Chapter 386

Razen stared at Haruto, his expression growing increasingly unpleasant.

His truth-compelling magic had clearly covered the entire summoning circle. How could it possibly have failed to affect this particular Otherworlder?

More importantly, there was something about Haruto that made Razen instinctively uneasy.

He couldn’t explain it, but the young man gave him an unmistakable sense of danger.

After a moment’s consideration, Razen secretly activated another spell.

He had naturally prepared more than one method of controlling the Otherworlders summoned to the Kingdom of Falmuth.

In fact, he had incorporated an additional control formation into the summoning circle itself.

Anyone summoned through the ritual would have a magical control rune engraved upon their soul. Once Razen activated that rune, even someone possessing extraordinary willpower would be forced to obey his commands.

At least, that was how it was supposed to work.

Unfortunately...

Nothing happened.

Haruto remained completely unaffected, continuing to ignore Razen as though he didn’t even exist.

Razen’s expression darkened considerably.

Apparently, even his carefully prepared contingency had failed.

Just then, Haruto suddenly clapped his hands.

Clap!

The sharp sound rang through the otherwise quiet hall, making the three already frightened students beside him flinch violently.

The surrounding mages instinctively tightened their grips on their staffs, while the soldiers immediately pointed their spears toward Haruto.

He paid them absolutely no attention.

"Oh! So this is Rimuru’s world! Now that’s interesting!"

An eager smile spread across Haruto’s face.

He had finally remembered where he had encountered this particular combination of circumstances before.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime!

It was the world where an ordinary Japanese office worker died and reincarnated as a slime, obtained the skills Great Sage and Predator, and proceeded to become absurdly powerful before eventually ascending to the position of Demon Lord.

Haruto couldn’t have asked for a more appealing destination.

Putting everything else aside, the Great Forest of Jura alone contained an almost unimaginable variety of monsters.

And inside the cave where Veldora the Storm Dragon had been sealed, there were magical crystals, plants, and other natural resources saturated with extraordinarily concentrated magicules.

There were also countless aquatic monsters inhabiting the northern seas.

For someone like Haruto, who was constantly searching for unusual ingredients, the possibilities were practically endless.

Of course, he also remembered that this world was genuinely dangerous.

Awakening as a True Demon Lord required an enormous number of human souls, and the powerful beings who held the title of Demon Lord were certainly not to be underestimated.

An awakened Demon Lord could possess enough strength to destroy an entire nation with terrifying ease.

Still, those dangers weren’t Haruto’s primary concern.

What interested him most was whether the world contained enough delicious ingredients to justify exploring it.

And judging from what he remembered, the answer was a resounding yes.

There was another particularly appealing aspect of this world as well.

The Voice of the World could directly grant individuals new skills.

Haruto had already experienced that firsthand during his journey through the summoning circle, receiving several abilities without having to learn them through conventional means.

Remembering those announcements, his curiosity grew.

He was just about to investigate his newly acquired skills when an angry shout interrupted him.

"ARE YOU IGNORING ME?!"

Razen was practically trembling with fury.

This Otherworlder had been standing there talking to himself, completely disregarding the kingdom’s most powerful mage.

Razen didn’t know what kind of skill Haruto had obtained that allowed him to resist both his truth magic and the control rune, but that hardly mattered.

They were standing in the Kingdom of Falmuth, surrounded by its soldiers and mages.

An Otherworlder had no right to behave so arrogantly on their territory.

Haruto finally glanced toward him, looking thoroughly irritated.

"Seriously, where are your manners? Can’t you see I’m trying to think?"

He waved dismissively at Razen, as though shooing away an annoying fly.

Then he turned and prepared to leave.

By now, Haruto had remembered who Razen and the others were, as well as the sort of people who ruled the Kingdom of Falmuth.

Given the circumstances, remaining here seemed entirely unnecessary.

He could examine his new skills properly once he was somewhere quieter.

As for where he should go next...

