Even though Adam appeared behind the Bloomer Boomer instantly, his sword swing hit nothing. Only after the swing passed by him did the wood elf turn his face in surprise. Around his waste was a wrapping of vines. Their roots had pulled the invader out of the way.

The wood elf wore a set of plate armor, except instead of being made of metal, they looked like lacquered wood. With a glossy coating, the armor was even more reflective of light than metal armor would have been. Intricate carvings were on the armor, making it appear to be layered leaves and branches. They were so realistic looking that Adam almost expected them to move. Although, considering everything he had seen under the [System], Adam decided to be ready for the armor attacking back.

The helmet worn by the wood elf was open in the front, exposing his brown face, green pupils, seaweed-like hair, and mouth full of triangular teeth. Instead of a bladed weapon, the elf held a staff in his hands. It was shaped more like a quarterstaff than a movie wizard's staff, though it was gnarled and uneven down its length, with both ends containing a translucent green orb.

While the wood elf was surprised at being yanked away, and Adam was surprised at missing his swing, the other elf didn't show surprise. He stepped forward while drawing a sword that shined too much. The amount of light it reflected seemed greater than the sun could account for, to the point that Adam couldn't see the material it was made from or even confirm it was made of metal. The sword was about two thirds the length of Adam's arm, about twice as thick as a rapier.

Six beads of color emerged from a pouch on the rear of the elf's belt and began floating in a circular motion behind his back and head.

This elf was dressed in clothes reminiscent of the illustrations from the crusades, except much brighter. He had heavy white pants, a shimmering white tabard that covered his front and back, tucked into a blue belt, and nothing covering his head. His boots and gloves were tan leather that looked like someone had gone crazy on them with a BeDazzler and blue rhinestones.

Unlike the wood elf, this elf had less jagged teeth. His face was more human looking, though without any blemishes, although the face was a bit flatter. It was almost like someone painted a two-dimensional surface to look like it had protruding features. Only by looking at it from the side could you see how much the eyes sunk in or the nose stuck out. His lips were as pale as his skin, almost unnoticeable.

"You must be the aberration," said the elf. His voice sounded like he was singing, except for how high pitched it was. It was like someone took something beautiful and then beat it into submission with tinkling bells.

Adam squinted at the wannabe disco dancer.

"And you must be my XP," griped Adam as he struggled to look directly at the enemy, wondering if he needed to make some runic sunglasses.

The elf chortled with a sharp sound. His open hand flicked back a curl of blonde hair that hung down on his face. After being flicked, it went back to exactly where it had hung before, as it had been intentionally excluded from the long, golden ponytail he wore in the back of his head.

"Oh, my dear native," said the high-pitched elf pompously. "There is no need for banter. We will face you no matter what. Here we thought we were letting our armies fight for the right to face you, yet you came straight to us."

"No matter," said the wood elf. "They need to gain strength anyway. No better way than killing you ugly beasts."

"Us ugly?" gasped the shiny elf. "We have enough aesthetical purity for both of our races."

Adam took a step back, equidistant from the two. He kept his large sword raised to block any attack that might come. Regardless of what the shiny elf said, he seemed to crave the banter.

"Do I need to let you two go at it?" asked Adam. "I'd really rather get the energy from killing you both."

Once more the shiny elf laughed in a glass shattering pitch, while the wood elf added a brief hiss.

"This native is funny," said the shiny elf. "If his death wasn't demanded by the [System] I might take him home for entertainment."

"Agreed," said the wood elf. "His level is too low to be worth much experience killing if not for that bounty reward."

"True," added the elf. Instead of nodding, his chin went into the air. "Then let us see why he is so desired."

Adam didn't have time to move before the red bead floating behind the elf threw flames at him. Even as he raised an arm to protect his face from the cone of fire, the Elf's feet and hands flashed red and thrust forward at him. At the same time, roots came up from the ground and bound his ankles in place.

The heat from the fire felt too weak to do any more than to singe Adam's hair, so he focused on blocking the sword thrust. It only required a twist of his wide triangular sword while lowering the tip for it to block the thrust from the elf.

Adam had wanted to conserve his energy after fighting so much, but he also didn't want to drag this fight on, so he activated [Soul and Body Shaping] to 60%. His stats drastically increased, allowing his strength to flick his own sword upon blocking, and knock the shiny elf off balance.

The flames that Adam had ignored now couldn't even touch his higher vitality, but they did seem hot enough to ignite the vines trying to hold him in place. They sparked and dried, weakened so Adam could easily snap them with a pull of his leg.

"You cancelled my binding," snapped the wood elf to the shiny one. "I shall attack him first."

