2 Chapter 6

'AI001'

[What is it, Master Janus Fleigh?]

'Am I now really dead?'

[Yes, Master Janus Fleigh.]

'And I am now 'that' Meluna who created this place and put all of these creatures inside the dungeon. Right?'

[That is right, Master Janus Fleigh.]

'And I am so powerful that every person—err, every creature in this place feared me. Right?'

[That is right, Master Janus Fleigh.]

'Then tell me...'

Janus stared at the bouncing slime ball in front of him. According to that talkative slime, he is now dancing his famous dance move called 'Bounce, Shake, Bounce' steps. When he first heard the name of it, Janus almost let out a laugh making him being out of character for a moment. Who the hell even invented that dance moves for this slime anyway?

[What do you want to know, Master Janus Fleigh.]

'Ah, right. Tell me, how did Meluna put all of these creatures inside the dungeon?'

[Searching database...]

That is one of the questions Janus is dying to ask with the game developer when he was still alive. Building a dungeon is one thing. But how did Meluna managed to bring all of these powerful creatures inside the Rozea Dungeon? Did he lure them inside the dungeon? Or maybe Meluna threatened them?

Out of nowhere, an image of Meluna having a cap and backpack suddenly formed inside his head. Then after meeting a creature, Meluna will twist the cap on his head before throwing a Pokeball on it. Once he successfully caught that creature, Meluna will shout in joy while punching his fist in the air. Then a theme song with the lyrics 'Gotta catch 'em all' will play in the background.

"..."

'Damn. What kind of shitty imagination is that?'

[Searching complete. According to my database, all the creatures inside the dungeon were created from Meluna's own flesh and blood.]

"They are made from what?!"

Because of his sudden outburst, the 'dancing' slime in front of him suddenly stopped moving. If someone will look closely at it, the slime is shivering in fear. Janus quickly calmed himself down and relaxed his body. He momentarily forgot that all the creatures in this place are afraid of him. Seeing that the slime keeps on trembling, Janus let out a soft sigh and decided to talk with the slime.

"Come here." Janus said.

'Oh, damn. Meluna's voice is so cold and low.'

Although the slime is obviously terrified, it did not dare to disobey their lord's order and approached him slowly. Then Janus poked its jelly-like body and with his fingers. He keeps on doing it until his whole body keeps on jiggling. His eyes flashed in amusement when he saw the slime turning into a bright shade of yellow. It means the slime is in good mood now.

What Janus did to the slime is the secret trick on how a player can survive against the slime. The slime in VR is quite unique. They are not those creatures that can be easily defeated by slashing them with a sword or stepping on their jelly bodies. These slimes can actually kill a player if triggered.

It may sound crazy but that is the reality in VR. Those slimes can actually swallow a person if they attack in a group and digest them inside their jelly body to convert it into nutrients. They may sound gross but that really happened to him once when he was just starting to play the VR. Janus thought these slimes are similar to the slimes he saw in another game where he just need to attack it once and you will gain an EXP from it.

But the moment he attacked it, the slime quickly covered his arm and melt it within seconds. That also cost him 50% of his HP. And to think he encountered those slimes at the very first stage of that game? That really left him a huge impression on his gaming career.

After studying those slimes, Janus discovered that he can survive from them by poking the top of their heads. That part is very ticklish for those slimes which never failed to put them in a good mood. These slimes also have three main colors. Blue indicates that the slime is normal, yellow represents its happiness and red shows its anger and aggressiveness. If those slimes turned red, you better run as fast as you could to save your life. Being attacked by an angry slime will never have a good result.

Now that Janus finally made the slime happy, he secretly let out a sigh and sit on his throne comfortably again. He mentally makes a pointer not to show too much emotion in front of these creatures. As much as he wants to freak out about his situation, he still does not want to deal with these creatures crying sounds and trembling forms while begging him not to kill them. And besides, where can he find the heart to kill them? They are now basically his children. Right?

'AI001.' Janus called his system again in his head again.

[What can I do for you, Master Janus Fleigh?]

'Wait a minute. Why are you calling me master anyway?'

[Because you are my owner.]

That... That sounded so wrong in any way, though. It is not also helping him to think positively because of the female robotic voice of his system. It suddenly makes him feel like a bad guy all of a sudden.

'Can you change the way you call me?'

[Of course, Master Janus Fleigh.]

'Oh. Then from now on, you can just call me Janus.'

[Saving data...]

After a few seconds, Janus heard a soft notification sound in his head.

[Saving data complete. Can I do anything for you, Janus?]

'Oh, that was quick. I must say, you are a quick and smooth system.'

[Thank you for the compliment, Janus.]

'Heh. Sweet. Anyways, I still have more questions for you.'

[Please ask me anything, Janus. I am here to provide you the pieces of information you will need.]

'Oh, okay. Then can you tell me how it became possible for me to defeat Meluna in the game?'

[Searching database...]

That is the biggest mystery for Janus right now. In Valkyeria Rozea, the players are all normal people. They are set to be a normal human who will enter the mysterious Rozea Dungeon to survive and win their prizes. Their avatars in the game are nothing special unless you have special items before entering the dungeon. Thinking about it, how is it possible for a human to defeat an OP lord like Meluna in Valkyeria Rozea?

[Searching complete. According to my database, the one you defeated in the game is not the real Meluna.]

'What?'

[The one you defeated in the game is just one of his clones.]

"..."

'Are you kidding me or are you fucking kidding me?'

[I do not know how to do such things, Janus.]

'So are you telling me that I spent six months sitting in front of my computer, taking a maximum of three hours of sleep every day, eating my lunch and dinner in irregular time, and taking only a quick shower every day just to defeat a fake Meluna?!'

[Yes.]

Before he can react to his system's blunt answer, Janus suddenly heard a loud roaring sound and the huge door suddenly opens. A flurry two-headed lion suddenly entered the room and it is running fast towards him. Janus suddenly tensed up as he stared at the attacking lion with wide eyes. That lion is the same two-headed lion he defeated in the white tunnel!

When the lion is only a meter away from him, Janus subconsciously closed his eyes, and his hands balled in fists. He thought that the lion will pounce on him and tear him into pieces. But his anticipated attack did not happen at all.

Instead, the two-headed lion suddenly lay flat on its stomach in front of him. Its ten-meter-long tail is gently swaying back and forth. The weirdest thing about it, the two-headed lion has its tongues hanging in its mouth and acting like a dog waiting for its owner to throw a ball at him.

'Glob... Squish squish glob squish...'

[Look! My lord, your pet is now here!]

"..."