Chapter 13 – The wild boar, the venomous snake, and the girl
There's a saying: "First the boar, second the bear, third the tiger."
Although wild boars may seem stupid, they are extremely territorial.
They are dangerous to humans because they are big, strong, and have huge tusks. When they feel threatened, they charge straight ahead without hesitation. They have even knocked down large trees.
People often use the phrase "rampaging like a wild boar" to describe someone who gets angry easily.
That's why, in the wilderness, you should always be careful because wild boars can be dangerous.
"What should we do now?"
Yukino looked at Jun, who was bent over and thinking hard.
"It's okay. The trees around here have thick trunks and dense branches, so they're easy to climb. So if a boar shows up, we just have to quickly get up a tree..."
After thinking about it, Jun decided what he was going to do.
"To be safe, let's go the opposite way from the tracks."
Jun pointed to the tracks left by the wild boar.
"Um..."
At this point, Yukino was holding on to Jun's arm tightly.
This made it harder for them to move, but Jun didn't stop her.
There was no other choice. They had come this far, and it would be too dangerous for Yukino to return alone. It would be better to let her stay with me.
As Jun thought this, he became even more alert.
His main focus gradually changed from following his sister to protecting Yukino behind him.
After moving away from the boar tracks, Yukino finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The tense atmosphere lifted, and even the birds—which had been quiet—started chirping again.
They arrived at a shallow meadow and stopped by a large tree.
It was midday now, and Jun checked both of their stamina levels.
After all the fear and constant watchfulness, they were very tired and confused.
It's time to rest.
"Yukinoshita-san, let's rest and have something to eat."
Jun took out the cooked fish and coconut water they brought and laid them out on the ground.
"Okay..."
Yukino finally managed to calm her racing heart. After sitting down, she looked much more relaxed.
But compared to her usual sharp-tongued self, today she was unusually quiet.
The fish had been cooked that morning, but it still tasted very fresh.
Jun ate his share quickly.
But Yukino didn't feel the same way.
She only ate a few bites before putting the fish down again.
When she saw the fish bones, she remembered the giant spiders.
She kept thinking about webs and spiders. She was almost certain she would have bad dreams that night.
"Yukinoshita-san... I think we should head back for today. Let's stop here."
Yukino seemed worried, so Jun suggested that they turn around.
"Go b—"
Yukino felt uneasy, but she was perceptive. She realized that Jun was being considerate of her.
"It's only midday... I can still go on."
This girl is so stubborn!
"But you didn't even finish your lunch..."
Jun pointed to the plastic bowl she was holding. More than half of the fish was still alive.
"Oh, maybe it's because I ate too much fish yesterday. I don't feel like eating any more today. But don't worry, I'm not hungry at all. Katō-san, if you're still hungry, you can have mine!"
She looked away and gave the bowl to Jun, clearly lying.
"Okay, then you should drink more coconut water..."
Jun accepted the fish with a sigh and handed Yukino the wooden container holding the rest of the coconut water.
"Ah, okay..."
After giving Jun the fish, Yukino suddenly realized that it was like an indirect kiss.
She was scared and wanted to stop him, but Jun, not knowing any better, put the fish in his mouth.
As luck would have it, the piece he picked had already been bitten by her...
"Katō-san..."
Yukino called out, her face turning red.
"What is it?"
When Yukino suddenly blushed, Jun asked, confused.
"Nothing."
Forget it. He's already eaten it. In situations like this, I tend to overthink things.
Yukino took a sip of coconut water from Jun's wooden tube, feeling a bit defeated.
Even though she acted calm, the moment she realized she had just drunk from the same container Jun had, she blushed more.
"...."
Jun realized that she was blushing.
So that fish tasted a little sweet... I guess she had already bitten it.
Jun stared at Yukino's blushing cheeks, unable to stop himself. He then looked at her pale-pink lips.
Though slightly dry, the graceful curve and perfect shape of her lips made Jun unconsciously want to feel their softness.
"That's enough, Katō-san! Let's get moving!"
Yukino felt nervous when she saw Jun looking at her. Instead of scolding him like she usually did, she quickly started working on the wooden container to make the awkwardness go away.
"Wait, don't move!"
Jun suddenly shouted, stopping Yukino just as she was about to stand up.
"W-what—?"
Yukino was shocked when she was suddenly stopped.
He won't do anything strange here, right?
But then she understood why Jun had told her not to move.
She felt something cold against her ankle, then her thigh, and finally around her waist.
A snake!
Yukino saw a long, banded snake slithering between her waist and legs.
What should I do?
Her eyes met Jun's.
"Stay calm... don't move... I'll figure something out..."
Yukino knew that Jun was her only hope. She got ready, and after looking into Jun's eyes, her shaking body slowly started to relax.
She had to survive this!
Jun looked at the red-black-yellow snake crawling on Yukino, as if it were a deadly enemy.
He thought it was about two meters long.
Red touches black, friend of Jack. Red touches yellow...
