Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

Elf.

A race with long ears and beautiful appearances.

They are a race that loves nature and forests.

The lifespan of elves on the Continent of Astria is said to be around 200 to 300 years.

Like dwarves, they are a long-lived race that outlives humans.

So far, I have traveled the Continent of Astria without encountering any NPC elves.

Now, visiting this cold northern region, I am finally seeing them for the first time.

But.

I looked up at the elf in the tree with a sharp gaze.

At the same time, I surveyed my surroundings.

Could there be just one? An elf guarding this vast forest?

That can’t be right.

As I suspected, one by one, elves began to reveal themselves from other trees.

Unlike the first elf with snowy white hair, they had various hair colors.

Soon, an interface popped up in front of me.

[Elf Kingdom Affinity: -20]

“Sis.”

“Yeah. It’s up.”

I confirmed this with Chris, who nodded while keeping her body tense.

A faction of NPCs with an affinity.

Just like with the Dwarf Village.

First encounter. A forced event.

They’re hostile from the beginning, huh?

Judging by the fact that their arrow attacks aren’t aimed for crucial hits, these elf guards likely aim to subdue us.

If users encounter them, there would be two main choices.

One. Eliminate them all.

Surely, the ‘Elf Guards’ have high specs relative to the level of this area, but for users who have made it this far, it wouldn’t be too difficult. Frankly speaking, Chris could probably take out all the elves with her ranged attacks. However, their affinity would plummet.

Two. Get subdued calmly and be dragged to their kingdom.

This is probably the standard choice. The affinity starts off in the negatives. They have even cast a magical mist to avoid being exposed to outsiders. It can be said that the elves are a closed society with no interaction with humans.

Still.

I don’t want to be underestimated.

I chose a third option.

Without turning my head, I conveyed my plan to Chris.

“Sis, stay here. I’m going to put those elves to sleep.”

“Huh? But…”

“Onmyoji has ranged status ailment skills, right? Use the projectile protection skill and fire it whenever it cools down. Just those within range.”

There was no direct answer, but Chris must have understood.

I immediately put my thoughts into action.

Tatatatat!

“What!”

An elf with white hair, who seemed to be the leader, shouted a warning and raised one hand.

Papapapak!

Arrows stuck in the ground where I had just been.

I quickly moved left and right, disrupting their aim.

Clang!

A blind arrow was deflected using Astaroth. I did it without a skill.

Of course, I could perfectly block it if I used the ‘Block’ skill against projectiles. But during the ‘Block’ skill, I can’t move. In the end, to advance through this barrage, I had to deflect arrows with just the movement of my sword. Their arrow attacks came in wheeled patterns, relentlessly flying toward me.

Shwaaa!

In the meantime, an ominous sound of an arrow tearing through the air reached my ears. That arrow carried significant capabilities.

I activated ‘Block’ in place.

Kaang!

Was that an arrow imbued with the spirit of the wind, Sylph?

You could even consider it a hybrid class of Ranger and Spirit Mage.

The arrow that halted my rapid advance was shot by the white-haired elf.

He was loading another arrow onto his bow.

I gave him a sharp glare through the gaps in my sword.

Tatatatat!

Without lingering, I began to climb the nearby tree.

With my current agility stats, climbing the tree should be possible.

Papapapak!

I heard the sound of arrows piercing the base of the tree.

On the branch I was climbing, there was one elf wearing a shocked expression.

The height to that point, the Y-axis distance, was 8 meters.

Chak.

I abruptly turned my body and looked down, using the massive trunk as the ground.

I cast ‘Backward Evasion.’

[Backward Evasion(A)]

[Quickly propels your body 8m backward to evade frontal attacks (Invulnerable while casting)]

[Cooldown 8 seconds]

[(E-rank) After activating the skill, increases movement speed for 5 seconds]

[(B-rank) Switch to ‘Sword Drawing Technique’ after using the skill]

[(A-rank) Adds 0.5 seconds of invulnerability after using the skill]

The enhanced ‘Backward Evasion’ of my swordsman increased the invulnerability duration.

However, I prefer to use this skill as a mobility technique rather than an invulnerability skill.

I can instantaneously move 8 meters from anywhere, a teleportation skill.

Floating.

My body soared 8 meters into the air in an instant, right in front of the elf standing on a thick branch.

Seeing his shocked expression, I struck him with the hilt of my sword to the back of his neck.