’I wonder whether Rimuru has already reincarnated in this world.’

’And is Veldora still sealed inside that cave?’

Haruto had no way of knowing exactly when he had arrived in the world’s timeline.

Still, whether Rimuru was around or not, there was one destination he absolutely intended to visit.

The Great Forest of Jura.

Thanks to the enormous concentration of magicules released by Veldora, the monsters and plants throughout the forest possessed qualities far superior to those found in many other regions.

Just imagining the ingredients he might discover there was already making Haruto hungry.

Unfortunately, Razen had no intention of letting him walk away.

Seeing Haruto completely disregard him and prepare to leave, Razen’s face alternated between anger and embarrassment.

He barely managed to suppress his fury before turning toward the raised platform.

"Your Majesty, this Otherworlder cannot be controlled. How would you like us to proceed?"

He bowed slightly as he addressed King Edmaris.

The delighted smile that had previously covered Edmaris’s face had long since disappeared.

The king certainly appreciated powerful Otherworlders.

However, that appreciation depended entirely on one condition.

They had to be obedient.

No matter how powerful someone might be, an Otherworlder who couldn’t be controlled was nothing more than a potential threat.

Edmaris looked coldly toward Haruto, who was already preparing to leave the summoning formation.

His fingers struck his scepter sharply.

"Razen. Dispose of him."

There was no hesitation in his voice.

If Haruto couldn’t be turned into a useful weapon for the kingdom, there was no reason to keep him alive.

A cruel smile appeared on Razen’s face.

He raised his staff, and crimson fire-element magic began gathering around its tip.

The surrounding temperature rose rapidly as the concentrated magical energy formed a blazing sphere.

Shogo, Kyoya, and Kirara immediately retreated, their faces pale with terror.

They hurried toward the edge of the hall, desperate to distance themselves from the impending confrontation.

The surrounding soldiers and mages made no attempt to stop them.

"What a pain..."

Haruto sighed helplessly as he watched Razen prepare his attack.

These people weren’t monsters.

He couldn’t even turn them into ingredients.

Fighting opponents like this was practically a waste of time.

Unfortunately, judging from Razen’s expression, the mage had no intention of letting him leave peacefully.

A moment later, Razen swung his staff.

An enormous fireball, nearly the size of a millstone, erupted from its tip and shot directly toward Haruto, trailing a long stream of flames behind it.

A scorching wave of heat swept across the hall.

Haruto, however, made no attempt to dodge.

Instead, he calmly rested a hand against his chin, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully.

"Come to think of it, didn’t I just acquire a skill called Temperature Control?"

Since it had been the first skill granted to him during the summoning, Haruto had already gained a basic understanding of what it could do.

In theory, anything possessing a temperature fell within the skill’s influence.

He could manipulate the concentration and distribution of its heat almost entirely at will.

’Let’s see how well it works.’

With that thought, Haruto raised his right hand and pointed his palm toward the approaching fireball.

The next instant, the violently churning flames began contracting at a visible rate.

The previously ferocious fire-element energy became extraordinarily docile, its destructive heat rapidly diminishing.

By the time the fireball reached a point half a meter in front of Haruto, it had shrunk into a tiny flame no larger than a candle’s.

The little flame hovered gently in the air, swaying almost peacefully.

Haruto extended his index finger and allowed it to settle on his fingertip.

A faint orange glow danced above his skin.

Looking at the tiny flame, Haruto’s eyes brightened with genuine excitement.

"Oh? This is surprisingly useful!"

He experimented with the skill a little further.

With nothing more than a thought, the flame grew larger or smaller according to his wishes.

He could adjust its temperature just as effortlessly, even changing its color from orange-red to a deep, ghostly blue.

Compared with conventional magic, which often required incantations or carefully controlled magical energy, this ability was absurdly convenient.

Using it felt almost as natural as moving his own fingers.

Meanwhile, Razen was staring at him in utter disbelief.

