Chapter 128: Team (6)

The enemies fired Crystal Arrows toward Luke, and he ignored them all while making sure to protect his upper body. He suffered some scratches here and there, but nothing major since he was wearing armor in most parts of his body.

When he got close enough, the monsters tried to scatter. At that distance, even small movements would make Luke miss them. However, Luke used Stinger to maneuver in the air and then flew in a straight line to pierce the head of one of those. He quickly pulled away from his sword, and using the falling monster as a platform, he jumped toward the other and did the same thing. Still, he gave the chance for the others to surround him and attack with their arrows. Fortunately, a rain of bolts coming from above prevented that.

You obtained 20 experience points.

You obtained 20 gold coins.

You obtained 20 experience points.

You obtained 20 gold coins.

…

"It would be nice if Tame could level up right now…" Luke said while he was falling alongside the monsters. "I guess waiting for that right now would be too much..."

Naturally, things won't be that easy for Luke. Still, Artiuno was there when he needed to stop falling. He jumped on her back, and the two girls frowned since he was acting like nothing had happened. They probably never played any games where the main characters fought in the air like that... Luke still could remember the first time he played something like that, it was exhilarating. Still, it couldn't be compared to the real deal.

"Pretty cool, right?" Luke asked. "Just get thirty-two thousand coins and buy Tame. After that, defeat a monster and then use Tame several times, like a Pockerball. I also think that if you put the target under negative status, you will have better chances of capturing them. Ah, don't spread this information, all right?"

Luke doubted that those two would keep quiet about it, but it was fine as long as he buys some time with that. Besides, he already told his mother about the merits of taming a monster and the possibility of having an army of them, so sooner or later, that would become obvious.

In any case, Luke and his group had gotten close to the mountains during the fall, but they still couldn't find any signs of the crystal. Considering how strong those creatures were, he was expecting to get some nice reward. Still, it was hard to see anything when everything had been completely taken over by the snow. The snowstorm also decreased visibility tremendously.

"Rina, can you find the crystal?" Luke asked.

"Just like in Atlanta, the snowstorm is happening because of the increase in mana in the area… thanks to that, all the snow is rich in mana and works as a barrier," Rina said.

"In other words, you can't do it like usual," Shalia said.

"Let's stop bickering, at least during the fights…" Luke said and then sighed.

A new group of enemies was far approaching, and their numbers were higher than before, so they truly didn't have time for that. Only a couple of minutes had started since the beginning of the operation, so there was a chance that the soldiers had found the survivors, but escaping the mountains was something that they would need for hours, even with their superhuman abilities.

"Hey, Luke… your friends don't look too good," Rina said.

Luke didn't have any friends around, but he still looked at Amanda and Celia. Naturally, Rina was referring to them and their blue faces. They weren't doing well against the cold…

"Hey… what is the level of your Resistance?" Luke asked.

Even without them even answering, Luke could tell that it was low… extremely low, probably because they never had to deal with the effects of magic or weather conditions like that one. Luke told them to increase their RES, but they already had used all the free points they had to do so.

Luke could see some fighting spirit in their eyes. They wouldn't give up that easily. It would be too embarrassing. In the end, Luke decided to show instead of telling. They approached another group of enemies, and this time, Rina buffed Artiuno's speed, making her dodge all attacks. Amanda and Celia tried to attack the monsters, but their arms were shaking due to the cold, and they didn't hit a single one.

"We will look for a shelter…" Luke said.

"But… the others…" Amanda protested.

"Screw the others. This operation wasn't planned well," Luke said. "If it had been, you two wouldn't look like popsicles right now."

Luke didn't know if Billy's group would endure the cold. They probably had increased their RES if they succeeded. Luke saw some of them carrying crossbows, so they were ready to fight flying enemies. In any case, he won't risk his neck to succeed on that mission. While Luke could fight as long as Rina and Shalia supported him, Amanda and Celia needed to recover. Getting some gear and skills to increase their RES will also be a good option.

Thanks to the buffs, Artiuno managed to leave the area even while carrying three people. In the end, Amanda and Celia almost collapsed. Still, thanks to the healing skills of Luthi and Rina, they managed to resist until they found a small town on the east side of the mountains.

"Come to think of it… you never treated Rina like royalty, haven't you?" Luke asked.

"Ah… it seems you have discovered that after interacting with those three," Luthi said. "I knew from the very beginning because I fought alongside her many times, but I am smart enough to understand that spreading that information by acting like that would only cause more problems for Rina in the end.

"Thank you for understanding all that on your own, Luthi," Rina said.

"You are blessed with good servants, Your Grace," Luke said.

"Please… drop that already," Rina said.