(Real chapter name: Encyclopedia of Rare monsters, Volume 1, Page 9, The Dagger Beetle)

/Deep in the mountains…/

'A group of 6 people could be seen climbing what seemed to be a rather steep mountain.'

'4 of them didn't seem to have that much trouble doing it, but the other two…'

'Although they were all connected by ropes, those two still had a lot of trouble climbing the mountain, but eventually, they did.'

…

"Arrrg!... Hurf… Hurf… I… I did it." Said a man as he collapsed on the ground.

"Just how useless can you be? Your son was already capable of climbing this when he was 14. Get a grip." Said a guy on the side with an elderly voice

'The collapsed man rolled his eyes.'

"I might've been able to do something if you had actually taught me anything apart from blacksmithing."

'The elderly man turned his back, ignoring the man on the ground.'

"... Are you sure this will be enough?..." Asked the man on the ground

"This is the 20Th time you asked me about this son. Yes, this will work." Said the elderly man

"But for how long?..."

"..."

'No one replied.'

"I once hid for 40 years, I can do it again Marcus." Said the elderly man

"But what about …" Asked Marcus

"The kid has grown up, he knows way more than you, I am certain he will be fine." Replied the elderly man

I planned for this for years, ever since that day…

'The old man remembers the day when assassins invaded his house, over a decade ago.'

They remained silent for years, planning something.

And I knew this day was near when the number of eyes in the village increased.

We successfully evacuated the villagers to other villages in secret, however, I have run thin on contacts and favors.

I wonder how long the deception will work? One week? Two weeks? A month?...

I only need 3 days, that would be enough for me to lead my family to somewhere where we can live without fear.

Any extra time can be used to further hide our traces, if possible.

"... I wonder how he is doing." Asked a girl on the side

'She was just as tired as Marcus, she clearly lacked physical training of this sort.'

"... He is fine, my daughter, I know it. That boy is much more resilient than you think." Said a pale elderly woman

"Yes, mother…" Said the girl as she worried

"We can rest here for an hour before continuing, we are about a day from our destination." Said an elderly man on the side

'Hie eyes were sharp just like the daggers on his belt, he looked dangerous and even a little bit evil.'

'The others nodded.'

…

'The group of six made their way across many environments, from thick forests to dry mountains and snowy planes.'

'Eventually, a small village near a ravine appeared in their sight.'

'It was a decently sized village, it didn't seem to be lacking anything.'

"What is this place?" Asked the tired girl

"... My old house. The place I was born." Said Marcus father

"?!"

"Didn't you say you were born in the South, father?" Asked his son Marcus

"I lied to you, dimwit."

"..."

Is there any need to talk with me like that?

"Let's go, I just need to talk with someone first, and then we can find a place to settle." Said the elderly man

…

'When they arrived, they attracted the attention of multiple villagers, however, they didn't seem strangled by their presence and instead, they welcomed them with open arms.'

'The elderly man soon found who he was looking for, another old man, an old friend from a long lost past.'

"Hm?"

'As they talked, the tired girl turned her head as she noticed a gaze on her.'

"? Did something attract your attention dear?" Asked Marcus

'From the crowd, a small kid appeared.'

"How cute!" Said the girl as she grabbed him in her arms

'The kid was confused and didn't know if he should struggle or not. In the end, he just remained there and allowed her to hug him.'

"... Rubia… Put the kid down…" Said Marcus

"But he is so cute!" She said as she hugged the kid

"..."

'The kid didn't say anything as he started at Marcus with his red eyes.'

"Sigh… How will I explain this to his parents?"

The kid is indeed a little cute, however, he seems to be one of those feminine boys…

Although I think my son was just as cute as him… Hum…

He should grow some muscles and man up! At least then he will be able to compete with my son haha!

"Bell?... HA! I see you are enjoying yourself already!" Said an elderly voice from the side

'Rubia and Marcus looked to the side to see a rather robust elderly man with a medium-sized beard walking towards them.'

"Sorry for the trouble, my grandson is always causing trouble." Said the elderly man with a big smile

"No no, that was my wife. she just grabbed him.. Ouch!" Said Marcus as Rubia pinched him

"He just made me remember my own son… Hm?"

