Chapter 130: Team (8)

In the end, Amanda and Celia went out and used all their coins to buy a bunch of stuff and even the skill Cold Resistance. They bought Magic Shields that were only good at increasing RES by fifteen points and boots and gloves that increased RES by ten points each. Adding that to the thick clothes that Luke brought them, they felt a lot better, to the point where Luke was the one who was having to deal with the cold now. Apparently, they had been saving coins to learn Tame, but they will have to wait for a while longer for that.

Despite the upgrade in their gear, their attitude didn't change. Still, their sudden seriousness in their behavior creeped Luke out. In any case, leaving right now was an option. Still, Luke wondered if it would be the best idea… they might get lost because they didn't know the region well, even more so if they followed Luke's original plan of taking a roundabout path.

"Let's return to the mountains," Amanda said. "Rina said that the snow rich in mana worked as a barrier to hide the crystal, right? In that case, it should work well to keep the soldiers hidden from the enemy's eyes. Only two hours had passed, so the chances of them being alive are still high."

Luke couldn't deny that. However, it was clear that the Crystal Avians were nocturnal creatures, so there was also a chance that they found the other group. In any case, instead of assuming the worst, it would be better to confirm it.

"If that is going to work, you will have to hit the enemies with every single Shot," Luke said. "Rina will have to keep using some mana to keep Artiuno speed at the highest. The shop is still open. Maybe we should buy some potions..."

"Can I become a part of that thing you said?" Celia asked. "I think it would be better if Amanda used my mana as well."

"The skill level still is low, so only one person can use my mana," Luke explained.

In any case, Luke had a lot of coins, almost ninety thousand… but he was saving them from buying the other skills that would increase his HP and SP. Still, using five thousand shouldn't be a problem in the long run. In the end, Luke looked for a backpack in the building and then filled it with mana potions and gave it to Celia to use on Amanda if the necessity arises. Since they were small, it wouldn't be a problem for her to carry and use those while Artiuno flies at terrifying speeds. Luke realized once again that being a team player was too difficult for him... unless everyne does as much as him, he would feel like they were troubling, even though most of the time, that wasn't the case.

"Sorry for troubling you," Celia said.

"Eww… your meek attitude gives me goosebumps," Luke said. "You both should just leave this incident behind and learn from it instead of just wallowing in it forever. Unless you want to be looked down upon by others. Besides, we don't know if we failed and if we did it, we didn't do it alone."

That sure was one way only someone like Luke could see things. Due to the lack of preparation and information, he wasn't the only one at fault there. While it was true, it seemed quite a pathetic way to look at things… In any case, without wasting any more time, they jumped on Artiuno's back and began the trip back to the mountains.

It took one hour for them to reach the mountains, and while the temperature decreased considerably, Luke didn't notice any changes in the girls. After half an hour, they finally reached the Crystal Avians' territory, and they quickly began to attack them, even though they were flying pretty low.

"Focus on those that will stop in the air while flapping their wings," Luke said.

"Why?" Amanda asked.

"Those are the signs when they are about to fire Crystal Spear," Luke replied.

Amanda and Celia didn't notice that… and they thought that Luke just fought brainlessly while doing things like jumping from Artiuno's back and using skills to maneuver in the air… when the enemies were clearly the ones who had the upper hand. In any case, while buffed, Artiuno's speed was peerless. Most of the enemies missed their Crystal Arrows. They soon realized that they would have to bring the big guns for the fight because even while they couldn't hit the enemies, Amanda was sniping them with a terrifying speed.

You obtained 20 experience points.

You obtained 20 gold coins.

You obtained 20 experience points.

You obtained 20 gold coins.

…

Some items began to fall, but unfortunately, they had to leave those behind. There was no time to search for loot… but Luke still was searching for signs of the soldiers. Around the time the enemies began to use the Crystal Spears, Luke began to feel like he recognized the area, but that wasn't enough…

"I can't find any traces of them nearby… the snowstorm probably erased their traces. There aren't even signs of many bodies around aside from the ones we killed," Luke said.

"That is a good sign, right?" Celia asked.

"It is hard to say…" Luke furrowed his eyebrows.

It means that either the soldiers left the area pretty fast and the snow-covered their traces, or they failed while they were using the parachutes and became their food. There is also a possibility that they can't move, and they fear the number of enemies around. They are waiting for them to dissipate since they learned that they are nocturnal creatures…

"Let's keep going like this for a while," Amanda said. "It should give us enough time to confirm things."

Luke considered that… if they decimate enough enemies, they always could act later like the retreat never happened. It was a bit lame, but it was their original objective, and they weren't expecting such harsh weather conditions…