"That..."
Rozen's question left Keita and his group somewhat speechless. The implication of this question was clear, and anyone could understand it.
"This is the familiar that 'Magus' is famous for. If we get our hands on it, not only could we sell it for a hefty sum, but if used properly, it might even help us become top-tier players."
Rozen spoke these words almost as if he was talking to himself.
"Since we have the chance to encounter something so rare, no matter what, we should at least try to see if we can tame it. If we could succeed... don't you all feel the same way?"
Rozen's nonchalant words silenced Keita and his group.
Especially Ducker, Tetsuto, and Sasamaru seemed like they were struggling with what to say. It was evident they had considered this question.
On the other hand, the girl named Sachi, who had been holding onto her lance all along, looked uneasy throughout, as if worried about something.
Keita, seeming to understand Sachi's thoughts, gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"Saying that we haven't thought about it would definitely be a lie."
Keita met Rozen's gaze as he spoke.
"We're members of a guild too. Our dream is to one day become top players and join the clearing group."
Indeed, that was an admirable dream.
After all, it wasn't easy to achieve.
From their equipment, it was clear that Keita's group's levels weren't particularly high. Being on the 11th floor, a middle-tier floor, the members of their group who reached level 20 were considered high.
In contrast, the clearing group's players had an average level of 40, with Rozen being at a high level of 48 and even Kirito at level 44. The gap between Keita's group and the clearing group was quite significant.
Furthermore, the clearing group's players were always at the forefront, battling and gaining experience, money, and drops far superior to middle-tier players. They even regularly faced small bosses, mini-bosses, and even high-level boss monsters, resulting in a growing disparity between them and middle-tier players.
So, while achieving this wasn't impossible, it was certainly not easy.
However, Keita probably wasn't lying.
These five players did belong to the same guild, as evidenced by the black cat-like emblem on the upper-left corner of their HP bars.
"'Moonlit Black Cats'—that's the name of our guild."
Keita scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly as he seemed to notice Rozen's attention on their guild emblem.
"Though it's just a small guild with only the five of us, and we're pretty inconspicuous among all the guilds. We can't compare to the strongest guilds like 'Crimson Wing.' But it's precisely because of that, we can make choices like this."
Rozen already had a good idea of what Keita was trying to say.
In other words...
"Such a precious thing, even if we manage to obtain it, it's sure to attract the attention of other players," Keita's expression turned dark, "I don't want my companions to be in danger, let alone encountering orange-name players in the field, not to mention orange guilds or even red guilds."
—"Orange guilds."
As the name suggested, these were guilds formed by orange-name players, specializing in activities like robbery, theft, and banditry. They wouldn't hesitate to use any means to achieve their goals, including attacking and even killing other players.
Among these orange guilds, there were even some that existed solely for the joy of killing players without any specific purpose—criminal guilds. These especially malicious guilds were even further classified as "red guilds."
Thinking about it, once "Moonlit Black Cats" obtained the second Rainbow Butterfly on the entire server, they'd be targeted by orange guilds without a doubt. Not to mention various other solo orange-name players or green-name players with ulterior motives, who might resort to fraud and deception.
For the sake of huge profits, these individuals certainly wouldn't mind luring Keita's group out of the safe zone, into traps that would end with their deaths and the looting of their spoils.
Back on the 1st floor, many players had fallen into a life of robbery for money. Now, nearly half a year later, those players must have increased in number.
Just thinking about it made Keita choose to give up.
"Furthermore, such a powerful familiar, even if we were to possess it, it might end up being wasted. It's better to hand it over to the clearing group, to you. That way, it could be more beneficial for the clearing efforts," Keita said earnestly, "If it could help with clearing and rescue, making it easier for players to advance, that would satisfy us."
Keita's words were filled with sincere emotion as he spoke.
Hearing this tone, never mind Rozen and Kirito's reactions, even Ducker, Tetsuto, and Sasamaru, who were hesitant earlier, now had expressions of helplessness, yet they looked refreshed.