'As she said that, the kid jumped from her embrace and hid behind the old man.'

"Bell! You can't be like that! Where's your courage?" Said the old man as he laughed

"..."

"Sigh, that's how a kid should act. My son just…" Said Marcus as he remembered how his son always acted in a strange way

"Hohoho! How about I show you two the village in the meantime?"

"Sure, we will be in your care." Said Rubia

…

'Slowly, the group of six made themselves comfortable within the village in the mountains…'

'After getting a small plot of land from the Elder of the village, they built a few houses in no time at all thanks to the help from the other villagers, and in a few days, they seemed no different from any of the villagers as they worked in the fields.'

'For such a remote village, the appearance of a few highly capable and knowledgeable workers was nothing short of a blessing.'

/And so, time passed…/

…

/A few days later in Orario…/

"What are you doing?" Aked Silver as he looked at Nic

'The usually cold and boring girl now had a big smile as she looked at a piece of Golden paper in her hands.'

'It read: Graduate Scholar, Nyctimene…'

"Finally…"

'Her hands seemed to tremble for a moment due to excitement.'

'But she stopped.'

"Next step is to become a High-grade Scholar." She said as she looked at Silver

"... And how will you do that?" He asked

"Hm… I need to publish several works… Normally, it would take from 3-6 years, however! If we can gather enough achievements, the time can be cut short to even a month!" She said

'She seemed optimistic of her future.'

As long as I can have a capable worker such as him, I can finish all of my research in record time!

"Although that's pretty much impossible." Said an Elf on the side

'It was Loiju as he removed his reading glasses from his face.'

"To become a High-grade Scholar you need to prove to be capable enough first. Just because you have something good to study, it doesn't mean you are capable."

"Silver can help you with gathering information and materials, but the rest is up to you alone. The thesis and research papers can be done by Silver as well."

"And if they are not satisfactory, they won't pass the preliminary and they will end up rejected. Taking you back to square one."

Silver already helped her a lot, however, from now on, the difficulty increases significantly, although it's harsh, I can't allow him to be tied up to her for too long if she can't pay him properly.

Scholars have more ways to make money compared to apprentices, but that is under the assumption they are famous already.

No one would buy the works of a young and nameless graduate… And if she can't pay Silver for his trouble, then his development would slow down.

"..." She looked sad as she gazed at the paper in her hands

He isn't wrong…

'She bit her lips, she already knew what Loiju was trying to do. But she didn't want to cut their relationship short, the truth was… She was incredibly happy this past week or so.'

'Although Silver was a Level 1 adventurer, he would always finish her commissions on time, and that was what allowed her to become a Scholar so quickly.'

'He even gave her some tips and help from time to time.'

'Treating her as an equal and friend, he didn't judge her for being a demi-human, nor did he judge her for being weak. Nor did he make fun of her love for rare monsters.'

'He treated her as… A young girl. His jokes and way of speech… She grew up to get used to them, to see him waiting at the Guild almost everyday…'

"There is no need to be so harsh sheesh."

I know why you are doing this…

But this does not consume as much of my time as you think…

So there is no need to try and cut our relationship yet.

"Lets leave this subject behind and talk about what really matters, if you came here today, it means you have another job for me right?" Asked Silver with a smile

"!"

'The girl looked at Silver with her expressionless face, and for the first time, she smiled for something that wasn't her research… Alright, that was an exaggeration...'

'However, it wasn't that far from the truth.'

/Zipp!/

'She opened a small compartment inside her bag and picked a small parchment.'

"I found this deep in the archives of the library, it talks about a certain type of monster that lives in the Middle floors..."

'The paper looked really old.'

"Middle floors?! Are you trying to send him there again? Look at me Silver, because of you, I received a lengthy scold from Eina and I don't plan on getting another one!" Said Loiju

She didn't stop talking for almost an hour…

I used to think she was just a serious workaholic like me and even liked her a little, but she is a devil in disguise!

"That's because you are a spineless man. How can you receive a scolding from someone half your age? Aren't you 40 or something you old man?" Said Nic

"I don't want to hear that from you Kid!... And I am not an old man! I am barely even considered to be halfway across my adulthood yet!"

