Night in the Great Jura Forest.
Under the moonlight, a scarred Direwolf stood atop a giant boulder, giving a pre-battle speech to the many Direwolves assembled below.
Tonight, they would bathe the Goblin Village in blood, taking the first step toward dominating the Great Jura Forest.
"What a beautiful night! This forest has lost Veldora's protection — there is nothing left to fear!"
"Tonight, we will destroy the Goblin Village and establish a foothold for conquering the Great Jura Forest!"
"Awooo!" "Awooo!"
The Direwolves cheered in unison.
"We will become the rulers of this forest!"
"Awooo!"
After his speech, the Direwolf leader leaped down from the boulder.
"My subordinates, follow me!"
"Awooo!" "Awooo!"
The Direwolves followed their leader, charging through the forest, and soon arrived at the open ground outside the Goblin Village.
"A Slime and a human?"
Looking at the human and the Slime standing at the entrance of the Goblin Village, the Direwolf leader muttered in confusion.
Rimuru, on the other hand, warned the pack of Direwolves before her:
"If you retreat now, I won't do anything. Leave immediately!"
Hearing the Slime's warning, the Direwolf leader felt deeply underestimated. How dare a mere Slime order him around?
"A mere Slime dares to command us Direwolves? Knock down that fence and eat the Goblins!"
At the Direwolf leader's command, the entire pack began charging toward the Goblin Village.
Their charge was astonishingly fast. In no time, they had reached the village entrance, about to tear down the fence.
Just then, an incredibly arrogant voice rang out from the village entrance, reaching the ears of every monster present:
"Oh ho! A few small dogs dare to be so arrogant? Rimuru, let me handle this! Watch how I deal with these mutts!"
Kaito, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally couldn't hold back upon seeing the arrogant Direwolf leader, and decided to step in.
He flipped his right hand, and a rusty, damaged sword appeared in his palm.
"Kai-chan, your sword is so broken — it's almost as bad as the Goblins' weapons!"
"Uh… that's not important!"
Hearing Rimuru's complaint, Kaito's face couldn't help but flush.
The system hadn't given him a decent weapon, and there was nothing he could do about it. He had no refining materials, so he couldn't forge one himself. He was completely helpless!
'The system is making me lose face. It's all the system's fault.'
[Oh, right, right, it's all my fault. (╬ಠ益ಠ)]
"A mere human dares to be so arrogant? Tear him to shreds!"
Hearing Kaito's undisguised contempt, the Direwolf leader's rage instantly peaked.
"Then let's see!"
With that, Kaito's figure instantly vanished, reappearing directly in front of the Direwolf at the very front of the charge.
He raised the sword in his hand and unleashed a surge of sword energy toward the Direwolf's neck.
"Pfft…"
The energy sliced clean through. The wolf's head fell to the ground with a heavy thud, its body collapsing alongside it.
"Damn it, you cursed human! All of you, attack together and tear him apart!"
"Awooo!" "Awooo!" "Awooo!"
Seeing their fallen companion, the Direwolves were not afraid. Their latent ferocity ignited instead, and they charged at Kaito without hesitation.
"Kai-chan, be careful!"
"Kaito-sama, be careful!"
Rimuru and the Goblins cried out in concern at the sight.
"Heh heh, warm-up's over. Time to show some real skill!"
No sooner had he spoken than Kaito lightly tapped the ground with his right foot, and his body slowly rose into the air. Higher and higher he floated, until he hovered above the heads of the entire Direwolf pack.
Bathed in moonlight high above the ground, he looked like an immortal descending to the mortal world.
Raising his right hand high, Kaito shouted:
"Let the world know pain!!!"
He slashed sharply downward, and a wave of sword energy over ten metres tall shot toward the Direwolf leader.
"Danger! Dodge quickly! Just what kind of human is this?!"
The sword energy carved across the ground. Not a single Direwolf caught in its path could withstand it for even a moment.
As it passed, they all fell as corpses. The Direwolf leader stared at the approaching sword energy and could not help but fall into despair:
"Was I wrong? I should never have led my kin to their deaths. It is all my fault!!!"
Pfft!
