5 Chapter 9

"Hang in there, kid. I will be there soon!"

"Ugh... Sure?"

"Just give me a minute or two."

"...Okay."

'But ten minutes had already passed though.'

Although Janus is starting to get bored in his current position, he's still patiently waiting for that man named Goliah to get in his spot. Usually, Janus is always acting rude most of the time. Maybe he got that habit while playing with those online players who are communicating by means of trash-talking each other.

But Janus cannot find himself being rude to this man and left him alone. Not when that man is obviously struggling to use those vines just to go near him and 'save' him. So he pursed his lips and patiently waiting for Goliah while watching him swinging his body in the air just to reach the other vines.

'AI001.' Janus called his system through his mind.

Instead of doing nothing, he might as well use his time to talk with his system while waiting for Goliah to arrive in front of him.

[Do you need something, Janus?]

'Yes. You are telling me about reducing my powers or some shit earlier, right?'

[That is right, Janus. I can lock half of your spiritual and physical powers if you want.]

'Well, shit. You should have told me about it earlier!'

[You did not ask me anything about it, Janus.]

'Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. But back to the topic. How can I do that?'

[Just give me a command and I will process it here on my end.]

'Heh. What are you? A customer service representative or what?' Janus thought because chuckling at his own joke. 'Anyways, please do that! Can you... I don't know? Maybe temporarily lock seventy percent of my skills or something like that?'

[Command accepted. Please wait...]

Janus blinked when he saw those words. So his system can really do it? It should have done that shit from the start! Then maybe, he avoided causing any commotion in this dungeon.

[Locking 70% of your spiritual, physical, and mental skills. Do you still want to continue? Yes or No.]

Janus contemplated his choices for a bit. He planned to check his ability earlier. But now that he already discovered that Meluna is too OP, Janus suddenly got scared not only for his life but also to this dungeon and the living creatures inside of it. What if he accidentally destroys it when he touches its wall or makes it collapse because he jumps out of nowhere? Janus does not want to take more responsibility because of it.

After a few minutes of consideration, Janus chooses the Yes option without any regrets. He will have more chances to check his powers in the future. But for now, Janus wants to be safe first while testing the waters around him. His survival is more important right now. And to do that, Janus needs to know more about this new world he is currently in.

Janus smiled wryly to himself thinking how can he act so normal despite these crazy things that are happening to him right now. He even reacted differently in this situation. Maybe if a normal person will be in his place, he is now crying for the life he lost before he gets scared because of this unfamiliar world.

[Now locking... Please wait patiently... 3%...]

Janus did not say anything and just watch his system locking his powers. So far, Janus still feels fine. He thought he will feel sluggish or tired while his system is trying to reduce his strength. While watching his system doing its task, Janus did not notice that Goliah has finally reached the spot where he is currently standing.

"H-Hey, kid... I... I'm here..." The man said while breathing in between his words.

"Uhh... Do you want some water?"

"You have...some? If it's okay... then... please?"

"O-Oh, okay. Wait a second."

Janus turned his body slowly and pretended that he is getting something behind his back. Then just like what he did earlier to create a boomerang, he glared at his palm and imagined a bottle of water. And just like the boomerang, a huge flask of water is forming on his hand until he can finally touch it.

'Damn... To think that I am like some ancient god or something for doing this kind of thing!'

"Here." Janus said and gave the flask to Goliah. "You can have it all."

"A-Are you sure, kid? Water can be considered as treasure in this place!"

"I mean it. It's now yours."

"O-Oh. T-Thank you! Thank you so much!"

The huge man did not waste any more time and opened the flask. While drinking the water from the flask, Janus saw a tear slid down from Goliah's eyes. He awkwardly turned his head to avoid himself from watching that scene. He did not expect in his life to see a man crying just because of a flask of water.

"Thank the heavens! You saved me, kid! I thought I'm going to die in thirst!"

'I thought you are the one who is going to save me?'

"But are you really sure you want to give this to me? It is not easy to find clean water in this place."

"You can really have it. I still have a bottle of water with me so please drink that water as much as you want." Janus smoothly lied.

"Ah! You are too kind, kid!" The man praised him. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome."

"Oh, wait! I forgot to save you from danger. Hold my hand and look closely to your steps." The man said before grabbing his wrist.

Goliah guided him slowly towards a safe and stable ground. At first, Janus was afraid to make even one step thinking that he will make another hole Ind cause another commotion. Fortunately, everything was normal after he carefully stepped his foot on the ground. Maybe locking his power is really a good choice.

[21%...]

"Let me guess. You are just new here, right?"

"Ah?"

"How long have you been here? Days? Weeks? Month?"

"Uhmm..."

"As for me, Well, ugh... Let me check it first."

Then the man opened the medium-sized belt bag tied around his waist. Janus raised a brow when he saw Goliah pulled a huge brownish rose leaf folded into four. If Janus is not mistaken, Goliah probably got that leaf on the second floor of this dungeon. He opened it and counted the small sticks drawn on it.

"Oh, look at that! Today is my fifth year in this place! Ah... Another year in this dark, damp, and lonely place."

'That's...too depressing to hear.'

"Anyways, I am already in this place for five years! Hmm, I guess it is safe to say that I am your senior here." The man said while nodding his head. "My name is Goliah. What about you?"

"You can call me Janus." He introduced himself. "For your question earlier, I just arrived in this place yesterday."

Technically, that is the truth. AI001 just brought him there, told him he is now Meluna, and feed him with thousands of information. Janus is not that bothered since he is familiar with his surroundings and how this dungeon really works.

"No wonder you still look fresh and clean. Tsk, tsk, tsk. You will have it rough in the future, kid." Goliah said while patting his shoulder. "But that's okay, kid. We can be friends if you want!"

'With all the shits that are going in my life right now? I guess you're right.'

"Janus, welcome to Rozea Dungeon. This is a place that can be considered as hell in the world of humans!"