"Oh, my dear, uh, elfish thing. My attack began first. I shall take this one."

Adam resisted the urge to block his ears when the shiny elf spoke, taking another step back from the two of them.

"Only one of us can get the reward," said the wood elf. "I will fight him first."

"And why should I allow that, you mutated bush?"

"He challenged me first, you eye sore."

Adam allowed them to bicker for a moment, then he once more used [Gladiator's Approach] to teleport behind the wood elf. This time his sword swing connected, cutting into the armor thanks to his high strength. Where the sword cut, green sap leaked out, but when Adam looked down all he saw were vines where the wood elf's legs should be.

Then the ground opened a few yards to the side. A tree grew out of it and formed the wood elf complete with his armor.

"Naughty native," said the wood elf. "Do not be so hasty. You will have our attention soon."

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"Oh yes, he shall," agreed the shiny elf. "We just need to work this out first."

The sap holding the sword was stickier than Adam expected and he had to put one foot on the wood to pull it free. Next, he added [Explosive Strike] to the sword and it began to glow a slight orange.

The wood elf seemed to have some annoying escape skills. Adam decided to go after the shiny elf next. He kept his eyes on the wood elf to make it look like that was his target and then used [Soul Bolt] on the shiny elf.

The [Soul Bolt] wasn't especially strong when he was using a lot of his berserker abilities, but it should have been enough to hurt the invader some. He launched himself towards the shiny one when seeing a frown upon his face, assuming it was caused by the [Soul Bolt].

As the tip of his sword was about to strike the shiny elf, a stream of water rapidly came out of the blue bead and formed a vertical disc in front of Adam. When Adam's sword touched it, the blade slowed as if the water was as sticky as the previous sap. The shiny elf stepped out of the way, easily able to dodge the sword that was now moving slowly.

Adam's body was still moving at normal speeds, and he jerked forward with his grip of the sword preventing him from entering the disc himself. Instead, he kicked off backwards, trying to pull the sword out before it went any further into the slowing disc.

"I have a splendid idea, my dear rival," said the shiny elf as he continued to frown at Adam. "How about we attack him together. The last hit is the only one that matters anyhow."

"Oh, good idea, you grotesque thing," the wood elf replied. "The last hit will go to whoever has the better skills or luck."

The greed that showed in both their eyes was turned on Adam. He was now the one to frown, but really, nothing changed for him. Two invaders to kill. More XP to claim.

The Chromatic Herald started things off. The silver bead rotating behind him glowed and his sword became even shinier. He aimed the sword tip at Adam, who raised his sword arm up, positioning the flat of the blade in front of his body.

Even from a distance, the shiny elf thrust his weapon, not bothering to get close. Adam grunted as he felt the impact on his armor. Whatever skill the elf used had bypassed his sword and was strong. When Adam looked down, he saw a puncture wound on the armor with just a touch of blood seeping out.

It was a good thing Adam looked down at that moment, since otherwise he wouldn't have noticed the ground opening at his feet. Out from it came something that looked similar to a pinecone mixed with a tulip bulb.

Remembering the arrows from the last elves he had fought, the poison and barbs, Adam didn't wait to use [Gladiator's Approach].

As quickly as he appeared behind the Chromatic Herald, the blue bead also created a new blue disc to block Adam's thrust. Since Adam had teleported with his sword already mid attack, the disc appeared a few inches up the blade, with the tip about to touch the elf. Even with the slow effect, the blade continued to move while the elf turned to face Adam.

The tip barely touched the elf when the [Explosive Strike] on it triggered. The explosion spread out against the shiny tabard and knocked the herald in the direction Adam came from.

That was when the thing in the ground fully emerged. It exploded into needle projectiles in every direction. The shiny elf gasped as dozens of the needles hit him, piercing his clothes. Several reached Adam's position, but the water disc hadn't dissipated. Those needles were caught in the disc as it unintentionally protected Adam.

Adam chuckled from the protection while the shiny elf screamed from the pain. The Bloomer Boomer winced at the results, completely untouched by his own attack.

"This might be fun after all," smiled Adam, in the way a grim reaper might smile at the newly dead.

"How dare you!" shouted the Chromatic Herald, his pure white skin starting to darken as his veins were affected by the needles' poison.

A black bead behind him flashed and darkness billowed out from around Adam. At the same time, the wood elf held his staff up and a wide green jet sprayed out towards Adam.

"[Arc Shockwave]," called Adam. The dark that had formed was already blocking out his sight, but he had timed the pseudo-skill to release when the toxic spray was about to hit him.

