After thinking for a while, Luke realized that using a rope or a chain on the bowling balls would be too much of a hassle. They would require materials that were relatively easy to find but hard to carry. The idea of using a stick and turning it into some kind of club could work, but it also would take too much time to craft, and it would be hard to find a stick that would fit perfectly on the holes of the balls.
"Do you really need Weapon Augmentation to make those usable?" Shalia asked.
"What do you mean?" Luke frowned.
"Your strength is five times higher than your original strength. You should be able to throw them with ease," Shalia replied.
Luke nodded… it made sense, but using them alongside Weapon Augmentation would make the skill level up faster. Besides, it was more convenient… The only inconvenient thing was the fact that Luke would have to stay near that shop for a while since carrying many of them was impractical.
In the end, Luke decided to test that. It was an excellent chance to let his left arm heal and use only his right one… and while Stinger worked even when he used his right arm alone, the power behind it was a bit messy. Besides, unless Luke hits the spot with little resistance, his arm would fit the kick of the impact.
When the next starving wolf appeared, the beast dashed toward him like usual. Luke was so used to that that he didn't even blink. When the monster got close enough, Luke used Spark Ball, paralyzing it for half a second. He used that moment to throw the bowling ball on its face, and the projectile landed. It even made a smash and cracking sound that made Luke uncomfortable. He didn't receive a notification, but the beast fell on the ground, and a huge purple wound could be seen on the monster's forehead. When Luke used Appraisal, he confirmed that the beast only had ten points of health remaining.
You obtained 15 experience points.
You obtained 15 gold coins.
"This is starting to get easy… still, why do I feel troubled by it?" Luke frowned after he finished the monster with his sword.
"Because you were someone who never had any real power and because you had a hard time facing those monsters today," Shalia replied. "You are surprised and scared of your own growth. You can't let your human standards let you feel that. They will only hinder you."
"You shouldn't throw them away. Otherwise, you will become a different person and feel alienated from normal people," Rina said.
"Those who stand at the top can't care less about that nonsense," Shalia added.
"How can you say that when you are on a mission to look for allies?" Rina asked. "You didn't reach the top, and your species certainly didn't reach either if you needed allies."
"Only the strong can understand each other!" Shalia said. "And our mission is to prevent this planet from becoming a hunting ground for others!"
Shalia and Rina began to argue again, but Luke decided to ignore it since it was a normal occurrence. While he was grabbing a health potion, he realized that he could understand both of their opinions, no wonder he could become allies of them… Luke was neither too friendly nor too isolationist, after all.
While Luke was thinking about that, another problem arrived… a starving wolf was coming from the east and a large group of zombies from the west side of that street. He thought that having the chance to kill all the creatures he met would be convenient, but things weren't so convenient… Nevertheless, that gave Luke an idea: to test the range of his Weapon Augmentation while he uses needles. While their power was low if compared to knives, at least they were easy to carry.
"I suppose I have enough SP, but…" Luke rubbed his chin thoughtfully while the enemies were approaching. "Well, I guess I can do that."
Luke sheathed his sword and then headed toward the starving wolf; he had to deal with the most troublesome enemy in order to have enough room to do his tests, after all. So, when the beast approached, Luke used Weapon Augmentation and made two needles pierce the eyes of the wolf.
"RRRAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH."
For a moment, Luke almost felt sad when he heard the grunt of the agony of the monster. Still, then he recalled that the beast had planned to eat him alive… so he used several needles to pierce the wounded eyes of the beast until it reached the brain.
You obtained 15 experience points.
You obtained 15 gold coins.
"... Can't you be just a bit merciful?" Rina asked.
"It is not my fault that the monster didn't die with a single attack, you know," Luke said and then proceeded to face the zombies.
The zombies were fifty meters away from Luke, so hitting them in the head would be pretty hard… considering that they were close to twenty and Luke only had forty-two points of SP left, he decided to let them approach a bit more. No point in doing tests that might end up putting his life at risk…
In the end, Luke missed three zombies and had to deal with them with Spark Ball. Fortunately, he got three mana potions from that and a level up as well. Once that happened, he immediately tested the range of Weapon Augmentation, and when it comes to ranged attacks, it seems that he can only hit anything ten meters around him, multiplied by the level of the skill.
"I guess even this skill has some problems… one hundred meters isn't a good distance," Luke muttered. "Well, it is not like I can hit anything small from so far away."
Luke was pretty satisfied with his progress, but then he noticed that the sun was already setting on the horizon. Thanks to that, his mood immediately soured. What was the point of all that power if he wasn't getting any closer to his goal?