His fireball had been neutralized so casually that it hadn’t even managed to create the slightest disturbance.

"Impossible! That was an advanced Fireball spell! How could it just disappear?!"

Razen could hardly believe what he had witnessed.

His magic hadn’t been dispelled.

It hadn’t been canceled by an opposing spell either.

Instead, it almost looked as though Haruto had simply taken the fireball away and claimed it as his own.

Nevertheless, Razen quickly forced himself to regain his composure.

Otherworlders frequently acquired strange and unusual skills. Encountering someone capable of manipulating fire wasn’t entirely beyond the realm of possibility.

However, every skill had its limitations.

Razen was certain that whatever ability Haruto possessed couldn’t possibly defend against every form of magic.

With that in mind, he immediately changed tactics.

The gemstone embedded in the tip of his staff began glowing with an intense blue light.

Electrical arcs crackled wildly across its surface, producing sharp snapping sounds as lightning-element magic gathered within it.

"Advanced Lightning Magic — Thunderbolt!"

A brilliant blue bolt of lightning, as thick as a man’s arm, tore through the air toward Haruto.

Unlike the fireball, this attack wasn’t something Haruto could neutralize quite so effortlessly through direct temperature manipulation.

Fortunately, he had already discovered a more entertaining solution.

Under his control, the tiny flame dancing above his fingertip suddenly expanded.

Within moments, it had become an enormous wall of fire several meters tall.

The blazing barrier rose directly between Haruto and the incoming lightning.

BOOOOM!

The violent bolt slammed into the flames with a deafening explosion.

Countless electrical arcs raced across the surface of the fire wall, crackling and twisting wildly as they struggled to break through.

Yet the barrier held firm.

No matter how fiercely the lightning struck, it couldn’t penetrate the blazing flames.

Eventually, the electrical energy scattered into innumerable tiny sparks before fading completely into the air.

The collision sent a powerful shockwave rolling through the hall, overturning tables and chairs and scattering loose objects across the floor.

Razen stared at the scene with his pupils contracted in shock.

Cold sweat had already begun gathering around the hand gripping his staff.

His mind raced as he desperately considered how to deal with this troublesome Otherworlder.

Unfortunately for him, Haruto had never been the type to stand around taking attacks without retaliating.

Looking toward Razen, Haruto smiled faintly.

Then he brought his finger closer to his lips and gently blew on the tiny flame that remained above it.

Whoosh!

The soft current of air brushed across the flame.

Immediately, it erupted outward once again.

This time, instead of forming a defensive wall, the fire expanded into an enormous sphere more than ten meters in diameter.

An excited grin appeared on Haruto’s face.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Naturally, there was no particular reason for him to shout that technique’s name.

He simply felt like doing it.

The opportunity was too good to waste.

Unfortunately, Razen wasn’t in any position to appreciate the joke.

Seeing the gigantic fireball hurtling directly toward him, he hurriedly raised his staff and erected a magical shield.

A pale-blue barrier appeared in front of him, forming a defensive wall of concentrated magical energy.

A moment later, the enormous fireball struck it head-on.

BOOOOOOM!

The resulting explosion shook the entire hall.

A tremendous wave of heat and force spread through the chamber, while thick smoke and dust surged outward, obscuring everything from view.

Behind his barrier, Razen gritted his teeth and desperately poured magical energy into maintaining the shield.

His reserves drained at an alarming rate as he struggled to withstand the overwhelming force of the attack.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the flames began to weaken.

The gigantic fireball gradually burned itself out.

As the smoke started clearing, Haruto looked toward the thoroughly disheveled Razen, who had somehow managed to remain standing.

He couldn’t help chuckling.

"Well, I guess the Great Fireball really can’t kill anyone."

With a casual flick of his finger, Haruto extinguished the last tiny flame.

It disappeared into a faint wisp of smoke, leaving him looking entirely unconcerned by the destruction surrounding him.