-303- The importance of familiar

As the group arrived at their destination, a field of flowers unfolded before them.

However, it wasn't an ordinary flower field.

"A Poison Flower Field?"

Kirito exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the nature of the field.

Indeed, it was a poison flower field.

The flowers growing here weren't the usual kind; they were dark purple poisonous flowers.

At this moment, these poisonous flowers emitted a toxic fragrance, causing faint traces of purple-black gas to diffuse visibly, creating a hazy mist that enveloped the field. While it still looked beautiful, it had an eerie quality that sent shivers down one's spine.

"This must be a trap from the 11th floor," Rozen commented.

In every corner of each floor, there were various traps set up.

The poison flower field before them was likely a trap on the 11th floor, capable of poisoning players who entered it and continuously deducting their HP.

"A Rainbow Butterfly nests in a field of poisonous flowers?"

Kirito found it somewhat unbelievable.

Given that Rainbow Butterflies were generally associated with cuteness and beauty, they should be fluttering in a lovely garden filled with sunlight, not diving into a poison flower field.

However, Rozen didn't find it strange at all.

"Rainbow Butterflies inherently possess various abnormal status skills and have high resistance and adaptability to those conditions, including poison."

Considering this, it wasn't surprising for a Rainbow Butterfly to nest in a trap area like a poison flower field.

"No wonder no one had discovered a Rainbow Butterfly here until now," Kirito realized.

If a Rainbow Butterfly were to nest in such an obvious poison flower field, players naturally wouldn't venture in.

After all, which player would be foolish enough to enter?

The reason the "Black Cat" guild discovered the Rainbow Butterfly nesting here was because they inadvertently triggered another trap in a different training area.

It was a rare type of teleportation trap that instantly transported players to a nearby high-level monster area, subjecting them to the attacks of higher-level monsters.

This is why Keita and his group ended up in this forest, saw the Rainbow Butterfly fly into the poison flower field, and subsequently encountered high-level monsters' assault. If Kirito hadn't coincidentally passed by and rescued them, who knows what would have happened.

"We only saw the Butterfly fly in. We don't know exactly where it is," Keita apologetically explained.

Rozen was already satisfied with this information.

"It's great that you could provide us with this much information." Rozen patted Keita's shoulder and continued, "You don't need to enter. I'll go in alone from here. You all stay here."

No matter what, he couldn't let them knowingly follow him into a situation where they'd be poisoned.

In the current state of SAO as a death game, this was no joking matter.

As for Rozen, due to his high level, and that this was just a 11th-floor poison trap, and it probably wouldn't cost him his life.

Even in the unlikely event, Rozen's inventory contained various curing crystal, recovery items, and even teleportation crystals. He didn't need to be overly cautious about this.

With that said, after leaving those words, Rozen immediately moved to enter the poison flower field.

"Wait!"

At this moment, Kirito stopped Rozen, giving an apologetic look to Keita and the others before pulling Rozen aside.

"Are you really planning to tame the second Rainbow Butterfly?"

Kirito asked this question.

Rozen's answer was straightforward.

"Of course."

There was no doubt about it.

In the past half-year, the amount of help the Rainbow Butterfly had provided Rozen was beyond explanation.

Not only did the Rainbow Butterfly perform exceptionally well during boss battles on the lower floors, but it was also crucial for Rozen's solo leveling. Thanks to the Rainbow Butterfly, Rozen dared to dive into crowds of numerous monsters, controlling them with its various special abilities and then systematically defeating them with his sword skills. This method of quickly gaining experience was unmatched.

If it were any other player, they would either need to form a small party or even a united force to venture into large groups of monsters. Or they could only select isolated monsters to deal with one by one, all while dealing with the monsters' attacks.

This approach wouldn't be nearly as efficient as Rozen's method, which involved paralysis, blindness, and various debuffs, along with his skill in devising strategies and tactics. Additionally, his "Mind's Eye" skill, which was gradually honed, served as assistance, allowing him to kill monsters faster than anyone else.

Being able to kill monsters faster than anyone else meant Rozen could earn more experience, acquire more col, and even have a greater chance of obtaining rare drops.

This is why Rozen's level was nearly 10 levels higher than the average level of top player groups. Even Kirito, the gaming fanatic, was 4 levels lower than Rozen. This stark difference illustrated the extent of the Rainbow Butterfly's assistance to Rozen.

Of course, the Rainbow Butterfly's immense strength wasn't just due to Rozen's effort in cultivation; it was a two-fold process. Rozen's ability to manipulate, command, and control familiars was equally remarkable. Other players, even if they obtained a Rainbow Butterfly, wouldn't know where to start with the cultivation if they lacked Rozen's capabilities.

In other words, as long as Rozen was involved, any familiar, no matter how weak, could be developed into a formidable entity. Moreover, it wasn't just limited to the seven rare familiars exclusive to the server.

For this reason, obtaining a second Rainbow Butterfly was a must for Rozen.

"While the Rainbow Butterfly's abilities are already quite strong, its various special skills still have cooldown times, just like players. If there's a second familiar of the same type, you can switch between them. This means you could control a boss on the lower floors using one familiar while the other rests."

Understanding this, Rozen rushed here as soon as he received the news.

Having a second Rainbow Butterfly would be a tremendous boost for Rozen.

Moreover, Rozen's expertise with the "Akabane-style" combat truly shone in group battles, with each additional familiar enhancing his power.

Combined with the unique SAO mechanic of switching between familiars, obtaining a second Rainbow Butterfly would be crucial. It would be more significant than obtaining the third, fourth, fifth, or all seven familiars combined.

Although Kirito wasn't entirely clear about this, he at least knew the strength of Rozen's group combat ability and the importance of the switching system.

If not for these factors, Kirito wouldn't have dropped everything, including his collection of weapon materials, to urgently notify Rozen.

However, there was one crucial question...

"Do you still have a way to meet the taming conditions for the Rainbow Butterfly now?"

Kirito asked the most important question.