Since there seemed to be a lag between waves, Tsukuru took the time to access the Battle Arena's "Exchange Corner".
With the Storage Crystal for the "Hard-Light Projection" Skill now purchased, there were only five items, only four of which he could currently buy.
First, there was the "XS XP Candy" that awarded him 100 XP, something which could be useful.
Then, there were the three different kinds of "pills" that would each increase one of his Stats by a single point, similar to Quinn's "Optional Quests", the "Strength Pill", the "Stamina Pill", and the "Agility Pill".
While Tsukuru was tempted to use his two one of his two Battle Points to buy a "Stamina Pill" pill to bump his Stamina up to "15", so he could go back to putting his Stat Points into Agility, he eventually decided to just let his Battle Points build up
That way, he could purchase the more expensive "Hobgoblin Summon Race" once he had racked up 10 of them.
Tsukuru pressed the "exit" option on the screen.
As the screens vanished, a new System screen popped up in front of him.
[Wave 2 will now begin. Would you like to continue?
[Continue] [Retire] ]
Tsukuru smirked.
'Finally, some real XP.' Tsukuru thought, as he pressed the "Continue" option.
The bar lit up brightly, and an electronic beep was heard.
Instantly, Tsukuru felt his whole body lit up green.
He felt a warm sensation flooding his body. Almost immediately, he felt all of his fatigue, pain, and exhaustion vanish into thin air, and he felt completely re-energized.
It was as if he had just taken a huge shot of adrenaline.
A System screen then popped up in front of him.
[Your HP, MC, and Stamina have been fully restored.
HP: 30/30
MC: 60/60
Stamina: 14/14
Wave 2 will now begin.]
Looking ahead, Tsukuru saw eight groups of pixels begin to appear.
However, while the first six groups of pixels clustered together into the shape of the Swarmers, the last two clustered into the humanoid shape of the basic Goblins.
The Swarmers all cried, raising their front legs, while the Goblins roared.
Tsukuru looked at the group of eight enemies, unimpressed.
Tsukuru outstretched both hands, and activated his Ability.
Three groups of pixels appeared under each arm, with each group of pixels clustering into the shape of an arrow.
There was a flash of light.
When it faded, there were six copies of the Intermediate-Tier Firebomb Arrow, three under each arm.
He grabbed each arrow with his Video Stasis Skill, holding them in mid-air.
Tsukuru then swung his arms out, sending the arrows flying towards the group of enemies.
Like the final group of Swarmers in the first "Wave", the far side of the platform burst into flames.
The Swarmers all succumbed to the flames, bursting into pixels.
Instantly, a System message appeared in front of Tsukuru.
[You have killed six Swarmers. 84 XP received. XP: 194/1600.]
Seeing the screen, Tsukuru smirked.
'That's more like it.' He thought.
However, it was then that the two Goblins rushed out of the roaring fire.
It seemed that despite them being engulfedin fire, they weren't quite dead yet.
Seeing this, Tsukuru narrowed his eyes.
'Seems these Goblins are a bit tankier than I gave them credit for.' Tsukuru thought.
He activated his Ability, creating two copies of his Black Obsidian Daggers, which appeared under his left arm.
He swung his arm out, sending the daggers flying towards the Goblins.
The daggers pierced the Goblins right through the eyes, killing them both instantly.
They both froze in place, before falling over on their backs.
They then exploded into pixels.
Another screen appeared in front of Tsukuru.
[You have killed two Goblins. 60 XP received. XP: 244/1600.]
Tsukuru was once again alone on the platform for a few moments, before he heard the sound of electronic interference once again, signalling the arrival of the next group of enemies.
Tsukuru saw eight groups of pixels appear, but his face morphed into a disappointed, deadpan look when he saw the pixels cluster together into the shapes of the Swarmers.
Seeing this, Tsukuru let out a sigh.
Once again, he held out his arm to his side, and created three copies of the Firebomb Arrow.