Clearly, while these three weren't as self-aware as Keita, they were good-hearted people.
Sachi, however, felt both relieved and extremely guilty when she looked at her companions.
Keita's group didn't see this scene, only Rozen and Kirito did.
The two exchanged a glance, but didn't reveal their understanding.
However...
"You're all good people."
Kirito spoke from the heart.
Even Rozen wore a rare genuine smile and nodded towards the group.
"Your dreams are remarkable. As a member of the clearing group, I'm looking forward to fighting alongside you someday. Keep up the good work!"
Rozen's encouragement led the players of the 'Moonlit Black Cats' guild to show excited expressions.
"Did you hear that? Tetsuto! The top player of the clearing group acknowledged us! And he's a member of 'Crimson Wing'!"
"I... I heard it!"
"We'll do our best!"
Ducker, Tetsuto, and Sasamaru responded in succession with great enthusiasm.
"Thank you very much."
Keita also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Rozen.
"Fighting together..."
Only Sachi lowered her eyelids slowly, not saying anything.
Kirito keenly noticed this and seemed somewhat concerned, his brow furrowing.
Though Rozen also noticed, he still turned to Keita.
"In that case, could you help us navigate?"
Upon hearing this, Keita nodded, and Ducker, Tetsuto, Sasamaru, and the others all agreed.
It was only at this point that Sachi finally spoke up.
"The area ahead is a high-level monster training ground. Is it okay for us to go in like this?"
Sachi expressed her unease.
However...
"What are you afraid of, Sachi! It's fine!" Ducker said confidently, "We have top players from the clearing group with us. The monsters on this floor are nothing to them!"
"Yeah!" Tetsuto nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry." Sasamaru smiled.
Seeing their reactions, Sachi could only close her mouth, and her expression eased slightly.
With that, the group entered the forest together.
It has to be said that Sachi's earlier concern was reasonable.
In this forest, almost all monsters were between level 15 and 17, with even some level 20 small elite monsters. For players moving around on this floor, the pressure was considerable.
Though, according to safety levels, players operating on the 11th floor should be around level 20, in a forest filled with monsters above level 15, it was dangerous without the right player skills.
Normally, Keita's group wouldn't enter this forest.
However, with Rozen and Kirito accompanying them today, Keita's group was undoubtedly braver.
Though Rozen and Kirito didn't actually take action to deal with the monsters emerging from the forest, it was still Keita's group who faced them.
But, compared to Kirito's cautious use of his 'Searching' skill, Rozen wasn't merely observing.
Like now...
"Don't raise your shield to block, charge with full force."
Seeing the deer with huge antlers that was facing off against Tetsuto about to rush him, Rozen suddenly spoke, causing Tetsuto to tremble and halt his movement to raise his shield, which was an instinctive reaction.
"Oh...! Oohhh...!"
Tetsuto let out a bold shout, raising his shield and closing his eyes, charging with all his might.
"Thud!"
The charging deer's antlers slammed into Tetsuto's shield before reaching full force, and due to the impact while in mid-air, its body was flung backwards.
Keita, Sachi, and Sasamaru, the users of long weapons, happened to be standing there.
"Use sword skills."
Rozen's concise instruction prompted the three to unconsciously comply, each unleashing their sword skills.
Normally, collective use of sword skills was avoided to prevent weapon collisions.
However, Rozen seemed to have considered the activation speed and types of sword skills, allowing the three players with long weapons to flawlessly coordinate their angles, preventing any obstruction. Their skills struck the deer's body one after another.
"Boom!"
Before long, the level 17 deer turned blue, shattered into polygonal fragments.
At the same time, Keita's group gained a substantial amount of experience compared to their previous encounters, resulting in several members leveling up.
"Yeah!"
"Leveled up!"
"So fast!"
Dakar, Tetsuto, and Sasamaru cheered in succession, and Sachi, usually quiet, even managed to smile.
However, Keita came over to Rozen.
"Thank you very much. It's all because your guidance. You're truly a member of the same guild as that 'Magus'."