Everything around Adam was blown backwards. The darkness showed that it was similar to a cloud, and it was pushed away from him. Instead of the spray hitting him, it splattered in all directions to his front and sides, causing it to hit both of the elves.

The Bloomer Boomer hissed, showing that he wasn't completely immune to it, but the Chromatic Herald had no resistances. No water disc appeared to protect the shiny elf, telling Adam that there much be some cooldown or other requirement for the beads.

The front of his tabard was hit by the spray, causing it to momentarily turn green. Then brown. Then dissolve. A shiny shirt underneath also dissolved, revealing white skin with veins blackened from the previous poison. The skin quickly began sizzling and turning bright red as the toxins reached it.

A green bead flashed, and Adam watched as healing energy left it and entered the herald. He inhaled in relief, and the skin was soothed. Then a white bead flashed and the toxins on his skin and clothes fell away, though it didn't seem powerful enough to purge the poison from the needles.

"Convenient," muttered Adam. The Chromatic Herald had a huge variety of abilities, but other than the sword bypassing his block, they seemed individually weak.

The wood elf's hands flashed red with a skill's use, and Adam felt the ground vibrate as vines once more rose to grab his feet. Adam roared with [Incapacitating Shout]. Both elves twitched and froze for a few seconds, also affecting the vines the wood elf controlled.

Dashing towards the once shiny elf, Adam twisted sideways to avoid his sword thrust as the stun wore off. The vines that had tried to bind him were growing thicker as they followed Adam.

Adam juked around the shiny elf and spun. The elf swung his sword towards Adam, but that turned his back on the vines. Being faster than the elf, Adam was able to reach his back side.

The red bead glowed again, and out of curiosity, Adam grabbed it in his hand. The beads just floated there until they were called on, and Adam wondered how strongly they would hold their position.

Both Adam and the Chromatic Herald were surprised as the bead came away from its position in the circle. With the bead heating up, Adam threw it as hard as he could at the wood elf.

At the same time, the vines reached where Adam had been, which was now where the Chromatic Herald was. The vines split upon touching him and wrapped up the torso of the once shiny elf, binding his arms and midsection.

The bead that Adam had thrown touched the chest armor of the wood elf, sticking on some of the toxic spray that had landed on him. The bead released fire that Adam had thought was weak, but apparently the spray was flammable.

The elf in white struggled against the vines while the wood elf screamed as he caught fire. The wooden armor wasn't flammable, but it seemed like the wood elf didn't have resistance to the flames.

Foregoing [Gladiator's Approach] to avoid more of the wood elf's escape abilities, he ran over to him and before thrusting his sword, he used [Soul Bolt]. It was weak, and probably only moderately painful, although Adam couldn't tell since the elf was already screaming because his green seaweed-like hair was on fire.

Something triggered from the soul damage as the ground rapidly opened to pull in the Bloomer Boomer. The escape was slow enough this time that Adam still had enough time to stab his sword into the face of the descending elf.

Wood Elf "Bloomer Boomer [42]" slain. 61,292 XP gained.

As soon as the wood elf died, taking with him the vines binding the Chromatic Herald, he screamed and charged Adam. His feet, hands, and sword flashed with different skills in sequence. The power released from them was enough to split the ground under him as he moved.

Adam watched him approach, already knowing how much slower the elf was than him. Right before the sword point reached him, Adam once more spun sideway, his back facing the direction the elf was in.

The sword passed Adam, and he swung his own downwards, lopping off the elf's forearm holding the sword. Then he spun again, his large sword picking up momentum and turning horizontally before it beheaded the shocked invader.

Glitter Elf "Chromatic Herald [39]" slain. 59,537 XP gained.

The energy from the kills entered Adam. He felt it filling his soul, but without his connection to the [System] there was no easy way to level up his class or body. Over time that would be a significant loss to Adam's ability to grow. He would need to find a way to use it directly.

It was unlikely that he would be able to shape the energy as efficiently as the [System] could, but for now it was the only path to growth that Adam could imagine. With a heavy sigh, Adam turned towards the armies still fighting in the distance.

Wood Elves versus Glitter Elves versus the Sentinel Army. It was a mess. As long as all these invader armies kept attacking, Adam wouldn't have any time to experiment with shaping his own class or skills.

As he was about to run towards the fighting, Adam's radio came alive.

"General, we have an emergency. Are you good to talk?" asked one of the communication operators from back in Jackson.

With great annoyance, Adam asked, "what now?"

He could practically hear the operator wince at Adam's tone.

"R-r-right. S-s-sorry to disturb, but we have a large force amassing in the west."

"Which invaders is it this time?" growled Adam.

"I-i-it isn't invaders, sir. It's humans!"

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