Oh no, it's red and yellow—a venomous snake!
When he saw the color pattern, Jun's pupils got smaller.
This snake's venom was very deadly.
Did it come down from the tree?
It was probably drawn by the warmth of the fish.
I should have checked this tree before our picnic.
Jun held back his shaking arms.
No! Yukino is probably more scared than I am. If I panic too, she'll really be in danger!
"Yukinoshita, I'm going to find a forked stick. Don't move, no matter what! I'll save you!"
Jun planned to use the fork-stick technique. This means that he would pin the snake's neck down with a Y-shaped stick when its head turned away from Yukino's body. This way, it couldn't hit.
It was the safest and easiest way to catch a snake.
Wait! That stick behind Yukino has two branches!
Jun was excited when he saw the stick behind her. He slowly dragged it over Yukino's stiff body and waited as the venomous snake slithered across it.
Sss…
The snake moved its tongue quickly and looked at Jun with its dull, reptilian eyes.
Then it slowly slid down, heading toward the plastic bowl Jun had put in front of it.
There was still some warm fish inside.
This is the perfect chance!
Jun knew he only had one chance, and it had to be perfect!
He carefully moved the stick's fork along the snake's body, slowly moving toward its head.
"Now!"
As soon as it reached the snake's head, Jun pressed down hard, pinning the snake's neck to the ground.
Once caught, the snake, which was poisonous, started to thrash around wildly. Its long tail moved quickly as it separated from Yukino's body. But after being pinned with all of Jun's strength, it quickly weakened and stopped moving, finally giving in.
"Yukinoshita, get behind me!"
When he saw that the snake was calm, Jun breathed a sigh of relief. But for safety, he told Yukino to move away right away.
"Yes!"
Yukino nodded and fell to the ground.
"Ahhh!"
When she saw the snake's tail near her nose, she screamed, moving back quickly and hiding behind Jun in a panic.
"It's okay now..."
Jun tried to make Yukino feel better. Yukino was very upset and almost cried.
That was scary. The girl almost passed out from the fear.
Thank goodness Katō-san saved me.
Yukino hugged Jun tightly from behind, wiping her tears.
"Yukinoshita-san, if you can move, could you grab the plastic cup tied behind my back?"
After confirming the snake could no longer fight back, Jun didn't kill it immediately.
"Okay... but Katō-san, what are you planning?"
Yukino had stopped crying.
Now, she really saw Jun as her rock.
"I need a little snake venom."
Jun smiled as he took the plastic cup from her.
"Snake venom?"
Yukino looked confused.
"Yes, it'll come in handy. If we coat our weapons with this venom, we won't necessarily lose if we run into a wild boar again."
"Oh..."
Yukino nodded, as if she understood.
The venom from this snake must be very strong.
And if they could actually hunt a boar, they could get valuable resources like meat, tusks, and hide.
Jun imagined a successful boar hunt. He held the snake's neck tightly and put the plastic cup over its fangs to collect the venom.
A snake's fangs are hollow, like straws, allowing venom to flow through.
But rather than straws, they were more like syringes.
When a snake bites, it's like injecting venom into the prey. Once it's paralyzed, the snake swallows it whole.
Jun watched the cup fill with venom. He thought about ways to coat his arrows with it.
[Ding]
[Acquired Coral Snake Venom]
[Neurotoxin: 5/5 (durability)]
After collecting the venom, Jun saw a system prompt.
It also showed how to use it: just drip it onto the blade—no mixing needed.
It was durable, so it could be used five times.
It's very practical.
Jun carefully stored the snake's venom in a sealed container. Then, he used a small metal knife to end the snake's life.
[Ding]
[Venomous snake eliminated]
[Stamina, health, hunger, and sanity +10]
[Name: Katō Jun
Hunger: 170/180 (full)
Health: 190/190
Stamina: 150/190
Sanity: 160/180
Skill: You can make an attribute value stay the same for three hours]
Although Yukino had caught most of the fish the day before, Jun had caught one or two himself.
Now that he had killed a venomous snake, his attributes were almost all at 200, even without knowing the specific mission bonus.
He will soon be able to unlock his second skill.
"Yukinoshita-san, let's end the day here."
Jun buried the snake's body to hide the smell of blood.
The snake was almost three meters long and had a lot of meat, but he didn't want to risk carrying it back.
First, venomous snake meat might not be safe to eat. Second, in this strange forest, carrying a dead snake might attract dangerous creatures.
To be safe, Jun decided to bury the snake right where it was.
Yukinoshita Yukino was already very confused. If they kept pushing, something bad might happen.
So, he decided to head back the way they came.
This forest trip wasn't a total loss. At least they had identified areas to avoid and where wild boars might be.
It was getting late. It's better to return and recover.
"Okay..."
Yukino didn't push for it. She felt like she had only caused problems for Jun today.
She felt a little guilty, but she also felt very thankful.
[Yukinoshita Yukino – Affinity: 79 and rising]
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