Keita expressed his genuine appreciation and admiration.
But...
"These monsters should be easy for Mr. Rozen to handle. Why not join in?"
Keita seemed a bit puzzled.
Rozen didn't say much, but Kirito answered that question.
"Players from the clearing group aren't allowed to grind monsters in the lower-level training areas."
High-level players excessively killing low-level monsters in the lower-level grinding areas was not only considered impolite, but it could also be seen as malicious disruption.
Because regardless of the monster area, within a certain time frame, the number of monsters spawning was fixed. This was also one of the reasons why the beta testers had monopolized efficient grinding areas on the first floor.
If Rozen were to engage in a massive slaughter here, without a doubt, these monsters would be wiped out within five minutes.
During the time before the monsters respawn, players aiming to level up or seeking materials dropped by these monsters would be unable to achieve their goals and would waste time until the monsters reappeared.
Though the time frame wasn't long, players would indeed experience losses, slowing down their leveling progress and potentially causing someone's material collection quest to fail.
Due to this, high-level players causing havoc in low-level training areas was impactful behavior.
To prevent such incidents, the clearing group had established regulations. If top players were found unreasonably grinding monsters in areas more than ten floors below the frontline, the entire clearing group would be responsible for penalizing them.
These penalties could range from fines used to compensate affected players to equipment confiscation, and in serious cases, even expulsion from the clearing group and their current guild.
Considering this, even Kirito was only here to gather weapon materials. Once collected, he would leave immediately without lingering. Rozen also had no intention of committing the same mistake for a second Rainbow Butterfly.
After all...
"These are the rules set by the leader of the clearing group, the guild master of our guild, the one we call the 'Magus,' right?"
Kirito chuckled playfully, delivering these words.
Hearing this, the members of the "Black Cat" guild were full of admiration.
"Truly a leader of the clearing group."
"Although a beta tester, it's not true that they're all selfish, right?"
"That's right."
Ducker, Tetsuto, and Sasamaru expressed their sentiments in succession. Even Keita voiced his admiration.
"I heard that 'Crimson Wing' occasionally provides the latest information to mid and lower-level players, to some extent promoting collective progress among players. That should be a directive from the guild master, right?"
Keita's question immediately brought Kirito's response.
"That's right." Kirito's enthusiasm was apparent: "Though he always said, 'It's just a useless information, what's the big deal? After all, even a rat does the same thing occasionally,' but the guild members call this attitude as tsunde....."
Before he could finish his sentence, Kirito's expression froze.
Because there was a small dagger pressed against his back.
It wasn't a weapon but a thrown item.
Furthermore, it was a very high-level thrown item.
Rozen stood behind Kirito, using the small dagger to poke Kirito's back again and again, while saying with a mischievous smile:
"I believe you should know that the throwing items I use are of high performance. Even if your armor's performance is high, breaking through it shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure the level 4 poison applied on it will give you some fun, right?"
Saying so, Rozen even gestured as if he were going to stab Kirito's back again and again, causing Kirito's forehead to bead with sweat.
"C-Calm down. We're outside the safezone. Initiating an attack will result in an orange name. By the way, you've actually applied poison to throwing items, and it's level 4 poison damage. Isn't that a bit too devious?"
It's important to know that once hit with poison, a player's HP would be deducted periodically until the poison wore off.
And at level 4, the amount of HP deducted was considerable, and the duration would be long. Regular antidote potions wouldn't work, except for curing crystals and high-level antidote items. If a player below level 30 were hit by it, even if they didn't die, their HP bar would drop into the red zone.
For Rozen to coat high-performance throwing items with this level of poison, Kirito underestimated him.
"This poison cost me quite a bit to acquire, so be careful not to accidentally touch it."
Rozen didn't seem concerned at all, causing Kirito's expression to become even more distressed as if he were crying.
At that moment...
"We're here! Over there!"
Ducker's shout suddenly sounded, making everyone's eyes light up, and they rushed forward.
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