234 -230- Rainbow flower butterfly

Next, Rozen ran straight towards the direction of the forest without stopping.

Even if various wild monsters noticed Rozen along the way and attacked, he didn't slow down.

In the area around the town of beginnings, there were animal-type monsters like boars and wolves.

These monsters were the lowest-level miscellaneous creatures in Aincrad, each of them being Level 1 with only a few Level 2 minor elites. However, they posed no threat to Rozen. He used the basic sword skill of blade throwing to launch thin needles, which he took out from his waist pouch, to kill them instantly with flashes of light.

Originally, using the initial basic sword skill of the blade throwing to defeat monsters in one hit was difficult. Otherwise, players wouldn't bother improving weapon skills and would focus on long-range throwing skills, making it much easier to eliminate enemies.

Precisely because the sword skill like blade throwing was relatively weak, many players used it mainly as a skill to lure enemies, not to kill them.

Rozen's ability to kill monsters in one hit was due to his purchase of the highest-grade throwing item, the "Small Flying Needle," using all of his Col (in-game currency). When thrown, this Small Flying Needle caused enough damage, after the sword skill's adjustment, to kill Level 1 and Level 2 miscellaneous creatures. It even produced sufficient damage to deal with Level 3, 4, and 5 monsters, whether on the 1st floor or the 3rd floor.

Of course, only Rozen would use such items.

After all, throwing items were disposable and quite expensive. Even if Rozen had spent all of his Col, he had only obtained twenty Small Flying Needles, not enough to buy weapons and armor. In the eyes of other players, it was an incredibly wasteful and foolish move.

Twenty Small Flying Needles could at most kill twenty Level 1 or Level 2 miscellaneous creatures. The money earned from this was inadequate to cover the cost, and the experience gained wasn't enough for leveling up. Unless rare items were dropped, it would be a loss.

But Rozen didn't mind.

As a closed beta player, Rozen knew where to acquire better weapons and armor, knew several high-reward quests, and even knew the locations of many treasure chests. He didn't care about this loss.

For Rozen now, reaching the forest as quickly as possible and crossing the grasslands was his main priority. Spending some money was inconsequential.

Besides, Rozen had said this before.

"I love the feeling of killing enemies with money!"

Although, now Rozen was using it entirely to hit monsters.

And so, while running at the fastest speed through the grasslands, Rozen continuously took out one Small Flying Needle after another from his tangible pouch. Whenever he encountered a small wild monster, he immediately launched the blade throwing skill without hesitation, killing the monster.

During this time, various windows continuously popped up in front of Rozen, informing him of how much experience, Col, and dropped items he gained from defeating these monsters.

Rozen's luck was quite good as well. When he killed a beetle halfway through, it unexpectedly dropped an extremely rare material, one of the main components for forging a high-performance weapon. According to official information, the drop rate for this material was a mere 0.3%. Selling it could earn Rozen not just the Col spent on twenty Small Flying Needles, but even the Col for a hundred of them.

"Man, I love this feeling."

Rozen enjoyed the game world and, while checking the dropped items, arrived at the forest.

Upon entering the forest, the atmosphere changed.

It wasn't just the atmosphere; even the background music shifted to a calmer tune.

After the background music changed, Rozen slowed down his pace, stepping onto the slightly rustling forest path and heading in a certain direction within the forest.

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be in this direction."

Following memories from the closed beta period, Rozen changed his direction while keeping his ears perked up.

Since the types of monsters in this forest would change, becoming rarer worm, beetle, and bee-type creatures, Rozen didn't dare to be careless.

These types of monsters usually had unique attacks. Relying solely on the blade throwing skill, they might not necessarily be killed in one hit unless caught by surprise. So, it would be better to be cautious.

"This time, the goal isn't just grinding."

Rozen reminded himself in this manner and followed his memories, heading towards a secluded area of the forest.

"Wu."

After a short while, a very faint yet distinct sound reached Rozen's ears.

Rozen's eyes immediately lit up.

"That's it!"

At once, Rozen slowed down his pace again and approached the source of the sound.

He arrived at a clump of grass...

"Wu."

Amidst a slight sound, Rozen, who had reached the clump of grass, finally saw it.

Underneath a tree in front of the grass, a creature appeared.

It wasn't a boar, nor a wolf, and certainly not the various insect-type monsters of the forest. It was a beautiful butterfly.

The butterfly was the size of a soccer ball, primarily black and gray in color, with a pair of aqua-blue eyes and vibrant wings. The wings had a black base color with yellow patterns dominating, followed by red and blue, creating an incredibly intricate pattern.

The butterfly's body wasn't as slender as regular butterflies; it had a somewhat clumsy appearance. It looked like a cute doll with wings, accompanied by short limbs and a pair of long antennae. Its small mouth, resembling a long tube, emitted a pleasant sound. This creature was definitely the type that could make girls' hearts flutter.

Rozen gazed at the butterfly.

The red marker displayed above its head indicated its status as a monster.

Looking at this rainbow butterfly, Rozen smiled.

"As expected, you're still here, my Familiar."

Yes.

Familiar.

Even though there was no magic in this world, Familiars still existed.

However, they weren't the kind of magical beings that magus often contracted; they were monsters in SAO.

In this world, monsters usually lacked rationality.

Once they sensed players approaching, they would attack.

However, even the monsters that actively launched attacks during battles might occasionally engage in friendly interactions with players.

If a player could seize this opportunity, offer something the monster liked, and make the monster develop a favorable impression, the monster might actively follow the player. Thus, it would become a precious Familiar capable of providing various forms of assistance.

Of course, not every type of monster could become a Familiar.

Only a small number of small animal-type monsters could become Familiars; it's not possible to see players walking around with massive boss monsters on the streets.

Moreover, successfully obtaining a Familiar was quite challenging.

For instance, one couldn't kill too many monsters of the same type. Even if a player repeatedly tried to interact with a creature that might become a Familiar, such creatures would usually attack on sight, making avoiding combat impossible. Players had to keep interacting with the creature without killing it. However, unless the conditions for taming were met, it would flee without hesitation. This indicated how difficult the process was.

Considering this, during the closed beta period, only one player managed to obtain a Familiar.

That player was Rozen.