Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Rain vs. Elf Guard
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Elves.
A race with long ears and beautiful features.
A race that loves nature and the forest.
The lifespan of elves on the Astria Continent is known to be around 200 to 300 years.
Like dwarves, they are a long-lived race, outliving humans by many years.
In all my travels across the Astria Continent, I had never met an elven NPC.
It was only after coming to this cold northern region that I saw them for the first time.
However.
I looked up at the elf in the tree with a sharp gaze.
At the same time, I scanned my surroundings.
Could there be only one? Just one elf guarding this vast forest?
No, that couldn't be right.
As I expected, elves began to appear one by one in the other trees.
Unlike the first elf, who had pure white hair, these elves had hair of various colors.
Soon, an interface window popped up before my eyes.
[Elven Kingdom Affinity: -20]
"Chris."
"Yeah. It popped up for me too."
I confirmed it with Chris. She nodded, her body still tense.
An NPC faction with an affinity system.
Just like with the dwarven village.
A first encounter. A forced event.
So they're coming at us with hostility from the start.
Judging by the fact they didn't aim for any critical spots with their arrows, these elven guards' objective is to subdue us.
If players were to encounter them, there would likely be two main options.
One. Kill them all.
The 'Elf Guards' surely have high stats appropriate for this area's level, but for players who've made it this far, it wouldn't be too difficult. To be blunt, Chris could probably kill them all with her ranged attacks. But our affinity with them would plummet to the absolute worst.
Two. Let ourselves be subdued and taken to their kingdom.
This is probably the standard choice. Our affinity is already negative from the start. They've even shrouded their home in a magical fog to keep it hidden from outsiders. It suggests a closed-off elven society with no interaction with humans.
Still.
I don't want to be underestimated.
I chose a third option.
Without turning my head, I told Chris my plan.
"Chris, stay here. I'm going to put those elves to sleep."
"Huh? But..."
"You have a ranged status effect skill as a Yin-Yang Master, right? Use your projectile protection skill and, whenever it's off cooldown, just fire that off. Only at the ones within your range."
There was no reply, but I was sure Chris understood.
I immediately put my thoughts into action.
*Tat-tat-tat-tat!*
"What!"
The white-haired elf, who seemed to be the leader, let out a cry of alarm and raised a hand.
*Thwip-thwip-thwip!*
Arrows rained down on the spot I had just left.
I moved quickly from side to side, disrupting their aim.
*Clang!*
I swatted a stray arrow away with Astaroth. I didn't use a skill; I deflected it manually.
Of course, I could have used the 'Block' skill on the projectile to defend against it perfectly. However, I can't move while casting Block. Ultimately, to break through this barrage and advance, I had to deflect the arrows with my sword alone. Their arrow attacks came in waves, giving me no time to rest.
*Swoooosh!*
Amidst the chaos, I heard the sound of an unusual arrow cutting through the air. It carried a power that couldn't be ignored.
I cast 'Block' right where I stood.
*Kaaang!*
An arrow imbued with the power of the wind spirit, Sylph?
Looks like he's a hybrid Ranger and Spirit Master class.
The arrow that halted my swift advance had been shot by the white-haired elf.
He was already nocking another arrow to his bow.
I shot him a glance from behind my sword.
*Tat-tat-tat-tat!*
And without hesitation, I started climbing a nearby tree.
With my current Agility stat, scaling a tree was no problem.
*Thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip!*
I heard a volley of arrows embedding themselves in the base of the tree.
Above me in the tree I was climbing was an elf with a panicked expression.
The vertical distance to him, the Y-axis, was eight meters.
*Step.*
I pivoted sharply to face down, using the massive tree trunk as my ground.
I cast 'Backward Evasion'.
[Backward Evasion (A)]
[Quickly launch your body 8m backward to evade frontal attacks (Invincible during cast)]
[Cooldown: 8 seconds]
[(E-Rank) Movement speed increases for 5 seconds after skill activation]
[(B-Rank) Switches to 'Drawing Stance' after use]
[(A-Rank) Adds 0.5 seconds of invincibility after use]
The Swordsman's enhanced 'Backward Evasion' had an increased invincibility duration.
However, I preferred to use this skill more as a movement ability than for its invincibility.
A teleportation-like skill that could instantly move me eight meters from anywhere.
*Whoosh.*
My body shot eight meters into the air in an instant, bringing me face-to-face with the elf standing on a thick branch.
Looking at his shocked face, I struck the back of his neck with the pommel of my sword.
