Chapter 157: Ice King (11)

When Luke approached the army of skeletons, the wizards tried to fly… they actually could fly. Luke wanted to know how in the world it makes any sense that zombies can evolve and automatically learn how to fly. Regardless, before they could move away too much from the army, Luke used one grenade. The shockwave of the explosions destroyed most of those and made others fall downward. As for the skellies on the ground, they were just obliterated. Just like real wizards, their defense sucked. However, even the skeletons knights exploded without offering much resistance. So, it was hard to tell if their difference in defensive abilities was really that big.

You obtained 15 experience points.

You obtained 15 gold coins.

You obtained 15 experience points.

You obtained 15 gold coins.

…

As expected, Luke received a lot less experience than usual, but that was fine. The loot probably would compensate for that. However, he bit his lips when he saw the equipment of the skeletons melting alongside them. They weren't monsters summoned by crystals… So why was that happening to them as well? Luke had to forget that because it was time to use the other grenades. Ryhorn was quickly approaching in the distance, and the number of enemies still was too high… 

As if the mud Dolls had recognized Luke, they began to spread around in the area, trying to run away from him. That was funny… in any case, the grenades easily found the problem, and Ryhorn came running while eliminating the survivors. While she was doing that, Luke went to check the loot… but he didn't get any skill book. The best he got was two rings that increased his focus by ten points. They weren't half-bad… since their prices in the shop were almost twenty-six thousand gold coins. Still, Luke was expecting a lot more.

"Well, at least now I have a bunch of useless words to use alongside Weapon Augmentation," Luke said while he was putting those on the back of Artiuno. "Come to think of it… Ryhorn can't eat the mud dolls, right?"

"Yes… she can't," Rina replied while facepalming. "What is wrong with me today?"

"Hahaha, you two are so hopeless," Shalia said. "I knew that from the beginning but decided to keep quiet about it."

"Yeah, right…" Luke said.

Fortunately, that problem was solved after a couple of hours. Luke traveled even at night, so they found an area that had many dark crows. It was a mountainous area, so it seemed like the place they would get. Unfortunately, since it was night, Luke couldn't find the crystal.

"Now the only problem is the fact that Hyhorn can't use long ranged attacks…" Luke said while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Luke solved that problem at midnight by buying Electric Arrow skill book and letting it fall on Hyhorn. She learned the skill that way. While she didn't have much mana, the electric attacks sure will make the crows fall, and then she can solve the rest with her headbutts.

"Stay here and hunt the monsters. We will return in a week or two," Luke said while patting Hyhorn's head. "Run if you find too many enemies around, got it?"

Ryhorn grunted, and then Luke decided to leave… it didn't seem like a good idea to leave alone a monster he had just captured, but it couldn't be helped. After that night, Luke found many areas filled with monsters, but unlike before, he didn't find them in the middle of big cities. He found them in mountainous areas where the visibility wasn't good, and the crystal was hidden among trees. As if that wasn't bad enough, those areas were completely taken by mist…

Once Luke began to cross Virginia, things began to become worse… everything up North from there had been taken by snow… ten meters deep snow. He found some species of monsters in there. Some even lived under the snow, like the ice dolls, the ice version of the mud dolls. The frozen wasps were also there alongside another pack of Koriri. Only ice monsters, that was a bit bad since Luke didn't have fire spells. He also couldn't find any signs of the Crystals under the snow.

"I am sorry, but even though this snow is rich in mana, I can't find the crystals…" Rina said.

"It is fine… the enemies here are using their heads. It is only natural that things won't be that convenient for us," Luke said.

Although Luke said that, he wondered about the future… if the arrival of monsters could change things so much, then eventually, the world would be completely different from before. The changes also wouldn't need decades to happen at that rate either. Hopefully, to make things go back to normal, the progress would also be fast. It was a bit naive to think that way, but it was better than nothing.

The more he moved toward North, the less Luke found zombies and skelies. According to their level, it seemed that they could mutate after reaching level fifty. Still, even that wasn't enough to survive the harsh and cold lands beyond. Or maybe there was another reason for that...

Congratulations! The kill Cold Resistance has leveled up.

You obtained 05 status points.

"... It isn't like me to say this, but… I have a bad feeling about this," Shalia said. 

Luke was having a hard time enduring the cold winds… he increased his RES by ten points, but he didn't feel much difference. Shalia and Rina also looked pretty cold. To the point where they began to hide inside his cloak… it became obvious that something troublesome was up ahead and probably at Luke's first destination. It was kind of hard that Luke was going to face an opponent that could already the weather on such a large scale, but then again, something like that was bound to happen.. While preparing his body for even harsher conditions, Luke, Rina, and Shalia headed toward New York.