/n/epic-of-caterpillar-1449/c-12
chapter-11

After finishing my meals, I packed up some food and called over Wagyu and Rimuru.

"Alright we will go looking for that… Uuh, what was it?"

Suddenly, cocky mind reminded me.

"It's named Scorching Adamantite, idiot!"

"Ah! Yes, Scorching Adamantite! Let's go to the Lava Hot Springs!"

"Alright, master!"

"Guuuuu!"

When we passed through the big road that connects the East Rocky Mountains to the Forest and the Lava Hot Springs, we found that at least half the forest was completely burned out, somehow the fire calmed down until it completely dissipated.

"Aaahh, these Salamanders really messed up this big forest… It's so big I can barely see anything outside of it, I think those are plains… I wonder if there are any human town close by… I still remember that redhead girl in armor, I wonder why she was here? Such a dangerous Forest, well maybe it's safer now without the Emperors"

"Human? Master Kireina, have you seen a Human before?"

"Uh yes… when I was still a tiny caterpillar, I saw a redhead girl walking around alone, she went to the East I think…"

"You must be careful the next time, my grandfather once told me that Humans are incredibly powerful monsters that own half the world…"

"Half the world?! Are they that strong? But… with so many terrifying monster everywhere one would think that Humans are on the weaker side…"

"According to my grandfather, Humans are blessed by countless gods when being born, resulting in incredibly high base stats, every human child is around Emperor Class power… now, imagine an adult"

"Gaah! I hope your grandfather was just spitting nonsense! That's ridiculous!"

"Hahaha! I hope so too!"

"Guuu… Mastaa I will protect you!"

"Oh? Don't worry Rimuru, I am very strong now! I will be the one protecting you all instead!"

"Seeing my Master say such words calms my heart"

"Guu!"

After we came through half the road, we found countless big humanoid footsteps.

"These, are human footsteps?"

"No, watch carefully Wagyu, humans usually wear some type of armor on they feet, these must be trolls"

"Trolls…? In this forest?"

"Yeah, you haven't seen them before?"

"I… Actually I have never seen trolls in this forest, this is strange, neither my grandfather or my father ever told me about any humanoid monsters living on this forest aside from the Mountain Monkeys…"

"Are you implying that these guys just came here recently?"

"Perhaps… Something triggered the arriving of Trolls on this forest"

"But… what?"

"Guuu…"

Even though we found countless trolls footsteps we never came across an actual Troll in the long journey to the Lava Hot Springs, after finally arriving, we didn't wanted to rush things and started to investigate this mysterious place.

"Is it really true that there are actual Hot Springs on this place? I can only see Lava and hot caves everywhere"

"Hmm... Snif Snif Ah! I can smell something strange, Master!"

"Where?"

"Where… Guuu?"

Wagyu slowly walked to a cave section on the east side of the Lava Hot Springs.

"Here! Through this cave!"

We followed Wagyu and after around 20 meters of running we found a big open section inside the cave, were a massive lake was resting inside.

"A lake… inside a cave?"

"TH-THIS! This must be the Hot Springs!"

"There are really Hot Springs, Master?"

"Guuuuu?"

SPLASH!

Without thinking it twice, I immediately jumped over the lake!

"Gwaaah! It's really hot! However, it's nice, right on the exact temperature! Come inside guys!"

"Master… Alright then…"

"Guuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

SPLASH! SPLASH!

My two servants swiftly obeyed my commands and jumped into the lake.

"Aaaahh~! TH-THIS! THIS IS HEAVENLY! This water is so warm, it's easily alleviating my muscles tension!"

"Guuuuuuuuuuu…"

"Hahaha! Yes! These are Hot Springs! I never thought they would be in this world of all things!"

Inside my head, my three other minds were celebrating.

"Oooohoho! This~ Aaaaaannnhhh~"

"Hmmm… Feels good, I never thought that I would be ever be inside a Hot Spring after the trip to Japan…"

"Hahaha! This is incredible! It really fills the check-marks on my "Ideal Things in my Epic Isekai Adventure!"

"I cannot believe that there are Hot Springs in here, it's almost feels like a classic Isekai Anime now. I guess that all that's left to happen is a beautiful nude babe join us in the bath!"

"Nude… Babe…? What is that Master…?"

