-306- Next crucial step

"Beli Beli...!"

Accompanied by a sensation akin to an electric shock, Rozen's entire body stiffened.

Above the HP bar on the upper left of his vision, apart from the poison symbol, a paralysis symbol also appeared.

No matter how high Rozen's level was, there was no way to avoid this close-range paralysis skill.

Even though it was a paralysis skill used only by level 1 monsters, and its proficiency was low, logically speaking, with Rozen's current level, he should have been completely immune to this low-level paralysis. However, until he tamed the Rainbow Flower Butterfly, its paralysis skill had a compulsory judgment. Once anyone touched the paralyzing phosphorescent powder, they would be locked in a three-second paralysis state, regardless of the player's level.

And within those three seconds, the Rainbow Flower Butterfly could easily escape.

"Gu!"

The Rainbow Flower Butterfly immediately broke free from Rozen's paralyzed hands, flapped its wings, and shot away at incredible speed.

Even though Rozen was at his current level, the speed of the Rainbow Flower Butterfly was astonishingly fast.

This was the tricky aspect of the Rainbow Flower Butterfly.

Though its HP was extremely low, a single strike could kill it. But its speed was swift, and it had an unusual perception setting. Once it sensed someone approaching, it would immediately escape at a speed nearly impossible to catch up to. Ordinary players couldn't hope to catch it; they could only use throwing skills to deal with it.

However, as long as one didn't lack blade throwing skill with zero proficiency at level 1, a single throw could kill it. Even if the throw wasn't a low-powered roadside pebble, it would still be effective.

For high-level agility-based players, it was possible to catch up to the Rainbow Flower Butterfly using their speed. But once their level was high enough, any attack they used would kill it. Even someone like Rozen, who managed to stop it, would still face a three-second forced paralysis skill. Once hit, the Rainbow Flower Butterfly could escape.

This was an insoluble problem.

Therefore, when players encountered the Rainbow Flower Butterfly, they could only choose to kill it, which would grant them rich rewards.

Rather, the Rainbow Flower Butterfly's design was initially meant as a reward monster, offering rich rewards to players lucky enough to defeat it. That was its original purpose. Rozen's ability to discover the taming conditions of the Rainbow Flower Butterfly during the beta test was truly a stroke of incredible luck.

Unfortunately, this kind of luck seemed to be confined to that one occasion.

Relying on that one experience, being able to tame a Rainbow Flower Butterfly was already a limit.

However...

"I have no limits with familiar on my side!"

When these words burst forth from Rozen's lips, a rainbow-like crystal had already rolled off his body at some point, radiating light.

"Gu!"

Emerging from the light, the rainbow butterfly appeared and let out a pleasant call. It shot out like a streak of light.

"Gu...!?"

Upon sensing the overwhelmingly familiar call from behind, the fleeing Rainbow Flower Butterfly immediately turned around. Seeing the streak of light flying towards it, a pair of large adorable eyes widened.

Because the true identity of the streak of light attacking from behind was none other than a butterfly identical to itself.

"Gu!"

The butterfly let out a joyful call, as if calling out to a companion, yet also like giving advice. It soared above the Rainbow Flower Butterfly.

Certainly, while the Rainbow Flower Butterfly's speed was fast, the speed of the level 45 Rainbow Butterfly was naturally not slower.

"Gu!"

The butterfly called out while sprinkling yellow phosphorescent powder.

Apart from the "Paralysis Powder," what else could it be?

As if fighting fire with fire, the paralyzing powder fell onto the unprepared Rainbow Flower Butterfly, causing it to emit a distressed cry. Its body stiffened, and it plummeted downwards.

Seeing this, Rozen suddenly smiled.

"Indeed, when it's another butterfly familiar, it can intercept the Rainbow Flower Butterfly's escape."

For other players, facing the Rainbow Flower Butterfly, they could indeed only choose to kill it.

However, the skills of a butterfly familiar mostly lacked offensive capabilities. Employing purely negative status skills like this allowed Rozen to completely stop the Rainbow Flower Butterfly.

"Although other players can also use the same method, paralysis skills without any damage are quite rare. Ordinary paralysis poisons also need to consider accuracy. Even if these issues are resolved, there's still the question of whether such negative status effects would be effective against the Rainbow Flower Butterfly, which has great resistance."

Therefore, players who could use paralysis to prevent the Rainbow Flower Butterfly from escaping were likely limited to Rozen, who had a Rainbow Flower Butterfly of his own.

Just then, the paralysis on Rozen's body was lifted.

"Gu!"

The butterfly returned, as if seeking Rozen's praise. It continued to call out in delight.

"Alright, alright. I'll reward you with a bottle of 'Dragon Scale Fragrance' when we get back."

Rozen gave the butterfly a somewhat exasperated look, then followed the joyful calls of the butterfly, heading towards the direction of the Rainbow Flower Butterfly.

"Gu...! Gu...!"

Seeing Rozen approaching, the Rainbow Flower Butterfly, unable to move, displayed an extremely alert expression.

The performance was exactly the same as when Rozen tamed Saihou.

The difference this time was that Rozen had the Rainbow Butterfly by his side.

Seeing the gentle demeanor of the Rainbow Butterfly following Rozen, the Rainbow Flower Butterfly displayed a mix of astonishment and perplexity.

Unlike the monsters that accumulated in training zones and mazes, which were just simple program-based creatures of the same type and didn't interfere with each other, the Rainbow Flower Butterfly had very specific settings and background. Its AI programming was also set higher than regular monsters, which allowed it to be tamed as a familiar.

With only seven Rainbow Flower Butterflies, all of which were once raised together by the princess, they certainly recognized each other.

However, Rozen didn't pay this any mind.

Rozen merely crouched down and turned the paralyzed Rainbow Flower Butterfly over, exposing its neck.

There, as expected, was the chain.

Initially, Rozen had expended a fair amount of effort to break that chain.

"This time..."

Rozen drew the throwing dagger at his waist and raised it high.

"Clang!"

The brilliance of sword skills shimmered on the dagger's edge.

The sword skill named "Single Shot," an early basic blade throwing skill, was released from Rozen's hand, turning into a flash that descended straight down.

"Dang!"

The crisp sound of impact rang out.

"Boom!"

Rozen's full-powered strike, coming from a level nearly 50 character with a focus on strength, easily shattered the chain that had taken considerable effort to destroy before. It shattered cleanly into polygonal fragments that vanished.

"Gu!"

The Rainbow Flower Butterfly widened its eyes once more, looking at Rozen in surprise.

Following that, the effect of the paralysis skill faded away.

"Gu!"

Sensing this, the Rainbow Flower Butterfly immediately flew up, hovering in mid-air.

Last time, the Rainbow Butterfly had directly pounced into Rozen's embrace after the chain was broken, becoming his familiar.

However, this time, even though the chain was destroyed, the Rainbow Flower Butterfly wasn't tamed. Instead, it looked at Rozen with a mix of astonishment and wariness.

Seeing this, Rozen thought to himself.

"The next step is crucial."

Whether or not he could tame a second Rainbow Flower Butterfly would depend on what comes next.