"A 'Blue Papilio'!?"
A look of confusion crossed Jeanne's face. She reacted quickly and pulled a guidebook from her waist bag: Adventurer's Guide: Dungeon Upper Floors Monster Encyclopedia I. She flipped through the pages.
She soon found the entry for the "Blue Papilio" in the section for rare species.
[Name]: Blue Papilio
[Type]: Rare Species
[Range]: Upper Floors, rarely seen near the 7th floor
[Drop]: Blue Papilio Wing (Precious material for recovery elixirs)
[Introduction]: It has four transparent blue wings. When it flies, it scatters glowing scales. Its appearance can distract inexperienced adventurers.
Jeanne closed the book and looked at the rare monster circling above them. Her eyes lit up.
"We are very lucky, Ronan. The manual says the drop item from a Blue Papilio is very precious."
At that moment, Ronan immediately became interested too.
"Take it down!"
"Be careful," Jeanne warned. "If the drop item is damaged, the value will drop a lot."
"Uh... then I can't use Magic." Ronan awkwardly hung his staff back on his bag. He took out a short bow and pulled an arrow from the quiver at his waist.
He drew the arrow smoothly. It was obvious he had practiced archery a lot. Before he had Magic, archery was one of the few long-range options he had to survive.
He aimed.
The short bow bent into a full curve with a tight creak.
Zip! The bowstring snapped, and the arrow cut through the air and hit the Blue Papilio perfectly. It fell to the ground at once.
"Good. I was confident at this distance," Ronan said with a sigh of relief.
Flying monsters were a big problem for normal adventurers who lacked long-range attacks.
Because of weight limits, very few people brought slings or throwing weapons into the Dungeon. Only a few groups with supporters would carry a small amount just in case. As for professional archers or mages, those were specialized roles. Usually, only established Familia parties or veteran teams had them, and those teams were rare.
Besides, the chance of meeting a rare species was even lower than the chance of getting a drop item. It was normal not to be prepared.
Ronan carefully cut off the precious Blue Papilio Wings. He put them into the loot bag and felt much better.
"Tch," he clicked his tongue. "I can sell this pair of wings to Naaza at the Blue Pharmacy or Airmid at the Dian Cecht Pharmacy. They will pay more than the market price. Selling them to Heith Velvet of the Freya Familia is also an option. Those warriors are always fighting out in the wilderness, so they need this stuff. Plus, Goddess Freya is very rich."
"Hehe, this is a rare item. You don't see it often. Familias that make medicine always want more. They will buy as many as you have. It's hard to find these on the open market."
From what Ronan knew, if a Familia wanted this item, they would post a special request at the Guild Headquarters with a high reward.
This was especially true during this chaotic period caused by Evilus. Because of all the riots and fighting, people were using a lot of elixirs. The notice board at the Guild was always full of requests from medical Familias.
"That's 200,000 Valis! Great!"
Jeanne looked at Ronan's greedy expression and struggled to keep a straight face.
"Hmm?"
Ronan noticed her look and raised an eyebrow.
He remembered that this girl, who came from a farming family, was actually the daughter of a real farm owner. He shrugged.
"Jeanne, you've never been poor, so you don't understand how wonderful money is. Especially when you hear gold coins hitting each other. That sound is hard to beat."
Jeanne stopped walking and looked at him strangely.
"Sorry. I guess I'm not used to thinking about money that way," she whispered.
Ronan did not know what to say to that.
For the next few hours, the two of them moved through the paths and rooms of the 8th floor.
They explored carefully while checking the maps and data from the Adventurer's Guild.
If Ronan found something that did not match the information, he would write it in his notebook and fix the map by hand.
Most serious adventurers in Familias did this. It was a long-term request from the Guild. The Dungeon was alive, so if you found a change in the terrain or a hidden area, you could get a good reward for reporting it.
"[Cinder]!"
Boom! A Needle Rabbit had just spawned from the wall. Before it could even move, Ronan's magic turned it into charcoal.
"Oh? Needle Rabbit's Tusk! This is good. It can be used for small weapons or crafting materials. Market price is 50,000 Valis."
Ronan quickly took the item from the monster. He looked at the loot and raised an eyebrow. Did Jeanne joining me fix my bad luck? My luck with drops today is amazing.
He tucked the loot away.
As time passed, they explored more of the area.
They fought many monsters along the way, but they did not see another rare species like the Blue Papilio. Even normal drop items and materials became hard to find. It felt like things were back to normal.
This made Ronan calm down a little.
A few hours later, after a whole morning of exploring the 8th floor, they felt the differences from the previous floors.
For example, the floor was much larger and more open. There was more room to fight.
Monsters spawned faster, and they appeared in larger groups. Solitary monsters were much rarer than on the floors above. Ronan noticed this right away.
Ronan recorded all this combat data and experience. It would become part of the foundation for the Familia's growth.
On a side path, Jeanne was walking in front when her stomach suddenly made a gurgle sound. She froze at once. Then she looked back at Ronan shyly, her ears turning bright red.
Ronan calmly took out an old brass pocket watch to check the time. "It's already this late. Let's stop. We'll find a safe place for lunch."
His tone was natural, but the look he gave her at the end was clearly teasing.
Jeanne's face turned completely red. "I... my stomach didn't growl..."
"Right, right. Of course it didn't," Ronan said, holding back a laugh.
Clink, clink, clink!
Ronan used a spare weapon to dig a small hole in the cave wall. He leaned his bag and staff against the wall. They found a hidden corner and started preparing lunch.
He quickly gathered stones and dry branches to make a simple stand. He touched them with his finger and used Cinder to light the fire.
He set up a small cast-iron pot and poured in water from a skin. While waiting for the water to boil, he took out a cutting board and a knife. He handled the ingredients skillfully and put them in the pot one by one. He added spices and closed the lid.
Soon, a pot of fragrant corn chowder was ready.
He served it with potato rolls and small side dishes he had prepared earlier. A simple but hot lunch was ready in the cave.
The crackle of the campfire sounded pleasant in the quiet Dungeon.
Ronan held a wooden bowl and took a big sip of the hot soup. He smiled with satisfaction. "In the Dungeon, nothing is better than a hot meal."
Jeanne blew on her soup carefully and took a sip. Her eyes lit up. "This is good! Corn chowder? I love this taste!"
Seeing her enjoy the food, Ronan looked proud.
"I learned how to make this while I was working. It's not as good as the owner's cooking... it's just home-style food, I guess."
They had used a lot of energy fighting and exploring since the morning, so they ate quickly.
Soon, the pot and bowls were empty.
Jeanne leaned against the cave wall and sighed. She patted her stomach. "You were really well-prepared."
She watched Ronan organize the cooking tools and spice jars. She was curious. "Why... do you go through all this trouble to make hot food in the Dungeon?"
She did not understand why he cared so much about cooking even inside the Dungeon.
Ronan answered as if it were obvious. "Food should be hot. Eating cold meals once in a while is fine, but I couldn't stand doing it every day."
"..."
Jeanne still did not quite get it. Maybe this was just one of his habits.
While they rested after the meal, Jeanne took out a whetstone. She carefully sharpened the tip of her flag-spear to make sure it stayed in top shape.
Ronan was not idle either.
As the rear mage and supporter, he handled the chores. He cleaned the camp, organized the loot bag, and counted the medicine and supplies. He was very thorough with logistics.
Once everything was ready, he put out the fire. They both stood up, feeling much better.
Ronan opened a parchment map and used a quill to mark the path they had explored.
After drawing a few lines, his pen stopped at a certain spot.
"At this pace, we've explored most of the 8th floor. We can finish the rest later."
"Next, if we take this path, it leads back to the main route. We can go straight to the 9th floor."