"Guuu! Babe!"

"Ah! Hahaha! Do not mind me! Such heavenly Hot Spring is making me say nonsensical things…! Hahaha! (Aaaahh…)"

After spending around an hour on the Hot Springs we decided to get serious and look up for the Scorching Adamantite.

After searching for nearly two hours we finally found a big and deep cave that descended into the ground, there we found a myriad of different fire related minerals. I used the earth manipulation related skills to make the cave walls spit the minerals out intact without much effort.

I took a lot in my Item Box until it got completely full.

[Scorching Adamantite: A red colored type of metal shaped like a flame, it has been born from thousands of years of high temperatures concentrated on soil rich on minerals.]

[Fire Crystal: A crystal formed from the concentration of natural fire magic through thousands of years, it glows in a bright red color.]

[Compressed Lava Rock: A special kind of fossilized lava rock, it has been formed through millions of years of hot lava being compressed by this world gravity.]

[Lava Crystal: A crystal with magic properties formed from the combination of natural fire magic and lava for thousands of years, it glows in a bright orange color.]

[Item Box 20/20]

"Hmm, I should eat some to see what they can offer, right?"

All of these minerals had a special spicy flavor added to them, they were very hard to chew even with all my strength buffs stacked together but I managed to eat at least three of each.

Wagyu refused to eat them because he did not think that it was right to waste such valuable resources on his own benefit, and Rimuru does not seem to like spicy things.

[You've obtained a new Title: Mineral Devourer]

[You've Learned the following Skills]

[Scorching Adamantite Strong Shell]

[Fire And Lava Affinity]

[Fire And Lava Master]

"Ah, that's not that many skills, but I guess I almost have the whole set of Fire and Lava skills, at least all the novice ones…"

After wondering around some more in the underground part of the Volcano Hot Springs we found another cave sections way deeper, for some reason, when we got further below, the pressure of the whole place started to become higher.

"Master… This pressure… what is this… Ahh…"

"Geeehhh… Masta…"

"I-I don't know…"

Suddenly, my minds reminded me of my last dream!

"Hey, don't you remember the dream we had? About that voice calling us to go to the underground?"

"Yes… that terrifying pressure… it's the same as this one…"

"No way… What the heck is down here…?"

When we finally arrived to an open space, there was an enormous red colored door, it seemed to be made of a red metal like the Scorching Adamantine, and massive chains sealed it.

"Wh-what? A door?"

"Master… Gulp… Th-this place…"

"Guuu…?"

"What? Do you know something?"

"Yes… this place is… My grandfather once told me, about an old legend… In the old times, there was once a powerful being that managed to become Overlord class in this Forest, and unified the whole Forest, creating the first completely Monster Based Nation…"

Wagyu started to sweat and breathing very heavily.

"Haaah… This Monster… had an incredible power, such a being, was so powerful… that the most powerful champions of the Human Clan came here and sealed him on an underground dungeon…"

"After the Leader of the Forest Nation was sealed, the humans proceeded to kill each Emperor and left the forest, completely destroying the Nation structure and making this Forest just a wild area again…"

"I-I see… well, the door is right ahead of us, so that legend, was not even a legend, its real then…"

"Guuu… Mastaaaa… Scary…"

Even when Wagyu told me all of this I still wanted to destroy the chains sealing the dungeon door, but to no avail, these chains were incredibly sturdy and were reinforced by very strong spells, even throwing an Overpowering Sun wouldn't had helped.

"I wonder if there's another entrance, I also cannot control the cave walls around the Door to enter, they all seem to be reinforced with amazing magic, way more powerful than whatever I have ever crafted"

Suddenly, a strong pressure filled our hearts and a strong and overpowering voice speak on our heads!

"Hmmmmm… You have… come…"

"Ah! Master! Th-this!"

"Guuuuuuu!"

"Wh-who are you?!"

"I… am the one… who once unified this Forest… they call me… the Wyvern Overlord…"

"So you are the Wyvern Overlord! I see, were you behind all these Emperors trying to kill me?!"

"Haha… I was not… They… were afraid of you… I never… commanded them to do anything…"

"Now that… all of them have perished… this Forest is unprotected… from outside forces…"

"What? What outside forces?"

