-304- Especially girls

"Don't forget."

To tame the Rainbow Butterfly as a familiar, three conditions must be met:

1. Never killed any butterfly-type monsters.

2. Never equipped any weapons.

3. After meeting the above two conditions, subdue the familiar without killing it and then destroy the chain around its neck.

In the past, Rozen had fulfilled these conditions by not purchasing weapons and directly leaving the starting town. He refrained from killing butterfly-type monsters and avoided leveling up or increasing his proficiency in the "Blade throwing" skill in order to tame the Rainbow Butterfly.

But now...

"In terms of level, I haven't seen any player higher than you."

"In terms of attack, you've always been increasing your strength by 2 points and agility by 1 point."

"Let alone the 'Blade throwing' skill – if I remember correctly, you've already raised its proficiency to over 500."

"Even though you haven't killed any butterfly-type monsters so far, you've changed your weapon quite a few times. You started with the 'Anneal Blade +8' on the 1st floor, and now you even have several weapons that are on par with my main weapon. How can you meet the taming conditions?"

Kirito's questions were direct and hit at the center of the matter.

The conditions for taming one of the seven ultra-rare familiars on the entire server were this strict.

In summary, while Kirito understood the importance of the second Rainbow Butterfly to Rozen and had informed him immediately, he didn't believe that Rozen had a way to tame it.

However, his intuition told him that since Rozen had chosen to come here, he must have a way.

"How could I not have thought of questions that even you can notice?"

Rozen succinctly conveyed that he indeed had another method.

"Just wait for my triumphant return."

Rozen didn't elaborate; he left it as a suspenseful statement.

"Alright."

Kirito could only nod in response.

The two then returned to the group of "Moonlit Black Cats."

"Is there something you need our help with?"

Seeing the two return, Keita immediately asked.

It seemed that Keita and the others thought Rozen and Kirito had encountered difficulties.

"It's fine, we were just discussing the next steps," Rozen explained. "I'll go in alone next, and Kirito will stay here to look after you. So, don't worry about monster attacks."

"I'm... I'm really sorry..." Keita looked somewhat embarrassed.

The others also let out a sigh of relief.

Although Kirito had concealed his level, telling Keita's group that he was just a "Crimson Wing" member, they believed that since he had survived on higher floors, his level should be higher than theirs.

Moreover, Kirito had saved Keita's group in the past, demonstrating his strength, so they were reassured even with just that display. They felt safe under his protection against regular monsters.

Sachi, in particular, displayed a sense of relief in her eyes.

Seeing this, Rozen gained some insight.

(Sachi must be afraid of combat, huh?)

Not exactly combat, but rather the fear of death.

For this reason, Sachi would visibly relax only when she was certain of her safety.

(I suppose when they first discovered the Rainbow Butterfly, Ducker, Tetsuo, and Sasamaru wanted to tame it, while Keita and Sachi opposed.)

However, Keita's opposition was likely due to the safety of their guild members, while Sachi was purely afraid of being killed.

This explained why the others in the guild were willing to let go of the Rainbow Butterfly for the sake of strategy, whereas Sachi's eyes held a tinge of guilt. Her focus was solely on the danger that releasing the Rainbow Butterfly would bring, unlike the others who were considering strategies.

Of course, this didn't mean that Sachi had a bad heart. It was normal for a girl to be a bit timid. Rozen wouldn't expect every girl to be as bold as Mash, Marie, and Jeanne.

Taking this into account, Rozen said to Kirito with some meaning:

"Make sure you protect these people. Don't let anything happen to the person who provided us information, especially girls."

Rozen's words were laden with meaning.

"W-What...?" Kirito was a bit confused, but he still nodded and said, "Don't worry, I'll protect everyone."

Hearing this, Rozen smiled.

"Then, I'm going in!"

With that said, Rozen turned and, like a gust of wind, rushed into the field of toxic flowers.

The onlookers observed this scene.

"Is it alright?"

Keita seemed a bit worried.

"He'll be absolutely fine," Kirito assured.

"After all, he's one of the top players in the clearing group."

"The poison on the 11th floor shouldn't affect him."

"Exactly."

Ducker, Tetsuo, and Sasamaru were discussing among themselves.

Even Sachi spoke up, which was rare.

"His level must be really high, so he doesn't have to be scared of dying. That's great."

Sachi unintentionally spoke her mind.

Hearing this, Kirito was momentarily taken aback and then somewhat understood the reason behind Rozen's specific instructions.

And so...

"Don't worry," Kirito addressed Sachi. "I won't let you die."

With that sentence, Sachi's gaze turned toward Kirito.

Looking at the boy in front of her, who was likely a bit younger than herself, Sachi smiled as if she had been redeemed, her expression finally showing vitality instead of just helplessness.

"Thank you."

Sachi expressed her gratitude to Kirito.

"I-it's... it's nothing," Kirito scratched his head and turned away.

...

On the other side.

Upon entering the toxic flower field, Rozen noticed that an icon was constantly flashing on his HP bar.

This indicated the negative status of being poisoned.

In this situation, Rozen's HP gradually started to decrease.

However...

"The decrease is quite small. Probably level 3 poison?"

While level 3 poison would be a threat to players around level 20, it was inconsequential for Rozen, who was nearing level 50.

As for level 1 and level 2 toxins, Rozen's poison resistance had long made him immune.

"With this rate of decrease, it'll probably take about an hour to enter the yellow zone of my HP, and to enter the red zone, maybe an hour and a half. If I use up all my HP, it should take around two hours."

Rozen made a rough calculation.

In other words, Rozen could only stay here for two hours.

However, this was assuming there was no healing.

Upon closer inspection, Rozen hadn't used any recovery items, but his HP was still slowly replenishing every second.

This was a skill gained from frequent battles – the effect of the "Battle Healing" skill. Depending on the skill's proficiency, it could recover a certain amount of HP every second.

"With 'Battle Healing,' I can probably offset more than half of the poison's damage. So, I should be able to stay for about six hours without using recovery items."

After calculating, Rozen then looked ahead.

"Let's get this done within six hours."

With that said, Rozen charged deeper into the toxic flower field.