Shin and Ayase packed the things they needed for going out on a journey in their bags. It mostly consisted of water, food, money, and spare clothes.
Their bags were sucked in by something Ayase was possessing. She had a "Spatial Necklace", which was gifted by her family. It could store materials, which was super effective when you're planning to travel to other places.
Shin was secretly displeased with how Ayase's item works. It was because it reminded him of Abe Toujou's Dimension Skills. But, it was not a big deal for him since the one who was using it was her.
After packing, they were ready to go. Shin and Ayase were now done with their preparations. Furthermore, they've changed their attires in their respective rooms.
Shin was now wearing a black polo shirt with a red collar. All of its other designs were in the color red, too. He was also wearing charcoal black jeans. Whereas, Ayase had a white undershirt with a cornflower blue cropped denim jacket. In addition to that, she had on daisy white sweatpants.
Going away from the dojo, Ayase took a few steps outside as she brushed her hair using her left hand. She looked back at Shin with that hand on her neck and said, "Nice... We're set to go now. Let's go Shishi!"
"How many times do I need to tell you to stop calling me 'Shishi'? I mean no harm when I say this, but I think it's really childish. Grow up for your own sake!" Despite being serious, Shin chuckled after saying those words.
From the dojo's entrance, Shin jogged towards Ayase. He caught up to her outside, and then pet her brushed hair. Ayase looked straight back on their path as she enjoyed his caress. They started walking simultaneously to go to the Southeast Portion's Capital City "Zanzan".
While on the way, Ayase was humming a lullaby-like song. Their whole stroll was not boring at all.
-----
The Chirume City's distance from the Zanzan City was the farthest amongst the other 3 Distinct Cities. Although it was the farthest, the city had a shortcut to go to Zanzan City faster. However, that shortcut was also their trip's number one hindrance.
Of course, if their location had the longest way to get to their ideal destination, they would think about using the shortcut. It was because the longest way seizes most of their time.
If they had already decided on taking it, they would probably face its consequences. Not all shortcuts were a good thing. Many people said that the shortest path was the dangerous path.
Well, it's for them to see it themselves. It's either take it or leave it. They need to overcome those risks and earn double the amount.
-----
After 12 minutes of walking and humming, Shin and Ayase had reached a certain boundary.
They had arrived in a grand forest that split up Chirume City and Zanzan City. Its name was "Arezom Forest". It was a dry forest full of tall trees, having no neat source of water. What's more, it was incredibly broad, thrice as big as a normal soccer field's length.
They could easily make their way to Zanzan City as it was the shortcut to it, if only it was normal.
Arezom Forest has a natural phenomenon called "Field of Voidness". It nullifies Aura within the reach of the said forest. You can't exert it into a form of Clutch, so naturally, the Auras stacked in the body would remain the same and unbothered.
They could still try to force it, but their efforts would stay meaningless. Take "taking a dump" for example. No matter how many times they try, as long as there's no incoming poop, nothing will come out.
Even though their Auras were unusable, they could still make it through the forest by the means of their own physical strength.
Shin and Ayase had decided to go through the Arezom Forest. Ayase was holding onto Shin's left sleeve so that the chances of them being separated were measly. As their Auras were nullified by the forest's effect, they didn't have any choice but to just walk or run throughout their whole forest journey.
Shin and Ayase were not moving carelessly around the forest. Instead, they were more cautious than usual. Arezom Forest was also the habitat of some Feral Beasts.
Drive Serpent, Bumper Bear, and Iron Crocodile were the Feral Beasts living inside the Arezom Forest. In the jungle, where Auras were negated, those Feral Beasts were an exception.
They were carnivorous and into cannibalism. Whenever they sense an enemy or prey, they will immediately utilize their Stacked Auras and strike them until their death. They steal and gather other animal's Stacked Auras by devouring their flesh.
Inside the forest, the Feral Beasts clearly had the advantage. The fact that their Auras were not affected alone was making the inequality obvious. Plus, they were used to the forest's environment.
-----
5 minutes had passed. Shin and Ayase had already covered one-third of the Arezom Forest by just roaming the area for about 100 meters.
They still haven't seen any Feral Beasts during their current walk. But, that experience would not lower Shin and Ayase's guard. Enemies usually attack their enemies the best when they have their guard down.
Later on, during their walk, Shin and Ayase heard and saw the leaves in the bushes around them rustle.
Their side-by-side walking position instantly shifted to an alerted position. They got each other's back as they carried off their own fighting stance.
From four different directions, four moss green Drive Serpents came out as they jumped on them. The two of those Drive Serpents were aiming at Shin and the rest were targeting Ayase.
It turned out that the sharp fangs in their opened mouths were infused with purple Auras. Probably had venom on it.
Right before the bite, Shin went forward, catching the two Drive Serpents off guard. He grabbed their necks and started squeezing them tightly. The Drive Serpents on the hands of Shin were struggling to get out. Indicating that they regretted their decision and wished they never did that.
Meanwhile, Ayase crouched and caught the two Drive Serpents' tails in midair. She then slammed it onto the ground strongly. They didn't react quickly after the slam since they were hamstrung by their head's impact on the ground.
"Drive Serpents are really vulnerable. They even thought of ambushing us." Ayase stomped on the two Drive Serpents' heads to make sure that they wouldn't try to escape. Their bodies were squirming side-to-side. "Well, today isn't a lucky day for them."
Shin snickered. "Maybe we took their lucky day. We can test our trained selves here. Besides, we might even confront my anticipated sparring partner later."
Shin squatted and forced the two Drive Serpents on his hands to bite the two persistent Drive Serpents' tails on the ground. The venom on the two Drive Serpents' fangs was then injected into the other two that slowly made them dead.
"I was planning on using my Auras to talk to these serpents, hoping that I could sort some things out with them. However, I can't do anything about the phenomenon." Shin's grip on the two Drive Serpents tightened more.
"Bye!" Finally, the Drive Serpents' heads popped out. Their violet blood splattered out like a hose with a small hole. After 5 seconds, it ended.
Normally, people would just run away after dealing with wild creatures. But, Shin and Ayase seemed like cold-blooded warriors. They didn't leave them behind.
The two of them continued to stroll through the Arezom Forest to reach the end of it since they successfully killed a group of Drive Serpents that disturbed their walk.
"I'll get the next Feral Beasts! You didn't even give me a chance to exterminate one of them. You're unfair!" Ayase pouted, not even trying to look at him.
Shin saw her and he slightly turned red as Ayase was kind of cute when she pouted angrily at him. "Then, the next one will be officially yours to exterminate." He patted her head.
Ayase's expression brightened up. "You said it! Therefore, you must stay true to your words." She looked at him and gave a closed-eye smile.
"You don't need to say it." Shin chuckled. He removed his hand from Ayase's head.
-----
Another 5 minutes had passed. They had already covered two-thirds of the Arezom Forest. Probably one more 100-meter walk, and then they can exit the forest.
Shin and Ayase were sitting together on a big flat rock, next to a tall oak tree. Shin was leaning on the tree while Ayase was sprawling, looking at her necklace.
As they had walked for roughly 22 minutes and fought some Feral Beasts, they were absolutely thirsty and hungry at that moment.
Luckily, Ayase had a Spatial Necklace worn around her neck. It had water bottles prepared inside of it, as well as some foods like bananas and apples.
For 5 seconds, Ayase held the Spatial Necklace, but she felt something was wrong with the item.
'Unacceptable! Why right now? Don't tell me...'