The 'Stun' status-inflicting skill, 'Pommel Strike'.
With enough force to make sure he'd be sleeping for a good long while.
*Thwack!*
"Kugh!"
He collapsed spread-eagled on the thick branch where he'd been standing. Fortunately, the branches the elves stood on were thick enough to lie down on.
*Tap.*
I leaped down, landed lightly on the ground, and started moving toward my next target.
Thirteen elves remaining.
"How is she so fast! Ugh!"
"A human moving faster than an elf in the forest!? Aack!"
What the heck, these guys and gals could talk properly after all?
They just started shooting without a word, so I thought all elves were the quiet type. Igraine was like that, too.
Meanwhile, Chris, who was on the ground, used her Yin-Yang Orbs to neutralize two of the elves.
With that, only one elf remained.
I looked up at the white-haired elf standing on the last tree, a smirk playing on my lips.
"Now it's just you, mister."
"......!"
At some point, his expression had hardened.
His pride must have been wounded by the fact that the elven guards' perimeter was being so easily breached.
*Thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip!*
His power-infused arrows began to fly toward me.
He must have seen that I wasn't killing the elves, so he didn't shoot with killing intent, but I could feel his determination to subdue me with all his might.
*Kwaaaaa!*
This time, it was a multi-shot.
Three arrows imbued with powerful wind energy took the form of a massive green energy wave, flying toward me and covering my escape routes.
Is this a Ranger skill? Is the one in the center unblockable?
Guess I'll show off a little.
Instead of dodging, I lowered my stance.
'Flash'.
*Paaat!*
My body became a flash of light, slicing vertically through the massive energy wave. At the same time, I closed the distance to the tree he was standing on.
"Kugh! This brat!"
The white-haired elf spoke for the first time.
Calling a proper lady a brat!
I puffed out my cheeks and immediately started climbing the tree he was on.
*Crack!*
As I climbed, vines suddenly shot out from the tree, trying to bind me.
This elf was definitely different from the others. He was skilled at handling spirits.
*Swish-swish-swish!*
*Tap!*
It's hard to climb a tree and swing a sword at the same time. In that brief moment, he moved to another tree and started firing arrows again.
*Tap, tap, tap!*
He kept moving to adjacent trees.
He easily crossed distances between trees that were too far for my jumps to cover. He was using the power of spirits to propel himself.
Even though my approach and climbing speeds were ridiculously fast, he moved between the trees as freely as if he were walking through his own home.
After a few more rounds of this cat-and-mouse game, I realized it would be difficult to catch him like this.
Should I try using a sword aura attack? But he might die.
Unlike named demons who could endure countless sword strikes thanks to their massive HP, regular NPCs were surprisingly fragile, even at high levels.
Should I try cutting down the tree? But the trees here were surprisingly sturdy. They must have been flagged as objects because they couldn't be cut. In moments like this, it really felt like a game.
*Paaat!*
I used a cooldown reset to close the distance to the next tree with 'Flash', then started climbing the tree he was on.
*Tat-tat-tat-tat!*
Having seen my movements a few times, he seemed to have learned that I could instantly close the distance once I got within eight meters below him.
He was using that to his advantage.
When I got to about nine meters below him, he would move.
A simple but nasty tactic.
In that case, shall I borrow the system's power one more time?
I could also use 'Flash' to climb the tree, but I needed to save it for closing the distance between trees.
I had already used my item's cooldown reset function to approach the elves' trees. It would take ten minutes to use it again.
Another ten minutes of tag? No thanks.
I had one more skill that could shift my coordinates.
*Tat-tat-tat!*
Thirteen meters, twelve meters, eleven meters below. He poised himself to move to a branch on another tree.
*Step.*
'Backward Evasion' moves me eight meters. Even if I used it, I'd still be three meters short of reaching him.
Before he could leave.
I used Backward Evasion.
This time, aiming for the empty air right below him.
*Flick!*
My body vanished from the tree trunk and reappeared at his feet.
Three meters, out of range for a stun.
But within range for the skill I had prepared.
Looking up at him from below, I used the skill.
*Ssk.*
The scenery around me shifted, and the elf's white head came into view.
'Reversal'.
A skill that teleports you 180 degrees to appear behind the opponent.
If used from below? You appear above.
I'd never tried using it on the Y-axis, but as I thought, it worked.
It all happened in less than a second, and just before he could react and raise his head...
I brought down the pommel of my sword.
"Sweet dreams, mister."
*Thwack!*