The two walked into the forest side by side. The sunlight was blocked, and the sweltering heat on their bodies eased slightly. But after taking less than ten steps inside, they both came to a halt.
Nijika's face paled slightly. Looking at a brown and white patterned snake about two meters ahead, half of its body disappearing into a bush, she said in surprise, "How... so soon? I thought we walked about ten meters in yesterday before we saw one..."
Fumiya Jin thought for a moment and said, "It's probably because the temperature dropped overnight, so the outermost part of the forest has cooled down too. The snakes' range of activity has likely expanded outwards a bit... Yesterday we entered the forest at dusk, and the temperature at the edge of the forest would have been at its highest for the day."
"I see..."
Nijika nodded and glanced further ahead...
Although she couldn't see clearly, she could faintly make out shifting colors on the ground, in the grass, and on the tree branches...
Her scalp tingled, and she instinctively lowered her head, not daring to look.
But she quickly realized that avoidance was useless. If you don't even dare to look, how can you guard against them?
So, she bit her lip and forced herself to raise her head, looking at the nearest snake...
Watching the snake's writhing movements and the pattern of scales on its body, Nijika's breathing grew ragged and her body trembled slightly.
The primal human fear of venomous snakes isn't something one can suppress just by making up their mind.
Seeing this, Fumiya Jin gently patted her shoulder. "It's okay, I'm here. And we're not in a hurry to go in. Let's test your ability first."
"Huh?" Nijika froze for a second, turning to look at him. "You want me to use that on the snake?"
"Yeah, give it a try," Fumiya Jin said.
"I understand," Nijika nodded.
She raised her hand, and a pair of drumsticks suddenly appeared in it.
"Clack!—" She struck them together once, simultaneously activating her class skill—Psychic Shockwave.
In that instant, the snake, which was just about to disappear into the bush, suddenly froze in place, even twitching slightly.
But just two or three seconds later... The snake suddenly regained its mobility.
Swoosh—it shot into the bushes and vanished.
"It worked!" Nijika was slightly pleased. "But the effect... doesn't seem very strong."
"Area-of-effect paralysis... it's definitely useful," Fumiya Jin said. "But if it's only for two or three seconds, that's too short... and the range isn't large enough."
"I can strike them continuously," Nijika reminded him.
"I know, but striking them continuously takes a heavy toll on you, doesn't it?" Fumiya Jin said. "We need to go quite a distance this time. If you keep striking them, you won't last long."
"That's true..." Nijika scratched her hair.
"Besides... your strikes can cause such obvious shock and paralysis in humans. For it to have such a weak effect on a small creature like a snake? That doesn't seem logical..." Fumiya Jin stroked his chin.
After all, a human's body is much larger than a snake's. A sound that can paralyze a person should have a devastatingly powerful impact on a snake, right...?
Wait a minute.
Sound?
Fumiya Jin suddenly realized something.
He looked at Nijika and said, "Try hitting the trunk of the tree next to you with your drumsticks."
"Huh? Okay..."
Although Nijika didn't understand why, she obediently did as she was told. She took her drumsticks, struck the nearby tree trunk, and activated her skill. Then she turned back to Fumiya Jin. "Like this?"
Fumiya Jin opened his mouth to say something, but his expression suddenly changed. He shot out a hand, grabbed the girl's shoulder, and pulled her forcefully towards him...
Thump.
A dull thud.
Nijika crashed into Fumiya Jin's arms.
The impact left her completely dazed.
"Oof... Hiss—"
Several seconds passed before she came to her senses.
She rubbed her slightly aching forehead as she looked up. Only then did she realize she was being held in Fumiya Jin's arms. Her upturned cheeks were almost close enough to touch his chin...
The solid feel of his chest, the searing warmth transmitted through their pressed-together bodies, made the girl's cheeks instantly flush.
"Wh-what was that all of a sudden?" Nijika scratched her burning cheeks.
But Fumiya Jin's expression was completely devoid of any romantic sentiment. He said flatly, "Look where you were just standing."
Nijika paused.
She turned to look... and her delicate body instantly stiffened.
Right where she had been standing ten seconds ago, a bright green venomous snake nearly a meter long was coiled on the ground, twitching uncontrollably...
In other words, if Fumiya Jin hadn't done that, the snake would have landed right on her head or shoulder. Although, judging by the snake's current state, it was paralyzed and couldn't move.
But...
Imagine a venomous snake like that suddenly landing on your face... The fright alone would kill you!!!
Nijika figured she might have fainted on the spot!
"Thank goodness you reacted so fast, otherwise... I can't even imagine..." Nijika's body trembled slightly, and for a moment, she wasn't in any hurry to leave Fumiya Jin's embrace. Her shyness was completely overwhelmed by the dawning horror.
Because they were pressed so close together, with the girl's rapid breathing and slight trembling, Fumiya Jin felt an astonishingly soft and supple sensation against his chest...
Nijika may not be big, but she's definitely got something—an odd thought popped into Fumiya Jin's head.
Naturally, the upstanding Fumiya Jin quickly banished the thought from his mind.
Then he looked seriously at the snake.
It looked like a bamboo pit viper. Compared to the many-banded krait and the brown-spotted pit viper, this snake's venom was practically gentle, with a relatively low fatality rate.
But... this thing lived in trees, and its green body made it almost impossible to spot when it was draped over a branch.
However, Fumiya Jin also made a pleasant discovery—after landing on the ground, this bamboo pit viper didn't recover in two or three seconds. Instead, it remained paralyzed and trembling for nearly ten seconds... before it slowly started to slither away from them, its movements still clearly affected.
"Looks like your ability is quite potent against small animals like this," Fumiya Jin said, looking at Nijika.
"Huh? Why?" Nijika was stunned. "Does it have a different effect on different snakes?"
"No," Fumiya Jin shook his head.
"It's because of the way the vibrations are transmitted. For the first snake, you affected it with the sound of your strike."
"But snakes have very poor hearing when it comes to airborne sound—they primarily sense sound through ground vibrations. So, trying to control them with sound from the air is bound to be less effective."
"This snake in the tree, however, directly felt the vibrations from your strike on the trunk. Naturally, the control effect was much stronger."
"Ehhh... is that right?" Nijika thought for a moment. "That actually makes sense... So I should hit trees or the ground?"
"Yeah," Fumiya Jin nodded. "Let's move forward a bit and try again. If it works, your ability will be our best tool for driving away the venomous snakes."
"Oh? So I'm actually pretty useful, huh?" Nijika felt a little happy, and her fear subsided a bit more. "Alright, let's go up ahead and try."
____
Hello! Walnut here! Or... Miku Dayo in this case heheh...
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