After the sword energy split the Direwolf leader's body clean in two, it continued surging forward.
It lasted for over ten seconds before slowly fading, leaving a sword mark several metres deep and nearly a thousand metres long carved into the earth.
Silence.
Looking at that sword mark, both Goblins and Direwolves stopped moving entirely, swallowed by deep shock.
"Kaito-sama is too… too… too amazing!"
"With Kaito-sama protecting us, we no longer have to fear being bullied!"
"Oh oh oh oh × n"
A moment later, the Goblins erupted into deafening cheers.
"Kai-chan, you're incredible!"
Rimuru exclaimed, watching Kaito slowly descend from the sky back to the ground.
"Heh heh! Just average — I'm only the third strongest in the world! Don't worship me, I'm just a legend!"
Listening to Rimuru's flattery, Kaito responded with extreme smugness.
The damaged sword in his right hand had already been returned to his [System Storage Space] the moment he landed.
Looking at Kaito's smug expression, Rimuru bounced into his arms and said lightly:
"Kai-chan, have you been watching too much Naruto?"
"Ah — so you've seen it too!"
'It's over, my chuunibyou moment has been exposed. This is social death!'
'System! Is there any way to make everyone lose their memories?!'
[Don't start panicking over something this small!]
"I didn't expect Kai-chan to have such a chuunibyou side, hehe!"
Having discovered Kaito's secret, Rimuru felt inexplicably much better about herself.
"Heh! A man remains a young fool at heart until the day he dies, you know!"
Listening to Rimuru's teasing, Kaito hugged her tightly with his left hand, scratched the back of his head awkwardly with his right, and retorted with a slight blush.
"Well! Let's skip this topic for now. Rimuru, you go deal with the situation over there!"
Rimuru followed Kaito's gaze and saw that all the surviving Direwolves were quietly watching the two of them.
"Ah, I almost forgot about the Direwolves."
"Heave-ho!"
Rimuru leaped from Kaito's arms and landed before the Direwolf pack.
"I give you a choice: submit, or die!"
Hearing Rimuru's words, the Direwolves made no sound.
'Oh no, what if they all attack out of sheer stubbornness? Can they not just obediently run away? Am I really going to have to finish all of them off?'
Suddenly, Rimuru seemed to think of something and softly murmured:
"[Predator]!"
As the [Predator] skill activated, Rimuru's body instantly turned to liquid and consumed the Direwolf leader's corpse.
[Analysis complete. Acquired [Mimicry: Direwolf]. Acquired Direwolf intrinsic skills: [Supreme Olfaction], [Telepathy], [Intimidation].]
"Good! [Great Sage], [Mimicry: Direwolf]!"
[Understood!]
Rimuru's body began to shift rapidly, instantly taking the form of a majestic Direwolf.
'It's so good to have [Great Sage]. She can handle everything for her. I'm so jealous!'
Looking at Rimuru having transformed into a Direwolf, Kaito's eyes couldn't help but well up with envious tears.
Rimuru, now in [Direwolf] form, stepped before the assembled pack and spoke in a deliberately fierce voice:
"Those who are unwilling to submit are free to leave immediately!"
[Intimidation!]
"Awooo!"
Rimuru let out a howl and activated [Intimidation], spreading her overwhelming aura across the clearing.
The Goblins were knocked off their feet, while among the Direwolves, one with white fur at its neck and tail slowly stepped forward, enduring the pressure with great effort.
'This must be the future Ranga.'
"We are willing to follow you!"
Led by that young Direwolf, all the others prostrated themselves on the ground and cried out respectfully.
Hearing this, Rimuru immediately cancelled the transformation.
However, during the cancellation, a pair of wolf ears briefly remained on her head and a fluffy wolf tail behind her — though the appearance was fleeting.
'K-Kawaii!'
Looking at Rimuru with her momentarily lingering Direwolf features, Kaito, former otaku that he was, couldn't help but shout in his heart.
"Well, it's good that we don't have to fight. Yes, yes, peace is best!"
Watching Rimuru wobble her head contentedly, Kaito's mood improved considerably.
The next day, Goblin Village.
'Genshin Impact login bonus — no, wait. System check-in.'
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on acquiring…]