Chapter 10 Let The Tests Begin
(A/N. Before we get started I just want to say thanks to all the people that commented on my last upload, not to get all emotional or anything but it meant alot to me. So yeah, thanks for that)
"So...this is my Domain of horrors skill"
I stood there looking at my surroundings with a somewhat mild interest. Stretching out above me for as far as the eye could see was a seemingly endless void of darkness and as for what was below me, well, beneath my feet was a sea of what seemed to be ink or tar that bubbled and rippled with every step that I took. What was most strange was the fact that this seemingly endless space was illuminated by a ghostly light that seemed to come from everywhere without any actual light source that was clearly visible to me.
"I'm rather surprised how large this place is, in fact I can't actually tell how far this space extends for" I rubbed the back of my head as I let out a sigh.
"It shouldn't even be physically possible for all of this to fit into the space that I designated in the real world" I muttered quietly while taking another quick glance around myself.
"Haha...I'm seriously breaking the laws of physics on this one huh?" I shrugged before turning my attention to only other things here with me.
Not far away from me were four holographic 3D maps that glowed a dark blue, they each sat on a large individual solid table that all seemed to be made from the same ink like liquid that I was currently standing on. Each one of the maps were completely different, however they all had a blue holographic P hovering above them followed by a certain number. Also of note was the fact that behind each of the tables were five meter tall boxes that each stood next to each other in a row.
"Honestly though...the way this place works is just weird" I said because the different places that were shown on the maps were actually inside the four boxes, which again shouldn't be physically possible.
(I mean I can literally fit a whole city inside of a shoe box if I really wanted to) I chuckled at the thought before turning my attention back to the task at hand.
"Anyway, it's time to get down to business..." I said with clear malice in my voice as I walked over to the first table in the row.
I had split the army into four groups of different sizes and placed them into the four different zones. The holographic P that hovered over each of the maps and the number next to them represented the number of "players" inside that specific zone.
"You're all going to help me test out my new skill, I hope that you are happy to be chosen for such a prestigious honor" I smiled darkly as I looked at the layout in front of me.
The map had P:100 written above it which made it the map with the least number of "players'' in it. The map itself wasn't anything fancy, it was just a large overgrown hilly plane that was about three Kilometer squared in size. The whole place was surrounded by a thick fog that prevented anyone from leaving or seeing the edge of the board.
As for the "willing" participants, they were all currently standing on a hill in the center of the zone. To be honest they were all looking quite confused which was understandable I guess, I mean they did just suddenly appear in an unknown location but that's fine because soon they'll have far more to worry about then just trying to figure out where exactly they are.
"First things first, I need to make sure everything is working properly and you're the lucky bastards that are going to help me with that" I hummed as I waved my hand causing the time in the other three areas to stop completely freezing everything in place.
(Wow...I can actually stop time here...this skill is just way too overpowered) I wasn't really expecting it to work so easily, I at least thought that it would take a little effort on my part.
(I honestly didn't believe Great sage when she explained to me just how exactly this skill works but to think that I really have this much control over this space and everything in it...) I rubbed the back of my head while I waved my hand in front of myself again. This time dozens of flowers grew out of the space around my hand before immediately bursting into flames, the flames then almost instantly turned into dirt before vanishing completely.
(Honestly, if I did not hate these bastards as much as I do I may have actually felt just a little bit bad for them, after all with the level of strength fighting me here is literally like your average person trying to fight God himself)
You may think that is a large and frankly ridiculous over exaggeration on my part but it's not, not even in the slightest. For what I can gather they have no equipment or skills that can help them escape from this place, they don't even have anyway to fight back against me here and even if they had some kind of item that they could potentially use to escape I can simply take it from them before they have a chance to use it. To put it simply, in the Domain of horrors I am like an incredibly sadistic DM in dungeons and dragons and my "players" have no way to fight or escape from me. So yeah. They. Are. FUCKED.
Actually, the comparison to a DM is pretty accurate in this situation, mostly because I can theoretically create entire worlds made out of various illusions within this place. Of course doing something like that would take a lot of effort and practice on my part but thanks to the help great sage is giving me that problem is somewhat solved. On my own I could create some pretty amazing or in this case terrifying things, however with great sage's help, even if most of her attention is focused on helping Rimuru I can still do a hell of a lot more than I would be able to do on my own.
"Wait?" I paused for a second as an idea popped into my head all of a sudden.
"Could something like that actually work? A thought for another time I guess" I muttered with a shrug before deciding to begin the first test.
"Now then, let's start with something simple" I grinned as I cracked my fingers and got to work
I started off by creating a massive number of strange plant-like creatures that had no facial features. The group of a hundred individuals watched as the blades of grass combined into dozens upon dozens of humanoid shapes, all of them having sharp blade-like thorns growing out of their bodies in random places. All around them, standing roughly five feet tall these creatures appeared without any real warning and sadly for the soldiers they numbered around one thousand.
With a sweep of my hands the newly created creatures charged forward and a small battle broke out across the plane. However something strange happened as the two sides continued to battle, every time one of the soldiers would eventually die after being painfully stabbed several times and violently dismembered by five or so of the creatures they would be miraculously revived. Their bodies would turn into glowing white particles before they reappear somewhere else on the battlefield only to be killed seconds later because of their rather confused state.
"This is actually kind of fun" I muttered as I watched the battle continue.
(I'm sure they are really damn confused as to why it is that they can't die here) I thought with an ominous chuckle.
How it works is actually quite simple. I can create physical, tangible illusions, illusions that can kill people if I want them too, however I can also create other types of illusions within this space. For example, I can make a person think they just got stabbed, I can literally make a person genuinely believe they are dying from a stab wound and are in agonizing pain when in reality their body is completely fine. Of course normally I wouldn't be able to do this to such a large extent, after all creating this many tangible and intangible illusions all at the same time is incredibly difficult considering this is my first time using this skill but thanks to Great sage's help I was able to do this relatively easily.
"It seems that is working properly" I nodded to myself as I watched the final creature die.
"Let's move on to the next tests"
And so it went, I created massive storms with winds so strong that the soldiers were sent flying into the sky, I turned the planes into a malton wasteland were bat like creatures picked them up and dropped them into magma, I dumped them into an endless sea filled with carnivorous aquatic creatures and so on and so on. Eventually, I finished everything I had wanted to try on the zone and finally stopped after about an hour or two, though I will admit it was probably around a week of suffering for them as I had made time move differently within the zone.
"Well, now that I've made sure everything works it is time for us to get to the main event. However, as thanks for your participation in these tests I'll put you out of your misery"
"You should feel happy, after all you lucky few will die relatively quickly compared to your friends who are about to understand why you shouldn't fuck with me or those I care about" I said as I removed all the oxygen within the zone causing them to suffocate to death.
[Notice. One hundred souls have been collected]