Ah! Holy shit, where the hell have I ended up?
In the boundless expanse of space, a shooting star streaked past at incredible speed. A closer look revealed that it was actually a slime.
"Stop shouting. Nobody's going to pay attention, even if you scream yourself hoarse."
Huh?
What the hell is talking?
"You died, and now you've transmigrated." As for the reason he'd transmigrated, those who understood, understood. Those who didn't could go run ten thousand meters and come back.
A system? So what's going on with me now? Why can't I move?
"You know, an eight-wheel truck. Your original body came apart on the spot. They're probably busy putting it back together right now. I went out of my way to give you a body you like."
The way you're talking, why do I have a bad feeling about this?
"A very accurate feeling. You're Demon Lord Rimuru Tempest now. Well? Happy?"
Fuck you***, are you **? I ***.
"Why are you getting so worked up?"
When did I ever like lolis? The ones I liked just happened to be lolis, that's all. And you even turned me into one. What's that supposed to mean?
"What are you talking about? Your computer's hard drive clearly-"
Stop! I admit I was a little loud just now.
"All right, all right, we've arrived. It's too late to say anything now."
Arrived? Arrived where? Where have you sent me?
"Marvel, of course. You were watching it before you transmigrated."
Wait, is this right? What's the difference between sending me here and sending me to my death?
Looking at the blue planet before him, Rimuru felt things had gotten serious.
"Get ready. You're going down."
Rimuru: ?
What do you mean, I'm going down? Isn't this too high? I'm not even in the atmosphere. The Kármán Line is still a long way off, isn't it?
"It's fine. You're the Demon Lord now. That's the spirit, perk up and don't embarrass yourself."
Damn it!
After a long free fall from high above, Rimuru slammed into the ground. He had tried to resist along the way, but it hadn't done a damn thing. His limp body had tumbled freely like a ping-pong ball in the ocean before hitting the ground.
What Rimuru didn't know was that his arrival had already drawn the attention of the relevant authorities.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
An agent on duty had sharply noticed the anomaly. Different meteorites fell from the sky every day, and normally, one this size would have burned up before it reached the ground. This thing, however, had landed intact, without even changing in size.
Nick Fury frowned when he saw the report. He knew far more than those agents, and the mention of an unidentified object falling from the sky struck a nerve.
"Notify Coulson. Have him bring that thing back."
Location: the edge of a desert somewhere in New Mexico.
At the bottom of a large crater, a translucent mass resembling top-grade sapphire jelly was wriggling slightly.
"Cough... ptoo, ptoo, ptoo!" Rimuru tried to spit out the sand in his mouth, only to discover that he didn't have a mouth at all. His voice seemed to be produced by vibrating some part of his body.
"System! Get your ass out here! What kind of shitty landing was that?!"
"Ding~ Protective landing for beginners complete. This system is dedicated to serving you and has now entered energy-saving standby mode. Please leave a message if you need anything.
The punchable voice rang out in Rimuru's mind, then quickly fell silent. No matter how he called, there was no response.
"I #￥%..." A string of muted, radio-wave-like curses echoed at the bottom of the crater.
Calm down. I need to calm down. Rimuru forced himself to think and tried to sense his body.
Hmm, round, slippery, bouncy, blue... His vision extended 360 degrees. He had no eyes, yet he could see everything around him, and his senses were frighteningly sharp. He tried to raise part of his body, and a translucent blue gelatinous tentacle easily separated from the main mass and waved about.
All right, it really is a slime's body. The Demon Lord template? He recalled the setting of "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" and tried to activate his skills.
[Great Sage]... no response.
[Predator]... no response.
[Magic Sense]... there seemed to be a vague sensation, as though he could feel a little something.
[Mimicry]... With a thought, ripples spread across the surface of his blue body. Its color quickly turned a dull gray, almost blending in with the surrounding sand.
That's it? That's it? Rimuru nearly burst into tears. What happened to the Demon Lord who could destroy heaven and earth? Why do I feel like an ordinary slime fresh off the production line? Apart from a seemingly tough body and basic mimicry, there's nothing?
That bastard system definitely skimmed my newbie gift pack! he thought, aggrieved and indignant.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot. I haven't loaded it for you yet. Go, Great Sage."
You're only giving it to me now?
Skill [Sage] acquired and evolved into [Great Sage].
Loading...
Rimuru passed out before he could hear the rest. He had received too much strange knowledge all at once.
A low, distinctive rumble drew closer from the distance.
Three black Chevrolet Suburbans sped toward the crater like silent behemoths, kicking up clouds of dust as they expertly navigated the rough terrain. They came to a precise stop at its edge.
The doors opened, and a group of people in black suits or tactical clothing stepped out, their expressions serious and their eyes sharp. Moving swiftly and professionally, they spread out to occupy advantageous positions, their weapons-which were clearly no ordinary police equipment-pointed almost imperceptibly toward the bottom of the crater.
Their leader was a middle-aged man with a somewhat receding hairline, a kindly face, and shrewd eyes. Dressed in a well-fitting suit without a tie, he walked to the edge and looked down at the "thing" at the bottom. It was nearly the same color as the sand, but on closer inspection, it still had a faint, translucent gleam. He frowned slightly.
"This is the place?" he said into his earpiece.
"Yes, Agent Coulson. The radar trajectory and residual thermal signature match perfectly. The fallen object is at the bottom of the crater. Its energy readings are very strange. It's nonmetallic, with a faint biological heat source, but its structure can't be analyzed," a technician reported through the earpiece.
Phil Coulson was a level-eight S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and one of Nick Fury's most capable subordinates. When he received his orders, the director had only said, "It fell from the sky. Go take a look, and be careful."
That had put Coulson on full alert around this "visitor from beyond the sky."
He waved his hand, and two agents in special operations gear, carrying specialized rifles, carefully slid down the crater wall and approached the mass.
Rimuru, meanwhile, had been lulled to sleep by Great Sage and had fallen straight into a baby-like slumber.
One agent cautiously prodded Rimuru with his gun barrel. Soft, springy, and slightly cool.
The agent looked back and shook his head at Coulson, indicating that it showed no aggression and no conventional mechanical response.
Coulson crouched down and examined it closely. The thing looked like a large piece of premium jelly or some kind of gel. Its color was dull gray now, but a beautiful blue was faintly visible where light passed through its edges. There were no visible organs, interfaces, or markings. He put on a pair of special gloves and reached out to touch it himself.
It felt smooth and elastic, a little like cool, soft rubber.
"Take a sample, carefully, then bring it back to base," Coulson ordered. His instincts told him this thing was no simple matter. Its strange, undamaged condition and its unanalyzable properties were definitely not those of a natural product.
An agent took out a special sampler equipped with cutting and suction functions and crouched beside it, struggling away for ages. He couldn't cut anything off at all, leaving even the agent operating it unsure of himself.
Coulson's pupils contracted slightly, but he maintained his professional, mild expression, tinged with puzzlement. "It can't be cut, and there isn't even a nick. Seal it up and take it back as it is."