Attendance… plz…)
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Become the Director.
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Become the Director.
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Become the Director.
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"Hell with this…" Rimuru groaned into his pillow, "saving the Human Order actually sounds easier than that..."
He lay in bed, tossing and turning, sleep completely evading him.
It had been hours since they returned. He had finally managed to soothe May, sending her off to bed and securely locking his door to prevent any "night raids." But the moment he closed his eyes, the Director's shadowy figure loomed in his mind.
"Aaaah! I hate this!" Rimuru kicked the blankets. "This whole 'entrusting your dying wish' thing is just emotional blackmail! It's forcing a massive responsibility on me!"
Today's conversation had answered many of his questions, but in exchange, it had shackled him with heavy chains.
If he just packed up and left to find a way home, would he be betraying their trust?
But if he stayed to fulfill their expectations... when would he ever get to go home?
Rimuru stared at the moonlight filtering through the curtains. For a long time, the room remained silent.
He didn't sleep a wink.
….
The schedule at the Clock Tower wasn't all that different from a standard British university.
Aside from the fact that the campus rarely closed, it operated on a principle of academic freedom. Holidays were frequent, and classes were sparse, often only two or three sessions a day.
Just like a real university, the emphasis wasn't on spoon-fed teaching, but on self-discipline, time management, and independent research.
Professors preferred to hole up in their workshops to conduct experiments. Students from established lineages usually treated the Clock Tower as a five-year finishing school before returning home to inherit their family's specific magical style.
Of course, the campus wasn't empty. There were always the "New Bloods", commoners with accidental magical circuits or those from shallow lineages. These students desperately needed the Clock Tower's resources to carve out their own paths.
As a newly minted Professor, Rimuru discovered that his life hadn't actually changed much.
Aside from students addressing him as "Professor" instead of "Lecturer," his daily routine was identical. Since he had fled the Director's office before discussing his specific faculty assignment, he was currently a Professor without a portfolio.
He had a lot of free time.
For the Rimuru of his past life, this leisurely pace would have been a luxury. But this was the late 1980s.
There was no internet. No smartphones. No modern gaming consoles.
Aside from a few TV programs that offered a flicker of familiarity, the entertainment options were... lacking.
Rimuru found that researching magic was actually more fun than watching 80s television.
"I have to admit," Rimuru murmured, holding a shimmering sphere of water up to the sunlight, "without the distraction of modern entertainment, it's certainly easier to focus."
"Failed again?"
[Notice: Biological tissue activity has ceased.]
Splat!
Rimuru tossed the crystal-clear water ball onto the floor in frustration. It shattered into a thousand droplets with a crisp splash, only to slowly gather itself back together a moment later, reforming into a sphere.
This was Rimuru's Mystic Code: Boundless.
True to its name, it was crafted from "Boundless Water", a conceptual fluid, combined with his own magical system. In its dormant form, it looked like a simple, transparent orb of water.
In terms of usage, it bore a striking resemblance to Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald's Volumen Hydrargyrum (Moon Cell Automaton).
Kayneth's code was based on mercury. It utilized the heavy metal's density and fluidity to shape-shift, creating an automated defense and offense system that excelled in versatility.
Compared to that top-tier Mystic Code, Rimuru's Boundless was... well, currently a piece of trash. A B-Rank artifact with high potential, but low output.
Its functions were simple. Primarily, it allowed Rimuru to manipulate atmospheric moisture and amplify his Water-elemental magecraft.
And, like the Volumen Hydrargyrum, it had one other key feature: Shape-shifting. Water has no form, yet it can take any form. That's right. Shapeshifting.
Boundless could transform into absolutely anything Rimuru could imagine, manipulating the water through his magical energy.
Whether it was the eighteen legendary weapons of martial arts or the fairy tale monsters Alice summoned, if he could picture it, Boundless could mimic it.
It could become anything!
The only problem was... the durability of those forms was suffocatingly bad.
The base material of the Mystic Code was "Boundless Water." Now, that name sounded incredibly high-tier and mystical, but in reality, it wasn't exactly a rare resource in the magical world.
High-quality samples were pricey, sure, but low-quality Boundless Water? It was practically free.
Strictly speaking, it was just water that lacked a "Root" or origin. Even common rainwater contained trace conceptual amounts of Boundless Water.
Thank god his predecessor hadn't used the cheap stuff to craft the core of this artifact, or Rimuru would be cursing the guy's grave right now.
But even with high-quality materials, there were limits. Rimuru had discovered he could use his mana to force phase changes, turning the liquid into a gaseous mist or freezing it into solid ice, but the fundamental quality didn't skyrocket.
Mist sword, water sword, ice sword. What was the practical difference?
Oh, sure, the ice sword was harder. Rimuru had spent days researching this, discovering that he could adjust the temperature and density of the ice via mana output. It was certainly more useful than a splash of water, but that didn't change the fact that it was brittle!
And it was afraid of fire!!
Kayneth's Volumen Hydrargyrum might not be as "infinite" in its variety as Boundless, but when that mercury blob formed a spike, it could punch through steel. When it formed a thin film, it could block heavy ordnance.
Sure, a lot of that depended on Kayneth's own immense skill, but functionally, it was a top-tier, all-purpose Mystic Code. As long as you didn't compare it to a Noble Phantasm, it was elite.
Rimuru was confident in his specs. Between his Magic Circuits and his Phantasmal bloodline, his mana capacity was easily Rank A++.
Yet, to make Boundless achieve the same density and defensive power as Kayneth's mercury, Rimuru calculated he would have to pour nearly half of his total mana reserves into it.
Let's put that into perspective.
If you asked Emiya Shirou to do that, he'd drain himself dry instantly. Unless he had a girl strapped to his back for constant mana transfer, wait, let's not go there, he simply couldn't do it.
Rimuru could accept a fighting style that traded mana for raw power, but the conversion efficiency of this Mystic Code was heartbreaking. It was atrociously low.
"Sigh."
Rimuru turned around, looking at the puddle of Boundless Water sliding aimlessly across the floor. He waved his hand, and the liquid leaped up, reforming into a lifelike, transparent bird that perched on his shoulder.
"Aside from using it as a scout or a familiar, I really can't think of a combat use for this thing."
His predecessor had clearly bet everything on "Potential" and "Versatility," completely ignoring the "Early Game Hell" that came with low base stats.
Rimuru was dissatisfied. And when a gamer is dissatisfied with their gear, there's only one solution: Refine it. Reinforce it. Patch it until it breaks the game.
Let's aim for a +13 enhancement!
So, for the past few days, Rimuru had been locked in a battle of wills with this ball of water.
If he wanted to strengthen a weapon, disregarding the complex magical concepts and ability systems for a moment, the most direct path was to upgrade the base material.
On this point, the Great Sage had a suggestion: Rimuru's own body.
A Slime's body was essentially a precipitate of pure magical energy and elemental matter. Naturally, it was a top-tier magical material.
[Notice: In an era where Mystery is fading and Phantasmal Species have migrated to the Reverse Side of the World, surely even the lowest-tier Phantasmal material would be considered a divine artifact, no?]
The Great Sage's tone was highly complimentary, yet Rimuru couldn't shake the feeling he was being insulted. Lowest-tier? Really?
Still, he accepted the logic.
After all, in Harry Potter, Veela could use their own hair as wand cores. Surely a Slime could do something similar, right?
….
499 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter.
999 Power Stones = 1 More Bonus Chapter
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