I hate being in pain, so I think I'll make a full defense build

Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 261

Defense Specialization and the Snake 2

Kasumi restocked her items from Izu and then visited the frog on the following day.

Apparently, the frog had new dialogue now, as it began to talk.

"So, you really went. How reckless of you… But I know there is nothing I can say that will stop you, so I'll give you one piece of advice. Heheheh. I just remembered it. The reason that I was able to escape, was because I was able to hit it on the head. You should aim for the spot between its eyes."

What valuable information. Kasumi thought as her expression brightened.

However, she would not be able to attack it once it gazed at her. In that case, this information would only be useful if she was the first to attack.

"I don't really want to get close to its face. But I'll keep that in mind."

When Kasumi was sure that she would gain no more information, she returned to the 7th layer once again.

"Now, third times the charm?"

Kasumi activated Mind's Eye and confirmed the location of the head. Then she moved through the forest that was thickly covered in fog and was careful not to make any sounds.

As long as she was far away from the head, she could avoid being killed in one hit.

"I guess I have to find the goal?"

Kasumi reached a small river with a weak current, and then slowly made her way upstream.

Every time that Mind's Eye deactivated, she would escape into bushes or holes or climb up a tree. And there, she would wait safely until she could use it again.

And like that, she slowly but surely made her way to the end of the river.

"…! What is that…"

Kasumi looked from behind a tree. What she saw, was numerous snakes of varying sizes slithering around the mouth of a cave as if they were guarding it.

As for the great white snake, it was coiled up there and covering most of the entrance.

The river was connected to the cave, suggesting that there was something inside of it.

Kasumi could see with Mind's Eye that there were practically no gaps, and the attacks of multiple snakes were displayed in front of her.

In other words, while they may not all be of equal strength, each snake likely had the ability to rob her of movement.

"If only I could break through… How can I do that?"

After a while, the sounds of slithering stopped. And the white snake showed no signs of moving. This meant she would be able to wait and think until Mind's Eye could be activated again.

"I can go…above it. Yes. Then…I better brace myself!"

Kasumi jumped to the top of a tree and moved the branches so she could look down. Even from above, there were no gaps. It was clear that she would have to make the snake move somehow.

"Here I go…! 'Super Accelerate,' 'Leap,' 'Third of the Blade – Kogetsu'!"

Kasumi jumped out of the tree and used her skill to accelerate while in the air. Then she swung down with her sword.

'Third of the Blade – Kogetsu' wasn't just a skill that allowed you to double jump. It ended with a high-power slash.

And so Kasumi aimed for the area between the white snake's eyes and cut deeply. As it wasn't a successive attack, she would be free to move. However, the white snake tried to raise its head and look at her before she landed on the ground.

Of course, that meant that the head that was blocking the entrance to the cave would now move.

"That's what I've been waiting for!"

Just as she said this, there was a big explosion, and while Kasumi took damage, the blast caused her to fly into the cave. She rolled deep into it and was able to escape the eyes of the white snake.

"Tsk… To think that Maple does this all of the time…"

Kasumi drank a potion to recover her HP, and then she stood up. What she had done was quite simple. Just like Maple exploded her Machine God weapons in order to fly, she had detonated the miniature, high-power bombs that Izu had given her. She was willing to take the damage in order to forcefully change her trajectory.

"There might have been another way to do it… Hah…but I couldn't wait for the best possible strategy to do this."

Kasumi remained cautious as she made her way deeper into the cave. She soon discovered the starting point of the gushing river. And there was also a single, small white snake there. The snake had the tamable mark on it. As Kasumi waited to see what it would do, it suddenly slithered towards her and climbed up her body. The snake settled around Kasumi's neck and stopped moving. Though, its tongue continued to flick around.

At the same time, as the water bubbled out of the ground, so did a light, and then a ring floated to the surface.

Kasumi picked it up and gripped it in her hand happily.

"Your name… Well, wait until we get back to town. As for outside…"

When Kasumi looked outside of the cave, she saw that the thick fog had disappeared, and the snakes were gone. The forest was quiet again.

"Phew… It will be easy to return now… So, are you going to grow to that size too?"

Kasumi petted the snake around her neck. And so she felt a mixture of apprehension and expectation regarding the snake's growth as she returned to the guild home.