Elves.
They had once existed only in creative works, but after the emergence of Dimension Arena, people could see them in reality.
Of course, not in the real world, but in Dimension Arena.
Even then, they could only be seen in a very small number of map themes, but people could still see them.
When people first saw Elves, they cheered.
-Wow, I can see Elves I had only seen in movies and dramas in real life!
-Dimension Arena is the best!
-Is there any way to meet Elves in the real world too?
-I do not even need to date them. I just want to be friends.
The Elves possessed the beautiful appearances they had in creative works.
Male Elves were more beautiful than most female celebrities, and there was no need to mention female Elves.
But that did not last long.
-Damn it, an Elf map appeared today. I am in such a bad mood that I will not take questions.
-Hah, Elves appearing in a forest is unfair.
-They attack from afar with archery and spirits, then fight with swords once you get close.
-I hate myself for falling for their faces…….
Elves were such a powerful race that there was no disagreement about calling them a superior race.
They were so powerful that it felt unfair even to compare them to Orcs.
Since they were like that, it was only natural for players of Dimension Arena to recoil whenever they encountered Elves.
Because whenever they met Elves, they were always enemies.
-There is no answer to this.
-The map is not even a forest, but a wasteland. There are still way too many Elves.
-Yeah, and the bigger problem is that they keep receiving reinforcements.
That was why the viewers regarded Shin-hyeok’s failure in the Hidden Stage as a foregone conclusion.
An open wasteland.
Dozens of Elves continuously appearing for an hour.
He had to face them alone.
In that regard, this game was no different from one with a predetermined ending.
But it did not take long for the viewers to change their minds.
-Hee hee!
-Yoo-hoo!
“Mmm!”
“You called?”
First, the four elemental spirits appeared around Shin-hyeok.
“Heaven-Shattering, World-Destroying Style—Heaven-Annihilating Roc Fist.”
KABOOOOOM!
Second, the Martial God’s technique unfolded once more and struck the Elves.
Heaven-Annihilating Roc Fist swept away the dozens of Elves ahead of Shin-hyeok.
Even the Elves who survived were badly injured, and Shin-hyeok charged at them without hesitation.
FWEET! FWEET! FWEET! FWEET! FWEET!
True to their name as a superior race, the Elves unleashed a rain of arrows at Shin-hyeok despite being in tatters from Heaven-Annihilating Roc Fist.
Elven archery had reached a realm that could be called a work of art.
Though the rain of arrows seemed to fly in every direction, every arrow aimed precisely at Shin-hyeok.
Even beyond that, the arrow rain occupied every position Shin-hyeok could move to or dodge toward, making Shin-hyeok click his tongue lightly.
“Just like Elves.”
Shin-hyeok had fought countless Elves before reaching Challenger Tier in his previous life, so he knew how extraordinary and deadly their archery was.
He immediately sent the undead forward.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
True to undead without wills and incapable of feeling pain, they did not let out even a single groan after being struck by the Elves’ arrow rain.
But they could not prevent themselves from slowing down as the embedded arrows restricted their movements.
The undead who should have taken the lead alongside Shin-hyeok to face the Elves had become unable to fight, but Shin-hyeok continued forward without caring.
“Viewers, do you know how to deal with Elves?”
-Pardon?
-All of a sudden?
-Should you not deal with the Elves right in front of you first?
Shin-hyeok even began explaining to the viewers how to deal with Elves as he advanced another step.
An explanation in the middle of a battle where he could not properly see even an inch ahead.
The viewers were dumbfounded, but Shin-hyeok continued explaining without a care.
“Elves have three combat methods: archery, Spirit Magic, and swordsmanship. Among them, the most central are archery and Spirit Magic. The way to block archery is simple. As I showed just now, you can put summoned creatures such as undead in front to take the arrows for you, or—Shield. Choi Shin-hyeok Style, Eighth Form—Weapon Shield.”
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
“As I just showed you, you can deflect the arrows with Shield magic or a weapon technique. See? Easy, right?”
-Mind: I understand perfectly!
-Body: ?
-So Korea has its own Bob Ross too.
Stopping archery required summoning, magic, and weapon techniques, making it a response that ordinary players could not even dare attempt.
But there was nothing wrong with Shin-hyeok’s words.
Summoned creatures without intelligence or pain made excellent meat shields, while dealing with the arrows through Shield and weapon techniques was perfect.
The only issue was that it was difficult for others to imitate.
While the viewers grumbled, the Elves’ barrage of arrows stopped.
Arrows were consumables.
Naturally, they could not be used infinitely, and from then on, the real offensive began.
KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!
“This is the Elves’ second main strength: Spirit Magic.”
Shin-hyeok lightly evaded the flying spirit attacks with footwork. His calm answer made the chat grow noisy once more, but Shin-hyeok did not stop explaining this time either.
“Spirit Magic is a powerful ability. It is also an ability that greatly contributed to Elves being regarded as a superior race. Unlike ordinary magic, spirit magic cast by spirits has a short casting time and no delay. But do you know that it has a major weakness?”
“What is it, Bob Ross?”
“Have we decided to call him Bob Ross from now on?”
Even while spirit magic poured down, the viewers called Shin-hyeok Bob Ross as he looked at the screen and even winked.
When the answer he wanted did not appear in the chat, Shin-hyeok gave the answer with an expression of disappointment.
“The answer lies in the spirits themselves. Ultimately, spirits are no different from summoned creatures. If you forcibly dismiss them, a spirit mage is no different from an ordinary person.”
-Wow, I see!
-Haha, right. If you take away a swordsman’s sword, they are just ordinary people.
-So how do you take a sword away from a swordsman? Hahaha.
But that answer did not particularly resonate with the viewers either.
