To make sure that they wouldn’t get involved, Luke bought and used the red crystal, creating a flying fortress that made everyone aside from him leave the area. Despite that, those mad dark elves didn’t hesitate and kept charging at him. They probably lost some friends and family on those settlements, and while he wondered why they lived apart if they wanted to avenge those people so much, Luke didn’t have time to worry about that.

Fighting up-close was an option, but Luke didn’t have time for that. Still, using Weapon Augmentation alongside some massive weapons wouldn’t help much since it would damage the bodies and their loot too much. So, he just created several earth bullets and made them fall on his hands.

"Don’t blame me for this," Luke said and then used Weapon Augmentation.

After throwing the bullets, Luke heard a high pitching sound echoing in the area. The heads of dozens of dark elves were pierced in the next moment, and they fell dead on the ground. Despite that, their allies didn’t hesitate. Thanks to that, Luke began to doubt Shalia’s theory... something was off. Still, he didn’t stop since that would be too dangerous for him and the notifications began to pop out insanely fast.

You obtained 2700 experience points.

You obtained 2700 gold coins.

You obtained 2700 experience points.

You obtained 2700 gold coins.

...

Luke kept summoning Earth Bullets and throwing them with Weapon Augmentation. In the blink of an eye, three hundred of them had been killed, and they didn’t stop coming... At that rate, Luke would end up with gold coins enough to buy two more red crystals. Still, he wouldn’t find much joy considering that he was killing Shalia’s people. That being said, he soon found out why he had that weird feeling for a while...

Regardless, they finally got close enough to use their magic, so Luke was forced to run to the side while attacking. Numerous magic projectiles began to fall around Luke. Bullets, arrows, spears... He dodged them all, though. However, when the enemies summoned several Fire Tornadoes around him, Luke saw himself surrounded... Still, he easily escaped by using Checkpoint.

You obtained 2700 experience points.

You obtained 2700 gold coins.

You obtained 2700 experience points.

You obtained 2700 gold coins.

...

"Wait a minute... How come they all are giving me the same amount every time?" Luke frowned.

Luke used Appraisal and saw that all of them were at level 280... Exactly level 280. Not to mention, their status and skills were pretty much the same. Something was off there... Luke slowed down on the attacks and confirmed that the dark elves had three types of builds, the single target build, the area of attack build, and the crowd control build. The people among those groups had the same skills and statuses... However, their appearances were different from each other, so it was hard to believe that they had been summoned like monsters. That was his first guess after he realized that the dark elves were acting like brain-dead monsters... That some of them had been sacrificed and then used to summon others. Luke had considered that some overlords would do that, but now that he could clearly see that... he felt more than a bit troubled and disgusted... Still, could he feel that way, he was basically doing the same thing with monsters. Should they be treated differently just because they couldn’t talk? In the first place, the creatures he tamed probably originally were summoned by others...

"I should stop thinking about this... this will never end and I don’t have the leisure to ponder about such phylosofical questions... I have to do everything possible to survive... "Luke thought. "Their numbers are so high, so feel of them would notice if a group were defeated and forced to become followers of an overlord and then sacrificed..."

That was supposed to make things easier, but Luke didn’t feel like that. Even if they had been created by the crystal, they still were dark elves from his perspective.

"... Let’s finish this already. There is no point in me thinking about this," Luke thought. "It is something that happened while I wasn’t here, and it is not my fault that some crazy people exist... I just want to help a friend, that is all."

Thanks to his friends and rings, Luke never ran out of stamina, and while some spells hit him, the damage caused by them didn’t have been high. In any case, the battle was won, and Luke gained even more gold coins than before, and his level increased tons of times. As for the loot, he gave the order for his followers to get them. Unfortunately, nothing really amazing was found.

LV 274 - 13%

HP: 2574/ 2574

MP: 1734/ 1734

SP: 1484/ 1484

STR: 533 + 15 + 70

SPE: 399 + 40 + 20

INT: 265 + 20 + 40

END: 190 + 20 + 30 + 16 + 20

RES: 159 + 04 + 04

FOC: 500 + 380

Free points: 10

Gold Coins: 2.163.985

Active Skills: Weapon Augmentation Lv 06 (Rare), Heavy Strike Lv 05 (+ 01 UP), Fury Punches Lv 05 (+ 01 UP), Roar Lv 04, Stunning Blow Lv 03

Spells: Checkpoint Lv 05 (+ 01 UP), Repair Lv 01, Earth Manipulation Lv 03, Earth Arrow Lv 04

Passive: Martial Arts Lv 03, Focus Lv 03, Axemanship Lv 01,

While seeing his status and the sea of corpses around him, Luke wondered for how long that would continue. Things weren’t like before... The stakes were too high for him to be and act like the goofball that he was... And that was boring. Still, if he could joke around while lives were being lost and treated like they had no value, then something would be off with his head.

"Whatever, let’s resume my practice," Luke shrugged and then said.

Things were looking grim, but maybe it was just the change of environment for Luke. Regardless, his mood improved a bit since he learned Water Arrow before the dark elves finished getting the loot.