Chapter 194 - Ghosts (3)

Rina got worried… She could tell that something was off, and it was related with the inhabitants of the first shelter they didn't find weeks ago. Her tension and fear grew stronger when they reached the second shelter in that forest and confirmed that the people there had disappeared as well… the same traces could be found in both shelters. Tools, food, clothes… everything had been left behind. There were no signs of battles either.

"... Our plan to make sure that not all of us would be exterminated by staying at a single place backfired us," Rina said while biting her lips in exasperation.

"Don't just assume the worst," Luke said. "Until we find any traces of them, it is too soon to assume that they were annihilated."

"She is surprisingly negative when it comes to the fate of her people," Shalia said.

Luke could understand where she was coming from, though. He would feel the same way if things had played differently when he went to Europe. In any case, while it was a bit troublesome that their work was paying off as much as they imagined, at least Luke was gaining experience regarding things that might happen to Earth in the future.

Without wasting time, they headed toward the next shelter, even though the night would soon come and the weather was getting worse. It was better to find some answers as soon as possible at the cost of some physical exhaustion, after all. It was better than getting mentally exhausted by worrying endlessly about things.

Unfortunately, things didn't proceed exactly as they had assumed. The worries only increased over the course of the next week since all the shelters were empty. Five hundred elves were supposed to be in those five shelters, and they just vanished without a trace… it was quite the mystery, and Luke didn't like those.

"... Let's return to our base," Rina said.

"No way, this kind of thing gives me the creeps," Luke said. "Until we find an explanation of this, this won't get out of my mind."

That was easier said than done, though. Most likely, the elves disappeared more than one month ago, so any traces of their traces have gotten cold. Still, Luke didn't give up. He checked all the houses of the last shelter once more, but he found nothing. Even though he had been quite careful about it. He checked the outside of the shelters, but he only found snow… in the end, he decided to melt all the snow with Flamethrower and see if there was anything below it. However, he found nothing…

While Luke was wondering if there was something beyond his eyes could perceive in the area, night came, and they decided to take shelter in one of the houses. While he was watching the flames of a campfire, Luke thought that perhaps it was time to leave. He wasn't good at mysteries, and since Rina and Shalia had no clue about what happened, it was clear that he wouldn't find an answer overnight. That kind of thought made Luke realize something, and so he went to bed...

Around midnight, an eerie wild began to blow against the shelter, and the temperature decreased. While confirming that the entire area was completely dark and silent, some unknown figures approached the camp. One by one, they checked the houses in the area until they passed through the walls of the largest one. The unknown figures that were supposed to scare everything that puts their eyes on them were the ones who got scared in the end when a Cannon of flames suddenly appeared.

"Bazinga," Luke said and then used Flamethrower.

The massive power of Luke's attack destroyed one side of the house, but at least it blew away those creatures alongside it. He didn't have much time to see them, but they seemed like flying monsters that didn't have legs. Their body was purple and was emitting a transparent glint… they looked like ghosts. They crossed the walls of the house, after all. Since that seemed to be the case, Luke did the right thing by using magic. He was quite sure that physical attacks wouldn't work on them. Nevertheless, the creatures didn't die… they got up while still engulfed in flames.

Illusory Specter- Lv 205

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MP: ????/ ????

SP: ????/ ????

STR: ????

SPE: ????

INT: ????

END: ????

RES: ????

FOC: ????

Free points: ????

Gold Coins: ????

Active Skills: ????, ????, ????, ????

Spells: ????, ????, ????, ????

Passive: ????, ????, ????, ????

"What is that?" Rina asked while frowning. 

"They probably are the things that got the elves hidden in this area. I thought that it was weird that elves left the area while leaving their things, it was a sign that they left together and without making any fuss," Luke replied. "The best way to take someone by surprise is at night. So, no one noticed anything since those creatures can even pass through walls."

"Is that so… they will have to give me some answers," Rina said and then held her whip tightly.

Rina was angry. That was a pretty cowardly method to capture her people, after all. Considering their names, they probably brainwashed them… and because she was mad, Rina assumed that her whip would be able to do anything. It didn't… the weapon just passed through them, and the monsters finally freed themselves from the flames. Luke used Hurricane and then Flamethrower and pulled the monsters to inside the vortex. Still, one of the monsters was out of his range, and it began to fly away.

"Shit…" Luke said.

You obtained 200 experience points.

You obtained 200 gold coins.

You obtained 200 experience points.

You obtained 200 gold coins.

…

Despite being only the size of humans, those things were pretty resilient. Their RES was probably very high since Luke had to use all of his mana to kill four of them. Rina began to chase the remaining creature, but then Luke stopped her.

"Let's kill that!" Luke said as if he was truly desperate, but he only looked toward Rina as if nothing had happened.

"What are you… oh…" Rina said after realizing what Luke was planning.