Elfs can live for over 200 hundred years! 40 is barely the equivalent of a 20-year-old!

And look at my face! If it wasn't for these dark circles I would look younger than most human teens!

"Don't worry old man, I just need Silver to go take a walk on the 13Th floor and look for something for me."

"You…"

Wait, when did she start calling him Silver? Wasn't it just, Mr. Adventurer?

'As she said that, she took out another paper, this time from inside her notebook.'

"After cross-referencing from multiple books, I came to a series of words and images that explain what this monster is about." She said as she gave Silver the paper

'Silver picked the paper, it seemed kind of like a horned beetle, however, from the image, it would be the size of a Human head.'

'They had a large horn on top of its head, 1.5 times the size of its body.'

"They aren't really monsters, however, they can still cause heavy injuries to someone due to their large horns. I want you to find one for me." She said as she pointed to the image

"Or at least take a photo of it with that machine of yours… Are you sure you won't sell me one?" She asked

'Silver just shrugged.'

"... Sigh… If it isn't a monster, that means you can bring it to the surface, however, since it isn't a recorded creature, the Guild will need for you to leave it in our custody until we figure it out." Said Loiju as he took a thin book

Dungeon Fauna, although most aren't dangerous, some are still very much.

I don't want another of those events to happen, much less under my watch…

"According to what I read, what makes them rare is that they live inside the Dungeon walls. Never leaving the underground."

"And since it's actually quite rare for a monster with the strength necessary to break the dungeon walls to appear, sightings of them are very rare."

"However, some still appeared over the decades under specific situations." She said

"... I see, I will be careful and see if I can find some." Said Silver as he memorized the paper

"Sigh…"

'Loiju just massaged his temples as he thought.'

"You truly are an old man Luigi… I mean, Loiju" Said Silver

"##!!"

…

'Silver talked with them for a little longer before he left on his way to the Dungeon.'

'He made his way to the Middle floors.'

'Because his armor had been broken, he only equipped a light chest armor he made from the hide of an Orc and a cloak made from the Wyvern skin.'

'His gloves and boots were none other than the ones he got from the Goliath, their time to shine had finally arrived!'

"... They are more comfortable than I imagined."

But…

"What is this?!"

Everytime I walk and touch the wall, small vibrations are made…

"Are these gloves enchanted with some strange effect?"

'Silver didn't have the time to test them that much, he only threw them inside his inventory and they laid there for a long time.'

/BAM!/

'Silver punched the wall, and as expected, the wall vibrated for a second before stopping.'

"It's quite cool, however, monsters would detect me immediately if I tried to sneak behind them with these."

…

'Silver finally arrived on the 13Th floor.'

'His eyes started to change, glowing fully dark as he started to gaze into the walls.'

'He was looking for his target…'

…

/At the same time on the surface…/

"Huuf!... Huff…"

"AHH!"

/THUD!/

'Someone could be seen running amidst the light rain.'

'That person looked really tired as he hid behind a small wall.'

"He went this way boys!..."

/Step step step…/

'The person heard multiple steps, but they soon disappeared as they got further and further away.'

"..."

Don't drop your guard! They could return anytime!

Fucking hell! Just how did this happen?!

Everything was going well! Why did they decide to do this with me?!

'The person trembled in anger and fear, this movement made his cloak fall, revealing a pair of Elf ears.'

'He soon covered his head again, going back into hiding.'

…

'The hours passed…'

'The person waited for a long time, before he turned around and went deeper into the alleys.

Once he arrived at the usual dead end, he removed a small object from his pocket.'

/SHIING!/

'He placed the object into the wall and it fused with it, as if it had been dropped into a pool of water.'

/Fluup!/

'The man 'entered' the wall, and within a second, the wall stopped trembling as it went back into being a stone wall.'

...

'Later that day, Silver arrived in the Guild with a medium-sized box, inside it was a massive fully dark beetle with a massive sharp horn that looked like a dagger.'

'Surprisingly, the beetle wasn't aggressive, and instead seemed to like the care from the people around it, however, it was still an unknown dangerous creature that needed to be researched.'

'This became the subject of attention from the Guild workers for many hours until the Ganesha Family came to retrieve it.'

'But that is a story for another day.'

.

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