Looking at the Slime trying its best to go down the staircase but failed, I spoke to Mike .
“Can you try picking it up and see whether it can leave?” (Ryouta)
“I got it!” (Mike)
Mike then ran towards it .
When the Slime realized that Mike was closing in, it tried to attack Mike, but failed because she just opened her arms and grab the Slime .
Let’s see whether they can go down with this .
“I can’t go down as well Ryoutsama . ” (Mike)
She reported with a slightly troubled look .
Mike herself could go to any of the floors, but with the Slime, it’s as if its pulling her back to the floor .
“What did it feel like?” (Ryouta)
“Uhmm, it’s as though there’s an invisible wall that’s blocking us from going . ” (Mike)
“I see . Right, try using the Transfer Gate and see . ” (Ryouta)
“Aah… . . I’ll try it now . ” (Mike)
Mike then went up a floor and went inside the Transfer Gate, but when she arrived at the same floor and tried bringing the Slime back, it was the same result .
“It’s impossible Ryoutsama, it’s the same feeling as before . ” (Mike)
“Hmm . Alright we can stop now . ” (Ryouta)
Following what I said, she brings the Slime back to me .
It’s time to try out 1 last thing .
Receiving the Slime from Mike, I tried bringing it out on my own .
Then, it felt like an invisible wall was pushing me back .
My hand managed to slip past, but it could only go as far as the palm of my hands, and it’s an odd sensation .
I tried firing the Trash Bullet towards the Slime who is near the staircase .
As usual, it moves at its own pace .
And when it reaches the Slimes body, it dents the body, but it still couldn’t get pass the staircase .
“Aah…… . ” (Ryouta)
A pop sound was heard .
Whoops, I overdid it .
Being sandwich by the invisible wall and the Trash Bullet, the Slime couldn’t resist it much longer, and it exploded .
“You accidentally defeated it . ” (Mike)
“Ah shucks . ” (Ryouta)
I bitterly laughed .
“I wonder what happens now though . ” (Mike)
“Now that you mention . ” (Ryouta)
When the Slime is copied, it can’t get out of that floor if the stars runs out .
So what happens to the doppelganger Slimes if the original Slime is defeated?
I immediately walked around with Mike to find out .
And it was clear what happens .
Instead of the copied Slimes, they reverted back to Shadow monsters .
“Seems like they returned back to their original form . ” (Ryouta)
“It seems like it . ” (Mike)
“Let’s test it one more time . ” (ryouta)
“Should I go and catch another one?” (Mike)
“It’s alright, I have a faster method . ” (Ryouta)
I took one Normal Bullet out and threw it far away from where we were .
After awhile, the rogue monster Slime was hatched .
I caught it, went around and find another shadow monster, then released it to let them duel .
I wanted to test it out on the Slimes again——-However .
“They didn’t change . ” (Mike)
“Seems like it . ” (Ryouta)
Even after supporting the Slime with the Recovery Bullet, the shadow did not take into the shape of the Slime .
Don’t tell me…… . .
“I knew you simply amuse me . ”
During my third test, Neptune came to visit me as we have the Cockroach Slimes roaming about .
“It must be the original monster, or it won’t work, that’s why it cannot copy a rogue monster . I wouldn’t have guessed it if I were to explore it normally . First of all, we wouldn’t know for sure whether it turns into the fake version of the monster” (Neptune)
“It’s not my power, but Mike’s . ” (Ryouta)
“I’m sure that kid wouldn’t have come to life if it wasn’t thanks to you . ” (Neptune)
Neptune said with a smile on his face .
Mike is one of the unique monsters that I created when using the Bodore Ryouta .
“So, I see that you’ve tested out some stuff, so any additional information you’ve found?” (Neptune)
With that question, I thought about what to report to him before answering .
“First, if the shadow attacks either a human or an original monster, it will copy them . Second, if all 12 stars disappears, the original will never be able to leave the floor . ” (Ryouta)
“What if they are not in their respective floor?” (Neptune)
I naturally thought of Neptune’s question . As our concerning factor is that we have our doppelgangers from the 1st till the 4th floor .
“I have Mike bring the monster back to the mansion . And after defeating all twelve of the doppelgangers, they will be forcibly summoned here . ” (Ryouta)
“So they do . ” (Neptune)
“But because they’re monsters, they disappear the moment they arrive . ” (Ryouta)
“I see now . They’re not supposed to leave their floor, let alone their dungeons in the first place . ” (Neptune)
“Which means, you’re forever trap once the stars are gone . But there’s no conclusive evidence . ” (Ryouta)
“If that were really the case . ” (Neptune)
“Then?” (Ryouta)
“In the future, we might need to recruit people to work permanently in the dungeon . ” (Neptune)
“Huh? Ah so that’s what you mean . ” (Ryouta)
I did not think of that .
I came to Tennessine in the first place to help Neptune out .
And Neptune came here to investigate the productions of this Dungeon .
Both of us came here for a different reason, so we have difference in ideas .
“You’re right . From what we’ve gathered thus far . We do need someone with low fighting power, and someone who can stay in the dungeon for all eternity . ” (Ryouta)
With that sort of condition, I guess it can be done if the pay is extremely high, since the quality of the drops are top notch .
“Since they can’t leave their floor, we need to guarantee a safe and comfortable place to live . ” (Neptune)
“Which means we have to collect taxes, but then——–” (Ryouta)
My eyes widen .
I don’t know why, but it was wide open .
“What’s wrong?” (Neptune)
I moved without saying anything .
I went to where Mike was, who was at a safe location safeguarding the Cockroach Slime, and defeated it, reverting the monsters on the 5th floor back to the shadow monsters .
Then, I took the Drowsy Slime and let it out to the shadow .
After attacking a few times, they all turned to Drowsy Slimes .
Defeating 6 of them, the original has half of its stars left .
“Mike, help me take this Drowsy Slime for awhile . ” (Ryouta)
“Okay . ” (Mike)
“What are trying to do?” (Ryouta)
Neptune was walking beside me .
Having them following me without paying them mind, we went up to the 6th floor .
The 6th floor has Dungeon Snow .
Encountering a shadow immediately, I asked Mike to release the Drowsy Slime, and the shadow attacked the Drowsy Slime .
Then, the original Drowsy Slime which was supposed to only have 6 stars, now has 12 stars .
A maximum of 12 .
“Don’t tell me!” (Neptune)
“Yeap . ” (Ryouta)
We went back to the 5th floor again .
The Doppelganger Drowsy Slimes all returned back to shadows .
“Amazing, you never fail to amaze me . ” (Neptune)
To not allow the stars to drop to zero, we can just go to a different floor and refill the stars again .
Knowing that that method exists, I breathed a sigh of relief .