This is the ‘Pommel Strike’ skill, which induces ‘Stun’ status.

With enough power to ensure a long nap.

Thud!

“Gahk!”

He sprawled out on the thick branch he was standing on. Luckily, the branches the elves stood on were thick enough to lie down comfortably.

Thud.

I landed lightly on the ground and began to look for my next target.

Remaining elves: twelve.

“What’s with this speed! Ugh!”

“Humans moving faster than elves in the forest!? Ack!”

What’s wrong, these old guys? They were speaking just fine!

I thought elves were all tight-lipped since they started shooting arrows without conversing. Even Igrim acted like that.

Meanwhile, Chris, who was below the tree, also used her Onmyoji gems to incapacitate two elves.

Now, only one elf remains.

I looked up at the last white-haired elf atop the branch, grinning.

“Only one uncle left now.”

“……!”

His expression had stiffened at some point.

It must have hurt his pride to see the vigilance of the elf guards being easily breached.

Papapapak!

Arrows filled with his capabilities soared toward me.

Having confirmed that I wasn’t killing the elves, he didn’t harbor any murderous intent, but the determination to subdue me was palpable.

Thunder!

This time, a multi-shot.

Three arrows infused with strong wind power took the shape of a giant green energy and flew toward me, blocking my escape.

Is this a ranger technique? The one in the middle can’t be blocked, huh?

Should I show off a bit?

Instead of dodging, I lowered my stance.

One Flash.

Pah!

My body turned into a flash of light, slicing through the giant energy. Simultaneously, I closed the distance to the tree where he was standing.

“Gah! This brat!”

The first words coming out of the white-haired elf.

Calling a mature lady a brat!?

I puffed up my cheeks and immediately began climbing the tree he was on.

Crack!

As I climbed, branches suddenly shot out, trying to bind my body.

This elf is definitely different from the others. He knows how to handle spirits skillfully.

Swish, swish, swish!

Thud!

Climbing the tree and wielding my sword simultaneously is tough. In the meantime, he moved to another tree and started shooting arrows again.

Thud, thud, thud!

He continued moving to the side on the tree.

He deftly traversed the gaps between branches, staying just out of my leap’s reach. He must have used the power of the spirits to maneuver like that.

Even though my speed climbing the tree and approaching him was ridiculously fast, he moved between the trees as if it were his own home.

After several rounds of tag, I realized it wouldn’t be easy to catch him like this.

Should I try a blade slash? But he could end up dead.

Unlike named demon races that can withstand numerous attacks thanks to substantial HP, normal NPCs, even at high levels, tend to be surprisingly fragile.

Should I chop the tree down? But these trees are quite sturdy. It feels like an object detection issue; they probably won’t be cut. This definitely gives off a game vibe.

Pah!

Through cooldown resetting, I closed the distance to the next tree with ‘One Flash’ and began to climb the tree he was on.

Tatatatat!

Having seen my movements several times, it seemed he learned that I would close the distance when I reached 8 meters below him.

He was leveraging that.

As I approached around 9 meters beneath him, he shifted positions.

A simple yet cunning tactic.

Should I use the system’s power one more time?

There’s a method to climb up the trees using ‘One Flash,’ but I should reserve that for closing distance.

I used up all the cooldown resetting features for approaching the elves’ trees. It takes 10 minutes to use again.

More tag for 10 more minutes? I don’t like that.

I have one more skill to teleport.

Tatat!

I reached 13 meters, 12 meters, then 11 meters below him. He made a move to another branch.

Chak.

‘Backward Evasion’ moves 8 meters back. Even if I used it, I would still be short by 3 meters to reach him, but…

Before he could leave.

I used ‘Backward Evasion.’

This time, toward the empty air right below him.

Spot!

My body vanished from the trunk and appeared right under him.

3 meters, out of range for my stunning skill.

But I could use the skill from this distance.

Looking up at him from below, I activated the skill.

Swish.

The scenery around me changed, and the white-haired elf’s head appeared before my eyes.

Counterattack.

Turning 180 degrees, I aimed at the opponent’s rear.

If I use it from below? It appears from above.

Although I’ve never used it on the Y-axis before, it seems it’s possible.

In the fleeting moment of less than a second before he could react, just as his head was about to rise…

I struck down with the hilt of my sword.

“Good night, uncle.”

Thwack!

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