That Time I Got Reincarnated as a King (Old Version)

The dawn broke late and slow, with the sun barely piercing through the light morning mist. Emberleaf still slept, but inside a canvas-lined tent near the village heart, Kael Drayke was very much awake.

Sweat clung to his forehead. The air around him shimmered with an odd warmth, like the flickering haze above a campfire. His hoodie was stuck to his skin, and Rimuru—a slime who usually emitted a gentle blue—was glowing a faint, pulsing orange.

The shard from the Wrath throne pulsed steadily atop the wooden crate beside his cot. It thrummed with an energy Kael could now sense even in his bones.

He groaned. "Why does it feel like I slept next to a forge?"

Great Sage:
"Ambient mana output from your core has increased by 17.3%. Fire-elemental affinity is stabilizing, but exceeding safe thresholds."

Kael sat up, pulling his hoodie halfway off before giving up and flopping back. "Translation: I'm leaking magic like a busted teapot."

Rimuru let out a bubbly snort and squished down onto his chest, warming it further.

Kael lightly poked her side. "You're not helping."

The slime pulsed in defiance.

By the time Kael made it to the training yard, the sun was higher, and Emberleaf had begun its slow rise. Goblins bustled across the village center—prepping drills, gathering logs, cleaning rune-etched pots. Zelganna stood near a sparring ring, arms crossed, overseeing a line of recruits.

"Morning, Captain Burn-A-Lot," Gobrinus called out. "We saved a few dummies for you to melt."

Kael rolled his eyes. "Funny. Watch and learn."

He stood before a reinforced dummy, flame magic already humming beneath his fingertips. He launched Flame Arrow with his right hand and immediately followed up with Flame Pulse through his left.

The result was... dramatic.

The impact created a flame vortex, spinning outward and engulfing the dummy in seconds. A shockwave followed, knocking two other dummies off their posts. A nearby training spear snapped in half.

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Gobrinus stared. "You melted the targets again."

Zelganna raised an eyebrow. "You will rebuild them."

"Working on control," Kael mumbled, brushing ash off his sleeve.

Rimuru bounced forward and launched a spray of water that hissed across the scorched ground, steaming as it hit the dirt.

Nanari arrived just as Kael started sweeping up the mess. She pulled out a flickering mana scanner and waved it over him.

"Your flame output is up. Mana efficiency down. And... yep. Passive spell activation is spiking."

Kael tilted his head. "Passive what-now?"

"Translation: you're kind of a fire hazard."

Great Sage:
"New passive detected: Flame Amplification. +2.5x output. Efficiency penalty: 12%."

Rimuru squeaked in pride. Then tried casting a tiny cooling aura. It barely reached Kael's neck.

"Great. My slime's the responsible one now."

Later that morning, Kael walked through Emberleaf alongside Bokku, inspecting everything from newly built storage sheds to the overcrowded well.

Goblins were hauling supplies, mixing glowing stone-dust into clay, even herding mana-infused goats. At least one chicken was floating.

"This place is growing faster than we planned," Bokku said. "We've got five new families, two new beast eggs, and the leyline roots are getting twitchy."

Kael watched as a goblin child rode a broomstick that wasn't enchanted... it was just scared.

"We need to organize," he said. "Structure, roles, the works."

A few hours later, Kael sat at a round table made of bark slabs with Nanari, Bokku, Zelganna, Gobrinus, and Rimuru wobbling on a chair.

"I'm creating three units," Kael said. "Defense. Research. Logistics."

Zelganna got Defense. Nanari nodded at the idea of a research lab. Bokku took over construction.

Rimuru raised a pseudopod. "Goo Force!"

"No," Kael and Sage said simultaneously.

She sulked.

By afternoon, Kael and Rimuru wandered near the leyline border. The air was thicker there. Wavy. Like looking through heat.

"Great Sage?"

Great Sage:
"Warning. Magical destabilization detected. Leyline node risk: moderate to high."

Kael called for Nanari and began reinforcing the junction with carved rootstones. Rimuru fused into the stabilizer and pulsed, syncing its output.

The mana field calmed.

Then Kael staggered.

He saw—just for a second—a version of Emberleaf years in the future: fortified walls, glowing crystal towers, goblin knights. Rimuru floating like a banner.

Then it was gone.

Great Sage:
"Probability alignment: 19.2%. And rising."

That night, Kael sat by his desk, journal open. Rimuru pulsed quietly beside him.

He scribbled:

Emberleaf is growing. Fast. But so am I.
And if I burn too bright... I better burn a path forward.

He looked over at the shard.

It glowed again—no longer cracked.

"Let's see what we become," Kael whispered.

Rimuru squeaked.

And outside the tent, the stars above Emberleaf burned a little warmer.

End of Chapter 16