"You… Defeated every Emperor… and now holds… the title of the 8 Emperors… You must… unify this Forest… and defend it…"

"H-hey! Wait a second! Why would I do that?"

"You must… This forest… is your home, isn't it?"

"B-but… I…"

"Do not worry… I will compensate you… for the task… greatly…"

"Eeeh? How?!"

"Here… we can start with this…"

Out of nowhere, a System Message popped out of thin air.

[You have been blessed by: The Legendary Wyvern Overlord]

[You've obtained a new Title: Wyvern Overlord Champion]

[You've learned a new Skill: Blessing of the Wyvern Overlord]

"What! Th-these skills! Did you just blessed me?"

"Hmmmmm… yes… This is all I can do for now… You must… help me… defend this Forest… from the outside forces… The Trolls… are only the begging…"

"Trolls? These massive monsters, are only the beginning? What do you mean? And from where are they coming from?"

"Hmmmm… These monsters are not natural of this place… They come from the Dark Nation… Even as we speak… even more of these monsters are coming here… Goblin… and Undead… are coming…"

"Dark Nation? What is that?"

"The Dark Nation… a faraway place… once named, the Kingdom of Ollathir… But everything was destroyed…"

"What destroyed it?"

"This Kingdom once give birth to a very talented child… this child became mad with his power… Blessed with so many Gods … After becoming an Overclass… it destroyed the kingdom… and summoned dark beings… forming the new Dark Nation…"

"That's… Can't you specify more…?"

"My power… has been drained for too long… I can only speak… very slowly… Explaining everything in detail… would waste too much time… you must hurry…"

"Gaaah! OKAY OKAY! I will only help you because my people are living here, and because you give me a pretty strong buff, that's all!"

"Hmmmm… Very well then… Once legendary… The Wyvern folk are very rare now… But there are some… surviving families… go look for their help… after seeing my blessing… they will surely answer my call…"

"Alright then, but where are they?"

"Hmmm… Look at the North… In the Great Snowy Mountain Wall… that separates this part of the world with the next…"

"The next… What do you mean?! I don't understand anything that you speak of!"

"There's no time… Hurry… The trolls have already given birth to an Emperor… The Goblins and Undead are close… Prepare for the worst…"

"Hey! Why do they even want to conquer this ugly piece of Forest? It barely holds anything special!"

"You are wrong… this Forest… Holds riches that you cannot understand yet… Now, go look for my children… I shall sleep now… I am very tired…"

"H-hey! Wait!"

"…"

The strong pressure slowly dissipated.

"Master…"

"Guuu…"

"Hahaha… Now I am the Lord of the Forest or something. And I need to defend it from a creepy dark army of hell?"

The minds inside of my head give they own opinions on the subject.

"No way…"

"This is… too much…"

"Aaahh, even for me, the Energetic Mind, this is too much, can we even do it?"

"There's no choice, the other alternative is just running away… and leaving this Forest to that Mad Mage…"

"Guuu… Masta… we must protect our home!!!"

"Rimuru…!"

"Hahaha, I am with Senior Rimuru on this, Master. After all we have fought before, we cannot give up, right?"

"Guys… I… okay… Let's just go home for now…"

After such a big information dump, I needed to rest and process what the Wyvern Overlord told me.

In the road to the East Rocky Mountains, we found even more troll footsteps than before.

"This… they are very active aren't they…"

"Yes, but they are aware of our power, Master. This is why they haven't ambushed us."

"Guuu…"

I looked up at the sky and saw how the sun was slowly moving to the other side of the horizon.

"The Great Snowy Mountain Wall. That separates this part of the world with the next… What did he meant by that… what does it separate this world from?"

The minds of my head started to share their theories.

"Probably was just the old man rambling nonsensical things, did you hear his voice? I can't imagine how many thousands of years that Wyvern has lived…"

"Maybe… There's some kind of separation in this world, perhaps… the mountains are walls, to a next world?"

"A next world? How would that even work? How does two worlds being connected like this makes any sense?"

"Are you really trying to find some sense to this world, full of magic and horrible monsters?"

"I… I guess you are right…"

"I guess there's no point in overthinking this, we will see by ourselves when we go look for those Wyverns… You guys should rest for now…"

"Alright…"

"Finally, time to sleep…"

"Good night"

"Pause [Brain Share]"

[Brain Share has been paused]

After getting home, I made a quick reunion with all my named servants, including the weaker monkey Leaders.

