Point-of-View: Cusnai Bronztan

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  So many Elves……and it looks like he's here too, the Wind Sage. A few minutes ago, I felt a slight rumble that felt like it came from the south, I was having brunch at a restaurant in the north side of the Rustlands at the time.

  When I went out to see what was going on, I noticed that the protective barriers had been replaced by a single, larger, dark barrier, but before I could even process that, I heard some commotion coming from the north gate.

  And here I am now, perched on the balcony of an apartment building and staring down at the Elves pouring in through the north gateway. Some Volunteers had been present but they weren't in the least bit prepared to repel such a massive force, and many of the Elves were already inside the Rustlands and spreading out.

  What do I do? If I jump into the fray, I'll definitely die. Not to mention that I don't have any of my equipment on, so I'll be far from my best. I do have a teleportation spell on me that'll take me right back to the place I'm staying in, but I'm out of range, I'll have to cover around a full kilometer to the south before I'll be in the effective range of the spell.

  Damn it, if I at least had an invisibility spell or something, I'd be able to sneak back, but all I've got is this one teleportation spell and a few Call spells. I'd already contacted the Guild and informed them of what was happening, my contact was really high strung though, and with good reason……the Guild has been getting reports of huge armies attacking from all four gates.

  I have absolutely no idea how many Elves I'm seeing, to my eyes it's like they're absolutely endless……and if the other three gates are facing similar numbers invading, then we're in serious trouble here.

  Damn it, what do I do!? The few hundred Volunteers that had been in this area were all dead or had run away, while I could barely see any Elf corpses at all. I don't have a choice……I have to wait till they're all inside, and then, sneak around till I'm able to get back to my place and equip myself, and then I'll have to fight……heh, at any stage of that plan, there's a pretty high chance that I'll die.

  Had Belia's forces not joined up with us, I'd probably be able to say with confidence that all of us would almost certainly be wiped out by an attack like this. But honestly, even with all the additional power we've gained, I think it's fairly safe to say that we're most certainly at a disadvantage here.

  If large numbers like what I'm seeing here really are invading from each of the four gates, then they've got us boxed in, our best chance is to probably kill their strongest fighters and hope that that's enough to discourage the rest and force them to retreat, but……last time, against just a single Elemental Sage, most of our S-Ranks were nearly wiped out.

  And this time, I'm willing to bet that all of them showed up. Hm, looks like all the Elves have finally made it through the gates, there aren't many left in sight……alright, time for me to get moving……

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  Point-of-View: Shin Tanaka

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  "I'll warn you once……turn around and leave, or else you'll die," I remarked, drawing out Excalibur and brandishing it threateningly.

  "I have no reason to fear you, human. I am the Earth Sage, Vokkeg Barbedhelm, and you are out of your league," Came the cocky reply, before addressing the others around him, "I shall take care of this, the rest of you carry out Lord Laus's commands and keep pressing through."

  He's a Dwarf? He looks different to the rest, a lot less muscular and a bit taller too, and his hair was a mix of multiple tones from black to light brown and everything in between. And while the other Dwarves carried heavy weapons like axes, clubs and hammers, he carried a sword, and one that looked pretty light at that.

  "Careful, this guy's probably a tough one," Said Lily with a frown, brandishing her trident.

  "Yeah, let's team up against him and take him out," Suggested Kyle, lightning crackling around his hammer.

  It had been a few minutes since we felt a rumble from the south, but before we could even begin to deduce what it was, a loud commotion came from the east gate, which was close to where the three of us were. We'd managed to take out a number of the Dwarves, but it was barely a drop in the bucket compared to their overall numbers, and that's when the Earth Sage approached us.

  The rest of the Dwarves had made it past us, choosing to keep their distance once they saw that we're all much stronger than the average Dwarf……but this Earth Sage is bound to be powerful, a lot more than the rest. Considering the numbers that got past us and went further in, all three of us can't afford to focus on just one opponent between us, that'll allow the rest to run rampant unchecked.

  "No……I'll do this myself," I decided, before cutting them off as they began to protest, "We can't afford to play it safe……with their numbers, more innocents will die. Trust me, I can handle this."

  "Damn it……I know you're right, but still……arghhh, fine, but I swear, you better not die, Shin!" Relented Lily reluctantly, as she realized I was right.

  "Seriously, we've lost enough in this world, we can't lose you too. Stay alive," Remarked Kyle with a grimace.

  "Right back at you guys……be safe," I replied, before turning to face the Earth Sage, "I appreciate you not attacking while I was talking to my friends, you could have easily struck while my guard was down."

  "Hah, do you take me for a fool? I could clearly see that you very much had your guard up, despite going as far as to show me your back……you were attempting to lure me in, were you not? I am in no particular hurry, so I do not need to take such risks," He replied confidently, "You certainly are quite powerful, especially for a human……however, I am significantly stronger than you are, the fact that you cannot discern that difference is proof."

  "Go right ahead and underestimate me, Dwarf, that'll make it all the sweeter when I defeat you!" I exclaimed as I shot towards him, slashing at his neck as I closed in.

  He swiftly raised a pillar of earth to block my slash, but I sliced right through it, my swing barely even slowed down. He quickly sprang back as his eyes widened slightly, avoiding decapitation as the tip of my blade left a small horizontal cut on his neck.

  "Interesting, any ordinary blade would not have been able to cut through such a dense defense……it is not quite as sharp as the Wind Sage's new spear, but it is still very-," He began, before I interrupted him with a furious slash, which he narrowly evaded.

  "That spear belongs to my friend, I'll kill the Wind Sage and take it back!" I snapped, before quickly jumping away as I felt the ground shift, just in time as several spikes of earth burst out.

  I swung my sword across horizontally in his direction, sending out a powerful slashing wave towards him, which he blocked by raised a wall of earth in front of himself, which absorbed the impact of my attack.

  The wall then seemingly began to crumble into pieces, before the broken pieces suddenly shot towards me like bullets, I quickly bent my knees and sprang up with all my strength, leaping up high into the air and evading his projectiles.

  I then kicked at the air, sending myself zipping down towards him rapidly at an angle, to which he responded by firing out a barrage of earth spikes up at me, a couple of which grazed my sides, while I managed to deflect the rest, before slashing at his head as I closed in.

  He quickly ducked under it, my blade cutting off a few strands of his hair, before my feet slammed onto the ground as I landed, the force of my landing upsetting his balance a bit.

  But he stopped himself from falling, before drawing out his sword and swinging it up at me, I quickly jumped away to evade his slash, just barely avoiding it as it nicked the left side of my face.

  My legs were a bit numb from that intense landing, so I wasn't able to react as fast as I'd have liked……but still, he's strong alright, but not so strong that he's out of my league……in fact, I think I might even have a slight edge over him.

  "Not bad, not bad at all, human. It appears as though I cannot finish you as I am now, I shall now take this more seriously……you should feel honored, you will be the first to face the wrath of my Elemental Sage Mode!" He declared, as a shockwave of power burst out from him.

  What? He wasn't already going all out? No way, he……he was holding back this whole time?

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