Luke gave the order for Artiuno to fly above the crystal, and when the time came, he jumped from her back. After adjusting his stance in the air and when he confirmed that he would land right above the crystal, he used Lurk. He didn't test it before, but he could tell that the skill was working. He was falling, but he wasn't moving… Thanks to that, the monsters never noticed his arrival. However, when he was fifty meters above the crystal, he had to fix his posture in order not to land on his belly.
You received a quest.
Quest: destroy the crystal.
Reward: 2000 gold coins.
"I suppose it is better than… nothing!" Luke said and then swung down his sword and destroyed the crystal.
You completed a quest.
You obtained 2000 gold coins.
It was already too late when the monsters realized what was going on. The crystal had been destroyed, and Luke was already running toward the east side of the enemy's formation. A cold wind began to fall on the enemies of that side, and they finally saw Artiuno. Before they could have the chance to attack her, Luke grabbed some mana potions from his pocket and used Water Cannon, making the enemies get covered by almost frozen water. After spending all his mana, Luke drank the potions and then used Lightning two times in a row. Usually, Lighting was a single target spell, but Luke changed the environment and turned it into an area of effect one.
You obtained 40 experience points.
You obtained 40 gold coins.
You obtained 40 experience points.
You obtained 40 gold coins.
….
Luke gained a shit ton of experience and gold coins, but at least one-third of the two hundred monsters blocking his path survived. They were all paralyzed by the combination of magic, though. Before the next group of Cursed horses could approach, Luke jumped on Artiuno back and said goodbye to the monsters… or so he had planned to do. When he looked forward, he saw Jennifer's group leaving a building with some new members, and without being able to reach him, the Cursed Staurs found and began to chase them.
"Aww… Come on…" Luke facepalmed. "Why can't things go the way I had planned?"
"They probably noticed that something was wrong when the monsters began to move toward the opposite direction, and then they decided to use that chance and rescue their friends," Rina said.
"What a bunch of morons…" Shalia said and then sighed.
Luke made Artiuno approach from above, and then he began to use Sonic Blade to gain some time for the morons, but he could only use the attack a few times per minute. The conditions weren't right for him to use that combo again… the chance of that working, while the enemies were aware of him, was too small.
"It can't be helped…" Luke said and then told Artiuno to speed up.
Just when they surpassed the horde of enemies, Jennifer's group turned around and grabbed their weapons since the Cursed Staurs were only fifty meters away from them… fighting was unavoidable.
"Rina, buff my strength, Shalia, try to block as many of their projectiles as possible," Luke said, and then he jumped.
To think that Luke would be forced to play the role of a hero two times in a row… while he was falling, Luke was feeling goosebumps. In any case, even though the enemy that just destroyed their crystal appeared right in front of them, the monsters just tried to hit Luke with a headbutt. That had been a terrible mistake… Luke used Stinger and then split the head of one of the monsters in two and sent the body flying backward, hitting a few other monsters then delaying their charge. Luke used the skill again, and the same thing happened. However, two other enemies approached him from the side. He attacked one, and the other was stopped by some Earth Arrows that came from behind. Jennifer's group decided to fight, and they didn't hold back with their skills… A tornado of wind appeared in the next moment, and some Fireballs turned the spell into a Fire Tornado… Luke frowned since he didn't imagine that combining spells could be that easy.
You obtained 20 experience points.
You obtained 20 gold coins.
You obtained 20 experience points.
You obtained 20 gold coins.
…
The spell couldn't pull down the monsters toward itself like Shalia could with her, but its power wasn't something to laugh at. In any case, while the spell was active, Luke stepped backward and used Spark Ball to kill those that dodged the tornado, but soon he had to return to his usual fighting stance.
"Sorry about this," Jenniffer said while she used her whip and made the head of one of the monsters almost explode.
"I will demand compensation," Luke said. "And I won't feel satisfied with too little, you hear?"
Things got bloody for a while, but they still continued well due to the rage of the monsters. However, when they calmed down and pointed their foreheads toward the group, they realized that things would become much harder… despite that, Luke charged toward them. It has been a while since he had such a difficult fight, but he could tell that one would be a cut above the others."
"Keep attacking, and don't hold back!" Luke shouted. "Shit, if I get hit more than once, I am doner for... be my eyes and my ears, all right?"
"Understood," Rina said.
"Got it," Shalia said.
Unlike before, Luke didn't stop after killing one. He dashed and dashed while he swung his sword and cut the enemies down. Thanks to that, only a few Cursed Staurs had the chance to fire Gravity sphere toward him, but before they could, Luke slashed them apart. Luke had an easier time than he had imagined because the charge of the monsters had been completely halted and because numerous projectiles were falling around and damaging them deeply. Shalia finished off those who didn't.