled before turning to Rango. “Being the strongest here, I leave them in your care, Rango. Don’t fail me.”

“As you will, Akari-sama,” Rango replied submissively, but with a determined look.

Nodding, I then turned to the girls and smiled. “Well? Ready for a trip?”

“You bet!” Kushina immediately responded with a fist pump and a huge grin.

“This will be like old times,” Izumi said with a small smile.

“Indeed,” I agreed, while inwardly thinking whether I should summon a Daemon now or wait until I returned.

‘Nah… I think Diablo and the Devil Girls can wait a bit longer.’

“Let’s go.”