If you took a sword from a swordsman, they were no different from an ordinary person who had learned martial arts.
But the problem was how to take a sword from a swordsman already wielding it.
And once again, Shin-hyeok brought out an unconventional method.
“The way to forcibly dismiss spirits is simple. You strike the spirits themselves.”
-?
-Can you even attack spirits?
-Ordinary physical attacks do not work.
-Yeah, magic works somewhat, but…….
-Even magic usually lets the impact flow away.
It was a method of attacking the spirits directly.
Spirits generally showed something close to immunity against physical attacks.
Magic worked to some degree, but it was no exaggeration to say that there was almost no way to strike a spirit directly.
But there was no such thing as an absolute in the world.
HUMMMMM—
-……Sword Aura?
-That is really Sword Aura?
-Does it make sense for a Silver Tier player to use something that not only Gold Tier players, but even some Platinum Tier players, cannot use?
-Hahaha. He is not just Silver Tier. He was only just placed in Silver Tier.
-And this is his first game since being placed.
-Is this what talent is…….
-He was just assigned to Silver Tier. So is he God-Silver?
-Is Choi Shin-hyeok a god? Is Choi Shin-hyeok a god? Is Choi Shin-hyeok a god?
As Sword Aura rose from Bang Se-jin’s Well-Made Holy Sword, the chat was filled with shock.
Sword Aura.
Only a small number of people with excellent Mana Control could create it.
It could cut anything, even targets without physical form.
It is unfortunate that I cannot use Sword Force, but I will have to be satisfied with this for now.
Before his regression, Shin-hyeok could freely handle even Sword Force, the stage beyond Sword Aura, so he was not surprised merely by manifesting Sword Aura.
The reason Shin-hyeok had sharpened Sword Aura was simple.
Sword Aura could cut targets without physical form.
Needless to say, that included spirits.
SHK! SHK! SHK!
-Screech!
-Aaaah!
-Urgh!
With Sword Aura added to the overwhelming Attack Power of Bang Se-jin’s Well-Made Holy Sword, the spirits suffered heavy damage and were forcibly dismissed.
After instantly forcing the spirits around him to dismiss, Shin-hyeok saw the Elves’ faces twist in pain.
It was thanks to the shock of their spirits being forcibly dismissed.
Not only spirit mages, but summoners also received a tremendous shock when their summoned creatures were forcibly dismissed.
The heads of the staggering Elves flew through the air.
THUD, THUD, THUD—
The severed heads rolled across the ground.
At that sight, the Elves hurriedly drew their swords.
They were swords of fairly good quality.
They were certainly better than the weapons used by most players, but Shin-hyeok swung his sword without the slightest hesitation.
SHK! SHK! SHK! SHK!
When they blocked with their swords, their swords split apart. When they blocked with their arms, their arms flew away.
Those who could do neither had their chests split open and their heads severed.
Like a wolf charging into a flock of sheep, Shin-hyeok slaughtered dozens of Elves in an instant. Then he looked at the screen as though he had forgotten something.
“Ah, I forgot to say it. Finally, you can counter swordsmanship by doing exactly what I just showed you.”
-Wow, that was truly useful information.
-So first, the required items are a Unique Grade sword and the ability to manifest Sword Aura, right?
-Yeah, and you need exceptional skill too.
-???: See? Easy, right?
Watching Shin-hyeok smile in satisfaction after belatedly explaining how to counter the Elves’ final ability, swordsmanship, the viewers could only let out hollow laughs.
But it was also true that Shin-hyeok had actually done it, leaving them with nothing to say.
In the end, unable to criticize Shin-hyeok’s lesson, the viewers changed the subject.
-So how are you going to clear the Hidden Stage?
-Right. You have only cleared Wave 1 so far.
-Considering that stronger and more numerous enemies will appear as you go on, continuing like this seems difficult…….
-Would our Bob Ross not clear everything while saying, “See? Easy, right?”
-……I want to tell you not to talk bullshit, but it sounds plausible, so I have nothing to say.
The subject was how Shin-hyeok would clear the Hidden Stage that still remained.
Shin-hyeok had only cleared Wave 1 so far.
Since the Hidden Stage would continue for an hour, he had to endure about four more waves.
Considering that the waves became harder as they progressed, it was clear that spending too much strength as he had now would make the later waves more difficult.
But as though those concerns were pointless, Shin-hyeok immediately offered an answer.
“When spirits are forcibly dismissed, an enormous amount of Mana remains around them. And I forcibly dismissed dozens of spirits. That means this area is no different from being filled with the Mana of dozens of ordinary Silver Tier players.”
-……No way?
The massive amount of Mana left where the spirits were forcibly dismissed.
As the viewers realized what Shin-hyeok was about to say from those words, they flooded the chat with exclamation marks.
“Predation.”
CRUNCH!
As though proving that the viewers were correct, Shin-hyeok immediately used Predation and consumed the Mana that could not be seen but filled the surrounding area.
After consuming the enormous amount of Mana, Shin-hyeok felt his empty Mana instantly fill and moved on to the next step.
“Rise.”
CRACKLE—
The Elves Shin-hyeok had killed rose to fill the places left vacant by the undead they had killed.
“Predation. Rise. Predation. Rise.”
When that repeated several more times—
The area around the gate in the center of the map became filled with Shin-hyeok’s undead.
Shin-hyeok supplied the Mana needed to summon and maintain them through Predation, his eyes gleaming.
“Now, the Hidden Stage strategy stream begins.”
-One hour later, ???: See? Easy, right?
-I can see it. I can see it.
The full-scale clear of the Hidden Stage had begun.
It surely was not merely a feeling that the future one hour later was plainly visible.