Naming - Rimuru Tempest, Morax Tempest

"Your experiences are quite the rollercoaster."

Rimuru commented with a look of lingering satisfaction.

"You might seem unreliable, but you know surprisingly much. Guess you can't judge a book by its cover—no, a dragon by its scales."

Rimuru continued.

"Of course."

The Storm Dragon said smugly, not even noticing that Rimuru had insulted him.

Then the Storm Dragon heard another voice—it was Mo Li speaking.

"I have to say, you're really something. You blew away the Demon Lord's castle and ran wild with destruction. Honestly, ending up like this? You only have yourself to blame."

Mo Li's judgment was spot-on, showing no deference to the Storm Dragon's power.

"Like in so many fairy tales, the Demon Lord brings disaster to the people, until a hero appears to vanquish him and becomes the people's champion. The only difference is that you're a True Dragon—you can't die. Even the hero couldn't kill you, and you're still alive."

Mo Li gave an example to illustrate the Storm Dragon's situation.

"And from what you've said, that hero who fought you must be one of the top powerhouses in this world. By that measure, you're pretty strong."

Mo Li praised the hero while also complimenting the Storm Dragon.

At first, when Mo Li said he had only himself to blame, the Storm Dragon was a bit annoyed. But the moment he heard Mo Li praise his strength, he puffed up with pride again.

"Of course! How could I, the Storm Dragon Veldora, not be strong? I'm one of the top-tier powerhouses in this world."

At that, Rimuru and Mo Li were speechless.

Just a moment ago, he claimed to be the strongest in the world. Now he said he was one of the strongest. He changed his tune fast.

Then Rimuru made a suggestion.

"Storm Dragon Veldora, let's be good friends."

"If you're making friends, count me in too. You've done a lot of bad things, but I don't sense any malice in your tone. And from what you've said, those bad deeds weren't really intentional, were they? With a little guidance, you could change. Besides, you must be pretty lonely for friends. So if we're making friends, include me too."

Mo Li was also happy to befriend him. For one, Veldora's nature wasn't truly evil—he'd done plenty of bad things, but also some good, like protecting the monsters of the Jura Great Forest under his might. For another, after Rimuru founded his nation, he'd need all the help he could get, and a True Dragon was a top-tier combat asset that could bring many benefits. And third, though Veldora was sealed early on, his magicules had helped Rimuru immensely—without Veldora, Tempest (the Demon Country Federation) wouldn't have so many high-level fighters.

Hearing Rimuru and Mo Li's words, Veldora's eyes lit up, but he still spoke against his true feelings.

"You... you're joking, right? I'm one of the four True Dragons of this world, the Calamity-class Storm Dragon Veldora! And you want to be friends with me? Aren't you... aren't you afraid?"

"If... if you don't want to, you can refuse, okay? It's not like I'm forcing you to be friends."

Rimuru said weakly.

"What's there to be afraid of? And if you don't want to, we'll just leave. We've chatted with you, and now you won't be friends with us—so we're going."

Mo Li said, picking up Rimuru and starting to walk out.

"Yeah, yeah! If you don't want to, we're leaving."

Emboldened by Mo Li's words, Rimuru spoke up too.

"Wait, don't go! When did I say I didn't want to? I just needed to think it over."

Seeing this, Veldora grew anxious.

"Really? Have you decided? If not, we're out of here."

Mo Li said, making a move to leave.

"Since you two begged so persistently, I'll reluctantly agree to be friends with you."

Veldora said with a tsundere air.

"Well then, we're truly grateful that the great Storm Dragon Lord Veldora deigns to be friends with us lowly monsters."

Mo Li teased.

"Then from now on, we're friends!"

Rimuru said excitedly.

"In that case, I'll give you both names. And you two can give me a name too—as a gift between friends."

Veldora said eagerly.

"You two are still nameless. If I name you, you'll receive my blessing and become Named Monsters. And you two can give me a name, how about that? I'm not used to everyone just calling me the Storm Dragon."

Veldora rubbed his chin with a dragon claw.

After some discussion, they finally settled on names for the Storm Dragon and the Slime.

They were named Veldora Tempest and Veldora Tempest.

"Have you decided on your name, my friend?"

Veldora turned to Mo Li.

"I have. It'll be Morax Tempest."

Mo Li decided. He chose this name partly because of the old man's skills, and partly because he wanted to become someone as reassuring as the Geo Archon Morax. Besides, Morax was just a really cool name.

"Morax Tempest... that's a good name."

Veldora pondered for a moment, then spoke.

"Alright, since that's the case, I, the Storm Dragon Veldora, hereby bestow upon you two the names Rimuru Tempest and Morax Tempest."

Veldora declared loudly.

After receiving Veldora's naming, both Rimuru and Mo Li felt a response surging from within their bodies, and even their magicule levels skyrocketed.

"Gamer, open my template."

Mo Li spoke up at this point.

Character: Mo Li
Race: Elemental Dragon Race (not a True Dragon)
Rank: S-
Unique Skill: Gamer
Innate Skills: Martial Refiner, Contractor, Rational Mind
Skills: Geo Element Control, Immortal Arts Control, Mastery of All Weapons, Weapon Master, Heavenly Star, Earthly Core
Passive Skills: Pain Nullification, Paralysis Resistance, Heat Resistance, Cold Resistance, Mental Resistance, Poison Resistance, Storm Dragon's Blessing

"I have another idea. I have a special skill called Contractor. Let's sign a contract—a pact to witness our friendship. What do you think?"

Mo Li proposed.

"Sounds great! That's a wonderful idea—a contract to seal our friendship. Couldn't be better."

Veldora agreed after hearing Mo Li's words.

"I—I agree too."

Rimuru chimed in.

Seeing that both of them had agreed, Mo Li wasted no time and directly used his special skill, Contractor, to draft a Friend Equal Contract.

Equal Contract:

[From this day forth, Morax Tempest, Veldora Tempest, and Rimuru Tempest shall become friends, aiding one another and never betraying each other. Those who break this contract shall suffer the Rock Eater's Punishment.]