He waited to hear the trademark "scree!" of the Swarmers, indicating that they had fully manifested, and then swung his arm out, sending the arrows flying towards the group.
Another series of three fireballs lit up the opposite side of the platform.
'You know, it's getting kinda boring defeating these things over-and-over again with the same, exact method.' Tsukuru thought, as the light produced by the flames illuminated him.
In the roaring flames, he saw the Swarmers burst into pixels.
Another System screen appeared in front of him.
[You have killed eight Swarmers. 112 XP received. XP: 356/1600]
Soon, the sound of electronic interference could be heard again.
Tsukuru's eyes narrowed, as he looked up.
'It better not be another group of those damn spiders.' Tsukuru thought bitterly. 'They're becoming tiresome.'
Tsukuru grit his teeth.
"I want a real challenge." He muttered.
This time, Tsukuru noticed that only three groups of pixels were forming.
Which was a plus, as least.
While Swarmers did appear in groups of three, they usually appeared in far larger numbers.
Having such a low number of enemies appearing made him believe that it would either be more Goblins or Hobgoblins.
As the pixels clustered together into humanoid shapes, Tsukuru let out a sigh.
'Looks like more Hobgoblins.' He thought to himself. 'Well, at least they're not more Swarmers.'
There was a flash of light.
But when it faded, Tsukuru's eyes widened as he saw the three humanoid creatures who were now standing in front of him.
They weren't Hobgoblins.
They were humanoid like the Hobgoblins, but lacked their monstrous-like traits, such as their green skin and spikes.
Each of the three women had hazel-colored eyes, and long, flowing silver hair that reached down their backs, with a single long bang stretching down from the left side of their face, between their left eye and ear, with the bang stretching down to their sternum.
However, the most striking feature of them was their dark skin and pointed ears.
Each of them also wore a pitch-black, ragged outfit that appeared to be worn with age, as if it had been passed down across multiple generations.
The outfits consisted of a short, hooded cloak that reached halfway down their biceps with a one-piece dress worn underneath that reached halfway down hips, like a miniskirt.
They also wore detached cuffs, almost like bracers, which stretched from the middle of their back palms down to slightly past their wrists, as well as black leather shoes that reached slightly above their ankles.
They all each had a brown, leather strap going diagonally across their chests, keeping a brown quiver attached to their backs.
Filling the quiver was a large amount of arrows.
In each of their left hands, the three figures carried a bow that appeared to be carved out of wood, with a piece of twine acting as the bowstring.
Tsukuru stared at the three figures in front of him.
'Wait, are those…Elves?!' He thought.
Instantly, the System's "Scanner" function automatically activated, scanning the new figures.
[Name: Dark Elf
Grade: Pawn*
Pawn Points: 0/5]
Tsukuru's jaw dropped.
He was at a loss of words.
While these figures weren't Hobgoblins, they were more of these strange Summons that he didn't have access to.
'First Goblins, then Hobgoblins, and now Elves?!' He thought. 'What's next, a damn Dwarf?!'
Before Tsukuru could dwell on it any more, the Dark Elf in the middle reached back.
As she did, her "cloak" rose up slightly, revealing the cloth of the dress underneath.
She reached into her quiver, and withdrew an arrow.
Tsukuru's eyes widened, as he saw her notch the arrow into the bow, it pointed straight at him.
Instantly, the other two Dark Elves did the same.
Tsukuru suddenly felt like he was the villain in one of those old movies, with three red dots on him, each symbolizing a different sniper ready to take a shot.
'Well, this is a fine pickle I've found myself in.' Tsukuru thought in panic, sweat running down his back.
'You know what, I take it back!' He thought frantically. 'I'd love to fight more Swarmers!'
He now greatly wished that he had done some "evasion" training with Layla, training on how to evade fire from a ranged attacker.
In unison, all three Dark Elves fired their arrows, sending them flying at Tsukuru with deadly accuracy.