"Master Kireina, Kizuato reporting in, what is the meaning of such a rushed meeting between all of us?"

"Well you see…"

I explained them everything that the Wyvern Overlord told me, without saving anything.

After this, everyone was awkwardly in silence.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Ahem! Master Kireina, no matter what destiny unfold us, I will always stay by your side! I shall protect our home and this Forest with my life!"

The first to talk was the older and most experienced Leader on this party, Kekensha.

Kizuato followed after.

"I… You are right, Senior Kekensha… No matter what, we must persevere! This new power we have obtained shall not be wasted!"

After these two strong and reliable leaders talked, the morale slowly started to rise up on the rest of the leaders and all of them promised their full loyalty (once again).

When everyone was finished speaking I suggested a new training program I had in mind from a long time ago, it included using my Summoning related skills, creating a bunch of easy mobs so the Leaders and they parties can easily level up killing them.

"But to start this I will need a massive amount of MP. So you all will need to learn the skill [Mp Share] that comes from the Flame Salamander meat, luckily to all of you, I have several leftovers, including the mass creation of MP Potions using [Mp Potion Secretion] that you all already have, we should be able to start the plan"

Everyone seemed to agree with the ultra-speed up training plan, and so I give the Flame Salamander meat to Chokumotsu who happily went to the kitchen and called her cooking monkey team to start cooking the next meal.

"Very well, Master Kireina, we will be on our way to the kitchen then."

"Alright, see you there!"

"Ah! Wait, Kusuri! I got you a lot of materials!"

"Ah, well done Master Kireina, I never thought that you would get so many… This is very convenient! We will be able to make tons of new armor and weapons too. Ah! Your Synthesis accessory too, of course! Hahaha!"

"Did you almost forgot about that…?"

"Uukiii! N-no! Absolutely not, my Master!"

"Sigh… Well, you can go eat first"

"Thanks Master, I will be on my way then, if you'll excuse me"

Arriving at the kitchen I was welcomed by a big feast were all the monkeys were enjoying Flame Salamander meat, and then there, I saw it!

A golden bubbly beverage! That made every monkey that drank it extremely happy and energetic!

"Is that… BEER?!"

The adorable Chokumotsu noticed me and came to me with a happy and bright smile.

"Master Kireina, we did it! Even if it is a little bit bitter, but it is as you wanted! We used a special plant from the forest named Forest Golden Grains!"

"Chokumotsu, you are the best monkey! Give me some!"

Chokumotsu suddenly blushed and went to kitchen for some Beer.

"H-here, Master Kireina! We called it Forest Golden Grain Beer!"

[Forest Golden Grain Beer: A golden colored and very bitter beer with a hint of sweetness.

Effect: Grants +5 Strength and Speed for the next 24 hours. Side effect: Drunk status, 2 hours.]

"Aaaaah! TH-THERE IT IS! I can't believe this! I need the other minds to experience this! Activate [Brain Share]! GLUP GLUP"

[Brain Share has been activated]

GLUP GLUP

Then it came, a delicious bitterness combined with a touch of sugar and the bubbles that filled my entire tiny butterfly mouth!

"Bbbwaaaaahhh!"

"This is awesome, I cannot believe that I would be able to taste Beer once again in this world, every night, it was no more than a Dream, but even in such world, Dreams can become true!"

[You have been inflicted with: Drunk Status]

Having such a rush of happiness, I went to see my fellow Monkeys and Wolves.

"E-EVERYONEEEEE…! WE WILL BLAST THOSE DAMNED TROLLS… AND THOSE… AH… GOBLINS! AND… UHH… UNDEADS! TO DUST! LET'S GO! WE CAN DO EVERYTHING NOW!"

After seeing such a scene, every monkey, wolf yelled agreeing with me, boosted with a very high morale.

Then, without even expecting this, a System Message popped out of thin air!

[You have accomplished certain conditions]

[Your army is boasting with morale! For the next week, all their stats are boosted and they exp learned doubles!]

"Wh-what? That is insanely convenient, Mysterious Voice, did you add this recently for my own sake or something? Bwahahaha!"

[System Master: