(Real chapter name: Encyclopedia of Rare monsters, Volume 1, Page 1, The Needle Rabbit)

"Aww…"

"It's getting colder and colder…" Said the man as he adjusted the scarf around his neck

'Yes, it was Silver, making his way to the Guild as per normal.'

…

'Silver eventually arrived in the Guild, and as always, there was a lot of movement inside.'

'The moment he entered the Guild, he saw a girl around 170 Cm tall gazing at the entrance.'

'For a moment, their eyes met, but she completely ignored him with a cold gaze.'

"..."

'She had a cold expression as if she was made of ice, but she was nevertheless very cute. Some adventurers had actually tried talking with her, but she ignored them soon after.'

"What's up with her? Waiting for someone?"

She has that Kuudere 'cold look'…

'He shook his head and continued walking towards the counter.'

I have other things to do.

'Ignoring the others, Silver made his way to a lone Elf in the corner, working with some papers.'

"Hm?"

'The Elf noticed his friend and raised his head.'

"Good morning Silver, early as always…" Said Loiju

"What's up Loiju? Any good commissions?" Asked Silver

"... Sigh…"

'The Elf seemed visibly tired.'

"You okay?" Asked Silver

"It's… Nothing, just tired with work… You asked about commissions right? I held onto some, sorry for them not being that great, tomorrow we can look at the board… Today I am not feeling well…" Said Loiju as he gazed at Silver with his tired eyes.

"Hm… Hunting goblins… Kobolds… The usual I guess."

Boring nevertheless…

"But why are you so tired? You normally don't even sweat after reading through a thick pile of papers."

"Urg… Just… Forget it, before it's too late…"

"ARE YOU GOING INTO THE UPPER FLOORS?!" Said a voice from behind him.

"Oh, God…" Said Loiju

'Silver looked behind him to see the girl from before, now, with very excited eyes as she gazed at Silver.'

'A completely different look from before that only seemed to highlight her beauty.'

"... Yes?"

'She smiled.'

"Then, could you take my commission?!" She said as she handed him a paper

"What?" Said Silver as he gazed at the piece of paper, reading its contents

'At the same time, Loiju looked at the scene with a clear headache, a trouble-child meeting another one… Hooray…'

"Since we are already here, let me present you two…" Said Loiju

"This girl is…"

"Nic… Just call me Nic." Said the girl as she cut Loiju off.

"..."

"So uh… Do you want me to… Investigate this creature?" Said Silver as he read the paper

"Oh, sorry. I am Mellios Silver, but pretty much everyone calls me Silver…"

"Because of your eyes?" Asked the girl

"Yes."

"... So, going back to your request… What is this all about?"

'The girl seemed so excited she almost seemed ready to jump.'

"It's like this, I…"

"Let me explain it to you, if we wait for her to explain we will be here all day." Intervened Loiju

'The girl looked at Loiju with dead eyes…'

"She is a scholar, this is the best term I can come up with. She specializes in monsters and their habitats… In particular, those from the Dungeon."

"But… She is known to be… Out of the box since she only researches rare monsters…"

'The girl seemed somewhat proud.'

"The problem is that… The monsters are rare enough to be considered non-existent…"

"They are real! I only need someone to search for them!" She said out loud

"Tell this to the previous adventurers that spent hours every day looking for the monster only to find nothing and not receive the full pay…" Said Loiju

"But… Why should I pay the full price for people who can't complete their job?" She said as she tilted her head

"..." X2

"As you can see Silver, the pay isn't that high already, and finding those monsters is up to luck..."

"It's not luck! Even more so for the one, I am requesting you to find!"

"Let me explain. Recently, I have been researching a particular kind of monster on the Upper floors. The Needle rabbit."

"Why the Needle rabbit?" Asked Silver

'Loiju mouth curled as he face-palmed…'

"You know why the Needle rabbit has its name, right? Because of its horn! However, did you know that some can be born with two horns? Or even three?!" Asked the girl

"I… I didn't…" Said Silver

Although I know some monsters can mutate or be born different. I wonder which of these cases this rabbit falls into.

"It's very rare, but it can happen." Replied Loiju

"They are called Twin Needle rabbit and Triplet Needle rabbit. However, I have gathered reports that indicate the presence of a new type! The Quadruple Needle rabbit!" Said the girl

"If I can prove its existence, I will graduate as an apprentice scholar and become a full-fledged scholar!"

'Silver was a little confused.'

"It seems you are a little confused Silver. Let me explain. Do you know of the Athena Familia?"

"Oh? What do they have with all of this?"

Athena? I know she runs a library and that they are classified as a… A what? Scholar Familia?

I didn't research them that much since they were not in line with what I wanted, but I am pretty interested in one of the three big Virgin Goddesses.

"Athena owns the biggest library in Orario and is considered one of the wisest people in the entire world. Her Familia is quite big since most of the aspiring scholars tend to go to her to further their studies."

"However, most of them are quite weak due to their lack of training, so, they offer commissions and have adventurers do the dirty work for them."

"Instead of the usual ranks seen in other Familia hierarchies, the Athena Familia has a scholar tier system. To become a proper scholar, one must be an apprentice first, and pass a trial."

"And Nyctimene's trial is to catalog a new monster in the Dungeon."

'Loiju took some time to breathe…'

"HEY! Didn't I tell you to call me Nic!"

'However, her anger seemed cute rather than intimidating.'

"So, let me see if I understand everything correctly."

"Your name is Nyctimene and you are an apprentice scholar of the Athena Familia. You are currently doing a trial and that's why you are here?" Asked Silver

"Yes and no… I am not doing this only because I am on a trial… I just love finding new things!" She said with a smile

"..."

'Loiju looked at Silver waiting for his reply.'

'The girl did the same, she was slightly nervous, but her poker expression did not show much to the others.'

"Fine, there isn't anything to lose, and I am quite interested in this creature. If I see anything I will make sure to report it to you… Just… What is that you need, exactly?" Asked Silver

'Her eyes seemed to brighten when she heard his words.'

"I need you to bring its magic stone back, so not damaging it is the top priority, but if you are lucky and it drops its horn, it would be more than enough to prove its existence."

"If you are truly capable, you can capture it alive and bring it to the surface, you can always pay the Guild and they will lock the monster… I will pay you back of course!" Said the girl

"Although this only works for small, Upper floor monsters." Said Loiju

"..."

How do scholars make money?

"Is that all? If so, I will be taking my leave." Said Silver

"One thing! When you find it, be careful! The strength of a Needle rabbit seems to increase in proportion to the number of horns, although it's little, each new horn increases the rabbit's overall power, and 4 horns are sure to increase its power by quite a bit." Said the girl

'Silver nodded, wondering if this creature would be considered an enhanced species or just a strange mutation.'

"Meet me here tomorrow at the same time! Good luck!" Said the girl as she left

"... She didn't seem that bad." Said Silver

"That's because you were lucky, most of the time she goes on and on and on…"

"I see… I will be on my way then. Until later."

'Silver turned around and left after exchanging greetings with the Elf.'

…

'Deep in the Dungeon, Silver took a look at the paper once again.'

"According to the paper, there were some signs of a strange monster to the North of the main road entrance to the 9Th floor. Might as well check it out."

I will look for it for an hour or two, if I don't find it, I will focus on my training and commissions. If I have time, might as well look for it again.

…

'After an hour, Silver didn't find anything, so he went around the place hunting and training like usual.'

'The only reason why Silver was in these floors, was because Loiju wanted him to take it slow. '

'However, Silver was more than capable of going into the 10Th floor and below. Although he did not consider himself ready to take on Middle floors yet, at least, with his current fighting style of only using an ice spear.'

'So he will slowly show how capable he is to Loiju, who in response, will give him access to more dangerous commissions.'

…

"This is getting easier and easier…" Said Silver as he picked a magic stone from the ground.

'As his stats increased, the danger he felt towards these monsters decreased, soon, it would be time to focus only on the 10Th floor and below.'

"As soon as Loiju gives me access to those floors... I have been training there in my spare time, but it would be much better if I could pick some commissions for the monsters in there. It would make my work that more rewarding."

I could just ignore him, but that would be risking my friendship with him. Is it even worth it? It's just a week or two of preliminary work and Loiju will be confident enough to send me to those floors alone.

He already told me that if I had a party he would allow me to go there but I like to work alone...

/Bam…/

"Hum?"

'As Silver made his way in the corridors, he heard the sound of something crashing against the ground.'

'He was currently in the area his target was supposed to be in, although he is still doubtful of the veracity of the information.'

"Is there someone fighting?... Might as well take a look."

I am bored anyway…

'Silver entered a dark crack in the wall and a few seconds from within, a red knight emerged.'

'The knight turned to the side and made his way to the source of the sound…'

…

/Change of POV/

/Clang!/

/Splurge!/

/Pierce!/

"AHHH!" Screamed a girl

/A few moments ago…/

Today was one of those days… When everything seems to just go wrong.

It was supposed to be easy, go down and kill some war shadows for potion materials, I did this a dozen times…

'Even though she was alone, she was a very strong Level 1 adventurer, her stats were enough for her to go alone to the 10Th floor, much less the 8Th.'

'But today wasn't her lucky day, after defeating a small group of enemies and proceeding to collect her loot, she was suddenly ambushed by a strange Needle rabbit!'

'It hit her arm with its strange horn, almost ripping it off, and now, she is bleeding profusely as she stared at the little furry beast.'

"Arg… How could this happen…"

My right arm is… I can't use my bow, my only weapon is my dagger, but I am not proficient with my left arm…

'Without waiting, she tried to flee, rule number one when facing the unknown is to act calm, but she was desperate.'

'This gave the rabbit enough of an opening to charge!'

"AS IF!"

It might be a stronger Rabbit, but it's still a dumb monster that runs in a straight line!

'She turned around and slashed, meeting the rabbit head-on, unfortunately, she wasn't proficient in the blade, and her left arm wasn't her dominant one…'

/CLING!/

'She was thrown back as her knife flew across the room, but the rabbit didn't leave unscathed as it now had a long gash on its face.'

"AHH!"

'She fell with her right arm on the ground, immense pain coursing through her body.'

'Her eyes fell on the running rabbit, and her eyes got sharp as she decided…'

/FWUSH!/

'To sacrifice her arm!'

'Her left hand was ready to grab the rabbit and twist its neck… But.'

/SMACK!/

/BAM!/

'Out of nowhere, a tall red knight appeared and slapped the rabbit away as if it was trash.'

'The rabbit was left on the ground, unconscious…'

(Monsters can get knocked out, as they can be poisoned, put under an illusion, etc.)

'But that wasn't the end...'

/Grr…/

'From the side, a group of goblins and a few War shadows suddenly appeared.'

"..."

That rabbit wasn't enough… Now a group of goblins and war shadows as well?!

'The girl was in despair, her fear intensified... She couldn't move nor think straight anymore.'

"..."

'The knight didn't seem to be scared in the least as he unsheathed his massive sword from his back.'

"Try to stop the bleeding, this will end soon." He said

"..."

'And so it did, the knight used only a couple of swings to annihilate all of the monsters, they didn't even have a chance...'

'She was surprised by how easily the knight took them out.'

Is he a Level 2?... Perhaps even higher…

'She couldn't help but be envious, she had been stuck as a Level 1 for quite some time, her stats aren't increasing that much, and she herself had been looking for a chance to Level up, that's why she started to do solo missions…'

'The knight approached her again and said:'

"Give me your arm, quickly, before it's too late." Said the knight

'The girl got confused, but she didn't have any choice, she was tired and her vision was already darkening.'

"... "

'The knight didn't say anything, most likely analyzing the condition of her arm.'

/Sizz…/

'He took a red potion from his belt and splashed it on her arm, causing a burning sound. The girl felt immense pain as she felt her muscles move. The potion was clearly not enough.'

"So this wasn't enough? Alright…"

'Green light started to be released from the knights' hands, a soothing feeling soon followed…'

"What?..." Said the girl

What is he doing with my arm? This feeling…

'Soon enough, all of the pain had disappeared, towards the end, she lifted her head and noticed that under the green light, she managed to take a look into the knight's eyes…'

'She didn't even realize that her arm had already been almost fully healed...'

Silver, like two pale moons…

'The knight soon finished healing her.'

"Good, are you feeling better now? If there is any injury left, make sure to tell me."

"... I am alright..." She said

'She was still confused, it was a traumatic experience, she didn't know what to say exactly... Everything went soo fast...'

'He got up and grabbed the rabbit by its ears, however, it remained unconscious.'

"I will be on my way, there are some adventurers nearby in case you can't make it back by yourself… I will be taking this guy with me if you don't mind." Said the knight as he turned around and left

"..."

Wait… Is he leaving me alone?!

Although I am fine… That isn't how things work!

'The brown-haired girl got up with difficulty, seeing that her body wasn't as tired as before, she had confidence in getting back alone.'

"... Who was that guy?..."

To leave me alone…

/Step step…/

'The sound of people walking soon came to her ears, it seemed people had come as the knight said…'

…

'The girl finally arrived at the surface, she was tired and her clothes were torn… even her old bow was now broken…'

"Naaza-Chan!!" Said a male voice from the side

'Naaza looked to the side and saw a beautiful blue-haired man running to her.'

"Miach-Sama…" She said as her eyes teared up, but she held them in.

'A string of emotions passed through her heart, but it all ended in relief.'

"I felt that you were in danger so I sent the others after you, it's good you are alright…" Said Miach as he looked at Naaza's tone clothes.

'Her Familia companions soon arrived from behind her, smiling in relief as everything had ended.'

"We need to go home and deal with your injuries first, tell me, what happened?" Asked Miach as he gave her a potion

"I am fine Miach-Sama, another adventurer saved me…" She said as she remembered the scene of the red knight slapping the rabbit.

'Her cheeks got slightly red as her tail moved from left to right'

'Oh yeah, Naaza is a dog person.'

"Really? Where is he right now? We need to repay him…"

'Miach looked around the place, thinking about what would be a good reward for the adventurer.'

"We can think about that later, Naaza must be tired, how about we go back first." Said the nameless adventurer behind Naaza, destined to be unimportant to the main story

"You are right!" Said Miach

'And so, they made their way across the streets of Orario, Miach was in such a happy mood that he couldn't help but give potions to any hurt passerby… Much to his Children despair as they tried their best to make him stop.'

'However, Miach's will was unshakable as he gave a potion to one very hurt adventurer in an alley…'

…

'Next day in the Guild, a certain girl would scream in joy as she received her report from Silver.'

'But that is a story for another day…'

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